Archive for December, 2009

Another Great Wordpress Theme Site

Dec 31

Posted by Mrs. Mecomber in Wordpress, blogs | 2 Comments

Believe it or not (!!), I’ve started up some new blogs! So I spent quite a few hours looking over my options. I checked out Drupal, Joomla, and b2evolution platforms for possible choices… but Drupal was difficult to manage and had very limited choices. Joomla looked too complex, and b2evolution was too plain. So I reverted back to Wordpress. When it comes to blogging, I really need a variety of nice themes. I’m willing to slog through technicalities and database manipulating, but when it comes to nice themes, I draw the line. By FAR, Wordpress has the best themes around. And there are plenty of exceptional-quality themes, too. Here’s one: Template Lite Wordpress Templates. (This is not a sponsored post!). I have used some of their themes, and I think they are beautiful. They are very artful, and free! I’m going to use one o their new ones, Sunset Farm, on my new blog very soon. I’ll be sure to let you know about the grand opening. Check out Template Lite for free WP themes. I’m very impressed with what’s there.

Tags: free, themes

Adding a Custom Header to Your Blogger Blog

Dec 30

Posted by Mrs. Mecomber in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

I recently used this hack when I installed a new template and customized header for my son’s blog. I thought I’d republish the hack, in case it came in handy for any of you bloggers with Blogger (Blogspot) blogs.

A customized header is not difficult. You just need to know what you are doing. Header widths and heights vary, because every template is different. Before you start creating your header and adding it to your blog, you’re going to have to find your templates’ allowance for the header width and height and make a header the same size– or– make a header and adjust your template’s width and height measurements.

Neither one is difficult. However, if you are brand-new at this and are worried you’ll wreck your template, you can back up your template by downloading it to your computer (and uploading it if you want to revert back to it). If you don’t know how to backup your template, go here for a quick tutorial.

I am assuming that you 1) have a new header already made and 2) that this new header is in the dimensions according to your template. For example, if your template has an existing header that is 950px wide and 167px high, you need a header that is 950px wide and 167px high. 3) your new header is already uploaded to a photohosting website.

Another thing is… your template may not even have a header. I have had templates that had nothing about a header, because all it had at the top was space for your blog title. There are ways to change that, but that is a whole different tutorial and goes beyond the scope of this post. You’d have to build a section of html code within your template to make a header. It’s up to you; but if it was me, I’d just get another template with a header, so I could adjust it. It’s so much easier.

So, before you continue on in this tutorial, you should have:

created a header in the pixel dimensions for your template
uploaded your header onto a phothosting website
made a backup of your existing template

OK, with your template saved and your header ready to go, it’s time to get our hands dirty.

Sign in to Blogger and go to your dashboard. For the blog you want to change, choose “Layout.” This will take you to the Layouts page, showing many options. The page you automatically go to is “Page Elements.” You’ll see other pages, like “Fonts & Colors,” “Edit HTML,” and “Pick a New Template.” Choose “Edit HTML.”

You can see the guts (the html code) of your blog’s template in the window, below where it says “Edit Template.”

What you need to do is expose more of the code than is showing. You do this by checking the “Expand Widget Templates” checkbox. The page will reload.

Now, in this window, scroll down and look for this line of code:

<!– begin header –>
<b:section class=’header’ id=’header’ maxwidgets=’1′ showaddelement=’no’>
<b:widget id=’HTML6′ locked=’true’ title=” type=’HTML’>
<b:includable id=’main’>

It is usually right after the

</head>
<body>

part of your template.

Here’s a tip. Your browser has a search function built in it, using CTRL + F. If you press the CTRL key and the F key, a little window will pop up (for Internet Explorer, a separate window pops up; for Firefox, a section of the status bar enlarges). Type in the word “locked” and click “next” or “search.” Keep clicking until you find the string of code I specified above. This will find your code much quicker than scrolling through endless symbols. There are several areas in a template that have the word “locked” in it, so be sure you have the correct section. Like I said, every template varies slightly.

