Making the most of Blogs
As is the case with the search for any other topic on the Web, you start off with a search engine. Two popular, specialized, blog search engines are available at technorati.com and blogsearch.google.com. Both sites offer an Advanced Search function and that is the best place to start. While technorati.com can offer results based on "Authority", which is an indicator of the number of other blogs linking to it; blogsearch.google.com can search on the Author field.
From the results thrown up, you pick one and land at a blog. At first glance, the font size and colour, and the page background colour should not jar the reading experience. The content you are after preferably should be easily accessible without requiring a lot of scrolling. The layout should not be difficult to comprehend with too many links and ads strewn all over. The Page content should not leave you feeling ambushed—as would be the case when a couple of 500 KB images start loading, when all you were expecting was a recipe.
Assuming that the content is great, you can browse through other posts on the same subject by the blogger using the Tag or Category links provided, or you can search through the blog using the search utility. You can commend the blogger for the post or air your views about it, which can be done with the Comment box. You can bookmark the site using a link that allows posting to your account in del.icio.us. You can share your find with your friends, either through an "email this page" link or through sites like Digg.com. You can subscribe to the blog's RSS feed so that you are informed whenever the blogger makes a new post. You can ask for more information from the blogger, using the contact email address or read about the blogger on the "about me" page. And finally, you can visit the blogs the blogger frequents, by using the Blogroll. And the whole process repeats itself at the next blog.
Keeping track of the blogs you have visited and are interested in can quickly become a huge task. Technorati and blogsearch.google.com also offer a way to track your favourite blogs in one page. At Technorati.com, you can bookmark the blogs that interest you and store a custom page with links to them. After signing up to technorati.com, you can add any blog to your favourites with a single click. So the next time onwards, you only need to visit the Favourites page. Google.com also allows this through its www.google.com/reader link, but it is comparatively more complicated.
Even if you already have a list of blogs that you regularly visit and have subscribed to their RSS feeds, it is advisable to frequently haunt technorati.com or blogsearch.google.com to be abreast of newer, interesting blogs.
Next >> Blogging Deciphered
From the results thrown up, you pick one and land at a blog. At first glance, the font size and colour, and the page background colour should not jar the reading experience. The content you are after preferably should be easily accessible without requiring a lot of scrolling. The layout should not be difficult to comprehend with too many links and ads strewn all over. The Page content should not leave you feeling ambushed—as would be the case when a couple of 500 KB images start loading, when all you were expecting was a recipe.
Assuming that the content is great, you can browse through other posts on the same subject by the blogger using the Tag or Category links provided, or you can search through the blog using the search utility. You can commend the blogger for the post or air your views about it, which can be done with the Comment box. You can bookmark the site using a link that allows posting to your account in del.icio.us. You can share your find with your friends, either through an "email this page" link or through sites like Digg.com. You can subscribe to the blog's RSS feed so that you are informed whenever the blogger makes a new post. You can ask for more information from the blogger, using the contact email address or read about the blogger on the "about me" page. And finally, you can visit the blogs the blogger frequents, by using the Blogroll. And the whole process repeats itself at the next blog.
Keeping track of the blogs you have visited and are interested in can quickly become a huge task. Technorati and blogsearch.google.com also offer a way to track your favourite blogs in one page. At Technorati.com, you can bookmark the blogs that interest you and store a custom page with links to them. After signing up to technorati.com, you can add any blog to your favourites with a single click. So the next time onwards, you only need to visit the Favourites page. Google.com also allows this through its www.google.com/reader link, but it is comparatively more complicated.
Even if you already have a list of blogs that you regularly visit and have subscribed to their RSS feeds, it is advisable to frequently haunt technorati.com or blogsearch.google.com to be abreast of newer, interesting blogs.
Next >> Blogging Deciphered
Labels: Blogging Tips
posted by Maulik Jasubhai at 10:08 AM
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