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Getting Your Blog Into A WidgetBox - A Video Tutorial

Your email inbox should be the greatest resource for blog post ideas.

That thought is certainly not original to me. Many have said this. They say it because it's true. It's certainly true for me.

The other day I received the following in an email from Anita Carrington: "How do I get the WidgetBox without ending up with your blog running on my page."

When I get an email like this, I often send back a quick response if I think it can be answered easily. If I've already answered the question in an existing blog post, I send a link. But if a followup question returns, that's usually an indication that I've either not answered the right question or I'm not seeing things the way the person who emailed me is seeing things. It also indicates to me that others may have the same question.

So, Anita, and anyone else who might have this question, this post is for you. :)

ActiveRain Tutorial: WidgetBox from respres on Vimeo.

Posted by Jeff Turner on 05/10/2008 12:36 PM

Comments (36)

widgetbox, widgets, jeff turner, artutorials

Originally posted at: Turner's Perspective: Getting Your Blog Into A WidgetBox - A Video Tutorial

Post is included in group: Active Rain Newbies
Post is included in group: Gadgets, Tools, & Extras
Post is included in group: Real Estate Technology

36 Comments on Getting Your Blog Into A WidgetBox - A Video Tutorial

MAY

2008

And now I'm off to get some donuts. :)

Jeff- Thanks for clearing up the confusion. I know that this will be very helpful to many of us here.

Best,

Scott

p.s. I hope you enjoy the doughnuts!

I've used my email inbox for several posts. Sometimes my title company or lender send me data or information I didn't know about and it turns into an easy and great post!

Jeff, Another very informative post. We are all very fortunate to have you here in the Rain.

WOW!!! I have a widgetbox but I still watched the video because I really love the way you did this tutorial. One day I will be brave enough to try to learn how to do that so that I can put things like this on my page.

Hi Jeff, A very cleaver tutorial and one that will appeal to many here on the Rain. The question I have is more about the fact that it is slightly out of focus. How can one do this and keep the original integrity of the words so they can be seen in the original quality. You are great at doing these and I just wondered how you do them?

Jeff, I do really enjoy your tutorial. You make everything look so simple. I hope your kids value your tutorial ability!!! :0)

Jeff, I have a lot to learn about using AR to the max. Do widgets help with the search engine placement?

Got to come back to this when we have more time to really understand it. Thanks for posting. Enjoy the donuts.

Jeff, thanks for posting this. I haven't seen this discussed before and will look into it.

William... the text quality is a factor of the video compression when you upload. The original file is 185mb. I compress it to half size for upload to Vimeo. However, if you go to Vimeo to the page the video is housed, you can scroll down and find a link to the video file I uploaded, which you can download and see in it's best quality. That's one of the reasons I use Vimeo, so those who wish can download the original if they like. I think you'll see it's quality is quite good. However, it is a 48.6mb file. So be prepared. :)

Robert... no the widgets don't help with search engine placement. At least I don't think so. They do make it easier for folks to find post from your other blogs, however.

Jeff,

You're the man, patient and thorough. I'm sure I wasn't the only one confused, just the only one willing to raise my hand! Thanks a bunch.

Sincerely,

Anita Carrington

Anita... I can ASSURE you that is the case. I'm glad you raised your hand and I'm sure others will be as well.

Everyone starts at the beginning.

Jeff - Another great tutorial for all. You do great work for all us on A/R. Gee you think they'll ever offer you a job? lol thanks Bob H

You always have the best tools and toys. Thank you for this great post. If I get a few free minutes this weekend I am going to add it.

What caught my attention was all of the different places you can add a blidget. That's a great reason to have a presence on multiple social media sites (but also another topic entirely).

Really liked the zoom effects and code 'spotlighting'. What program are you using for that?

Jeff,

Read/viewed this in its entirety before I even realized that I wasn't logged-in. Just wanted to acknowledge another fantastic tutorial! Having recently returned to the Rain after a far too lengthy absence, posts like this - along w/several others I've seen - remind me why I joined this phenomenal group to begin with. Oh, and by the way (Anita)...

Jeff's absolutely right, you most certainly were not alone in this request. I will be working on my own Widget for my AR Sidebar, along w/several other sites now too, thanks to this Q&A post.

Thanks to all!

Scott

{SVW Hubba}...

Okay now my head hurts :)

Just so you know I tracked down Twhirl and I am not the only one having the issue. From what I read they're working it out on their end.

P.S. I'd have told ya on Twitter but I'm still trying to get the hang of the 140 characters thing :)

TLW...ROAR!

Now see...

I have more to say :)

Tell them to be careful with those widgets. If they load too many it'll crash their AR page :)

TLW...ROAR!

Ah ha! I have wondered how to do that, and had tried but always ended up with someone else's stuff in the widget. Now I'll have to try it again, the CORRECT way!

Thanks for doing this tutorial for us.
Ann

Jeff, one more shining example of what makes you such a great leader here in the rain. PS..... did you see the blog I wrote you?

do doughnuts and widgets make a nice snack? Thanks for the post.

Hi Jeff. Thanks for sharing the great tip! Keep them coming.

MAY

2008

I have a hard time lately keeping up with the technology. This is the first time that I heard of a blidget. Thanks for keeping me on the cutting edge.

Thanks for the help with the technology.It is hard to keep up with it all.

All the best!

Great tutorial Jeff.. Many pass on explaining or even taking the time to help advance others knowledge.

Keep up the great work...

MAY

2008

Jeff, Thanks for the tutorial.

I'm so happy this has been helpful.

Thanks for the info Jeff, I got a widget built for our Nebraska blog and now I am off to work on the Iowa side. I actually got to work on our business rather than in it today!

MAY

2008

what amazing ideas you bring to your active rain friends, thanks for always sharing the best of the best ....

this really makes you the best

NP Dodge! How the heck are you? Let me know if you need any assistance. :)

Katrina... thank you!

MAY

2008

All is well at Dodge. We will no doubt be calling you for assastacne in the near future. :)

Jeff, thanks for the tutorial. I've got to go back and fix mine now. The Daily Motion on your sidebar is way Kewl!!

SEP

2008

Thank you Jeff! This is very helpful. I am going to try it now.

OCT

2008

Jeff,

Your tutorials are amazing! Thank you for your help.

I do have one issue though. At one point you say to click on the rss feed button to get the url. Then you say, "The way I have my brower set up is to always ask me what I want to do with that feed when I click on it . . . ." What if we don't have our browser set up like that? When I click on the rss button I get something completely different. How do I set up my browser that way?

I am still learning so I am sorry if this is a stupid question, and I missed something.

MAY

I appreciate the tutorial. I watched it 3 times, many times pausing for tips and tricks I am obviously missing. I signed up for the pro version at widgetbox. When I embed, I only get text that says "Get the Scott's Blog widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox!"

Can you tell what in the world I am missing?

http://activerain.com/blogs/scottbaker

Thank you

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