Blogs Blogspot Blogging Are Social Media Tools

Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Blogs, Blogspot, and Blogging are Social Media Tools also. When we work with our blogs, websites, selling platforms, etc. we know to use some Social Media Tools to promote ourselves, and to have us better seen with this worldwide internet we all use. Blogs, Blogger, Blogspot, Blogging, and such are also considered Social Media Tools that we can use for these purposes as well. 

There are many places out there that you can use for blogs, and to blog with. Please remember this as you read through this today. 

Blogs and Blogging  

Wordpress      Wordpress is a popular platform for anyone. A Blogger who writes, or maybe a photographer who wants to put their porfolio out there. With wordpress at anytime you can upgrade, and get your own domain name. Here other wordpress users can either like, see, and reblog your posts which will leave you with the potential of more followers, and readers. 

Blogger or Blogspot      This is one of the most well known platforms. It is backed by Google which makes it trustworthy, and a reliable platform. It is also simple to start. The Blog publishing service allows private blogs along with multi user blogs as well. 

Tumblr      This place has a social networking website with a blogging platform that allows their users to post to a short term blog. Its mostly visuals, images, videos and music. 

Weebly      This place has a lot of unique, and modern themes to start your blog off with for looking fresh. They also offer ecommerce, and iPhone application for posting while you're on the go. It is easy linking to Social Media. This site is suppose to be dummy free, and is suppose to be made as easy as possible for you to dive right into blogging.  

We have some choices for platforms to use for our Blogs which is great. Everyone has their own preferences of how to blog, and where you blog as well. This is perfect, and great because what one person might like or finds to work for them might not work for others. Some have found with their own websites that they can also add their blog with it too. Over time with market places, websites, and social networks blogs have been added to them as it is considered a form of using Social Media Tools. 

I know there are more platforms out there that I have not mentioned for you to consider. Some will be free, and some you will pay for. Consider the favorite phrase that you often hear "Google It"  Doing this you can find more that way too. Better yet, if you know of one you would like to share with us please feel free to do so. If you have a blog there please include your link here that we all may visit with you as well.

Hope you enjoyed your visit today. Thanks so much for stopping by, and visiting with LilacsNDreams! See you again soon. 

 

Beware Bloggers, Careful of Pics You Use in Your Blogs

Beware Bloggers, Careful of Pics You Use in Your Blogs. This is something that is a growing issue, and that many people everywhere on the internet need to be careful of. 

Welcome to LilacsNDreams everyone, and glad to have you here. I apologize for being late today, extremely late it appears. I have been roaming through a few blogs, news flashes with yahoo, reading on google, and etc. There is a lot out there to see, and read. I could get lost with it sometimes too. Know what I mean? 

As Pinterest became more popular, the idea of pinning things you found on the internet was a neat idea! Sometimes we see something sooo cute we want to save that picture for a reminder, or to also share in other ways with others as well. As I have always mentioned, and have it noted in my side bar, I do not mind things being shared from here. It's an honor, and a privilege when someone wants to pass along what you have shared. But, keep mind that some of the pictures and articles from here are written by me, and sometimes things come from other places that I do respectfully try to note to you the names, places, and share the links with you too.

Pictures on the internet is a very big thing. Many like to view, many like to dream, others will share, some people copy the pictures for their needs, and will wrongfully say how it is something that they did. Keep in mind there are some people who make a living with their pictures, photographers, designers, artists, and so on. They also like to be seen as the rest of us do showing our work, what we found, and the things we can do, and are capable of doing too. So, why ruin it for those who trust that far with sharing things on the internet? 

I myself am a casual blogger, and I have learned my way into blogging by watching many others, reading what others had to offer, what they did, how they did it, etc. I learned soon that sometimes a post with a picture looked rather nice, and was quite appealing too. Kind of like eye candy in a store. Gets the attention, and is appealing to read further. Over time it appeared that many would get their pictures from images at google, and within other search engines too. Yes, some would share their own pictures as well. Along with these pictures some shared where they came from, or who they belonged to. Sometimes the pictures had nothing shared with them of where they originated from. With the pictures you would see different disclaimers being noted about using images, and etc. Yet, some of these things done is still not good enough to protect ourselves with. There is so much out there to learn about the copy right laws, about the photos that are actually approved to be used at random by others that we find, about using pictures of others without approval. Then, of course, the worst of it is what can, and will come of it when someone is sued by the original owner to the picture being used. 

