Bloggie Wednesdays: 5 Resources I Need For Blogging (And They’re Not What You Think)

Bloggie Wednesdays: 5 Resources I Need For Blogging

Happy hump day, folks. It’s been a dreary start to the week in the Melbourne, what with the rain and chill settling down in Melbourne. Looks like winter came early for us. Time to take that coat out of storage! πŸ™‚

*brrr*

For today’s Bloggie Wednesdays, I thought I’d share with you some of the resources I use for blogging.

We have our own blogging platforms which we blog on. I believe many of us do not just work 100% on those platforms when it comes to blogging. We utilise different resources to come up with what is seen on our blogs. Maybe you use Paint.net or Photoshop for your images. Perhaps you use Dropbox to store your blog’s backup files.

As for me, I use those applications too. Photoshop? Yes. Dropbox? Of course. But there are many more that I use alongside WordPress and these applications, and I thought I’d share them with you. Perhaps you might find them useful too.

5 Resources I Need For Blogging

Notepad++
I do all of my blog drafts on Notepad++. It’s like Notepad on your PC, but better. It takes up little resources, and allows me to do any form of web coding easily as you can customise the file and look according to what file extension you want the file to be (HTML, CSS, PHP, C/C++, and many more). This is highly useful when you’re working on codes and need to see functions, classes, curly brackets, etc in their proper groups and colours. If I’ve lost you there, suffice to say, it’s Notepad-but-better πŸ˜›

FastStone Photo Resizer
I’ve had this program in my computers for about 10 years now, I think, ever since I’ve gotten my first digital camera. It makes batch resizing of images so much quicker. Whenever I need to upload any photographs to the blog’s Facebook page, I use FastStone to do a batch-resize in just 2 clicks. This way, I don’t have to resize them one by one. For images that do not require any other form of editing, I resize them to specific dimensions before uploading them on the blog.

Pinterest
Okay, this is more of a blogging distraction than resource, because I can stay on this website alone for hours on end just looking at beautiful pictures. It’s like a personalised magazine, you pin the items you like, and then go back and see them all in one page. A lot of these images have given me good blogging ideas too. I see what most people are interested in, and write down blogging ideas that arrive from those images.

Springpad
Some people prefer Evernote, I prefer Springpad. It’s an on-the-cloud application that you can use to save whatever you fancy into different ‘notebooks’ – links, recipes, products, notes, etc. What I really like about Springpad is that I write on the go, and it will be synced to the server. I can retrieve them whenever I like on their website, iPhone or iPad application (I have the app in both devices).

Dictionary.com/Thesaurus.com
I use these two websites extensively for blogging. It’s not just enough to double-check spelling and grammar, but you have to know what the words mean before writing them. Sometimes I have a word in my mind which I could use. I’ve heard it somewhere before and sounds right in the sentence. But after double-checking the meaning on Dictionary.com, it’s only when I realised that I’ve gotten the meaning wrong! It happens. Thesaurus.com is absolutely vital for when I can’t think of another word for, say, “beautiful”. There’s only so many times I can use the same adjective in a blog post, don’t you think? πŸ˜‰

What are some of the resources that you use for blogging? Do share with us in the comments. I’m always on the lookout for more πŸ™‚

Bloggie Wednesdays is a series of articles just on blogging. They contain tips, how-tos, discussions about anything and everything you need to know about blogging and how we can be better bloggers. If you have any suggestions, tips and tricks about blogging you would like to share with us, or if you have any questions you would like me to address, please let us know in the comments.

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18 comments… add one
  1. Rachel

    Pinterest was the inspiration for my current manicure!
    Rachel recently posted..Review: Rimmel Match Perfection Cream Gel Foundation + Beauty Blender Mini ReviewMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Rachel: Praise the folks at Pinterest for creating this gorgeous and really addictive website πŸ˜‰

  2. Nikki

    I use Photoscape to create “album-looking” photos and it also has a batch converter at the same time you can edit your photos πŸ™‚
    Nikki recently posted..AMW Reviews: Clinique’s Almost Lipstick in Shy HoneyMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Nikki: I gotta check out this Photoscape everyone’s talking about! πŸ˜›

  3. Ee Von

    We’re the same with Dictionary/Thesaurus! I thought I was the only one being so anal about using the right word lol. I use Microsoft Office to do batch resizing, and the new Windows Live Photo Gallery editor has some easy editing tools too like touch up, red eye, colour correction etc. Wanted to sign up for Pinterest a while ago but was put in the waiting list and they never got back to me πŸ™ Ok I was totally lost on the Notepad++ section.. haha. I’m going to check out Springpad next, looks like something that I can use. Thanks for sharing!
    Ee Von recently posted..3 FOTDs: Green, Taupe, BlueMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Ee Von: As much I like Pinterest, I really do not understand why signing up is still by invitation only. It doesn’t make sense. If it was in beta testing, I understand. But it’s been around for a while now, so they really should open it to everyone. I don’t see the need for the exclusivity.

  4. Juliette Ayot

    These are the things which I usually use apart from trackbacks and commentluv. I also use photoscape for photo purposes.
    Juliette Ayot recently posted..Télémètres pas cher : où les trouverMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Juliette: I just downloaded Photoscape, which comes highly recommended. Time to have a play to see what it’s all about πŸ™‚

  5. plue

    I am using Springpad, Pinterest, Pose (not that active) and Read It Later for most of my inspirations and note taking purposes.

    Since I now take pictures with the phone (as long as I have good lighting), I would do a a simple watermarking by using Add Watermark (pro) and have it automatically resize it and upload it to the blog/ photobucket. That’s why I am a little more productive these days in blogging as I don’t need a PC/ camera to do my usual blogging stuff. But of course, proper camera and editing is always the best but I just make do with what I have as long as picture quality is there.
    plue recently posted..A Nay From Plue: Clinique All About Eyes RichMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Plue: I’m not that active on Pose yet either. It’s more popular among fashion bloggers I think. I love Read It Later, use it extensively πŸ™‚

      Thanks for the recommendation of Add Watermark. I’ll check that out now πŸ™‚

  6. Swati

    will definitely try springpad and faststone.

    1. Tine

      Swati: Have fun Swati! πŸ™‚

  7. elle

    yay i pin too~!

    xoxo elle
    elle recently posted..Pretty Sexy Beautiful EyesMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Elle: Hahaha so fun, right? πŸ˜‰

  8. VNikol

    Great tips! I loved Picknik for free photo editing but I still use Photovisi & iPhoto too. I adore Pinterest (it’s an addiction) along with StumbleUpon. I use Time.ly for prescheduled Twitter updates along with TinEye for unsourced photo credits.
    VNikol recently posted..the toothpaste pimple solution demystified…finally!My Profile

    1. Tine

      VNikol: Thanks for the Time.ly suggestion! I’ve been using Twuffer, but it’s good to know that there are alternatives. Checking TinEye out right now πŸ™‚

  9. Annabella Freeman

    Thesaurus.com is my best friend too! I was using Picnic before it went away and now I’m back to using Gimp to re-size my photos. Great post!
    Annabella Freeman recently posted..Shopping the stash – Bath & Body Works body scrubsMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Annabella: Oh I know, right? There’s only so many times I can say “amazing” about product. Or maybe find a better word for a “crap” product. Ahem πŸ˜›

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