Happy belated 3 year anniversary to the All Climbing blog
February 1, 2008
I started writing All Climbing in January of 2005. At the time there were few, if any, actual climbing blogs. I don’t think any of those in existence back then are still writing. So, while it has been a lot of hard work, I’m proud to say All Climbing is still alive, kicking, and one of longest running climbing blogs. Now, whether it’s the best is an entirely different question 
I love the fact that there are so many new blogs out there written by climbers. It’s an exciting time to be a climber using the Internet, now that there are more options than just RockClimbing.com and static websites of climbers (as was the case three years ago).
One of the aspects of writing for this blog is trying to provide content that my readers find interesting and relevant. I’d like to hear your thoughts as often as possible though. Please leave a comment letting me know what types of blog posts you’d like to see or any other thoughts / opinions you may have.
Popularity: 23% [?]
New comments system added
November 10, 2007
I added a new comment system for this blog today by Intense Debate. I’ve been following their innovative commenting system across a few different sites now and I’ve been really impressed with how it works.
Here are a few of the new benefits readers of All Climbing will now see:
- The Intense Debate comment system enables conversations within the commenting section. Replies to other comments are indented at different levels to make it easier to follow the various conversations.
- Commenters can have profiles and avatars that are stored on a central server at Intense Debate. This profile can then be used across other blogs.
- Each user also has a reputation attached to their identity that is displayed whenever they make a comment. This is similar to what you see on sites like Digg.
Comment on this post below and tell me what you think.
Popularity: 12% [?]
Climbing.com pro blogs follow up
September 9, 2007
Just a follow-up to my last post on Climbing.com’s pro blogs. Apparently, I’m not the only one complaining about this. After some comments and doing some more research, here are a couple additional opinions on the topic:
Are we being nit-picky on the subject of regular updates and RSS feeds? Maybe, but we’re bloggers so what do you expect?
Seriously, since the climbing.com blogs don’t offer up the ability to join the conversation, the other climbing blogs have to provide the ability to do so.
I think it’s an interesting and relevant topic and can only help all climbing blogs focus on good content as well as community participation.
Popularity: 28% [?]
Climbing Magazine’s pro blogs aren’t
September 7, 2007
There’s a collection of what are called pro blogs on Climbing Magazine’s web site. Despite the fact that they have some great climbing names writing (Dave Graham, the late Michael Reardon, Josune Bereziartu, Ethan Pringle, and Freddie Wilkinson), the problem is that they’re not really blogs as we know them today.
Blogs are more than just personal diaries. That simple definition fell by the wayside a while ago. There are certain features that identify a blog and have made them so popular.
Without diving into technical details, lets just focus on three features a “real” blog needs to have. The first is RSS feeds. Feeds allow the reader to subscribe to the site’s content without having to return to the actual web site to check for new posts. A feed is added to a feed reader and now the news comes to you. Unfortunately, traditional media outlets don’t understand the power and popularity of feeds yet and still think all their advertising revenue is dependent on you actually visiting the web site directly. Many people have written about why this is wrong, so I’ll spare you.
Next are blog comments. Where are they on Climbing’s Pro Blogs? Engage the rest of us in the conversation with these pros. This is the most compelling reason to have a blog. Enable readers to become a part of the conversation by sharing their related thoughts on the subject at hand.
Instead of a comment form at the end of a post, we’re treated with a garish ad to subscribe to the mag:
Finally, how about some trackbacks. A usually unnoticed feature, trackbacks essentially let blogs automatically communicate with each other providing links that track back to the post where a mention of the article was made. Again, this functionality fosters more traffic to the blog and helps establish a community.
Don’t get me wrong. The content from these climbers is great. Unfortunately, I’m not going to visit Climbing daily to see if there’s anything new from them.
It’s easy to add these features and make some real blogs. Come on Climbing, help us out here before you become irrelevant in this age of new media.
Technically, these are all easy features to add. What is Climbing afraid of? I welcome comments on this - what does everyone think?
Popularity: 14% [?]
Small change to Climbing Blog Focus series
August 14, 2007
I’m announcing a little bit of a change on All Climbing’s newest series - Climbing Blog Focus. In addition to my own climbing blog surfing, many bloggers have contacted me to include their blogs as well.
To be honest, I have now found so many I don’t think I can do them justice in the short posts I was planning on making.
Instead, I’m going to write up summary posts covering several of these blogs each time with a brief description.
