Amateur Blogging Series: Getting Started III
Welcome back! Last time, we finished our conversation on choosing the right blogging system. This time, we’ll discuss one feature I find to be important. Fourtunately, it’s a feature that the majority of systems support. External Blogging.
What is External Blogging, and Why is it Important?
External blogging is, simply put, the ability to update your blog without logging into the web-based administration system. In other words, using a stand-alone program, run from your computer, to update your blog.
Why is this important? Well, you might not think it is. Personally, I find it invaluable. Sometimes, I just don’t feel like opening a web browser, or logging into my blog, to post. Often times, I have an idea in the middle of the night, and want to get it partially (or even completely) written. For this, I’ll use an external blog editor (called a blogging client) to write and publish the post.
How do Blogging Clients Work?
Blogging Clients are stand-alone programs that run on your computer. These programs connect to your blog using an API (Application Programming Interface, or Advanced Programming Interface). An API is, essentially, a set of commands that accepts data from the blogging client, and uses that data to update your blog.
There are many different APIs availible, these days. Fortunately, most blogging softwares support them all. Luckily, the majority of blogging clients support more than one, as well. This enables a blogging client to be able to content to pretty much every blogging software out there.
What APIs are Availible?
There are five main APIs used in the blogging industry:
- Blogger API
- This is the API that started it all. Developed by Pyro Labs (the original owners of Blogger) to extend the functionality of their site, the Blogger API is the simplest API out there. The Blogger API supports only post publishing, and template editing. There is no support for titling posts, and no support for post categories.
- Blogger2 API
- The Blogger2 API was designed as an extension of the Blogger API. The Blogger2 API simply re-wrote the Blogger API to add title support to posts, and a few other additional features.
- Atom API
- Also known as the New Blogger/Atom API, and sometimes - incorrectly - referred to as the Blogger2 API, the Atom API is the next API for the Blogger system, utilizing Atom, instead of traditional XML-RPC. The Atom API re-creates and extends the original Blogger API, though it still does not include support for categories and many features prevelant on blogging systems other than Blogger.
- MetaWeblog API
- The MetaWeblog API is the most popular API availible, including support for publishing and drafting posts. This was an offshoot of the Blogger API, and extends the functionality of Blogger’s API to be fully useable for non-blogger based weblogs.
- MoveableType API
- Sometimes called the MT API. The MoveableType API was originally created to extend the MetaWeblog API to allow for category support, as well as post-specific options (turning comments on/off, keywords, etc…), so that external editors could take advantage of Moveable Type’s featureset. Over time, this has become the blogging industry standard, and most newer blogging systems support it.
So Which API do I Use?
Honestly, it’s up to you. I highly suggest using the MoveableType API, as it offers the most functionality. If you set up your blog editor automatically (many weblog systems support “automatic discovery”), you may want to check and see if it detects the MoveableType API. If not, and you know your blog system supports it, make sure to manually select it.
Choosing a Blogging Client
Choosing a blogging client is a difficult task. There are several of them out there, including free ones (Qumana, w.Bloggar, etc…) and pay-for-play ones (Ecto, BlogJet, etc). The most important thing to consider is features. Do you want an editor that supports WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editing, like most wordprocessors? Do you want to be able to edit the raw HTML files? Do you want to be able to easily place an advertisement in your text? Do you like the user interface?
In this section, we’ll take a look at four of the most popular blogging clients, and list a few features of each:
Ecto:
Ecto is a blogging client that is geared more towards Mac users. While there is a Windows version, the best features are in the Mac version. I’ve never had a chance to use the Mac version, but those who use it, swear by it. The Windows version of Ecto support categories, technorati tags, post excerpts, and raw HTML editing. Ecto will allow you to save your post as a draft, or publish it directly. You can post on multiple blogs, and the program’s main e-mail-like interface lists the last several posts on your blog, enabling easy editing. Ecto also supports file uploading, via the MT API. Ecto has a free 30-day trial, and - as of this writing - costs $17.95 to purchase.
Keep in mind that the Windows version is very scaled-down, compared to the Mac version. I suggest checking out the features list of both versions. You can see the Windows features, or the Mac features on the Ecto website.
w.Bloggar was written to support as many different blog applications as possible. w.Bloggar is the only blogging client, of which I’m aware, that supports the older b2 API (NOTE: Not Blogger2). w.Bloggar is availible only for Windows, supports HTML-based editing, extended entries, excerpts, and more. w.Bloggar does not support Technorati tags, however. One of the more interesting, and useful, features of w.Bloggar is the “preview” support, that uses your own stylesheet to display a preview of the blog entry. w.Bloggar supports post by draft and publish. In short, w.Bloggar is a lot like Ecto, without the spiffy e-mail-like interface, technorati tags, or file uploading.
BlogJet is a feature-rich blogging client for Windows. BlogJet supports rich text/WYSIWYG editing, as well as HTML-based raw editing. BlogJet support voice attachments for mp3 files (podcasters could use this, as well), file uploading (via automated FTP), music detection, and advanced post properties. BlogJet is a rather interesting client, and to get a feel for it, I highly suggest checking out its website. BlogJet has a 30-day free trial, and costs $39.95 to register.
Qumana takes a slightly different approach to blog editing. Geared toward the pro blogger, Qumana offers a feature-rich WYSIWYG/Rich Text post editor, as well as easy technorati tag integration. Servicing all major APIs, Qumana works with pretty much every blogging platform. So what is Qumana’s different approach? Qumana has a sister site, Adgenta. Through Qumana, you are able to easy insert keyword-driven advertisements into your posts. The beautiful part is that the ads are shown based on keywords you choose, and will not infringe on other - contextual - ads like Adsense. I’ll talk more about AdGenta, later in the Amateur Blogging series. Qumana also has all of the standard blog editor features, including file upload. You can get a feel for its features (as well as a tour) by visiting the Qumana overview.
Qumana has a few flaws, I feel. It doesn’t support raw HTML editing (although you can insert custom HTML through a command on the edit menu), it does not support extended post options (comments on/off, trackback on/off, etc…), it doesn’t support extended posts, and it’s a fairly new software. Aside from that, Qumana’s a great find. If I had to recommend a blog editor, it would be Qumana. It’s free, efficient, and designed with pro (or ad-based) blogging in mind. Even if you don’t use it to deliver targetted ads, it’s great for quick posts. I highly recommend Qumana.
Other Editors:
There are many other blog editors out there. Some are free, most probably aren’t. If you don’t care for any of the above, I suggest looking around online until you find one that fits you. If you do find one I didn’t mention, why not drop me a comment and let me know.
So Which Editor Should I Use?
Well, ultimately the choice comes down to you. I recommend Qumana for its WYSIWYG and ease-of-use (and AdGenta network), I also like Ecto (although it isn’t free), and I’ve just received an e-mail from the Ecto developers saying they’re getting ready to add a WYSIWYG editor to the next release. Despite my recommendations, you should look around at the various clients availible, download and try them, and make your own decision. If you blog often enough, paying a little bit for a license (if you can afford it) is probably not a bad idea. Ultimately, it comes down to which client you think would fit you best. Consider the features it offers, the features you use, and the support it has.
If you’re an existing blogger, and already use a blogging client, I encourage you to comment and tell us about your blogging client of choice.
So What’s Next?
In this article, we covered external blogging clients. In our next article, we’ll dive into actually setting up your blog, and getting rolling in this wonderful blogging world.
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