Blogging is not only a hobby for many people, in many cases, it is even a method to bring in some extra cash. Due to the recent downtime of ©BlogSpot that scared many bloggers, it is apparent that you really should not rely on your blog host to keep your data safe. Luckily for us, BlogSpot was able to restore our posts to a pre-downtime condition, so we actually did not lose any of our posts. However, this should be seen as a wake-up call to ensure that you perform regular backups of your application and data.
As I discussed in a previous post, one of my favorite applications is ©Microsoft OneNote. Not only do I use it extensively in my profession, I also develop my posts, including this one, in OneNote first where I store all of my posts. Once I have written the post, I cut and paste it into my blog. Then all I have left to do is a little formatting before publishing the post. By using this method, not only can I take advantage of better word processing tools, such as a spell checker that checks spelling as I type, but I also have a complete history of my posts. This gives me information to ensure that I do not repeat posts, I can quickly see what I have talked about in the past and if anything happened to my blog, I can restore from backup, and re-post any of the posts that I added since my last backup. This is a sure fire method of protecting myself from an event that could wipe out my blog site.
If you don’t own a copy of OneNote, you could use just about any word processor or text editor to do the same thing. Just create a folder on your local drive or an external hard drive to store the posts you enter into the application. When you save your post in the word processor, simply name it the title of your post. Then just cut and paste your text into your blog post. After a little formatting, you can submit your post.
These methods not only protect you from lost data due to a host glitch, it also protects you from a browser or internet glitch while you are typing your post. How many times have you been half way through a long post just to have what you have done wiped out by a glitch before you pressed save or submit? The great thing about OneNote is that it saves as you type, so even if a glitch occurred, when you restart OneNote, your data should be intact. However, even most word processors can be set to save every few minutes so you only lose a couple of sentences if the application has an issue. Both of these are far preferable to blogging software that does not save until you press the save button.
In any case, the moral of the story is ‘Don’t rely on others to protect your blog site.’ Take the necessary steps to protect yourself before the next disaster.
