It’s time for a little discussion – lets talk blogging tools.
Over in the ProBlogger.com forum there’s been a lot of talk about different tools, applications, platforms and plugins that helps to improve blogs. I’m loving the different opinions and experiences and thought it’d be a good question to open up to the wider community – what are your favourite 10 blogging tools?
I suspect most of us will probably include our blogging platform (Blogspot, WordPress, TypePad etc) in the list somewhere but other than that anything goes. Perhaps it’s a comments tool, perhaps a desktop editor, perhaps a plugin or widget – anything goes!
But limit it to 10!
Two tools that I use are:
1. Creative Commons search
http://search.creativecommons.org/
With this I can quickly get images and video for my blog, most only needing attribution.
2. Google Docs
http://docs.google.com/
I was hesitant at first, but I love that I can copy and paste notes for future reference without ever closing my internet window.
Just another way to bring minimalism to blogging.
I use Scribefire with FireFox, the Dictionary dot com toolbar, and the addthis as an add on.
Personally I don’t like the desktop blogging tools. I like to use Firefox and utilize their different tabs to switch back and forth when I’m writing posts.
Here we go, based on free tools and heavy optimization with social networks:
1- Blogger (free customizable platform)
2- Windows Live Writer (free and excellent editor)
3- Facebook share button (Social integration)
4- Twitter share button (Social integration)
5- Google Friend Connect (Social integration)
6- Facebook Widget (Social integration)
7- Any widget that shows Twitter updates (Social integration)
8- The Gimp (Free image editor)
9- RSS and Email subscription (For easy following)
10- About me page (For more engaging with followers)
Just my quick thoughts…
First of course Askimet! Couldn’t sleep without it. “Search & Replace” is a quite useful plugin and does exactly what it says.
I also love the YARPP (Yet Another Related Posts Plugin), which shows very accurately related posts.
And though I have a self-hosted WP-Blog, I love the official WordPress.com Stats plugin, because it is much simpler and easier than many other statistics plugins.
Darren – Here’s my list
1. Ecto
2. iPhoto / Photoshop (image optimizer)
3. Flash Converter (For Videos)
4. All in one SEO plugin
5. Kish-Multi – WordPress plugin to manage multiple blogs
6. Flickr Plugin
7. Tweetie
8. Google Reader
9. Google Ad Manager
10. Subscribe to comment Plugin
WordPress has taken first place in my list. Within that, however, Sniplet takes the prize for its ability to inhale code and spit out results in posts and pages. Formbuilder, a WP plugin for managing forms, comes in second. I’m with R. Kneschke regarding Akismet. The rest of the toolbox is filled with my thesaurus, spellchecker and a decent dictionary.
My Favs:
1. WordPress
2. Gravatar
3. CommentLuv
4. Google Analytics
5. Feedburner
6. Shareaholic
7. LifeStream(WordPress)
8. All in one SEO (WordPress)
9. Related Post(YARPP WordPress)
10. Sexy Bookmarks(WordPress)
1. Blogdesk Editor
2. openx.org ad server – an amazing open source
3. Social media button plugin
4. Aweber form
5. Recent Posts plugin
6. Comments Plugins
I love blogging but hate to write! So, my favorite blogging tools are as follows;
1. The webcam on my HP or Mac laptops so I can video my blog post.
2. Cyberlink YouCam free software to capture the video.
3. Screencast (not free – 9.95/mo) to store the videos.
4. Idictate.org to transcribe the video so I can post both the video and the transcript to my WP blog(s).
Looking forward to learning from everyone!
My two cents:
1. GIMP
2. Google Friend connect
My favourite blogging tools are (could write only 8):
1) The platform WordPress.com (free!)
2) Windows Live Writer (free post editor)
3) FeedBurner
4) The blog stats tool which comes with WordPress.com
5) GIMP (for image editing)
6) Akismet
7) Paint.NET (alternative to GIMP)
8) WordPress.com widgets such as “Recent Posts”, “Categories” etc.