I feel this will still achieve my dual goal of exposing my readers to new content as well as promoting these blogs for their owners.
As always, let me know what you think and continue to send in those suggestions.
Popularity: 10% [?]
Climbing Blog Focus: Climbing Narcissist
August 13, 2007
The Climbing Narcissist has been on a blogging tear since starting his blog in February. Delivering heavy does of climbing news and opinion, I love the liberal addition of excellent climbing videos.
For a sample of the quality posts, check out this one on bouldering impacts in Rocky Mountain National Park.
My only suggestion for long term success would be to consider moving off of Blogger to a better hosted blog like WordPress or TypePad. Blogger makes commenting way too difficult and in my opinion this is a fundamental factor in growing a sustaining community around a blog.
Regardless, I highly recommend subscribing to this blog.
Popularity: 10% [?]
Climbing Blog Focus - Bivouac Blog
June 27, 2007
Today’s climbing blog is the Bivouac Blog by Anne Skidmore. I found Anne’s blog while looking at some climbing art done by Emilie Lee. Check out Emilie’s work - it’s amazing.
Anne’s blog is pretty new so let’s hope she keeps posting on more New England climbing topics.
Popularity: 7% [?]
Climbing Blog Focus - Patagonia’s The Cleanest Line
June 21, 2007
I’m starting off the new series with a blog that’s not quite pure climbing, but one from a company all climbers are familiar with - Patagonia.
The Cleanest Line is described by the company as a
weblog for the employees, friends and customers of the outdoor clothing company Patagonia.
The Cleanest Line has a heavy focus on environmental activism and outdoor activities. There’s little overt promotion of the company’s products on the site which is why I’ve included it in this series.
Also, check out a recent post their Dirtbag Grant Winners.
Popularity: 7% [?]
Climbing Blog Focus
June 20, 2007
I’m starting a new regular series of posts here at All Climbing called Climbing Blog Focus. It’s something I wanted to start last year, but wasn’t able to really get it going as there were so few real climbing blogs (especially ones updated regularly).
Finally, it appears that there are more and more dedicated climbing blogs so I can finally begin this series. My goal is to focus on a different climbing blog to give them more exposure and provide additional quality reading for my subscribers.
There’s no time table for each post in the series, but I’ll be getting them out as often as I can. The more diverse climbing writing and content I can promote the better.
If you author a climbing blog and would like me to include it in the series, please contact me with details. For this series, I prefer the contact form to comments on this post.
Popularity: 11% [?]
New climbing blogs - The Climbing
June 22, 2006
I’m finally starting to see an increase in the number of climbing blogs being created. For a while, there was a surprising few climbing blogs while there were many web sites dedicated to climbing. This post is the first in a series that will highlight new climbing blogs. If you have a blog dedicated to climbing, let me know about it. Contact me with as much info as you care to leave including what topics you cover, your climbing background, and what climbing areas you frequent.
The first is a blog titled The Climbing. This brand new (June 2006) climbing focused blog already has some good product reviews (Petzl Zipka, Arc’teryx Vapor Harness) and promises to have a heavy focus on gear.
Popularity: 30% [?]
Welcome to All Climbing
January 22, 2005
I’ve been climbing for a relatively long time now (15 years this summer) and I’ve never stopped being excited and passionate about the sport. I’ve tried all types of climbing and have found enjoyment in aspects of all the disciplines of climbing. And I’m not alone in my love of climbing. Though a small niche when it comes to sports, the climbing community is unparalleled in its fostering of friendships and quest for knowledge and information. Despite the existence of a some outstanding magazines (Climbing and Rock & Ice) and the most exhaustive source of literature created on behalf of any existing sport, the web is where the future lies. In that vein, I’ve lamented at the severe lack of quality web sites from which to get new information, discussion, and insights into the sport. There are a few good ones out that have gained significant traction, RockClimbing.com being the leader. But there still seems to be a lack of sites that are maintained and updated on a regular basis.
With the recent proliferation of blogs and all their surrounding technologies, I hope to create a climbing blog to move this effort a bit forward in my own small way. In my web searching I’ve found very few true blogs for climbing only, so maybe I’ll be a bit of a pioneer for this niche. We’ll see how it goes and hopefully the site will gain a few readers along the way.
If anyone has any comments, concerns, or questions (especially thoughts on improving the site), please contact me.
Popularity: 24% [?]
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