There are a couple of blogging tricks I've learned in the past few months that might be helpful to you. And if you know something you think we don't know, post it in comments, okay? Would it kill you to comment, huh? Would it? Punk?
1. When I blog on a specific subject, I often go to Google Blog Search and see who else is blogging on the same topic. Then I LEAVE A COMMENT (do you see a trend here?) letting the other blogger know I'm thinking about the same thing. You meet a lot of nice people that way.
If you forget how to find Google Blog Search, just go to the Google website and click "more..." above the search bar. It's on the big list that follows.
2. For formatting blog posts, if I wanna do something special, I usually google "HTML cheat". There are a lot of very well-written html cheat sheets on the web. Googling cheat in addition to html will get you there faster.
3. If the cheat sheet does not have what I'm looking for, I just look around other blogs, then steal their code. They never know. Code stealing is actually an accepted practice on the web and you will not be arrested, I promise.
Find the blog or webpage that is doing what you want to do. From Firefox (and probably other browsers too) click on the view menu and go down to "page source". This will bring up a new window showing you the html for that page. You may have to scroll around to find what you want, but don't worry, you are not able to edit their html unless you are a nasty hacker and I don't know how to do that. All you do is highlight the html you want, right click, select "copy", go to your own edit page, right click and select paste. Again, you will make mistakes. Keep previewing your page until you like it.
4. If you want to Google bomb somebody today, let it be Congressman Bill Napoli.
If you have some better blogging ideas, leave them in comments. Thanks.
Okay, I commented. Now what?
ReplyDeleteBlogging tip #1: Don't use blogger. It doesn't support trackbacks. If you're serious about your blog, buy yourself a real domain name and put some real blog software on it.
ReplyDelete#2: Provide a link on each post that will facilitate adding it to the reader's del.icio.us bookmarks.
#3: Post, post, post. Then post some more.
#4: Lather, rinse, repeat.
I wish I was smart enough to know HOW to leave a link with my posts, but I'm so computer illiterate I can't figure it out.
ReplyDeleteThanks Blue, for the advice. Very helpful, since it never occure to me to get idea from that source.
Very cool. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteWell for blogging techno-dweebs like me and ME...this is most helpful too..and I can add it to me *tools of the trade* files I keep on stuff.
ReplyDeleteThanks again, Blue Gal!
Oh and one of my FAV template fun things to DO is play with the colors:
ReplyDeleteso try this URL for the VisiBone Hexadecimal color chart arranged by hue.
Any where in your Blogger Template that you see a color code written -like this with the code coming after the # sign:
body {
background:#006699;
margin:0;
padding:20px 10px;
text-align:center;
font:x-small/1.5em "Trebuchet MS",Verdana,Arial,Sans-serif;
color:#333;
font-size/* */:/**/small;
font-size: /**/small;
can be changed with substituting any color using the codes on the VisiBone chart! Then hit the preview button to view. Then if you like it -- hit Save and Republish to keep those changes.
Too FUN and TOO Kool!
Enjoy!
Dear Anna - here is how to creat a link:
ReplyDeleteEasy to use HTML TAGS:
These things inside brackets *< and >* - are called *tags* and must be in pairs. The first TAG turns the feature *ON* the last tage turns if *OFF* (And OFF is represented by a * / * in front of the symbol inside the brackets for the ON tag.
Tags are placed in a *NESTING* order as you type them - such that IF you BOLD, then ITALICS the closing tags will be put in the reverse order: ITALICS, then BOLD to turn them OFF.
As you can read on the top of the "Leave your Comment" space are three TAGS listed - but only in the ON form. (You type the ON Tag first and then complete with the OFF tag at the end of the commentby adding / to the tag.)
NOW, Blogger will not let me type the actual TAGS and leave them visible for you to see. But they are just like you see on the top of the "Leave a Comment" section above.
b = BOLD
i = ITALICS
a = For making a URL link - the full ON part of a URL link starts as --
a bracket facing like this: <
Then type this: a href="
Then you put the complete URL Link - i.e. -
http://nationaljournal.com/about/njweekly/stories/2006/0223n
Then add a *quote* (") and bracket ( > ) (facing the the direction shown.)
After this * > * bracket symbol you must write a name for what the link goes to (and this will become the highlighted and underlined LINK) - Give it a name - Like "National Journal Article"
Then finish the TAG with the OFF symbol for this *a* tag: Type a bracket facing this way < then / and then the letter *a* and followed by a bracket facing this way > .
IT will come out like this:
National Journal Article.
Two tricks - (1) commas which are slanted sometimes dont work properly. (2) and , if you type this tag backwards as in * a * then * / *-- this will underline everything which comes after!! (A typical typo of mine. *smile*)
Hope this Helps.
qwerty, I'm gonna stick with blogger for a while...I have the best readers in the blogosphere, bar none.
ReplyDeleteKewl idea. I'll try it sometime.
ReplyDeleteWhy have the posts been so sporadic, lately?
Btw, Fran, I have two new posts up, for those of you tuning in late. First, MoDo's shorts sabbatical is over and not a moment too soon since she's back giving the Bush madministration hell from the NY Times. I have her newest up at my place, for those of you who also loathe the NY Times' Select bullshit.
Seondly, I have some original material of my own up about the unrest in Iraq and how it all seems to devolve on Bush’s idiosyncratic definition of “civil war.” It may appear to mirror the Dowd screed but the truth is I didn’t even read her article before I’d posted it until after I’d posted my take.
Anyway, enjoy and stayed tuned tomorrow as I’ll have a kick-ass post out by early tomorrow night that draws a parallel between the Cheney, er, Bush administration and McHale’s Navy, with photoshopped pics by none other than the incredible Dood Abides of My Left Wing/DKos fame! Ciao!
Thanks for the tip, Blue Gal. I'm gonna go try it right now.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I have to second the motion re getting away from blogger. I'm lovin' WordPress. When I switched, I took a brief hit in traffic -- less than a week, and I was back in full swing. Let me know if I can help.
Was this prompted by anything, Blue Gal?
ReplyDeleteDo I need to start breaking kneecaps?
I added my blog to the google bombing of Napoli. I hope it works, he deserves it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips, too, Blue Gal. I made the switch to WordPress too after Blogger went wonky for several days instead of just a few hours. I need my blogging fix!
It's a little different because you can't edit your template without your own webhost, but even the free one has some neat stuff that Blogger doesn't.