Blogging

Ideas for Blogging, including websites, information, and tips.

Useful Tools: Google Docs Can Publish to Your Blog!

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For those of you who use Google Docs and Spreadsheets, you might be interested to know you can post directly to your blog from within the ‘Publish’ tab. You need to set up your blog within the Publish area, then you can do it.

In fact, I just wrote this post in this way. I’m still experimenting with this feature. Apparently, you can even tag it with the correct category. It could be very useful when publishing longer articles and stuff that needs more formatting like tables, html, etc.

Ok. Here goes, I’m about to save it with a name: then hit publish. You can try it, too.

Two Caveats: The title didn’t appear, nor was it put in the correct category! I guess there’s some work to do on this feature! But still. It works well, and you can simply go back to your blog, and add these easily.

Mobile Phone + Internet + Organizer = InvestorBlogger?

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Since developing my blogs, journal, and other websites, recently I have been finding out how dependent I am on computers (both desktop and mobile) to keep me connected to the Internet. Now I do have good ADSL connections at home and work, but there are times when I want to run away from the environment, and do some work. Yes, mobile pcs do cut some of the links, but sometimes, just sometimes, I need something smaller.

Given the price of a Dopod, the delay in getting an iPhone, and the poor connectivity via WAP, I was unsure if I could really need an expensive phone on poor connectivity. With WiFly and local WiMax becoming a reality, though, phones are becoming more flexible in HOW they connect, I am starting to look around for a small phone with multi-function capability.

I checked around the pages at Wirefly to see what cell phones were available that could meet the demands of an on-the-go investor+blogger. These two phones were what I found. You can click for more information.

BlackBerry Pearl w/ myFaves

The BlackBerry Pearl is certainly high on my list for its net connectivity, emailing, and browsing. In addition, it allows people to use it in many regions of the world, not just the typical tri-band regions of old.

Wirefly also offers the Nokia E62 which performs similarly to the Blackberry but has a

number of different features, including the most obvious keyboard design. For someone on the go, the attachment viewing features for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, (with limited Editor and Zip support) would be invaluable, when combined with the Qwerty Keyboard. That would win hands down over the Blackberry.

These two phones are quite different but would make a good complement to the blogger on the go! Wirefly can provide additional cell phone plans for each of the major carriers in the U.S., so just enter your zip code to see what plans are available in your area. Now if only someone would buy me one for Chinese New Year! PLEASE!

Post sponsored by Wirefly.com.

Getting Started Blogging: Inspiration Hits You!

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When the day arrives that you realise that you need your own blog, it can come like a bolt from the blue! “I need a blog!” you cry but how do you get started blogging? Well, this article will look at three free options that you can explore to get you started blogging.

1. Blogger is a great way to get started. Blogger 2.0 is just out of the
2. Wordpress.com
3. Yahoo! 360

There are many other blogging tools, as well…
myspace.com, typepad.com, xanga.com, blogspot.com, livejournal.com

I do have experience of the first three tools, esp. Blogger is perhaps the easiest to get started if you already have a Google Account. Just login to Blogger, and create your blog in 3 simple steps. There is even a way to create a blog NOT on Blogger, but on your own space. I’m going to try this myself, just to see how it works.
I didn’t much care for Yahoo! 360 yet. It’s too much social network style website with blogging features added, so it has privacy features, ‘friends’ tabs, interacts with Messenger and Groups, etc.. So, for blogging purposes, it’s way overkill. However, it might make a good website to draw traffic to your real blog, because of its social nature.
My favorite, is Wordpress.com. Again, I have a demo site there that can highlight some of the features, you would want to try. You can find it here, though there’s not much there. Wordpress is probably the most advanced of the free blogs because it is a highly tweaked version of Wordpress 2.1, with a lot of additional features aimed at blog builders.

I think it probably has the most potential for the beginner, and its easy interface may make this the most attractive of the three options outlined here.