A jhobby blog is a blog that a dad uses to test the commercial viability of a new venture. Because dad's have responsibility, they cannot just get a great (or not:) idea, quit their job, and roll with it. Cash flow problems can cause junior to miss out on important swim lessons. One of the best ways to get started exploring a new space is to create your own blog.

 

For this site, I chose to experiment with Google Apps, which may take some explaining. It may be best for me to explain my requirements (which is where you should start, too):

 

1. My own domain for my website/blog and email address

2. I want to be able to integrate third-party services (my own or others' twitter feeds, disqus, video (eg-vimeo))

3. No advertisements from the blog provider (I may want to add my own advertisements).

4. Ability to create value for myself (I want to be able to make money someway, somehow).

 

What was not on my list (and which may prove to be killers):

-1. Simplicity

-2. Existing templates

-3. Ability to outsource

 

I looked at Wordress and Blogger, and there were some basic stumbling blocks that made me think that I needed something more. A couple of the ideas that I had related to #4 above made me think I would be better going with App Engine as a starting point. App Engine is free while your site is small (which, if I suck, may be forever). But, if you want to be able to use your own domain (#1), you need to purchase a Google Apps account for $50. At the very least, I wanted to have a for-real custom @dyor.com account (I had a secondary @dyor.com email added to my @gmail.com email address, but it was often flagged as junk because of the way Google handles this type of account, and Outlook displays the email sender address as "@gmail.com on behalf of @dyor.com"). So, I figured it was worth it to buy a year of Google Apps just for that.  

 

So, I have now decided to go with App Engine + Google Apps. App Engine is pretty easy to pick up, but there is a bit of a learning curve for somebody coming from the .net world. So, instead of spending the next three months coding with nothing to show, I figured I could give Google Sites a whirl, generate some initial seed content, and then transition the site over to my custom-made App Engine site once I had a better idea of what I wanted to build.

 

I will continue this epic adventure over the course of the next two months as I implement a custom App Engine Jhobby site that will enable dad's across the planet (or at least wherever there are internets) to stick their virtual toe into new waters.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Matt