What is a blog, and why would I want to use one?

Blogs are used by people who want an easy and immediate way of letting their family and friends know what they're up to, or a record of a special event in their lives, like a big holiday, getting married or becoming a parent.

We've just set up a Better Homes and Gardens 360 to let you know what exciting online projects we have coming up too. We'd love it if you'd drop by and leave a comment - or maybe even set up your own!

How can I start a blog?

Sign up for a Yahoo! ID.

You can sign up for one at http://www.yahoo.com.au/. If you already have a Yahoo! ID, you're ready to…

Get Started

Go to http://au.360.yahoo.com/. Here, click on the big "Get Started" button. You'll now be asked for some basic information the nickname and email you would like to have associated with your 360 blog.

Click on the "Finished button" to move to the next step - starting your page. Click on the "Start my Page" button and follow the 3-step process to create your page. You'll be asked to pick a background for your page, and to enter your interests and things you like. You can edit them any time you like. Once you have done this, you'll be shown a sneak peek of how your page will look.

Now you have a page with your nickname and your interests, on the background you selected.

Your page is made up of:

1. Blast
Share a one-liner your friends can reply - an idea, attitude, question, or web link.

2.Your photo/s
Your favourite photos of yourself, or other images you think best represent you.

3. Blog
Create your own blog or online journal. Share thoughts, experiences, pictures with your friends.

4. Yahoo! 7 Photos
Let your friends view your Yahoo!7 Photos

5. Friends
Show your linked friends.

6. Yahoo!7 Music Radio Station
Let your friends listen to your Yahoo!7  music Radio station.

7. Lists
Create and share lists of your favourite books, hobbies, movies, music, TV shows and more.

8. Groups
Let your friends see the Yahoo!7 Groups you belong to.

-Click on each section one by one, following the instructions as you go. You can fill in as many, or as few sections as you like. You can edit or add at any time. There are Yahoo!7 Groups dedicated to all sorts of interests, such as knitting, scrapbooking, baking and many many more.

Your First Blog entry

You can write about anything at all in a blog entry: your pet, your job, your family, hobbies, interests - anything you like!
If you're already on your home page, just click the "Start a Blog" link. Or you can click the "My Blog" menu item at the top of the page. Either one will take you to the Create a Blog page. Here, you'll be prompted to compose a blog entry.

Follow the instructions on the page to add a title for your blog and description. These will appear at the top of all your blog entries when people view your blog.

Each blog entry consists of a title, a photo (optional), and content (also optional!). So you can have a photo-only blog entry or a text-only blog entry. The default title is today's date, but you can change it to any title you want.

The Text:

The blog editor makes it easy for you to personalise your text entries. With the buttons on the toolbar, you can add HTML links, bold or italic text, or emoticons. You can change the colour of your text or of the background behind your text. There are also controls for alignment (left, centre, right), for numbered and bulleted lists, and for increasing or decreasing indents.
Creating links to other websites:
In the content entry area, you can simply type in any URL or web address and it will automatically appear as a link. You can either add the "http://" or leave it off, so both these types of entries will work: http://www.yahoo7.com.au/ or http://www.yahoo7.com.au/

Inserting a picture or photo:

1.Click the "Browse" button, and in the box that pops up, select the photo from your computer, then click "OK." The location of the photo file on your computer will appear in the text box.
2.Click "Preview" to see your photo as it will appear in your blog entry.

When you are happy with the entry, click on the "Post this Entry" button.

Congratulations! You're now officially a blogger!