Six Time-Saving Alternative Blogging Tools
Many a web worker is a blogger, and if you spend much time blogging, you know that it can take a fair amount of time to write on a daily basis. Lately, I’ve been working with several applications featuring tools that can save bloggers time and help manage posts intelligently when they’re in draft form. Most of these are offbeat applications, but I’ve found them useful. I’ll round several of them up here.
Qumana is a good blog editor that you can use with either Windows or Mac OS X. You can save blog posts, edit them offline and hook them up with your blogging application when you’re ready, without having to log in and manage drafts. You can also add tags and trackbacks easily. Everything is WYSIWYG and adding images is a drag-and-drop process.
If you’re a Firefox user, ScribeFire is a great way to compose your blog posts, because you can choose to have it sitting in your browser as either a tab, a separate window or a bottom pane. So it’s instantly accessible if you suddenly have an epiphany for your latest blog post.
If you’re used to using Windows applications and Windows interfaces, Windows Live Writer has an interface that will be very intuitive to you. It integrates directly with WordPress, Blogger, TypePad, Live Journal and other blogging platforms.
CJD Notepad is a plug-in that lets you quickly write and manage notes or draft blog posts, and it integrates with WordPress very well. Via a Write Note screen you can create and edit notes, and a Manage Notes screen lets you edit, delete or create a draft from an entry. Instead of creating a draft post in WordPress, you can use this plug-in to gather and manage notes intended for an eventual blog post. KIN is a similar plug-in for WordPress that makes it quick to write notes.
Finally, although it’s not a dedicated text editor like the other applications in this post, if you regularly need to update and edit HTML and Javascript content on a blog, try TinyMCE. You can integrate it with almost any content management system that you’re used to using, and customize it.
Do you have any good tips on alternative tools for blogging?
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Samuel…I am going to start a blog soon.I am using windows xp and trying to find an alternative to Windows live writer.I have tried huge number of blog editors but none of them seems to have the feature which allows you to write exactly in your blog’s layout or in your blog width(web layout). Thats an excellent feature which I can’t afford to miss.Do you know of any blog editor other than WLW which offers that?(By the way I have even tried google docs and zoho)
Just to add other editors which i have tried are post2blog,blogdesk etc
I would not be without two blogging tools for my MacBook. First, MarsEdit is wonderful for posting to the blogs I publish. All of them in one place is great. Next is NetNewsWire for RSS. And it works directly with MarsEdit.
I believe you can do it in the new version of Microsoft Word, but I would had to use that markup.
I live and breathe in blogdesk. It posts flawlessly to any system I’ve thrown it at, handles photos amazingly well, and is really just a joy to work with.
SB
Try Mobile blogging using Mobypicture (www.mobypicture.com) This will really save you time and get your thoughts of your mind quickly !
For mobile-blogging goodness, I use SharpMT on my Windows Mobile PocketPC.
There is a desktop Windows version, and you can sync between the two – start a post at your desk, take it with you and work on it on your phone.
And you can post from either.
Great little post, thanks. I have been using Zoundry for the last 2 years and am very happy with the product.
Nice roundup, Qumana looks like a good option, I’ll have to try it. To echo Grant Griffiths, MarsEdit is a nice tool.
I am fully addicted and in awe of the blogging functionality in Flock now. The fact that it fully integrates with Flickr for image uploading/inclusions in posts if fantastic.