Blogging with Windows Mobile

Blogging is ubiquitous. Seems everyone’s doing it in some form or another. Whether it’s Aunt Deb posting pics to her Facebook page, political pundits talking mostly to themselves, or origami enthusiasts sharing tips, the world has embraced the Interwebz en masse. These same masses (me included) are taking their blogs to the streets with Windows Mobile, posting the action as it happens.

I blog a lot—probably too much. (At least according to my dogs, whose park time is inversely proportional to my Internet time.) I blog for both business and fun, at all hours of the day and night. I administer one blog and contribute content to a couple of others—plus I’m a member of various social networking sites.

I became hooked a few years back. I started blogging from my laptop at home. With the wide-spread adoption of wireless, I blogged from my laptop at the coffee shop. Now, with Windows Mobile, I post whenever the urge strikes, to whatever blog I want, from wherever I am. Nowadays, I can even post from the dog park.

You can blog on the go with your mobile phone, too—no matter your skill level. Today’s social networking sites (like Facebook and Windows Live Spaces) make it easy for folks to share pictures and messages with friends and family. If you’ve already conquered the Internet social scene, step it up a level. Use a blog hosting site (like WordPress or Blogger) to create and administer a more targeted blog for a business or personal pursuit.

Regardless of your particular blogging habits, most blog sites support mobile blogging in some way. Typically, you can post content using either e-mail or your blog’s mobile site.

The procedures presented here were created using an HTC S621 Smartphone with service from T-Mobile. Menus and steps may differ slightly on your phone. Refer to your phone’s documentation for device-specific instructions.

These days, I take my kicks where I can find them. A few timely images uploaded to my Windows Live space is usually enough to start a rousing discussion among my online brethren.

For example, while at a friend’s party this past Saturday, I snapped and uploaded some candid photos to my personal blog using my phone. Within minutes there were comments and calls from across the land, effectively bringing the whole gang to the party.

I enjoy wowing my friends with my technical skills. Not that uploading pictures requires too much skill, but my friends are easily impressed (and distracted) by pretty pictures.



To set your camera’s resolution:

Most blog services offer a mobile web portal for posting and managing your blog. These work much like the site’s regular blogging tools, but they’re optimized for use with a mobile phone. Since Windows Mobile offers Internet access anytime/anywhere, you can create and upload posts using the tools you’re already familiar with.

I contribute to a local blog that shares news and happenings in my neighborhood. I’ve developed a (mostly) friendly rivalry with one neighbor to see who can post things first. (In my neighborhood, there are only so many post-worthy events.)

When I initially began posting, I’d snap a pic while I was out and then hurry home to download it to my computer, compose a post, and finally upload it to the blog. Now, with Windows Mobile, I can take a picture, create a post, and upload content—from the next block over.

In fact, during a recent fire just down the street, I arrived soon after the fire truck and before the local news. By the time my neighbor appeared a couple minutes later, I’d already taken a picture of the fire truck and posted it to the blog!

(Thankfully, no one was hurt in the fire.)

To post content using your blog’s mobile site:

With Windows Mobile, you have the power to blog from most anywhere in the whole wide world. But please, use your newfound powers wisely—to capture fun times and share them with friends, or to record important events and post them for posterity, but probably not to one-up your neighbor (even if it is for his own good).



You can also blog with Windows Mobile using a third-party app. Though I use third-party apps without problem, neither I nor Microsoft can guarantee their functionality or compatibility with specific phones (unless the apps are Windows Mobile Certified) or sites. Check out the Windows phone forums to see what other folks use and recommend.