Category: Site Announcements

A Note on My July Blogging Schedule

This July I’m not going to really be around here much.  That’s for one very important reason: I’m having an adult tonsillectomy.  I wasn’t able to have it as a child despite many desperate pleas and many, many rounds of antibiotics for tonsillitis so I’m having it now that my tonsils are severely affecting my quality of life.  My surgery is in early July and I’m told to budget at least two weeks off from work for recovery but we’ll have to see how things go.

But the important thing for our purposes right now is this: how will this affect The Mad Reviewer?

In short, not at all.  I’m busy scheduling up posts now so that during my recovery period there will be a post every day.  (And that’s part of the reason why I haven’t been posting anything lately; I’ve been working ahead.)  I’ll have all of the usual Lazy Sunday posts and the discussion posts in addition to my reviews.  Depending on how my muse is feeling in the next week or so I might even have a rant or an article for you guys.  The only thing that will be different is that I won’t be responding to comments super quickly.  I will try to get to all of them eventually but just know that if I don’t reply it’s not because I’m ignoring you deliberately or don’t value your comment; it’s just that it slipped through the cracks.

So thank you for your understanding and August will most definitely be back to normal (until I move to the city at the end of August)!

I Will be Moving to WordPress.org (But Not Right Now)

After some more research and some great feedback from you guys, my readers I have officially decided that I will be moving The Mad Reviewer over to WordPress.org.  This change will, as the title hints at, not happen right away because there is too much to organize for me right now.  However, in December when I have a two week Christmas break I will work on the process of moving things over.  For now I’ll probably download the free WordPress.org software so I can become familiar with the interface but the actual move will not happen until December and in December I’ll be announcing a firm date for the official switch over.

So what does this mean for you guys, my readers?

Actually, not much.  I’m likely going to pay for a guided transfer, which means my subscriber list as well as everything else I need will be moved over to my new .com site.  And if you have this page bookmarked, don’t worry!  I’m also going to pay for a redirect so that anyone stumbling across this address will be automatically redirected to the new site.  I’ll probably pay for the redirect for one or two years so you should have plenty of time to become accustomed to the switch.  I know it will take a lot of getting used to for myself but hopefully things will go smoothly.  Even if they don’t, at the end of the day I’ll finally own the blog I’ve put three years of work into and not have the threat of arbitrary suspension hanging over my head.

I’m Considering Moving to WordPress.org

Well, I’ve been blogging for three and a half years as of two days ago and I’m starting to think quite seriously about which direction I want The Mad Reviewer to go.  What do you want to do with your blog?  People have been quite reasonably asking me that since I started blogging and I haven’t really found a good answer.  Talk about books with like-minded people, for the most part.  But what if I wanted to expand into a more professional sort of setting?  WordPress.com is fine for free users but I think that WordPress.org is a lot better for more serious users like the one I want to be.  Plus, there’s also not the threat of an arbitrary suspension hanging over my head again because an automated spam bot flagged me and the staff doesn’t give a rat’s arse.

With WordPress.org I’d have to become a little more tech-savvy but if I pay for a guided transfer (that includes hosting on Bluehost) and a redirect for this site so that people who are used to coming to this address automatically go to my new one I think it will be worth it.  Of course the costs will be a little high to begin with but that’s part of the reason why I took Penny Sansevieri up on her offer of paid honest reviews and why I’ve kept a change jar where I’ve put aside any change I got toward my blog.  I do have enough money to make a go of it.  The only question really is when should I do it?  As of now, I’m not quite sure.  I may do it before the craziness of July or I may do it this winter when I have a little more time to myself.

That’s why I wanted to ask you guys what you think.  Do you think I should transfer over to self-hosting?  If you’re self-hosted, what are some of the pros and cons you’ve faced?  When is the best time to do the transfer?  Do you have any other thoughts or comments on the move?

Please, I would love it if you would share your thoughts and any feedback you might have.  This is a big step for me and I want to go into it informed.