Blogging

Since I spend so much of my time writing on the Web, I’ve come across some tools that have helped me become more efficient. Of course, there are lots of resources available to bloggers, so I should note that I don’t expect this roundup to be the “be-all, end-all” of blogger helpers.

Everyone has at least a couple tools they find extremely helpful. Share your favorites in the comments below. And if you’re a Firefox user, consider trying out these 15 add-ons, designed specifically for bloggers.

Get more productive

After the Deadline If you want to make sure that your blog post is properly edited, using After the Deadline might be your best bet. The app, which can also be downloaded as a WordPress plug-in, analyzes your blog posts to ensure that your spelling and grammar are correct.

I first came across After the Deadline when it was acquired by Automattic. Since then, I’ve been quite impressed by the service. It’s almost invariably accurate and useful. After the Deadline is available as a WordPress plug-in so it automatically analyzes your posts, but the site also provides a “demonstration module” for those who don’t use WordPress.

After the Deadline is for anyone looking to improve their writing.

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Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET

Copyscape If you’re concerned that there are sites on the Web stealing your content, Copyscape is worth checking out. The service allows you to input a URL into the search field. Once you do so, it finds sites that may be copying your pages for their own gain. From there, it provides a links to those sites, so you can see what exactly is being copied.

If you’re concerned that your content is being used for purposes you don’t approve of, Copyscape is a site worth checking out.

Find out if someone is copying your site with Copyscape.

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Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET

FlauntR If you’re looking to do a little more than modify images quickly, FlauntR is one of the best services in this roundup to do just that.

When you first get to FlauntR, I think you’ll be impressed by its design. But once you start using the service, you’ll find that its focus on beauty has limited its ability to make you efficient. It takes too long to add images to the service, which can be uploaded from your PC or transferred from Facebook, Bebo, Flickr, and other photo sites.

Where FlauntR shines is in all the options you have to edit the photos. Everything from inputting picture frames to adding effects is possible. You can also do the basics, such as crop and adjust the image’s color. Although it’s nice to have so many of those options, FlauntR is useful for those bloggers who want to do something special with images. There are more efficient photo-editing options in this roundup.

FlauntR has a nice but somewhat-difficult design.

(Credit:
Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET

Flock Flock is a browser designed specifically for those trying to combine their online social presence with their Web browsing.

Flock is a great way to stay up-to-date on all that’s happening in your social life. The browser allows you to update your Facebook status, send out a tweet, receive notification of new e-mails, and more. It’s a nice, full-featured browser. But its blog editor is best.

By bringing up the blog editor, you can quickly write a post in any tab you have open. You can then upload that post to your content management system. The browser supports WordPress, Blogger, and TypePad, among others.

I don’t often use Flock, since many of its features are available as Firefox add-ons, but when I do, I’m generally impressed. The browsing experience is also pretty good. If you’re looking for something to help you manage your content syndication to social sites, while at the same time increasing your productivity, Flock might be worth trying out.

Flock is the browser for social fanatics.

(Credit:
Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET

Google Reader Although there are several RSS feeds that work well, I’m partial to Google Reader. The service is updated constantly, it’s easy to find content, and thanks to a simple design, it’s extremely easy to sift through updates to your favorite resources.

When using Google Reader, adding a site’s RSS feed to your listing is quick and easy. You can either click an RSS feed on the site or input its URL into Google Reader. Once complete, the service lists all the updates to your listings. As you scroll through them, they’re updated as read. Like other Google services, you can place stars next to items you care about, share content with others, and more. You can also change the feed’s settings to modify it to your desires. All in all, Google Reader is feature-packed. It’s my favorite RSS reader.

Google Reader helps you find stories to write about.

(Credit:
Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET

Picnik If you’re looking to quickly edit a photo for placement on your blog, Picnik is one of the best ways to go about it. The service allows you to either upload images or take images from Flickr, Photobucket, Facebook, and other services to edit them and get them ready for publishing.

Once you get to Picnik (you don’t even need to sign up for the site to use it), you’ll be treated to one of the most user-friendly site designs in this roundup. You have the option of uploading an image from your computer or adding a photo from several services. In either case, you can have the Webware 100 winner “autofix” the image or perform the work yourself. You can change its color, crop the image, change exposure, and much more. Picnik isn’t as powerful as a service like Adobe Systems’ Photohop, but it’s certainly a fine alternative for those who want to quickly modify an image for a blog.

