Gardner Susannah - Blogging for Dummies

Blogging For Dummies

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number is available from the publisher: 2016940948

ISBN: 978-1-119-25780-6

ISBN 978-1-119-25781-3 (ePub); ISBN 978-1-119-25782-0 (ePDF)

1. Table of Contents

Allow me to be the first to welcome you to the blogosphere, an exciting and energetic space online that people are using to reach out, build communities, and express themselves. Blogging For Dummies, 6th Edition, is designed to help you through the process of starting a blog quickly, and it gives you the tools you need to make the most of your experience in the blogosphere. The entire book is updated and includes the very latest in blogging tips and tricks. Prepare to join the world of blogging!

This book is designed to be useful for all kinds of bloggers, whether youre the CEO of a major corporation or a hobbyist with a passion for communicating. I focus on what makes a blog work and how a blog can work for you. Also, I realize that not everyone has the technical skills necessary to start a blog, so I provide options for all levels of experience.

This book is useful to you whether youre taking part in the conversations in the world of blogs or becoming a blogger yourself. I cover everything from technology to legal issues, so you can go forward knowing you have a resource that covers every aspect of this exciting medium.

Whether youre building a blog as a rank beginner or redesigning an existing blog to make it better, you can find everything you need in these pages. The fact that youre holding this book likely means you have some ideas about starting a blog and I want to get you started right away!

The first part of the book gets you blogging quickly and safely. , I show you the fastest and easiest way to get started immediately with your very own blog.

However, you dont have to memorize this book or even read it in order. Feel free to skip straight to the chapter with the information you need and come back to the beginning later. Each chapter is designed to give you easy answers and guidance, accompanied by step-by-step instructions for specific tasks.

I include sidebars that give you more information, but you dont need to read those sidebars if youre short on time. A Technical Stuff icon also indicates helpful extras that you can come back to when you have more time.

Keeping things consistent makes them easier to understand. In this book, those consistent elements are conventions. Notice how the word conventions is in italics? Thats a convention I use frequently. I put new terms in italics and then define them so that you know what they mean.

URLs (web addresses) or email addresses in text look like this: www.resourcefulmommy.com . Sometimes, however, I use the full URL, like this: http://traction.tractionsoftware.com/traction because the URL is unusual or lacks the www prefix.

Most web browsers today dont require the introductory http:// for web addresses, though, so you dont have to type it in.

Just because blogs have a funny name doesnt mean they have to be written by funny people or even humorous ones! If you can write an email, you can write a blog. Have confidence in yourself and realize that blogs are an informal medium that forgives mistakes unless you try to hide them. In keeping with the philosophy behind the For Dummies series, this book is an easy-to-use guide designed for readers with a wide range of experience. Being interested in blogs is all that I expect from you.

If youre new to blogs, this book gets you started and walks you step by step through all the skills and elements you need to create a successful web log. If youve been reading and using blogs for some time now, this book is an ideal reference that can help you ensure that youre doing the best job possible with any blog that you start or manage.

That said, you dont need to know much more than how to use a web browser, open and create files on your computer, and get connected to the Internet, so you dont need to be a computer genius, either.