Recent comments widget 2

I was not really happy with the "New recent comments widget" I got from Tigersyard.com. Just by chance, I came across the "How To Make a Recent Comments Widget on Blogger" on Seanjames Camello aka Shawn Cabacci's blog. It is so simple, I can't believe it.

Check out the list of recent comments on my sidebar. I guess the only disadvantage is that you can only list up to a maximum of five comments.

New recent comments widget

For quite sometime, I have been using the "recent comments" widget provided by Blogger templates. However, I noticed that they have stopped working. A number of Blogger users have been asking for a "recent comments" widget for quite sometime but the guys at Blogger don't seem to be listening. Going through all the gadgets you can add to your blog in Blogger in draft, I came across the Blogger comments gadget provided by Tigersyard.com. It shows the latest comments of any blogger blog. However you need to know your Blog ID. It's not perfect but it is the best working wigdet for this purpose. I am sure others will come and improve it further. I would prefer to have a few lines instead of the whole comment listed. Please tell me if you have a solution.

Review of Blogger in draft

They have loads of new experimental features on the Blogger in draft site.

The best feature is the Scheduled Post Publishing which allows Blogger users to write a post which then appears on a scheduled later date.

There is also the option to add a "Blogroll" which some might feel is a replication of the existing "Link List" widget. However, the later involved multiple steps - first the url followed by the name, then you would have to click the "ADD LINK" button and finally clicking the "SAVE CHANGES" button. Now, you can import all your subscriptions from Google Reader and only need to paste the url of the blog then click "SAVE CHANGES" to add a blog to the blogroll.

Other features that Bloggers users have been demanding for a long time have been such as a Search box and Subscription link have also been added.

However, some of the features I really want to see as listed in my post "New features in Blogger that we want to see" are still not there.

Having said that, I was amazed at the number of widgets under the "fun and games" category that can be added to your blog - a total of 2776 at last count.

There are literally thousands of widgets available and you can add yours as well. Feels good to be a Blogger user.

WordPress users - Eat your Heart out.

MySparks widget for your MySpace profile

Here's some fun stuff for all of you who are on MySpace - the most popular social networking site on the net. Called "MySparks", visitors to your MySpace profile can see how much they "spark" with you.

You can get yourself a MySparks widget here. Just add your profile name, sign up and copy the code provided. Once you have pasted it into your profile, you are done.

Check out the widget below. Just type in your profile name in the widget to see whether sparks fly between us.

..

On IRateMyDay.com

The IRateMyDay.com community is fast growing and today D2Soft Technologies Inc.announced that they have now reached 6000 users.

It's always beneficial to have a name that starts with "A". I am listed on the first line of "Most Active" users under their "User Activity" page.

New features in Blogger that we want to see

updated: 16 August 2007

I have been a loyal Blogger user since 2003 and have observed the gradual evolution of this popular blogging platform. Now, I can confidently say that it has single handedly brought the web closer to millions around the World.

Most of the extra features were introduced after Google took over Blogger from Pyra Labs in 2003. There was a complete overhaul after the launch of the new Blogger in August 2006. However, looking at Wordpress powered blogs with their numerous plugins, I can't help but feel a tinge of jealousy. So far, I have resisted the temptation to jump.

So what improvement would I like to see on blogger?

After discussions with a few other bloggers using the Blogger platform, I have compiled a short list as given below:

Page Elements:

First of all there are a number of widgets (or Page Elements as Blogger calls them) that I would love to see on Blogger:

1. Top commentators.
2. Most popular posts.
3. Latest comments.
4. Label cloud.
5. List of related posts after every post.
6. List of recent posts.
   

I already have the last 5 features on my blogs using hacks from various sources:

- Added the "most popular posts" list manually, based on the page statistics provided by Google Analytics.
- For recent comments, I use the simple widget provided by Blogger templates. Also read my post: Popups on my blogs.
- Got the hack for the label cloud from Phydeaux3.
- Got the hack for related posts (that come after every post) comes from Purple Moggy's Blog.
- List of recent posts from the IT Skyline blog.

Blogger allows us to upload pictures but wouldn't it be great if we could link those pictures to another page or site. Unfortunately, right now we can only put up a title and a caption.


