Hi all,
Welcome to my new series.
It will be called “Free ‘n Easy Friday Finds”. As some of you already know, I like to use acronyms (abbreviate with letters), so it will often be referred to as “FEFF”.
Each Friday, I will share something that is free to bloggers. It may be a plugin, a site that offers free themes or photos, a potential (free) income stream, advice that will save you time and money, or something else. Plus, it will be easy to use.
For blogging, there is tons of free stuff online, so before you get out the “plastic”, ask a question in my comment section and either I, or one of the other bloggers in the BWAB community, may know of a free source.
As an added bonus, there will be no “assignment” on Fridays. Did I hear a “yeah”? ///clap, clap, clap\\\
The comment section will be open for questions, comments or anything you might want to share. Just remember, I don’t allow profanity on my blog, so keep it clean. 
Let’s get started:
Last week Dr. Cason mentioned she wanted to organize the blogs in her reader. This was something I needed to do, too.
Organizing Your Google Reader
With the Google Reader, this is pretty easy.
Go to your reader (duh!)
1) Click on “manage friends”
2) Click on “subscriptions” – All of the blogs you’re following will be listed. Each line has “Rename”, a garbage can, and a white rectangular box.
3) If you click on “Add To A Folder” (the white box) It gives you the option to make a new folder
As you make new folders, the names of the folders are added to the “white box” option.
4) Add the first blog to a folder, and that part is done.
5) Move on to the next blog
As you go through the blogs in your reader, you can add it to an existing folder, move it to a different folder, or create a new folder.
You’ll also see a small garbage can on this page. This is used to delete blogs from your reader.
If you want, you can also rename a blog you’re following. e.g. Instead of being listed by the name of the blog, you could rename it by the author.
When you click “Back to Google Reader”, the blogs you are following are neatly placed in the respective folders. The folders can then by opened or collapsed by using the + or – signs (to the left of the folder icon).
As an example, I currently have four folders:
1) “NBOTW” (these are all bloggers who were named New Blog Of The Week)
2) “Visit Daily” (Updated blogs I read on a daily basis)
3) “Visit Twice A Week” (Blogs I read at least twice a week, but usually more often, if time permits)
4) “Blogs To Watch” (These are new blogs I’ve found that have the potential to be part of my NBOTW series)
What I like about setting up folders is that you have two choices
1) You can open all updated blogs on one screen, (by clicking on the name of the folder), or
2) You can open the folder and then open up each blog in the window.
Warning: With regard to the #1 choice, be careful not to click on “mark all as read” until you have finished reading all of the updated blogs.
Although my explanation of this may sound confusing, it’s actually an easy process.
Once you start playing with, and becoming comfortable with, the options in your reader, you’ll see the advantage of setting up folders. (It’s similar to setting up folders in your email account).
That’s my first FEFF….
Now the floor is yours.
Have your say, share an idea, ask a question or………
Photo Credit: dannysullivan’s photostream
Hi. I'm Barbara Swafford & I'd like to welcome you to Blogging Without A Blog. Grab a seat, share your thoughts and join in the conversation. 
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Several comments to my last post, “Comment Luv – Linky Love – NoNoFollow” inspired me to dig deeper into the subject of blog spam (also referred to as comment spam). I wanted to know why blogs get spammed, and what we can do to prevent it.
Today’s Lesson
Wikipedia, states spammers are on a mission to elevate their websites in the search engine rankings. By linking to blogs they obtain more links pointing to their sites. Apparently this method is working. Spammers are gaining sales/income via clicks from visitors. Spammers hit the “jackpot” with the creation of blogs.
According to Wikipedia,
Several of the solutions listed by Wikipedia to block comment spam, include
1) Keyword blocking – blocking words such as viagra (spammers know of this practice and will intentionally misspell words)
2) Using the “rel=”nofollow” code. Wikipedia states the argument against this is:
3) Validation, or the use of a potential commenter to provide an “answer’, such as “is fire hot or cold”, “2+2″ or to retype a series of numbers and letters (CAPTCHA)
4) Disallowing links in post comments
5) Using a spam blocker such as Akismet
6) Turning comments off.
Short of turning comments off, it appears blog spam (comment spam) is here to stay.
Today’s Assignment
How do you deal with blog spam?
Do you use a spam blocker or hand moderate each comment?
Do you have any other ideas of how spam can be eliminated?