What to do with your blog while on vacation?

Do you have a blog and are wondering what to do when you’re travelling?

Here are a few things I have tried in the past:

1. Do some advance posting before you leave. If your blog platform accepts post-dated entries (most of them do) you can work up postings before you leave home that will show up on your blog on a date and time you specify.

Obviously his doesn’t work with date-sensitive material. This can also be a problem if the story you posted has an unexpected anticlimax before the posting appears on your blog.

2. Blog from the road while you are on vacation. This is easy if you have an Internet card. I don’t so we must rely on other ways to connect along the way.

Last summer, we were able to connect from my brother’s house logging into his wireless network.

Other places to connect would be at restaurants or hotels that provide Internet service. Some are free - many are not.

Some hotels as well as participating McDonald’s restaurants require a Wayport membership to log on at a cost of $30 per month (annual membership is about $50).

Starbucks recently changed from T-Mobile to AT&T as their WiFi provider. The old T-Mobile charge to use Internet service at Starbucks was $6 per hour or $10 per day.

The new AT&T Internet service at Starbucks is $4 for a two-hour session. It’s free if you are an AT&T subscriber. That’s how Starbucks is able to advertise ‘free’ WiFi service.

Some rest stops on Interstate roadways provide Internet service but it is seldom free.

My favorite WiFi hotspots are located in Panera Bread restaurants. They have free WiFi for customers. Stop in for a sandwich or one of their yummy soups and check your e-mail or post to your blog. If it’s not mealtime, get a bagel and coffee while you log on to the Internet.

3. Resurrect a few prior postings from your archives. By revisiting a few of your older postings, you can give the reused stories a post-dated time to reappear on your blog while you are on vacation.

Depending on how old the revisited postings are, here may be link URL’s that may no longer be valid.

4. Put your blog on vacation while you’re on vacation. This is the easiest and possibly the best solution. However, the longer you are gone, the more readers you will lose.