Blogging help needed!

Margaret Butterworth

Active Member

Time of past OR future Camino

2013 (Pamplona to Burgos)
2014 (Burgos to Villafranca del Bierzo)
2015 (Villafranca to Santiago)
2016 (Le Puy to Conques; SJPP To Pamplona)

• Apr 4, 2023

• #1

For several years I have been using BlogTouch with my iPhone to post my blog. Suddenly it refuses to load photos. In 3 weeks I will be walking the Camino Frances from Burgos and I really want to blog every day. Any suggestions?

 

Bill's_Walking

Active Member

Donating Member

Time of past OR future Camino

Inglese 2021
CF started 22022

• Apr 4, 2023

• #2

The 1st 2 things I do when an app misbehaves is turn the phone off and on, And if that does not work I delete and reinstall the app.

 

wayfarer

Veteran Member

Donating Member

Time of past OR future Camino

2012, 2013, 2014.

• Apr 4, 2023

• #3

Margaret Butterworth said:

For several years I have been using BlogTouch with my iPhone to post my blog. Suddenly it refuses to load photos. In 3 weeks I will be walking the Camino Frances from Burgos and I really want to blog every day. Any suggestions?

Click to expand...

Try Find Penguins.

 

Kathar1na

Member

Donating Member

Time of past OR future Camino

To Santiago + back
2400 km + 950 nmi
160 days

• Apr 4, 2023

• #4

@Margaret Butterworth, in addition to @Bill's_Walking ‘s suggestion: Check how up to date your iPhone’s operating system is (see Settings -> Software Updates) as well as your app’s. It may or may not make a difference as to whether an app works well or not.

 

GillRichardson

New Member

Time of past OR future Camino

a week on Camino Frances June 2016
planning 2024

• Apr 4, 2023

• #5

I can't help with blogging advice, but had to jump in and say how happy I am to hear you'll be blogging again. I'm a longtime follower of your blog and always enjoy your posts

 

C

Cees

New Member

Time of past OR future Camino

Walking the Camino from Haarlem, NL starting August 2016

• Apr 4, 2023

• #6

Polarsteps. Brilliant after your Camino get a great travel book.

 

V

Vancouver Rose

Tu Puedes ... and I did!

Time of past OR future Camino

Camino Frances (Fall of 2022)

• Apr 4, 2023

• #7

I, too, loved Polar Steps. As one who had never blogged before it was a great way for me to capture my Camino and share it with family at home, and Camino family en route.

 

C clearly

Moderator

Staff member

Donating Member

Time of past OR future Camino

Most years since 2012

• Apr 4, 2023

• #8

Cees said:

after your Camino get a great travel book.

Click to expand...

Many blogging apps - including Find Penguins - provide this feature.

 

jbreuner

Member

Time of past OR future Camino

Camino Frances, April 28, 2022 to ???

• Apr 5, 2023

• #9

I used Find Penguins on my Camino last year, after reading several recommendations on this forum. I was very happy with the whole experience. I blogged every evening (when I had a wi-fi connection). There were about 25 "followers" back home who vicariously shared my daily adventures with me, and they, too, were delighted to wake up and read my blogs each morning. The basic plan is free, and it allows the user to upload unlimited text and up to 10 photos per day. I splurged for the next level plan ($4-something per month), which allowed me the same unlimited text and up to 20 photos per day. When I got back home, I ordered a travel book of my experience, all put together on the Find Penguins app with just a few clicks. My blogs formed the daily text of the book, and the photos I had submitted were all there, in chronological order. I absolutely love it - best souvenir of my Camino, and I can relive it anytime I want. It was $125, but it's worth every cent! I know there are similar apps out there, but Find Penguins worked beautifully for me and I highly recommend it. Buen Camino!!

 

tomnorth

Veteran Member

Donating Member

Time of past OR future Camino

Camino Frances: September 24 - October 31 (2015)

• Apr 5, 2023

• #10

I like the Wordpress mobile apps. That’s what I use for blogging now. tomnorthenscold.wordpress.com

 

Margaret Butterworth

Active Member

Time of past OR future Camino

2013 (Pamplona to Burgos)
2014 (Burgos to Villafranca del Bierzo)
2015 (Villafranca to Santiago)
2016 (Le Puy to Conques; SJPP To Pamplona)

• Apr 5, 2023

• #11

Update on my issue: BlogTouch is working, but loading photos very, very slowly. I’d like to keep using it if I can. Thanks, though, for alternative suggestions which I may try if I am desperate.

