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1. Joe Wachter

   

   5 posts
   
   1/29/2013 8:01 AM

   Ryan,
   
   What browser are you using? Clear your internet cookies etc. Shut down your computer and try again. Sometimes a resetting of everything clears it up.

   
   
   
   
2. Mark Novotny

   

   0 posts
   
   2/8/2013 4:02 PM

   Two years ago my GM asked me to start a blog to answer questions from the golfers. They set me up as "Superintendent's Corner" where they could 'ask the superintendent'. It is a direct link from our club's main web page. http://westchestergolfcourse.com/ After a full year of complaining of how cumbersome it was to post pictures he found me another site to blog from. http://markatwestchester.wordpress.com/ It took me about one day to get everything set up the way I wanted it. Actually, an hour or so to get it up and then the rest of the time getting things the way I wanted them.
   
   These can be very simple or very complicated. Our course tends to be very interactive and complicated. If you do choose to visit my site. You will be on the new version. If you look at the header bar you will find the old version as 2011 posts.
   
   If you shoot a lot of photos and plan to post them find a format that makes it easy for you to do it. In 2011 it was horrible, in 2012 it was great although I took a lot less photos to post. I did a lot of my detailed information in Publisher and formatted it as a magazine and posted it as a link as a PDF. Things can get very detailed and crazy if you want them to be.
   
   If you have just a lot of course photos (I took two mornings to shoot the course.) I just posted them on Photobucket and set up the link on the header bar as Photos. http://s1053.beta.photobucket.com/user/Markatwestchester/library/Course%20Photos%201/#/user/Markatwestchester/library/Course%20Photos%201?&_suid=136036236160904403590604162941
   
   The way it is set up the golfer can email me directly with their questions. If they have a general comment that goes to the main mailbox my GM just forwards it to me. My goal...To reply to the question the day it is asked. If it needs further clairification and photos I write a full answer and post it.
   
   Last year I had a couple of projects that ran all season so they had many posts that I combined. http://markatwestchester.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/tale-of-two-bunkers.pdf As you can see, a full season project can turn into a 15 page story. Since it was all season long the golfers saw it in stages.
   
   I would say, if you enjoy keeping your golfers informed you can do it at your leisure when you have time. Give it a try.

   
   
   
   
3. Andy Scott

   

   0 posts
   
   2/9/2013 8:02 AM

   I created a blog a month ago and have received good feedback. Like others have stated be careful of too much information, which could backfire on you. Pictures with short explanations is what I do. My hope is my members will appreciate it and use it as a source of education on what we do on a daily basis.
   
   http://nccturf.blogspot.com/

   
   
   
   
4. Trevor Burlingame

   

   0 posts
   
   2/12/2013 7:02 AM

   Dan, I just skimmed through the replies quickly so this may have already been suggested. Blogspot has a feature where a person can submit their email address and your blog posts will automatically be sent to that address. My members really like this feature. This way they don't have to keep checking back but can still get the information you put out there.
   
   The only other advice I would have is to have fun with it.
   
   Trevor

   
   
   
   
5. Melvin Waldron

   

   43 posts
   
   2/25/2016 8:02 AM

   Don't be too mad at me for bringing this back up, but was sitting at home the other night and thinking about starting a blog again. Never got around to it when this topic was discussed before. Guess that was while the boy was in the middle of his high school days, and we were just so busy with our, I mean his band stuff. We did post a lot of the band stuff on our Facebook pages and also once I got on Twitter. I guess with him away at college, we find ourselves with some free time. I do use Twitter a ton about golf course stuff, along with other useless BS (sorry to my Twitter friends/followers). But 140 characters seem so limiting at times.
   
   Anyway, just wondering since this was back in 2012 and the last post was 2013, what is new in the blogging world, what are the best sites for blogging (especially blogging made easy), which ones can easily share new blog post on Twitter feeds? Are those that are blogging still at it? How many might have abandoned blogs and gone to Facebook?
   
   Since technology keeps changing so much, just wondering what's new.
   
   Thanks!
   
