Twyste

I had never really blogged before this summer when my family and I went on a two week trip to Philadelphia and New York City.  I decided that blogging about our trip would be a fun way to keep my parents and a few others in the loop about our travels, as well as an easy way to document our trip for ourselves.

Now, before I tell you about the specifics of what I did, you need to know a couple of things.

1.  It mattered a lot to me that blogging not be something I was doing instead of actually being present for the trip with my family, so it needed to be quick and easy,

2.  I wanted to be able to do it almost exclusively from my iPhone (with the exception of using my iPad and its camera connection to transfer pictures from my DSLR),

3.  I wanted it to look good (my standards for what “good” was weren’t super high),

4.  I wasn’t taking my computer with me.

So, the apps-

BlogPress:

Taking all that into account, I first set up a blog with Blogger.  At the time, I chose Blogger because it was easy to set up and there was a straightforward iPhone app that I could use for posting on the go (BlogPress).  I was able to take pictures with my iPhone and put them directly into my post.  I could save my post either to my phone as a “local” draft or “online” if I wanted to be able to modify it from my iPad later.  Then, regardless of which device I was on, I could access my draft and publish it once it was complete.

The beauty of posting from my iPhone was that as we sat on the subway or waited at any point during the day, I could type a few lines and add a picture, then review it at the end of the day and click publish.  It was really that easy.  My summer posting was by no means perfect (and, actually, I’ve inadvertently moved some of the pictures from their original locations, so they may no longer be linked correctly, so I need to fix that), but for a first time at on-the-go blogging, I was quite happy with it.  If you want to see my full review on BlogPress, check here.

WordPress:

Now my blog is hosted on WordPress, so I also have a wordpress app for blogging.  It does all the same things as the BlogPress app and it has sections for moderating comments and checking your site stats (if you’re in to that).  I have been pleased with how easy it is to create new posts or pages, and add pictures, links, and text modifications (add italics, etc) from within the app.

At this point, I still use both BlogPress and WordPress when I’m blogging remotely (or just to lazy to get out my laptop).  I like them both and would highly recommend that if you have any desire to document any portion of your trips or life for yourself or others, that you give it a try.  I actually think the apps make it even easier than it is on the computer.  So, give it a shot and let me know what you think.

Do any of you use something else you are happy with for blogging on the go?

Related articles

• Tips For WordPress Blogging On The Go (From Your Phone) (levynewsnetwork.wordpress.com)
• Blogging from the iPad (maplemuse.wordpress.com)