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3/30/2010 |
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Beta Blogger was built in an Office Live account so it's not dependent on any 3rd party applications. As long as Microsoft supports OLSB/Business Applications, once installed, it can't be changed or "upgraded" by anyone but you. YOU'RE IN CONTROL! Take our tour to find out more...............
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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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3/28/2010 |
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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]
 
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.
"Post posting"
Editing your published posts is a snap. Rather than wrestling with the page editor to change your content, simply open the app and make your changes in the post form. All your entries are shown in "preview" by default, so it's easy to locate the target post by scrolling through them.
[Mouseover the image to enlarge]
Say you want to add an image: scroll to the post, open it for editing, click the image icon and enter the url of the image. Click ok to save.
Perhaps the best thing about Beta Blogger is you don't have to deal with the page editor! The built in, predefined page layouts and structure guarantee a consistent, professional look everytime. That's all there is to it!
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3/27/2010 |
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Structure
We guarantee Beta Blogger will blend in with the size, colors and look of your site. The page layouts will work with virtually any variation of site width and navigation orientation. You can see a 780px/left nav site here
We'll promptly fix any integration issues between the blog and your site. A good looking blog on customer sites is our best advertisement!
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 the left nav configuration, either for a primary or secondary menu, we include a module that will allow you to fill the empty space below the nav element with your own content. If you use top only nav, the module will fill the entire left column:
The lookBeta 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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3/26/2010 |
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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.
Test the SEO power of Beta Blogger for yourself!
If you want to see for yourself an example of how Beta Blogger content gets picked up by the search engines, copy/paste this sentence into Google (it's a comment left by a visitor on our Try It Yourself page):
"A CLOTHING LINE OF FAITH ANDF BELIEF WITH POWERFUL AND POSITIVE INFLUENCE."
Last time we checked it was the first result. That's the power of Beta Blogger!
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3/25/2010 |
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Keep your visitors on your site
No matter how good your blog posts are-you won't maximize their benefit to your site unless your visitors can easily find them and browse to other posts they may be interested in. Beta Blogger's integrated navigation ensures anything in your blog can be found with at most a couple of clicks. For visitors seeking new content, links to your 10 most recent posts are prominently shown at the top of every blog page. Visitors can also discover every post written at a certain time in the archive menu or every post in a given topic in the category menu. Finally, a summary page displays a list of all your posts linked directly to the post.
Navigation highlights
- 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.
More page views, more repeat visitors
It's generally accepted that a blog can draw more visitors to your site-Beta Blogger's integrated navigation can help keep them there longer and coming back more often.
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3/24/2010 |
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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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3/23/2010 |
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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.
Even a low traffic site can easily earn back the cost of Beta Blogger in a short period of time. As a real life example, this site earned back the $20 cost of the Beta Blogger Basic package in 3 months. And that was with an average of just 19 unique users and 15 new visitors a day.
Ad placement
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! Back to top |
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3/22/2010 |
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Update! Live Spaces and Word Press conversion
Live Spaces now offers the option to convert your blog to a Word Press format. This seems a little pointless since you could already get a free WP blog, with or without Live Spaces. But it obviously spells the end of Live Spaces blogs. The effect of this on Beta Blogger is simple: if you convert your blog to WP, your LS feed will no longer work on an OL site or within Beta Blogger. If you don't convert nothing will change until the forced conversion in March 2011. By that time, perhaps MS will have come up with a way to embed a WP blog on an OL site....but I wouldn't count on it. Either way, for now-we can truthfully and with even more emphasis say: Beta Blogger is the ONLY way to add a real blog to your OL site!
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:
- copy/paste your posts into a Beta Blogger post
- 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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3/21/2010 |
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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. Each time, all the links on your site are updated to reflect the "new" domain. This could have a negative effect on your search engine rankings. Over time, it could also mess up your whole site. This bug only affects the site designer/page editor because all those editing web pages, including the galleries are under your web site's domain. Business applications are under a different domain and so are immune. 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. This would be especially beneficial for sites that have for example an events area which requires frequent updates. Rather than constantly having to switch domains, you could build the "static" parts of the site as normal and use Beta Blogger for the events part. Problem solved! Or, since it's possible to build an entire site with Beta Blogger, you could sidestep the domain switching issue entirely, say "goodbye" to the page editor and use Beta Blogger to update your whole site! Another great reason to consider Beta Blogger!
Get more out of YOUR Office Live!If you have any questions, or would like a quote for web design or custom applications for your web site, please CONTACT US! Top |
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3/20/2010 |
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It cost us many late nights, some gray hair, many beers. a lot of coffee, and more abuse from our family than we care to recall. Except for the beer part, we'd've gladly paid $19.99 to avoid all that if we could have. You can.
Beta Blogger packages
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3/20/2010 |
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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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3/20/2010 |
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Trouble adding code to your site? It's easy and free with our custom footer coder. Generates OL compatible code for the CUSTOM FOOTER MODULE (not the regular site footer) ideal for affiliate ads, social network badges and more.
Get started:
How to enter the code in the module:
What is a "custom footer"?
It's one of the 3 custom modules that allow you to add pure code to the source code of your site without the scrambling of the html module which can prevent your code from working. But the custom modules have to be configured correctly-which is where our generator comes in.
How do I get a custom footer?
If you don't see the custom footer module in the page editor module drop down, activate advanced design features from "site actions".
How do I use the code generator?
- Click the link above to open the coder and paste in the code from the source site.
- Click submit and copy the code from the output box
- Insert a custom footer module on your page.*
- Delete all the code in the module dialog box.
- Paste your copied code into the box and click ok.
