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Archive/summary



Date Entries Category
3/30/2010   Quick tour   Why Beta Blogger?  
3/29/2010   Easy set up   Why Beta Blogger?  
3/28/2010   Simple to use   Why Beta Blogger?  
3/27/2010   Fully compatible with ANY OL site!   Why Beta Blogger?  
3/26/2010   SEO friendly   Why Beta Blogger?  
3/25/2010   Integrated navigation   Why Beta Blogger?  
3/24/2010   Moderated comments   Why Beta Blogger?  
3/23/2010   Monetize your blog   Why Beta Blogger?  
3/22/2010   Integrate your Live Spaces blog   Why Beta Blogger?  
3/21/2010   Partially redirected domain?   Why Beta Blogger?  
3/20/2010   What does Beta Blogger cost?   Why Beta Blogger?  
3/20/2010   What does Beta Blogger include?   Why Beta Blogger?  
3/19/2010   How does Beta Blogger work?   Why Beta Blogger?  
3/18/2010   Case studies:Beta Blogger in the real world.   Why Beta Blogger?  
3/18/2010   Let Beta Blogger build your whole site   Why Beta Blogger?  
3/15/2010   What is "The Bucky Look"?   The Bucky Look  
3/3/2010   Interactive design gallery   Design / demos  
3/1/2010   Fully customizable   Design / demos  
2/27/2010   Office Live resources   Office Live  
2/26/2010   Why do I need a blog?   General  
2/17/2010   Custom footer error resolved!   Office Live  
2/7/2010   BATTLE OF THE BLOGS!! Beta Blogger vs Live Spaces.   Blog comparison  
1/20/2010   Reclaim your domain!   Office Live  
1/20/2010   Change your Windows Live ID!   Office Live  
1/8/2010   Think outside the blog   Why Beta Blogger?  
1/4/2010   What Beta Blogger can't do...   Why Beta Blogger?  
12/31/2009   FAQ   Support  

Quick tour


By:
: 3/30/2010
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For full product details, see the FAQ style feature list.

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Easy set up


By:
: 3/29/2010
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5 step set up

  • Install the application and pages (1 .olp file)
  • Upload the css file appropriate to your site's configuration
  • Set up the month and category lists
  • Connect the modules to your lists in business applications
  • Blog!

    After initial set up-you won't have to touch your blog pages in the the page editor again! Complete set up instructions are included within the application. The basic package also includes 30 days of phone support and unlimited email support in case you get stuck.
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    Simple to use


    By:
    : 3/28/2010
    :

    Form based interface

    When you create a new post in the application, you'll see a form based interface like this:
    [Mouseover the image to enlarge]
    Move your mouse back over the page to close this image Each line item has instructions and a copy/paste example to assist you if a specific format is required.

    The rich text editor allows you to add images, links and other formatting to your posts. [IE only] You can also create your posts in html-though javascript gets filtered out.

    Fill in the form, click ok, and your post will automatically be published to the corresponding pages/indexes.
    Perhaps one of the best things about Beta Blogger is you never have to wrestle with the page editor to get the look you want. If you need to edit something, simply open the application and make any changes you want. You're guaranteed a consistent, professional look everytime.
    That's all there is to it!
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    Fully compatible with ANY OL site!


    By:
    : 3/27/2010
    :

    Structure

    We guarantee Beta Blogger will blend in with the size, colors and look of your site. Page templates included cover virtually any variation of site width, navigation orientation and page layout. You can see a 780px/left nav site here

    Header and navigation

    The modular design only occupies the editable zones of your pages, so your header and navigation structure won't be affected. Integrated blog navigation means you only have to add one page to your site's nav to open the blog and give your visitors access to every post.
    If you're using a top and left nav configuration, you can opt whether to show the secondary left nav elements on your blog pages or use the space for ads or other content:
     

    The look

    Beta Blogger is delivered "style neutral"-in other words, the module backgrounds are transparent and fonts and hyperlinks will inherit your site's scheme. In the unlikely event there is a compatibility problem with your site, we'll fix it, no charge. And with a little css styling, you can easily transform the look of Beta Blogger, like THIS -same blog-totally different look!

