5 and a half Blogging Must-Haves

July 2nd, 2008.

To blog all you need is Notepad, a hosted blog and a free FTP program.

However, blogging is highly demanding on our time.

Blogging Must-Haves - Firefox 3.0

These nifty little gadgets help to create enough time in the day for taking that walk, going for that cup of coffee with friends, or just doing that laundry.

1. Firefox Browser

Firefox is faster, more efficient and better protected against virus and spyware attacks than Internet Explorer.

It’s free, very easy to use and will become indispensable once you see what it can do.

It has thousands of add-ons to make your life easier and your Internet experience more personal.

My favorites add-ons are my Stumble toolbar, my Scrapbook and my web developer toolbar.

See our next list for the best Firefox 3.0 add-ons.

You can download the latest firefox 3.0 here

2. Google Desktop

Google desktop has truly revolutionized my blogging experience.

Currently my Google Gadgets include:

a RSS feed displays my feeds live and I’ve set my options to include feeds from websites often visited.
a notepad, for little reminders that I need to see.
a timer for limiting the time I spend writing individuals posts. I also set it for every 30 minutes, to remind me to get up and stretch my aching back!
world clocks, it saves me from figuring out which country is ten hours behind, 2 hours ahead, etc.
Google search comes automatically with every desktop. It indexes your desktop, so you can search both the internet and your harddrive. To open a file, I simply type in some words in the title and select the right one. It saves me about 5 minutes each time I open one up.

3. Google Analytics

This is great for detailed traffic reports for your blog.

It provides info on

who is visiting your blog (their IPs and locations) including which countries and areas dominate
your blog’s bounce rate (how many people arrive at your blog and leave right away)
the pages people visit
how many pages on average are looked at
etc

The tracking code for Google Analytics needs to be added to the Xhtml of your blog. The only problem is if you have a free hosted blog.

If you use Blogger.com, you can edit the Xhtml very easily using your dashboard.

If Wordpress.com hosts your blog, you will need to pay to include the tracking code.

4. Ping-o-matic

A free service that automatically pings various search engines for you when your blog is updated or when you write a new post.

If you are interested in seriously marketing your blog, this tool is essential. It saves you countless hours.

5. Feed Blitz

Monetizing and marketing your blog, as an individual without corporate support can be like running through a brick wall. Difficult and painful.

Feed Blitz makes it so much easier.

It:

Monitors your blogs RSS feeds
Converts feeds and blog updates into email digests, delivering these daily to you subscribers’ inboxes
Manages subscriptions, circulation tracking, testing

And a half: StumbleUpon

Technically this is not a blogging tool, but currently I think this is the best way of broadcasting and marketing postings.

This is a basic list and there are many things missing! What are your blogging gadgety essentials?

You can read more of my work at Africa’s Times.

This article is written by: Dora Ramos...Born in Africa, I learnt to pick up lizards with out fear, to fix things with duck tape rather than throw away, and to smile even if it's hard to. I also write, occasionally, for my own blog: Africa's Times. Cheers to bloganistas = may we rule the world! Read more from this author