A note on spam: "Sorry your submission has been blocked"
We set up a filter on the form to block the submission of spam and undesirable words. Unfortunately this may result in words like "Virginia" being blocked. If you feel your submission was blocked in error and you want help, post a question in our support forum or send us an email.
*If you don't see the custom footer module in the module drop down, activate advanced design features from "site actions".
Problems?If you have any problems with the generator or your code, please post a question at our Office Live Answers forum.
If you email us a question, we'll try to answer it at the forum and send you a link. It's easier for us and creates a resource for other users.
The most likely causes of your code not working or the module throwing an error are-
- You didn't copy all the code-try again
- The code has an unclosed tag in it-xslt/xml is much less forgiving than html
- Example: the img tag has to end with /> not >
- Likewise, a line break has to end with a />
- You have a restricted character like an ampersand (&) in your regular site footer. You'll see an error referencing "line 1" if you do.
- You copied the code after trying to use the html module not the original source code. If that added a defer="defer" reference, remove it and the code will work.
If this helped you out, feel free to post a comment below.
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3/20/2010 |
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As part of their labyrinthine page ranking algorithms, the search engines take into special account heading tags like h1, h2 etc when evaluating your pages. Here's an easy way to get them on your pages, without having to code them in an html module:
- In any document in Google Docs, write out your desired heading text.
- Format it with a heading style: heading 1, 2 etc.
- Copy and paste it to your page editor.
You should see your text formatted with the default heading styling (or your own styling if you add it to the stylesheet) like this:
This is an h2 heading
The above heading was styled by adding this to the custom stylesheet:
h2{color:#EA9148;font-weight:normal; more attributes here;}
TIP:If you want the heading to be a custom color, create the heading in a "presentation" not a document and use the custom color bar at the bottom of the text color box.
Once you've pasted one heading, all you have to do is copy that to another location and overwrite the existing text. That's how we created these headings.
A good tip is to paste the heading AFTER you enter the regular text, so the text doesn't inherit the heading's formatting. Otherwise you may have to make sure there's an unformatted space between the heading and subsequent text.
(You can also use Word 2003+ to achieve the same effect but because the bloated Word formatting is preserved when pasted, it can add conflicting styling to a page and corrupt it. So stick with Google docs! Sorry, Microsoft!)
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3/20/2010 |
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Alt/title tags for images and text links add those little "tool tips" that pop up when you hover over an image/link like this:  Beta Blogger!But they're also important in seo because they enable the search engines to evaluate the relevance of the images on your site which would otherwise be ignored. And images can take up a sizable part of your searchable real estate. So use our alt/title tag generator to make your website more interesting to both human visitors and the search engines. Start by selecting an image or text link. Enter your image/page url in the generator in this format: IMAGE:http://mysite.com/images/mypic.jpg...TEXT LINK:http://mysite.com/mypage.aspx Enter the text you want to "pop up" as plain text. If it's a text link, enter the display text for the link next. Hit submit, and for the best results, copy the resultant output code into a custom footer module. Use the footer generator above to get the appropriate code. You can use an html module, but it won't show in the more competent browsers and it's unlikely search engines will understand the scrambled code the module outputs. Done!
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3/20/2010 |
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Generate the Office 365 / Live compatible code needed to get your site verified in 2 steps with our easy to use generator. You can also include the code for a favicon-like this >>  too!
1/ Copy the search engine "key"
Log into your search engine account
Select "meta tag" as the verification method
You'll get a piece of code like this:
<meta name="google-site-verification" content="xxxxxxxx" />
Copy the xxxxxxx part only. This is your unique verification key.
2/ Generate your code
You can do one search engine or all 3 at once
Check "Yes" if you want favicon code included.
Submit and copy the output code from the box
Paste the output on a new line in the "keywords" box under the SEO tab for your home page ("page properties").
When done, go back to the search engine site and click "get verified".
Favicon
A favicon is the little image you see to the left of the address bar, tab titles and in bookmarks/history. The code to add one can easily be included in our verification code.
If you want one, create a 16x16px image. Save it as "favicon.ico".
Upload it to your DOCUMENTS GALLERY (NOT the image gallery!)
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3/19/2010 |
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For bloggers
You don't have to know how Beta Blogger works to enjoy its benefits-you can simply install it and start adding content to your site. But if you're interested in learning more about how its inner workings, here's a look "under the hood":
Beta Blogger leverages the Sharepoint technology underlying the OLSB platform. In essence, Sharepoint provides user friendly tools to arrange almost any data in manageable lists and forms that can be sorted, filtered and connected. In this case, the data are your blog entries which after being "collected" in a form are then published to "lists" on web pages. Beta Blogger applies the template to ensure it all works.
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. The major difference with say, Blogger, is OLSB can't dynamically create pages on demand. That's why Beta Blogger includes all the predefined pages needed.
Every function of the application is accessible from a convenient dashboard in business applications, which includes a quick start guide and useful links:
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 10 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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3/19/2010 |
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If you sell on eBay, you can easily set up a widget to highlight your listings on your Office Live site, like this one~(it may take a few seconds to grab the feed, and will be empty if we don't have any active eBay listings! But you can see a picture of what it would look like below. ) These instructions will work for any RSS feed-just substitute the feed url you want to use for the eBay url.
Here's how:
- Open your eBay "My World" page and click the "Items for sale" link
- Click the RSS icon at the bottom of the page
- Copy the url from the page address window
- Go to any free feed burning site and open an account. We're using feed.informer.com for this demo.
- Click "create a new digest" and paste the copied url in the "Add new feed to this digest" box
- Follow the simple steps to build your widget.
- After publishing, copy the code and use our generator above to get the custom footer code.
- Insert a custom footer module where you want the widget and paste in the generated code.
