I have been waiting for a while or blogger to release an app for the iPhone to do my blogging from. I have periodically checked back in to the App Store to see if they developed anything, but it wasn't until today that I found one there. I'm not sure how long it has been available, but I am really glad it's out.... Or so I thought...

The reviews I have read are mixed, but sadly most of the latest reviews from January 2012 and newer are almost all negative. It appears the app crashes often, and doesn't have much to offer outside of posting a basic text-only post. I'll give it a shot, but if it continues to be a problem, I'll just go back to posting via email. It's a pretty consistent option that seems to work without a hitch, and allows me to attach pictures in a post just like the app does.

I used to blog. A lot. Or at least a lot more. Then, about 5 years ago now I was introduced to Twitter. I typically Tweet an average of 2-3 times per day, and struggle to post a blog entry 2 times a week.

I used to have so much to write about... Now I find i have already said what I have to say in 140 characters or less, and haven't much inspiration left on the subject to write about.

Now what am I supposed to do?

If you've ever been asked to show a video call through ProPresenter using a program like Skype^®, iChat^®, FaceTime^® or similar program, you know how difficult this can be.

The questions begin: "Can I show this through ProPresenter?", "Do I have to close ProPresenter and change my displays around?", "Do I just drag the video window to the second screen and disable the output from ProPresenter?", "Who's idea was this anyway?!". Don't worry! There's a way to do this using a couple of freely available programs and a little bit of spare time to set it.

Using a program like CamTwist, you can select just a portion of your screen to show via the Live feature in ProPresenter.  These instructions should help you get this set up in just a matter of minutes.

http://support.renewedvision.com/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/69/6/how-to-how-do-i-show-a-video-call-through-propresenter

I have found that many of the free templates I start with when designing a blogger site have the "feature" of showing every post with a "read more" option. In many situations, I do not want to use this feature. However, I have also found it very difficult to remove. Perhaps this can be of help to you.

This method will not work with every blogger template. But this tutorial will help you to remove auto read more feature from many templates you can download from free sites.

Before doing this change,I highly recommend to backup your blogger template first.

Login to your Blogger Dashboard --> Design --> Edit HTML.

Click on "Expand Widget Templates".

Now use the Edit --> Find function from your browser, and search for code within your template that looks like this

Read more »

If you cannot find that exact matching code, search for some portion of it. What I find to get me in the right area, is searching for "createSummaryAndThumb" this gets me in the vicinity of what I need to look for.

After that, it becomes a trial and error exercise. If you do have the entire code from above, simply replace it with the following code

If not, begin reading through the code looking for the beginning and ending parameters surrounding the "createSummaryAndThumb" with a little luck, and some time, you will delete out the necessary code. You will know you have it right, when you can click "Save Template" with an error message. Be sure to examine your site afterwards for random peices of code you may have missed.

Good luck!

If you are an iPhone user, odds are that you already know your way around it pretty well. Setting up iCal with your google account is simple, but making iCal sync with things appropriately is tough. I haven't had mine correct for over a year.

The only piece I was missing, and I am guessing you too, is to do all of your setup in the iPhone "settings" control. It looks like an app on your home screen with gears in the window.

Under settings, you have a mail/contacts/calendar tab. Within that tab, add your google account. If you want to share google calendars with your spouse or work, and the accounts here as well. You will then have the option to view mail, calendars, or notes.

Here was the key for me. If you scroll down to the bottom of this menu, you can select your google account as the default calendar. This will make every event you make in iCal shoot straight over to google calendar. Once that piece of the puzzle in is place everything else comes together easy.

Open up iCal, and select which calendars you would like to view. All the google calendars you authorized on the previous settings screen will now be authorized in your view list. Hope this helps!

This week I spent some time building a client a new website this weekend. Lately I have been spending most of my social media consulting time dealing with new twitter practices, and new iPhone apps that connect people.

But I love the creative side of building a new website. It's rewarding. Now don't get me wrong, I am still not creating blogger templates from scratch. I'm not that talented, and there are plenty of resources out there to get a template started. A simple google search will find you a number of options.

Yet, each blog or website I design has to be manipulated to match the needs of the person or business. For me web design is a lot about trial and error. I can never quite be sure that what I am reading in HTML really translates to what the reader will see when the site goes live.

Today I discovered a website that would show me what the HTML code for each color is. It's not that the site was hidden. All I had to do was google what #ffffff was. It was showing up in my HTML code in the incorrect places. I learned that #ffffff is a light gray color.

In fact, every website has a color schematic running behind the scenes that determines what the font color, and background colors look like. Change the number code, and change the color. It was a great find.

For some of you, this is web design fundamental. The idea that someone like me has been devising websites for 5 or more years without ever learning that little trick is very disappointing.

However, this is why I find the web and social media so intriguing. We all have very different entry and exit points on and off the Internet superhighway. Each of our experiences on the web are very personalized to our specific needs from the Internet.

Knowing this is a good reminder for me. It helps me keep in mind that every reader, every follower comes to the site from a different angle.

Managing that type of dynamic is impossible. But knowing that it does exist should determine some choices we make on design ideas, and writing content.

Some of you are still trying to hold out and wait for all this social media thing to fizzle out. I have to tell you, this form of communication isn't going anywhere.

If you watch or read any media outlet nowadays, both national or local, legit news and pop culture is being driven by social media.

Want info on what's happening on the ground in Afghanistan? Find a twitter feed from an individual who is actually there. Pictures and all.

Want to know where jobs are available in your specific work specialty? Keep checking your linked in account for updates. Learn to leverage your distant contacts into meaning relationships that in the end gets you employed.

Want to know what your favorite athlete thinks about the huge contract he just negotiated? Follow his twitter feed, or his local sports newspaper column on Facebook.

Want to know the dynamics of your teenage student's circle of friends? Be involved with their Facebook interactions, and follow what their friends are tweeting.

News and media has never had this type of availability to the consumer before. And they aren't foolish either. Marketing companies continue to personalize their strategies to match their clientele. Believe me, this isn't going away.

How should the church or non-profit respond? How does your organization interact with the social media networks? Are you willing to learn how to interact? Do you realize that there are not really any major costs related to becoming active contributors to the network of social media platforms? Are you convinced yet that this matters? If you are, than what changes are you willing to make to get your organization up to speed?