    Flexibility

    Beta Blogger is "makeover-proof"! It's designed to effortlessly withstand any changes made to the color scheme, look or layout of your site. For example, if you decide to reconfigure your site from a 980px wide, top nav set up to 780px wide with left nav, you simply delete one file from your docs gallery and upload another one and your blog will be updated.
    Additionally, each blog element is a separate module so you're free to move them wherever you want on a page. Just drag and drop to a new location-or delete ones you don't want to use. To illustrate this, here's an example of a site where we used one navigation element only and moved it to the left of the page.
    Change happens, after all. But it won't affect your blog.

    To experience the flexibility of Beta Blogger, visit our interactive gallery where you can see how the blog adapts to a variety of different site styles.


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    SEO friendly


    By:
    : 3/26/2010
    :
    Till now, the only way to add a blog to an OL site was to iframe a 3rd party blog or use Live Spaces. The iframe solution can look okay but NONE of the content is exposed to search engines. Compare the source code of this iframed Blogger blog on an OL page with the source of the page you're reading and you'll see what I mean. Source code is what the search engines see.
    Live Spaces blogs are great-but only allow one page of content and redirect the visitor away from your site to see more of your blog or leave a comment. Not good if you're trying to maximize the search benefit of your blog.

    Expose yourself!

    With Beta Blogger, ALL your blog content is visible to the se's. Visitors can find, read and comment on all your posts without ever leaving your site. Not only that, but if you currently use a Live Spaces blog, YOU CAN INCORPORATE IT INTO YOUR BETA BLOGGER BLOG! Simply add your Live blog id to the module on the provided "Earlier entries" page and you can include as many of your Live blog posts as you'd like.
    So not only is your current and past content "exposed", but your site also gets the search engine credit for every page view and every link clicked.
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    Integrated navigation


    By:
    : 3/25/2010
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    Keep your visitors on your site

  • Integrated navigation doesn't interfere with your site's overall nav.
  • One link in your site navigation gives visitors access to your entire blog.
  • Consistent blog navigation on every page encourages browsing.
  • Posts organized by recent, month and category
  • Subjects are linked so one click takes a visitor directly to the post they're looking for.
  • Summary page lists all your posts by subject.
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    Moderated comments


    By:
    : 3/24/2010
    :

    Interactivity

    Allowing visitors to leave comments is a great way to encourage participation in your site. Sites that allow comments see an increase in traffic and return visits.
    Beta Blogger includes a moderated comments feature that opens right below the post and won't redirect visitors to another site like Live Spaces does. Your visitors can conveniently leave a comment and read what others have said.

    Managing comments left on your site

    It's great that visitors can leave comments on your site-but how do you know when they have? Opening every comments box to check would be quite a chore. That's why we provide an RSS feed for every comments box. Simply copy the RSS link and add it as a subscription to your favorite RSS reader. When you check the reader, you can easily see if you have any new comments.
    If you want to delete any unwanted comments, we provide you with a unique Google id/password that lets you log in as an administrator. Right click the admin link-log in once and you can quickly remove any comment left on any comments box on your site. As a convenience, by default the comments feature also filters out any profanity.
    Feel free to leave a comment to see how it works!
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    Monetize your blog


    By:
    : 3/23/2010
    :

    User content zones

    Within each Beta Blogger template are well defined user content areas in the left and right columns. These can be used for additional text, images or to give your affiliate ads a clean, professional presentation.

    Even better, these zones are already configured so you can simply paste your ad code into the designated area!

    Beta Blogger can pay for itself!