- For this widget, we used the "flash legacy" version
- You can customize the layout, style and colors
- Since it's a feed, changes in your listings will automatically update the widget.
Here's another example in a different format. This one displays the comments left for us in the OLSB community. Testimonials. |
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3/18/2010 |
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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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3/18/2010 |
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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:
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:
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:
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:
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, here we can enter a post number, subject and link, author, date, post contents, and finally a month and category from the drop downs. To demo the flexibility of Beta Blogger we left the author/date options blank so they wouldn't show up on the pages. You can also uncheck these lines in the module to eliminate the space they would occupy.
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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3/15/2010 |
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 "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.
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3/14/2010 |
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It seems Microsoft's support budget is spent mostly on paying people to tell you to go somewhere else for support. Case in point: Web Apps. Great product. It lets you embed actual Powerpoints/spreadsheets on a web page instead of that silly Sky Drive icon. Finally something that I think everybody has been waiting for for a long time. But it's new-and is something you have to support to help people like me who may find it doesn't always work as expected.
Recently, I got this error message:
"PowerPoint Web App cannot open this presentation because of an error. To view or edit this presentation, open it in Microsoft PowerPoint".
Since this file was created at the same time and the same way as others that worked, I went to the Web Apps section of the Windows Live Solution Center to ask for help. Simple enough question, right? The response I got was:
"Your issue requires the expertise of the support team of Office Web Apps. Just post your question in this forum:
http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/officewebapps/threads?filter=answered"
To which I replied:
"This may seem like a dumb question, but what is the purpose of this forum if it's not to provide "expertise"? It's called "Windows Live Solution Center-Office Web Apps" so it would seem the logical place to come for "expert" advice. Should I not bother posting questions here?"
As the Bucky Look left my face, I then dutifully posted my question in the other forum, wondering where I'll be sent to next in the maze that is Microsoft..
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3/3/2010 |
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Same site, same blog-totally different look!
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Use the arrows above to scroll through the different layouts.
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| 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:
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2/28/2010 |
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Here are some ideas on how to create image enlargement effects on your Office Live site, ranging from the really simple to the more involved. These demos illustrate what's possible - if further instructions are needed, links are provided to the source sites -1/ so you can get the files/instructions and latest updates you need from the people who developed the techniques and 2/. so the developers get the credit they deserve.
Option 1: Image enlarge 101You can use the hyperlink tool to open a larger image either from a text link or a linked thumbnail image:
- Insert your text or image on the page and select it with your mouse.
- Click the hyperlink tool
- The image gallery isn't listed as an option, so the trick is to enter the image you want to open by selecting "web site" and formatting the url as: "/images/myimage.jpg" (ie the path to your image).
- Check "open in a new window" and save.
Here's the result:
To turn this technique into more of a gallery, use thumbnail images in a table:
- With the "table" tool, insert table on page
- Insert image in each cell, resized to suit
- Click each image and with the hyperlink tool, choose "web site" and add the path to the image in your gallery: /images/mypic.jpg.
- Check "open in new window"
- Style the table to suit and add optional hover effects in the custom stylesheet if desired.
It should look something like this-click an image and it will open in a new window :
Degree of difficulty:
Piece of cake (but have a beer anyway) |
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Option 2: Use the OL slideshow, Luke!Sometimes we overlook the obvious. Another easy way to add an image enlarger to your site using only the built in tools, is to use the slideshow module which includes an enlargement function. 1/.SINGLE: click here for an example and a how to. 2/. GALLERY: for more of a gallery effect, you can use multiple slideshows.
 3/. WALL: create an interesting "wall" effect by lining up more slideshows.
Option 4: A Lytebox gallery/slideshowThis option uses html, javascript and css, so it's a bit more complex. but before you break out in a cold sweat, don't worry-all you have to do is add links to a couple of files which do all the work. Larger images open in a smooth pop up and can be run as a slideshow. One nice thing if you're using Beta Blogger is the links required can be added directly in a post.
- Go to the Lytebox site and download the file.
- Install the css and javascript files in your documents gallery
- Create links to the files and add the html in a custom footer module. Complete instructions are on the Lytebox site.
Degree of difficulty:
You'll need the kids' help for this one |
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Magnifying glass effect
A different kind of "image enlargement"-mouseover the image to see how it works:
(Note:you may not see the effect in dysfunctional browsers like Internet Explorer).
Quite easy-everything is packed into 2 files you have to put in your documents gallery and then add a tag to the image html. Grab the files and instructions from http://www.nihilogic.dk/labs/mojomagnify/
Other optionsPictobrowser is another great way to show pictures, if you use flickr or picasa web albums. All you have to do is choose an album and copy/paste the code provided in an html module. It will automatically fetch the album and run a slideshow with optional thumbnails below. Updates to the album will be reflected on your site automatically. You can see a sample if you look at "slideshow style 2" HERE. This article was created in BETA BLOGGER and published automatically to the site.
BETA BLOGGER- the only full featured blogging application made for Office Live
Get more out of YOUR Office Live!If you have any questions, or would like a quote for web design or custom applications for your web site, please CONTACT US! Top |
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2/28/2010 |
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Calling all Live Spaces bloggers!
Trade in your Live Spaces blog for a blog that really works with an Office Live site and save 50% on our Premium Beta Blogger package! (Ok, you really don't have to trade anything in).
As you probably already know, Microsoft recently announced the Live Spaces blogs program will be terminated in March 2011. The offer to convert to a Word Press blog isn't much use to Office Livers because the Live Spaces feed used to embed LS blogs on OL sites doesn't work with a blog converted to the Word Press platform.
