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Recently, I decided to migrate a portion of my Hexo blog to xLog and start writing on it because it's cool and the technology stack is new!

xLog is an open-source blog system based on blockchain. It is built using Next.js + Tailwind CSS + TypeScript + TanStack Query. All blog data is signed by users and stored on the blockchain in the form of NFTs.

Original Hexo link👉https://ysx.cosine.ren/
My xLog link👉https://cosine.xlog.app/

You can check out the setup process in this article👉https://song.xlog.app/5m-zh. If you're familiar with web3, you can directly connect your wallet, enter the dashboard, and it's over.

Background#

The idea came from reading this article: https://diygod.me/xlog. The author, diygod, introduced the advantages, disadvantages, and usage of xLog. As a web3 practitioner, I naturally have a high interest in blockchain-based blogs, so I decided to give it a try.
Another reason is that the technology stack of this blog is highly similar to the ones I love to use, which are Next.js + Tailwind CSS + TypeScript + TanStack Query. When I cloned the repository, I found that it also uses Prisma. Impressive!

ps: I really like this signature: "Writing code is love, writing until the world is full of love!"

Advantages#

Quoting from the blog post, I think xLog has indeed achieved the goals mentioned. Personally, I really like its design philosophy and implementation.

My personal blog has been running for nearly 9 years, growing with me and almost becoming a history of my personal development. Tweaking blogs has been a hobby of mine for a long time. However, as I became increasingly dissatisfied with Hexo, I decided to create a more modern and brand-new blog system.
I don't want to satisfy only my own needs. It needs to be open-source and open enough to meet the needs of more people.
I don't want my precious data to be held hostage by centralized platforms, nor do I want to bother maintaining a database or server. It needs to balance data ownership and convenience, so I chose blockchain.
Lastly, it needs to use a newer technology stack and provide a better development and maintenance experience.

The advantages can be summarized as follows:

• Open-source, open-source, open-source!
• Decentralized, secure, visually appealing, and user-friendly interface
• Modern, with a new technology stack. The author maintains it and makes daily commits.
• Customizable and easy to deploy, even without your own domain (of course, you can also bind a custom domain)
• Convenient import and export, high support for markdown. Even when importing previous Hexo articles, there's no need to change the date as it recognizes the formatter.
• When there is no summary, an AI-generated summary is provided when accessing the article (a lifesaver for lazy people who don't want to write summaries!)
• I love Tailwind (cheers)
• When I opened the settings page, I saw Google Analytics. Thoughtful!

Integrate Google Analytics into your site. You can find your Measurement ID by following the instructions here.

• Shadow authorization: You can authorize others to access your dashboard and make changes or publish articles, etc.
  
• Image upload to IPFS: Very web3, no need for an image hosting service. Just screenshot and upload directly (be careful not to leak privacy)
• Web3 version of "one-click triple connection": Like, bookmark, and tip -> If you like this article, turn it into an NFT collectible~
• The official website is cute, and I've known about the author's RSSHub for a long time
• Secondary editing: The official feedback and bug fixing speed are excellent!

Shortcomings & Suggestions#

Currently, xLog still has some shortcomings as it is continuously being improved. Therefore, it may not be used as the main blog platform for now. However, I heard that the current development team consists of only one person, so I look forward to seeing a more complete xLog in the future.

Secondary editing: There are some! See the comments section.

Here are some shortcomings I personally experienced or that were mentioned by the official documentation:

• The batch operation of articles is currently lacking
  • For example, when I made a mistake during import and wanted to delete multiple articles, I found that this operation couldn't be completed quickly.
  • Once it is supported, I will delete the blog posts that were corrupted during the previous import as soon as possible.
• All my actions can be seen in the Latest Activities section on the official website.
  • One good thing is that many people will see the articles.
  • One not-so-good thing is that, although you can't truly delete them, is it possible to have a feature to hide a specific article from the official activities?

  After all, it's quite shocking to see a bunch of my own articles suddenly appear on the official page while I'm in the process of migration.
  Or maybe add the option to choose the sorting rule? Currently, it seems to be sorted by transaction date rather than the date of the article.

• The article editor experience needs improvement, although most of the time I edit locally and paste the Markdown or import directly.
  • I hope the editor can also provide a preview of the table of contents.
  • Perhaps there will be many improvements once the plugin system is released.
• Currently, it does not support the categorization feature. Can only organize articles using tags?
• Currently, it does not support the search function. Maybe it needs to rely on third-party services?
• The formatting of articles still has some limitations. Looking forward to future themes and plugin systems.
  • For example, plugins for markdown parsers~
• Is it possible to delete one's own role? For example, if I initially chose the wrong handle, I would like to delete it instead of switching roles. (Secondary editing: Yes, and you can modify the handle!)

Conclusion#

Finally, almost all articles related to web3 that target the general public express dissatisfaction with speculators in this field and tirelessly explain that web3 is not just about crazy investors and "leeks". Web3 is an interesting and challenging field with a lot of potential and many problems. Don't overlook the profound changes that web3 brings to the internet and society, and don't underestimate the creativity and foresight of those who are truly involved in web3.

Here are some excerpts from the previous article on setting up a blog:

You may want to say that terms like blockchain, IPFS, and web3 sound distant from ordinary users and are often equated with the illusory scam "coin circle". However, in this field, speculators are just the noisy part. We should see more people who are truly striving for the "Web3 ideal" and what they are doing. As a completely open-source social ecosystem product that focuses on Web3 data controlled by users, Crossbell Blockchain and xLog are part of it.

Regarding gas fees, there are faucets where you can claim for free, but I'm interested in this statement:

Just as activities in the real world require money, activities (transactions) on the blockchain require fees. The fee for the Crossbell Blockchain is $CSB. You may ask, why don't Web2 websites require fees to operate? The answer is that your "data privacy" has already been traded as an alternative fee without you realizing it.

Here are some articles worth reading, which may provide channels for those interested in web3 to gain an understanding. Generated by chat, accuracy not guaranteed

• What is Web3? The Decentralized Internet of the Future Explained: This article explains the history and future vision of web3, as well as how it addresses some of the issues in web2, such as data privacy, centralization, and monopolies. It also provides practical examples and resources for web3, helping readers better understand and participate in web3.
• The Path to Web3: This article discusses the history and future vision of web3, as well as how it addresses some of the issues in web2, such as data privacy, centralization, and monopolies. It also introduces The Graph, a protocol for querying blockchain network data, which makes it easier for developers and users to build and use decentralized applications (DApps). It also looks ahead to The Graph's future plans, including supporting more blockchain networks, increasing community participation and governance, etc.
• Web3 DApp Best Programming Practices Guide: This article is a best practices guide for Web3 DApp development. The author is the well-known programmer Guo Yu, who shares the problems and solutions encountered in the CodeforDAO and Checks Finance projects. He introduces some basic concepts of Web3 DApp development, such as blockchain, smart contracts, wallets, DApps, decentralized protocols, etc. He also provides tools and resources for Web3 DApp development, such as programming languages, frameworks, libraries, testing, deployment, monitoring, etc. His goal is to help more engineers transition to Web3 and contribute to the long-term development of Web3.

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you find some useful information and inspiration. If you have any suggestions or criticisms about my article, please leave a comment in the comments section or contact me by email. I am happy to listen to feedback and ideas. Have a great day!