1) love WordPress
2) WordPress Mobile edition plugin
3) Top Comments plugin (allows comments to be rated)
4) Forgot the category plugin (because I always forget to put my posts in a category)
5) Login Lockdown (security plugin)
6) Page Links to plugin (allowed me to publish a post, then redirect it to a page on the site so it’s always available for comments and feedback. I use this for gathering feature requests)
7) Add to Any: Share plugin (social share button)
8) Google Analytics for Worpress plugin
9) Sodahead polls plugin (allows me to make polls)
… I only have 9 :)
I have to second Askimet, Search and Replace, and WordPress Stats. All great tools. I would add ShareThis, Wp-Email Plugin, Wp-Database Backup, Clean Archives Reloaded, Alert bear for Rss if you want to comment early on a post, Tweetdeck and Photoshop (or GIMP). I think I might start using action outline too.
1. Wufoo Contact Form
2. Language Translator
I used both and got fair response in my blog.
Thanks,
TrailBlazer,
http://credit-card-types.blogspot.com
Movable Type
Zemanta reblog
Twitter
Facebook
Social media sites
The answers to this post are going to be awesome to add to my list, thanks!
I’d have to say Livewriter is my number one favourite tool.
And it’s not often you can consider putting “Microsoft” “Free” and “Excellent” in the same sentence!
I use Blogger with some additional widgets, including LinkWithin and IntenseDebate. I very much like the Amazon tools for generating code snippets to link to their products. I also use Feedburner and Ping-O-Matic and I have updates sent to Twitter and Facebook automatically.
That makes 8
1. Windows Live writer
2. WordPress
3. Flickr
4. Feed-demon
5. Easy comment Addon
6. Tweetdeck
7. Twitterbar
8. Aweber
9. Facebook Fan pages
Thats all I can think of now…
WordPress
Thesis
Askimet
Ninja Affiliate
Contact Form 7
Subscribe to comments
Link Within
1. Windows Live Writer – Editing Articles
2. Filezilla Client – FTP
3. Thunderbrid – Email
4. Chrome, Firefox, Safari – Browsing and checking designs
5. RSS Owl – Feeds
6. Notepad++ – For editing codes related to tutorials
7. Wamp Server – For installing WP on PC
8. Photoshop – For image editing
9. Cam Studio and Camtasia – For screencasting
10. Guess ? :D
I have to say Askimet is my 1st favorite. However I also like TweetMeme, Ultimate Plugins Smart Update Pinger, and What Would Seth Godin Do
My favorite plugins are:
Future calendar: so I can see at a glance when I have posts scheduled in advance.
Yet Another Related Post Plugin: automatically lists related posts at the bottom of each post.
Comment Luv: when a comment is submitted, comment luv finds the commentors latest blog post and provides a link.
Of course these are WordPress plugins….I heart WordPress!!!
Hmm….I know I won’t remember all the tools I use but I can list some off the top of my head. Some of my favorite blogging tools would be:
1. WordPress – Of course!
2. Twitterfeed – I so love this.
3. Redirection – This is a great plug-in that helps with those urls that need a change.
4. Theme Tester – When I working on putting in a new theme, I use this to test things out before I put it out live to the world.
5. SEO Plug-ins – I use a combination of All in One SEO Pack and Headspace2.
6. TextWrangler – I love this text editor. I use it for writing posts and other ideas I write down. I use a Mac and not sure if this is for Windows as well.
7. MindMapping – I use different mindmapping software online and offline. Google Wonder Wheel, FreeMind, Mind Meister and a couple other ones.
8. WP-Polls – I love this plug-in. It is a easy to setup and maintain plug-in for putting polls out on your blog.
I have many more but don’t want to keep going on and on :)
Thanks for posting this questions Darren. I am sure there will be a good amount of knowledge shared in the comments for all of us to absorb. :-)
My personal favorites are
Aweber
Facebook share
Twitter Share button
Wordpress
WordPress with the following plugins in this order of importance
1. Tweetmeme
2. Askismet
3. Socialble
4. Google analytics (in depth) + WordPress stats (for near real time)
5. Just another related posts plugin
6. Subscribe to comments
7. Feedburner for email and RSS
8. Google & Twitter search (for listening)
9. Flickr – for pics
10. YouTube – for videos
Hands down LINKWITHIN has been the most useful tool for driving more interaction by my readers.
I have to thank Dayne of http://thehappyself.com for intro’ing me to it.
