Ch. 10: Blogging Tools Galore

Good blogging services and good blogging tools facilitate this ease of use. If there were no content management tool for bloggers to use then blogging would be all but dead. The strength of blogging lies in the fact that it is easy to set up and use. Plus, it organizes itself and is easy to customize. If there were no blogging tools to facilitate this, then blogging would truly be a chore.

Blogging is, in itself, a pretty fun way to get your information online, regularly and efficiently. It is also convenient in the sense that even beginners can jump into the fray without much training. You only have to look at the popularity of dozens of social networking sites such as MySpace and Friendster to realize that just about any Tom, Dick, and Jane can blog.

Good blogging services and good blogging tools facilitate this ease of use. If there were no content management tool for bloggers to use then blogging would be all but dead. The strength of blogging lies in the fact that it is easy to set up and use. Plus, it organizes itself and is easy to customize. If there were no blogging tools to facilitate this, then blogging would truly be a chore.

Thankfully, there are literally hundreds of blogging software packages and tools –both proprietary and open source. These tools all work on different levels and address different needs. While there isn’t much space to write about all the available tools for blogging, here is a listing of some of the handier blogging tools around.

1. Autoblogger Pro. If you are trying to saturate your site with rich keywords from some of your favorite blog sites and incorporate these feeds into your blog, then Autoblogger Pro is your tool. Autoblogger Pro uses blog text culled from RSS/Atom feed sites you so specify. This content is then made readily available on your site or on your web log. This is a great tool to uses if you are trying to get your blog’s search engine ranking higher. It also helps provide your blog with more information.
2. B2evolution. B2evolution is a LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) compatible software package that helps you host your own blog server. It supports multi-lingual and multi-blog environments that are easy to install, yet are rich and fully featured to boot. The great thing about this software is that it is free and feature rich. It is also easy to modify and extend to increase functionality to the hilt. It also installs easily and can be good to go in a few minutes.
3. BlogAmp. BlogAmp allows blog masters to set up a blog audio player in just about any environment. All the client needs to have is a web browser. They do not need to have pre-installed media players to have the audio play. The player is also easy no place within a blog page and can be positioned in a pop-up window instead. All that you will need afterwards is a secure media server to host the audio files you need broadcast.
4. BlogChat. This handy tool made with PHP and MySQL allows your blog site to host a chat box you can position within the page. The central server for this chat box will be with the originators of the utility. They offer this service for free anyway. However, there are paid services that offer greater functionality and more features. The free version will need manual maintenance but is a good choice anyway.
5. Chronicle Lite. Chronicle Lite is the perfect companion to every Blogger user. This utility serves as an interface or a file and blog manager that lies between your blog and your personal computer. With Chronicle Lite, you can publish documents on your personal computer, and easily manage your posts and your files in regards to your blog.
6. Movable Type. This is the engine that has made Typepad famous. Movable Type is a package that can be installed on most blog servers. It allows for a powerful and intuitive word processing interface especially for blogs. This strips away the technicality from the production of blogs and helps your focus instead on the design of your blogs.
7. Particle Blogger. Another blogging script that installs on pretty much any PHP, MySQL server. It gives you a blog server and the related interface that allows you to host your own blog site painlessly and effectively. It is fully featured and easy to install.
8. The Posting Station. The Posting Station is another blog server script that allows for text, and rich multimedia blogging. It is easy to install and has an excellent interface that makes it a favorite among many bloggers.

Ch. 9: Starting Your First Blog with Typepad Ch. 11: What is a Movable Type Blog

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