February 11, 2010 By BDN Administrator

This is a series that I have been talking about doing for at least six months but am just now getting my act together, and, as it turns out, it’s not all that together. Not making sense, am I? Well, what I mean is that our first Before & After feature doesn’t have an “Before” shot, just the “After.” Oh well, moving forward.

The blog that I’m featuring today, Lady Luck’s Abode, has just had a beautiful new redesign by 7M Designs, which she won here at BBD. I failed to ask the owner, Summer, to get a “before” screen print, thus we don’t have one. But, imagine a blog that was no where near as fun and delightful as the design she sports now.

Here is what Summer thought of it:

“I absolutely love it!!  … It’s perfect. The header is amazing and I love the horseshoe in the work “luck”.  I couldn’t have asked for anything more. Its wicked. Nice touch with the quote on the bottom of header too!  Kim has made me so happy.  I really appreciate all the work she put into this and all the patience she showed me.  Wonderful !!” – Summer

During the fall I promised several ladies that I would feature their blogs on the Before & After series, but then didn’t have the time to make it happen. I apologize to you and if you are one of those ladies, please re-email me your sites and I’ll link to them in my next feature.


If you are soon to have a redesign, either by a blog designer or by yourself (there are a lot of talented do-it-yourself bloggers), and you’d like for me to share your before and after looks here at BBD please do the following:

1. Make a screen print of your current blog template
2. Make a screen print of your new design template
3. Email me and include both screen prints and your designer’s site address

Thank you for taking a look at our workshops! Click the links to see more information on each class. The list of classes at the bottom are coming soon!

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Blogger Development 101 Genesis by Studiopress Child Theme Customization Genesis by Studiopress Child Theme Creation Introduction to Responsive Design

Responsive Design & Development (Genesis Framework)

December 31, 2010 By BDN Administrator

Twitter has this great little organization feature called Twitter Lists.

Twitter Lists has been around for about a year now, but I’ve only recently started to utilize them and realize what a great tool they are!

Twitter Lists lets you organize a “group” of people on Twitter.

If you’re like me, you probably follow lots of people who tweet about many different topics.

With a twitter list you can create a list that groups people all together for whatever reason ( family, for example), and allows you to view tweets by just those users on the list.

When would you want a list?

There are many reasons you may want to create a twitter list

• family
• co-workers
• friends
• follow based on subject, for example I have a University of Cookie list (you can see all the tweets from the professors/cookie bakers), I have a list of my creative friends (easy way to see what they’re all creating and tweeting), and another list of some of my foodie friends (great way to find a recipe quick!)
• based on location – for example you make a list of people and business in your home town like Amanda does

The possibilities are really endless.

How do you CREATE a Twitter List?

• sign in to your twitter account
• click the list button
• click “create a list”

You will then get a box like the one below

• give your list a name
• you can give it a description if you want
• chose whether you want it public or private
• click Save List

You have now created a Twitter List and you are ready to add users

Adding users to your Twitter List

First, you can add users from their profile page,

• click the lists button
• check off the lists you want to add them to from the drop down menu. ( You can add a single user to multiple lists.)

Now Amanda is on my University of Cookie list

Another way to add someone is directly from your timeline

• while in any of your twitter pages (timeline, @ mentions,  or Retweets) Click on a users name.
• they will then show up on the right side of your screen
• click the list button and choose what list you want to add them too

An even faster way to add multiple people is to go to your friends page, and click on the Lists icon next to each person you are following.

Now to put your lists into action……….

• Go to your home page on Twitter
• Click lists
• you will see all of the lists you have created and the ones you follow

• Click on what list you’d like to read……….
• you will then see feed from only the people on that list

GREAT way to keep up with a specific group of people.

Following other people’s lists

You can also follow other people’s lists.

• Go to a users profile page, like Amanda’s
• click “lists”
• you will see all of her lists

• Click a list you’d like to see
• then you can choose to follow the list if you’d like

Who’s Listing YOU?

Interested to see what lists you are on?

• on your Home page, look on the right hand side
• click on “listed” (on the right)
  

• you will see lists you appear in
• Click the name of the list to see the list you are included in
• you can follow the list by clicking the  +

If you know how to use them………..Twitter Lists  will help you stay in touch with more people without cluttering up your Twitter stream.

You can also utilize your twitter list with HootSuite

• Create or follow a list as described above
• sign in to HootSuite
• Click Add a Stream
• Click the tab titled “List”
• choose the list you’d like to see in your stream

Do you use Twitter Lists?

A NEW Blog Designer Directory will be coming August, 2011. If you are a designer, come back at that time and get your business listed! If you’re a blogger looking for a designer, there will be a huge directory for you to choose from!

This in-depth class will cover how to set up, install, and customize your own self-hosted WordPress blog.  You will learn how to install the WordPress software, set up your own e-mail accounts, navigate the dashboard, customize your design with a provided theme, add social icons, plugins, other themes, and more!

Schedule

March 14th – March 31st  (You will be able to access the materials and receive instructor assistance during this time.)

Live Session

March 31st, 7pm Mountain Time

Materials Needed

• Graphics editing program of your choice, such as Adobe Photoshop.
• A domain name. (We suggest GoDaddy.com.)
• A hosting account with RFEHosting.com or Bluehost.com. (Others may be acceptable on approval.)

Prerequisites

There is no previous knowledge required for this class.

Instructor

The instructor for this course is April Durham, owner of  Creative Girl Media.  April has over 4 years of experience, and works from home full time designing blogs and websites, as well as teaching others how to do the same!

Price

$75 USD per student

Register