Tools for Blogging

Over the past couple of days, I've been familiarizing myself with the variety of tools (mostly free) for blogging and doing stuff around blogs. I've put a list of all the blog-related tools I've found up on my archive page.

Here's the quick summary to set up your blog:

1. Consider using a Creative Commons license for your blog content, instead of the usual (restrictive) intellectual property restrictions.
   
   
2. Setup your blog on Blogger (use their BlogSpot service if you don't have a webserver handy).
   Or, use Blog Drive to setup and host your blog.
   Alternatively, if you can install custom software on your webserver, use Movable Type (which has built in functionality that covers the following steps except for the last).
   
   
3. Add support for user comments with Blog Comments.
   
   
4. Add metadata to your blog template with using BlogMatrix's metadata tool.
   
   
5. Add a blog roll using BlogRolling.
   
   
6. Add an RSS feed using BlogMatrix's RSS feed tool or BlogStreet's RSS Generator.
   
   
7. I would say add your blog to the Blog Tree, but they seem to have been suspended by their isp.
   
   
8. Add your blog to directories and aggregators:
   • blogdex,
   • BlogMatrix,
   • BlogStreet,
   • Daypop,
   • Technorati,
   • Weblogs.Com.

That's all it takes to be a well set up blogger. Now you just need to think of something to write...