A true story. A tragic one. Why You Should Get Your Own Domain.
My name is Mun.
This post is not exactly my first post. I started a blog with Blogger (also known as Blogspot) in August 2005. Everything has been running great there for about 2 years until last week.
On 24 July 2007, my fitness site suddenly disappeared. A new owner has claimed the domain name. Thought that fellow has hijacked my account. Later, was told that Blogger may have classified my blog as spam blog accidentally. Once a blog fell into that category, it will be deleted.
So, Blogger has deleted my blog. It has also released the domain name to others. Gone were my 520 posts and 1680 comments. 2 years worth of effort went down to the drain within a day. The feeling is like hitting my head with a 50-pound dumbbell and the pain goes straight into the flesh and deep into my heart.
I wish that person could see the blood in my tears.
Thinking since Google owns Blogger, I would be able to escalate this issue to the support team. Not really. Blogger has only some standard Web support forms. I gave it a try anyway.
Later, found Google Blogger support group. So, I posted a message there, hoping for a solution. What surprised me the most was that I was not the only victim. Others were screaming for help too and none of Blogger employees dropped by at the message board to give any explanation.
On the second day, I posted another message at that message board. Still, no response. No news. E-mails from my loyal blog readers started to flow in.
On the third day, many were directed to adult sites when they tried to reach my previous blog address. My heart sank to the hell. Received more e-mails showing much concern.
At this juncture, I lost hope on Blogger which I had a strong faith on. Decided leave my comfort zone. Asked around about Web hosting service and Word Press.
After doing research for a day, proceed to sign up 1-year prepaid Web hosting package with Media Temple (which is well-known to survive in Digg traffic) and bought a domain name. Spent about 16 hours consecutively over the weekend learning many things from scratch.
On the fifth day, Google Blogger support teams finally responded. Not a word of sorry from them, but a thank you e-mail for telling them about their mistake. They restored my blog. I got all my published and draft posts. But, I still lost the Web address since someone else already took it days ago.
I did not want to pursue the matter further. Damage has been done. It is more important to move forward. What else you can expect from Blogger, a free service provider? They can be nice to you today, but they can take whatever they give to you the next day.
May be I should be glad that this incident happened earlier. If it would have happened after five years (instead of two years) ever since I started, I probably would have given up for good.
It has been a crazy week for me. The learning curve of using Word Press is steep. Fortunately, few friends have been supportive. Thanks, Weng Yee, Iry and Lilian as well as to those who sent e-mails to me. Not forgetting the loyal readers too. You all are great.
My passion for fitness stays. Life goes on. I will pick up all the shattered pieces and put them into one. Piece by piece.
Do come back here. Mun will continue to write. Help me spread the news. Tell them about my painful experience and let’s learn a lesson from this incident.
It is another beginning. A new one. A better one.
Be Strong. Be Fit.
Last updated: Just like the remake of King Kong or Star Wars, you will see the remake of Mun Fitness Blog. I have hand-picked some of the best posts and update them accordingly to kick-start this new home. However, I shall continue to come out with new posts to keep the site afresh with new contents.
Someone just pointed to me that Google has actually deleted its own blog in year 2006. Source.