If you have just started blogging, perhaps there are a number of questions on your mind. Here are a few pointers from a layman, I mean, as compared to a programming expert, who has tinkered with blogging tools.
Choose a blawgging platform. There are a number of choices, depending on your preference. While social networking sites like multiply, i.ph, funchain and friendster also have built-in blogs, I still go for wordpress, blogger or blogsome. Each one has it’s strengths and weaknesses but in case of doubt, try wordpress.
Select a physical theme. A “theme” may refer to your blog’s appearance. In my book, it should be minimalist – refreshing to the eyes and easy to navigate. I used to favor the 3-column simplicity of K2, but have to experiment with other great WordPress themes.
Decide on the content theme. Theming is not just about the looks. I have to use “physical” theme above to distinguish it from “theme” as it relates to contents. I long grappled with the dilemma of sticking to a law blog or blawg, something which is partly solved through spin-off sites like this one and the Pinoy Entrepreneurs. Time element is a major limitation in having separate blogs for each topic, although this is not an issue now as we are still in the process of transferring contents.
Consider adding sitemeter and analytics. In the words of Google Analytics, this tool tells you everything you want to know about how your visitors found you and how they interact with your site. This is not only for probloggers. For those who consider blogging as a hobby, like me, it’s a cool way of following the growth of one’s creation. I tried to add Google Analytics to this blog’s Site Meter, but I still have to find a way to integrate it with K2. For a basic comparison of Site Meter, Google Analytics and Measure Map, check FatMixx.com (“Measure Map, Google Analytics, and Site Meter: A simple comparison”).
Blog syndication and aggregators. Syndication is used to describe making available a feed for an information source. There are a number of aggregators, some of which are bundled in a single feed management provider like Feedburner (it also has an e-mail subscription feature). Some aggregators/bookmarking services for this site include del.icio.us and reddit.
Submit to search engines and directories. Search enginer spiders will eventually find a blog with sheer lapse of time. However, there’s a way of expediting the process. For starters, proceed to submit your site at established search engines like Google and Yahoo. Also, try submiting your blog at MSN or at FreeWebSubmission (this claims to include Google and Alexa). On the other hand, if you try Alexa, you’ll still go through DMOZ, so better go direct to DMOZ. You could also do this with our very own, Yehey!. Submission in blog directories also help, although I understand there are limitations in some directories.
Consider claiming blog at technorati. There are many reasons for claiming a blog at technorati. WordPress has instructions on how to put embeds, but it didn’t work for me (for a time, the “quick claim” mode wasn’t available). As I understand it – and I may be wrong – the technorati embed uses javascript and this isn’t allowed by wordpress for security reasons, with certain exceptions.
For more tips on blawgging, and blogging in general, I sugget problogger‘s article on 31 Days to Building a Better Blog – Day 31 (I threw away the old title of this post and decided to follow this one).
