Correr Es Mi Destino

You are browsing the archives of 2008 May.

A fun part of blogging is tweaking and customizing your blog. Not only you will be able to transform a default template/ theme into a unique piece of artwork, but you will also get a chance to catch readers’ eyes. And that’s priceless!

We’ve already covered what you needed to put on your blog, and for WordPress users, what were the best plugins. Now, let’s have a lot at what you can do to tweak and customize your blog.

Ever heard of the Tragically Hip? Chances are if you did, you hold a Canadian passport. If no, don’t worry — you’re just a foreigner. The band from Kingston Ontario has been around for around twenty years but it just doesn’t work outside Canada. Could that be because their songs mostly revolve around hockey, small Canadian towns and Canadian history?

How can you tell I’m still European? Because I get excited when I go to the USA!

We’ve already covered a few subjects in this series, and today, I wanted to highlight how important it is to have a few basic informations on your blog.

Indeed, I have actually never really moved in Canada. Well, at least not “move” in the real sense of the word. In 2002, I showed up with no more than a backpack — full of summer clothes since we were coming back from South America. I did go to France many times since then but I didn’t have much to bring back anyway. My clothes weren’t really Canadian-winter proofed, my books were too heavy and well, we didn’t have a CD players so no point in taking my music collection (although I did copy it on my laptop).

At first, just thinking that I was alone in this big continent would make my head spin. Freedom was almost intoxicating. I could be whatever I wanted, do whatever I wanted. It came with its counterparts though, fear and angst. It’s not like I had a safety net. Adapting to a new culture can be tough too.

What most people (including me when I first started) don’t realize, is no matter how great your blog is, chances are that if you don’t promote it, people won’t find it. There are apparently over 50-60 millions blogs worldwide and your blog could be lost in a dark corner of the internet forever if you don’t “hunt” for readers.

For most immigrants, Canada’s two seasons can be illustrated by the following words — “fucking hot” and “fucking cold”. And Canadians loudly complain too. Too much snow to shovel in the morning, freeway buried under blizzard and ice storms in winter, drought and floods in the summer.