Either in celebration or commiseration (your choice), we're happy to offer all Live Spaces bloggers a 50% off coupon for our Premium Beta Blogger package.
Get 50% off Beta Blogger Premium package now!
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~CUSTOM ELEMENTS WILL MAKE YOUR BLOG STAND OUT*
~SEO FRIENDLY
~ALLOWS ON SITE COMMENTS
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~INCLUDES CODE TO EMBED AFFILIATE ADS EASILY
~FITS ANY OFFICE LIVE SITE
~ONLY $14.99 (with coupon)
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This is a limited time offer so sign up NOW! on our OFFERS PAGE (or below if you're already here!)
Fill in the form, choose "coupon request" from the drop down and we'll email you the coupon code.
*See details on what's included in the Premium package here.
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2/28/2010 |
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 Updated: 01/20/2011. Here are the options currently available to OL site owners who want to add a blog using an iframe or a full or summarized feed:
Adding a blogger or wordpress blog with an iframeYou can use an "iframe" to embed an existing blog. An iframe is an html tag that embeds content on a web page. The basic code would be:  The code is added to the html module or one of the custom modules,(IN OFFICE 365 USE THE PAYPAL MODULE). Disadvantages:
- Won't resize so may not look good
- No seo benefit- search engines only see your code not the blog content.
Here's an example
Adding blogger or wordpress html filesYou can copy the source code of an existing blog, save it as an html file and upload it to the documents gallery. If you update the links to supporting files it will look like the original blog and could be adjusted to integrate seamlessly into your site. Disadvantages:
- Blog navigation will take users away from your site to the blog url.
- The commenting feature won't reside on your site.
So it may look better than an iframe and get you some seo credit, but still isn't an ideal solution. Here's an example of a blogger "page" done this way on this site. Note the url-it's hosted on this site, not at blogger. (This example reflects the blog before it was redesigned, in case you wonder why it looks different!)..
Adding a blogger or wordpress feed digestYou can use the OL blog module to easily add a feed of your converted Spaces wordpress blog. Just insert the blog module on a page, select "Spaces"(if still available) or "Wordpress" and enter the blog's name (usually the id of the Live account used). This would be a good choice if you just want an easy way to post brief announcements. You can also create a feed of ANY blog to display on your OL site. Disadvantages:
- The Wordpress feed is a "digest" so only limited content will show on your site
- Comments and "read more" links will take visitors off your site.
- No integrated blog navigation
- Setting up a feed not using the built in OL module can be challenging.
Here are some examples.
Adding a complete blog with a feedThis is probably the best option if you want to include all your blog content including videos/images etc. Grab the feed url from your blog. Go to feed2js.org and enter the url. Select "include html" to ensure video and image content is included. Copy the javascript output and use our code generator to make it compatible with an OL custom footer module OR for Office 365, use this generator and a Paypal module. ALL your blog post content will show on your page and this method also overcomes the "resizing" problem prevalent in the iframe solution, but it's still not perfect. See an example of this technique here. Disadvantages:
- Comments and "read more" links will take visitors off your site.
- No integrated blog navigation
- Search engines will only see the js code-but none of your content.
Adding a Beta Blogger blogCreated specifically for OL, this option is really the only way to get a fully functional blog on your site. Disadvantages:
- It's not free (but the increased traffic and potential ad revenue more than offset the moderate cost. As an example, it took this site 3 months to earn the $20 the Basic Beta Blogger costs. See how here).
- Learning curve-you'll be entering posts in a business application which some people are unfamiliar with
- Requires a little more effort to use than say a blogger blog
You're reading a Beta Blogger blog right now. This whole site was created using the software, so take a look around! Or take a quick tour of Beta Blogger!Back to top |
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2/27/2010 |
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 Here are some links to sites you may find useful in your Office Live adventure!
Other useful places:
Get more out of YOUR Office Live!
If you have any questions, or would like a quote for web design or custom applications for your web site, please
CONTACT US!
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2/26/2010 |
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 Search 101It 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? To answer that, it's important first to get a basic understanding of how search engines work. In simple terms, they try to match the search terms (keywords) people use with the content they find on web sites. The challenge is your site is competing with thousands or even millions of other sites using the same "keywords" and meta tags. And meta tags don't carry the weight they once did. So how do you get your site to stand out from the crowd? That's where blogs come in. They can help you saturate your site with content relevant to your site's purpose.
 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. So your site gets full seo credit for everything in your blog.
The friendly, fresh and fun factorsAn 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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2/26/2010 |
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This is an unscientific report derived from data provided by trendscape.com. It synthesizes the data from 3 known OLSB ip addresses and is ranked in order of trendscape's calculation of "traffic rank".
While it's not intended to be a comprehensive list and obviously doesn't include sites that are using the free sub domain of officelive.com, it does reflect some of the more popular OLSB sites and illustrate some of the ways OLSB is being successfully used. You can see these sites by clicking on their domain names.
To give some perspective on what the web rank means, Trendscape estimates the value of the #1 site at over $130,000. This reflects the value of the site alone-not the associated business. Not bad for a free site!
It appears another server/ip address was added so the list was expanded to 100 sites. That may explain recent glitches on OLSB sites.