Picnik helps you edit photos to get them ready for publishing.

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Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET

ScribeFire ScribeFire is a Firefox extension designed specifically for bloggers who don’t want to waste time switching back between tabs to reference content and write about it.

ScribeFire is a highly useful tool. When you click on the add-on in your status bar, a blog editor pops up, allowing you to write from within any open tab. When you’re ready to complete your edit and publish to your blog, you need only to click the “publish” button, and you’re all set. In seconds, ScribeFire will input your post into your blog’s CMS and publish it. ScribeFire won’t work with every blogging platform, but it integrates well with several platforms, including WordPress and Movable Type. I’ve used it on WordPress with great success.

ScribeFire is a blog editor on any page in Firefox.

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Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET

Skitch If you’re a Mac user, Skitch is an app you should consider trying out. Instead of forcing you to upload an image that you download to your desktop, Skitch makes it a little easier for you by taking a screen capture. It also gives you the option of copying and pasting an image into the service.

Once you download Skitch, you’ll find that it’s an extremely useful app. When you add an image to the service, you can simply drag a corner of the software’s border to resize the image. You can also add text, edit the image, and more. It’s not as powerful as a service like Picnik, but if you’re a Mac user who wants to quickly get screen captures or resize images, I’ve yet to use a better tool. (Download it here)

Skitch lets you capture an image on the Web.

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Skitch

My top 3

1. Picnik: Offering the best photo-editing tool on the Web, Picnik is a must-see.

2. ScribeFire: Blogging is much easier with the help of ScribeFire. Definitely try it out.

3. Google Reader: If you’re looking to see what your resources are writing about, Google Reader is the service to try.

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Online tools for more productive blogging

SAN FRANCISCO-Most of the new ventures launching at the TechCrunch50 conference are standalone Web sites, but not all. In years past there have been the few hardware launches, and this year is no different. Here are two new bits of hardware, and a new hardware platform that are gunning to make their way into your livingroom and office in the coming months.

The iTwin splits up into two USB sticks that are paired to talk only to each other

(Credit: iTwin )

iTwin is a two-piece bit of USB hardware that acts as a “cableless cable” allowing two computers to connect and share files as long as they have an Internet connection. There’s nothing to set up, since both halves of the device are paired together and stay constantly connected. Users just plug it in, and can begin dropping files large and small into a shared folder.

The product will be available beginning early next year for $99, and comes with two paired sides that interlock when not in use. If users lose one of the two sides, they can lock down their account with an SMS message, or by disconnecting the other piece. They can also purchase an additional side, which can be re-paired.

ToyBots is a new gaming platform that lets toy manufacturers plug in their toys into an online network. Much like the Pleo, the personality of the toy can be altered by firmware upgrades, which are directly connected to the Web. Users can then play games and get feedback from their toy, as well as purchase and download new personalities and applications.

The company is hoping to get toy manufacturers on board as partners, and get them to start using the standard firmware profile across their entire line of toys. This would do two big things: let users re-use firmware or applications they’ve purchased for one toy, onto another, as well as keep money coming in even after a consumer has purchased a toy.

Toybots' founder demos a toy running the prototype firmware.

(Credit: CNET / Josh Lowensohn)

Spawn Labs lets gamers play console games over the network. Users connect their home game console (the Xbox, Xbox 360, PS2, GameCube are currently supported) to a $199 home appliance which is hooked up to the Web. The appliance then beams back control information to a site where users can managed all of theirs, as well as their friends’ networked consoles. It also lets several users play and watch on a console at once, piping both the imagery, and controls over the network.

Spawn Labs lets gamers access their home consoles over the Web.

(Credit: CNET / Caroline McCarthy)

The service pipes 720p HD footage over the Web, but can also scale it down dynamically depending on your connection. Its creators have designed it for users who want to access their console while away from their house, or continue to use it if someone else in the house needs to use that TV.

Spawn Labs is similar to OnLive, a product that made its debut earlier this year at the Game Developers Conference. Howevr, OnLive puts the consoles and software in the cloud. In the case of Spawn Labs, the proposition is a little closer to something like LogMeIn, giving users a quick way to use their own hardware and existing software library.

You can view all our coverage of the show here.

See the rest here:
New hardware at TechCrunch50

Monday’s news that MSNBC acquired EveryBlock, a “hyperlocal” news service just a few months after AOL acquired a competing service, Patch, had me thinking about all the start-ups that are vying for your attention by targeting your neighborhood. Of course, many of these sites don’t work with every neighborhood, so your mileage will vary.

