14 DAY TRIAL // Technology allows anyone with a computer, an Internet connection and typing ability to publish all sorts of materials and thus become a blogger. The term comes from the idea of an online journal - the Web log, where we can bring out all sorts of materials and hope someone will be interested in what we're saying.
There are many public persons who find this way of communication very easy and convenient because they can sit relaxed in their armchairs and talk to their fans or visitors and comment on the latest news or about the hottest public scandals.
Websites where you have to register in order to get your own blog space are plenty, so you can go over there and mumble whatever you want. Give it a try 'cause it won't cost you a penny, and the experience is quite interesting. The problem comes when you are a beginner, and blogging does not represent your main activity. Logging in and out and opening new tabs in your browser to publish your articles may be a pain in the neck, but using the Mozilla Firefox browser and ScribeFire extension can improve this novel activity. Fair enough, you still have to have a blog account to one of the above mentioned websites, but using the application's Wizard all that needs doing is telling the ScribeFire the account name and you will be able to publish straight from the browser's page, just by pressing the F8 keyboard button.
A resizable window will appear on the bottom page of the browser where you can drag and drop any text from web pages, take notes and post them directly on your blog; everything is done with such an ease that you will be surprised. However, the feature does not stop here, as you are able to format the text and have a preview of it prior to publishing it. Adding links to your text is not difficult, as all you need to know is just the URL address. Photos are sought for using Flickr and videos are added with the help of the YouTube search engine.
After having a look under the hood, we understand things are not difficult at all. The extension appears and disappears using either F8, via the image from the bottom right corner or the Tools menu from the Firefox browser. In the Editor tab, text formatting options can be found, and you are already used with them from professional text editor applications. You can choose the font, its style and size, set the color, add links, videos from YouTube and images from Flickr. If the last ones are on your computer and you wish to use them, that is not a problem, because using the ScribeFire Image Upload window is very intuitive.
Make use of the Technorati serch engine and promote your page on any of the sites supported (Mahalo, Facebook, Newsvine, Digg, etc). Register for a del.icio.us account (bookmarks manager) in order to add bookmarks to your list and categorize them using bookmarklets.
When you have finished editing your "masterpiece", you can save it as a note, as draft or publish it in your blog. Among the available options you will learn that the TimeStamps are modifiable and the posts can TrackBack URLs.
By default, ScribeFire opens in split screen mode, but it can be changed to a new window or a new tab. Quickblogging is a feature that allows you to edit your blog posts while viewing your blog, without opening the ScribeFire editor, and it can be disabled from the General options tab. You can format your page using CSSs other than HTML or change the text direction to right-to-left.
As far as publishing options go, Draft mode is to be set as the default post method; automatic insertion of "Powered by ScribeFire" tag is possible. FTP, HTTP and HTTPS options are also available. In the fourth tab, you can make use of the RSS feeds provided or get assistance from the developer's website to improve the quality of your blog and the experience in general.
The Good
ScribeFire is a useful Firefox extension that allows you an easy access to your blog account. Using it is not a difficult task and you can improve the appearance of your text with various professional editing tools. Drag'n'Drop is supported, and adding images or films is done straight from well-known websites (Flickr and YouTube). The Wizard is useful in case you want to add new blog accounts.
The Bad
Help menu is not provided except from within the Wizard. There are no hints anywhere in the extension's interface and additional reading is required. Multilanguage support is not provided although necessary.
The Truth
Using ScribeFire you can drag and drop formatted text from pages you are browsing, take notes, and post on your blog in a blink of an eye. As this is a new trend among most categories of people, we all have to (or at least) try it sooner or later.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
