Step 2 - Setting up an account on Blogger.com

In your browser's search window enter: http://www.blogger.com. If you have a modern browser that fills in the blanks for you, try entering blogger.com.

If you already have a gmail account sign in now. Blogger is a google product, so your gmail login will get you to all your google sites. If you don't have a gmail account, create one now - it's free.

Once you sign in to google, you'll be directed to the Blogger screen.

You will have some set-up and design decisions to make before composing your first blog entry. Many of these decisions can be edited and adjusted later if you decide you don't like your selections.

1. Settings

Settings:

Basic

Basic:

Title – fancy schmantsy or straight ahead?

Description – tells us what you blog is about

Privacy – selections for spiders to find your blog

Publishing:

Blog Address – the address you selected, may include your blog’s name.

Permissions:

Blog Authors – you. Listing your google email, username, and photo

Blog Readers - usually “public”

Posts and comments

Posts:

Show at most – how many posts do you want to display – others are listed in archives. Determines

 length of blog page and how much scrolling you have to do.  Select number based on how often you plan to post and how lengthy you expect your posts to be. How visible do you want your footer? Lots of scrolling means some people will not see the footer.

Post Template – you can pre-determine how blog posts will look, perhaps font choices, sizes, and other

 formatting. Background color, images, etc.

Showcase images with Lightbox – How do you want your photos set off from the text?

Comments:

Comment Location – Where and how comments are displayed

Who can comment – Selects classes of readers that can post

Comment Moderation – How often do you want to read comments before they are posted

Show word verification – those annoyingly difficult nonsensical “words” to re-type

Show Backlinks – can take you to the site from which the commenter is writing, also other web pages

Comment Form Message – do you want to offer advice or warnings about posting on your blog?

Mobile and email

Mobile:

Posting using SMS/MMS – Do you want to post by sending text messages from a smart phone?

Email:

Posting using email – Do you want to post to your blog by writing emails? You don’t have to be

 logged into your blog in order to post

Comment Notification Email – Which email do you want to use to let you know someone has

commented on a blog post? Helps with moderating comments

How to Begin Blogging - Which Free Site to Select?

Perhaps the first step in setting up a new blog is selecting the hosting website. For a new and inexperienced blogger, ease of use is essential. After gaining some experience the "look" and atmosphere of theme choices gain importance. Finally, the experienced blogger wants flexibility in all design elements.

What are the most popular free blog hosting sites? My choices are Blogger, Tumblr, and WordPress.

Which is easiest to use for an inexperienced blogger? I choose Blogger. I have some blogging experience, so I find that Tumblr doesn't have too many choices to confuse me, but when starting out I wanted a "Print Shop" approach--meaning effective presentation with few confusing choices. 

Do you all remember the software program "Print Shop" from the early 1990s?

Print Shop allowed you to create simple signs and banners, birthday cards, and so on, from a simple (and limited)  user interface, and a built in library of designs.

Originally the program was in black and white, but with the advent of color dot matrix printers, you could create full color designs. Soon schools were adorned with print shop created signs and banners. Neighborhood friends were creating signs to advertise yard sales. These computer generated designs were a real step forward from hand lettered signs. 

 So, Print Shop worked well for the early 90's generation of users, but soon, people were asking for more options and better looking graphics. The manufacturer produced "Print Shop II" which indeed looked much better and had many more choices. The problem was, it was also more complicated to use. So, unless you had lots of time to relearn the program you stopped using it and went back to the original PS - began making signs in your new Word Processor.

For me, Blogger has all the advantages of the original Print Shop. There are enough themes and addons, and enough layout flexibility to create a simple, but attractive blog. If you have absolutely no experience with blogging, I suggest you start with Blogger, as we will do for this class.