Regardless, I thought that with the EveryBlock acquisition, it was time to take a look at those services providing a hyperlocal experience.

Go hyper

EveryBlock EveryBlock, which was just acquired by MSNBC, features some outstanding hyperlocal features. The site provides local news, crime reports, and other information at the block level.

Currently, EveryBlock works with a handful of cities, including New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Miami. It would have been nice to find information on more areas around the U.S., but it wasn’t so bad. The site does a great job of finding local information, including lost and found lists, building permits, and other information that might be useful to someone living in a particular location. EveryBlock is a great site. I just wish it supported more cities. (Click here for our full review of EveryBlock.)

EveryBlock helps you find out what's going on in many streets in the area.

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

Outside.in Outside.in is one of the nicest resources in this roundup. It finds out what’s happening in (at last count) 35,312 neighborhoods around the U.S. and delivers it to people in those areas.

When you first get to the site, Outside.in asks you to input a ZIP code. From there, it finds local news, discussions (it has a message board for each neighborhood), and establishments for you to check out. I was happy to see that both small suburbs and major metro areas were included in the list of neighborhoods on Outside.in. And since all of the information is constantly updated, it was a great way to find out what’s going in my area.

Outside.in provides with all the news in your area.

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

Patch Unlike many of the services in this roundup, which just find local information from existing sources, Patch does it a little differently. The site employs local editors and contributors to run a local news site.

Patch is a really neat idea. Instead of just taking blogs for around the Web, Patch hires an editorial staff to handle the news affecting you in your area. It covers topics ranging from local news to local sports and events. Even better, it gives the readers an opportunity to help populate the site by inputting events and announcements. They need only to sign up, write an announcement, and they’re all set. There’s just one problem with Patch: it’s only available in very few cities in just two states–New Jersey and Connecticut. Since its acquisition by AOL, it has been finding new editors for different cities around the U.S., though.

Patch isn't in too many cities, unfortunately.

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

Placeblogger Instead of searching through the Web to find stories written on topics about your area, Placeblogger uses citizen journalists to populate its site.

Placeblogger constantly searches the Web to find “placeblogs,” blogs that are written by people or businesses about a particular area. They can be local blogs that you set up or corporate blogs set up by local companies. In either case, Placeblogger puts those feeds on its site to provide you with one central location to find all the content you really care about in your community. Even better, Placeblogger lets you add images, communicate with others from your area, and “like” a particular place. It’s a neat service if you’re trying to find more information about your community.

Placeblog features several blogs on cities both big and small.

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

Topix Topix is one of the best ways to learn about what’s going on in your community.

When you get to Topix, you can input your location. From there, it populates that page with information it gathers from a variety of sources across the Web. You can still see world and national news, but if you want local news, Topix will provide more information than you would find elsewhere. Plus, it’s supported in most areas across the U.S. And thanks to such a large community, you’ll find that each location’s message board is populated with some great discussions. I really liked Topix.

Topix has local news for even small areas.

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

Wikicity Wikicity is a huge site. The service lists content on any city you can think of in a wiki.

Wikicity’s listings pages feature the basic information like local establishments, upcoming community events, and more. But where it shines is in its content. It lists blogs that are written for and about the community, it features a listing of Twitter feeds for all the people that might live in the particular city, and it even provides local news. Those features combine to make Wikicity an extremely useful site for those looking to connect with the community.

Wikicity helps you find people in your area.

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

My top 3

1. Outside.in: With so much coverage and great content, Outside.in is worth checking out.

2. Topix: It’s big, but it deserves some accolades with so much coverage.

3. Wikicity: It’s not the best-looking app in this roundup, but there’s something to be said for making Twitter streams and blog posts available to the community.

The rest is here:
It’s time to go hyperlocal with these resources

(Credit: Google)

Google has linked its online applications suite with its Groups service, making it possible to share documents, sites, and calendars among defined groups of people.

Before the new functionality was launched Monday, Google Apps users wanting to share items had either to make them entirely public, or share them on a person-by-person basis.

The change means that, for example, a spreadsheet shared with a Google Group will be accessible immediately to anyone joining that group, or rendered inaccessible to those leaving the group.

“In my work, being able to communicate and collaborate with many groups of people is crucial to productivity, and I often want to use Google Apps to share content with particular groups or teams,” Google Groups associate product manager Jeffrey Chang wrote in a blog post Monday. “Typing in every user’s e-mail address manually is painstaking and inefficient, and remembering when people leave and join different teams is impossible.”