   Mel

   
   Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
   
   
6. Chris Cook

   

   0 posts
   
   2/25/2016 12:02 PM

   Mel, I've been using Blogger since 2010 and have always found it to be very easy to use. I remember when I first set it up and it was simple to get set up. I decided to start a blog to show what projects we are working on, why we are doing the project and how. Although I am more active on twitter, I still feel that I need an option when I want to take a more in-depth look at whatever I want to share with our customers. I experience writer's block sometimes, but I don't try to force it and there are times when I don't blog for a while. Inspiration always seems to come back and I'll have plenty to say. This year, I'm trying to create content more consistently throughout the year, by posting monthly course updates pertaining to weather trends, conditions, and anything else I feel like sharing with our membership. In my opinion, blogs are far more effective at reaching your local audience that Twitter. Our blog is directly linked to our course website so anyone who visits the site will see a link to the blog. This has created a lot more local traffic on the site and I feel like we're reaching more of the intended audience. Twitter is great for sharing course information to a few local followers, and industry peers, but it seems less effective than blogging at maximizing our local impact. If your twitter activity is any indication, you have plenty to say, I think once you get set up and started, you'll find a blog to be a worthwhile endeavor. Good luck and let me know if you need any help!

   
   
   
   
7. Mark Novotny

   

   0 posts
   
   2/28/2016 12:02 PM

   Hey Mel,
   
   My initial response is 5 posts back.
   
   My thought is go for it, everything the responders have said is accurate. Give it a try, I started mine in 2012 it took me about two hours or less to get started but is well worth it.
   
   If you find it is not your thing you can delete it with no harm.

   
   
   
   
8. Melvin Waldron

   

   43 posts
   
   2/28/2016 7:02 PM

   Thanks Chris, I liked what you did with the equipment managers vehicle.
   
   Mark, I liked that Dragnet intro.
   
   I see one of you used BlogSpot, the other WordPress, is that what you started with? Any comments on what is easier to work with?
   
   Thanks!
   
   Mel

   
   Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
   
   
9. Melvin Waldron

   

   43 posts
   
   2/29/2016 9:02 PM

   Thanks all!
   
   I took the plunge and started a blog. http://iiisticks.blogspot.com
   
   Hopefully you all take a look and give me some feedback. I'm not going to use it really to promote my course, but just some practices that we might do. I want to also use it more for learning more about the business of golf and reminisce about growing up in the business. While I have many superintendent friends on Twitter and Facebook, I also have many in other aspects of golf as well, hoping that it creates a line of communication for that as well.
   
   Thanks again!
   
   Mel

   
   Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
   
   
10. Joe Wachter

    

    5 posts
    
    3/3/2016 9:03 AM

    A good start Mel. Try to post weekly or a couple times a week if possible. Keeps your followers coming back. Fewer posts means less frequent the posts will be checked and before too long its you viewing your own posts.

    
    
    
    
11. Melvin Waldron

    

    43 posts
    
    3/4/2016 8:03 AM

    Joe Wachter, CGCS said: A good start Mel. Try to post weekly or a couple times a week if possible. Keeps your followers coming back. Fewer posts means less frequent the posts will be checked and before too long its you viewing your own posts.

    
    
    Thanks!
    
    I had a topic I was going to post Wednesday night, but got a text from our son on a Drum Corp issue so it was off to research it. Last night by the time I got home from Columbia and walked the dog, with the debate starting, I just couldn't get myself to sit down. Tonight I defiantly will as it will keep me from worrying when the boy is driving home to start spring break.
    
    I have another topic on golf balls, a fun type post, I kind of thought of during a Twitter chat Tuesday night, a group of different people in the golf business chat on Tuesday nights about different topics. Interesting except sometimes it gets a little hard to follow when watching NCIS too.
    
    Mel

    
    Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
    
    
12. Bob Pruneau

    

    5 posts
    
    3/9/2016 4:03 AM

    Here is my blog I have had for a # of years . Equipment maintenance blog. http://golfcoursemechanics.blogspot.ca/ The course has started one to recently .