Become a blogger: simple exercises for creating your first blog

Follow these simple exercises to create your first blog.

See also this presentation.

1. History
   • what’s new
   • filter
   • journal
2. See a blog and its parts:
   • title
   • post
   • timestamp
   • permalink
   • links
   • scannable text
   • comments
3. Types of blogware
   • free hosted (Wordpress.com)
   • paid hosted (Typepad)
   • free to install (Textpattern)
   • paid to install (Expression Engine)

A blog is a tool of communication. Know what you want to communicate before you pick it up.

1. Choose a topic – your niche or subject. Jot a few categories that fit in this topic.
2. Determine a type – what’s new, filter, journal or combo.
3. Decide on a title – your blog will need a name. Read this article about better blog branding.
4. Decide on your identity – will you use your professional name, family nickname, pseudonym, or as anonymous?
5. Consider your voice – what will be your writing style?
6. Remember your job – the rule is “don’t blog about your work unless your work is blogging.”

This will be easier than you imagined.

1. Go to www.wordpress.com.
2. Click on the rounded blue box that says “Start your Wordpress blog.”
3. Enter your username (presence).
4. Enter your e-mail address.
5. Agree to the terms of service.
6. Click Next.
7. Choose your Blog Domain.
8. Enter your Blog Title.
9. Check or uncheck the Privacy button.
10. Click Signup.
11. Fill in your name and profile (presence).

Check your e-mail for the activation message. Click the link in the message. Then write down your username and password!

Now, click the Login link, enter your username and password, and click Login.

Now that you’re logged into Wordpress.com, let’s get blogging.

1. Click on your blog domain name.
2. Find the Write a Post link.
3. Enter a title for your entry.
4. Write your first message: use this first message to explain why you’re creating this blog, what your topic will be, what type of information about that topic you’ll share, and why you’ll share that information. And give your background or credentials; this helps build your credibility.
5. Use the toolbar to highlight a few key words in your entry.
6. Click Publish when you’re done.
7. Click View Site (at the top of the page).

CONGRATULATIONS! You are a blogger now!

Let’s make your categories now.

1. Return to Wordpress (hit the back button).
2. Click Manage.
3. Click Categories.
4. Scroll down.
5. Enter a category name.
6. Write a description for the category.
7. Click Add Category.
8. Repeat until you’ve created your categories.

When you finish your categories, update your first post so it’s in a category.

1. Click Manage.
2. Click Posts.
3. Find your first post (look for the title) and click the Edit link to the right.
4. In the right sidebar, under Categories, check a category for this post. (If you don’t see your categories, click on the plus sign next to Categories.)
5. Click Save.
6. Now that you’re on the Manage Posts page, let’s delete the Hello world! entry by clicking the delete link to the right.

View your site again.

Let’s give your blog a facelift.

1. Click the Presentation tab.
2. Choose from the 54 different themes by clicking on the screenshot.
3. After you make your choice, click the View Site link to see your blog.
4. Hit the browser back button to get back to Wordpress.
5. Many of the themes allow you to also choose the Sidebar Widgets. These are subsections of your blog page for displaying Recent Comments, pictures from Flickr, your blog Archives and more.

That was easy. You can change your blog theme as often as you wish.

Let’s learn how to add links to your blog posts.

1. Open a new window or tab in your browser and go to Wikipedia.
2. Search Wikipedia for an article related to the topic of your blog. When you find an article you want to link to, copy the URL (the page’s address in the browser address bar at top).
3. Go back to Wordpress and click Write to start a new blog post.
4. Write a sentence or a paragraph about the topic of that Wikipedia article.
5. With your cursor, highlight a few of the key words in that sentence or paragraph.
6. In the formatting toolbar, click the picture of the chainlink.
7. In the popup window, paste your Wikipedia URL into the Link URL field. Also enter a description of what that Wikipedia article is about. Click insert.
8. You should see that the words you highlighted are now displayed in blue and underlined to indicate linked text.
9. Choose a category for this post and then publish it.

View your site to see your new post and the link you created.

Recall that the first stage of the development of blogs was sharing new resources and breaking information. So, let’s write a post with new information pertaining to your topic.

1. If you have new information, share it now.
2. Or, visit Google News or other news site to find current happenings related to your topic.
3. Include links to any sites you reference.

Another stage of blog development was making recommendations to interesting or relevant content amid the avalanche of new web pages. So, let’s write a post about the 5 best sites or sources of information about your topic.

1. You may already know what the best and worst sites are.
2. Write a new post and list the best and worst, linking the names to the sites. Yes, link to the worst sites – blogging etiquette says to let the reader see and decide for him or herself.
3. You should add commentary or justification for your choices.

Diaries and journals go way back, but blogs make it easier to share your personal thoughts. So, let’s write a post with a personal reflection or observation about your topic.

1. Include links.
2. Put names and places and key phrases in boldface.

Blogs are at their best when they generate discussion. Let’s add your voice to the conversation.

1. Visit the blogs of the people seated around you.
2. Read their posts.
3. Click on the Comments link at the end of a post to add your feedack.
4. Visit your blog and see if anyone left a comment. Reply back in the comments.

Edit your About page to give your readers background information on you and your topic.