Tagging Your Blog: All the Cool Kids Do It

Since the beginning of our blogging experiment I have labeled or "tagged" each entry I have created. It seems, however, there might be a little confusion among my classmates on how to accomplish this. It's easier than you think! (I promise.)

First, go to your "dashboard" or where you can edit or add posts on your blog. Everyone is pretty familiar with creating the blog post (the BIG BLUE button that says, "New Post) and publishing it, but you can add a tag from that same screen.

When you are creating your post, i.e. typing it, there is a thin, rectangular box at the bottom of the blank screen where you enter your post text. It has small text next to it that says, "Labels for this post:". This is where you can enter the tag for your post.

For example, I made tags for this particular post that list the different things that are applicable. You can see them at the bottom of the post, just under where you can see if anyone has commented on the post.

You can also create a tag cloud just for your blog! This makes it easier for people to find what they need within your blog. To do this you go back to the main page or your "dashboard". Under your blog name, you'll see the big blue button that says "New Post" and next to it several options, including "edit post" and "settings".

The third option, Layout, is the one you will want. Adding the tag cloud is going to be a similar process to adding an RSS feed - you'll go into Layout and "Add A Gadget". Under the gadget lists, you will see an option for "Labels". When you add this to your blog, it will create a label list that may look similar to what I have at the top of my blog.

You can go into layout and edit the "label" section to make it resemble more of a tag cloud versus a list or rename the gadget (I renamed mine "Tags!" - clever, I know).

I hope this sheds a little light on everything!

Happy Blogging (and tagging)!
Jeana : )