Written on May 12th, 2009 at 12:05 am by Darren Rowse
Start Your Own Blog Network or Community with Blogs.mu
If you’ve ever dreamed of running your own blog network but have been put off by the idea of setting it up and managing it you you’re not alone. As someone who has co-founded blog networks I understand the challenges.
It is for that reason that I’m really excited about a brand new service that has just launched – Blogs.mu.
Blogs.mu is essentially your own blog network in a box. It allows you to set up your own WordPress.com type community using the powerful WordPress Multi User platform – this opens up many possibilities both for existing and new bloggers.
There’s a lot to be said about Blogs.mu so I’ll let you peruse their site to learn whether it fits with your needs but a few highlights include:
- Let your readers start blogs or just limit it to starting your own on sub domains
- Run advertising on it
- Using it on your own domain
- Lots of Themes built in
- Plugins pre installed
- Import previous blogs into Blogs.mu
- Support forums
The service is free with loads of features but you get extra capabilities and unlock some of the above features (and others) by becoming a Blogs.mu supporter. Support packs start out at $9 a month for a 10 blog pack.
Blogs.mu has been developed by Inscub – a team with a heap of experience using WordPress MU who have helped set up and run some massive WPMU blog networks. I’ll have an interview with James Farmer from Inscub later today to talk more about Blogs.mu – but in the mean time it might be well worth your time to sign up and reserve your Blogs.mu community name and preferred url before someone else does.
53 Responses to “Start Your Own Blog Network or Community with Blogs.mu” - Add Yours
Spark
May 12th, 2009 12:18 am
Oh, I have quite two blogs I want to move over from Blogger.com, and I’m wondering how this transition will help me. I’m getting more traffic from those two, than my self-hosted blog—hmm.
Paritosh
May 12th, 2009 12:23 am
Seems to be a nice idea but it wont be easy to maintain one. The blogger first needs to equip himself with the basic knowledge of blogging and then after some experience think of operating his own network !
Roseli A. Bakar
May 12th, 2009 12:28 am
Cool.
Just did mine – EzyBlogger Blog Networks – http://ezyblogger.blogs.mu/
Writer Dad
May 12th, 2009 12:34 am
Wow. This sounds really really cool. I’m already reeling from the possibilities.
Andy
May 12th, 2009 12:37 am
Oh thats gread. Thanks for the Tip
Kate
May 12th, 2009 12:51 am
I have been thinking of taking my three existing blogs and using these as the starting point for a blog network with WP MU but the tasks seemed a bit daunting. This is certainly something I’m going to look into. Thanks for the tip.
Jackie Chia
May 12th, 2009 12:52 am
That’s great ,I just signed up!
Jackie Chia
venkat
May 12th, 2009 12:55 am
why there is no such services for blogger.
E. Foley - Geek's Dream Girl
May 12th, 2009 12:58 am
Interesting! We have a network for roleplaying games bloggers, but it’s more of a hub that posts snippets of all our posts so people can scan through everything. It’s gotten me some really good traffic on the days I post about RPGs. :)
krissy knox
May 12th, 2009 12:59 am
Awesome!
Asswass
May 12th, 2009 1:05 am
Trying it right now.
Anette Ejsing
May 12th, 2009 1:43 am
Hi Darren,
Can you educate us more on blog network and communities, please?
Why? For whom? For what kind of blogs? Why are people attracted to them? etc. etc.
Anette
BlogSEOExpert - SEO for Blogs
May 12th, 2009 2:11 am
This sounds like a great idea!
Although WordPress MU (Multi User) has tried simplify the process of creating a multi-user blog, creating a blog network using WordPress MU still remains an intense task!
If this functionality comes out of the box, it is definitely worth exploring. I would definitely have a look at their site.
However, we need to remember that any “out of the box” system comes with limitations related to customization, extension, etc. So, this might not be a good choice for advanced users.
All in all, sounds like a great concept for most bloggers! Thanks for the info!
BlogSEOExpert - SEO for Blogs
May 12th, 2009 2:13 am
(Sorry, posting again as I do not see my previous comment not do I see a “moderation” message!)
This sounds like a great idea!
Although WordPress MU (Multi User) has tried simplify the process of creating a multi-user blog, creating a blog network using WordPress MU still remains an intense task!
If this functionality comes out of the box, it is definitely worth exploring. I would definitely have a look at their site.
However, we need to remember that any “out of the box” system comes with limitations related to customization, extension, etc. So, this might not be a good choice for advanced users.
