Lesson two: Start the press

This week we'll dig into the basics that launch a healthy blog from headlines to links and art alignment. For anyone feeling tech-anxious, this lecture will walk you through the set-up. Remember that you don't have to master all these tools at once ... and Mike and I are here to cheer, cajole and handhold, as required.

More advanced students can look forward to some serious opt-in geekery soon, as well as line-critiques and literary-technique discussions.

Whatever your level, enjoy! – Amanda

1. Target audience
2. Keep the home court advantage
3. Who was that masked blogger?
4. Bios: should you claim that blog?
5. Kicky bios and other profile tactics
6. SEO starter-kit – Master the headline
7. Oh, behave, with your bad headline self!
8. Organizing blog material
9. Intro to blog design: template primer
10. Search capacities for your blog
11. Adding, deleting and repositioning sidebar elements
12. Archiving your blog
13. Hang on, what's a blogroll? Sushi?
14. Stop skeezy link farms now!
15. Hey, I want one of those blogroll things!
16. Feature context and original content high
17. Matching design to content
18. Linktasia – connecting your blog to the larger world
19. How to link and create permalinks
20. The importance of art
21. Photo preparation for your blog
22. How to upload an image
23. Hear Amanda's headcold in almost real-time!
24. Assignment week two

Note, for the geek-enthusiastic, Mike and I posted five new tips and tricks. As he explains, these files are meaty, tech-tastic extravaganzas. Think of them as help documents or extra-curricular reading...

Blogger Settings Explained
Tools for Writing Posts
Photo Software Advice
Web-friendly Image Formats and Compression
Troubleshooting Image Compression

Just a reminder: your first critiques will post by midnight PST on Thursday. From here out, please submit your homework in that same Assignments folder under Forums.