Friend Friday: Tools of the Trade

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Welcome back to Fashion/Beauty Friend Friday! This month, we're talking about the tools we use as bloggers. So much of what we do is wrapped up in our ability to get it done. Technology obviously plays a major role in the way our blogs grow, expand and reach new audiences, but how exactly does that happen, and what exactly are those tools?

Photo via Wikimedia Commons
1. What are the tools you use to blog?
What don't I use to help me blog these days? Let's make a list:

  • Macbook: my home base
  • Canon 60D: my single most prized possesion. it's practically my child. 
  • External Hard Drive: Considering how old this laptop is, I'd be lost without my hard drive.
  • Blogger: blogger gets a bad rep, but I've never had any problems, and I doubt I'll ever switch my CMS.
  • Apple Aperture: as a photographer, Aperture is an amazing tool that lets you edit AND organize your photos. can't even begin to tell you how much easier my life got once I figure out how to use it to its full potential!
  • Twitter: obsessed. it's an amazing tool for making connections with other bloggers, and showing your love by posting links you love.
  • Facebook: not as obsessed. since I rebranded my blog, I've been neglecting my facebook community. I need to get on that.
  • Polyvore: a super fun tool that I use for my Soundtrack Saturday posts.
  • Triberr: a tweet aggregator/distributor, that allows you to tweet other people's blog posts and have them tweet yours. by being in a tribe, you're already part of a community, but tweeting each other's posts really helps to drive traffic to each other's blogs in a mutually beneficial way.
  • Klout: klout allows me to keep track of the people in my network that I influence and who influence me. by strategically interacting with the right people, I can increase my sphere of influence.
  • Flavors.me: a personal website of sorts, flavors let me aggregate all my content from across the web in one place. from blogger to twitter to linkedIN, flavors nails down my digital imprint in one place.


2. What technology item is on your wish list?
More lists! Coincidentally, I actually just wrote up my wish list the other day while I was bored in class.  Most of my wish list consists of periphery photography items, but the biggest items are a new Macbook Pro, two more external hard drives for backing up my photos, a few more SD cards for my camera, and some new lenses. Right now, I only have a kit lens (17-135mm), which gets the job done, but just isn't as much fun as the 70-200mm I'm practically lusting after. I'd also really like to get a 50mm for street style, a 35mm for accessories shooting, and a 17-40mm for general shooting.

3. Through the barrage of posts, tweets, pics, etc, how do you avoid becoming a slave to the constant infiltration of information?
It's easy. I ignore it! As a senior in college, between keeping up with my classes and trying to plan for after graduation, there's only so much I can do in a day. Anything after that gets put on the back burner. I can't afford to run myself ragged over a hobby blog. I tend to keep up with the fashion news, but neglect to post about something that I'd normally cover simply due to time constraints. It's not ideal, but it keeps me sane, and I'm able to still know what's happening in the industry.

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Now, what about you? What are the tools to help you run your blog? What are you coveting, and how will it help you improve your blogging? Let me know in the comments below, then head over to Modly Chic to see what other members of FBFF have to say.



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