Know How... 52

Sometimes you want to communicate a message that is over 140 characters. Blogs are a great way to get your content on the web in a way you control. You won't be subject to Facebook or Twitter's redesign whims if you set up your own blog.

Free Hosted Blogs

If you want to get started, try out a free hosted blog. If you're a Google user, it is pretty simple to try out Google's solution called Blogger. The layout is very much like Google Docs and there is now Google+ integration so you can share directly to Google's social network.

Alternatively, there's Tumblr. The interface for this blogging service is much simpler. You get a few options so you can set up your text, video, or audio post quickly. Additionally, Tumblr shows you a bunch of popular content from all the different tumblogs if you want to repost things quickly.

If you like power, you'll like Wordpress.com. Its interface is not as simple as something like Tumblr, but you have a dashboard that gives you quick access to setting pages, links, comments, and more.

Self-Hosted Blogs

The first thing you want to do is get yourself a domain name. I'm a fan of Hover.com as a domain registrar because it is incredibly straightforward and easy to use. [Disclaimer: Hover has been a sponsor of TWiT.tv]. As a pro-tip, try out NameChk.com to see if your online identity is available everywhere on places like Twitter and Google (as well as a domain name).

Then pick a web host. For my personal projects, I use Bluehost. It costs a couple of bucks of months and allows you set up your site easily.

I like using Wordpress as my CMS on Bluehost since it has so many plugins for things like podcasting. Some of the plugins I use on my personal sites include Podcasting Plugin by TSG, Disqus for comments, and iFrame to embed videos and other content.

Know-It-Alls

William wrote in to show us his awesome ebook scanning set up on Google+

Hi. Jerry here, loving the show:)

About show 51, scanning books. Some libraries, like the one I work in, will have a book scanner for free use.

A book scanner is designed to have a very small edge so the the book can be scanned one page at a time with it hung over the edge, helping to prevent spine damage. We also have software to make a PDF and/or do OCR to make an audio book using Kurzwiel software.

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