There are many resources for bloggers, some free, some you can subscribe to for a fee. I chose
Blogger, Google’s blogging platform, because it's a free and easy way to get your feet wet as a new blogger. I like many of the features of Blogger, including the ability to edit any post as I'm viewing my blog, templates that look great, the ability to customize the template I've chosen, the ability to post photos with text, the ability for readers to comment on posts but word verification to discourage spam posts by machines, and the ability to blog from anywhere on the web using my Google toolbar. Another very popular and powerful platform includes the subscription-based
TypePad, and Yahoo just launched a new service called
Yahoo! 360º, which allows you to create a blog, share pictures, send bulk email, and more. Blogs have blossomed over the past few years, and businesses large and small are jumping on the bandwagon.
One of the challenges of keeping in touch by using blogs is that many readers do not remember to visit the blogs they may be interested in. One of the current solutions is XML syndication (here's a better explanation than I can give, if you're interested: About syndication), of which there are two popular versions: RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, and Atom, the XML syndication that Blogger uses. You can "subscribe" to an RSS or Atom Feed, which will basically tell you through a feed reader if there is new content on any website or blog that publishes a feed. I found a great feed reader for my Mozilla Firefox internet browser called Sage. It's built right into the browser; all I need to do is open the Sage sidebar and click "Check Feeds" and it will show me which of the feeds I subscribe to have new content.
If you are a blog publisher (or a podcaster!), consider signing up with Feedburner, which offers several features for publicizing your blog and keeping in touch with readers. SmartFeed provides a feed that is compatible with both RSS and Atom feed readers, and even offer links to feed readers for blog readers who are new to syndication. And here's a great new service, the basic version of which is free: an email subscription service called FeedBlitz which allows readers of your blog to get notified of new content by email.
So here's the deal: blogging seems to give me great flexibility and the ability to keep in touch with my readers more frequently. My blogs are below; feel free to use whatever means you'd like to keep updated with new posts to my blog. Pick your flavor; in the sidebar, you'll see an Atom Feed, the SmartFeed from FeedBurner (which includes links to feed readers you may want to try), and a subscription box if you'd like to be notified of new posts by email. The privacy policy of the different feed readers may vary, but if you subscribe by email, FeedBlitz has a comprehensive privacy policy and they will not share your email address with outside parties.
