I posted awhile back about enlarging photos and have since found a much better method for posting to your blog and loading pics . Windows Live Writer. All you need to do is get this downloaded onto your computer and you will be in blog heaven, loading pics faster than you can snap your fingers, editing, changing fonts quick and easy, and even moving your pics around at will. And you’ll wonder what took you so long to find this wonderful tool. I have to thank Joni, from Cote de Texas for turning me on to Windows Live Writer a few months ago. She nudged me over to it and I haven’t looked back.
No more changing codes to enlarge pics, no more loading pics in order so that they can still be clickable to enlarge. With Windows Live Writer, you can move things around as you wish before it gets published. You will love it! So, what are you waiting for, go here and download and start blogging. This is the screen from the Windows Live Writer site:
And come back and tell me how much you love it too. Be careful when you are downloading it to only choose the Windows Live Writer portion, you really don’t need the other Windows Live features. You will need to attach your blog to it once it’s loaded and then you’re good to go. The only glitch so far is that picture storage can sometimes cause an error message when you try to publish or save a post to your blog. When that happens, it may say error 500, which might mean that you are over your picture storage with Blogger and Picasa (where pics are stored). After 2 years of blogging, I just recently had to pay for a year of extra storage for my pics ($20 per year), but that’s what happens when you post lots of pics like I do. It’s worth it! I also recently got another error message and Joni helped me with that one. She suggests that you go in and rename the last album in your picture storage file and that takes care of the error. In case you don’t know where your picture storage area is in Picasa, click on Dashboard, then My Accounts, and then click on Picasa. That is where all your pics are automatically stored in Blogger.
So, this is a tip from me to you and I hope you new bloggers will take note and try it out. It will make your blog life SO much easier. I only wish I had started using it months ago.
While we’re talking about new bloggers, let me take this opportunity to give you a few other tips on blogging. Many of you have asked me over the months about better ways to get your blog out there. I really don’t have any great advice, except to be yourself, write about what you love, and go and visit lots of blogs and comment. Those blogs will get to know you the more you put yourself out there and then they’ll come back to see you too. I think the best thing I can tell anyone is to be yourself. Pure and simple, a real personality is your best asset. I have been blogging 2 years now and it’s only been by word of mouth and networking that my blog has grown to where it is now. I’ve never had a big feature or any sort of story that has promoted my blog all that much.
Another thing that really continues to be a pet peeve of mine and that I’ve mentioned before is the feature of Letter Verification on blogs and I continue to see it on a lot of new blogs. Some will argue with me on this one, but people, I’m here to tell you, you absolutely do NOT need to keep this feature turned on at your blog. If you feel the need for higher security or to control spam, then leave on Comment Moderation, which means you will moderate each and every comment before it hits your blog, but please, please, please turn off the Letter Verification thingy. It’s highly annoying to your readers and takes SO much longer for them to leave comments. You will not find any big blogs out there that have this feature, so please take that suggestion in the manner it is meant to be taken and consider turning it off. I’ve had a few problems over the last 2 years with some ugly spam at my blog, but it has been very sporadic and not enough to warrant me turning it on. I’ve had to turn on Moderate Comments one time only for just a couple of days. You have the power to delete any rude comments at your blog, so use it.
I see so many new blogs out there these days and I hope these suggestions will help many of you get your blogs going and growing!
Next Wednesday, I have a very exciting GIVEAWAY going on and I promise, you will not want to miss it. Some great things that you will ALL love!
I don’t like the Letter Verification either. I have a few blogs that I read that have it and I don’t like it. I like their blog’s so I deal with it, but I wish they would take it off.
I so appreciate the tips you give. Being new I had no ideas about the word verification thing. So I checked out my settings and realized I had it…I got rid of it because you are right …it is a pain…I wouldn’t have known to even check if not for you. I also downloaded the Windows Writer…not sure how to use it yet, but I’ll get there. And thanks so much for your comment on my last post. Just knowing someone besides family and friends have read any of my posts makes me so happy. Thanks again!
Hi Rhoda
Thanks so much for the info. I’ll post a link to this on Monday at the Back Porch.