    It's become almost standard practice for blogs to include an advertising component. According to web site worth evaluators, Office Live sites' potential ad earnings can range from $9 to $50 a month. The key is ad placement. Ads should be placed in well defined areas, be unobtrusive and not crowd out your content, and add visual interest and impact to your pages. In short, they should look like they're supposed to be where they are and not just tacked onto your layout as an after thought.
    Beta Blogger can help you blend your ads seamlessly into your site. Don't miss out - put Beta Blogger to work for you-in no time it could pay for itself!


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    Integrate your Live Spaces blog


    By:
    : 3/22/2010
    :

    Already have a Live Spaces blog? No problem....

    If you already have a Live Spaces blog on your site, you can easily integrate it into your Beta Blogger blog. You can either:
    1. copy/paste your posts into a Beta Blogger post
    2. set your blog up on the designated "Earlier Entries" page.
    This page includes a Live Spaces blog module so all you have to is add the name of your blog and decide how many posts you want to appear on the page. The blog will be formatted the same as your new Beta Blogger blog and will look like it's a part of it!

    See an example of how this works here

    You can also use the Live Spaces blog on the Earlier Entries page to "warehouse" older posts after you reach the limit on allowable posts* that include the commenting feature. This allows you to keep writing new posts with the commenting feature AND retain search engine exposure for older posts.
    *Go here for an explanation of the post limit.
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    Partially redirected domain?


    By:
    : 3/21/2010
    :

    Use Beta Blogger to edit your site-without switching domains!!!

    Here's another great use for Beta Blogger:
    If you have a partially redirected domain name, you know about the unresolved bug that doesn't allow you to edit your site without switching over to the secondary, free domain. As soon as you click the "design site" link, you see that annoying message:
    "We're unable to complete your request Windows Live ID is experiencing technical difficulties. Please try again later".
    Well, a side benefit of using Beta Blogger is you can edit the Beta Blogger built parts of your site WITHOUT SWITCHING DOMAINS!
    Let's say you want to publish a new blog article or any new content. Normally with a partially redirected domain, you'd have to switch domains in the domain manager, create the article then switch the domains back. This could have a negative effect on your search engine rankings. Over time, it could also mess up your whole site.
    This bug only seems to affect the page editor-so business applications are immune and anything you create or edit there will automatically update your site. If you don't have to go into the page editor, you don't have to switch domains.
    Combine this with the capability of Beta Blogger to build a whole site and you've found a solution to the "partial redirect" problem!
    Another great reason to consider Beta Blogger!
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    What does Beta Blogger cost?


    By:
    : 3/20/2010
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    :

    What does Beta Blogger include?


    By:
    : 3/20/2010
    :
    Everything you need to build a professional looking, seo friendly blog on your Office Live site. We want to make sure Beta Blogger works for you so, in addition to the application, page templates, commenting element and supporting files, you also get 30 days of phone support and unlimited email support.
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    How does Beta Blogger work?


    By:
    : 3/19/2010
    :

    For bloggers

    Beta Blogger is designed to replicate a traditional blog using only the components available in a standard Office Live website. From a user experience point of view, it's just like a regular blog. The blogger enters posts and the nav links into a form, and the application automatically publishes the post and updates the indexes on the web pages.

    Behind the scenes, Beta Blogger uses the business applications area as a database for the posts and different "views" of that database format the modules on the web pages. Embedded javascript and css code handle some of the functionality and the appearance of the blog, so you don't have to.

    The only non OL component is the commenting feature which is hosted separately by us and automatically added to your posts. Comments moderation is accomplished by using a unique id that you control, allowing you to delete any undesirable comments.

    So the only things a user has to do is install the application, connect the published lists on the included pages to the "database" (by clicking ok a few times!) and enter the posts. Unless you want to change the appearance of the blog, you don't have to know ANY code to operate a fully functioning, great looking blog.

    For visitors

    The integrated navigation ensures your visitors have easy access to any of your posts from anywhere within the blog. They can find, read and comment on your posts on a number of different pages, arranged by default as follows:

  • recent posts = last 5 posts
  • archive = all posts with summary linked to each post
  • 12 monthly pages
  • 10 category pages

    Beta Blogger's structure can also be customized if you have special needs. For example, you may have a category with a lot of posts and you want to provide streamlined, FAQ style navigation for that category page-as we did on this site here. Please CONTACT US with your requirements.
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    Case studies:Beta Blogger in the real world.


