Blogging.Tools.Tips.Hacks.Online Money.

For a newbie, the blogging jargon may be a brand new venture and sometimes overwhelming. Below are some commonly used terms in the blogosphere.

Post: Posts are also known as entries. Every time you write something and display it on your blog, you create a post. In typical computer jargon fashion, this noun can also be used as a verb: You can post to your blog.

Comments: Comments is the way in which a blog writer holds conversation with the blog readers. People who visit your blog can post their opinion, which is called a comment. Comments are usually time-stamped and identified by the author’s name and perhaps a link to their Web site or blog. On some blogs, comments are threaded so that readers can comment on other comments, but on most blogs comments are simply displayed chronologically.

Comment spam: We all get loads of unwanted and irrelevant emails called spam. Same is a problem on blogs as well. Comment spam, as you would expect, is left in the comments of a blog. It usually includes just a few words sometimes unrelated to the blog content and a hyperlink.. The idea of the spammer is to promote his/her own blog/site giving it higher search engine rankings.

Categories: Categories permit a blogger to divide the content meticulously. For instance, putting posts about fashion into one basket and posts about celebrities in another. Categories immensely help the readers read only what they are most interested in. It is a good tool for those scanning a blog's archives.

Trackbacks: Trackback technology helps bloggers link back to other posts on related subjects. If you're posting about something that you've seen on another blog, look for the Trackback URL. Paste that URL into the allotted spot in your own blogging software, and the two pieces of blog software will communicate, building a link from the original post to yours (without the other blogger having to lift a finger).

Trackback spam: Works just like comment spam, but done via Trackback.

Pings: Pinging is sending out a message to several blogging tracking Web sites to let them know that you have posted some fresh content on your blog.Once your post is included in the ping site's index, it potentially increases your traffic.

RSS/Atom feeds: In the blogosphere, syndication is a big deal. With millions of blogs to read, many consumers use news aggregators, or readers, to pull in posts and read them, rather than visiting 150 blogs every day. RSS and Atom are two flavors of blog syndication.

Blogroll/lists: Ever noticed those long lists of other blogs alongside the posts in a blog? That's a blogroll, a list of the blogs read by the blogger whose site you are on. Sometimes lists are also kept to recommend books and other media, as well.

Moblogging: Moblogging is the short form of "mobile blogging." Lots of blog software lets you post by e-mail from your phone, PDA, or anything else that allows you to send e-mails.

Blacklist: Blacklists are usually lists of URLs that have been identified as spam URLs, and that are therefore eliminated from comments and Trackbacks on your blog. With most blog software, the software company builds and maintains a common blacklist for all users to which individuals can contribute.

Captchas: Captchas are an additional security feature for commenting and user registration. By providing an image that includes letters and numbers, and by requiring the user to type in those letters and numbers, blog software can ensure that the comment or trackback is not some spam produced by robot programs.

Post scheduling: Some blog software allows you to write posts and schedule them to be published at some point in the future. This is handy for vacations and holidays.

Bookmarks: A bookmark is a link directly to the new post page of your blog.It's a shortcut to the blog posting quickly.To see bookmarking service that allows you to save your favorite links online and access them from any computer, wherever you are, click here.

Templates: Most blog software includes a set of pre-designed templates that give the blog a certain look and feel. Changing templates is like donning a new outfit on to your blog.
To check out free templates, click here.
To see how you can change the default template to a different one, click here.

URL Redirection: In an effort to render comment and Trackback spam ineffective, links included in comments and Trackbacks are tagged with the NOFOLLOW tag, which indicates to search engines that it shouldn't be counted when tallying search engine rankings for a Web site. There is a "NO NO Follow" movement happening presently in the blogosphere. Read more about it here.

Quality blogging takes time. Anything we can do make it easier is welcome. Which is why I have decided to make a comprehensive list of tools that make our blogging life easier. If you know of or use a tool that helps…do let me know. I will definitely look it up and list it here.

A

AddThis – All in one Bookmarking and RSS buttons

Audio Blogger - adds audio to your blog.

Audioblog – Audioblogging and Podcasting made easy.

B

Blogdesk – BlogDesk makes it easy to write, speeds up lavish processes and assists the author with smart features.

Blogjet – BlogJet is a Windows blog client for managing multiple blogs, with features no web-based blog editor can match. ( I am actually writing this blog using blogjet and I really like it. You can try it for free for 30 days)

Bloglines – Bloglines is a FREE online service for searching, subscribing, creating and sharing news feeds, blogs and rich web content.

Blogpulse – BlogPulse.com is a blog search engine that also analyzes and reports on daily activity in the blogosphere.

Blog Poll – Custom poll builder for bloggers.

Blogrolling – BlogRolling is a one-stop linklist manager for your blog or journal, helping you manage your ever-evolving linklist with ease.

