I don't know about you, but I'm quite new to blogging. So when Bob Alman suggested I post a few notes on how to get the most out of it, this seemed a great idea.
Apologies if this is 'teaching your grandmother to suck eggs' - if you're an experienced blogger (or blogee?), you might like to look away now, or go and make a cup of tea.
Firstly, anyone on the internet can see the blog. It's just like any other web page, with its own web address. If you bookmark ("Add to Favourites") the web address at the top of this screen now, then you can find it again later. You can also easily see all previous postings by checking the Blog Archive area on the right hand side - newest is on the top.
But there are two more things you can do, if you have a Google Mail or gmail account. These are free and very simple to set-up - see the Mail link at the top of the Google search page (or try to do either of the things below, which then prompts you to create an account).
The first thing you can do is to become a Follower. Why might you want to do this? Well, not because it enroles you in some odd religious sect, but because then you get an email alert each time there's a new blog post! So you never miss a thing.
The second thing you can do is post a Comment to any blog entry. You can see there have already been a few Comments on my earlier postings.
And finally, if you don't particularly want to check the Google mail/ gmail account for new messages, it's very simple to "autoforward" new emails to your regular email account. Just log into Google mail/ gmail, go to Settings, then "Forwarding and POP/IMAP". First entry is Forwarding. Click on the button to set up a forward to your everyday account and enter your usual email address.
Simples! (sorry, reference to irritating advert running on UK TV at the moment!). Hope all that helps. My next post will be back to the real topic of the WCF Management Committee - I'll write about my first couple of weeks and how the hand-over process is going.
Thanks for your interest.
Hi Martin -- does becoming a follower automatically subscribe you to receiving emails, or do you need to click the "Subscribe by email" link below first? James
ReplyDeleteHi James, A very good question! I had assumed ("remember, an assumption is just one step away from a cock-up") that having registered as a Follower, you would get an email alert automatically. But after looking at the Google Blogger help forums, it seems they don't currently offer this. Instead it gets added to your Reader on Google Blogger. From the help forum, it seems several people find this unhelpful, as you still have to login to your Reader to see if there are any new posts on any of the blogs you follow. Which kind of defeats the object. Your "subscribe by email" link sounds better - but I haven't found one of those yet! I wish I knew more.
ReplyDelete