    By:
    : 3/18/2010
    :
    We tested Beta Blogger by installing it on a couple of working sites. Here's what happened:

    CASE 1: Our own "lab" site

    In this test we wanted to show how a site with a left or top/left navigation would look with Beta Blogger. We use this site to noodle around with different OL features, so it was a perfect candidate to put Beta Blogger to the test.
    We took various things we've written about Office Live in the past and entered them as blog posts. In this configuration, we left the secondary nav on for demo purposes. You have the option of turning it off and using that otherwise possibly wasted left nav space to seamlessly and unobtrusively display ads, images or other content.

    See the results HERE


    CASE 2: Local Church site

    For this test, we took the Pastor's occasional monthly message-"From the Pastor's desk"- and turned it into a blog. Rather than showing only the latest message and links to prior messages, Beta Blogger allowed us to include ALL the messages in a convenient and easily navigable format that is fully discoverable by search engines. The recent messages are in the blog but we also pasted earlier messages into a Live Spaces blog and included them on the "earlier entries" page.
    In this example you can see how Beta Blogger inherits the font and link styling of the parent site. And I'm not sure how long the church will allow them to stay, but note also how the Google ads somewhat adapt to the content of the site. A sure sign Google is seeing what the site is about!

    See the results HERE


    Functional, flexible...

    Hopefully, these examples demonstrate just how functional and flexible Beta Blogger can be. It can also be used to bring organization and consistency to ANY content on your site-not just a blog. You can see examples of other uses here.
    We really look forward to seeing the creative and different ways we know OL site owners will use it to "tell their stories".
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    Let Beta Blogger build your whole site


    By:
    : 3/18/2010
    :
    This webbrewers.com site was built almost entirely using Beta Blogger. We thought it would be instructive and fun to build a site using ONLY Beta Blogger. For the subject site, the only add on was the header image. Everything else-from site navigation to page content-was created in Beta Blogger. We've detailed the steps we took below to give you a "real world" example of how it was done.

    Preparation

    Since our goal was a 100% Beta Blogger site, we decided to use 2 elements to build the pages: the blog category navigation as the main site navigation, with the default navigation turned off on every page; and blog posts to occupy the body of the pages. We continued as follows:

    1/.Install solution:

    Install .olp file to unleash the power of Beta Blogger! We started by installing the .olp file as a "solution" in the subject Office Live site. This uploads the application, the pages and the supporting css and javascript files to their appropriate locations.

    2/.Define categories:

    Define your categories Next, we opened business applications and clicked the category tab to define the core categories we wanted to use for the site. These can be added to or changed at a later point. For a blog, you would then normally configure the months you want to use, starting with the month of your first post. For the sake of simplicity and since this site wasn't a blog and we were using the categories for the main site navigation, we skipped that step.

    3/.Activate pages:

    Pages are easily activated by clicking 'ok' within the Beta Blogger modules Switching to the page editor, we opened the predefined pages we wanted to use-in this case just the ones for the categories we'd set up in the last step. For a blog, you would also want to configure the "Recent","Archive" and "Earlier Entries" pages and possibly a few of the "Monthly" pages. Since we were only using the category navigation, we deleted the other navigation modules and to activate the pages, we simply right clicked the modules, clicked "properties" and clicked "ok".

    4/.Enter posts:

    Enter your posts in easy form Within 10 minutes and with the required pages already built, we were ready to enter our first "post". So we went back to business applications, clicked the "Blog" tab and then "New" to create a new post. Following the line by line instructions we entered a post number, subject and link, author, date, post contents, and finally selected a month and category from the drop downs and clicked "ok".
    The post and category information appeared exactly where it should on the appropriate page, with the comments box links underneath the post. If this were a blog, the "Recent" and "Archive" indices would have been updated too.
    We then returned to business applications to create additional posts. Within a few hours the entire site was built!
    This is a very simple site for demo purposes-but how long would it have taken without Beta Blogger?
    You can see the results on the live, working site here! - and keep in mind nothing you see on this site was entered via the page editor-we didn't even have to reopen the editor once the pages were set up.

