Adding your own blog postings

One of the great things about the 910moms.com website is the number of things members can do. Whether it is sharing photos, videos of family fun, discussing what's important to you in the forums, or simply writing a blog entry about something you'd like to share, 910moms.com makes it simple for you.

Today I thought I'd give a few tips on writing a blog. As a member of 910moms.com, you can blog to your hearts content. You can share a funny story, or ponder deep questions about... well, whatever deep ideas you're pondering. (Like why we still call "fast food" fast? Hmmm.....)

A blog doesn't have to be a long story. In fact, blogs are usually better when they're a bit shorter.... maybe a paragraph or two, maybe a few more. Not to say you can't write a longer blog- it is your blog.

So how exactly do you write a blog?

First, you need to be a member of 910moms.com. If you're not already, just follow this link to do so. And if you are a member and need to log in, you can go here. (Just remember to come back here!)

OK, now that we have that taken care of, you should see a link near the top of the page that says "Blogs". When you click on that, you will land on a page with other blog postings your friends here have posted. You'll also see a small green plus mark that says "Add a blog post". Click that.

Now you're blogging! Give it a title, and just start typing in your text. Maybe a recipe. Or an adventure from your family vacation. If you'd like to link to a website, highlight the words you want linked, click the icon that looks like a chain ink, and type in the web address. (Be sure and type in the full address.... the whole http:// dealie and all..) The icon that looks like a small picture is for- pictures! Click it, and add a picture. (Just make sure it is a picture you'd be OK showing your grandmother, as a rule of thumb. :-) )

You'll also see a box called "Tags". Add a few helpful tags so people can search easier. For instance, if it's a recipe, add "Recipe". (You can have more than one tag.... maybe "Oatmeal Cookie Recipe".)

If you really get adventurous, you can even choose a date for the blog posting to go live, and control who can see it and who can comment on it.

And don't worry. You'd have to work really hard to break the website. So give it a try. (If you do break the website, no worries. We know where you are. Sit patiently until the 910moms.com SWAT teams shows up. OK, I'm kidding.... or am I?)

One real caution: this is the internet. It is wide open for all to see. Don't reveal too much personal information, like your address, or your phone number, etc. You can always go back and edit something, if need be. But web search services like Google and Yahoo "crawl" the internet constantly and log what is there. Which is really helpful if you are searching for a recipe for meatloaf you saw somewhere. But not really helpful if that comment about your mother-in-laws meatloaf was maybe posted in a bit of haste. (Not that I have any problems with my mother-in-laws meatloaf.... that was just an example...)

So there you have it- a not too technical (I hope) guide to blogging on 910moms.com. Please feel free to post questions here, or in the forums, or contact me directly!