Setting up of a Blog

Introduction to a Blog

Before you can actually learn about blogging, you will need to understand on what a blog is all about and what kind of website a blog really is. If you don’t understand the key elements of why people create a blog, you will lose out on the potential of what a blog could do. Click on the video to see a presentation of what a blog is.
A blog is a website in which an individual will post regular entries of comments, events that he have went through, experiences or even review of a website and product. Personal blogs are blog in which individual share their daily experiences on activities that happen for that day. These blogs are usually not interested in making money online with their blog as it is meant to keep track of their daily life and share it with their friends and families.


Why Are Blogs So Widely Used

There has been an increasing trend in the number of people who utilize blogs as a platform to communicate with people of similar interests as well as to arouse interest on those who know nothing of the particular topic. There must be some reasons behind this as to why people use blogs instead of a normal static webpage.
Take some time to think about it and post your thoughts here…
Add in your valuable comments too if you have additional information or question to share with the rest.





Ok! Now you are ready to set up your own blog!

Startting of Blog

All you need to start blogging is an email address and something to say. There's more than one free blogging service that can have you up and running in under five minutes. No technical expertise needed.
There are 2 main programs that you must have - blog platform and web hosting service.
Blog Platform
You need to decide on a blog platform. I will only recommend you one blog platform and that is Blogger.com.

Why Should You Use Blogger.com
There are concrete reasons in why I want you to set up your blog with Blogger.com. However, if you insist on using other blog platform, you can go ahead.

1) Plugins & themes
There are thousands of plugins and themes available for Blogger.com. These plugins will help you and make your work easier in the future. It is also easy to incorporate the plugins into Blogger.com and it contains clear instructions on how to install the plugins.

2) Support
There are a lot of people using Blogger.com to set up their blog and you can find a lot of support just by searching Google. There are in house support forum as well which has a lot of questions being ask everyday.

3) Easy Installation
Many web hosting provides one click installation and makes installation of Blogger.com so much easier.

Step by Step tutorial Step 1 - 2

Step 1: Define Your Niche

• Before you create a blog, it’s important to decide on the theme or subject area your blog will cover.

Defining Your Audience
• Are you creating a blog primarily to keep in touch with family and friends? Do you want to create a blog for people in your profession or who share your interests? Who your audience is will determine which type of blog host you use, the content of your blog, whether or not you publicize your blog and what success means for you in respect to your blogging endeavors.
Once You’ve Chosen Your Subject
• Once you’ve identified a couple of different areas you might be interested in blogging about, ask yourself if you will be able to blog about the subject matter consistently over a long period of time. Your blog should stem from your passion and, hopefully, never feel like an obligation.
• If you do want to build an audience for your blog beyond your circle of family and friends, take some time to evaluate your subject matter in terms of the competition. How many other blogs exist on the subject matter you’ve chosen? Do you have a fresh take on the subject? Is there sufficient interest in the subject?

Step 2: Name Your Blog

Choose a name that's memorable, short and easy to spell
There’s no limit to what you can name your blog. Some blogs have names that relate to their subject matter – Cute Overload, Treehugger, PassiveAggressiveNotes.com. Some blogs have completely nonsensical names that are just plain catchy – Boing Boing, Small Dead Animals, The Coming. The easiest way out may just be naming your blog after yourself.
• Whatever you decide, keep in mind that a blog’s name should ideally be memorable, short, easy to spell and free of hyphens.

Checking Your Name’s Availability

• Technically, you can name your blog whatever you’d like. However, there are limits to what your blog’s URL or web address can be.
• Most people like their blog’s name to match its URL address. For instance, the URL address for the blog Boing Boing is http://www.boingboing.net/. The URL address for Bookslut is http://www.bookslut.com/.

step-by-step-tutorial Step 3 - 4

Step 3: Choose a Blog Host

• There are several different kinds of services that will help you create and maintain your blog. Which service you choose will depend on the purpose of your blog, your budget and your

Step 4: Create Your Blog

• This section will cover how to set up a blog using Blogger hosting services – Blogger
• All you need to get started is an email address. If you don’t have an email address, you can sign up for a free email account with Google Mail (Gmail), Windows Live Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail or AIM Mail.
The Components of a Blog
• Most blogs are made up of three components – the header, the sidebar and the posts or body of the blog.