    Everything was created in business applications using just...
    Beta Blogger!


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    What is "The Bucky Look"?


    By:
    : 3/15/2010
    :
    "The Bucky Look" is the look a dog gives you when it sees something it doesn't quite understand - a tilt of the head, the wide eyes, the outstretched ears. It was named after a friend's dog (aka Bucky) who didn't understand that much, so even mentioning his name would elicit The Bucky Look. I guess I don't understand that much either because I find myself all too often with a Bucky Look on my face.
    So this will be a series of posts about things I come across that bring out The Bucky Look in me.
    Here's a quick one to illustrate what I mean:

    Oooh. let me pay more.....

    I have a credit card with a well known and very large bank which offers "points" for every dollar charged on the card. In their rewards catalog you can purchase an Apple iPod for some 31000 points. If however you opt for a check, the points are worth 1% or $310. The same Apple iPod is available at a well known and very large store for $168.
    Hmmm, should I buy one through the bank's reward catalog or get a check, kick in $26 and BUY 2 at the store?
    [INSERT BUCKY LOOK HERE]
    To me, this little tale indicates one or all of the following:
  • The bank thinks we're all stupid
  • The bank is stupid
  • The bank is trying to cheat us
  • Charging for nothing is so engrained in the bank's culture that it just can't help it
  • Oh wait. I got it! Their iPod price includes a $142 "convenience" fee (that's 85% for the mathematically minded). Of course.
    Take your pick.
  • :

    Interactive design gallery


    By:
    : 3/3/2010
    :

    Same site, same blog-totally different look!

    Use the arrows above to scroll through the different layouts.
    Click the links to transform this page.

    You'll see:

  • how Beta Blogger adapts to different OL site styles (some weirder than others!).
  • what you can expect from the Basic, Premium and Custom packages.

    BASIC:Gallery #'s 1-3

  • The default Beta Blogger set against different page and site backgrounds.

    PREMIUM:Gallery #'s 4-8

  • Give your blog personality by adding borders and background images to posts.

    CUSTOM:Gallery #'s 9-11

  • Transform your whole site with a "makeover"! Custom site background, header, and navigation.
  • #9 "Office": shows how multiple background images can be used.
  • #10-11:illustrates a layout with top and left navigation.
  • To see more examples of what can be done with the Custom package and how Beta Blogger can be used for more than just a blog, see the ideas below:
  • :

    Fully customizable


    By:
    : 3/1/2010
    :

    More examples of pages and design ideas-all built with Beta Blogger........


    Beta Blogger is modular-meaning the page elements (blog posts and indices) are simply lists of data published from business applications and can be positioned or expanded to suit your needs. The package includes 12 monthly pages and 10 category pages but you can add as many as you like.
    Pretty much any content can be published to your site with Beta Blogger and you can choose how it looks. Here are a few ideas to demonstrate it's flexibility:

    100% Beta Blogger built site

  • Nothing on pages except BB modules.
  • ALL content entered via blog post form.
  • Uses BB blog navigation in place of site nav.
  • See live site
  • Beta Blogger gallery concept

  • Publish your photos/art-even videos-to your site with Beta Blogger.
  • Organize work into collections
  • Encourage interactivity with comments
  • See live site
  • Beta Blogger online store

  • Uses Beta Blogger as a products database
  • Professional, organized presentation-everytime.
  • Featured product/category areas.
  • See live site
  • Our lab site

  • Integrates left nav on a 780px width site
  • Clean, simple look
  • See live site
  • Blog on a church site

  • Turns Pastor's monthly message into a blog
  • Side columns used for relevant images/messages
  • Easily update and maintain your site with activities and images.
  • See live site
  • 2 column layout

  • Maximizes space for blog
  • Posts are highlighted with borders
  • See live site
  • Variation on 2 column layout

  • Dark gray color scheme
  • Posts are highlighted with borders
  • See live site

  • Leave us a comment-
    let us know what you think about these designs

    :

    Office Live resources


    By:
    : 2/27/2010
    :
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    Why do I need a blog?


