Photo Blog on the Cheap

Question

My dad and step-mom are building a straw bale hay house this year and I've put up a Mephisto blog for them to document it. However, my dad is not really technically savvy and the "file upload and link inside of a blog post" process is a bit much for him. Therefore, I'm seeking some alternatives. I have a couple of ideas. One is to use flickr to upload photos and then do a gallery on his site using the api. However, I've had good luck with people on this site who have given me great ideas that never crossed my mind.

Here are my requirements for his site:

• has to run on a linux server
• preferably zero maintenance on my part
• preferably rails or merb based application so that I can hack on it easily if I absolutely have to
• easy for non-technical person to upload photos, create thumbnails, and create albums
• ability for people to add comments on the photos that can show on the site
• my dad uses a Windows machine, so iPhoto with mobile me is not a good option

BTW, I'm not even exactly sure what "on the cheap" means, but I heard someone say it a lot on a podcast, so I'll go with it.

Answer 1

I'd recommend setting up a free wordpress or blogspot account for the blog, and use flickr to upload the photos. Flickr's uploading tools are really good and very user-friendly. Once the photos are in Flickr, there's a button on each one which says "Blog this", which will (once set up) create a blog post with that photo and a caption.

That should be a lot easier than any custom coding solution. If it is a tad complicated initially for your parents, just make step-by-step instructions, print it out and stick it next to the computer.

Answer 2

Another alternative is Facebook. Easy to upload the photos, comment on them and share them out. Also easy for people to respond with comments and therefore give them some feed back and encouragement as the build progresses.

Much less effort than writing yourself, unless you really want to go that route, in which case I've been no help :-).