Joomla Blogging Options Part 2 - MyBlog

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Apr

2007

Joomla Blogging Options Part 2 - MyBlog

MyBlog Blogs are becoming a key part of most companies' SEO strategies.

Yesterday we talked about how we blog on Alledia.com using Joomla itself. Today we're going to take a look at another option, MyBlog from Azrul.com.

MyBlog is an ambitious attempt to create a fully-featured blogging component for Joomla. It launched in January 2007. It aims to replicate the features of Wordpress or Blogger.com inside of one component. If successful, this would be a significant achievement. We use more than half-a-dozen different extensions to build a blog on Alledia.com, and still we lack some key blog functionalities.

Advantages

Wide range of blog features not available with default Joomla blogging, including RSS, tags, pings, archives and trackbacks.
Development is very active with new updates released regularly.
Community Builder integration
Easily allows users to create their own blogs with their own image folders.
Unlike the Wordpress component for Joomla, this does allow you to add content within the regular Joomla Section/Category heirarchy.

Disadvantages

Currently not compatible with any SEF URL solutions
You'll probably want to buy JomComment as well for full blog functionality. The whole package without links back to Azrul.com will be $75.
Still a relatively new component and not quite stable. Some bugs with trackbacks, tags and other features remain although I expect these to be solved very soon.
Because the admin panel takes you outside of Joomla, to a template-less page or a pop-up, users on some of our sites have been a little confused.
Its not open-source as so obviously can't compete with the vitality and plug-in range offered by a solution such as Wordpress.

Overall

I like MyBlog a lot. Together with JomComment is makes a feature-rich, low-spam blogging solution for Joomla.

On sites with multiple users, a lot of the non-technical users were flummoxed by the admin panel that looked very different from the rest of the site, but for a one person blog, or a site where several administrators blog, that shouldn't be a problem is. Also, it is still a work-in-progress. Bugs are squashed quickly but they still exist.

Finally, the question is .... am you willing to pay $75 for a strong, Joomla-integrated blogging platform? If the answer is "yes", MyBlog is a good choice.

Well, personally this is an incredible component, if solely because it's the only one of it's kind so far...It's baffling to me that there isn't more options for user commercial blogs for Joomla, but Azrul has made some great attempts with this one...

Why I like MyBlog

1. It supports all the mambots! Great effort on their part, as some simply dinky old components don't even support mambots, and I rely on them for some important things

2. Pretty sleek interface, definitely sets itself apart from the typical Joomla installation and looks at least a little web 2.0-ish

3. Easy to customize the CSS if you know something of PHP, CSS and HTML

What I do not like

1. Doesn't come with more than one template, granted, I would have redesigned the template anyway but it's nice to have some examples to jump off from

2. Doesn't support SEF!!!! This is a BIG NO-NO Bad in my book, because what's the point of having your own blog if you can't even have your own semi-friendly user-centered domain name for it?

BTW: IF anyone knows how to edit the SEF, HTACCESS OPENSEF (all I use) in order to give users a more personalized domain name for MyBlog, please contact me!!!

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