    By:
    : 2/26/2010
    :
    Why do I need a blog?

    Search 101

    It seems to be conventional wisdom these days that blogs are good for websites because of the site relevant, rich content they add. Search engines LOVE content.
    And with Google processing an estimated 200 million search requests a day (that's over 2300 a second!), it obviously makes sense to try and make your site as appealing as possible to the search engines and all the potential traffic they provide.

    Saturate your site!

    So how does a blog help you do that? The truth is there's no way for an OL site owner to predict what keywords a searcher is going to use. And chances are your competition is using the same meta tags as you-besides which for years Google has said they don't pay much attention to meta tags. So it's really a crap shoot-a numbers game. One proven way to increase the odds in your favor is to saturate your site with content relevant to the site's purpose. That's where blogs come in.
    Bring out your inner blog with Beta Blogger by webbrewers.Let's say for example, you sell widgets on your site and you are a widget expert. You publish blog posts about your experience with widgets, the history of widgets, how to use a widget etc.You'll increase the chances of a search engine's algorithms computing that your site is more relevant to the person searching for "widgets, history, experience, how to". than a competitor that is lacking in this type of content-because returning relevance is the name of the game in search. You probably won't shoot up to the first page overnight-but overtime, it's been proven that search engines reward relevance above all else.

    Expose yourself!

    Of course none of that does you much good if the search engines can't see ALL the content of your blog. And that's where Beta Blogger comes in. Unlike a Live Spaces blog or embedding a 3rd party blog, Beta Blogger ensures everything you write is exposed to the search engines as plain text- EVERYTHING. Take a look at the source code of this page (view/page source) and you'll see what I mean.

    The friendly, fresh and fun factors

    An additional benefit of adding a blog is that you can build confidence in your site by communicating your expertise in it's subject. A useful and informational site is more user friendly and engaging-and more likely to attract repeat visitors.
    And let's not forget the "fresh factor". By periodically adding blog posts to your site, your content is automatically freshened up- something both visitors and search engines appreciate. And last but not least-the "fun factor". You may find you enjoy expressing yourself about a subject you're expert in and getting some interaction from visitors to your site. 

    So "bring out your inner blog"-see what it can do for your site!


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    Custom footer error resolved!


    By:
    : 2/17/2010
    :

    The custom footer module is truly one of the saviors of Office Live. It provides a way to add pure code to an OL page without the javascript/iframe shenanigans of the html module which often causes problems.

    But it has some quirks which are worth understanding. One of them may be surfacing more recently as a result of sites reverting to a 4th level domain, after the recent spate of custom domain expirations. I ran into this quirk while installing an application on a site I manage.

    For some reason, the custom footers on page templates installed fine but couldn't be edited. The arcane error message referenced an "unexpected = when a ; was expected on line 1 position 410". No idea what that meant, so did a quick search on the OL community, and came up with this thread by SamsBook (aka OL Sam). He had the same problem and discovered it was due to an ampersand in his site footer element which was throwing an error in the custom footer.

    I knew there were originally no ampersands in the footer links on the site I was working on, but when I checked the links there, I noticed one of them had been replaced by a long OL url which sure enough included an ampersand.

    Evidently, when we allowed this particular site's custom domain to expire, OL automatically replaced the links which of course no longer referenced pages on the site. Sam didn't make that connection perhaps because his situation was different, but just like him, as soon as we removed the OL supplied link, the footers all worked again as they should.

    So the moral of the story is-if your domain expires, and you see an error that references an unexpected character, take a look at the links in your footer area. Thanks to Sam, another MS mystery solved!

