10 Resources Bloggers Will Love

Posted on 30. Apr, 2009 by srikanth in How To, Internet Tools, Links

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blogBlogging is all about ‘Freedom for Expression’. It is THE trend of Web 2.0 and everyday we come across many tools from Widgets to Platforms(WordPress, Blogger, TypePad) to Scripts to Web Apps, which aid the process of blogging.

Though blogging platforms provide us with a variety of features and other extensions, you might need a few tools for specific tasks like image search, file  compression, time tracking, desktop publishing clients, RSS, subscription services and yes…Twitter.

To make your quest for the right resources to blog easy, we present you 10 tools which you will really love as a blogger.

Image Optimization with Smush.itsmushit

Smush.it is an interesting tool that optimizes images for publishing on the web. You can choose to upload a bunch of pictures in your browser, provide Smush.it with a set of URLs, get a Firefox Extension or a cross-browser bookmarklet to optimize the images found on any web page. There is even a WordPress plug-in for Smush.it which would be far more convenient for bloggers.smush_it

You’ll get a report of how many bytes you can save by optimizing your images and all the changed images are made available for download as a single zip file.

One Click Screencasting with ScreenCastle

screencastle_logoScreenCastle is a hassle free tool for one click screencasting. No registration or plug-ins are required to use this web app. Here is a test try I did to get to know the features and quality of this tool.

It’s very simple to use and it even provides you with customization options like, capture the entire screen or only a part of the screen. Once your screencast is recorded, you can preview and save it as a .flv file. It even provides you with an HTML embed code to embed the recorded video on your site.

Moving on to Fabulous Icon Sets From FAMFAMFAM

famfamfam_logo

If you are looking for the best icon sets for your blog or anything, check them out at FAMFAMFAM, they are FREE!. Following is a sample icon set.

icon-set

You might also check out free icon sets by Smashing Magazine,

LiteFlick: For the most Interesting Images on Flickr

liteflick logo

LiteFlick is a fast way to search for interesting  photos on Flickr. It displays the search results in a nice-looking layout that makes it easy to find what you’re looking for.

liteflickr

It even provides you popular and related tags. You can conduct search by both keywords and Flickr username. It allows you to sort results by recent, interesting and relevance. Clicking on a result, leads to the preview of the image along with more information about it. Options for advanced search by date, tags and creative commons licensed content are also available.

Statcounter: Free and Reliable Web Tracker and Hit Counter

statcounter_logoStatCounter is an invisible web tracker which is a highly configurable hit counter and for real-time detailed web statistics. It organizes all the information into charts & lists to make your analysis easier. There’s even the  official StatCounter Wordpress Plugin which brings you all the powerful features to your Wordpress blog.

statcounter statsYou can use StatCounter to only track the pages you want by simply placing it on the pages you want to track. You can analyze and monitor all the visitors to your website in real-time!

ScribeFire: Blog Editor that Integrates with your Browser

ScribeFire is a full-featured blog editor that integrates with your browser and lets you easily post to your blog. You can drag and drop formatted text from pages you are browsing, take notes, upload images, and manage posting on multiple blogs.

Lovely Charts: Free Online Diagramming Software

Lovely Charts is a free web-based tool for creating flow charts, site maps, network diagrams, and other visualizations with a drag-and-drop interface. It allows you to customize the icon size, labels, the size and shape of the connections between the icons etc. You can export your charts as JPEG or PNG files at the size you specify.

lovelychart

You might also want to check out a quick screen cast to know more about it.

Twitter Remote: Connect with Your Twitter Followers on Your Site

twitterremoteTwitter Remote shows which twitter users recently visited your blog or website. It allows you to direct connect with your Twitter followers. Twitter users get a change to improve their visibility for site owners and other visitors. It is like MyBlogLog, or FaceBook connect, but for Twitter!. In a way, it helps you see, which Twitter users are visiting your site.

SlimTimer: Time Tracking without the Timesheet

With SlimTimer you can create tasks and even share them with your co-workers and those you report to. It allows you to run reports of not only your time but also that of your coworkers and reportees. You can export any report to CSV(Excel), subscribe to its RSS feed, or email it to a colleague.

report

Your Turn!

your-turn

We would love to mention your favorite resources here!. Do let us know about your favorite resources for blogging in comments. Don’t forget to mention your name and blog URL along with your favorite resource.

A few additional links which I thought might come handy.

By Srikanth AD,  see his Blog or follow him on Twitter for more information.

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12 Responses to “10 Resources Bloggers Will Love”

  1. David Pierce

    30. Apr, 2009

    Mine? There’s a couple. Windows Live Writer is a biggie, as is Jing (for Screenshots and whatnot). I’ve also started using Clicky for analytics, which is an AWESOME tool. I’m a huge fan. Love the ones above, too – LiteFlick in particular sounds really cool!

    Reply to this comment

  2. J.P. Thompson

    30. Apr, 2009

    I like to use MS Word to compose by blog postings in. Then I’ll copy them to Windows Live Writer for posting to my blog. Using those tools together help with getting posts correct.

    Another resource is a friend that can proofread. Sometimes you just miss things that others can find for you.

    Reply to this comment

  3. Juscelino M. Acevedo

    30. Apr, 2009

    These are definitely some great resources. I installed Statcounter and ScribeFire to see how they work for me. I have also bookmarked this page so that I can look into a few others when I get a moment.

    Great job!!!

    Reply to this comment

  4. TomR

    01. May, 2009

    Thanks for the tips – I’ve downloaded Statcounter and I really like Lovely Charts, what a great idea.

    Reply to this comment

  5. KeHoeff

    28. May, 2009

    hey this is a very interesting article!

    Reply to this comment

  6. Delton

    30. May, 2009

    Very happy 2have found your site…as soon as I start doing something w/blog,

    I’ll aim viewers your way…Love what you’re doing with http://www.lostintechnology.com.

    Will use some of your 10 suggestions.

    ThankU

    Reply to this comment

  7. Alex.Braz

    16. Jul, 2009

    Great article! Just what I was looking for.

    I use LiveWriter, W3Counter and Photoshop. :)

    Reply to this comment

  8. linuxgid

    01. Dec, 2009

    Thanks for including my article in the list, Ali! :D Like you say, hopefully it’ll be useful to people thinking about purcashing Thesis; make sure you keep checking back for future posts! Also, the Blogussion post is awesome! Seriously, that site seems to get better and better every time I visit! ;)

    Reply to this comment

  9. cauna

    03. Dec, 2009

    Especially, when you see people commenting and interacting with your blog :)

    Reply to this comment

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