All in all, sounds like a great concept for most bloggers!
Faye
May 12th, 2009 2:48 am
This is exactly what I was looking for. I’m going to try it out now. I knew I needed to work with WordPress MU for the types of web sites I want to put up, but it seemed difficult to get started and to get the files set up on my end. Fingers crossed. Thanks Darren!
Andrea_R
May 12th, 2009 2:56 am
For anyone looking to explore WordPressMU even further, or do their own site, I’ve written a lot of tutorials for it.
Jason Mosley (aka Mr. Baconpants)
May 12th, 2009 6:48 am
I created http://bacon.blogs.mu/ so far so good. I never used Wordpress MU before but this is making it easy!
I could see this being a great tool to build blogging communities around niches like BACON!.
ezFreeSamples.com
May 12th, 2009 7:28 am
As always Darren, you rock! Thanks for the help with this… will have to check it out to help with my Freebies Blog.
Fiona
May 12th, 2009 8:50 am
Thanks Darren; sounds like a great concept. We used Wordpress MU and Buddypress for flokka.com – our blog network and community for women in business, and appreciate how much hard work it is to get a blog network up and running…
cheers
Fiona
Tasha
May 12th, 2009 12:01 pm
Kevin, your bacon site is amazing. Wow this is so cool I must try it.
I am off to go try it.
Thank you Darren I don’t get it 100% but I willing to dive right in.
Tasha
http://www.theeangels.com
Keule
May 12th, 2009 6:04 pm
Sounds interesting, but every cool feature needs the 7USD+ option, so I’m out of there.
Dean Saliba
May 12th, 2009 10:41 pm
I’ve tried letting people create blogs before and I find they abandon them after a couple of entries.
Make Money Online
May 13th, 2009 4:40 am
Sounds like a pretty good deal there. The design of their site is top notch. Nothing to loose to give it a try.
Hip Opinion
May 13th, 2009 1:38 pm
Hmmm? I played with ning.com for awhile… I built up a little social network of people talking about stuff…Then it died…It’s still running but I plan on taking it down.
I too have set up many self hosted blogs for friends.. I’ll tell them about blogging and how fun it is..They post a few times and then they let it go… I have about 4 dead blogs running on my server now…
But, It sounds fun none the less… I’ll probably sign up and try it out… I ALWAYS gotta try out new stuff to see what happens! I’m addicted to new free online tools… :)
Bill Masson
May 13th, 2009 1:39 pm
Your spam system didn’t let my last comment in, do us a favour and dig it out.
There are still a few little changes i would like to see with Blogs.mu like control over permalinks and the ability to import themes and get control over the editing. A few more plugins like commentluv and dofollow would improve networking.
Keep up the great work
richu
May 13th, 2009 3:38 pm
Well, I don’t think that we can own a blog network like WP – and provide the same service like them. That’s because we ourselves are getting just a sub-domain under blogs.mu – and so, it would be a site like blogger and WP. And it won’t allow us to have a site like blogger, or WP.
Cheers
Dot Com Dud
May 13th, 2009 4:38 pm
I like the idea of creating a blog network but I really do wonder how hard it would be to actually get other bloggers to join up, especially with so many large blogging networks already in existence. A case study of creating a blog network from the ground up would be great to read (hint hint) :D
Haris
May 13th, 2009 6:32 pm
Thanks Darren. excellent.
i just tried it and was able to sign up.
http://bloggerindonesia.blogs.mu/
i am not sure yet how it will work.
Chris Ducker
May 14th, 2009 1:50 am
Another great, and uniquely brilliant post. Thanks for the continued hard work you put in, Darren. Its always appreciated.
Catholic Charities of Central Texas
May 14th, 2009 4:46 am
Thanks for posting this! Can you do the same on blogspot?
J.Chu | SuccessRevolution
May 14th, 2009 1:16 pm
It’s look great,
But, I am still on my process to build my new baby blog…
I ll try it later..
But, I want to know more what is the benefits and comparing with wordpress ?
Rice Blogger
May 14th, 2009 9:20 pm
thanks..will give it a try…but is a bit confusing…for $9/month for 10 blogs pack…meaning if I have 11 subscribers on my blog network….1 will not receives the benefit?
ZK@Web Marketing Blog
May 15th, 2009 3:16 am
“Support packs start out at $9 a month for a 10 blog pack” is something which can create a little indigestion for the blogging newbies. No doubt, as the features Blogs.mu is fascinating, but the site should provide a platform for the newcomers too, to create their own blogging sphere with quite ease.
