Paul wrote a post yesterday about being invited to try the new hosted WordPress service. He asked for a review … and well here are my thoughts thus far …
I’ve been playing with my new WordPress.com blog—ProBlogging How to—for a while now. First thoughts, I really like it. Qumana connects in a cinch. I’ve been cross-posting and re-posting without problems. The site isn’t getting much traffic yet, so trackback and comment management isn’t something that I’ve had to deal with. On the down side, the admin/dashboard has been a bit sluggish at times and I would like to edit the template (I did choose a standard one, and really like it). Beyond that, looks good. Heck it is beta, gotta cut Matt some slack!I’m very excited to have another serious blog hosting option out there. Yes, I still like Blogware. I also think TypePad and Bryght are solid too. I am curious about the WordPress.com business model, though. Is is going to be free? (Way unlikely, IMHO) Ad-supported? Tiered? I’d love to know. Matt, ping me … let me know, please?
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Tris
I’m keen to try WordPress.com but I’m frustrated by not knowing what their rollout plan is and I’m frustrated that there is no statement on their website about how they are distributing the invitations. I’ve been waiting dutifully, checked and made sure they have my email address and then the other day a friend who has not blogged yet, ever, registered and got not one but two wordpress.com blogs in an instant. I posted about this here
http://www.thinkinghomebusiness.com/blog/_archives/2005/10/4/1277951.html
I tried to leave this comment on your WordPress blog but it’s a catch 22: I can’t leave a comment without being registered and if I try to register I get a 404 Page Not Found. Going to the wordpress.com site is no help – it’s set up for you to leave your email address for an invite, which I’ve done, etc etc.
Allow me to suggest that for your own sake you post a warning message that, as you are trialling this and it’s a web-based service, you aren’t able to control the action (or inaction) of the links to wordpress.com’s site, e.g. for registering so one can leave a comment.
Let’s hope the mystery ends soon and they let the world know when the service will be generally available, cost etc.
Des
Comment by Des Walsh — October 6, 2005 @ 6:10 pm
Hi Des,
Great points. Actually the comment thing was my fault I’m still learning what all the options do! Hey if you’d like an invite … well I’ll zap you one!
Overall I’m liking not only the WordPress.com system and DIY WP installs too.
This is certainly a space to watch.
Comment by Tris Hussey — October 6, 2005 @ 6:28 pm
Tris
Thanks for the rapid acknowledgement and enabling me to score my very own wordpress.com site to play with!
Des
Comment by Des Walsh — October 6, 2005 @ 6:49 pm