The blogging options with Tree of Pennsylvania will be a great resource for many of our registered users. However, it may be a bit confusing for those just starting.

The blogging component we use provides for multiple bloggers (that is, every registered user). Although you do not technically have your own blog, you might think of it as having a blog within the Trees of PA Blog.

First of all, when you click on the "Blog" tab under "Current Topics" in the main menu bar, you will be taken to the main blog. Here you will see every post from every user, with the most recent appearing at the top of the page. You will also have access to the Blog Menu Bar if you are registered and logged in.

Here are the options from the Blog Menu Bar:

• Home: This will return you to the main page from anywhere within the blogging component
• Tags: Tags provide a way to categorize blog posts. I do not currently have permissions set for users to create their own tags, although you can still use the ones provided. If we have too many tags created, they will lose their effectiveness. Please email me know if additional tags are needed. 
• Search: Options include to search by keywords, tags, or blogger.
• Feed: This provides you with opportunity to subscribe to the blog's feed
• My Account: Choosing this option creates a secondary menu bar with the options: My Entries (a list of your posts), Preferences (you can name your blog and provide a description for it), Statistics (for your blog only), and Comments (comments on your posts)
• Write New Entry: This is where you write your post.

Link to Your Blog Posts

You also have the option of arriving at a page that shows your blogs posts. When you link to this page, you have effectively arrived at your personal blog (within the Trees of PA Blog). Although it seems strange to me that a menu link is not provided for this option within the blog, here is how you can accomplish it:

1. Enter the following URL in the address bar after replacing "user" with your user name: http://treesofpa.com/current-topics/blog/blogger/user/. You can copy and paste this into the menu bar, but don't forget to first replace "user" with your Trees of PA user name.
2. From the Community Feature, you can use that menu bar to access your blog. On the Community page, you will find the "Blog" as the last option on the Community Menu Bar. There you will have the choice of linking to your blog, as well as links to write a post and go to the main blog page.

Blogging can provide our users with many options. I encourage registered users to post their news releases in the blog, but that is only the beginning for blogging on Trees of PA!