Creating a Following with HTML

Spice Up Your Blog with a Dash of Code

From time to time, I get the urge to do something new with my blog. The same thing manifests itself at home with an irresistable desire to rearrange the furniture. Fortunately for the blog (unlike moving furniture), the only heavy lifting involved is learning something new.

Now you code masters are probably laughing your closing tags off at me but I, unlike Al Yankovic, am fluent in neither Klingon nor JavaScript. However, I have picked up a few bits and pieces of HTML which you might find useful too.

How’d I Get Those Follow Buttons at the Top of the Page?

Some time ago, a friend asked me how I put my follow buttons at the top of the blog.

Come to think of it…I’m not sure if I actually sent the directions or totally forgot…sorry Selena! *hangs head in shame*

If you want to add follow buttons to your blog, you can drop them into image widgets and stack them in the sidebar and some WordPress themes have built-in follow buttons at the top of the blog. Of course, if you have a self-hosted site, you can install a social media plugin.

But, with a little code know-how and a lot of copy/paste, you can line up your follow buttons in neat row all by yourself.

Note: instructions for uploading images and using widgets are specific to WordPress. Other blogging platforms may function differently.

You can view the video version of these instructions here.

First, you need to do is find and download the follow buttons that fit your blog and turn them into hyperlinks to your social media sites. I found mine on Webtreats. They have tons of free buttons and icons. This is especially great if you want all your follow buttons to have the same style. Alternatively, you can download the free buttons provided by your social media sites.

Then, you need to upload the images to your Media Library and grab the image URL.

Don’t worry too much about image size as you can resize in the code. You can also edit the image to size (in Paint or some such…can you tell I’m a PC user?) before loading it to Media Library, edit and save the image in an online editor such as Pixlr or edit the image within your Library. If you opt to edit the image in your Media Library, just make sure you grab the updated image URL.

Note: If you edit the image in Paint, the transparent background will be lost. If your blog background is white, this isn’t a big deal but, if you have a dark background, you might want to work in Pixlr.

Next, you want to fire up an online HTML editor. You could use a Word (Open Office, etc) document to work with your code but I like the online editor because you can see each of your changes as it will look on your blog. I like the Real-Time HTML Editor.

One thing to note about the Real-Time editor is that it seems to work great in Chrome but not Firefox (for me anyway). If you try it in your browser and it doesn’t do anything, try Chrome.

You can use the following code to make any one of your follow buttons into a link to your social media.

<a href=”SOCIAL MEDIA LINK HERE” target=”_blank”><img src=”IMAGE URL HERE” width=”38″ height=”38″ border=”0″ />

The SOCIAL MEDIA LINK is the URL for your profile page. If you’re not sure how to grab it, go to your profile page on your social media site and copy the address from the address bar. Facebook is usually http://facebook.com/YourName, Twitter is http://twitter.com/YourID, etc.

The IMAGE URL comes from your Media Library.

You can change the size of the image by changing the number associated with “width” and “height.” You’ll want to keep proportions in mind when you’re working with icons that aren’t square. My Webtreat icons are all square transparent images with the social media symbol in the middle.

You can place several of these codes side by side (one after the other with no spaces) to create a follow button line up.

Here’s how it looks on the “front side” with Facebook, Twitter and StumbleUpon buttons:

Drop the completed code into a Text Widget on your Widgets Dashboard and you’ve got the makings of an epic following.

In the not too distant future, I’m planning to make the follow buttons light up or change on mouseover. When I do, I’ll be sure to share the secret with you.

What do you think? Is this something useful and fun for your blog? Any code wizards out there have suggestions?

Do You Talk Too Much?

Muffin finally clears his inbox…only to discover he’s received 562 new messages.
*Image by Cassandra Leigh Gotto on Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0*

Conversations at home. Hollering at the kids. Coaxing the puppy out from under the bed. Phone calls. Work conversations. Email. Texting. Novel writing. Blog writing. Commenting on blogs. Twitter. Facebook.  Email. Email. Email. Text. Text. Text. Phone call. Phone call. Phone call.

All of this technology affords us so many ways to talk to one another. In seconds, we can make a connection with almost anyone anywhere, meeting new people, renewing friendships, reaching out to family, and sharing ourselves with the world. It’s an amazing things.

But with the power to talk to communicate anytime anywhere comes the expectation, from ourselves and others, that we should be available to talk all the time.

Maybe we’ve even become addicted to talking all the time.

What do you think? Do we talk too much? Have we lost the value of quiet time?

Do you ever get to the end of the day and feel like you just talk too much, out loud and in writing? How do we balance all the opportunities for communication with the time we need to just be quiet. What do you do for quiet?

Possibly Probably Related articles

• Smartphone addiction disrupts Canadians’ lives (vancouversun.com)
• Theater Offers ‘Tweet Seats’ To Smart Phone Addicts (huffingtonpost.com)
• Peeling Back the Layers of Modern Communication (tufts.uloop.com)
• Why I am leaving Facebook (roseofeurope.wordpress.com)
• “Technology Addiction” in the Electronic Age: Worldwide Progress or Servitude? (prn.fm)

Doing the Write Thing for a Good Cause

Fundraising Anthology for a Fellow Writer

Recently, we talked about how much goodness we can do for one another when the chips are down. When something as big as Hurricane Sandy strikes and people respond with generosity and kindness, the whole world hears about it.

But when a storm strikes in the life of just one person or family and others pour out their love, we don’t always get to hear about unless it’s someone close to us. Or unless you factor in the power of social media.

There are some out there who still think social media a glorified version of the bathroom wall in high school. In some cases, it probably is. Yet social media can be so much more. It’s a way for us to encourage and inspire each other, even if we’ve never seen one another face to face and, often, even if we’ve never communicated before.

