Post Tagged with: "blogging"

How To Set Up a WordPress Blog

Learn How To Set Up a WordPress Blog through a series of Step-by-Step Instructions and Video Tutorials.

VitaminCM.com is Looking for Guest Bloggers

Good Opportunity for New Bloggers to Get Practice and Exposure

I guess that time has finally come, I’m ready to ask for some help. I’m looking for 1 or 2 people to write a few guest posts. If you have that burning itch to put your thoughts on paper (so-to-speak), here’s you big chance.

WordPress Ebook Video Tutorials

Video Support for My WordPress EBook

This collection of videos shows how to perform all of the tasks outlined in my WordPress: From Beginner to Expert ebook. You will learn everything you need to know to create a customized, professional blog using WordPress. Create your very own professional, customized blog from scratch.

How to Download the WordPress Software

This video shows all of the steps in the process of Downloading the WordPress Software.

View the rest of the videos in the series:

10 Best Desktop Blog Editing Applications

blogging, desktop blogging apps, ecto, marsedit, windows live writer, wordpress, writing, zoundry raven

Posting to your Blog Using Desktop Software

Overview: Find out what 10 Desktop Blogging Applications can do to help you post articles to your blog.

10 best desktop blogging apps

The WordPress web interface gives you everything you “need” to write and publish blog posts. Just because the web interface can do a lot, does not mean that it is the “best” tool for everyone. Many people prefer to write and publish their posts from a desktop blogging editor. There are numerous applications that provide you a powerful set of tools for writing and publishing posts directly from your desktop. There are a few significant advantages to writing your posts using a desktop blog editor:

You can still write when you are not connected to the internet
Feature-rich desktop publishing experience
The performance is MUCH faster than the web interface
Excellent media insertion, editing, and management
Support for plugins that provide tailored functionality

Here are some of the more popular desktop blogging editors.

Top of the Heap – Desktop Blogging Apps

There are only about three apps that I think are sure things.

Windows Live Writer
MarsEdit
Zoundry Raven

Windows Live Writer – This is my favorite desktop blogging tool on any operating system at any price. Best of all, it’s free! Every possible feature that you could want is included in Live Writer. I use a Mac to write my blog posts, but I run Parallels (virtual machine) to run this Windows only app. Yes, it’s that good. I just hope that they make a Mac version some day. What I Love:

Publish posts as DRAFT status and opens the web-based post editor in one click
Plugins – an increasing amount of useful tools that make the rich get richer
Compose posts with your blog theme’s formatting applied in real-time
Edit existing posts
Very polished interface and user experience

Could be Better:

It occasionally adds some funky code
No version for Mac

Windows Live Writer Interface

windows live writer overview

MarsEdit – MarsEdit is a half-step behind Windows Live Writer, but it’s still the best blogging tool available for Mac. It costs $30, but it’s definitely worth it if you want to avoid the hassle of running a Windows Virtual Machine. I think it’s about one version away from being truly awesome. What I Love:

You can edit code in the app or your favorite code editing app
Nice smooth working experience
You can add a lot of Post metadata directly in the interface

Could be Better:

The ability to Post as Draft instead of Published
It seems like there are always about 12 windows open
No Windows version

MarsEdit Interface

Zoundry Raven – This is a pretty good (Windows only) tool if you’re on a PC and you don’t want to use Windows Live Writer. (Not quite sure who would do that; but I digress.) It has almost all of the “must-have” features that I typically look for in a slightly less polished package. The one nice thing I like is that there is a portable version that can be run on any Windows machine, right from a USB Flash drive. (See how to set up Portable Apps on a USB drive here .) What I Love:

Very clean, sensible writing interface
Contains a ton of features, even compared to the paid apps
You can get a portable version that loads on a USB drive and runs on any Windows machine

Could be Better:

No Mac Version
No plugins or extensions

Zoundry Raven Interface

They Could Have Been Contenders

These apps could be good if they just add some of the features and stability of the big dogs. Close, but no cigar.

Ecto
Qumana
Blog Desk
Blog Jet

Ecto – $20 – I used Ecto for a little while (right after Qumana) to write posts. It has a few more features than Qumana, but it’s not nearly as good as MarsEdit. Believe me, the extra $10 is well worth it. What I Love:

It has a decent WYSYWIG interface
It integrates with Flickr and Amazon

Could be Better:

Not great options for working with Code and Design views
No upload as draft
It’s just not-quite-right

Ecto Interface

Qumana – I actually used this app for a brief time when I switched from Windows to a Mac. This was the first Mac based blogging tool that I found fairly useable. I’ve moved on to some better options, but it’s not the worst tool I’ve seen. What I Love:

Decent Media Insertion and Formating
The have good integration with their own advertising platform
- Con – it’s their own platform. Adsense please.
Runs on Windows and Mac

Could be Better:

No easy way to add CSS Styles to content. (Headings, etc.)
No plugins

Qumana Interface

Blog Desk– Blog desk is a pretty good Windows blogging app. The interface is laid out in a sensible way that will be easy to figure out. It’s not as good as my favorite blogging apps, but it’s usable. What I Love:

Simple and easy to use
Integrates well with WordPress features

Could be Better:

Not as full featured as some of the other options

Blog Desk Interface

Blog Jet – The name sounds like BlogDesk and the interface and features look alike too. It’s pretty good and free, but there are a few better choices for the same great price. Good, not great. What I Love Like:

Clean, simple interface.
Media insertion and management

Could be Better:

Added CSS styles
Source Code editing

Blog Jet Interface

Not Quite Ready for Prime Time

These apps are just not worth a look.

Thingamablog
Bleezer

Thingamablog– I didn’t like Thingamablog at all. It was buggy and clunky. It also was flaky when I was trying to set up my sites. ThingamaBLOB is more like it. What I Love Like:

It does support Windows, Mac, and Linux

Could be Better:

Multi-platform support means that you get a bad app on any computer that you use
No features – no fun!

Thingamablog Interface

Bleezer – This was another disappointment. It runs as a self-contained Java app from anywhere on any Operating System. Java apps kinda suck for a variety of reasons. They are slow and ugly, to name a few. Bleezer is no exception. What I Love Like:

Multi-platform support
Not much else

Could be Better:

Java is slow and flaky
It doesn’t have a compelling feature set
No fun to use

Bleezer Interface

Desktop Blogging Application Feature Comparison

The table below compares the desktop blogging applications covered here on some critical features.

Additional Resources

Here are a few articles that go into more detail on desktop blogging editors:

WordPress Desktop Blogging: 5 Tools Reviewed – Centernetworks.com

15 Desktop Blogging Tools Reviewed- SmashingMagazine.com

Desktop Blogging: 20 Best Blogging Software To Help You Blog From Your Desktop– WebDesignBooth.com

Desktop blog editor comparison– Lifehacker.com

Desktop Blogging Clients for Linux Labanol.org

Generating Blogging Ideas and Staying Motivated

Letting your Creative Juices Flow

I was recently asked by a reader, “How I stay motivated and come up with article ideas?”. Actually, that is my biggest challenge. I have to push myself pretty hard. I have a career and a family, so I don’t have a lot of time. Then, when I do get time, I don’t always feel like making the magic happen. If I do get on a roll with something, I try to push myself for as long as possible. I work a lot when everyone is sleeping. You kinda have to make your own time.

Here are couple of tips for staying motivated and generating content that work for me:

Generate More Ideas than you Need

More ideas = more articles. You need to generate as many ideas as possible, then pick the best stuff from that collection. I am constantly looking for ideas, inspiration, questions, challenges, arguments, and anything else that makes me want to write.

Capture Your Ideas (All of them)

I capture all of my ideas using a combination of a Moleskine notebook and Evernote software. Evernote is on my iPhone, Mac, PC, and a Plugin in my browsers. As soon as I get an idea I capture it somewhere. There are not too many situations where I don’t have my phone and/or notebook. If you want some tips on using Evernote check out this Evernote video tutorial.

I take action on some of my captured ideas right away and others I just save for a rainy day. Whenever I have writer’s block or I’m just tapped out, I comb through my notes and look for ideas. This has gotten me “unstuck” plenty of times.

Consume as much Information as Possible

I also read A LOT. My Google Reader has over 200 RSS feeds. I group them together by topic (Productivity, Gadgets, Sports, Finance, etc.). This way I can quickly bang through 30 or so fresh articles on a given topic. For most articles I just scan the headlines and images, for others I read, star, and share them. The real good ones, I send to Evernote to use later. This is the quickest way to digest a ton of information, plus get a quick temperature check on your field. See how to use Google Reader like an information ninja.

Be a Man of the People – Get out there and mingle!

The other thing that I have done lately is GET OFF THE COMPUTER. Seriously, I look for events in my area on MeetUp.com. I get out and meet real people who might read my blog and also some people who work at the companies that interest me. You get a surprising number of ideas that way. One of the places that I go to find interesting Meetups in my area is Meetup.com. If two or more people want to gather and discuss a topic, it’s there, no matter how weird.

Look for Ideas in the Situations and Challenges Around You

Wanna hear something funny? As I was emailing Herbert back, I was thinking that “this” general idea would make a good, quick how-to article. Throw in a few good pics or a youtube video, some ads, and I have an article. So I guess, people who ask me questions are also a great source of motivation.

By the way, if you’re interested in doing a guest post here or having me do one for your site, I’m always looking for new people to work with. Let me know if you have any ideas for me or you. CM@VitaminCM.com

The reader that contacted me was Herbert Lui. Stop by his blog, Cutedge.org and check out some of his interesting articles. Leave him a comment too, he’ll really appreciate it.

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