Blogging on Lifetracks
There's lots of ways to use your blog on Lifetracks, here are some suggestions along with instructions on how to post new messages and comment.
Blogging tutorial
If you've got something to say about work experience, going for a job interview, exam stress or training opportunities, watch this simple tutorial to learn how to get started with blogging on MyLifetracks.
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Ideas for your blog
Looking at a blank page online can be daunting, but there are plenty of ways you can create an appealing space. Here are some ideas to help make sure your blog gets noticed.
Have you thought about using your blog to:-
1. Write a to-do list. What do you hope to achieve in the next few hours, days, weeks, months or even years.
2. Get things off your chest. Ranting online can be a great release and a good way to let go of daily stresses!
3. Tell us about your latest success. Perhaps you've received great feedback on something, had a good day at college or made a positive decision.
4. Offer advice to others. Whether it be through a good or bad experience, the old cliche is true – we do usually learn something every day. What have you learned that you can share with other Lifetrackers?
5. Write a poem, song lyrics or display other creative talents. We all have different ways of expressing ourselves and blogs are a great way to show them off.
Writing blog entries
If you're having any problems with our blogs these guides will hopefully take you through the functionality of the blog. If you need any more help then please contact us at info@lifetracks.com
Publish a simple text entry
This guide is designed to get you blogging like a pro in just a few clicks.
1. Click 'post a new entry' and you'll be taken straight to the blog box where you can insert your text.
2. First write your title and then click inside the 'entry' box.
3. Next type your entry. You can use basic functions that you might recognise from Microsoft Word such as B for bold and I for italics. Simply highlight the words you want to change and select the relevant icon.
4. Next decide if you'd like to allow others to comment on your entry. Allowing comments can be a good way to get feedback and start discussions with other Lifetrackers.
5. Finally, click post entry.
Publish an entry including images
Time to make your blog stand out. Images need to be hosted on another website before you can include them in your blog entries. Try sites like Picasa, Flickr, Photobucket, imageshack or even another blog.
1. Follow the first two steps from our guide on simple text entries.
2. You may want to include some text before your image(s).
3. Find the URL of the image you'd like to use. In Firefox to do this you will need to right click on the image and select 'Copy Image Location'. In Internet Explorer you should right click the image and select 'properties' then copy the image location from the pop up.
4. Some services, for example Flickr, need you to copy specific links to be able to display them. If you have problems please check out the image service's help pages.
5. An ideal size for an image is 500 pixels wide. You can include images that are larger than this, but be aware they'll stretch the format of your blog.
6. Next click the Image Button from the entry field.
7. A pop-up will appear. Paste your link into the URL field and click OK.
8. Click post entry.
Publish an entry with a video
Add some impact with a video. Just like images, all films must already be hosted on another website such as YouTube or Vimeo.
1. Follow the first two steps from our guide on simple text entries.
2. You may want to include some text with your video.
3. Find the embed code of the video you'd like to use and copy it.
4. a. If you're using Internet Explorer, click the 'Paste as plain text' button. This will add the code to your entry.
b. If you're using Firefox, you can simply paste the code directly into the entry box and ignore the plain text box that pops up
5. Click' post entry'
Edit an entry
Made a mistake? No worries, you can easily fix it with these simple steps.
1. Click 'Read more' on the entry you'd like to change.
2. Click 'Edit this entry'
3. Add or delete as you see fit.
4. Click save entry.
Delete an entry
If you've changed your mind about a previous post it's pretty easy to remove it – just follow the steps below.
1. Click 'read more' on the entry you'd like to change.
2. Click 'Delete this entry'.
3. On the next page either confirm this by click 'Delete' or if you've changed your mind you can click on 'Cancel'.
4. Either way you'll then be taken back to your blog, with or without the entry depending on your choice.
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