Thursday, February 19, 2009

Review-- Google Blogger for Dummies

Title: Google Blogger for Dummies
Author: Susan Gunelius
ISBN: 9780470407424/ Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2009
Genre: Internet/Web Page Design
Rating: A

First Line: So you made the decision to start a blog.

This is a decision that thousands, if not millions, of people have made. If Google Blogger is the blogging platform chosen, how much help is Gunelius' book? A lot!

From Part I where the author describes Blogger's features and compares it to other blogging software, Gunelius takes the reader step-by-step through opening a Google account, starting a blog, choosing a template, writing and publishing blog posts-- everything a beginning blogger should know.

From the basics, she moves on to covering how to monetize a blog, blogging from different media such as podcasting and mobile phones, how to use social media such as Twitter to network and build a community, and how to obtain your own domain. There's even a section for troubleshooting problems. Everything is written in clear, concise language and easy to follow instructions.

People who have been blogging for a while may wonder if Google Blogger for Dummies contains anything worthwhile for them. My answer would be yes. For example, I had questions about obtaining my own domain, just what does "bounce rate" mean, and how to increase my search engine ranking. This book answered all those questions and many others. This book is for everyone using Blogger, both novice and pro.

How useful I found this book to be!



7 comments:

  1. Thanks for the review. I've been curious about the book and wondered if it would have anything helpful.

    Judging by the sticky notes, I'd say yes!

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  2. Great review - and by the looks of your picture - it was well worth the read - will have to check it out.

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  3. Beth and Kara--I thought the photo of the book after I read it would say as much (or more) as my review! LOL

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  4. I agree that if you are thinking of starting a blog, or have a blog on Blogger, this is a very useful book.

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  5. You sure got your thousand words out of that picture, Cathy. I must look out for Dummies in my local store.

    It certainly makes sense to buy a good resource, rather than use the Book Chook method ie stumble around the blogosphere, trying to pick things up or asking helpful people like Cathy, Beth and Natasha. As a novice, I had no idea there are so many layers to blogger, or so many ramifications to each decision I made.

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  6. That photo certainly speaks a 1000 words! I was wonderfing the exact same thing .. would it have something for you if you were already past the basics and you answered that nicely! Thanks!

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  7. Susan--that's not just the Book Chook Method; I've used it, too, I'll have you know! LOL

    You're welcome, Jenners. I think, regardless our level of "accomplishment", there's always something more to learn, and this book is a good resource.

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