Front-End Blogging Tools
Front end blogging tools are the means by which active bloggers enter information into their blogs. By using a front end blogging tool (I use Ecto for the Mac), I bypass having to log in to my blog's administrative back-end and post from there. This saves me a few steps in posting and I would not be a frequent blogger without a front-end posting tool.
If you are going to blog, you will need a front-end blogging tool. Here are a few to consider:
For the Mac
This is by far the best tool I've used. It integrates with iPhoto, iTunes, and Amazon, so you can easily bring images, songlists, books into your post.
With one click, I just added a link to my friend Terri Jentz's amazing book A Strange Piece of Paradise.
“Strange Piece of Paradise” (Terri Jentz)
And with one click, I added a great song from one of my new favorite ukulele players, Janet Klein.
That's Love! from the album “Oh!” by Janet Klein And Her Parlor Boys
A copy of Ecto costs $17.95. Well worth the modest investment in terms of return on productivity.
Performancing for Firefox
With the performancing plug-in you can post directly from your browser to your blog. Just install the add-on and hit F8 on your keyboard. A posting window pops up and you can write and post. It does not have the elegant integration features of ecto for images, etc.
For the PC
People are applauding Windows Live Writer as a blogging front-end. It is only available for the PC so I cannot comment on how well it works. It is a WYSIWIG authoring tool that handles images, maps, and the following things:
1. Images from online photo publishing sites
2. Embedded video or audio players
3. Product thumbnails and/or links from e-commerce sites
4. Tags from tagging services
If any of you have other suggestions for blogging front-end tools, please email me kathleen@ottergroup.com and I'll update this list.
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