Social media is community.

A couple of weeks ago, I heard about an anthology being put together as a fundraiser for a fellow writer, Karen DeLabar. I was deeply inspired by the way the community rallied and I’m so excited that we have the chance to help, especially those of us that are just learning about all of this.

Some of you may already know that Karen was struck with a brutal illness in the summer. She has been through so much and she has worked through it with courage and grace.

The anthology will help raised money to offset the medical expenses (which can be every bit as brutal as a serious illness). It is open to submissions until December 15, 2012. You can check out all the submission guidelines at the Orange Karen Tribute Anthology blog.

If you’ve got a story in you, inspired by the color orange, I hope you’ll submit it for the anthology. All genres are welcome.

Whether you submit a story (and whether it ends up in the anthology), I hope you’ll all buy a copy of the finished anthology and maybe a couple for your friends and family. I know I will.

Will you be joining in the anthology or have you already submitted a story? How has social media inspired or encouraged you?

Image Attribution (In Order of Appearance):
Group Hug – I by pushthisbutton, on Flickr CC BY 2.0
Image via karendelabar.com (fair use)

Possibly Probably Related articles

• Anthology Call for Submissions: Orange Karen: A Tribute to a Warrior (quillshiv.com)
• Social Media for Charity – A Way for Small Businesses to Give Back (amsterdamprinting.com)
• A Guide to Using Social Media Well in Government and Advocacy (techpresident.com)

Buried in Disaster or Swamped with Opportunity?

I’m posting at the Lift List Club today talking about change, goals and the way life can dump bucket loads of, well, life on us. The question is: do we get buried in disaster or swamped with opportunity?

What’s On Your Summer To Do List?

Jess Witkins is over at the Life List Club talking about summer fun…

(dipity.com)

It’s a holiday week, so that means it’s time to break away from the rules, bend the structure, and wear that naughty underwear no one knows you’re wearing but you!  I’ve been thinking about my to do list a lot lately.  With Fast Draft over I couldn’t wait to have some peace and quiet for a few days, but now I feel like I’m moving too slow.  I went from hyper drive surviving off of cheese and crackers and caffeine, and now I feel like my goals are moving slowly but summer is flying by!

You know how when summer begins, and you have all these great plans about trips to the beach, lazing away in a hammock, vacations to tropical places, cookouts full of junk food, and a margarita in each hand!

Read more at the Life List Club…

What about you? Whats on your summer fun list?

Night of the Living ROW

Final ROW80 Check in for Round 2, 2012

Having reached the end of another ROW80, Mortimer decides to take a well-deserved nap.

We’ve reached the end of another round of ROW80. This round, I haven’t been as attentive as I would have liked. Of course, lots of life intervened. But all we can do is all we can do.

My plans for this round:

• Update ROW80 page, for last round and this one: I updated the page at the beginning of the round but it needs another update.
• Spend 15-30 minutes minimum 4 days a week on new novella. I’m working on expanding Postcards from Hell and its sequel, Ants in the Mailbox into a novella. My MIP is on hold for now: For the last month, I’ve tried to catch up with work projects and a big move. I put a hold on writing work until I get settled.

My Little Brony

Rainbow Brite custom MLP by Smantha Claridge as featured on Blog.Spoon Graphics (see link below).

Recently, when we talked about our favorite Saturday morning cartoons, the topic of bronies came up. What are bronies? Bronies are teen/adult male fans of My Little Pony, or MLP (and now I’m hearing Will Smith’s MIB…thank you very much). You know, bro + pony = brony.

And, then, a little light bulb went off…hey, my son is a brony too. Okay, he’s only six, so maybe it doesn’t really count. But he does love the MLPs.

What Do We Do When We Miss the Mark?

Sherry Isaac is over at the Life List Club talking about what happens when we miss our goals. Head on over and check it out!

1999. The year the artist formerly known as Prince asked that we party like.

That summer, chauffeur to soccer games, school dances and babysitting jobs, a familiar beat reverberated in this mother’s minivan. ‘Steal My Sunshine’, a one-hit wonder released by Toronto-based band, Len.

Click here to read more.

Also be sure to check out Jess Witkins’s post on fast drafting and Lara Schiffbauer’s post on not wasting energy on negativity (I know I need to be reminded of that over and over again).

Stay tuned. The Life List Club Milestone Party is coming up in two weeks! And it’s gonna be a whopper because the Life List Club is turning one year old.

How Does Creativity Really Work?

Gary Gauthier is at the Life List Club today talking about creativity…

All you need for an excellent exercise that stimulates a young child’s imagination is a blank sheet of paper and a few crayons of different colors. A creative spirit and busy little hands will do the rest. It’s not so easy for us adults! While creativity can be as easy as child’s play, for an artist or a craftsman, creativity can mean painstaking work.

Read more here.

Head on over and join the conversation.

There’s a Story Here Somewhere: Inspirational Images from Flickr

*Looking for the Summer (June – August) Writing Challenge – Every Picture Has a Story? See below for details.*

Flickr is my favorite site to scout for images to use on my blog. There’s a wealth of Creative Commons licensed images and it’s easy to search for them. The images vary widely in quality and artistic value but I’ve rarely failed to find just the right one for a post.

And, of course, it’s all free…which might be the most important factor to a blogger who isn’t making money off her blog.

My Favorites stream over there is already jammed with more images than I can use in a couple of years but I just keep adding more. So many of the images I’ve encountered have captured my imagination, inspiring blog posts, stories and stories-to-be. Here are some that have really stuck with me even though they have no story…yet: