The Blogger Bar

     At the top of any blogger blog, you will usually see the blogger bar. It's at the top of this page right now.
     The blogger bar has a few handy functions.

• You can use it to search blogger - this is like using google, but you only get blogger blogs.
• You can access Google+ stuff.
• You can view similar blogs by clicking 'Next Blog' - sometimes with hilariously odd results.
• More importantly, you will see your user name at the right showing you are logged in. If you are not logged in, there's a link there so you CAN log in.
• You will also see 'New Post' - you can start a new post from anywhere in the blogosphere by clicking here. Obviously, the post goes on your own blog.
• The 'Design' link takes you to the blog's Design page where you can change the template, layout etc.
• You can also sign out if you want to.

Blogging: The Movie

     For those of you who prefer to watch a video instead of reading, here's Blogging: The Movie.
It covers the basics of setting up your own blog, but doesn't cover everything, so you will need to read the posts as well.
     It is also over 15 minutes long. I recommend that you follow along by pausing and going to your own blog to follow the instructions.

     Note that I got sick of the blog theme after wards, and changed it to what it looks like now.

How Blogs Work

If you are new to blogs, there are a few things you need to know.

• First, Blog is short for Web Log - it's basically an online journal or diary. 
• Second, blogs always have the latest content at the top of the page, followed by the next most recent and so on.
• Third, they are a public web space - anyone can see them, including your parents and teachers, so keep it appropriate!
• Fourth, they are very easy to make.

Commenting.

You can leave comments on other people's blogs. This can be useful to give them feedback, ask them questions, or answer questions they have asked.

• You will need to be on someone else's blog. You can practice by leaving comments on this post.
• There are two ways to view a blog - either you can be viewing the full blog, or you can be viewing a single post. To leave comments, you need to be viewing a single post.
• Simply click on the post title, this will open up just this post instead of showing the whole blog.
• Scroll down to the end of the post, and you will find the comments panel.
• Type your comment into the comment box.
• Click on the Publish button.
• You will need to prove you are human by entering a ReCapcha code.
• Your comment will now appear on the other person's blog!

Because your blog is a public web space and any one can see it (including your parents!) make sure you keep your comments appropriate.

Customising your blog

Now that you have made your first blog you can start to make it more interesting.

YOUR PROFILE AND AVATAR:

• Sign into your blog, if you are not there already.
• At the top right of the screen, you will see your user name, with an arrow beside it.
• Click on the arrow, then click on 'Blogger Profile' to open your profile.

• Click on the orange 'Edit Profile' button.
• Towards the bottom of the screen, you will see a heading for 'profile photo'. You can either upload a profile from your computer, or copy and paste the web address of a picture you want to use for your profile.

• Further down, you will find spaces to add other information, like your gender, and interests. You can fill out as much or as little of this as you like.
• Right at the bottom of the page you will find a button to save your profile. Click on this when you are done.

CHANGING THE WAY YOUR BLOG LOOKS:

• Sign into your blog, and make sure you are on the dashboard. If you are already signed in, simply go to www.blogger.com to bring up the dashboard page.

• Beside the orange New Post button, there is a grey button with two pages on it. Clicking this brings up a list of options. Click on 'Template'

• Click on the orange Customise button.

• You can choose your Blog template here, and also choose from a list of sub templates to get something you like.
• You can also make more advanced changes using the links down the left of the screen - you are better off ignoring these for now.
• Once you are happy with your blog's new look, click on the orange 'Apply to blog' button.

ADDING GADGETS:

• Gagets are helpful little tools which appear on the side of your blog. Your basic blog has a Profile gadget and a Blog Archive gadget when you start it up.
• Sign into your blog, and make sure you are on the dashboard. If you are already signed in, simply go to www.blogger.com to bring up the dashboard page.

• Beside the orange New Post button, there is a grey button with two pages on it. Clicking this brings up a list of options. Click on 'Layout'

• You will notice little 'add gadget' links scattered over the page. These show where on your blog the new gadget will appear.
• Click on the 'add gadget' link where you want your gadget.

• This brings up a new window which lets you choke your gadget. Some useful gadgets are:
• Blog List - this is a list of blogs you follow.
• Search box
• Labels - this lets blog readers find your post more easily using the labels you've used.
• Followers - this shows a list of people who are following your blog, and allows others to start following your blog.
• Each gadget has it's own settings, but these are usually fairly easy to work out for yourself.
• You can move gadgets about the page by dragging their names. 

Creating your first blog.

Blogging is very easy to do. All you will need is a blogger account or a google account.

• First, go to www.blogger.com.

• If you already have a Google account (Gmail, Google+ etc.) you can log in using that. If you do not, got to the orange 'Sign Up' button at the top right of the screen, and create an account.
• When you sign in, you will see the dashboard page. This is where you run your blogs from.

• Click on the 'New Blog' button on the left.

• Enter a title and an address. The title is the name of your blog. The address is the web address you want for your blog. Because there are already a lot of people running blogs with blogger, you might find the address you want is not available. Just try a few variants until you get one which works.
• Choose a template - it doesn't matter too much what you choose at this point because you can change it later.
• Click on 'create blog'
• Your new blog will now appear in the dashboard and you can start posting right now!

POSTING:

• From the Dashboard, click on the New Post button - that's the orange pencil button next to the name of your blog. This will load the Post Editor page.

• If you are already in the blog's settings area (because you've been working on the blog already), you can click on the orange 'New Post' button on the top left.
• The post editor page looks like this:

• You must add a title for your post.
• The large box is where you type up your post. It works basically like word. 
• You can add pictures, movies and links using the buttons across the top.
• On the right of the screen, you will see the post settings. Most of these can be ignored, but it's a good idea to use Labels because they let blog readers find things much more easily.

• Click on the word 'Labels' and in the box which opens up, type in some words which describe your post. Make sure there are commas (,) between words. For example, you could type "How To Blog, Beginner Level, Creating Your First Blog"
• When you are happy with your post, click on the orange 'Publish' button at the top of the screen.
• You will end up on the posts page, which displays a list of all your posts. Don't worry, your post is actually live on the blog now. You can check it out by clicking the 'View Blog' button at the top of the page.