With Fair Use it does not matter if you:
• link back to the source noting the photographers name
• you did it innocently
• if you have a disclaimer on your site
• if you didn't claim the photo was yours
• if you remove a picture upon request from your site it still does not remove you from what charges that they can still file against you

So many more things to mention, but know that it does not release you from liability. You are violating copyright if you have not gotten a permission from the copyright holder, or using the pictures of a public domain, creative commons, etc. 

So, what to do?
1.) If you are using images from the internet without approval on your blogs and places, know that you could be violating copyrights, and could be sued for it too. The chance of this really happening is not high, but it could really happen. 

2.) Need to search for photos that are approved for use without any issues. 
• Creative Commons photos that are free to use. This means that the photo would have to be attributed to the owner, and link back to their site.
• Wikimedia Commons has some free media files that anyone can use. 
• You could always buy a subscription to a stock photo site. Some of them can be pricey, so you might want to shop around too.
• Find photos that are in the public domain that can be used.

3.) You could also take your own photos, and share the love with others too. 

4.) As always use sites like Pinterest, or even Tumblr with caution. When you pin something to sites like that you are claiming you have a legal right to that picture. If by chance the owner of the photo would come after the company for violations, you will be the responsible party. 

5.) Safest thing to do would be to assume that all pictures you see have a copyright with it. If you are not 100% sure if you can legally use it, then don't use it. Better to be safe. 

So, please protect yourselves, and also remember to respect the rights of others. I am in no way someone with a legal background, but am offering you advice from many horror stories that have been read on the internet, and stories about some reporting of these things happening to them legally. Keep in mind that this does not only apply to blogging, but also places like Facebook too. I hope that maybe this will help you think a little bit before copying that next picture, maybe sharing something you are not suppose to share, and keep in mind the rights of others too.

Thanks so much for sharing your time with LilacsNDreams this evening. It has been a pleasure as always, and I look forward to you visiting again. Take care everyone, and see you again soon.

    

Blog and Blogging Platforms Are Social Media Tools Used

 

 Blog and Blogging Platforms Are Social Media Tools that are used as well. I apologize in advance as I know some of this seems a bit repeated, but trying to cover everything I am finding, or can think of as well too. Think of some of it as a reminder for our notes. Thanks so much for understanding everyone.

As I have mentioned before, and reminded to all of you there are many platforms out there to Blog with. With that in mind I will mention just a few to you, and if you know of more you would like to add to this discussion, please be so kind as to do so. 

Blogs Blogging Blogland:

Wordpress - There is wordpress.com and remember there is also wordpress.org. It gets confusing, but there is a reason for them having it this way too. One of them is more detailed having a paid domain, some different plug-ins offered which can better assist you. Wordpress is one of the popular blogging tools that is used, and the content management systems that is being used too. 

Blogger or Blogspot - Another popular service platform being used that does allow multi user bloggers. They do have time stamped entries which is nice for referencing. This blog publishing service does allow private blogs, or you can choose to use multi user blogs as well. One advantage to using this service is that it is a Google Tool too.

Tumblr - This service has become more popular over time. Their social networking website has a blogging platform that allows their users to post short form blogs. 

Type Pad - This blogging service can be targeted to the non-technical user. They also provide photo albums, mobile blogging, and it also supports multi authors too.

Weebly - This place is known to many for a free website, but they also include blogging too. Threaded commenting went live in December of 2011. When you comment with a blog post you have the ability to directly respond to other comments, and then having your comment appearing in the line below the original comment. 

Windows Live Writer - Some have mentioned how this is nice to have. It is an offline editor that is to work with all platforms.

Remember, everyone has their own preference as to where they blog, and how they blog. What one person might like, or what can work for them does not necessarily always work for the next person too. That is another reason that choices are good for us to have. I have found some who have their own websites, but have also found the ease of adding a blog to their site as well. You will also notice that some of the Social Networks do have a place to blog, or have added it over time for others to be involved with as well. 