The Header
• A blog's header is the equivalent of a newspaper’s masthead. It contains the blog's name rendered as text or as text combined with a banner image.

The Sidebar
• A sidebar runs along one or both sides of your posts. A sidebar might contain any number of items including a short bio, a blog roll (a list of blogs that you enjoy reading), a search box, ads and an RSS button. RSS stands for "really simple syndication." Adding an RSS link to your site allows people to "subscribe" to your site – updating them whenever you've posted something new.

The Posts
• Posts make up the body of your blog. Posts can include text, images, video and even streaming audio. Most blog posts also include a way for readers to comment on the post.

Step 4a: Create Your Blog with Blogger
Signing Up and Choosing Your Template

1. Go to the Blogger site.
2. If you have a Google Account, sign in to Blogger by entering your email address and password in the upper right hand corner.
3. If you do not have a Google Account, get started by clicking on the Create Your Blog Now button.
4. You’ll be taken to a screen that asks you to create an account. Here you will need to enter in your pre-existing email address, choose a password, choose the name that will be displayed when you publish a blog post and accept Blogger's terms of use.
5. You will next be asked to name your blog and choose your blog’s URL address. (If you’ve purchased a domain name that you would like to use in lieu of the Blogger address, you can click on the Advanced Blog Setup link for assistance.)
6. Next you will be taken to a screen that lets you select a template for your blog’s design. Pick one, and remember that you can always change it later.
7. Once you’ve chosen your template, you can start posting.

The First Post

Your first Post

You had created your first post, this how it look like

Blogger Text Editor: Add Image and Video Icons (Upper Right); Publish Post Button (Lower Left)
Blogger uses a rich text editor that operates exactly like a word processor. What you see is what you get.
Enter a title for your post in the Title field and begin writing.
You can insert images or video into your post by clicking on the Add Image or Add Video icons on the upper right side of your text editor. (If you know HTML, you can view your post’s source code by clicking on the Edit HTML tab.)
When you’re done writing your post, click on the publish button or save your post as a draft for later publication.
You will then be given the option to view your blog, edit your post or create a new one.
Whenever you're ready to write a new post or manage your old ones, simply click on the Posting tab of your Blogger interface.

Exploring Your Settings and Template Tabs

You’ll notice that in addition to the Posts tab, you also have a Settings and Template tab at the top of your Blogger interface. (On your Blogger Dashboard, these appear as the Settings and Layout links.)
Under the Settings Tab, you’ll find all kinds of options to help customize your blog. You can control how many posts appear on the front page, how frequently your posts are archived and whether or not your blog is added to the Blogger directory.
You’ll also be able to add an RSS link to your blog through Blogger or FeedBurner and control the terms under which viewers can comment on your posts.

Under the Template Tab, you’ll have the option of switching templates, choosing the colors that fit your blog, adding or deleting information from your sidebar and, if you know HTML, actually editing your template’s source code.

Your Profile Page

To create a profile page to go along with your blog, go to your Dashboard. You will find a link to Blogger's Dashboard in the upper right hand corner of your screen.
On your Dashboard, you’ll see the option to edit your profile in the right hand corner.
Click Edit Profile. Add as much or as little information as you'd like your readers to know about you on your Profile page.
This profile is what readers will see when they click the About Me link in your blog’s sidebar. This is a default setting in your Blogger template. The About Me link can always be removed by clicking on your Templates tab and editing your Page Elements.

Domain Mapping

Blogger offers domain mapping capabilites for those users who wish to "point" a registered domain name toward their Blogger blog. By utilizing this option, your blog's URL address will be www.yourblogname.com instead of www.yourblogname.blogspot.com.
You will find Blogger's domain mapping option under the Settings tab. Once you've clicked on the Settings tab, click on the Publishing button to switch to a Custom Domain.
Blogger Domain Mapping Instructions

Deleting Your Blog

You can delete your blog at any time by clicking on the Delete This Blog button at the bottom of the Basics page under the Settings tab.

That’s it! You have completed your first blog. Be proud!

Task

Tasks for lesson on Setting Up a Blog

1) Set up your blog on Blogger.com
2) Start writing an article about yourself. You can use the below points as a guideline.
· Include a background of yourself on the topic
· Set goals and visions
· Your contact