Ahem. It's how to save your blog actually, from whatever it is that may attack it someday.
Some time ago, an old blog of mine got deleted by whoever was hosting it - and, they didn't even bother informing me. I whined about it in a post, and a comment left by Secret Agent Woman got me thinking. It was time to back up this blog too, although Blogger is currently hosted by Google - a huge company if there ever was one. But like everything else in this time and age, you just never know what is going to happen, and no one has guaranteed that your blog is going to be there forever, and what will become of the posts you slaved over the years - spelling mistakes and all?
After listening to the podcast in the link below last week, the urge to backup is now stronger than ever.
These are a few methods I use:
Save the Blog!
1. Blogger's backup system. (found via blogger buzz)
Blogger has it's very own system in which you can download and backup whatever you've written. This is the same function you can use if you intend to export your blog elsewhere. The only problem I see with this is the fact that it's an XML file, and my lack of knowledge on it makes me worry if it will be retrievable if blogs or blog hosts completely vanish from the face of the earth. However, this step is simple enough to be done as it only involves a click of "Settings" followed by "Other" and "Export Blog" They kindly inform you that this action does not delete the blog, and after you click the "Download Blog" button, all you have to do is wait for a few minutes and hey presto, the XML file is all safe and sound in your own hard drive.
Pros: Easy one click steps, enables moving between bloghosts, full tutorial is available on Blogger Buzz
Cons: You need to export blog from time to time to update it from when you last downloaded it, it's in XML format so you can't really see it
2. E-mail (Found via google search)
Also another built in blogger feature.
Similar to export, this step also involves a few easy clicks. Go to "Settings", then "Mobile and e-mail" and in the box which says email posts to? type in the e-mail address you want your posts sent to.
Pros: The moment you hit publish, the blog post gets sent to the e-mail address specified, with pictures, captions and formatting intact, you do not need a blog to read this.
Cons: If you post a lot, then your e-mail add will be flooded with the posts - but you can always create a folder for this, or create a specific e-mail just for your blog posts
3. Old manual backup.
I used to do this for a short while, where my posts were actually typed in notepad before I transported them to blogger. But then, after posting, I actually deleted most of the posts due to space constraints. I want to strangle myself.
Pros: Notepad format - so you don't even need to be online for this, small file size - until their quantity reaches a crazy number
Cons: Only words - no pictures saved
Secret Agent Woman's backup plan:
Use "Blog to Book" to enable your posts to be compiled into lovely books for posterity. There are a few websites which have this service.
Pros: You get a book in your hands- what can be better than that?
Cons: Can't think of any
Thanks for this post ! I always thought about it too. What if my blog went missing one day...
ReplyDeleteAt least now there are back-up options I can think of. So are you gonna book up your blog ? It's a great idea. I'm already considering it.
Btw. There's no reply from the German friend :(
I write all my blogs in a word doc first before posting. I might make small changes within blogger, but the meat of the posts are saved. And because my artwork/photographs are all original, they're saved too.
ReplyDeleteI don't trust dem internetz. Helpful post!
I hadn't even thought of this, I'm off to backup my blog thanks.
ReplyDeleteJaya J: I'm not sure about making a book out of the blog - the old writing is very juvenile in nature, so it may be a bit too embarrassing.
ReplyDeletePS: Aw, what a pity.
Gia: Yes, the internet can't be trusted... learned it the hard way, though.
Ryan: Better safe than sorry.
Such a good post! Facebook Twitter
ReplyDeleteActually with the textfile backups, if you're posting pictures using the URL method, you can still preserve the images by saving the post in its HTML format.
ReplyDeleteInterweb Fails: Thank you.
ReplyDeleteDwei: Thanks for the interesting tip... I shall attempt doing that too.
It's a sobering thought that some benevolent organisation may not store our blogs in perpetuity so we might amble through our archives for decades to come. Thanks for doing the research on how to plan for this happening.
ReplyDeleteI'm considering the blog to book idea
ReplyDeleteKing of Scurf: They should, I think... but we just can't rely on them to do so.
ReplyDeletenursemyra: That would be pretty awesome...
I like the idea of emailing myself my posts, to an email address create specifically for that.
ReplyDeleteTurns out the con to the book is cost. But I still love the idea of having a hard copy. So, I have sent off the first section of my blog. I started mid-year in 2006, so I went through and re-read all my '06 posts and then ordered the book. You can pick a title and a cover and back photo, too. Assuming I like it, I'll do other years as time and money allow. I'll let you know when it gets here how I like the actual book (in terms of how it looks, not my writing or photography ability).
Nothing can beat the feel of a book in your hand, especially since it's your very own words in there... I'd love to know how the book thing turns out. Thanks :)
ReplyDelete