How to Post to a Blog
Posted October 13, 2006You might be wondering what the heck I’m going to talk about. Of course, most people don’t have any issue logging into the admin area of their blog and writing the post in whatever type of editor is available in the admin tool. Well, it just so happens that most blogs have an API (application programming interface) that allows external software to communicate with the blog, doing things like retrieving, editing, and creating posts. There are quite a number of options, but I’ll mention some good ones.
Windows users:
Check out the free w.bloggar. It looks like a very nice blogging client. ecto is also a very nice choice for Windows and OSX users, but it costs $17.95.
Mac users:
Marsedit is a very smooth application, requiring a $24.95 registration fee. Also check out the aforementioned ecto. I discovered I could even blog with TextMate, my favorite text editor.You’re still using the web with this one, but WriteToMyBlog offers a pretty feature-rich wysiwyg interface for posting to your blog. No registration required, easy posting to multiple blogs, etc… I’m not entirely sure why this is tool so compelling (maybe it’s not!) but it’s brand new, and they say they are still working on some new features.I personally feel that it’s more ergonomic to use a specialized application like these to author blog posts than to log into the website. This way, you can have your browser free to review web info as you incorporate it into your post without flipping between tabs or using a new window. Also, it’s usually made very easy (typically a simple drag ‘n drop!) to upload and insert images. Especially if you post to more than one blog regularly, a comfortable, rich client might be a very nice thing indeed!Finally, I’d like to point to This page on the WordPress Codex that further explains why you would want to use a blogging client, and also has a very comprehensive list of them for all major platforms.
Comments
I’d say it’s not a huge, revolutionary improvement over simply using the admin tool that comes with your blog, especially if your blog actually has adequate wysiwyg, textile, or markdown capabilities. I’d say it’s enough so, though, that it’s worth giving a try… If only for the ability to drag ‘n drop images into your post! I love that.
But if you need to manage multiple blogs (or actually post one story to multiple blogs!) these things can be a necessity.
I’ve actually had some luck using Microsoft’s Windows Live Writer app (http://windowslivewriter.spaces.live.com/). It treats a blog post much like a word document - with all of the associated WYSIWYG perks.
I have been blogging for about 2 years now, and I have never gotten around to using a desktop application. Are they worth giving a try?