You are basically looking to unlock your header. So this keyword “locked” will be in an area that determines information about your header.

Once you’ve found the code, changed the word “true” to the word “false.” For example, if your code says this:

<!– begin header –>
<b:section class=’header’ id=’header’ maxwidgets=’1′ showaddelement=’no’>
<b:widget id=’HTML6′ locked=’true’ title=” type=’HTML’>
<b:includable id=’main’>

Change it to say this:

<!– begin header –>
<b:section class=’header’ id=’header’ maxwidgets=’1′ showaddelement=’no’>
<b:widget id=’HTML6′ locked=’false’ title=” type=’HTML’>
<b:includable id=’main’>

What you are essentially doing is telling Blogger that you want to be able to remove the Blogger header. You want to get rid of the old header and put in your new customized one. Save your template changes by clicking “Save Template.”

This part of the template work is done. Go to the page that says “Page Elements.” At the top, see where your header is located? (Right below the NavBar). Click on the “edit” link. A new window should pop up.

A new window should pop up. What you should see now is a button that gives you the option to “Remove Page Element.” This is the result of that html coding we did in the template.

The next step is to remove this page element. You want to get rid of the old Blogger header and put your own in here. It is very easy– but I’ll admit that I still tread very carefully when I do this. But there is really nothing to be nervous about, because you can always add the old header back: just click “Add a Page Element.” When the window pops up, scroll down and you will see the option to add a Page Header. See?

So, now that you have dumped the old “Page Element” header, You’ll want to create a new Page Element. Go ahead. Don’t worry if you don’t see at option to add a Page Element in the header area. Just pick one from the sidebar. When the new window pops up, choose “HTML/Javascript.” This will enable you to link back to the header image on your photohosting site, with the added bonus of making your new header linkable to your blog’s homepage.

Here’s what my code looks like:

You’ll need to change a few things here. For example, my header image is hosted at Photobucket. When people click on my header, I don’t want to direct them to Photobucket! I want them to return to my homepage. So you’ll need to change your code as I need to change mine. This is what I did. I changed this:

<a href=”http://photobucket.com” target=”_blank”><img
src=”http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa84/mrsmecomber/
headerimage.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket”></a>

To this:

<a href=”http://newyorktraveler.blogspot.com”><img
src=”http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa84/mrsmecomber/
headerimage.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”New York Traveler”></a>

I just changed the URL to direct the header’s link back to my blog’s homepage. I also got rid of the target=”_blank” coding because this would only reload my blog’s homepage into another browser tab or browser window. The reader would find that very annoying. Finally, I changed the text from Photobucket hosting to something more appropriate for my blog.

Once you have the code configured, save the changes.

Now return back to your “Page Elements” page in Blogger, You’ll probably see your new header (called “HTML/Javascript”) in the sidebar! You have to guide it to where it belongs. Drag the box up toward the header. get it in the right spot, and it will drop in. When you’ve finished, click the orange “SAVE” button near the top. View your blog and you’ll see your new template header, complete with a link back to your homepage!

Marketing Comes to Your Social Network

Dec 30

Posted by Mrs. Mecomber in Internet, business services, networking | 2 Comments

Imagine walking down a city street, and suddenly your iPhone buzzes. You look at it, and there’s a message from that restaurant– Mel’s Diner– further down the street, offering a 15% discount on lunch for people who visit within the next hour. Do you go? And how did they get that message to you?

Welcome to the new world of marketing via your social network. It’s one of the key projects of companies like Digital Development Partners, Inc (You can see their stock profile and performance at Market Watch). You see, there are now SO many products in the world, and SO many people…. the dilemma for the business has been how to get the word out? Mel at Mel’s Diner can’t possibly search Twitter and Facebook for every resident of his city, and befriend them and message them. Mel is a cook, not a twitterer! So he may hire a marketing company to sift through and manage the massive information.

