{balki Blog}
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Many of you (that means you, Deepu) asked about a more convenient way to receive updates to my blog, rather than having to download, install and configure an RSS Reader and then subscribe to this blog’s RSS feed. I have been looking into a couple of technologies to accomplish that and came across this great tool called FeedBlitz. The technology at FeedBlitz is quite simple — I register my blog URL at their site (all I needed to register was an email address and a password) and they provide me with an HTML template that I can then paste on my blog-site. That template contains a textbox and a submit button (look on the left navigation bar). Users who wish to subscribe to that blog with their email can simply enter the address and click submit which will redirect them to a confirmation page on FeedBlitz’s site. Once the user clicks the special confirm link in the email that he receives from Feedblitz, he is all set. He will receive prompt updates via email, whenever there is a change on my blog. That simple!

I still think setting up an RSSReader and subscribing to your favorite blogs is your best bet to receive updates. Nevertheless, FeedBlitz provides a great and easy option for those who do not want to go through that hassle.

Whichever technology you use, make sure you never miss out on those fantastic, awe-inspiring, motivating, funny, out-of-the-world updates from balkiBlog

Technorati : FeedBlitz, email blog subscription
Del.icio.us : FeedBlitz, email blog subscription

I posted a blog a week or so ago about how my blogging experience has been completely revitalized after I started using Zoundry. Now I am slowly getting past the honeymoon stage and am looking forward to the following features to be included in the software. Developers at Zoundry: I know you are just dying to impress me by releasing these features in the next build of Zoundry!

1. Integreated spell-check/grammar-check: I am a relatively good speller but a spell-check is always a good thing to avoid any oops! factor.
2. Ability to modify pages via Zoundry: So, I can only create/update blog-posts but I did find a way to update regular pages on the Wordpress site.
3. Ability to create Zoundry Product links automatically for multiple line items: For example, I have my favorite movies listed on the blog-site and I would like to create product links to all the movies in the list, en masse.
4. A “Now Playing to” feature would be pretty shiny as well: This and several other features are available on BlogJet already. It would be great if Zoundry can incorporate those. Here’s a description of the feature from the BlogJet site:
5. • Now Playing feature detects the name of the artist and the song title for the track being currently played in Windows Media Player, Winamp, or iTunes. It can even insert a link to this song in famous iTunes Music Store, so that readers can buy your favorite music.

Technorati : zoundry wish-list

I have been reviewing offline blogging tools for a while and I am not ready to spend 29.95 yet! So, BlogJet was out of question.

After reading this review of Zoundry by Josh Forsythe, and quickly going through all the available features and the price (FREE!!) I instantly decided this was the tool I was looking for. Integration with WordPress was a snap and I was ready to publish in about 5 minutes. So, far I love everything about Zoundry. If you are serious about blogging and do several entries a week and want the freedom of a WYSIWYG interface, I highly recommend Zoundry.

UPDATE1: Another great review of Zoundry by Swizzle

Several friends questioned the validity of this whole blogging thing I have been advocating lately. I definitely believe I am a better person since I started subscribing to others’ blogs and writing my own (humble) blog.

I would have never known about people like Cliff Atkinson and his revolutionary Beyond Bullet Points concept, Dave Allen and his wonderful Getting Things Done concept. There are several other blogs I am currently subscribed to for personal, technical and professional reasons. Here’s a short list of my current subscriptions (list exported from my RssReader and viewed with XmlMarker):

You can also directly import the attached file (rssreader_export.xml) in your RssReader.

Again, if you search for and test-drive blogs in your area of interest, I am absolutely sure you will definitely find some winners that will change your life for the better. Take my word on this one and start/keep blogging.

The best way to keep track of the blog is to download one of the many good RSS content readers available for free (the one I like most is RssReader, available as a free download.

Then follow these simple steps to syndicate my blog:

1) Go onto my blog site and find the hyperlink icon called “XML” at the top of the left navigation bar, right-click and select “Copy Shortcut”.

2) Open the RssReader software and select the option “Add new feed” available in the Tool bar menu with a “+” symbol. The short-cut will be automatically filled in for you. Click “Next” twice and “OK” once to complete the syndication process. That’s all!

There are millions of blog sites available on the internet and you can add any of those to your RssReader and you will be notified immediately of any updates that happen to the particular blog.

Let me know how you like the blog…
You can always provide feedback as part of your comments.

Technorati : blog syndicate
Del.icio.us : blog syndicate

I was browsing a backrun of the InformationWeek magazine and came across this small set of Blogging Guidelines, which I thought were worthy of sharing with fellow bloggers and readers:

• Make it clear that the views expressed are the individual's.
• Respect the company's confidentiality and proprietary information
• Consult a manager if there's a question about what's appropriate
• Be respectful of others
• Ensure that blogging doesn't interfere with work commitments

(Data: Forrester Research)

Excerpted from Jan 31,2005 issue of InformationWeek