|
Resources
| Blogging
Weblog References
by Katherine Murray
Here's some
links and resources if you'd like to explore this topic further.
This appendix gives you a collection of current blogs, some how-tos,
connections to blog host providers, and a number of add-on utilities
to give your blog that special touch. Finally, there is a listing
of popular weblogging books.
A (Very) Few Blog Examples
You won't have to look far on the Internet to find samples of blogs
you'll love and/or loathe. Entering the word "blogging"
in a favorite search engine will net you close to two million sites
to check out. The following few have been more or less randomly
selected but they are popular (meaning many other blogs link to
them) and update regularly:
- " Anil
Dash ( www.dashes.com/anil/
), one of many of Anil's blogs but always with material worth
reading
- " Blogstreet
( www.blogstreet.com/topbooks.html
), a listing of the most popular books mentioned on blogs. Updated
weekly.
- " Evhead.com
( www.evhead.com
), the blog of the co-founder of Pyra Labs, the company behind
Blogger.
- " Jason
Kottke ( www.kottke.com
), a contemporary blog with posts about a bit of everything
- " Jason
Shellen ( www.shellen.com
), a Google employee, former employee of Pyra Labs, and friend
of Evan (of Evhead.com fame)
- " Mamamusings
( http://mamamusings.net
), a terrific blog published by Elizabeth Lane Lawley
- " memekitchen
( www.memekitchen.com
), a simple, smart blog with a cool design
- " Poetry
Daily ( www.poems.com
), a great blog for inspiration
- " Slashdot.org
(http://slashdot.org)
"News for Nerds."
- " Weblog
Central ( www.msnbc.com/news/809307.asp),
MSNBC's big push into the blogging world
Creating a Blog
Part of the excitement around blogging is that it makes personal
(and corporate) publishing fast and free (or reasonably cheap).
There are a number of online weblog hosts that provide you with
an account, server space to house your blog, and various blogging
tools and resources. Here are a few of the most popular blogging
hosts. Each of these sites provides you with the necessary steps
for creating your first blog:
Additional How-Tos
There seem to be a lot of people asking, "Why blog?" and
different people have different answers. Here are a few blogs that
show how people are putting their blogs to work:
...learn general
info about blogs (www.kiplog.com/weblogs/)
...make money
with your blog (http://masterofweb.com/item/206)
...find blogging
communities (www.creativity-portal.com/howto/writing/blogging.html)
...create a
mobile blog, also called moblogging
Special Blogging
Tools
Once you have the basic blog process down, you may want to add some
extra items to your site. The following list provides links to a
few add-ons and special indexes that can make your posting more
interesting:
- Audblog
( www.audblog.com
) Phone in your blog entries and keep a voice log online.
- Blogdex
( http://blogdex.com
), an index of weblogs and the highest rated sites
- BlogHop.com
( www.bloghop.com
), a fun but not often-updated blog that serves as a portal to
other "interesting" blogs
- Blogrolling
( www.blogrolling.com
), a utility that enables you to link to other blogs with a click
of the button.
- Blogshares
( www.blogshares.com
), a fantasy stock market blog.
- Creative
Commons ( http://creativecommons.org
), a way to protect your content while granting readers rights
to copy, distribute, and display your work.
- Daypop
( www.daypop.com
) searches almost 60,000 sites, blogs, and RSS feeds for breaking
news
- Popdex
( www.popdex.com
) an index of top-rated Web sites, updated hourly
- Sitemeter
( www.sitemeter.com
), a utility that enables you to gather statistics about people
who visit your site.
- Trackback
( www.movabletype.org/trackback/beginners/
), a tool for Movable Type users to link and comment on others'
blogs while posting in their own blog.
Blogging Books
Blogging: Genius
Strategies for Instant Web Content, by Biz Stone
(New Riders, 2002)
Essential Blogging, by Shelley Powers (O'Reilly &
Associates, 2002)
SAMS Teach Yourself Movable Type in 24 Hours, by Molly
Holzschlag (SAMS, 2003)
The Weblog Handbook, by Rebecca
Blood (Perseus Publishing, 2002)
We Blog: Publishing Online with Weblogs,
by Paul Bausch (John Wiley & Sons, 2002)
back to: resources
//
|
