4. Let us know where your blog is in the comments to this blog

Now that you have your blog all set up, leave a comment on this post with your blog's address and name.

2. Create a gmail account

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Gmail is a free web-based email service similar to Yahoo mail or Hotmail. You will need a Gmail account to sign up for your Blogger Beta account in the next lesson and for several other lessons. Gmail will require you to get an invitation from an existing user, because it is still - officially at least - in it's beta version. This means that it is still in development (though it is a fully functional email service already) and that it isn't quite ready to open up to the general web. Bobbi and Robin, however, have plenty of invitations to go around!

Exercise
1. You can sign up on your own now! Go to Google and click on the "sign in" link at the top right of the screen.
2. Click on "Create An Account Now" below the sign in box
3. Fill out the form, then go into the "My Account" link that is now on the Google home page.
4. Click the "More >>" link and choose "Gmail".
5. Sign in using your new Google Account. You can sign into Blogger using the same account later on in this week's lessons.
4. Take some time to learn a little about your Gmail account. You can also find out more by clicking "Help" topic at the top right corner of your screen (after you log into Gmail)4. Accept terms and you're ready to go. Take some time to learn a little about your Gmail account - check out the "Help" topic at the top right corner of your screen (after you log into Gmail)

3. Create a blog

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The first step is to set up your own blog to record your thoughts, discoveries and exercises in.

Some things to keep in mind:

1. Your blog should be work friendly. For the duration of this tutorial there will be work related content on it and your coworkers may read it. After the tutorial is over, it doesn't have to be about work, but readers should be comfortable reading it at work.

2. Your blog posts should be at least 100-150 words each week - we'd like to have a conversation and the more you post, the better the conversation will be

3. How you choose to identity yourself on your blog is your choice. You can blog under a screen name, anonymously, or as yourself.

For this exercise I am recommending you use Blogger, a popular free online blog hosting service that is easy to use. Creating a blog using Blogger takes just a few easy steps:

Exercise

1. Go to http://www.blogger.com/

2. Click on "New Blogger using your Google Account"


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3. Your sign in name is your gmail address, without the @gmail.com for example yourname
your password is the same one you use for your gmail account
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3. Your sign in name is your gmail address, your complete address, for example yourname@gmail.com
your password is the same one you use for your gmail account

4. You'll be taken to this screen, click on "Create blog now"


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5. Select a display name.

6. Name your blog and choose an address.

• The name is the title that displays at the top. For example, Bobbi's Thoughts or Bobbi's Babbling
• Your address is the URL people will type into go to go your blog, they do not have to match. For example your address could be bobbi123.blogspot.com
• It may be hard to find an address that's available, you may have to try several and use the "check availability" button
• Be sure to also write down your blog address.

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7. Select your template.

8. You're ready to start blogging! Create your first post, even if it's just a test post.

9. Email me with the address.

Once you’ve created your blog here are a couple important things to know:

1. To add posts: Log into your account at http://www.blogger.com/
2. Click on the Blogger Beta sign in
3. Use your gmail address and password to sign in

4. To view your blog: type in your URL from step 6.

Resources

If you run into problems or would like more information about blogs and using Blogger here are some discovery resources you can use:
Freevlog’s Quicktime Tutorial: Setup a Free Blogger Blog Note: Ignore the opening comments about downloading Firefox if your PC doesn’t have it. This will work in Explorer just fine.
Blogger’s Quick Tutorial