Blogger WorkShop Notes

Hi guys! Give me until about the 15th to get you up some pictures of what the screens on Google and Bloggeer will look like when you sign up, and that way it will be easier to talk you through it!

Bonnie Calhoun
Director – Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
Official Google Blog*Star - 2007
http://christianfictionblogalliance.com - CFBA Website
http://christianfictionblogalliance.blogspot.com - CFBA Blog
http://bonniescalhoun.blogspot.com - Bonnie Writes
http://howcanidothat.blogspot.com - How Can I Do That?

All of these notes, along with other resources can be found on the course blog at: http://bloggerworkshopnotes.blogspot.com/




CHRISTIAN BLOGGING IN A SECULAR WORLD


What in the world is a blog?
- Web + log = Blog
- A blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is “blogging” and someone who keeps a blog is a “blogger.


Is Blogging the right platform for you?
-Do you enjoy writing on a regular basis?
-Do you like to communicate with others?
-Do you have something that you want to say?
-Are you a self-starter?
-Are you thick-skinned?


Choosing a topic for your blog?
-What are your passions, interests and energy spent on?


Types of blogs.
- Anything goes
- Daily rants
- Reviews for books and movies
- Private by invitation only
- Craft…writing, scrapbooking, music, poetry etc
- Group
- Income ventures - AdSense
- Character blog for book promotion (Brandilyn Collins – Scenes and Beans - http://kannerlake.blogspot.com/
- Promotional blogs created by – Chris Well , Tony Hines


Choosing a Blogging Platform
- Paid vs. Free services
Blogger (Blogspot.com)
Shoutlife
WordPress
TypePad
MySpace
Xanga
FaceBook
- Hosted Platform or Stand alone platform


Creating a Blog on BlogSpot.com
- Create a Google Account - http://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount
- Create a Blogger blog-
https://www.blogger.com/start


What can you do to customize your blog?
- Choose a more customized template
http://www.blogcrowds.com/resources/blogger_template.php
http://www.finalsense.com/services/blog_templates/index.htm

- Free statistical counters
http://easyhitcounter.com/
http://www.google.com/analytics/
http://statcounter.com
http://www.sitemeter.com/

- Widgets are your friend!
There are widgets to create polls, video clips, newsreels, and AdSense

- Google Gadgets (all 11,551 of them!)
http://www.google.com/ig/directory?synd=open

What can you do to publicize your blog?

- Google similar interests as yours, visit the listed blogs, and leave comments so that they can come and visit you.

- Join online forums or blogrolls.

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance – http://christianfictionblogalliance.com
American Christian Fiction Writers -
http://www.americanchristianfictionwriters.com/
FaithWriters - http://www.faithwriters.com/



- Start your own blogroll and invite others to join.

- Set up an RSS feed – www.feedburner.com
(an Atom feed comes with the blog if you use a Blogger template)

- Put your Blog URL in your email signature

- Announce your blog to your friends and family

- Put your blog URL on your business cards and stationary

- Sign up with the search engines
http://howcanidothat.blogspot.com/2007/03/search-engines.html


- Be Sure That Your Site Is Being Crawled
http://howcanidothat.blogspot.com/2007/03/google-spiders-everywhere.html

- Sitemaps, and how they should work:
http://howcanidothat.blogspot.com/2007/04/sitemaps.html

- Build Your PageRank
http://howcanidothat.blogspot.com/2007/03/what-is-pagerank.html


What kind of things to avoid

- Create an email account specifically for your blog, so that it can be changed if necessary.
- Never open unsolicited email attachments.
- Never respond to a business email by clicking on a link in the email. Reputable companies will not send you clickable links. Use your own link to get to their site.
- Uncle Sam will never contact you by email!!!!
- If it sounds too good to be true, it is!
- Not all Christian sites are run by Christians. Not all secular sites are “unchristian”.
- Avoid SPAM comments by using CAPTCHA (word verification).
- Avoid unseemly comments, if necessary by instituting comment moderation.
- Don’t tell family or work secrets, or talk about people at work

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