Across Google’s various applications, including Docs, Sites, Video for Business, and Calendar, groups can be given access by having an invitation sent to the group’s e-mail address, rather than to an individual’s e-mail address, Chang said.

Calendars, sites, and other items will then “automatically detect group membership changes,” Chang added.

David Meyer of ZDNet UK reported from London.

More here:
Google links Apps to Groups for quicker sharing

If you’re trying to learn how to play an instrument, you might be thinking about hiring a local tutor. After all, it’s the way it has always been done. But you might be surprised to learn that the Web is a great place to learn how to play that instrument.

Start playing

All Guitar Chords It’s a simple app, but All Guitar Chords provides you with a full listing of all the guitar chords you might want to learn. Simply pick the chord you want, click the “Get” button, and it will display where to put your fingers. It’s not the best tutorial app in this roundup, but it works better than you might expect. It’s a simple and efficient tutor.

All Guitar Chords will help you learn how to play the guitar.

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

Chordbook Chordbook is the place to go if you want to learn how to play guitar. The Flash-based site displays guitar strings. You can then choose which chord you want to play. Upon doing so, it automatically places circles on the guitar strings to help you learn proper placement of your fingers. When you’re ready to learn a chord, you can click the “strum” button and it will play a chord to help you determine what your guitar should sound like when you play. If you’re beginner, Chordbook is the place to be.

Chordbook will help you learn how to play the guitar.

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

Drums Database Drums Database lists a variety of different tutorials that you can access based on your skill level. When you find what you’re looking for, the site sends you to a video on the Web showing you how to perform that particular lesson. Sometimes, the videos are gathered from YouTube. Other links send you to how-to videos across the Web. I was extremely impressed by the number of lessons included in its database. You will be too.

The Drums Database has any lesson you might be looking for.

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

Guitar Tricks Guitar Tricks is a well-designed site that helps you learn how to play guitar through online videos.

Guitar Tricks has a variety of lessons for those looking to play any kind of guitar, including electric, acoustic, or bass. You’ll be able to learn how to play songs in several genres, including bluegrass and metal. According to the site, it has over 3,000 lessons available. But to see tutorials from advanced instructors, you’ll need to pay $12.95 per month for access. The site also offers a free, basic version, but that only provides you with 12 instructors and 24 sample lessons. If you’re serious about learning how to play guitar, Guitar Tricks might be a good place to start.

You'll have quite a few options on Guitar Tricks.

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

iPerform3D iPerform3D features a variety of free lessons for beginners. But where it shines is in its paid content, which makes it extremely easy to learn how to play both guitar and drums.

What makes iPerform3D so compelling is its 3D element. It shows a virtual character playing the drums or guitar, while instructing you on where to place your hands. As the character plays, you can mimic those movements to replicate what’s happening on-screen. It’s a great site. And for $11 to $20 per month, depending upon the membership plan you pick, it’s relatively affordable. (If you want to learn more about iPerform3D check out our full review.)

Besides virtual characters, iPerform3D also features beginners' videos.

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

TakeLessons TakeLessons is a search engine for finding music instructors. The site asks you to input the instrument you want to learn, as well as your location. It then finds other TakeLessons users who are also certified instructors in your area. You can set up appointments online and pay them through the service. The site also provides you with a phone number, if you’d rather call your instructor to set something up. TakeLessons guarantees those lessons, so it might be a better option than looking for tutors in the newspaper.

TakeLessons will help you learn how to play an instrument.

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

VirtualDrumming If you’re looking to learn how to play the drums, VirtualDrumming will show you how a variety of simple to advanced beats are played. You can then mimic those movements to play those beats yourself.

When you choose to try out a drum lesson on the site, you can start with basics, like coordination and drumstick control. When you choose an option, you can set the tutorial into motion, which displays how to play a particular beat on your own set. If you follow those beats, you should be on your way to learning how to play the drums. Once you get past the basics, VirtualDrumming teaches you advanced rhythms. Since it’s free, it’s worth considering.

Virtual Drumming will help you learn to play the drums.

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

My top 3

1. iPerform3D: It’s too cool and too useful not to give it the top spot.

2. Chordbook: It’s a simple app, but Chordbook is highly useful.

3. Drums Database: With so many lessons available, it’s perfect for the beginner drummer.

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Learn how to play an instrument online