Its funny really, when I started www.cumberlandspaceman.co.uk back in March I had no idea what I was doing at all.
Buying domains and places to host your site is a completely unknown quantity, some are better than others. And then again, which domain to pick? Well I had some background in the Cumberland/Solway Spaceman having researched it on and off for the last 10 years. Also, it felt right because I am from Cumbria and my head is in the clouds more often than not (space man!), in regard of this www.cumberlandspaceman.co.uk felt right.
I went for WordPress because I heard it was a straightforward website builder with lots of scope for alteration and addition. Again, installing the damn thing was more difficult than getting it up and running – the instructions aren’t great and it takes alot of tinkering, but once I had a homepage popping up I knew I was halfway there.
What content? Well this is by far the hardest bit. I didn’t want a strictly ufo/conspiracy site and I didn’t want just a techno /review website or even just a sci-fi site. In the end, WordPress made it easy because blogging allows you incorporate a multitude of ideas.
The site really reflects my personality, scattered, unpredictable and more importantly disorganised. I like Sci-Fi, I like gizmo’s, Documentaries, I even like trash TV like Jersey Shore!!
The content is skipping along nicely, its a one man operation so new material is always going to be slow in coming, hoping that it is worth the wait anyway. The site now boasts a number of sub-sections which some readers will find interesting including : Doctor Who, Star Trek, Red Dwarf and Retro Gaming.
Regarding these, I’m not trying to re-write Wikipedia, infact I don’t use Wiki at all. The unique thing about these Classic sections is that they are completely written from memory and my own opinion. I find Wiki at the best of times to be completely annoying, a mis-mash of opinion and supposed expert analysis. I rarely use Wiki these days for info but on occasion where I’ve seen something wrong, I’ve put it right – like some of their Doctor Who pages.
Recently, I bought a number of new domains, including :
www.classicscifi.co.uk
www.solwayspaceman.co.uk
www.classicdoctorwho.co.uk
www.classicstartrek.co.uk
www.ufospaceman.com
.com’s are more expensive but seemingly more prized and more searchable than their .co.uk counterparts.
At the minute, they are pointing to various parts of my site under a 301 permanent direct. I know the jury is split on multiple domains in term of SEO but I just thought it would be cool to own some domains with ‘classic sci fi shows’ in them. Promoting one domain is alot of work, 5 will be impossible, but at least I can hang onto them and see what happens.
So in wrapping up, I hope you enjoy this site, please bear in mind it is a one man operation and whilst new material is slow in coming, I believe the blogging community is the true spirit of the Internet and they all need supported, via visits and comments.
Bah-na-weep-gra-nah-weep-ninny-bon!
The Spaceman