As mentioned this is not all the platforms that are out there for blogging. If you find more please let us know. Choices are a good thing to have to find the one that suits us, and works for us with our own needs. 

Thanks for sharing your time with LilacsNDreams, and hope you found this to be helpful as well. Take care, and see you all again soon. 

  

Blog Blogger Blogland Part of Social Media Networking of Today

Blog Blogger Blogland is Part of Social Media Networking of Today. Hello, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams!

At this time I know I am discussing a bit about Blog and Blogging, also your Seo, and Social Media Networking, but it is kind of coming together if you will bear with me everyone. One post will usually lead into another. That is sometimes, not all of the time. I try, and do the best that I can.

Why you may ask should it be covered. Social Media, and Social Networking is a growing thing, and still growing today. It is done in many forms. Everyone has places they are involved with, places they participate in, areas they like to work with, places they keep in touch with, and etc. Believe it, or not it is all helpful. Some of what you do with participating is really helpful to not only the sites, but also to you. It has been mentioned by many that doing all of this is good for those who do Online Sales, for Marketing, your Brick and Mortar Stores, and etc.

So, one of the questions is Why Blog, and should I be Blogging? Yes, there are many reasons that you should Blog. I will try not to bore you with all of it, and to keep it simple too. 1) Social Media or Social Networking is one reason for it. Blogging has become another form of Social Media which is like Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and places like that. 2) Another reason to Blog is that is gets you published. Getting published is by working with certain things in regards to your SEO that get you noticed in search engine rankings, and etc. 3) Another reason to Blog is getting your message of what you want to share out there to others who would like to also read it, learn from it, and share with it too. Remember that there is no right, or wrong message to put out there. It just all depends on the message that you wish to share, and how you would like others to be able to relate with it too. 4) Blogging has become another way of sharing tips, questions, answers, and tutorials. 5) Blogging has also become a great way for Teachers, and Students to share pictures, class notes, and work. 

Blogging is versatile also. It is not just for one form of a profession, but is for many forms. People who use Blogs as a form of social media, and networking is Online Sellers, Brick and Mortar Store Owners, Small Companies, Big Companies, Journalists, Photographers, Writers, Publishers, and etc. Many people have turned to the forms of Blogging as the Social Media Networking area keeps growing. 

Choosing the right platform is something that you will have to do yourself. Consider which platform is best for you, your needs, and with your capabilities of the use of the platform too. The more popular platforms that you see many using is with Blogger.com and also with Wordpress.com. Another growing platform that some have found use in is with Tumblr.com. Choosing the platform that will work for you all depends on what you have in mind for using your blog for, your goals, and the ease in which you wish to have for your followers, and you to use too. 

1) Tumblr is a platform with Social Media of simple, and quick posts. Some of the themes are free, and then there are some premium paid themes too. There are no additional plug ins used to add any additional features to your Blog. This is known as a nice place to use for your casual internet presence. 

2) Word Press is another platform for a more serious blogger to use. There are 2 forms of Word Press that can be considered which is WordPress.org, and also WordPress.com. The .com of Word Press is the hosted service of software, and has the basic features offered for free. It does display ads on your blog unless you would like to purchase an ad-free upgrade. The .org is the home of software. You get complete control, and flexibility with this one. You could download the software that needs to be installed on a web hosting server for it to work. Such places like Go Daddy, Blue Host, and etc. 

3) Blogger of course is another free service chosen by many as well. With Blogger you do not have to have certain plug ins in order to have certain features. You are allowed up to 20 pages with Blogspot, or also known as Blogger. They are static pages that you use. You are also allowed up to 100 blogs per account. Just like with Word Press there are pros, and cons to using this platform as well. 

As is visual I myself am using Blogspot, or Blogger. I have a blog with Word Press also, but I favor the Blogger one more. I am use to Blogger because in reality I have had my blog since 2009, and worked with it more. I enjoy the ease of use of things, find it a little easier to navigate around with Blogger, and upon working with my Blog and things I can also make this show in search engines as well. Yes, wordpress does show too. It's all in some of the things you apply to everything you do which we are learning about a little at a time here. 

Our holiday weekend is soon here. I wish you all well with the weekend by being safe, enjoying it, and having fun too. Take care, and thank you for sharing your time with LilacsNDreams! See you all again soon.