All last week I posted information about blogging and now it's time to get started on your own blog. Here are some basic steps to go through to establish your blog:
• Go to Blogger (http://www.blogger.com)
• If you already have a Google account, you can go ahead and sign in; if you don't have a Google account, click the link that says "Get Started" (you will have to enter an e-mail address, choose a password and a display name, enter your birthday [for security and identification reasons], enter a word verification [to make sure you are human and not a computer] and agree to the terms of service; once all that is done, the second step will have you name your blog and the third step will have you select your template)
• Once you are signed in, your Blogger Dashboard will appear
• To begin, click the Create a Blog link
• Enter a title for your Blog
• Enter an address for your Blog (be prepared to come up with more than one option since blog addresses are unique and you have to find one that no one else has already chosen)
• Enter the word verification and click Continue
• Next, choose a starter template (this is just to get you started - you can always change it later)
• That's it! You can click the link that says "start posting now" or the button that says "START BLOGGING" and start blogging! (You can also click "customize how your blog looks" to start making changes to your Blog's appearance)
It is very simple to enter your first blog entry . . .
• Enter a title for the entry
• In the large white box, type your thoughts (blog)
• The options across the top are pretty self-explanatory -
• The two arrows are the undo and redo buttons
• The fancy "F" button is where you can select from limited fonts
• The two Ts button is where you select the size of your font
• The B, I, and U are the normal bold, italicize and underline options
• The ABC with the line through it is the strikethrough option
• The "A" is where you can select your font colors
• The highlighter icon is where you can select to highlight a particular word or words
• The underlined "Link" is where you can insert a hyperlink (or an URL or a Web address - whatever you'd like to call it) so that your readers can access another Web page quickly from your Blog
• The picture icon is where you click to enter an image
• The movie box icon is where you click to enter a video
• The broken page icon is where you can insert a jump break in your blog
• The alignment icon is where you can select either left alignment, center alignment, right alignment or fully justified
• The numbers and "dots" are both available to make numbered or bulleted lists
• From what I can tell, the quote is used like a "tab" key
• The underlined T with the x on it is in case you decide you don't like anything you've done and want to remove the formatting altogether
• The ABC checkmark, of course, is the spelling checker feature
Of course, the default method of entering a blog entry is the "Compose" feature which is basically a WYSIWYG editor (pronounced "wizzy wig" - What You See Is What You Get). If you are into HTML coding, you can always click on the "Edit HTML" tab and complete entries that way, but most of us are comfortable with the other method. (It is kind of neat, though, to look at the HTML coding of a blog entry if you are interested to see what the actual coding is.)
Once you are done, you can click the Preview button to see a sample of how your blog will appear. (It opens in another window or on another tab, so just close it when you are done.) You will notice a Save Now/Saved button at the bottom of the screen, too. Here is where you can periodically save your work as you need (by clicking the Save Now) or see that the draft has been saved (which is done periodically anyway).
When you think you are ready to publish the blog entry, just click Publish Post. You can then share the Web address (URL) of your blog with others.
There's many more options and features and don't be afraid to check out the different tabs at the top of the posting screen (the initial blog entry screen). There are options for Comments, Settings, Design, Monetize, and Stats. Explore and see what you find that enables you to fine-tune your blog. There's also a Post Options link below each blog entry screen, so don't forget to click there and see what you can utilize.
Have fun blogging! And don't forget to e-mail me the address of your blog once you get it up and running - I'm very interested in seeing what you can do and how you are using it!
