Recently, I was asked to create an introductory guide
covering the creation of a blogger.com blog, how to establish privacy settings,
how to invite readers, and publishing content. I have included screenshots of
the process whenever possible. If there is something that you would like to
have addressed, please email me or leave a comment! -Andrew
2. Sign in to your Google account. If you do not have one, hit the “sign up” button in the
top-right corner and follow the directions. Please note: oakland.edu emails
will not work with Blogger; you must have a proper Google account. Once you sign in, click "Continue to Blogger" in the bottom right corner.
3. Signing in takes you
to the Blogger main page. To get started, click “New Blog” (underneath your
name) in the top right corner.
4. The next step is to
decide the name of your blog, your preferred address, and the layout/design.
Enter what suits you and proceed by hitting the “create blog!” icon.
5. Congratulations – you
have officially created your blog! Now you need to create content/posts, set
your privacy settings, and invite some followers.
6. To adjust privacy
settings, add readers, and add authors to your blog, click on the down-pointing
arrow (two to the right of the orange pencil “write a new post” icon). Clicking
on the arrow opens a menu with several choices. Use the scroll bar to access
“settings” at the very bottom of the list.
Here, you notice
there are three headings: basic, publishing, and permissions. Under each
subheading there are various options for protecting the privacy of your blog
and its content. Edit your privacy settings by clicking any of the
blue-highlighted “edit” icons next to their respective subheading. Notice you
can change the title of your blog, add a description of your blog, and edit search
engine access to your blog.
For our purposes, do
not restrict Blogger or search engine access. You can protect your blog by
inviting private readership. Blocking blogger or search engine access will make
your blog unnecessarily difficult to access, even for invited readers.
Proceed to the bottom of the page and, under the
heading “permissions”, you can edit who can see and read your blog by clicking
the edit button (along the bottom row, next to “blog readers” and anybody”).
Click “edit” and select “Only these readers” in the drop-down menu. Next select
“add readers”. You can enter email addresses or add readers by using your Gmail
contacts. After adding readers, click “save changes” and invitations will
automatically be sent.
7. Now that you have
invited your fellow students and protected the privacy of your blog, you can
start creating content. Create your first post by clicking the “New post” icon
in the upper-left corner.
8. From this page you
can write your post, insert text from a word processor, add photos, embed
video, etc. First, try posting a brief welcome message to your readers just to
get started. When finished, click the orange “publish” icon.
9. If you would like to see your blog, as it
appears to your readers, simply click the “view blog” icon and your blog will
open.
