Tips for posting to blogs

from Kim Komando's Tip of the Day
Q. I've recently found myself visiting political blogs. I see people are posting links to sources in their comments. This helps readers check the reliability of the information. How do I do this? And are there any other tools of this nature that I can use?

A. You're right, it is important to link back to your sources. It provides background information and backs up the point you're making.

Fortunately, inserting a link is easy. You just need to know a little HTML (HyperText Markup Language).

HTML uses tags to insert formatting in a Web page. The tags are enclosed in less than and greater than signs ("<" and ">," respectively). In most cases, tags are placed at the beginning and end of a block of text. HTML pages have numerous sets of tags, many of which are nested.

To insert a link, use the "a href" tag. The following uses my home page as an example:
link text.

Replace my Web address with the one you're referencing. You can insert whatever text you want between the tags. Also, you must be precise. There should only be one space in the tag, between the "a" and the "href."

The most difficult part of inserting a link is actually selecting the link. The Web is constantly updated. If the page is moved or changed, your link won't be effective. You've probably experienced dead links or ones pointing to unrelated information.

To minimize this, choose carefully. News sites sometimes recycle addresses for top stories. As the news changes, information on the pages changes, too. Blogs are also tricky. Don't link to the main page. Rather, look for a link at the bottom of posts. It will say something like "permalink" or "link to this post." Click the link, and it opens the post's permanent page. Copy the link out of the address bar in your browser.

Other helpful tags are:
link text bold
link text italics

return

You can also create unordered, or bulleted, lists. They're more complicated. First, enclose the entire list in unordered list tags:

. Then enclose each item in a list item tag:

.

These are basic tags. Unless you're hand-coding a Web page, they're probably all you need.

A blog, or weblog, is a great way to share your views. It also helps you keep friends and family apprised of what's going on in your life. I have my own blog.

There are some negatives to keep in mind, too. Blogging is a relatively new phenomenon. The kinks haven't all been worked out. If you're careless, you could run into legal issues.

First, remember that anyone can read what you write on the Web. Furthermore, your remarks could reside on a server for years. Think long and hard before saying anything that might cause someone else harm. You could be sued for libel.

Further, recent court rulings have not been favorable to bloggers. Bloggers haven't received the same protections granted journalists. You could find yourself subpoenaed for your sources.

Finally, your boss could be watching. Some outspoken bloggers have lost their jobs. I recommend that you not criticize your boss, company or coworkers. In fact, I wouldn't discuss work at all. And under no circumstance should you post anything that might be considered a trade secret. That's begging for trouble.