Links to useful blog services

Blog hosts

Start here if you don't even have a blog yet

- Blogger - the most common host of blogs in the mblogosphere. Nice interface, smooth templates.

- LiveJournal - Blogger's close second

- TypePad - yet another

- Tripod - now offering blogs in addition to webspace

Blogroll services

Your blog gets more readers when other blogs link to yours. Bloggers link you if you link them back. These let you maintain the content and appearance of a blogroll in a web-based interface. You only add code to your blog's template once.

- Bloglines - solid blogroll maintenance with subfolders and lots of options (sort by date of last post, alphabetical order, etc). You can view news through the interface too.

- Blogrolling - about as good as Bloglines. Fewer bells and whistles, but catching up.

Commenting and trackback

Most blog hosts build a comment function into your site. Commenting lets readers post responses to articles in a tasteful, uncluttered, but easily accessed format.

Trackback lets you directly reference a story in another blog when you respond to it in your own publication. This is the 'proper' way to cite sources in the blogosphere. Trackback is only useful when it becomes standard practice among several bloggers in the same sector.

- Haloscan - set up commenting, trackback, or both. Rather than accumulating comments on your individual article's page (as Blogger and others do), comments are stored in a pop-up window tied to the article. Same goes for trackback.

Syndication

Chances are your blog host publishes two versions of your content. One is the site you typically view when visiting the blog. Another is an XML-coded RSS feed of your content only. Creative scripting can let you do fun stuff with components of your content.

- FeedSweep - automatically generates code from RSS feeds you specify. Code can then be included in your blog template or website to display a list of your headlines, linking back to the articles on your blog. Especially useful for your national website where you want visitors to see what's new on your state newsblog. Also useful for displaying headlines from all the newsblogs in your country in one place.

- FeedBurner - Turns whatever format XML feed your provider generates automatically into one allegedly intelligible to all RSS readers.

Other stuff

It's all about the gimmicks. They serve a purpose - seriously.

- Site Meter - Get a customizable counter for your blog. Also tracks visitors' browser, machine and monitor specs; referring pages; geographic locations and hits over time.

Edited by: Ucci at: 1/9/05 6:09