Updated 3/21/2011
| RANK |
URL |
WEB RANK |
PGS |
IP |
| 1 |
http://vibroshape-iran.com |
48,606 |
164 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 2 |
http://novinmarketing.com |
83,023 |
73 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 3 |
http://littlegrandmother.net |
220,834 |
120 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 4 |
http://earnextrarupees.com |
232,390 |
192 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 5 |
http://solutionsforofficelive.com |
245,380 |
153 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 6 |
http://buildyourcnc.com |
275,149 |
867 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 7 |
http://helpwithyourwebsite.com |
277,329 |
64 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 8 |
http://singeroriginalvintageproducts.com |
478,959 |
156 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 9 |
http://daycommerce.com |
483,804 |
53 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 10 |
http://yourspanishtranslation.com |
521,548 |
115 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 11 |
http://world-poverty.org |
556,522 |
97 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 12 |
http://technical-interview.com |
566,592 |
1,090 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 13 |
http://maison-eco-malin.com |
588,193 |
777 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 14 |
http://drtenpenny.com |
588,425 |
1,210 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 15 |
http://abhayjere.com |
591,258 |
97 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 16 |
http://jose-marti.org |
614863 |
1,140 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 17 |
http://xcf.com |
689,039 |
2 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 18 |
http://mebelinipes.com |
728,872 |
504 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 19 |
http://guidofashions.com |
828,057 |
53 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 20 |
http://freedownloads101.com |
872,639 |
28 |
207.46.222.30 |
| 21 |
http://1stbusinessreview.com |
918,053 |
36 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 22 |
http://taxjax.com |
924,856 |
495 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 23 |
http://denvergreenchili.com |
953,335 |
1,120 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 24 |
http://livinglifeboomerstyle.com |
971,009 |
71 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 25 |
http://comisioncivicademocratica.org |
990,108 |
514 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 26 |
http://argentinaconsultant.com |
1168627 |
290 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 27 |
http://bestloanmodificationcompanyreviews.com |
1,325,702 |
29 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 28 |
http://ghanaweb-news.com |
1,328,276 |
101 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 29 |
http://mychannellogos.com |
1,360,964 |
107 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 30 |
http://designersmansion.info |
1,372,137 |
39 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 31 |
http://redaprons.com |
1,385,599 |
273 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 32 |
http://catspitproductionsllc.com |
1,464,597 |
85 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 33 |
http://make-ice-cream.com |
1,543,873 |
14 |
207.46.222.30 |
| 34 |
http://lightstreamsglasstile.com |
1,603,429 |
1,050 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 35 |
http://exp-platform.com |
1,644,992 |
286 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 36 |
http://celtic-tattoo.net |
1,736,029 |
471 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 37 |
http://accessjunkie.com |
1,811,508 |
365 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 38 |
http://zoukjapan.com |
1,899,050 |
17 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 39 |
http://blackdoghandcraftedjewelry.com |
1,953,737 |
47 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 40 |
http://webbrewers.com |
1,973,118 |
118 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 41 |
http://pattayabayresort.com |
2,011,947 |
24 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 42 |
http://gypsyribbons.com |
2,072,045 |
86 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 43 |
http://comforu.com |
2,093,376 |
116 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 44 |
http://designerhighstreet.com |
2,151,370 |
66 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 45 |
http://sunshineofthesoul.com |
2,162,467 |
776 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 46 |
http://drsgoldstein.com |
2,209,072 |
232 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 47 |
http://motorhome-rv.org |
2,218,447 |
49 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 48 |
http://boracaypackages.net |
2,288,921 |
15 |
207.46.222.30 |
| 49 |
http://computerscienceforkids.com |
2,319,065 |
208 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 50 |
http://afghanistan-analyst.org |
2,319,602 |
64 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 51 |
http://acmegirl.com |
2,335,509 |
68 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 52 |
http://pittsburghsunroomsplus.com |
2,345,939 |
13 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 53 |
http://oem-cycle.com |
2,414,743 |
252 |
207.46.222.30 |
| 54 |
http://artotems.com |
2,468,921 |
399 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 55 |
http://sakofx.com |
2,666,598 |
13 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 56 |
http://jobduniya.com |
2,779,649 |
77 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 57 |
http://pentyrchrugby.co.uk |
2,792,638 |
303 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 58 |
http://sabtamin.com |
2,809,289 |
22 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 59 |
http://officelivepages.com |
2,883,489 |
46 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 60 |
http://iansvoice.org |
2,896,762 |
28 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 61 |
http://osteomed2.com |
2,902,344 |
392 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 62 |
http://slimlift-iran.com |
3,114,405 |
25 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 63 |
http://rbgrant.co.uk |
3,123,941 |
72 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 64 |
http://freelaptopmanuals.com |
3,508,133 |
78 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 65 |
http://opsan.com |
3,601,075 |
3,860 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 66 |
http://karadedelerolayi.com |
3,674,375 |
1 |
207.46.222.30 |
| 67 |
http://spaceelevatorconference.org |
3,702,993 |
35 |
207.46.222.30 |
| 68 |
http://cumbialate.com |
3,914,039 |
1 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 69 |
http://thelynchmobagency.co.uk |
3,958,333 |
49 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 70 |
http://projectlazyriches.com |
4,009,451 |
44 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 71 |
http://ridefree.com |
4,142,638 |
52 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 72 |
http://benrandall.co.uk |
4,204,190 |
22 |
207.46.222.30 |
| 73 |
http://kneadfulthingsnow.com |
4,281,891 |
44 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 74 |
http://phimtauonline.com |
4,390,746 |
82 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 75 |
http://icandysoaps.com |
4,456,635 |
15 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 76 |
http://nur76online.co.uk |
4,754,812 |
63 |
207.46.222.30 |
| 77 |
http://tama-ichi.com |
4,852,630 |
90 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 78 |
http://chaltron.com |
4,876,226 |
59 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 79 |
http://realestategreenwoodsc.com |
4,960,420 |
101 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 80 |
http://thebirdnerdsrescue.com |
5,078,519 |
39 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 81 |
