New to Blogs? by Pam Sayre, CG, CGL, NGS Education & Publications Director

Don’t be intimidated—come on in to UpFront with NGS. The posts (articles) appear on the right side of the screen, and there may be comments under each one. So visitors can see more of what is available to read on the blog, only the first few lines of an article appear here. To see the rest of a post, click the Read more link.

Need help finding a topic?

Type a search term in the blank white field at the very top lefthand corner of the screen and click the Search Blog button just to the right of the field. A list of matching posts will display for your reading pleasure.

Looking for something you saw yesterday or a week ago?

Check out the archives in the bottom lefthand corner of the blog. Here you’ll find all previous posts from most recent to earliest, in that order.

Want more information about NGS?

Click any of the links under the NGS tree logo on the left side of the screen to access that section of the NGS website.

Be sure you don’t miss a thing!

Click the Follow Blog button at the top of the UpFront blog screen so you’ll receive notification in your Blogger list of each new article posted to UpFront with NGS if you register with Blogger. To add the UpFront blog to your RSS news feed, just scroll to the bottom of the screen, click the Subscribe to: Posts (Atom) link, and follow the simple instructions.

Want to express an opinion about a post or article?

Since the UpFront with NGS blog is monitored to avoid spam or inappropriate content, users must select a profile to post a comment. As soon as the comment is approved, it will be posted.

If you’re new to blogs, you may be unsure about this step, but it’s really very simple. Just click the Comments link at the end of the article, type your comment into the white Post a Comment box, and choose a profile from the Comment as: drop-down menu. Choices are listed below, along with URLs that lead to websites where you can sign up for a free blogger account if you don’t yet have one. You can also post without a blogger account by using either Name/URL or Anonymous.

Google account - https://www.google.com/accounts/
Live Journal - http://www.livejournal.com/
Wordpress - http://wordpress.org/
Typepad - http://www.typepad.com/pro/index-2a.html
AIM - http://dashboard.aim.com/aim
Open ID - http://openid.net/
Name/URL - Enter either your name or your web address (URL).
Anonymous - No name required.

The UpFront with NGS blog also uses word verification to avoid automated spam; so after you choose a profile and click Post Comment, you'll have to type a word that appears in an unusual font to verify that you are a human being. Then click Post Comment again, and you'll receive this message: "Your comment will be visible after approval." As soon as a real live NGS staff member approves the comment, it will appear under the article for others to see.

Want to create your own free blog? Learn all about it at Blogger.com or many other free hosting sites on the Internet.