Ever wondered how some folks get their Facebook profile badge on their site, email, or blog? It's easy! I'm here to guide you through that today.

1. Sign into Facebook and go to your profile page.

2. At the bottom of your profile page you'll see "Create A Profile Badge". Click that.

3. You'll see this only with your personal profile info. Click whichever type of badge you want to create. I'm going to click on "blogger".


4. You then can edit your badge. Once it's created click "Add Widget" and you'll be able to see it automatically added to your blogger (or whatever type of badge you created) account.

Was this tutorial helpful? Let me hear from you! If you have a specific tutorial you'd like to see featured, be sure to let me know. 

Wordpress, Blogger, whatever you use to jot down your "stuff", it's all the same. Show some love to the other bloggers out there. Why? Here are a couple reasons.

1. Shows that you are user-friendly: We typically aren't drawn to the bloggers who are negative, don't want to help others out, who tend to lean towards the more dramatic side of life, and well just aren't friendly. Everyone loves to find someone who is friendly - either in real life or in what I call "blog land".  The friendlier you are to your readers and potential readers, the farther it will get you. 
2. We're doing this together: You'll find ALOT of bloggers who are new, intimidated, and not sure where to begin with the whole blogging thing. I know when I first started, I had a couple who were so encouraging to me, kept giving me awesome tips, and thats what turned me into enjoying blogging and writing more than just once or twice a week (which was what I was doing before). It's not a competition (even though SO many tend to think it is), we're in this together. So, why not help someone out, give words of wisdom, encouragement, and let them know you're here to help them with anything they need? If we all did this more, the bloggo-sphere might be a little less dramatic. 

 So, now you might ask, "How do I spread the love of someone else's blog?" It's easy!

1. Use your social networks to their fullest: Thats what they are there for- to help spread the word, to get to know people. Don't have a Facebook or Twitter account and then not use it. Tweet about these folks you've discovered or products you believe in. Link up to them on Facebook as well. Other good social networking resources are: LinkedIn, BlogFrog, CafeMom, etc. 
2. Comment on their posts: Like something you read? Well, comment and let the blogger know! Build a relationship. I've gotten to know awesome bloggers by using this method alone. Everyone LOVES to hear encouragement from others. So, start by making a goal - comment on 3-5 posts a day from various writers. Do it because you love to, but also watch how your "comments" on your own blog start to increase!
3. Offer some sort of incintive for them on your personal blog: Participate in giveaways and reviews with businesses and companies you love and want to support. This is a great way to help spread the word about their "awesome-ness" (that really needs to be a word) :)

So, make sure to "show the love" and get to know your readers or other bloggers you have things in common with. It definitely will go a long way!

What is sharpening? It is simply enhancing the edges of an image. Look at the examples below.

Image that hasn't had any edited or sharpening.





An image that has had editing/sharpening.




Alot of people upload or print the pictures exactly how they were on their camera without editing or sharpening their images. Why look and display a dull, out of focus image when in just a few minutes you could sharpen the photo and make it 100 times better?

Most cameras (especially those in the more professional category) sharpen the image automatically. But for those smaller camera's and point and shoots, you'll have to manually sharpen the image. Some props for sharpening images are: 1. Photoshop Elements, 2. Lightroom, 3. Aperature, or you can use a FREE (not as high quality) photo editing site called 4. Picnik. (examples 1-3 are highlighted before and can be purchased on Amazon).

Was this tutorial helpful to you? Do you have a specific tutorial you'd like to see? Let me know!

  

Twitter  is a great tool to use for marketing your business or brand. Some aren't sure how to use it and would if they only knew how. So, I wanted to put together a short list of how and why you should use Twitter to market.

1. When creating your Twitter account, make sure your username goes with your business or brand. You want to reflect what you're trying to market.

2. Make it professional looking. Create a background for your Twitter page. Also, make your profile picture your logo. There are many sites out there that have Twitter backgrounds to use for free if you don't want to make a custom background.

3. Make your profile according to your business/brand. Put the website link in there, what your site is about, etc. You want people to read more about you and your brand and be interested.

4. Follow people that are relevant to your business/brand. Dont just follow someone just to follow them. You want to "network" and appeal to those who might have an interest in your business.

5. A big "No, No" in the Twitter world are automatic direct messages once someone begins following you. People really don't like to be spammed with a link to your site and how they need to visit your business as soon as they find an interest in you. Form a relationship, then mention your business/brand.  Just focus on making friends and getting to know them before trying to network your brand. It will come. Be patient. :)

That's it! Have fun using Twitter. But do beware, it is very addicting.

