MP3 Caravan is now a real site, it seems

Mary Tyler Moore beget Lou Grant. From X-Files came The Lone Gunmen. Because there was an Adam-12, we were treated to Emergency. And now it’s time for HowardOwens.com to launch its own spinoff.

MP3 Caravan is live.

Now, go give a listen, and then go tell your friends. Tell them all. Please.

No more MP3’s of the day on howardowens.com. Here’s the new RSS feed.

Introducing MP3 Caravan (a lesson in web publishing)

So Seth Gitner doesn’t like my “MP3 of the Day” feature.

I’m starting to think the idea has enough merit, and that I can continue to find MP3s for some period of time.

Also, people do like it. I’m having fun with it.
I’d kind of like to keep it going.

One lesson of the web: Whether it’s an e-mail discussion list, a forum thread, a blog, or any sort of web site, people generally like you to stay on topic. And while I tend to broadly define howardowens.com as a “media blog” of my media interests, it’s also clear I most often groove in one particular niche (online newspapers) and that is probably why post people come here (or consume the feed), and the whole MP3 thing is really kind of a specialized niche all its own.

Also, I flashed on Jim Romenesko, who is best known for his Romenesko blog, but also runs Romenesko’s Obscure Store and Starbucks Gossip. He’s not mixing topics, and he’s not a bad guy to pattern your blogging after.

So, I just registered MP3Caravan.com. I’ve installed WordPress. That’s as far as I’ve gotten.

It will be some work to move all my previous posts over. It will be some work to move all my draft posts over (I create the posts well in advance, usually in blocks when I have time, so I don’t risk running out). The blog needs a template (any volunteers?). It needs some plugins.

In other words, there’s a lot of work to do before it’s a proper MP3 blog.

I may finish it in a week, a month, or never. In the meantime, I’ll keep posting my picks on howardowens.com, because the vote in favor so far is about 3-1 with lots of abstentions.

I’m taking the motto for MP3 Caravan (at least initial thought here): “We’re on a quest to find the best Non-DRM MP3s on the web.” Quite a mouth full, but it sums up the idea nicely, I think.

That doesn’t mean I won’t go off topic here ever again. It is my blog. It’s supposed to be a place of personal expression.

UPDATE: I successfully imported the previous posts. And I have a working RSS feed.