http://concretepumpshoses.com |
5,148,554 |
36 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 82 |
http://gandhinagarcity.com |
5,176,546 |
33 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 83 |
http://santrix.org |
5,442,291 |
1 |
207.46.222.30 |
| 84 |
http://natural-remedy.org |
5,636,243 |
45 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 85 |
http://doddaudio.com |
5,805,364 |
15 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 86 |
http://austinartspace.com |
5,923,933 |
247 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 87 |
http://greysparrowpress.net |
6,009,064 |
188 |
207.46.222.11 |
| 88 |
http://urmstongrammar.org.uk |
6,398,603 |
125 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 89 |
http://barnegatlight.org |
7,566,952 |
214 |
65.55.194.97 |
| 90 |
http://ficoboost.net |
8,544,926 |
42 |
207.46.222.30 |
| 91 |
http://msolsimplesolutions.com |
8,598,867 |
77 |
207.46.222.30 |
| 92 |
http://precious-child.com |
8,784,240 |
25 |
207.46.222.30 |
| 93 |
http://iransecular.org |
9,814,169 |
11 |
207.46.222.30 |
| 94 |
http://irancng.org |
10,041,842 |
0 |
207.46.222.30 |
| 95 |
http://crankbrothersdeck.com |
10,932,159 |
5 |
207.46.222.30 |
| 96 |
http://watchfulowlphotography.com |
13,208,528 |
1 |
207.46.222.30 |
| 97 |
http://acls-bls-pals.com |
14,308,590 |
4 |
207.46.222.30 |
| 98 |
http://ashpaz-iran.com |
15,327,511 |
4 |
207.46.222.30 |
| 99 |
http://dunaddtradingcompany.co.uk |
15,452,097 |
7 |
207.46.222.30 |
| 100 |
http://rutgersjx.com |
16,440,509 |
24 |
207.46.222.30 |
Methodology:The trendscape.com data for 3 known OLSB ip addresses was combined and sorted in an Excel spreadsheet. The only changes made were to adjust for outdated data (with Alexa) and using a macro to hyperlink the url's.
Publishing was done by simply pasting the data to the Beta Blogger post entry form..
If you have any questions about this article, please post them in our support forum.
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2/25/2010 |
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Microsoft has unleashed a major weapon in the "Cloud Wars" with the inclusion of the ability to (finally!) embed some Office documents on a web page in Sky Drive/Web Apps. The documents themselves....not a silly "embedicon"!
Word and pdf's are still excepted (no surprise there-you can't even VIEW a pdf in Sky Drive!), but here's how to embed an Excel or Powerpoint file on your Office Live web site:
- Upload the file to Sky Drive
- Hover over the listing and click "more" "share" and "embed".
- Copy the embed code.
- Either paste it in an html module or for better results, run it through our generator and use a custom footer module.
Some cool features of embedded Excel files include:
- the ability to display charts
- links to data from other sheets are preserved
- you can include an interactive sorting and filtering feature (see Cols A and B in the example below).
- you can make the cells interactive. Change one of the numbers in the examples below and you'll see it performs a calculation and updates the chart. This would be especially useful if you wanted an on site calculator like for instance, a mortgage calculator.
- Users can input data or even formulas right on your site. Changes won't get saved to the underlying Web App file.
Here's how an Excel file will look:
And here's a Powerpoint (may not be visible in Firefox):
The "Cloud Wars" continue.
Unfortunately, embedded Word docs and pdf's will still just show the Sky Drive embedicon. And there's the rub-while this represents a big leap forward for Microsoft, the exclusion of 2 of the most popular file formats severely handicaps their efforts to compete with Google Docs.
You can always of course get around the limitation on Word docs by saving them as "web pages" in htm, html or aspx format. These files can be hosted at Sky Drive (or within your OL account) and will open directly in a browser if you link to them. But that's an extra step not required by other competing file host services. If you want one stop shopping for all your document embedding needs, Google Docs is still the venue of choice.
Alternatives
For comparison's sake,
here's how an embedded Google Docs pdf looks.
And
here are some other file formats embedded from Google Docs.
And
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2/17/2010 |
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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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If you have any questions, or would like a quote for web design or custom applications for your web site, please
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2/7/2010 |
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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 |
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Easy set up? |
Y |
Y |
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Simple to use? |
Y |
Y |
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Consistent look? |
Y |
Y |
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Integrated navigation? |
N |
Y |
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| 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 |
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| Include images? |
Y |
Y |
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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.... |
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1/20/2010 |
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This article focuses on expired domains but also applies if you want to redirect/transfer an active domain  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 help you get it.
- 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.
UPDATE: Apparently the drk supplied by Microsoft no longer works. Melbourne IT emails the correct key to the email address associated with the owner id. If that was deleted with the domain expiration, contact Melbourne IT to verify account ownership.
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If you have any questions, or would like a quote for web design or custom applications for your web site, please
CONTACT US!
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1/20/2010 |
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Has your domain nearly or already 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 based on 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, 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 based on your expired domain (ie me@mysite.com), will also need to be changed in the same way.
You may notice when you look at the "users" listed for your account after changing the owner id, the "owner" email address/name hasn't changed. Since it's the owner there's no way to change or delete it. Support assures me that the new id has full owner privileges and any MS communication will be sent to the new email address used. They just don't know how to change the displayed information for some unknown reason.
Good luck
Get more out of YOUR Office Live!
If you have any questions, or would like a quote for web design or custom applications for your web site, please
CONTACT US!
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1/20/2010 |
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Unlike most online services, forgetting the id used to create an OL account can be a significant problem. Only the owner id has full access to the account and MS doesn't allow it to be changed. If you didn't make a note of your id, and now need to recover it, the usual answer offered by support is to contact them and they'll do a verification with the secret question etc and give you the id. That really isn't necessary if you follow these far simpler tips:
- If you didn't change it, the owner id you need would be the address in the contact module.
