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How to set up a blog at MSN Spaces
The word "blog" is a combination of the words
"Web" and "log". Blogs
are more than just weblogs, though. Blogs are personal Web pages that
you can use to share your digital pictures, post news about your life,
publish your opinions, list links to your favorite Web pages, and just
about anything else. It only takes a few minutes to set up a blog and it
doesn't require any advanced computer skills.
There are many Web sites that can host your blog. I
chose MSN Spaces, an online
community sponsored by Microsoft, because it's free, easy to use, and
integrated with MSN Messenger. When I update my blog, my MSN Messenger
contacts instantly see a star beside my name, known as
"gleam". They can click it to see my latest blog entry.
In this column, I'll explain how to set up a blog at MSN
Spaces, walk you through the process of customizing your space, give you
instructions for adding a blog entry, and then show you the coolest way
to blog—with your camera phone.
How to set up a blog at MSN Spaces
Setting up a blog at MSN Spaces couldn't be easier. Just follow these
steps:
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1.
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Open Internet
Explorer and go to MSN Spaces.
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2.
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Click Sign Up, as shown in the figure below.
Creating your own blog takes only a few
clicks.
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3.
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If prompted, log in with your Microsoft Passport. If you don't have
a Microsoft Passport, click Get one now.
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4.
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On the Create your space page, type a title for your space
(I used "Tony's Blog") and create a unique URL (I used http://spaces.msn.com/members/northrup/),
choose your time zone, and select the I accept the Spaces Service
Agreement check box. Then click Create your space.
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5.
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On the Congratulations page, you can choose to protect your
blog so only people you select can see your space by clicking Change
Permissions. If you want your space to be publicly available
(that's the most fun way), click Go to Your Space.
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Customize your space at MSN Spaces
Your new blog is ready for you to personalize. First, you should spend a
few moments adding some information about yourself. Some of the items you can
add to your space are the following:
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Profile. You should setup a profile that tells as much or as
little about you as you want people to know. You don't have to tell
people anything about yourself, but if you want people to get to know
you, you can add your name, a picture, your location, your occupation,
and other information about yourself.
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Pictures. Create one or more photo albums. Thumbnails of
your pictures will show when people visit your page, and visitors can
view a slideshow by clicking your photo album. I have photo albums for
my cat and recent trips that I've taken.
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Favorite music.Create
a playlist with Windows
Media Player, and then copy that playlist to your space so
visitors to your Website can see what music you listen to.
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Lists. MSN Spaces supports three types of lists: books,
blogs, and custom lists. I've created a list of books I've written, as
shown in the figure below. Custom lists are great for listing your
favorite Web pages, foods, movies, books, TV shows, or anything else.
Lists can show your favorite books, blogs,
authors, TV shows, or anything else you can imagine.
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Add blog entries to MSN Spaces
Blog entries are the heart of the blog. A blog entry is an update, which
can include text, links, and pictures. To add a blog entry when you're sitting
at your computer, follow these steps:
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1.
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Click Add entry.
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2.
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Fill in the Title box. This is just like adding a subject to
an e-mail message.
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3.
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Optionally, click the Categories list and then click a
category. This helps organize your blog entries, which is very helpful
after you've added dozens of entries. If no categories fit, click Add
a category, type a name for your new category, and click OK.
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4.
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In the main box, type the text of your blog entry. This can be a
paragraph about something interesting you've done recently, a rant
about a product you didn't like, or anything else you want to say. As
shown in the figure below, I recently wrote a blog entry about seeing
a raccoon in my backyard.
Express your thoughts about anything with a
blog.
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5.
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Optionally, add one or more pictures. First, click Add photos.
Then, select your pictures, and click Upload Now, as shown in
the figure below. The best blogs have pictures for almost every entry,
but finding pictures to suit your entry isn't always easy.
Adding pictures to your blog entries takes
only a few seconds.
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6.
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If another blogger inspired you to add your blog post, it's good
etiquette to link to that blogger using a trackback. To do this, click
Trackbacks (Optional), and then add the URL to the blogger's
page in the box that appears.
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7.
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Click Publish Entry. Your new entry appears in your blog for
anyone who visits your site to see. Don't worry if it's not perfect,
because you can always go back and edit it later.
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Tip: If you discover a Web page that you want to share, you can use
the MSN Toolbar Suite Beta to
quickly add an entry to your blog with a link to the page. In Internet
Explorer on the MSN toolbar, click the Spaces button, and then click Blog
It on My Space. Add your own personal thoughts about the Web page, and
then click the Publish Entry button.
How to add blog entries from a mobile phone
Most of the interesting events in people's lives don't happen while sitting
at the computer. If you wait to get back to your computer to write about
something, you're likely to forget. Fortunately, you can add blog entries from
any phone that can send e-mail messages. If you have a camera phone, you can
add entries with both text and pictures. Adding blog entries from a mobile
phone is called moblogging, an abbreviation of "mobile blogging".
This picture, which I took with my camera phone,
was posted to my blog where my friends and family could see it within a
minute of me taking it.
Within minutes, my friends anywhere on the Internet could see
the picture on my blog and know exactly what I was doing that day.
To set up moblogging with MSN Spaces, first send a test message from your
camera phone to your personal e-mail account. The exact steps vary depending
on the type of phone you have, but on my phone, I follow these steps:
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1.
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Push the camera button on the phone.
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2.
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Line up a shot and press OK to take a picture, as shown below.
Adding pictures to your blog entries takes
only a second.
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3.
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When prompted, press OK to send the picture in a message.
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4.
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Using your phone's keypad, type your e-mail address in the To
field.
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5.
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Press OK to send the message.
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Your phone will send your picture to you as an e-mail attachment. Wait a
few minutes, and then use your computer to check your e-mail. After the
message from your phone arrives, note the e-mail address it was sent from.
You'll need it when you configure MSN Spaces for e-mail publishing.
Next, set up MSN Spaces to enable e-mail publishing from your phone:
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1.
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On your blog page, click Settings (near the top, right-hand
corner of the page).
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2.
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Click E-mail Publishing.
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3.
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Select the Turn on e-mail publishing check box.
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4.
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In the E-mail address box, type your phone's e-mail address,
which you noted earlier.
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5.
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In the Secret word box, make up a secret word. It can be
anything, so long as it's not easily guessed.
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6.
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Click Publish entries immediately so that your pictures
appear instantly.
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7.
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In the Update your address book area, note the e-mail
address listed. This is the e-mail address to which you need to send
picture messages from your phone. Click Save.
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Tip: Create a contact on your phone with your MSN Spaces e-mail
publishing address. When you want to post a blog entry, you can send the
message to the contact instead of tapping out the e-mail address manually.
Now, when you want to add a blog entry, just take a picture with your
phone, type a message subject, and send it to your MSN Spaces e-mail
publishing address. Within a few minutes, your new blog entry will appear. The
text you typed will appear as the subject of your blog entry, and your picture
will be attached.
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Tony Northrup is a writer, an Internet engineer, and a
digital photography enthusiast. Tony has a decade of experience making
networks and servers connected to the Internet run smoothly. He has
authored and co-authored eight books about using Windows and written
dozens of articles about Internet technologies. When he’s not on his
deck writing, he toys with home automation technologies and takes
pictures for display in a Web photo album. He lives in the Boston area
with his wife, Erica, and cat, Sammy.
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