Getting Started on BloggerParty

Okey-dokey, I think I got this up and running now -- at least all signs point to "go" on this end, so we'll just have to see. I'll post what I did to get going, then I'll blog an intro about me and what I generally talk about and so forth and so on in a few:

Firstly (is that really a word?), I have blogs on at least 2302304972309547230592958 sites - dating sites, networking sites, portals, my own website (www.geocities.com/manodogs) - and I am always posting something (I'll get to why in my next, introduction blog), so when I came across an ad screaming "GET PAID TO BLOG!", I was interested, but understandably skeptical. Still, I decided to check it out, and when I realized that Google was behind it, I figured I'd give it a shot.

So, here's what I did:

I am running a dual-boot, SuSe Linux 10.0/Win XP Home machine, currently connecting through XP. I set up a seperate e-mail account specifically for blogging sites and related mail, then added a whole new Identity in Outlook Express (OE) for this account. If you are using a different ISP (which is highly likely), you may not have to do this -- simply add another screen name (for AOL), or make a new e-mail account and it will allow you to swap between the two differently.

In OE, you go to File -> Identities -> Add New ID. Type whatever name you want for this ID (say, "Blogs") and then add the new account. For this, you will need to know your ISP's incoming and outgoing mail servers. If you do not know them, you will need to contact your ISP and get them, and once you've got them, they can tell you how to set up your account in your new Identity; if you do know them, then you likely already know how to set up your new account in this ID.

With your new account set up under your new ID, start your New Account at Blogger Party and use your new e-mail as your account e-mail (or go to "my account" and change it from the one you previously entered). When you sign up for your Google AdSense account, you should use this same address.

Now, all your BloggerParty-related e-mails will come to the same e-mail account, which will be seperate from your regular e-mail account. This way, you not only don't get them confused, you also minimize the risk of accidentally deleting something important!

When on BloggerParty, click on Blog Settings, which will prompt you to go to Technorati.com to claim your blog. The instructions tell you to extract only the claim ID from the JavaScript code Technorati provides, but if you do this, Technorati will not find your blog; copy and paste the entire JavaScript code from Technorati and enter it into the appropriate field on BloggerParty.

Now you can go through Technorati and add your Meta-Tags and other things -- the words and phrases that generally tell others what your blog is about. Of course, you can get snarky and add a bunch of "hotbutton" words having to do with whatever's popular at the time (sex is always a good one), but it could hurt you in the end (no pun intended), so I'd suggest sticking with the topics you know you'll be discussing.

Now, on BloggerParty, go to my account -> Personal Information and fill out all these nifty fields. These will be displayed alongside your blog when people view it and will give them a good indication of who you are and what you will likely be discussing. You can also fill out the other fields, such as Professional Information if you wish -- particularly if your blog consists of a lot of business or professional-related stuff.

And don't forget to add your BloggerParty URL in the Signature field -- this way, when you comment on others' blogs, it will automatically add a link back to your own.

After that, sit back and blog.

Hopefully, this is helpful, and since I am still awaiting my AdSense code, I will also wait to post more on how to set up new accounts and how to customize OE with mail filters, new folders, how to set things up under Linux, and so on.