What a great way to network. Almost everyone has a Facebook account and using the "Like" box on your blog is a great way to spread the word about your site. So, wanna add it? It's easy!

Go to your "page" on Facebook. Here is mine


Then click "get code".

You'll want to grab the code and copy it. (the iframe code)


Once you have copied it, place it where you'd like it in your blog. (you'll have to create an html widget for this if using blogger).

Was this tutorial helpful to you? Do you have a tutorial or topic you'd like to see featured? Let me know!

When people join the blogging world they feel overwhelmed. I know I did for sure. I wish I had a list at the time of a handful of items that were important in getting my blog started. I didn't, but now thought it was time to use what I think is helpful and important when starting a blog. 

We all (including me) have this very question. Which one is the best for the money? Do I go DSLR or Point-N-Shoot? There are so many out there, how does one decide? Here are some things to consider when buying a new camera...

Battery Life
There are people who want to get the best and latest digital camera, but forget to check out the battery life. Then, they feel frustrated when they spent all this money on a camera that has a tiny battery life. Do your research before and check out the battery life. If you want to take good pictures, you'll need a good battery that can operate for hours on end. Some lower end camera's have great battery life while upper end camera's dont, so make sure to check that out when buying a new camera.


Megapixels...what?




The number of megapixels tells you how much detail (fine detail) you can capture in your images. Most camera's megapixels range from 2 all the way through 8. So how many do you need? If you only want to take smaller pictures, quick and easy and you aren't into that much detail, you'll go towards the lower end...somewhere around 2. If you're someone who wants to get more of a detailed look with your photographs, then you'll want to go 4 and above with megapixels. 




Zoom & Lens


You'll want a camera with a decent zoom- even on your point and shoot. Optical zoom moves the camera lens to come in on the subject. I'd get 3X optical zoom in any camera you buy (point and shoot or DSLR)






User Controls




For those getting a point and shoot, make sure you find one that is easy for YOU to use. If you're a photographer or someone who is wanting to learn more about photography, you'll want to get more detailed with your user controls. Try out the camera in the store first and see how comfortable you are with it. There are some great clerks out there who are very "camera savvy" and can help you find just the perfect one. 


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Definitely one of the newest and most fun trends on Blogger and Twitter! With that being said, you must get "in the know" on how to add your blog posts to Twitter, automatically! No more keying in your post or your link to your post when Blogger & Twitter will do it for you!

You can use TweetMeme or Google Feedburner. I use TweetMeme but have just learned how to use Google Feedburner and wanted to share how easy it is.

1. Sign into Google Feedburner and then click on "Publicize".

2. Click on the "socialize" button.

3. Add your twitter handle/account and customize it to your liking.

THATS IT! See, I told you that it would be easy! Enjoy!

Was this tutorial helpful to you? If so, let me know! What other blog tutorials would you like to see featured here?

Dani suggested there be a tutorial on Twitter hashtags and lists. What a great idea! So, here we go...




HASHTAGS


What is a hashtag? 


Hashtags add additional context and metadata to your tweets. They're like tags and labels only added inline to your post. You can create a hashtag by prefixing a word with a hash symbol: #hashtag. Opt-in by following @hashtags to have your hashtags tracked.  


How to use hashtags?

"I hear so much about Twitter, but I am not sure how to go past and use it for more than updating my status. Help!" 

Want one of those adorable, fancy - shmancy signatures that attaches to each post in blogger? Look no further! Here is an easy tutorial for you!


1. You can create your image/signature using Photoshop or an online signature generator.


2. Save the image to your computer.


3. Upload the signature image to blogger. Once it's uploaded, hit "preview" and copy the image location (jot down the url of this image).


4. Next, go to Layout -->Edit HTML --> and Expand Your Widget Templates.


5. Find this in your html template:

<div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-1'>

or this:

<p class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-1'>

6. Then paste this below the code you found (just take out the spaces):


< img src='IMAGE URL' style='border: none; background: transparent;' /> 


7. Save the template and your signature should show up!


See! I told you you could do it! ☺

Ever wonder what some of the acronyms and words mean on twitter? Look no further, here is your Ultimate Twitter Glossary!


Before starting, what is your twitter handle? Mine is: @meghantucker or you can click on the "T" icon to the right. Lets follow eachother!




# sign
The hash sign is used to mark a word as a keyword, which denotes a “hashtag”. More on hashtags further down the list.

@ reply
The @ sign is used to indicate that you are replying to a specific username. For example, if DickCheney tweets a question about font tags, you will reply with @reply DickCheney “nobody uses font tags anymore, try CSS” or something of the sort. Remember that when you use @reply it is visible to everyone – for private communications use a direct message.

