Space Halo

SpaceHalo is now officially ranked in Google! Unfortunately the term ‘SpaceHalo’ is an unlikely search criteria and has a total of only 500+ results. Hence, I have changed the name slightly - it is now known as ‘Space Halo’.

This website is actually doing very well with regards to search engine ranking, especially since I only released it two weeks ago. It is already starting to appear for search terms such as ‘philosophy’ and ‘futurology’. I have only noticed a slight increase in traffic since, but considering I have done nothing to promote this blog… Well, I’m pretty suprised to be honest.

The only drawback is that it clashes with the name of an Olivia Lufkin song, which in turn is commonly associated with anime and Final Fantacy. Not ideal to say the least. Fortunately with this name I can hit three birds with one stone: those who search those terms are either Olivia Lufkin fans, Halo fans or space enthusiasts. It also lists over two million results.

Why did I choose the name ‘Space Halo’ for this website? A long story cut short; it’s basically because it was the only decent domain name avaliable with the word ’space’. Almost every .com domain of this kind is taken (70% of them link farms). It took me weeks of research and determination to find this name. Think of it as generic - very much like ‘Space Spot’, ‘Space Cube’ or ‘Space Apple’.

I suppose you may be curious to hear the Space Halo song… You will either love it or hate it. To make sure you decide the latter, here is that Final Fantacy stereotype:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMuVHzcn-6M

In all my experience of web development, I have never come accross a system as easy to use as WordPress. I’ve heard about it before, but never really thought much of it. A lot of people I know used it, along with thousands of others; but I always assumed it as ‘just another blog’. How wrong I was.

When compared with MovableType for ease of use, WordPress quite literally puts it to shame. I was ripping my hair out when trying to configure the previous system. For a start, it required a plugin in order to add plugins… What is the logic in that? Also, after reading an endless amount of articles on how to change the templates, I still could not get my head around how to do it. Putting the software aside, MT does not have the userbase that WP does: trying to find solutions for certain problems was near impossible.

I’m not sure how to explain this, but there is a certain positive vibe about this software. For some strange reason, configuring WordPress and adding plugins is quite exciting. I’m not sure why either. Maybe it’s because I don’t take easy for granted when it comes to the internet. Usually for something to work, a few hours of hard graft is required on my behalf. With this, everything just ‘works’, no fuss, it gets the job done without any need to worry.

This is the first time I have used WordPress; and as you can tell, it is certianly not my last.

I’ve added a whole host of useful plugins to the website, and started to integrate forum software for the community. After which all I would need to do is apply the design. If your at all interested, this is what I am aiming for the website to look like: click here.

I have switched from MovableType to WordPress. The previous system proved too complex for me to handle. I could have put up with it, and infact it was probably better for what I am wanting to do, but I just don’t have the time to be learning anything new.

Welcome to SpaceHalo - a website soon to discuss the topic of space, futurology and philosophy. This is a quick first post just while I get everything sorted out.

The design you see here is not final [as of post date]; I have yet to figure out how to configure the template system. In the near future I am hoping to develop this blog into an interactive community.

I may not have much time to continue with this project after the holidays, but I’ll try my best to keep you updated.

Your friendly neighbourhood admin,
Daniel Sefton.