Still not sure about this 'MySpace for Grown-Ups'...
I'm not sure how useful this Vox space is going to be. I was finally able to upload my old blog's posts. (Couldn't remember my old Blogger ID). I'm not sure how usable Vox is though. I don't want to have to 'live' entirely within one tool. I use a lot of the same tools as this guy. My new favorite is Tumblr (here's mine: pabstbluerobot). But I 'live' on my MacBook using real apps: NetNewsWire (RSS), Pukka (del.iciou.us), iTunes (sent to Last.FM, MusicMobs, and iLike), and iPhoto (Flickr). I've also tried a few catalog solutions, too, like Delicious Library and the 'Pedia apps by Bruji. If I already spend 10% of my time managing these things, why would I bother re-doing this in Vox?
I guess this blog will be more of an experiment with how to better represent a subdued, organized version of my digital life, while pabstbluerobot will be the stream-of-consciousness version. I have a feeling PBR will be more fun, as it's pretty easy to add things to it; although it is a pain to move a site from NetNewsWire's browser into Safari before running the Tumblr bookmarklet. Tumblr just posted an API, so maybe this'll change soon.
I think maybe Vox would be good for me if I actually had friends to have a 'social network' with. But that's the suck with these things - you can only be friends with me if you're on the same network as me. So if Suzy does Friendster, Bobby does LinkedIn, and I want to be friends with both of em, I have to join and maintain additional profiles. Really suck...
There has been some work on the outside about an abstraction layer over these social networks, allowing people to interact between networks. I'll have to keep up with this.
My Groups
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Photography Updated: 45 minutes ago
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The Chill-Out Room Updated: 3 hours ago
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MP3 Share Updated: 3 hours ago
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Comments
I just started my own Tumblr (www.littlefeatures.com). But Tumblr lets you import feeds, and Vox lets you export TAG FEEDS. So, now if I want to blog to my Tumblr blog and to Vox, I just give that post a specific tag, and Tumblr grabs it. For example, you could tag the Vox posts you want to crosspost to Tumblr as "pabst". Done. I do something similar with Facebook. And soon Virb is going to let you import your blog.
I guess what I'm saying is this: I've looked around. There's not a better blogging platform than Vox. And the flexibility of other blogging tools means you can use Vox as your hub, even as you explore other services. That's what I've been doing, and I've been pretty happy with how it's gone. Try it for a while, and feel free to ask me any questions you've got.
I also checked out virb (thanks for the suggestion). It's really clean! With the base layout plus a few colorschemes from kuler, it's easy to make a nice-looking site. It also resembles what I've been thinking of as an 'aggregated me' - all my photos, music (not crazy about yet another iTunes plugin, but as long as it doesn't crash the computer, it's not so important), and whatnot in a nice interface. I will definitely be using it more once the blog import feature happens.
I can't see myself using virb as a social network, considering how good the Vox groups feature is. I'm already subscribed to 15+ groups, yet I don't feel bogged down, and it's real easy to read the posts I like, keep track of comments I've made, and eventually start posting to them.
So after a few days, I'm not a total convert, but I'm liking Vox more and more.