Where To Blog?

[fumbling mom]

Hi. This website has been ENORMOUSLY useful during the last 30 days. We've found that our 12 year old son is a celiac. It's been quite a journey and friends are encouraging me to blog about it.

My question is about where and how to create a blog. It probably helps to define the purpose of the blog, so they are:

1. To help others who may go through the same process

2. To inform close friends and family about what this means

3. To share how we are coping with the diet and lifestyle changes.

That said, where is it best to blog? I'd just appreciate your opinions. I read through Celiac.com's help and find that a blog can be internal or external. Since I am a newbie to blogging, does that mean there would just be a link to the blog on celiac.com but that it could be found through search? Would facebook be a better place to consider? I also have a work website that could provide the URL. I'd just like to be sure that people who it would help will find it.

Many thanks for any suggestions.

[mamaw]

I've watched all day to see if anyone would answer your request. So far, no one. All though I can't tell you how to blog nor do I want to state yes or no to blogging. There are many hundreds of bloggers & no one monitors what is said, it can be true or false. I for one am very selective about what blogs I trust. In the celiac world misinformation is ready available often confusing & hindering healing for a celiac. New gluten-free people want someone to believe in & trust because most are lost when it comes to their new lifetime gluten-free lifestyle. Even in the medical profession many doctors do not understand celiac...

I for one have been gluten-free for years& still I learn something every day .... I spend countless hours seeking the newest most reliable info to be had by the most qualified doctors & specialists. This journey is a constant learning process daily & ongoing.

I think it is wonderful you want to help others but on the other hand I believe you are just learning bits & pieces yourself. Some people are very sensitive to any amount of gluten exposure & others not so sensitive. Many of the blogs give personal experience to things they do & do not do. Not always good for some.

I myself would never think of starting a support group or teach something I know not all the correct info myself. I was gluten-free for many years before I started a group on my own.

This is why groups like this are here--- to help & sort out info that may or may not be correct.

there are a vast amount of people here who have great info & when someone is not sure they ask for advice...Scott Adams is a wealth of knowledge as well as many others. There is so much info from just this site I think you could share with your family to educate them .. A diary or daily journal would be nice where as you can collect your thoughts on this journey & share with friends & family.

Just my thoughts...

Look at it this way , would you want to fly in an airplane with a pilot who had only a months experience?

Hold onto your volunteering thought because down the road you will be able to help many on their personal gluten-free journey....

blessings''mamaw

[Darn210]

I can understand wanting to document the struggles and triumphs of transitioning to a gluten free diet. If your family and friends follow your blog, then perhaps they'll be able to grasp how serious someone with celiac disease has to adhere to the diet. They'll also see how easy it is to mess it up if you aren't diligent about reading labels and following double dipping protocols, etc. You'll be able to educate them a little at a time but as a group . . . as opposed to a crash course in gluten-free cooking when you are trying to help them produce the family Thanksgiving meal safely enough so that your son can eat it.

Now, that being said . . . I really don't know too much about the logistics of blogging. I know that you are able to do one through this site. I know that you are able to do one through a host of other sites. As a moderator, I'll just give you advance notice that you are not to put a link to you blog (internal or external) in any of your posts or in your signature as it is a board violation. You may put a link on your profile page.

Good Luck.

[Jestgar]

FWIW, C.com has a blog site. That's the extent of my knowledge, however.

https://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/blogs/

[fumbling mom]

Thanks, you guys, for answering. I wouldn't want you to think that I'd be putting myself up as any type of celiac expert. I'd just like to share the pitfalls of starting the hard journey. I so admire and respect what this website is, as it's been my touchstone for many answers, even before I knew what we were dealing with. Any time I typed a question into my search engine, this website came up. Feels like my new home really.

So, I promise no medical advice, just what it feels like to be a newbie. So, thanks again for just being there. I have no idea where all this will go...it's just bottled up amazement that you can feel so "in control" of your like only to have something as elemental as everything you eat CHANGE!

[MissBecky]

Alot of people like blogging at blogspot or wordpress.

[fumbling mom]

Alot of people like blogging at blogspot or wordpress.

Thanks. Blogspot was way easy!

[irish daveyboy]

I found that Blogspot was the easiest to use and to edit into a look you like.

I have all my Recipe blogs hosted by Blogspot and 2 Hosted at Wordpress.

Wordpress is a bit more involved (HTML to achieve the effects you require)

I have one for Coeliac Disease. (My Website)

I have just started another on Coeliac Disease/Type 2 Diabetes (set to private until it has sufficient content.

Board rules on this forum prohibit self promotion, so mine can only be found via my profile.

Best Regards,

David

[Jestgar]

David's recipes are well worth visiting.