Blummy – blummy is a free tool for quick access to your favorite web services via your bookmark toolbar.

Box - Store your data in this BOX and access important documents from your desktop, laptop, or even mobile phone on the go. Once you've uploaded your files to Box, you can also share them with anyone, or just keep them safe for as long as you want.(free to try)

Buttonmaker- One of the most customizeable buttonmakers.

C

Creative Commons – CC help you keep your copyright while inviting certain uses of your work — a “some rights reserved” copyright.

Co.mments -You post a comment on a blog. How do you know if anyone responded? Use co.mments to bookmark posts you want to follow.

ClustrMaps – Map your visitors.

Copyscape – The free Copyscape service makes it easy to find copies of your content on the Web.

D

Domainsbot – The domain name search engine

E

Ecto – Ecto is a feature-rich desktop blogging client for MacOSX and Windows, supporting a wide range of weblog systems, such as Blogger, Blojsom, Drupal, MovableType…

F

Favicon – See those small 16x16 px icons whenever you open a URL. You can make your own here.

Feedburner – One of those tools you just can’t afford to live without. FeedBurner is the leading provider of media distribution and audience engagement services for blogs and RSS feeds.

FeedDemon – Windows-based RSS reader. (free to try).

Feedjit – Live Traffic details.

Flickr – Host and share your photos here.

Flock – Flock is a consumer Internet business which has developed a free, next generation web browser. It simplifies social and web-based applications by bringing them one step closer to the user and integrating them directly into the browser.

G

Google Analytics – Metric tool to help you analyse how your blog fares in terms of who your visitors are, where they came from and tons of other stuff.

Google Reader – RSS Reader.

Google Webmaster Tools – Webmaster tools provides you with a free and easy way to make your site more Google-friendly.

H

Haloscan – HaloScan provides a free, easy to use commenting and trackback service for weblogs and websites, allowing visitors to leave feedback, share their opinion, or comment on the subject at hand.

I

Instant Domain Search – searches domains faster than you can type

J

Looking for useful tools..Any Suggestions?

K

Keyword Discovery – KeywordDiscovery compiles keyword search statistics from over 180 search engines world wide, to create the most powerful Keyword Research tool.

Keyword and Backlink Tracker - Search Engine ranking tool.
Keyword Spy - Keyword Research Tool.

L

Looking for useful tools..Any Suggestions?

M

Mint – Mint is an extensible, self-hosted web site analytics program. Visits, referrers, popular pages and searches can all be taken in at a glance on Mint's flexible dashboard. (Free to try)

MyBlogLog – Metric tool and networking site.

N

Newsgator – Free RSS reader and news tool.

Nichebot - Another comprehensive keyword research tool.

O

Overture Keyword Tool - Another keyword research tool.

P

Performancing – Metric tools and a place where those that want to make money from their blogs can learn, and perfect the art of making a living from weblogging.

Post2Blog – Post2Blog 3 is a FREEWARE handy blog editor with live spell-checking support for pro-bloggers.

Pingoat – Pingoat is a service that pings or notifies a number of services that keep track of weblogs and publish them.

Pingomatic – Ping-O-Matic is a service to update different search engines that your blog has updated.

PayPal – PayPal is the safer, easier way to pay and get paid online. The service allows anyone to pay in any way they prefer, including through credit cards, bank accounts, buyer credit or account balances, without sharing financial information.

Photobucket – Upload all your photos, videos, and images for free.

Q

Looking for useful tools..Any Suggestions?

R

Rocketpost – RocketPost is a productivity app for blogging, designed for serious bloggers and business users.(Free to try).

S

Sitemeter - Website stats tool.

Sitening – A Sitening Account is free and will provide access to the SEO Tools.

Slide -Make slides of snaps you love and embed them. Slide widgets — including Slide Shows, Guestbooks, SkinFlix and FunPix — are popular on top social networking and blog platforms.

Snap -A preview tool to give readers a preview of external links on a blog.

T

Tagcloud – Make your own tagclouds.

Technorati -The most popular Blog Search engine there is.

Technorati Tag Generator – A simple tool to generate the code for Technorati tags.

TinyURL – Shortens long winding URLS.

U

Looking for useful tools..Any Suggestions?

V

Vizu – Vizu is where you come to find out what the world thinks.Just Poll them.

W

w.bloggar – w.bloggar is an application that acts as an interface between the user and one or more blog(s); in other words, it is a Post and Template editor, with several features and resources.

webpad – the web-based text editor

X

Looking for useful tools..Any Suggestions?

Y

YouTube – YouTube allows people to easily upload and share video clips and across the Internet through websites, mobile devices, blogs, and email.

Z

Zoom Clouds - With ZoomClouds you can put in a matter of minutes a tag cloud in your site, based on whichever RSS feed you like.
Zoundry – Zoundry is a service that enables word-of-mouth marketing by passionate writers on the Web.