Trip Journal Web Site

[TromboneAl]

Any suggestions for a blog-type web site designed for trip journals?

I'd like something that let's me integrate the photos with the text, and includes a mapping feature.

I've used a regular blog (surfing trip), but surprisingly, it's not easy to put the posts in chronological order.

I've used a regular web site (San Juans trip), but I'd like something that handles the structure for me.

Thanks,

Al

 

[simple girl]

I'd like to do the same thing myself for future trips. I found this article helpful:

How to choose the best travel blog site | Travelling around the world - talking bout a generation

Of the ones I looked at so far, I liked the look of the TravelPod one the best. I like that it links to Facebook, too. However, I have no experience using it yet, so I don't have any specific feedback to offer.

Free Travel Blog to Share your Trips - TravelPod

 

[TromboneAl]

I've tried a number of sites, but none of them have a pleasing layout.

I found a way to make blogspot put things in chronological order (info here), so that's what I'm going to use. I'll have to do my own map, however.

 

[yakers]

I agree with the layout issue. I also used blogspot for our trip to arctic Canada and Alaska

Driving to the Arctic and a recent one for my sister Birthday Blog for Sybil

This structure works but puts the latest post on top and sometimes I would rather have a different layout. For short blogs blogspot will probably be just fine but clearly something better is required for longer blogs. And the ability to organize pictures, links and text with different picture sizes, layouts fonts and the like would be appreciated.

 

[TromboneAl]

Those look good, Yakers.

It's easy to follow the directions in the article I mentioned on putting things in chronological order. I just did that for my surf trip blog, and it rearranged itself perfectly.

The blog standard of putting the most recent post at the top is silly. True, if you follow a blog daily, the most recent post is the only one that you read, and it's good to have it at the top. However, if you want to read several posts in order, you have to go to the bottom, then skip to the top of that post, read down, then skip up to the start of the next post, read down, etc.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Al, I inserted the code before the [/body] and saved it (confirmed it was there later) but my entries are still in reverse order. I'm using blogspot.

Still appearing newest at the top, including newly inserted posts. Any ideas?

 

[TromboneAl]

Are the actual posts (rather than the archive list) still in reverse order? That threw me at first. To change the list in the archive, you need to edit that separately (click the wrench/screwdriver icon at the bottom right).

I definitely didn't do anything other than paste that text in right above the /body line (put a few blank lines before and after it), and clicked Save Template.

 

[TromboneAl]

After finishing the blog, here are some comments about using Blogspot.com (aka blogspot.com):

1. There's no way (that I know of) to work on your blog offline and then just upload everything with a click of the mouse. That feature would be very nice in a situation in which you never know where your next wifi is coming from.

If I could have worked on the blog at our campsites, then just stopped at a coffee shop and quickly uploaded my work, I would have been able to keep up with the posts more, and would have spent less time in coffee shops.

The way it worked with blogger, is I'd have to sit in the cafe and upload the photos five at a time (this could be quite slow), then edit in the text. I tried writing the text ahead of time, but that was just more work to get the text and photos interleaved.

In the future I think I'll just have a web page (like on this trip), which lets me have everything done offline and upload quickly.

2. Photo uploading is cumbersome with blogspot. You can't load pictures right into your narrative, they are always loaded to the top of the page. If you load five photos, they will be loaded in reverse order. The way I'd do it is go to the folder with the photos and load the last five (selecting them in reverse order), then the previous five, etc.

3. The chronological order idea is good, but some people are used to the blog standard, so it's confusing for them.

4. There is a max size to the photos that can be inline with the text.

5. You're on your own for maps.