This kind of marketing is very unique; it’s an in-your-face kind of marketing. What do you think? It’s great to get discounts, and you may even discover new products and services to benefit your own business or employment… but it’s an invasive form of marketing. Social networking is traditionally (if you can call 6 or 7 years of Facebook a “tradition”) reserved for friends and family communications. To have Mel intrude into your Twitter is a rude awakening for some.

It’s probably no surprise that the idea of Digital Development Partners was started by a college student at Western Carolina University, funded by a business, and won a contest for innovation and enterprise. The company’s brainchild is YuDeal.com (currently in beta), which turns social networking and global marketing on its head, as seen with the example of Mel and his Diner. What do you think of all this?

Remember, I’m a pro-blogger and I am sometimes compensated with stuff or money to review or mention products or services! This was one of them. You can read more about my blog policy on my About page.

Tags: business, Facebook, Twitter

Finding Literature Online

Dec 22

Posted by Mrs. Mecomber in Google, PDF reader, blogs, educational programs, free stuff, websites | 1 Comment

It’s winter for us in the United States– that means more inside activities. For us, it means more reading. I have a stack of books that I’ve ordered from the library, but there are several books that I desire to read that my library does not carry (I like history books, especially ancient civilizations and British history; these seems to be in short order at my library, which carries a ton of fiction stuff).

I considered getting one of those e-reader gadgets (like the Kindle or Sony e-Reader) but the price tag gave me sticker shock. But I found that one doesn’t really need one of those gadgets to read books, not really. There are a ton of e-books to be found online. And if you have a netbook, it’s as easy as starting up a browser or opening a pdf file. Here’s a quick list of e-books to be found online. All of these sites have free books and other forms of literature to read.

Google Books
By far, Google has the largest selection of books and magazines, new and old. I like their library because they have many books that have been out of print for decades , which are very useful to me for my research.

Project Gutenberg is a huge site, with thousands of books you can download or read online.

The Christian Classic Ethereal Library has many old books and documents online for reading.

American Rhetoric has a large database of speeches, documents, videos, and more.

The Classic Bookshelf The website is a little hokey (old), but they have a searchable database and some great classics online.

The Open Library is good.

The Online Books Page is run by the University of Pennsylvania and has a searchable database.

Diploma Guide.com has a listing of free books and textbooks you can read online, as well as a listing of universities in the U.S. (public and private) where you can search for more.

The Internet Archive Text Archive
This website has a large selection of older books.

The Cornell University Library has some very old journals from early America. And The Making of America has a selection of older books, too.

Children’s Storybooks Online has children’s books.

And this list just scratches the surface! If you still haven’t found a particular book, try searching for “read books online” and/or the title or genre of the literature you want.

Outstanding Online Poetry

Dec 22

Posted by Mrs. Mecomber in Internet, blogs | Comments off

The Internet is a treasure-trove when it comes to literature and other writing works. My kids and I do a good deal of research– they for their schoolwork, and I for my history hobby and writing career– so we’re always looking for good works online. Moreover, the Internet is a great place to publish your own works; the Internet has made writing a do-it-yourself project, and I know of several people who have begun full-fledged careers with simple beginnings on the Internet.

Do you love reading classical narrative poetry? If so, definitely check out the works of Jonas Hyde. Beautiful! I’d first heard of him in the Helium circles (I write for Helium from time to time); his poem My Dragonfly ranked #1 for its category. It’s a lovely poem. Jonas has a website devoted to his poetry, including some of his previous works as well as newer works and teasers on soon-to-be released poems. He’s got a very nice style: the narrative is clean and stylish and it’s got an earthy classic cadence to it. Also at the website is a little biographical information about the poet. It’s a good website to peruse the poetry, perhaps use it for readings or homeschool lessons on classical narrative poetry style. I’m pleased to see this style coming back, and it’s certainly popular amongst the Helium readers and writers! See the Jonas Hyde website for more details.