- To see it, right click the module and open properties.
- Or use the contact form to send yourself an email. The address it goes to would be your owner id.
OR: - Open up business applications from the "more" menu
- Open any application
- Scroll to the right and you'll see the "SHARING" tool pane with the owner listed
- Right click the owner link and copy it or click it (which will open an email message).
- Paste it or look at the email and there's your owner id
Obviously, this solution requires being able to access the account with a user id. If you never set one up and have no account access or cannot remember your password, you'll still have to contact support.
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1/19/2010 |
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This solution article provides information on how to setup a Hotmail (or OL mail) account in Microsoft Outlook. It was copied and pasted directly into Beta Blogger's rich text editor and retained all it's formatting-with no user input required. It took 5 minutes to create. 
If you use Outlook to access your Hotmail Inbox, depending on the version of Outlook installed on your computer you can download the free Microsoft Office Outlook Connector program or you can change your Outlook settings to use the POP3 (POP3, or Post Office Protocol 3, is a protocol that's used to retrieve e-mail from a mail server.)
To determine which version of Outlook you are using, on the Help menu, click About. The 'About' dialog shows details about the program including the program name and version. Get your latest copy of Microsoft Outlook 2007 today!
For Outlook 2003 or Outlook 2007
To access your Hotmail account, we recommend installing the Microsoft Office Outlook Connector. Outlook Connector is a free add-on that lets you view your e-mail messages and your Windows Live Calendar, so you can use Outlook to keep track of all your e-mail accounts and schedules in one place.
Add a Hotmail POP3 account in Outlook 2003/2007:
NOTE: If you are moving from DAV to POP3, there are a few important differences. With POP3, there is no synchronizing. For example, if you read an e-mail message in Outlook the message will be unread if you view your Hotmail account on the web. Also, only messages in your Hotmail Inbox will display in Outlook. Other folders, and any messages in them, will not be displayed.
1. In Outlook, on the Tools menu, click Account Settings
2. Under E-mail tab, click New.
3. Choose Microsoft Exchange, POP3, IMAP, or HTTP and click Next.
4. Click Manually configure server settings or additional server types and click Next.
5. Choose Internet E-mail and click Next.
6. Under User Information type your name and email address.
7. Under Server Information:
* Choose POP3 as account type.
* In the Incoming mail server (POP3) field, type pop3.live.com.
* In the Outgoing mail server (SMTP) field, type smtp.live.com.
8. Under Logon Information, type your Username as the email address and your password.
9. Click More Settings
10. On the Outgoing Server tab, select My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication check box.
11. On the Advanced tab, type the following information, and then click OK.
Under Incoming Server (POP3):
Select the This server requires an encrypted connection (SSL) check box.
In the Incoming Server (POP3) field, the number 995 should display. If not, select the number and type 995.
Under Outgoing Server (SMTP):
In the Outgoing Server (SMTP) field, type 25 or 587 for the port number (If port 25 has been blocked in your network or by your ISP, you can set SMTP port to 587)
Under Use the following type of encrypted connection choose AUTO (in Outlook 2007). If you are using Outlook 2003, choose SSL.
Select the Leave a copy of messages on the server check box if you want to see your messages when you use Hotmail in a web browser, your mobile phone, or other e-mail programs. If you want to delete your messages from the Hotmail server after you read them, clear this check box. Click OK.
12. Click Test Account Settings.
If the test is successful, click Next. If the test fails, check the values you typed in the previous steps.
13. Click Next and then Finish.
14. Take a look at the account settings by going to Tools in the menu and clicking Account Settings. If you see your Hotmail account with Type 'HTTP', select the account and click the Remove button (NOTE: this should apply if you are moving from the DAV protocol to the POP protocol - you've added an account with POP through the above instructions and now need to delete the previous account accessed through DAV).
For Outlook 2002 or earlier
SEE UPDATE AT BOTTOM!
You can set up POP3 or upgrade to a more recent version of Outlook.
Add a Hotmail POP3 account in Outlook:
NOTE: If you are moving from DAV to POP3, there are a few important differences. With POP3, there is no synchronizing. For example, if you read an e-mail message in Outlook the message will be unread if you view your Hotmail account on the web. Also, only messages in your Hotmail Inbox will display in Outlook. Other folders, and any messages in them, will not be displayed.
1. In Outlook, on the Tools menu, click E-mail Accounts.
2. Choose Add a new e-mail account, and then click Next.
3. In the Server Type box, select POP3.
4. In the Internet E-mail Settings (POP3) box, type the following Hotmail account information
Under User Information:
· In the Your Name field, type your name.
· In the E-Mail Address field, type your Windows Live ID (for example: name@hotmail.com).
Under Server Information:
· In the Incoming mail server (POP3) field, type pop3.live.com.
· In the Outgoing mail server (SMTP) field, type smtp.live.com.
Under Logon Information:
· In the User Name field, type your Windows Live ID (for example: name@hotmail.com).
· In the Password field, type the password you use with your Windows Live ID.
5. On the Outgoing Server tab, select the My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication check box. (Leave the "incoming server requires SPA" unchecked.)
6. Click on the More Settings button in the lower right corner
On the Advanced tab tab, change the following information:
Under Incoming Server (POP3):
· Select the This server requires an encrypted connection (SSL) check box.
· In the Incoming Server (POP3) field, the number 995 should display. If not, select the number and type 995.
Under Outgoing Server (SMTP):
· Select the This server requires an encrypted connection (SSL) check box.
· In the Outgoing Server (SMTP) field, type 25 or 587 for the port number.
