Categories allow you to organize your articles so that readers
can
quickly find all the posts related to a particular topic. You can also
use categories to make parts of your blog private - by only giving
certain readers permission to see the posts in a category. This article
will get you started using categories

There are two ways to create categories.

While you are posting
an article
1. Click Post
2. On the
right-hand side under Article Options, type the name of the new
category in the “Create new category” box.
3. When you save
your article the new category will be created and your article will be
under it.

A note about “Bubble up”: Under Article Options you'll see a
checkbox for “Bubble up to higher categories.” If you check it, your
posts to specific categories will also show up on your main page. If
you uncheck it, your readers will have to click on the category in your
category list to see the articles in that
category.

In advance - so the
category is ready to use when you post
1.
Click the Post
Manager tab
2. On the left-hand side under Options,
click Add
Category.
3. Fill in the title for your new
category
4. Click Save Changes

To change the order of
your categories
Your
categories will be listed in the “Category Tree” in your blog sidebar.
If you want to change the order in which they are listed:
1.
Click the Post
Manager tab
2. Click Category
Settings
3. Under Category Management, follow the
instructions to change the categories' display order. Then click
Reorder.

To delete a
category
1. Click the Post
Manager tab
2. Click Category
Settings
3. On the left-hand side in the category
tree, click the category you wish to delete.
4. Click
Delete

To make a category into a
subcategory
1. Click the Post
Manager tab
2. Click Category
Settings
3. On the left-hand side in the category
tree, click the category you want to make into a
subcategory.
4. Under Category Management, choose the parent
category from the drop-down menu.
5. Click Move
6.
Click Save Changes

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Creating a photo album is an excellent way to organize a group or series of photos you want to post on your blog.

Create an Album
1. In your PingWare Control Panel, go to Post Manager
2. On the left-hand side, you should see an Options box and a Category Tree underneath it. Click on the folder you want your photo album to be created in, and then click Add Photo Album
3. Fill in the Title of your album
4. Click Create Album
5. Repeat steps 1-4 to create multiple albums.

Add Photos to your Album
1. Next you will upload photos to your album.
2. Click Browse… to locate the files on your computer or disk.
3. Click Add Photo
4.
Next, you should see the photo you selected for uploading. You will
have the option of creating a caption or description for your photo.
5. Click Save
6. Repeat steps 1-5 for each photo you wish to add to your Photo Album.

NOTE:
If you are unable to see the Photo Album on your blog, you will need to
add the Categories or Category Tree Component in your Layout.

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To upload and post a new photo in your article:
1. Click Post
2. Under the text editor, click the button at the top with a mountain icon in it (third from the end on the right).
3. Scroll down and under File Manager, click Choose Image.
4. Click Browse… to locate the image file on your local computer or disk.
5. Click Upload
6.
When the upload is complete, you will see the file appear in your file
directory. Click on the file to post it in your article.

To post a photo you already uploaded in your article:
1. Click Post
2. Under the text editor, click on the button at the top with a mountain icon in it (third from the end on the right).
3. Scroll down and under File Manager, click Choose Image.
4. Locate and click on the file you want to post in your article.
5. The image will automatically appear in the body of the article.
6. Click Save to publish

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A weblog (or web log or blog depending upon which spelling you want to
observe) is a new kind of personal web site that is very easy to
update–if you can use Microsoft Word, you can make people think you
are a full-fledged programmer.  A year ago, blogs were regarded
as
the daily diaries of people (mostly teenagers and journalists) who had
nothing better to do than write about themselves.  Today
weblogs
are being discovered as very powerful new tools for sharing
knowledge,  networking, making connections, sharing photos,
filtering information, finding people and things, and more. 

Blogs
are built on RSS, (short for Really Simple Syndication), a technology
that allows you to broadcast your writing on the Internet. 
RSS is
an open and simple way for applications to publish, for users to locate
and subscribe, and for subscribed content to be accessed, processed and
ultimately scanned and consumed, discussed, archived and subsequently
retrieved. RSS can be used for distributing any kind of
content¬–blogs,
news, updates to a web site, as well as music, photos and video.

