Kamat's Potpourri: Introducing SimplyBlog Software

Introducing SimplyBlog Software

by Vikas Kamat
Page First Online: February 19, 2003
Page Last Updated: February 17, 2024

Introduction and Background

Ever since I wrote the article Anatomy of a Blogging Engine, we've received many requests for downloading of the software. However, since I wrote the engine to suit my personal needs, and due to its tight integration with our CMS, it was not possible to license it to the public. Then in year 2002, a company thought that they could use blogs on their intranet for knowledge percolation and status management, and used our engine with slight modifications. Apparently it was very popular within the organization, and opened my eyes to a larger need for blogging software tools designed for use in corporate intranets, and SimplyBlog was born.

Distinguishing Characteristics

There are several weblog creating software and tools available today (a list is provided at the bottom), and here is how SimplyBlog is different from others.

Most importantly, the SimplyBlog server stores data on your server (not on your desktop, not on our server, but your server). I feel that this is an important requirement for security, privacy, and other competitive reasons.

Equally important is that SimplyBlog server runs on Microsoft powered technologies. There is no need to install Unix, or the myriad of software libraries necessary to run Open Sourced blogging software available today (Feb 2003).

Features

SimplyBlog is a server side product. If your administrator or ISP installs it for you, there is no software or license to buy. Ideal for ISPs or departments to offer blogs to their users without incurring per user costs.
Full source code (that is developed by us) is available following the best practices. No compiled code is installed during installation. -- This allows for tinkering, easier customization, and more importantly, for integration with existing infrastructure.
Robust content management is built in. Examples include shortcuts, replacements, and custom substitutions via VBScript.
Features include a web based clipboard, embedding of SQL, templates, and reports.
Did I mention you get full source code? I am a believer in free-software ("free as in free-speech, not as in free-beer"). Learn tips, tricks, and hacks from an experienced Windows/Web programmer by looking at the source code.
Integrated title search, full-text search, and phrase search.
Integrated commenting (only in the commercial version)
Find more answers in the SimplyBlog FAQ
Discover the power of keywords (called CrowWords) for content classification, organization, and navigation.

Screen Shots

Edit Blog Screen
Edit Clipboard
View Blog Entries
Manage Shortcuts and Replacements
Manage Categories
Customize Settings and Templates

Requirements

Microsoft Internet Information Server (running on any of the Windows platform) with support for Active Server Pages (ASP)
Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 or better

Download or Test Drive SimplyBlog

Download SimplyBlog.zip (FREE Registration required)
Installation and Configuration Guide
If you'd like to build a Blog Network, allowing your users to create their own blogs, check out Kamat Blog Network, which is powered by SimplyBlog.

Support

There is no support for the free and public version of SimplyBlog, however we answer most frequently asked questions and fix defects as they are reported.
If you have trouble installing, please see Installation Guide.
There is a guide to customizing SimplyBlogs.