Hardcore Mobility

It's been a while since I've posted directly with my mobile devices because I am usually in front of my Macbook and I haven't found a bargain blogging app that I truly like.




But having a few errands to run in my hometown, what better time to start, right? Actually, I forgot Macbook battery at home and didn't find a table at the local Barnes & Noble near an outlet.

So I am left with trying using my iPhone jacked into BN's free Wi-Fi.




So it has made me wonder about going totally mobile with my iPhone or G1 for a while just to see what that would be like. I've personally heard of instances of people who totally lived off their Blackberries in the past with access to broadband only at work. So with Android and iPhone users bragging about how great their devices are, should they put their money where their mouths are?

Well, I can honestly say that I'll be giving that a try more this Holidays in the US since I'll be moving around quite a bit, especially this Thanksgiving weekend.

I'll be heading out to the South Coast Plaza in Irvine tomorrow so I am sure to get a lot of opportunities to do a lot of mobile computing.

It sure helps with having extra juice for the mobile gadgets this Holidays.

Blogger Blog Tip: Use Gmail To Submit Posts and Save Time

Gmail has may praises and also its share of criticisms.  I'm a Yahoo Mail guy since way back and I use gmail only sparingly.  So what's to like about Gmail for me then?

Google's mail editor is almost like a simple word processor.  It is much more robust than Blogger as an editor.  When formatting issues started cropping up, we started using Gmail as a replacement.  So, what is Onxo talking about using Gmail to post to Onxo?

Basically, Onxo is using a feature reserved for mobile devices.  Register a gmail account with the blogger account by enabling mobile blogger will automatically post any e-mail as a blog when the receiver is "go@blogger.com". 

Obviously, you'll need a blogger account.  You can use your gmail username.  When you are at the Dashboard of Blogger, you should see OTHER STUFF at the bottom portion of the Dashboard page.  After you've scrolled down to the page, you will see Mobile Devices.  Click on the "Learn how to start mobile blogging" and you'll be taken to a page where you are provided with instructions on how to do it.

Blogger provides the option to send entries through text messages or e-mails.  After setting it up, you're are good to go for mobile blogging.  I've tried e-mail a couple of times with the iPhone when there is no need to create URL links or any formatting.

But I'm talking about using Gmail's editor to submit entry.  If you're experiencing problems with Blogger editor, Gmail is your answer.  It'll save you a lot of time and avoid formattting problems.

Note:  Tagging will need to be added through Blogger's editor.  And another thing.  Once you've sent the e-mail to blogger, it will not automatically be linked to to your blog.  At the Mobile Device page, you will need to link your e-mail to your blog.  If you have questions, please let me know and I'll do what I can to help you.

Use Google to Get Out the Word (Your Blog)

Search is usually all a typical Internet user know about Google. The next safest bet an Internet user might knw about Google is like Gmail. For those of us who blog and try to get out the word, we might know what customs search, blogger.com, and Adsense is about (I'm still getting to know it better each day).

The Inquirer has graced us with a piece other features Google provide to help you get out the word for your material and website. Besides the flagship tool, Adsense, they discussed customized search tools to allow your readers to search base on keywords. It can be quite powerful now that I think about it. A site-search will allow your readership to look through your site based on their search.  

You can also advertise with Google by buying adwords. As you can imagine with Google being the king of search, it can help immensely. Depending on the word, the cost can vary. There are many options for advertisers to choose from.

Blogger. Or Blogspot. Both works for me because it's the same thing. It's a free service from Google that allows anyone to create a blog. All you need is a google account. If you already use gTalk or Gmail, you're already half way there. Just go to blogger.com and sign in. It's simple (not like Adsense - I'm still trying to figure it out) and in minutes, you can get yourself a box to stand on and shout at the top of your lungs about anything you want, figuratively.  

Be it custom-search or ad placements, none of that can substitute for good material. As always, I simply enjoy sharing news and thoughts on mobility and welcome all feedbacks.

NOTE: This is an article about Google but Yahoo and Microsoft both offer their own blog, search, and advertisement alternatives. And with blogs, there's even more options available. We'll get to them all one of these days. This is what is so great about the Internet. An abundant of options and competition for your writing.

ANOTHER NOTE: Mobile blogging is something that is very big and will get bigger in due time. However, I cannot understand why Google has yet to provide a more robust option for blogging from mobile devices like smartphones while Typepad has WAP options and mobile apps for the Blackberry and the iPhone. I hope Google will have something for us soon.

Miniblogs

Twitter is a great service that I have started learning to use in recent months. In fact, thousands of bloggers swear by it.  I use it to keep friends updated on political events, daily happenings, and enlighten them with my personal gibberish.

Like anything on the Internet, if there is one, there are others.

For example, consider my favorite miniblog, Meblog from Cirqo.  Still a work in progress, Chieh Cheng, one of my closest friends since high school, and I have worked on Cirqo for over a year now.  We are proud of the great accomplishments with Cirqo. More just a web-based IM service, we created Cirqo to be defined by the users.
(Chieh does all the heavy lifting and I beg for features I find useful.)

In the next few years, Twitter and Cirqo's MeBlog will play an even larger role in mobile communication as the proliferation of smartphones such as the iPhone and Sidekick become more common.  Already, Twitter's impact has been felt on the international stage during the arrest of James Karl Buck in Egypt.

Setting up your own Twitter or Cirqo account is quick and very easy to use.  When you do, drop me a line.  Feel free to follow my Twitter or Cirqo Meblog as I will follow yours.

Also, we are more than happy to field any questions/suggestions regarding Cirqo.com.