Simulcasting Your Wordpress Blog On Blogger

I have two blogs... okay, I have one blog, The Sound Of One Hand Typing, and I simulcast it on a second blog, The Sound Of One Hand Typing FM. The difference between the two blogs is that the first runs on the Wordpress platform, the second on Blogger.
Why do I do this? A few reasons:

• Being a technical person at heart, I wanted to see if I could do it, and if so, what differences there would be between the more-familiar Wordpress platform and the Blogger platform.
• I wanted to increase my outreach. I went with Wordpress because it was easier to move to a self-hosted blog when I felt the time was right, and I liked its editor better. Still, I knew that Blogger was the more popular platform, and I also knew I probably wasn't getting my name out to Blogger users as well as to the Wordpress ones.

I wanted to make it easier for people to comment. It's easier to comment on a Wordpress blog if you're a Wordpress user, just as it's easier for Blogger users to comment on Blogger. The alternatives (e.g. moving commenting to Facebook, installing a third-party commenting tool like Disqus) were either impractical or impossible, and they would alienate people, what I wanted to avoid in the firsst place.
You're probably thinking I do a lot of work to maintain two blogs, but I don't, because I have help: If This Then That, IFTTT (rhymes with "gift") for short. IFTTT uses recipes that consist of triggers ("this") and actions ("that"), like this one:
If there's a new post on the Wordpress blog, post it on the Blogger blog.
Here's a video that shows how the process works.

So, I can use the Wordpress editor I like, write and publish my articles, and IFTTT takes care of reposting on the Blogger side. Usually...
There's a lot more technical information that I'll post on my websites (along with a few "gotcha"s), but that's an overview of how I'm doing it. Feel free to contact me on this blog, either of my blogs, or on Facebook or Twitter with comments, questions, complaints, deep thoughts, bowling scores, or just if you'd like to say howdy. ETA: The technical post is now up on my blog; you can find it here.

Meet Your Co-Host Interview

Okay, we’re supposed to introduce ourselves as co-hosts of the A to Z Blogging Challenge Team and though I answered a few questions last month on A Tarkabarka Hölgy’s post, I liked some of the others and thought it’d be fun to answer them now…

Which exotic fruit would you be willing to eat on a bet?

Cashew "apple" and "seed"

The “cashew” apple fruit! Check this out! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cashew

What is your opinion on cross-breeding dragons?

I think it is a fabulous idea. Who doesn’t need more variety in dragons?

My favorite, Pern Dragons

Oscar Wilde, dreamy...

For which historical figure do you harbor a secret crush?

Oscar Wilde. Yes, I know he was gay and wouldn't have gone for me, but I don’t care! He was amazing.

Do you like sleeping?
I LOVE to sleep. I love when I dream. I don’t like it when I sleep poorly. Sleep is seductive to me, perhaps too seductive!

What is your best form of exercise?
I like to take classes at my gym so that I do something different every day. Spinning, SpinFlex, aerobics, resistance training. I like them all.

Bonaparte

Which do you prefer, horses, dogs, cats, lizards?
Dogs, little dogs. I like cats and horses too, but wouldn’t own them anymore. I like to watch lizards but not own them. I like my little Bonaparte…You know, little body, big ego!

Are you excited about the 2015 A-Z?

Our team badge!

Is that a rhetorical question? Ha ha! Of course! And trepidatious (yes, it is a word) as well. It’s a LOT of work, but it is also a lot fun to visit so many different kinds of blogs. It’s the only time of the year, really, where I can spend that much time reading that many blogs. During the rest of the year, work and life take over, but in April, I can set aside the time, and I do, to visit and learn…And this year I have a team to help me co-host!! Heather McCubbin, Randi Lee, Stephanie Faris, Bob R. Milne, Eva Solar, Doreen McGettingan, and Rhonda Albom. Together we are known as "Lisa's LiveWires." Yay! Here is our badge, thanks to Jeremy!

1st Lt. A.P. Buie, Jr. AF Pilot

Are you a vet or do you have any veterans in your family?
I'm not a veteran. My grandfather was a WWII vet. My father was a vet of the Korean WAR (officially “Conflict”). My Step-Dad is a Vietnam vet. All three of my uncles were Navy Vets. My cousin just got out after serving three tours in Afghanistan. He’s now in school. My nephew is a vet, and is in school as well. My husband's cousin is a vet, and a lawyer who takes a stance on vet's issues and helping them out. We've got vets!

Have you ever been to Texas, and if so, which part?

I lived in Waco, Texas for 18 years. Loved it, mostly! And just to set the record straight, the Branch Davidians were NOT in WACO. They were in a small town 20 miles north of Waco called MOUNT CARMEL, go figure. Wacoans, took—and take—great offense to the media naming our town the scene of that disaster. Even now it’s called the “Waco Siege.”   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waco_siege

Waco is home to Baylor University. The town is located in the perfect spot to travel all over the Eastern half of Texas and a great place to raise kids. I have two native Texans!

 

Me, an A to Z Challenge Co-Host and "fearless" leader of "Lisa's LiveWires!"

 Images from:

cristianaziraldo.altervista.org

fruitwarehouse.blogspot.com

pernrv.wikidot.com

Dragon Soldiers

Hello A to Z challenge accepting people. My name is Susan Gourley and I'm thrilled to be part of the team here at A to Z. This is my first year as an administrator and my fourth year participating in the challenge. I served as a minion to Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh last year so I'm confident I'll handle the responsibilities involved in my position this year.

I write romance as Susan Kelley and have 12 books published by a small press, two of them bestsellers. I'm also published in high fantasy though that's a story for another day. I'm a member of the Pennwriters Board and am busy helping plan the annual conference. I also am a long time member of RWA and one of the administrators of the IWSG blog. My personal blog is Susan Says where I post every MWF except in April. Enough about me.

One of the reasons I'm confident I will be successful as an A to Z show runner is the great squad of Dragon Soldiers who will be helping me.

Please check out these fellow bloggers and drool with envy at their really cool Dragon Badges. We could use one or more recruits if you'd like one of those badges to enhance your blog sidebar.

Laura Clipson found at My Baffling Brain, a blog I've followed for a while now.

L.Diane Wolfe a veteran of the challenge and also an IWSG blog administrator.

Sabina Leybold whose blog, Victim to Charm is full of variety.

Shanatala at Shanayatales who shares the most interesting book reviews.

Ann Bennett who is a new friend to me and so graciously enlisted into the Dragons.

With an all female team, maybe we should have been called Amazon Warriors instead of Dragon Soldiers. But we would welcome any gentlemen into our midst should one step up. One thing I love about our team is our  diversity. Writers, teachers, public speakers, photographers and all of us with a wide variety of interests.

And that brings me to today's piece of advice for the Challenge. It might be tempting to use the category tags to select blogs that are the same as your own. But one of the great ideas behind the challenge is to meet bloggers from all worlds of fun, entertainment and weirdness. Visit outside your category and you'll find some fun and interesting posts.

Have you met my soldiers yet? Care to help us out? Will you visit outside your category? See a glimpse of spring yet?