Dave Damron
LifeExcursion & The Minimalist Path
Site: The Success Center
Platform: WordPress
My favorite blogging tools include;
1. Disqus Comments – I love the twitter, facebook, and openid intergration
2. Feedly for Google Reader – Google reader is great to keep up with my blog engagement and Feedly makes it 10 times better.
3. Sharethis plugin – opens your articles up to social sharing in an extremely easy way.
4. Tweetmeme button – makes retweeting articles extremely easy for readers.
5. Wp-Polls – I love this plugin, it lets me easily add a poll into my sidebar and posts with one button. Increases community engagement as well.
6. Google Analytics – stats, stats, and more stats! You’ve got to know how your blog is performing in order to make it better. Can’t think of a better tool to do it with.
7. Google Calendar – I use this for creating my editorial calendar. This helps me to stay on top of blog posts, not re-write anything, and stay consistent in writing.
8. Related Posts Plugin – keep reader engagement high once your article is over by offering more articles for them to read.
9. WpBook Plugin – this actually helps incorporate your blog into Facebook. When someone comments on a post you made in Facebook it shows up on your blog as well.
10. WP Super Cahe – this plugin is great because it saves pages onto reader’s computers for faster loading. Great if you have a high traffic website – keeps it from crashing.
1. WordPress
2. Dark Room (or Write Room for Mac)
3. Akismet
4. FlickR Creative Commons
5. TweetMeme
6. Add-to-Any Plugin
7. Clean Archives Reloaded Plugin
8. Delicious
9. WordPress.com Popular Posts Plugin
10. WP Super Cache Plugin
WordPress
Contact Form 7
Askimet
Tweet Meme
Posterous has become my new favorite blogging tool. It lets me blog from my cell phone and it pushes the posts to my other sites on Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
I try to make a list of my favorite stuff and get to 10. Some of it is link building tools.
WordPress
SEO Voice
LinkDiagnosis
RSS Autosubmit
Onlywire
HelloTxt
Windows Live Writer
SEO Book Rank Checker
Google Reader
HostGator: Fantasio
Lifestream plugin
ShareThis
Facebook Connector
cForms II WP plugin
Thesis theme
MyBlogLog
Disqus
Echofon
HootSuite
TweetDeck
Hey Darren,
My 10 favorite blogging tools are:
1. WordPress self hosted platform
2. Thesis theme by Chris Pearson/DIY Themes
3. W3 Schools (to learn a bit of html)
4. Pretty Link Pro plugin (for shortening URLs but with my domain name)
5. MaxBlogPress Favicon plugin
6. WP SpamFree plugin to blast spam even better than Akismet
7. Comment Luv plugin
8. WP Thread Comments plugin for more interactivity between me and my readers in the comments
9. What Would Seth Godin Do plugin to greet my new visitors & encourage them to subscribe
10. 31 Days To Build A Better Blog by an awesome guy who has taught me SO much about blogging and building community :)
Heather
p.s. I hope your hand is feeling better! :)
Blogcarnival is a very useful tool to organize and participate in carnivals.
For those that love the –
YARPP (Yet Another Related Posts Plugin)
You may want to check out this code for you single.php (wp bunch) it is easy
(7sins) http://tinyurl.com/ydzg6n3
of course i love wordpress,akismet,all in one seo,facebook fanpages ;)
Let’s see:
Writing part of the blogging routine: Google Doc – I can access it everywhere. I don’t have to bring flash drive, laptop, etc. Google Reader – looking for inspiration, something that sparks off a new idea for a blog post and when I’m done, it’s time to type into search box of Google Reader again so I can have a list of related links for my post. I use Picnik for image editing. Any online dictionary to check spelling and grammar.
Plugins: I love Apture – can embed pics, videos, links, which provide readers with little a box showing the image of the url I’m linking to without ever leaving my page.
Promotion: FriendFeed, Twitter, Delicious. FriendFeed autopublish the link to my new post when I hit publish, which in turn gets sent to Facebook and Twitter. Of course, I still have Tweetmeme on my posts for readers who want to share the love.