I got around this problem by uploading the picture on a post and then using that picture with a desired link on the side bar using Add a Page Element > HTML/JavaScript.

Templates:

A lot of people would also be really happy if they gave us a few 3 column templates along with the generic 2 column ones to choose from even though there are some free sources out there on the net.

Etc.:

One thing that really bugs me is that Blogger doesn't allow me to show html coding inside the post. However, there is a solution. Check out the hack on the Beautiful Beat blog.

BTW, so many people have been asking me on how to put the Digg button on their blogs. So here's the code. Can't remember where I got it from though. If you are the author, please inform me and I will put up an acknowledgment accordingly.

1. Go to your dashboard
2. Choose your blog
3. Open the template
4. Click Edit HTML
5. Expand Widget Templates
6. Find

<p><data:post.body/></p>

in the template
7. Replace it with the following code. Just make sure you save your old template first.

<p>
<!-- DIGG -->
<div style='float:right; margin-left:10px;'>
<script type='text/javascript'>
digg_url = '<data:post.url/>';
</script>
<script src=' http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js' type='text/javascript'/>
</div>
<data:post.body/>
</p>

Are there any other features that you would like to see on blogger?

Rate your day

One way to make your blog stand out from among the thousands on the net is to make it different. That's easy to say but the question is how to make it different. Of course the content and design are important but some bells and whistles can definitely make your visitors sit up and take note. I am talking about Widgets.

One fun Widget I just came across is the 'I Rate My Day' widget. This widget allows you to share your feelings with visitors to you blog.



Right now they are running the "IRateMyDay Contest!". Winners stand to win a Microsoft Zune media player. Check out their site for more info.

Popup on my blogs

Last night, I was quite shocked when I was greeted by a pop-up when I opened my Freebies blog. The same thing happened on this blog as well. Here's the screenshot:



I had been using the 'recent comments' hack provided by Ramani on a few of my blogs, which are hosted with Blogger. However, they had been down for a couple of days. Ramani used this unusual way to inform bloggers using his hack, about the problem and how to fix it.

Anyway, in the meantime I had found a simpler way to get a list of your recent comments by using a simple script provided by Blogger Templates, which adds a recent comments widget on your blog.

Ramani's hack was way too much hassle - I had to edit the template html and add a script in the code beside the widget on the sidebar. Plus I didn't like the fact that he put up a link to an advertiser and then a pop-up on my blog just like that.

Polls added to my blog

If you look at my side bar you will notice a simple poll I put up. This is one of the new features just added by Blogger. If you are a Blogger user, you would need to go to http://draft.blogger.com/ and log in.

To add a poll to your blog:
1. go to "Template",
2. Click "Add a Page Element",
3. Choose "Poll" and click "Add to blog",
4. Write your question and possible answers,
5. You can also allow visitors to select multiple answers,
6. Click save after you are done.

Poll ready.

That's not all. Now Blogger also allows Enclosures and Video Podcasting.

I guess I can stop contemplating moving to a Wordpress powered blog.

Have a bla.st

Just added my card to bla.st.

In case you haven't heard, Bla.st allows you to promote your website or blog or for that matter, almost anything on th site, for free. And you can have it online for 10 years.

Check out my card:
Yes! I know. It is on the bottom of the list on the"Websites & blogs" category, but I plan to change that soon.

How do I do that?

Well, payment is totally optional but but there are ways to move up the list on your category without paying anything. Carrying a link adds 1c/day for a year to your card. Better still, if you write a blog entry or review (positive or negative) about bla.st (like I am doing right now), they will add 2c/day to your card - thus moving your card up in the right direction.

You can also earn a bit of money through referrals by putting up the bla.st widget on your site. Check it out on my sidebar. So are you having a bla.st too?

Tags: bla.st cards social network widget

Getting t-shirts made to order

A customer tells us how easy it is to have t-shirts made to order on Cafepress, the leading online marketplace allowing almost anybody to "create, buy and sell customized merchandise online".

If you are a car enthusiast, check out my store here.

BTW, I got this news feed though The News Room. Read my post about it on my blog here. If you want to carry the news, all you have to do is just click the green "Mash" button and follow the steps.