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    BATTLE OF THE BLOGS!! Beta Blogger vs Live Spaces.


    By:
    : 2/7/2010
    :

    THIS IS A BETA BLOGGER POST!


    Compare Beta Blogger to Live Spaces. See the differences. This is how a post looks in Beta Blogger-scroll down for the Live Spaces version.

    May the best blog win.

    Who wins?

    Live   
    Beta 
     Comments
    Easy set up?
    Y
    Y
    Simple to use?
    Y
    Y
    Consistent look?
    Y
    Y
    Integrated navigation?
    N
    Y
     
    Access to all posts?              

    N

    Y

    Have to go offsite to see other Live posts

    Onsite comments?

    N

    Y

    Have to go offsite to read/leave Live comments.
    SEO friendly?

    N

    Y

    Only Live posts included on your site can be seen.

    Customizable?

    Ltd

    Y

    Include images?

    Y

    Y

     

    Include audio/video?

    N

    Y

    Spaces video won't show on OL site. BB requires javascript.


    You decide!

    Leave a comment below and let us know what you think. Of course, to comment on the Live Spaces post you'll have to go to another website....

    :

    Reclaim your domain!


    By:
    : 1/20/2010
    :

    Ignored those emails about your OL domain expiring or didn't see them? Worried that your web site is also gone? Don't worry about the site. Domains expire but web site accounts don't.  It's alive and well and living under a free "placeholder" domain name. And if you want to reunite it with your expired domain, here's what you do:

    • If you have access to your account, check under domain manager/learn how to save your info for the DOMAIN REGISTRATION KEY. (Only the OWNER-original account id has access).
    • If your log in id was deleted with your domain, learn how to change your id. 
    • If the DRK is not there, contact support and they will give it to you
    • Go to http://www.melbourneit.com.au/
    • Create an account there and use the DRK to gain access to management of your domain.
    • Follow the instructions to pay for the renewal ($35 pa) or transfer it to another host.
    • If you're renewing it, you can then complete the redirection process back to the OL servers.

    Your domain based email accounts will be gone, but at least you can get your domain back and create new ones.

    :

    Change your Windows Live ID!


    By:
    : 1/20/2010
    :

    Has your domain nearly expired and with it your owner access to your OL account? Many formerly free domains will expire over the next few months-and with them so will many custom email addresses. If you used a custom email address linked to your domain as your Live ID  when you set up your account (ie me@mysite.com), AS EARLY AS 8 DAYS PRIOR TO EXPIRATION you will see a scary "your id is invalid" message when you attempt to log in and no indication of why. If you set up a secondary user, you will be able to log in to your account but won't have access to owner features.

    You may have read in the community forum that you CAN'T change your Live ID and while normally that might be true, the news is if this has happened to you, it's easy to change your Live ID and restore complete access to your account.

    Go to http://account.live.com. Enter your old id/password. You will be told your id is invalid and asked if you want to set a new id. Follow the prompts to set up the new id. After verifying your new id via an emailed link, you will now be able to log in to your account with owner privileges! 

    Any other email address linked to your domain (ie me@mysite.com), as Live ID's, will also need to be changed in the same way.

     Good luck

    :

    Think outside the blog


    By:
    : 1/8/2010
    :

    One application-many uses.....

    Beta Blogger can be used for much more than just a blog on your site. If you've taken a look around this site, you've seen a live example of the application being used to build an entire site, a process which would have been much more arduous and time consuming without Beta Blogger's built in ability to organize content and present it in a consistent way.
    If you've had any experience creating an Office Live site, you know it's not that easy to position tables, images and text and get a polished, professional look. And having done it once, updating your site and keeping it fresh which is a critical component in attracting visitors, can be a chore. Beta Blogger will make all of that easier for you-no matter what the content.
    You can install multiple instances of Beta Blogger on one site-use one for a blog, one for an online store, one to showcase your artistic work-the possibilities are endless. So here are a few thoughts and examples on other ways in which Beta Blogger can be put to work to help you with your site:

    ecommerce:create a professional looking store

    • use the category feature to create product categories
    • add each product to a category as a separate "blog" post
    • you can even add Paypal buttons within the post with a little javascript
    • instead of blog navigation, your product category nav will automatically appear on your pages
    • include special deals in the user content side columns
    • number of products is only limited by the 50mB storage capacity.