140 character limit
Twitter messages are meant to be short. Most people don’t even go up to the 140 character limit when posting a tweet. This is the reason for utilities like URL snippers, which we’ll get to.

Block
The act of blocking a particular user name from following your tweets. You block someone by clicking on their profile and choosing “Block” on the right sidebar.

DM
This stands for direct message, which is the Twitter equivalent to e-mail. You may only send direct messages to those following you. To do so, click on “Direct Message” on their profile and type out your message, again only up to 140 characters. Automatic direct messages can be set up to thank someone for following you using a free service such as TweetLater. Keep in mind that you cannot send Direct Messages to people that are not following you, even if you are following them. This is Twitter’s built-in spam protection.

FAV
You can favourite a tweet by typing FAV in all caps plus their username. This will automatically favourite the last tweet from that user.

Feed
Your posts on Twitter are commonly referred to as your “Twitter feed”, or “timeline”.

FollowersPeople who follow your updates.

GET username
Retrieves the most recent tweet from that user.

HashtagsHashtags, such as #BSG for “Battlestar Galactica”, denote groupings on Twitter for popular, commonly referenced items. You can follow updates on hashtags in real time at Hashtags.org They were developed as a means to create groupings on Twitter. In order to have hashtags tracked, start following @hashtags on Twitter. It will follow you automatically and your use of hashtags will be tracked. They are used to track specific events in real time.

Locking Your ProfileYou can “lock” your profile so that only friends can see your updates by scrolling down to the bottom of your “Settings” tab on the Twitter website and clicking the box beside “Protect My Updates”. This may deprive you of followers who would have otherwise followed you based on keywords in your posts and isn’t advised for general use. You would only want this if you wanted to use Twitter, but need to avoid public communication for a specific reason. Even celebrities have public profiles on Twitter.

NUDGE usernameReminds one of your friends to update.

off-TwitterA variant of “offline”, usually used when someone wants to share something with someone privately.

RT/Retweeting
This stands for retweeting, the process whereby you repost someone else’s Twitter post on your feed. The proper form for this is: RT #usernameyouarerequotingfrom “text of the retweet”. You are specifying that it is a retweet and putting in the full username so others on your list can choose to follow them if they like it.

Twactor
Someone who impersonates another person on Twitter.

TwittcrastinationUsing Twitter to procrastinate.

TwaddThe act of adding someone as your friend.

Twaffic
Traffic on Twitter.

TwaggleA bunch of followers.

TwaigslistTo sell something via Twitter.

TwaitingTwittering while waiting for something.

Tweeps/TweeplesA cluster of friends on Twitter. Frequently used to address all of your followers at once, e.g.”Morning, Tweeples!”.

Tweet-backBringing a previous tweet back into the current conversation.

Tweeter
A Twitter user.

TweeterboxSomeone who Tweets too much.

TweetardSomeone acting like an idiot on Twitter.

Tweetheart
Another way to refer to friends on Twitter.

TweetIn
A group of users agree on a set time to Twitter to each other.

Tweets
A collection of posts on Twitter.

Twerminology
Lingo used on Twitter. See this Glossary.

Twhepard
Twitter employee that restores your lost followers if you have lost them due to a technical glitch.

Twhiner
A Twitter user who posts a high number of negative items.

Twike
To ride a bicycle while Twittering. Don’t ask for a how-to.

Twis
A “dis” of a fellow Twitterer. Not a good idea since everything on Twitter is public.

Twittectomy
The act of unfollowing someone on Twitter.

Twitterific
Something awesome related to Twitter.

Twittering
To send a Twitter message.

Twitteritas
Ladies who use Twitter.

Twitterject
To insert your tweet in an ongoing conversation between other people on Twitter.

Twitterlooing
The act of Twittering from a bathroom.

Twitterphoria
What you feel when something good happens on Twitter, like being followed or retweeted.

Twittermob
Similar to a “flashmob”, this is a bunch of people who descend on an often ill-prepared location based on a Twitter message.

Twitterstream
The Twitter timeline, both your own and the public one.

Twittfessional
A confession made on Twitter.

Twittosphere
The community of Twitter users.

Twittworking
Networking with other Twitter users.

Twoogle
Twitter as the human version of Google, since you can post a question and get instant results.

Twoops
Sending a private message to Twitter by accident.

Twoosh
A full 140 character Twitter message.

Twurvey
A survey conducted over Twitter.

Twype
Typing a Twitter message.

WHOIS usernameGets profile information for a Twitter user.