Grow taller tips
May 15th, 2009 4:43 am
Nice idea. It seems like a lot of work; but could certainly pay off if done right.
LayupDrill
May 15th, 2009 11:55 am
Very nice idea. I will try it out, though I dont like the .blogs.mu extension. How could I use my existing domain name I own to mask that ?
needmoney.com
May 15th, 2009 1:18 pm
Potentially useful, have been thinking about something like this for a while. Will investigate.
Virtual Miss Friday
May 15th, 2009 10:56 pm
With time and the right social media marketing you could potentially have a very lucrative business – great advice!
Money Making Business
May 16th, 2009 1:52 am
Nicely said…building a network is more important…yes !!
-Ven
Mike Filsamie and Launch Tree
May 16th, 2009 5:19 am
This is worth a thought, why have a Blog when you can have a Blog network. it’s more work, done properly, quality, it could work out.
tashfeen
May 16th, 2009 7:32 am
This seems Ning-ish. Likewise, tried it, didn’t like it. My ‘blog’ looked like it required too much work, and they have ads running of their own – unless someone is really busy and is completely technically inconfident, I don’t think this works. But thanks for letting us know of its existence anyway! :)
العاب شمس الدين
May 16th, 2009 7:37 am
Those guys have really done a great job . Now with user friendly enhancements they’ve made building blog networks as easy as blogger has already done with blogs and all these CMSs .
dev
May 16th, 2009 11:37 am
Seem great, will try it out
Adam
May 17th, 2009 12:41 am
I signed up for the free package and was fairly underwhelmed. No access — at all — to plugins, which is one of the big sellings points of the WordPress platform. Tiny choice of themes, although the available themes look pretty good. The free package offers a pretty bare-bones WordPress MU installation, but the big advantage is that you can avoid the fairly labor-intensive and technical process of setting up a WordPress MU installation. It’s a great entry point into a blogging network setup.
The paid packages are a nice step up in functionality, but I could see it getting expensive since it’s pay per month PER 10 blogs, etc.
I could see this being really great for niche and non-profit blog networks. I’ll be interested to see how the service grows.
Shawn
May 17th, 2009 2:30 pm
My question is can you create a community as seemless as one of the large social networks where people can just create their own blog like they create a MySpace or Facebook profile. I think it’s this capability of instantly signing up and beginning publishing that really holds potential for blog communities in the future. The idea of having to contact the community administrator, ask him/her if you may have a blog, getting him/her to send you a guest sign-in etc. etc. thrills community administrators seeking to maintain control of their networks but doesn’t do much to encourage the kind of runaway viral expansion the big social networks have enjoyed.
blackzero85
May 17th, 2009 4:30 pm
Agree with Shawn.
It’s easy to make a blog nowadays, even for a complete newbie. wordpress.com and blogger give you administrator capability once you sign in and create your blog, so why bother to ask yet another administrator just to make a blog/administer your OWN blog.
Nevertheless, the idea is fresh, and we will see the result, be it success or failure, soon. :)
And I think I’m gonna make another review of this blogging service.
Nick Stamoulis
May 19th, 2009 12:02 am
This will make things much easier now to start a network of blogs. Wordpress does lay it out nicely to get things done with a blog.
bizOmundo
May 19th, 2009 1:00 pm
blogs.mu is all that. after a year of learning how WPMU works, blog.mu is an excellent choice for all newbies. inscub offers excellent value and stellar products and services – heck, i want to be them when i grow up :D
Payday Cash Loans
May 20th, 2009 2:53 am
I actually prefer WordPress myself. I have a lot of blogs I maintain with them, but if you say this is a good service, I guess I will give it a try. Thanks for the great tip, I’ll definitely subscribe so I can get more in the future!
Nextil
May 20th, 2009 4:04 am
ya i haveeen blogs.mu and i think this article would help me starting with it
Mike Linton
May 20th, 2009 5:00 am
I tried Word Press MU and had trouble with the installation – hope this is easier
dofus kamas
May 23rd, 2009 3:17 pm
This will make things much easier now to start a network of blogs. Wordpress does lay it out nicely to get things done with a blog.
Backup
May 27th, 2009 11:31 pm
I don’t really see what the advantages of Blogs.mu are over WordPress.com. I thought WordPress.com is using the mu version as well, right?
Aaron
July 17th, 2009 1:24 pm
Now, blogs.mu is considerably more DIY than wordpress, it seems like. I will be keeping what Problogger has to say about blogging in mind, though.
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