A couple of our little munchkins are here at the lake with us, until this afternoon. They take top priority, so no weekend posting, this week.
Have fun at the beach. Our snow passed us by, yesterday, even though Dana of The Stone Rabbit had snow, just a little bit north of us. We have welcome sunshine this morning!!
I hope people listen about the letter verification thing! It drives me crazy. I don’t understand why so many have that AND comment moderation. I’ve had two problems in two years and all I did was delete those comments. Some of those letter verification things you have to try several times cause you can’t read the darn letters – don’t make it hard for people to leave comments!
Manuela
Hi Rhoda-
Thanks for the information.
Since I am new to this- please excuse what may seem like a crazy question.
How does Live Writer make it easier to post that doing it directly onto one’s blog?
Does it make it easier to edit drafts before publishing?
Laura
http://www.whitespraypaint.blogspot.com
Rhoda,
I hate the verification tool, so thanks for telling people to turn it off.
Secondly, you were the one who got me to use a blog reader and now you are helping with the window live writer.
You are such an inspiration, I love all your ideas and your thoughtfulness.
Cynthia
Thank you for the info!! I think you just upgraded my life!
My blog has gone. This is my new one. Please add me and if you don’t mind letting others know.
Hiya…Does this work with Macs? thanks! -susan
I’m downloading Windows Live Writer at this moment. Eager to check it out!
I’m in “blog heaven”! I have done one post with lots of pics. Soooo
much easier. I was brazen enough to just publish it! It is a mess but I wanted you to see and I linked back to you! I’ll do better. Thanks again!
bcpmylife
Thank you for posting information about Windows Live Writer – it has, indeed, made my life so much easier! Before I used to spend hours editing my blog posts (especially the ones with pictures) until they looked right, and they never did. This is so much easier now!
Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for the tip. I found you by way of Blueridge Gal’s blog. I’ve downloaded the writer but haven’t tried using it yet. I’m looking forward to it, though.
You have a nice little home here 🙂
Rhoda – remember when you started with live writer? those were fun times. 🙂 hehe. can’t live without it now, I’ll bet. me neither. And poor Mac people. no- WINDOWS live writer doesn’t work with macs. someone I know blogs with a pc and uses a mac for everything else!
omg – I hate that verificationn like crazy. you know tonight I had to do it a million times and I thought I might write a blog that said – no comments from me anymore if you have word verification! except you don’t know until after you write the comment. hehe oh well. it seemed like a good idea at the time.
long live live!!
Just love your blog, and your ideas are great,….thanks for sharing them.
I will definitely be back.
OH MY GOODNESS! I can only hope that I will figure out how to delete that bad O’l ‘Letter Verification’ thingy before you attempt to comment on one of my Classic Commical postings. I’d continue commenting about how grateful I am for your selfless insight/contributions about blogging….but I’ve got to SCOOT and show that ‘Letter Verification’ who is BOSS of MY Blogging. WOOOOooooWEEEeeeee
ooohkaaaay…
I’ve just made a desperate attempt at removing the irritating ‘Letter Verification’…and I don’t see ANYTHING AT ALL about where or how to accomplish said feat. A little bit of help form ANYONE would be greatly apprecitated.
I just wanted to tell you that Debbie, from Jadehollow, sent me over to you and I owe you and her my undying devotion and appreciation for your explanation of this program. I only have three hairs left after trying to work with Blogger since their latest debacle. Now, I'm in love with Live Writer.
Your blog and this link are featured in my post today. Maybe you'll get a chance to stop by and I hope lots of my friends come on over and share in the wonderful news, and while they're here, maybe they'll sign up to follow! You're the BEST! THANK YOU!
I followed your link through Robynn's post today, and downloaded Windows Live Writer. I am indeed in blog heaven! So easy to work with, it's wonderful, I'm thrilled! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, I'm a very happy camper!
I am going to try the Windows Live Writer…I hope I can figure it out. But you'll be happy to know I already turned off the word verification for comments! I had been thinking about doing that – thanks for the nudge.