Friday, August 22, 2008
Some of My Blogs
Do you need a life change? http://www.squidoo.com/changelife
You can help change the world? http://www.squidoo.com/changeworld
Changemaker: Helping Others http://changemaker.ning.com/
Coming Home to God http://returntogod.ning.com/
My Wordpress Blogs:
http://changelibrary.wordpress.com
theme--digg 3 column
http://cmlibrary.wordpress.com
theme--misty look
http://cmlinks.wordpress.com
theme--greenery
http://coralcay.wordpress.com
theme--fjords04
http://healingforyou.wordpress.com/
theme--connections
http://healthyday.wordpress.com
theme--chaotic soul
http://highenergydiet.wordpress.com
http://highenergyfitness.wordpress.com
http://highenergyplan.wordpress.com
theme--andreas04
http://kberman.wordpress.com
theme--quentin
http://newyou.wordpress.com
theme--almost spring
http://spiritbase.wordpress.com
theme--thirteen
http://twelvesteps.wordpress.com
theme--ocean mist
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Why I Love Blogs
Two excellent articles in Fortune Magazine report my favorite aspects of blogging.The articles are entitled "10 Tech Trends" and "Want Truth in Advertising? Try a Blog."
The reasons I love blogs are:
(1) I have a world of experts at my fingertips. In the past 5 years that I have been reading blogs, I have not made any purchases for our home or for personal use, read any books, watched any movies, done any research without consulting my free experts in each field.
(2) I feel powerful again in the knowledge that individual people do have power over the world we live in (for example, the Trent Lott experience.) I love the way that blog writers know that those reading their site have the ability to talk back. When was the last time you talked back to the TV or the newspaper?
By the way, I live in the Ft. Lauderdale area and newspapers here are feeling the heat. The last time I gave it up, the newspaper called with an offer of $1.50 for the week for 6 months. I did say yes to that. I am worth more to the newspaper as a reader of their ads (which I'm not) than as a reader of their content. I also get the news seconds old on my RSS news sites including NYT, BBC, etc.Why do I pay for the newspaper? I love the human interest already available for me to read.
(3) I never was a huge user of email. It works great for business but is labor-intensive for personal relationships. I prefer people in person. But with my blog I send out my messages to the world of many readers so it is quite a time saver. Also, since the people reading my blog can answer me back for all to read, I get instant feedback if I choose to. For the present, I have comments to my blog shut-off but do have published email.
(4) My fourth reason to love blogs is that we live in a sound-bite world. Posts to blogs are generally short. Over the years, although I read a lot, I started long ago seeking out the best parts of the book and skipping the rest. Blogs simplify this for me by having titles. RSS feeds are amazing as I can choose to receive a short explanation with each title. Did I mention again that they are free?
Monday, August 18, 2008
About Blogger
We’ve added a few new features and things in today’s release:
- There’s a new look for the Blogger Dashboard, which we think you’ll find more attractive and functional. If you have a ton of blogs (as we do) try out the “hide” and “show all” links to help manage the list.
- Google Gadgets in your Layouts blog can now set their height automatically (if the gadget author supports it). Read more about adding Google Gadgets to your blog.
- AdSense page elements can now optionally have image ads. We’ve found image ads have a higher click-through rate, so you might get more money if you turn them on.
- We wrote up a Features page to help you keep track of everything you can do with Blogger. Take a look and see if you’ve been missing out on something cool.
- The Flag Blog button in the Blogger navbar now pops up a window for you to tell us why you think the blog violates our terms of service. Flag Blog is always handled exclusively by human reviewers, not the automated spam locking system, so this information will better help them decide what, if any, action should be taken.
Spice Up Your Blog with Google Gadgets!
August 11, 2008 — permalink
Fresh out of Blogger's own testing ground, Google Gadgets have now been enabled for all layouts blogs. This new interface allows for the integration of iGoogle Gadgets directly into your sidebar, with an array of customization options for easy tweaking. Also built into Gadgets is our robust Gadget Directory, which lets you browse through thousands of cool gadgets and add them to your blog with a simple click of a button.
You can access Gadgets from your dashboard under the Layout | Gadgets tab (the tab formerly known as "Layout | Page Elements.")
Gadgets have built-in configuration for easy integration into your layout. All gadgets are automatically sized to match the width of your sidebar, and their height in pixels can be adjusted using the Gadget's built-in options. Our large list of Gadgets is constantly growing and evolving. You can browse them all from our comprehensive Gadget Directory, which runs the gamut from sports updates to site counters, and flash games to local information tickers. To bring up the Gadget Directory, just click
Add a Gadget from your layout. Have an idea for a gadget that isn't listed? Then build it yourself! We are always on the lookout for great ideas, so please submit your own creation to the iGoogle Gadget Directory, and then let us know about it in our Help Group— we may just add it to our 'Featured Gadgets' Section.
Itching to get started? Have a look at our our help video below for some guidance on browsing, adding, and customizing a gadget on your blog: