Every posting on this site, for better or worse, is backed up elsewhere. Until today, I thought perhaps I was being a tad bit ... compulsive. This blog is in its infancy, so with some work, I could reconstruct any or all of the posts made to date.
A hassle? Yes. Could it be done? Yes. Would I be willing to waste time recreating or redoing work that was theoretically completed? Nope, life is too short.
Why are blog backups suddenly a hot issue? At the end of June, the US government seized or shut down seven online movie sites, based on charges of copyright infringement and movie piracy. Last week, a reported 73,000 additional blogs went offline when the government shut down a free WordPress blogging site known as Blogetery.
It's unclear why this most recent action occurred. The blogosphere is buzzing with dire warnings and speculations, but I'll leave that to others to decipher.
It's possible that every one of the blogs yanked offline was involved in suspect activities. Right now, that doesn't seem to be the case. Several apparently routine bloggers just woke up one day and found their blog was gone.
Here's the bottom line: If you have a blog and value the content, protect it. Back it up, now. Blogger and WordPress offer backup options, as do most blog hosts, and there are also independent services available. Check with your blog host to find out your choices and the potential cost.
If your blog is relatively simple, you might want to back it up on your own server or hard drive. Use whatever system or approach is easiest and most effective for you. For each post, I typically create a duplicate file with the content and image on an external drive, and in that way create a backup as I go.
Speaking of which, would you excuse me? I think I'll check to see if everything's properly backed up ... just in case.