365 Challenge

So, for the third year in a row I am going to attempt the 365 challenge. The basics of this is posting 1 photo a day, every day for a year. The logistics of it seem simple but I continuously seem to fall flat once the term gets going and I get enthralled in my class.

I have a couple of aims this year. One being to improve my photography skills and the second to really utilise my iPhone camera to find everyday occurrences to take photos of. Between these two aims I think this year I can do it. I'm finding that having a really good camera with me consistently is making this task much easier. I've been keeping up with the project365 app for over a month now, which is great!

As part of this challenge I've been playing around with lots of apps and websites that offer the versatility to help me complete this challenge.

The 365project app: a fantastic design that is simple and easy to use. If this app allowed for web commenting I would be sticking with it in a heartbeat. I love the web template that offers the photos in a calendar format with a lightbox window to view images larger. Here's my Project 365 site: heymilly.

Tumblr: this is another one that I would continue using but unfortunately it has one major drawback - it's inability to easily enable and leave comments. After research it seems I can use disqus to set up on my tumblr but after a bit of playing I still couldn't get it to work the way it was supposed to on my template. This is a pain as the tumblr iPhone app is easy to use, great layout and makes it simple. The same applies to the tumblr website. But alas - I would like feedback in this journey so at the moment that's a no go. Here's my tumblr site: heymilly.

Blogspot: has been my blog of choice for a while now. But unfortunately I can't seem to find a great iPhone app that is going to make this easy to happen. Any suggestions gladly accepted!

Posterous: this seems to be becoming the choice of app/website for a lot of 365ers but I'm a bit wary of signing up to more sites to post to. In saying that I'll be watching the growing posterous crowd to see how this goes.

And so... it takes me back to my original photosharing website...

Flickr: This seems to be the choice that I'm going with for now. I can upload via the web and my iPhone with ease. Images can be easily linked to the right tag or group using the free Flickit app. It also allows me to create and utilise the flickr community through my account that I already have. The commenting section is exceptionally easy to use and I can set certain photos to family or friends only privacy settings to maintain privacy for some of my friends or family. The layout isn't flashy and I can't set a cool template (which I'm a giant sucker for!) but it seems to tick a lot of boxes for what I want at the moment. Here's my flickr 365 folder: heymilly.

Blogger in Draft: Template Designer

Blogger in Draft is a space where you can try out the new features of blogger before they are added to Blogger. It's a space where blogger can test and trial features with audience feedback and to work out any bugs there might be.

One feature that has been quite lacking in Blogger is the template section. Whenever you create a new blog the first thing a lot of people ask is "can I change this background thing!" So off you go to btemplate etc and find new templates.

But Blogger in Draft has just released a new blogger template designer, where you have the ability to easily design your own blogger template to the specifications that you want. It's quite simple to use and the navigation is really clear and easy to follow.


You have the ability to change nearly all of the bits and pieces in your template right through to text colour and background images. I like the ability to choose how many columns and gadget bars you want - often you find a great template but it's not got the gadget space you need or it's got too many! One thing I couldn't find was where I could change my post text colour... will have to keep tinkering.

My favourite thing about the template designer though is the ability to change the width of the post boxes and the gadbet bar. You can slide along and choose whether you want a wider or narrower box to post all your work into.


It's also good to see a variety of background images that are available for people to use. Blogger in Draft says that there are 15 new templates as part of this - which there are. But also remember that there are 4 actual templates and then a few versions of each one that make up the 15 new templates. It would also be really nice to see a more photography based template available as part of this. As a keen photographer there is a lack of fantastic photography based templates available freely - if this was a part of the template designer I would be a very happy blogger!

So, head to Blogger in Draft and have a go yourself - I just used one of my trial blogs that I try stuff out on, to have a go and play around. See for yourself what you think and let me know.