Can I add coffee. I consume cups and cups of coffee? Helps me a lot when writing my blog posts. :)
Well, My Top 10 blogging Tools are
1. Joomla
2. Ultimate Content Editor
3. Twitter Updates extension
4. Face book Connect extension
5. Share it
5. Joomla Most Popular post extension
6. Joomla Security Extensions
7. Live Writer
8. Zenphoto
9. Phpbb404
10. Disqus Comment system
Here are my 5 fav tools. (If you want to know more about them, just google them ;-) )
1. Windows Live Writer
WLW is really one of the best blogging tools I couldn’t live without. (I have even written a review about it).
2. All-in-one-SEO Pack
Really helps with SEO.
3. Google Analytics
Though I think it is not too accurate, it has wonderful stats features.
4. WordPress Database Backup
Backs up your blog. Also lets you schedule backups and sends them to your email.
5. Stumble Upon
The best social bookmarking site, in my opinion. Sends out a lot of targeted traffic.
JDarkRoom is my go-to writing platform. I keep mentioning it in many places, but why not, because it works great for me. I go into the black screen with green text and my articles roll right out.
I also use some of the other services/tools from the other comments here.
1. WordPress
-Because I use that on my site.
2. Pait Shop Pro
-For designing and image editing.
3. Aksimet
-I do have a lot of spam comments.
4. Twingly.com
-To ping my blog:D
5. Autoping Norway
-Norwegian ping wp-plugin.
6. Blogg.no
-Norwegian easy-to-use blog tool (site).
7. Google Analytics
-To know everything I want toknow about my visitors.
8. Notepad
-To code the site.
9. Blogurat.net
-Great for knowing what kind of ranking I have in Norway.
10. Problogger, Bloggtips.no and The Swedish Blog magazine (Blogg)
-Where i get my blog tips from;D
I’m a big fan of WordPress.org (self-hosting) and StudioPress, but here’s my top ten:
1. WordPress.org
2. StudioPress (Themes)
3. Akismet
4. All in One SEO Pack
5. Sociable
6. FeedBurner FeedSmith
7. My Category Order
8. Subscribe To Comments
9. WordTracker (FireFox Extension)
10. VodPod
Oooh great idea! What about CommentLuv… I know I am much more likely to comment on a blog that has it because I know it will lead others back to me. And it works both ways as soon as I started using CommentLuv my comments trebled overnight, literally. I just discovered linkWithin and I am going to try it – it looks great.
1. Q10 / Darkroom (text editor)
2. Google Analytics & FeedBurner (statistics)
3. Evernote (take notes)
4. Fever (feedreader)
5. Twitter (microblogging, promotion, networking)
6. WordPress (blog platafform)
7. Problogger (learning)
8. Thank me later (WP plugin)
9. CommentLuv (WP plugin)
10. W3 Total Cache (WP plugin)
My favourite wordpress plugin is onlywire bookmarking button it submits your post to thirty social site with just one single click
1. Twitter updater
2. Google Reader
3. Google Analytics
4. Adsense!
5. Photobucket
1. Aksimet
2. YARRP
3. Google Analytics
4. AddThis
5. All in One SEO
6. WordPress Automatic Upgrade (a godsend when I upgraded!! I was tearing my hair out before I found this)
7. No self-pings
8. WordPress Database Backup
Hmm, that’s only 8, but I’m going to investigate Search/Replace, CommentLuv, and LinkWithin based on the other responses. Thanks guys!
Hello all, can someone tell me what wordpress self host is? Darren, sorry I put this question here but didn’t know where else to do so. I read about wordpress and wordpress.org, but not sure if self host means the free blog part, I know wordpress.org you have to pay. Sorry just confused and may want to do another blog on wordpress. Thanks!!
Good topic. It offers ideas to try.
Rita
Great stuff in comments. I’m going to check out some of the suggestions above.
My favorite:
1. WordPress Self Hosted version
2. Askimet
3. Intense Debate
4. Facebook Share
5. Google Analytics
6. Feedburner
7. Tweetmeme
8. Add to/Share Plug-In
9. Tweetdeck
10. Digital Voice Recorder – This is not necessarily a blogging tool, but it’s a tool I use to help with my blog. When I’m driving or sitting at my computer it’s the fastest way to make notes and catch ideas.