· Select the Leave a copy of messages on the server check box if you want to see your messages when you use Hotmail in a web browser, your mobile phone, or other e-mail programs. If you want to delete your messages from the Hotmail server after you read them, clear this check box.
Click OK
7. Click Test Account Settings.
If the test is successful, click Next. If the test fails, check the values you typed in step 4.
8. Click Finish.
9. Take a look at the account settings by going to Tools menu and clicking E-Mail Accounts. Select View or change existing e-mail accounts and then click Next. If you see any accounts listed as Hotmail or MSN with Type 'HTTP', select the account and click the Remove button and then click Yes (NOTE: this will only apply if you are moving from the DAV protocol to the POP protocol - you've added an account with POP through the above instructions and now need to delete the previous account accessed through DAV).
OL mail and isp's
If you can receive but not send using the above settings, you may have to check with your isp to make sure the settings are compatible with their system. Isp's control how mail is sent and are sometimes picky about which servers they will work with. Verizon for instance will only send Cablevision mail accounts through their own servers. Isp's can also block an account from sending without notifying you so it may be necessary to check with them if you're having problems.
UPDATE!
If the above settings don't work for older versions of Outlook-here's what worked for us:
IN SERVERS TAB:
Incoming:uncheck "Log on using SPS".
Outgoing:check "My server requires authentication"
IN ADVANCED TAB:
Outgoing mail: port 587 with SSL checked
Incoming mail: port 995 with SSL checked.
Get more out of YOUR Office Live!
If you have any questions, or would like a quote for web design or custom applications for your web site, please
CONTACT US!
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1/18/2010 |
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Why?
There are many ways you can use an Access 07+ database to help manage content on your web site. For example, managing a product catalog, a photo collection, your contacts or anything you're storing in list format that you want to display on your site.
It's easy to connect a business applications or contact manager list to Access and it provides several advantages over managing content with the OLSB lists-
- unlimited storage capacity
- the ability to make widespread changes offline in Access and do global updates instantaneously to your site
- Access is much quicker than working with the online list
- you can use the editing and formatting tools offline in Access which are far more sophisticated than in your OLSB account.
- maintaining one central file makes it easier to deploy your data to multiple locations-making changes in the db will update your site, but you can also create files to upload to Amazon, eBay etc.
- if you already have an Excel list of products, it's easy to import them to Access (or use an existing database if you have one) and get them on your site.
It's worth considering the practical benefits of this to an OL site owner. If your product catalog is stored in Access, you can almost instantly find any item and make changes to it. Or, if you want to run a sale on your entire product catalog, instead of manually changing prices for each item, you could apply a formula to the price column in Access. With a database connected to your web site, changes will be published without needing to even log into your OL account.
It's about as close to dynamic content creation as you can get with an Office Live site.
Connect!
 Of course, you can't upload an Access database file directly to your account so how does this work? You don't need to upload the file. You can connect it to a location on your site by publishing it in a business applications list.
Here's a quick how to-
Create a list in business applications (or open contact mgr)
Under "Actions", select "Open with Access" - (only works with IE).
After logging in with your OL user id, the list will open as a database in Access.
The database is now SYNCED TO YOUR OL LIST. Any changes you make will instantly update your list in OL.
Publish the list with the list publisher module to your site, and any changes made in the database will also be reflected instantly on your site.
Once the list is connected, you don't have to open it again from business applications. You can open it directly within Access from the database list and work with it in Access.
And here's the "raw" result-this is how the item will look using just the default list settings.
The image and info are all managed in Access. And with a little css or xsl manipulation you could customize the appearance any way you want.
Go here to see a live demo.
Collect!
If you add a form based on the list to your site, submissions to the form will update the list in bus apps and also your Access database. This again gives you much more control over the data than if it is just saved in a static bus apps list.
Here's a very simple example of all this in action.
Get more out of YOUR Office Live!
If you have any questions, or would like a quote for web design or custom applications for your web site, please
CONTACT US!
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1/17/2010 |
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The faq template is an easy way to create a page with links that "jump" to a related article or to show a "teaser" and link to the entire article........
Say you want to list some articles on your site but not overwhelm your viewer by displaying the articles in their entirety. Using the faq template, you can easily publish a teaser with a few lines, and then add a "read more" link to the rest of the article lower down the same page. Like this.... Read more...All this can be done with the built in tools-no coding or modules are required.
CLICK HERE if you want to see a working example or read on to see how to do it:
- Create a page using the FAQ template
- Highlight the first "question" item like this : "What is a FAQ?"
- Write "read more...." OVER the first question. This will replace its text but retain the underlying link.
- Add the article title and the first few lines of your article BEFORE the question/read more link, like this:
Article title
This is an article about using the faq template..Read more.....
- Repeat for the other 4 questions
- Now, highlight the question "What is a FAQ?" in the ANSWER section.
- Write the article's title over the question so it becomes the target anchor for the "read more" link.
- Add the rest of your article BELOW the title you just added.
- Repeat for the other "answers".
Now when a viewer clicks the "Read more" link, they will be taken to the full article.
Here's a demo of this trick in action.
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If you have any questions, or would like a quote for web design or custom applications for your web site, please
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Hello! This is where the rest of the linked article would go. Click here to go back to the FAQ how to!
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1/8/2010 |
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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.
Control your 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. You can easily customize the appearance of the "posts" because they are really just content boxes. Remove the author, date and subject line with a couple of clicks, and you'll be working with a blank box. Or create your own "view" and use that in place of the predefined modules. 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
- Use the categories to assign each teacher a "home page", where they can post homework assignments etc. and keep their students on track.
- Or 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! Back to top |
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1/4/2010 |
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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:
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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