To follow up with my previous post about why I still blog in the age of social networks, this post is why I still self-host and hand-code (my blog) in the age of SAAS (fully hosted and managed software services).

I’ve toyed with the idea of ditching my complicated server and software setup and moving to a “jump right in and start blogging” service like Tumblr. In fact, the idea of switching is so compelling at times, I’ve created numerous accounts at times when I really feel the urge. Those accounts always end up sitting static as I either run out of time to play around with it, or find a valid reason to keep using the approach I am using.

If I were to ever switch, I would need ability to:

1. Import all blog posts and feedback.
2. Have the same URL’s for blog posts and RSS feeds.

(#1) would be especially tricky with feedback, as there would need to be some way to relate feedback posts to blog posts.

(#2) would require a CNAME (most services offer this) and a custom URI structure of my choosing (YYYY/MM/DD/post-slug). RSS feeds would be tricky too because I don’t want existing subscribers (all four of you) to have to subscribe to another URL.

I would need some control on a hosting level to handle htaccess stuff and truly configure the crap out of things (if I felt inclined).

I’m doubting any service could offer all this in an easy-to-setup fashion. Most blogging services treat potential customers as new bloggers, which I think is a mistake because a lot of older bloggers (like myself) may want to be relieved of hosting and coding to use a service that lets them easily migrate from that scenario, but still give them some power if they want it.

So this is where I stand: intrigued by SAAS, but not wanting to give up the control I have over every aspect of my site.