 

Grateful Gert

New Member

Donating Member

Time of past OR future Camino

Sarria to Santiago 2019
Frances (sept 2022)

• Apr 5, 2023

• #12

I used find penguins. Very user friendly.

 

Kathar1na

Member

Donating Member

Time of past OR future Camino

To Santiago + back
2400 km + 950 nmi
160 days

• Apr 5, 2023

• #13

Margaret Butterworth said:

Update on my issue: BlogTouch is working, but loading photos very, very slowly. I’d like to keep using it if I can. Thanks, though, for alternative suggestions which I may try if I am desperate.

Click to expand...

I don’t use BlogTouch or any other blogging app. Googling for possible answers for your issue (slow loading of photos), I see that this could also have to do with either the file size of the photos or the overall size of your photo library on your iPhone and there are ways to reduce it. But I will leave it at that as I cannot verify anything I’d write.

Just to illustrate the general idea: we often see that people upload photos to this forum with a file size of several megabyte. In reality, for a good quality photo to be viewed on a webpage, a much smaller file size is sufficient, such as 400 kilobyte for example; this speeds up both upload (posting) and download (viewing). In a similar way, the size of the photo library on the iPhone can be reduced without loss of viewing quality because the originals can be kept in iCloud. So perhaps your photo library has grown too large on the iPhone and that is the underlying issue. But it is merely a suspicion that I have and I don’t know how all this is handled by BlogTouch. Apologies if it is too much technical information.

 

Texas Walker

Active Member

Time of past OR future Camino

Norte (2017-18)
Portugues (2015)
Frances (2014)

• Apr 5, 2023

• #14

Kathar1na said:

I don’t use BlogTouch or any other blogging app. Googling for possible answers for your issue (slow loading of photos), I see that this could also have to do with either the file size of the photos or the overall size of your photo library on your iPhone and there are ways to reduce it. But I will leave it at that as I cannot verify anything I’d write.

Just to illustrate the general idea: we often see that people upload photos to this forum with a file size of several megabyte. In reality, for a good quality photo to be viewed on a webpage, a much smaller file size is sufficient, such as 400 kilobyte for example; this speeds up both upload (posting) and download (viewing). In a similar way, the size of the photo library on the iPhone can be reduced without loss of viewing quality because the originals can be kept in iCloud. So perhaps your photo library has grown too large on the iPhone and that is the underlying issue. But it is merely a suspicion that I have and I don’t know how all this is handled by BlogTouch. Apologies if it is too much technical information.

Click to expand...

Following on with these thoughts, have you considered using your phone's photo editing features, if they exist, to crop out a lot of unnecessary pebbles/grass/leaves at the sides of the photo? That background detail uses a lot of little bits n bytes. And modern phones make such huge photo files to begin with. Another thought, are you uploading through wifi? On a reasonably fast internet connection?
(I have a Blogspot blog, and I have had to install the actual app to my phone to make blogging from the phone work. But from inside the app I have no idea how to access other things like stats. So I win some and lose some, but not having to carry the 1 pound plus tablet along for the walk is very persuasive to me. And I can crop photos and even add short text notes with the photo stuff before commencing to upload.)

BC

 

C

Cees

New Member

Time of past OR future Camino

Walking the Camino from Haarlem, NL starting August 2016

• Apr 5, 2023

• #15

When I started using Polarsteps in 2016 it was free of charge and it still is, as well as the free app.
(nothing about spending money on upgrades or more options)
In the meantime options and possibilities have increased quite a bit.
I am very happy with how Polarsteps works, I find Polarsteps very user friendly as well as
the big thing for me is the option to buy the travelbook with my blog. All the photos
I put in, (or throw out) in a sequence and format I want to have. Complete with the written text,
which I have edited myself for a final result, if need be you can edit the stages you traveled.
Walked / cycled or what ever. Delivered in a top quality hard cover on thick paper.