For a good graphical explanation of how blogs and
RSS work, check out this
diagram. 

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Like most bloggers, I took a leap of faith when I started blogging and
followed the lead of some interesting people I knew who were already
doing it. Like most virgin bloggers, I thought of blogs as something
that people–primarily teenagers and journalists–did who had not much
better to do with their time. Boy, was I wrong.

Now I am an avid and ardent blogger. I use my blog for many reasons,
not all of which will apply to you. But here's an explanation of why I
blog and why you might want to as well:

1. To enhance my reputation. I am primarily a professional blogger. If
you look at the categories I have in my blog, they are very much
related to my professional interests.  As I have written about
things related to my work, I have developed a readership of people who
have found me through various means like Technorati and Trackback. I
have one category called “Whimsical Musings,” which I use as a catch
all for things outside of my work.

2. To develop myself professionally. By building my reputation, I am
advancing my career. More and more, both employers and recruiters and
bloggers are using blogs in lieu of resumes. When you read my blog, you
learn a great deal more about me than you would from my CV. Blogs are
becoming the new passport to employment.

3. To increase my Google ratings. To my great amazement and delight, my
blog is now coming up as number one in Google (out of 2.5 million
results) for the search term “weblogs AND email.” This is worth a great
deal to me because it is increasingly becoming a means by which people
find me. I wrote something interesting about this topic and a number of
people linked to me. Now my blog is number one in Google and people are
finding me through this channel.

4. To share with friends and family. I have created a private area on
my blog in order to post my wedding photos. These are not things that I
want to share with everybody. So I have only granted permission to see
them to a set of “trusted readers.” If you aren't on that list, you
won't even know that the photos are there. I believe people are going
to use their blogs more and more for sharing personal information.

5. To make connections. I have discovered a number of very interesting
bloggers who share my interest in elearning. I regularly read these
blogs and cite the things I am learning from them in my own blog.
Through this reciprocal linking I have built some interesting
professional relationships–at least one of which has resulted in a new
customer for Ping. I look forward to my friends at Wellesley taking up
blogging so that I can more carefully follow their lives.

6. Trusted filters. In this world of way-too-much information, I use my
blog as a way of filtering information. In the blogs I follow, I track
books, music, restaurants, television. And I use these recommendations
to make choices for myself.

7.  For sharing photos. 
I am starting to use my personal blog as a means of sharing photos with
my friends and family.  Our blogging software has powerful photo
management tools–very easy to use and very effective for displaying
and sharing photos.

So in my case, I get so much value from my blog that it is well worth the time I invest to keep it going.

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We believe blogging is really about networks and the relationships and
reciprocity good networks generate. You blog in order to connect with
people, share what you know, and find out what they know. In our
experience, the best blogs find a good balance between being
self-serving (building your reputation) and altruistic (sharing your
knowledge).

In order to reflect this balance, we have adopted a mission statement
at Ping that comes from a Beatles tune: “And in the end, the love
you make…is equal to the love you take.” (This is from the song, “The
End” on Abbey Road.) We think the philosophy expressed in this mission
statement should be the philosophy underlying great blogging. If you
get too far on either side of the spectrum, you become less
interesting–not only to your readers but also probably to yourself. If
you strive for taking the same amount of…fill in the blank….love,
learning, money, interest…you will be interesting and have
interesting things to write about.

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Here is a set of conditions that we have identified as critical to the success of your Ping Network:

1. The need both to share and to document.
2. A business process or need that the network can be clearly tied to.
3. A leader/executive/champion who can enforce the use of the network.
4. A bottoms-up approach and need for knowledge sharing.
5. An open, free speech policy.

If you think you are a candidate for a Ping Network, we'd like to hear from you. Please contact us.

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