Blogging Made Easier; Using Email & Desktop Blog Editors

I’ve been told that one reason more GNIDers aren’t using our class blog is because it is too difficult to keep up with and to create blog posts.  Believe me, it really isn’t that difficult and just takes a bit of practice.  But here are a few tips that might help.
Keeping up with the blog:
1.  The easiest way to keep up with changes and new posts on the blog is to bookmark it in your web browser (or assign it to your favorites if you use Internet Explorer) so you don’t have to remember its URL.  You could also make the blog your browser’s home page by going to the blog and then to your browser settings/preferences and selecting a setting that, depending on the browser you are using, will be be something like “Use Current”.  That setting will open the blog by default whenever you use your browser.
2.  If you already have a favorite browser home page that you don’t want to replace, you can – in all current browsers – set multiple home pages so that each of your selected home pages will open by default in separate tabs.  To do that, open your browser and then open a new tab.  In the new tab’s address bar, enter the blog’s URL (http://wsgnid63.blogspot.com/) and press enter to open the blog.  Then, with both tabs loaded, go to your settings/preferences for the browser and click on the home page setting that says something like “Use Current Tabs [or Windows]”.  (In some browsers you may have to manually enter  or copy & paste the URL of the second tab, separated from the first tab by a comma.)  Once done, whenever you open your browser your existing home page plus the blog will open by default and you can switch between the two by clicking on its tab. 
3.  I can create a blog setting that will automatically email up to 10 different addresses whenever there is a change to the blog.  I will be happy to create a setting for your email address.  First ten requests will be honored (email me at hanklacy@gmail.com).
Easiest Ways to Post to the Blog; Using Email or Copy/Paste
1.  All members of the blog can post to it simply by sending an email to the following email address:  gnid63.woodstockschool@blogger.com.  When you use this method of posting, note that the subject line of your email becomes the title of your entry and the message becomes your text.  If you want to include images in your post, attach them to your email and they will appear below your text.  Keep your image sizes relatively small, but in theory the email should post without problems if its size is limited to 10 MB.
When you use an email to post to the blog, be sure to type your name at the bottom of your message.  If you don’t, it will appear that the post was made by gnid63.
Sue, as our class secretary and holder of the most current class email list, perhaps you should include gnid63.woodstockschool@blogger.com on your email distribution list!
One drawback of this method of posting is that you cannot attach categories or labels to the post.  However, as the blog administrator I will track these postings and add labels, as appropriate.
2.  If you know how to copy and paste in Windows or Mac, you can draft your blog in your word processor, select the text you want to copy, paste it into the Blogspot editor (see the welcome page) and click the publish button.
Posting to the Blog – Windows Users
1.  For the basics, read our first blog entry titled “Welcome” at http://wsgnid63.blogspot.com/search/label/Welcome.
2.  There are a number of desktop applications that make writing and posting to a blog much easier than using Blogspot’s built-in editor, which some of you may find a bit intimidating with it’s HTML references, etc.  Some of these are free and available for download, some you might already be using as a word processor, and some will cost you (usually $30 or less, and given the options not worth the cost).
3.  If you use Windows and have Word 2010 installed, you can write your blogs within Word and then publish it to the blog with a few simple clicks.  (This feature might also be available in Word 2007, so check that out by following these instructions.)  Create your blog entry in a Word document and save it.  While the entry is still open in Word, click on the File tab on the top, far left, and then on “Save & Send”, and then “Publish as a Blog Post.”  The first time you do this you will be required to enter the blog’s URL and your username (email address) and password.  Other Windows-based word processors might also have this feature, but you’ll have to check that out yourself using the program’s help files.
4.  You can also download, free of charge, Windows Live Writer 2011, a Microsoft blog editor.  It is a good program and easy to use.  To download it, go to:  http://explore.live.com/windows-live-writer?os=other.  While on that page, click on the “How to Use Writer” link for simple instructions on setting up Writer for the GNID blog (and/or other blogs that you might post to – it is not restricted to one blog account).  I prefer this tool to Word because, as you draft your entry, you see it exactly as you would if you were writing directly within the blog itself.  (If you do not have a Hotmail account, or a Windows Live account you will be asked to create one before your download begins.  I’m not positive, but I think you might be able to create this account by using any valid email address.)
Posting to a Blog – Mac OSX Users
1.  For the basics, read our first blog entry titled “Welcome” at http://wsgnid63.blogspot.com/search/label/Welcome.
2.  Check out your word processor to see if it has blog publishing capabilities using your program’s help files.  Many of you may have Microsoft Office for Mac installed and I would think it would have blog publishing features.
3.  I have found one free desktop blog writing software by searching online.  It is called Qumana Personal Blog Editor and may be downloaded, free of charge, at:  http://qumana.com/index.php.  It has decent reviews and looks pretty simple to use.
4.  Check out the new Mac App Store (not the iTunes App Store) and search for something like “desktop blog writer”.  There might also be some “add-ins” available for Safari for Firefox browsers, so that would be worth checking into.
5.  If any of you are running Mac OSX with Parallels or other such program that allows you to run Windows on your Mac, you can of course use the suggestions above for Windows machines.
I hope this helps improve participation in our class blog.  As you gain some experience, please post your tips and tricks here as well.
If this blog is going to work we’ve got to get more participation from all of you, so please consider putting an hour or two aside to learn how to use the blog easily.