    SEE A DEMO ONLINE STORE HERE!



    Photographer/artist:create an online gallery of your work


    • use the categories to organize your work into "collections"
    • post individual pieces or groups of images in a "blog" format
    • add interest by varying the presentation with slideshows and different image enlargement techniques
    • encourage interaction with the commenting feature

    SEE A DEMO GALLERY HERE!



    Musician/performers: create a showcase for your talents

    • create categories for upcoming gigs, bios, photos etc
    • post relevant info in blog posts within those categories.
    • use one category as a blog about your self or group to encourage interactivity.

    Schools/not for profits:create a resource center for your organization

    • organize categories by subject and give teachers/staff access to update homework projects etc themselves
    • highlight events/fundraisers/achievements in "blog" posts
    • include announcements in the user content side columns
    • engage your audience by posting images to celebrate sporting/academic achievements

    Think outside the blog!

    Fundamentally, a blog is just a way of organizing website content. Think of Beta Blogger as a content management system for your site. You can create multiple applications with one copy of Beta Blogger (on one site)-and use each one for a different purpose. (Our "Try It Yourself" demo is actually running off a separate installation of Beta Blogger on this site.)
    As the demos illustrate, pretty much any content can divided up into chunks like blog posts. Beta Blogger can render it into an effective, organized and professional looking presentation on YOUR site.
    Don't let Office Live's page editor restrict your imagination-Beta Blogger can help you build the site you want!
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    :

    What Beta Blogger can't do...


    By:
    : 1/4/2010
    :
    Office Live Small Business has a number of limitations which even Beta Blogger can't overcome. Here are some of the things Beta Blogger CAN'T do:

    Beta Blogger can't:

  • CHANGE THE 50MB STORAGE CAPACITY of business applications, so if you want to blog 50 times a week or use a lot of other applications, Beta Blogger is probably not going to work for you. At $4.95 a month for 1gB, extra storage isn't cheap.......
  • SUPPORT ENDLESS BLOGGING WITH COMMENTS. The 50mB storage limit necessitates a 60 post cap on the number of posts with comments that can be supported and a "revolving" set up-where newer posts replace older posts. This assures that your 60 most recent posts will always show and older posts will still be visible on the "earlier entries" page. This page looks like part of the blog but doesn't use up any of the storage capacity. If you want a fuller explanation of how this works, GO HERE>>>>

    So if you feel you need an onsite commenting feature on more than your 60 most recent posts, Beta Blogger is probably not for you.

  • CREATE UNLIMITED MONTHLY PAGES. Without dynamic page creation capability, you're limited to 12 monthly pages. If you start rewriting posts after the first year, the current month will contain a mix of current and prior year posts. This is a simple trade off - we didn't feel having a comprehensive monthly index was worth the added complexity, unwieldiness and the loss of storage space for your blog entries that unlimited monthly pages would cause.
  • BE INSTALLED ON A NON US OL ACCOUNT - YET....though if you are interested we can probably accommodate you within a few weeks.
  • FLAWS IN COMMENTING SYSTEM: We can't fix 2 problems in the commenting system. When you open a comments box under a post:
    1/. the browser jumps to the top of the page and you have to scroll back down to the comments box.
    2/. the back button is disabled..
    Both are a result of the script we use to resize the iframes the comments boxes open in. The undesirable alternative would be to have the boxes open all the time which could lead to very long pages.

    Conclusion

    Even with the above shortcomings, we still feel Beta Blogger is the best (perhaps only) option if you want a nice looking, seo friendly blog on your site.


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  • :

    FAQ


    By:
    : 12/31/2009
    :
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