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TypePad Help Desk

Ok, for all of you who receive this via email and rss feeds (FeedBlitz) sorry for all the question marks that keep popping up in the blogs.  I have been trying to resolve the problem and this is what the TypePad team came up w/.  I thought I would just post it rather than trying to explain it myself.  If an other TypePad users have the same issue, I hope this helps.  I might add, the customer service was awesome!  They got back to me and answered my question w/ in 12 hours.  

I wrote this first section directly in TypePad and copy and pasted the other from their answer which was also in a TypePad format.  This is a test, so if it fails, I will hit up the help desk again... and TypePads rely was.......

Hi Ryan!

Thanks for contacting us. It appears that the issue is related to the manner in which you're composing your posts. The smart text used in Microsoft Word doesn't translate well, so is causing characters to appear in place of the original text.

If you'd prefer to compose your posts in Word, you'll need to paste your entry into the HTML tab or use the Markdown option by clicking on "Display Options" and then "Markdown".

Microsoft Word's formatting code does not work well when merged with the Rich Text editor. Copying content from Word will cause formatting and spacing problems, error messages, and feed validation problems.

More information on Copying and Pasting Posts from Other Applications is available here:
http://kb.typepad.com/id/297

The issue with Microsoft Word formatting code is not unique to TypePad's Rich Text Editor. Any editor that copies over formatting will cause issues such as this - because the code that Microsoft Word inserts is not web-compatible.

If you would like to compose your posts outside of TypePad, you may want to consider using a desktop client, such as Windows Live Writer - which is very comparable to using Microsoft Word: http://get.live.com/writer/overview

or like one listed at: http://kb.typepad.com/id/87

Also, if you use Microsoft Word 2007, you can use it to post directly to your blog. You can read more about that here: http://everything.typepad.com/blog/2007/04/post_to_your_bl.html

Please let us know if there is anymore we can do to help.

Thanks,
Brianna

www.ryancook.net

Twitter?

What is Twitter?

When I ask people if they Twitter or tell people I Twitter, I get all kinds of reactions. I mostly get responses like "what in the world is that?" or "no thanks, it sounds dirty." I had known about it for a while, and just decided to try it out a few weeks ago. My friend Andrew helped me set it up. It's kind of like blogging- on crack. I did it for a while and then dropped it. I think I'm going to pick it back up and give it a 30 day shot. The Thomas Nelson CEO shares 12 Reasons to Start Twittering. Check it out, it explains well, and it already all typed out for you.

You can follow my Twittering adventure from my website www.ryancook.net or follow me on Twitter here.

If any of you who read this twitter, let me know so I can follow!

I LOVE TECHNOLOGY!

-Peace

Blogging 2 of 2

I wanted to do a follow-up to part 1 of blogging, so here is part deuce.

The first step I took was get a TypePad account. Now there a many blog platforms to choose from like wordpress and blogger to mention a couple. There is a cost for typepad and I picked the $89 plan. It is the best for beginners, has many templates and is easy to use.

I then bought a domain name from a registrar. One great site for domain names is godaddy, they offer an array of dot names. It is fairly cheap, $10-$15 a year for your domain name. Just go to their site, type in a domain name you would like and check if it is available. When picking domain names, try to keep it rememberable. The worst senerio is someone trying to find your site and they can’t remember the stupid name you picked for your domain or if they are googling your site and 15 porno sites pop up…. I picked ryancook.net, which happens to be my name and it was available.

Once I picked my domain from Godaddy, (btw they are great to work w/) I asked them to mask my TypePad blog account w/ my ryancook.net domain name. This makes it easy, when people type ryancook.net, it goes straight to my TypePad acct, but is masked by my domain name, so my domain names stays in the url. Are you still w/ me?

After this, I went to FeedBlitz, which is an email distributor. Once I post a blog, Feedblitz receives the ping, reads and distributes the blog through e-mail to all readers that sign up. This is one great example of permission marketing. You are not forcing yourself on people by mass blanket emails to your entire address book. The only way people receive this email is they must sign up for it. Feedblitz is a great tool for marketing and advertising, if you choose to go that route.

So, the route I took cost about $110 a year, so realisicly, you can do it for $10 a month. They do have free blogging platforms and cheaper ways of blogging. You can blog for free at many sites like myspace and different ones like that. All of the softwares and distribution site I chose, support each other, so it was a no brainer.

Once all of this is set up, go to your TypePad homepage and set it up…. Once that is done start blogging.

Up and blogging was the title of my first blog.

Topics you choose will play a big part in keeping your readers' attention. I see a huge spike in my website hits when I talk about personal, relavant, true life events that are going on in my life now, things that people can relate to or that may be a little edgy. This does not work for all bloggers. Find something you like, things you do, hobbies, and write about it.... Do I always blog about that type of stuff? No. I also use this blog as an info passer and just cool things I find or see.

Another thing you may want to do for your readers is use hyperlinks in your blog, it makes it much easier for your readers to check out sites you refer.

I have read that most bloggers continue to write just for the sake of writing. Personally, if I don’t have anything to write or am to busy- I don’t write. That’s just how it works w/ me. I receive blogs from some of the top church bloggers around, but when I am busy, I don’t read their everyday blogging. I do go back when I have time and catch-up. Not everything catches or holds my attention, so I have to weed through some of the blogs.

If you have any comments or would like to find out more info about this subject, let me know in the comment section of the blog @ www.ryancook.net

-Peace

15 INNOVATIONS

I ran across an article on innovations 'the church' should embrace to reach people. So listed below are 15 Innovations to check out:

• Podcasting- Our church already does this, www.gjfa.org

• Blogging- This is what I am doing right now. Do not blog for an audience; blog for you. The more you write about what is on your head and heart, the more people will respond.

• Video Technologies- Use technology to tell the gospel story in moving pictures.

• Viral Video- Get Contagious Quickly. Use www.youtube.com to spread the love.

• Multipurpose Church Buildings- Doing Ministry in the Marketplace. Jesus hung out at wells. Coffee houses are postmodern wells.

• Multisite Churches- One church, Multiple Locations

• Web Site- Guests can get as much info from your church as they want sitting at home on their own couch. www.gjfa.org

• > E-mail- E-letters are an affordable way to keep the church connected.

• Branding- The opposite of brand is bland.

• Social Networking- build an online congregation or community through the web- example; www.facebook.com

• Get a Second Life- Crazy huh? Dwight Schrute has one as well as these guys..... Lifechurch.tv, you can read about it here

• Get Joost- www.joost.com- watch your service online while chatting w/ other viewers at the same time.

• Text Message- Text mass messages to your leaders or text during your service and post immediate results on the big screen. Calling Post has worked great w/ some of our leaders.

• RSS Feeds- Use RSS feeds to get out info fast- weekly bulletin, small group info, announcements, daily devotionals, and blog entries.

• Live Missionaries- Link up live w/ missionaries around the world who your church supports. Hey they do it on X-box live, why not use technology for missionaries!

Caution: We all know technology can be used for good or evil. Not all websites like youtube are bad. It is the evil that lurks around them. If you personally have a problem and can't control yourself, don't go to those sites. God gave us technology use; we should use it to glorify Him, connect and relate to our people, reach outsiders, and advance the Kingdom of God.

We can no longer sit back and say 'times are changing', they have changed. As leaders we need to get 'out of the box' and find more effective ways of reaching outsiders.

If you have any other useful site or would like to comment, please go to www.ryancook.net - I would love to hear from you.