I apologize but this post is ALMOST no longer relevant and/or out of date. It is kept online for archival reasons and may or may not be updated one day. I invite you to our Home Page for the most recent and best articles we offer. Thank you, Brian
NOTE: If you still want to read the post, I’d include Listening To Podcasts To Improve Your Online Business.
I’ve been enjoying smart phones for several years now and, I admit it, I am totally addicted. It seems like I do everything on the phone and supporting my crave for blogging is no exception. My choice of smart phones right now it the HTC EVO 4G by Sprint. Yes, an Android phone; I know everyone has iPhones but I am a Google lover and proud of it. I wonder if that statement will get me a better ranking 🙂
Blogging From Your Phone
You can download the WordPress app and actually write and publish directly from your smart phone. I no longer publish from my phone, I need a lot of resources at my disposal to keep from looking like a complete moron and the phone simply doesn’t provide everything I need. I do use the application to approve and reply to comments. At one time I had a micro-blog and the phone was ideal for that type of blogging and I used it several times a day to update and manage my blog.
The Facebook App
I use the Facebook app daily to keep up with pages I have built and “liked” and to interact with FB friends. The great thing about the Facebook app, depending on your settings, is you are always updated immediately of likes, replies and messages. The bad thing about the Facebook app is you are always updated immediately of likes, replies and messages. Yes, it’s a love/hate relationship but if managed properly it will help you support and promote your blog and build quality social relationships.
Oh my favorite. I’m in love with Twitter and I might never leave the house if it werenât for the Twitter phone application. I can do everything from my phone on Twitter that I can online. Tweet, retweet, read DMs, follow, unfollow; you get the idea, everything. Going mobile with Twitter helps with the missed connections due to the constant stream of tweets.
I posted the following tweet on Twitter yesterday about using the retweet function as a form of bookmarking until I get home:
Confession: I retweet as a form of bookmarking for interesting posts until I get back home.
#BestBloggingTips— Brian D. Hawkins (@HotBlogTips) September 2, 2011
Google+
Here we go, the brand spanking new social giant, Google Plus. Google+ came out with an android app (sorry iPhone, you’ll have to wait your turn) and I jumped right in and downloaded it. It works great and I can see what’s going on with those I follow very quickly. Just like the Twitter app, I can do everything G+ right from my phone. I even have every picture and video I take automatically uploaded to my Google+ account for backup and to publish to my circles if I wish.
Google Reader
Update – Google Reader Is Dead
I’m using Feely now. See Thanks Google, I’m Lovin’ Feedly
I use Google Reader all of the time and I’m subscribed to far too many blogs and I am always looking for more. I am a blogging junky, plain and simple. That’s why I love having Google Reader on my phone. It actually syncs with my reader account so if I read something from my computer is shows it’s read on my phone. You gotta love technology.
Ebooks
Right now I am reading two eBooks, 7 Steps To Complete Search Engine Domination (direct download) by Ana Hoffman and Killer Facebook Fan Pages by Garrett Pierson. My time on the computer usually involves enough browsers, tabs and programs to confuse a team of computer operators so reading an eBook is all but impossible when sitting at my desk. The solution is carried on my hip daily. I simply upload the PDF eBooks to my phone and read whenever I get a chance. Standing in line or waiting on your order to arrive? No problem, break out the smart phone.
This is a no-brainer but I use my phone with several separate email accounts and it keeps my phone jumping. I’ve learned not to grab for the phone with every ‘ding‘ or I would be doing nothing but read email but it’s nice to have things shaved down a bit when I do get home. No more seeing eighty unread emails to sort through as soon as I walk into the house. It’s also fantastic for time sensitive emails like upgrading a paid subscriber on a membership site or finding out a client needs a visit before you kick your shows off at the front door. Email on the phone is the best thing since mobile GPS and MP3s for the car.
Notes
It never fails; we’re ten miles from home, get a great blog post idea and write it on something we just know we’re not going to keep until we get home. Honestly, how many gas receipts have you wrote blogging notes on? Enter the smart phone! I use a little app called Note Everything that lets me keep my thoughts neatly organized in folders that I create. I get home and check my notes and I’m a genius, or sometimes wonder what in the world was I thinking; that’s a dumb idea.
And More…
I could go on and on with great smart phone applications for blogging so I will rush through just a handful more.
- Outsourcing with apps like Fiverr, eBay and Craiglist.
- YouTube to keep up with your video management, watch online video tutorials, and build your YouTube social network.
- Quick on the spot access to newspapers, magazines and radio for blog post ideas and research.
- Barcode scanner to bookmark and subscribe to interesting blogs and newsletters.
- Internet Browser to quickly go you that website you just seen on the billboard, heard on the radio, or noticed on the side of a car.
- The camera to capture that perfect image for your next blog post.
- The video camera to create your next YouTube video. You can even upload the videos directly to YouTube or Google+.
- Google Search so you can quickly get facts and information that helps your research or even for spell check.
- Voice record to capture great blogging ideas and tasks. Just speak into the phone and you are all set,
There you have it; the smart phone can make us a blogging genius. Even right now as I write this post, my HTC EVO is sitting propped up on its kickstand, plugged into my USB port, with Twitter loaded on the screen. As it plays my favorite Pandora station of course.
Do you use a smart phone? Can you see how the expense is worth the benefits it provides? What do you use your phone for that helps you as a blogger?
About Brian D. Hawkins
Blogging via phone has been around for awhile – I had to cut mine off after spamsters got ahold of my secret blogspot posting email address – I woke up one morning and found posts on my blog like “Grow Your..XXX” – I still can blog from my phone, as there are workarounds and apps and other things these days!
You are 100% correct! SmartPhones ARE indeed smart for bloggers!
Wow Dave, that’s exactly the kind of thing I worry about, someone raping my blog. Years ago I had someone add a bunch of hidden links in the footer of a membership site and I have no idea how long they were there before I finally noticed them. Thanks for the comment.
I mainly use my smartphone to keep up with Twitter, and in an odd way it’s easier to keep up with the large mass of people that seems too cumbersome on the computer for some reason. I don’t do Facebook all that often and don’t blog, but I can check in on G+, though that’s no biggie yet. 🙂
I’m the same way Mitch, I prefer using my phone for Twitter. It’s like it was designed for the phone. I keep my phone right next to the computer with Twitter loaded. Plus, on the phone it has that cool ‘quote’ feature. That’s not on the web version, at least I haven’t seen it if it is.
Iâm with you on the comment replying (and all else, but mostly that). so we just accepted it,You brought up a good point with that this posting or blog.
Great tips ! Thanks for another useful blog post,ilove the article but why not suggest this posting as an online backup and real time scenarios.
Smartphoneâs are required by everyone. It is a mandate especially for those who travel a lot. I have an android cell phone. This helps me to stay in touch with all my friends and also helps me to check and reply to all my office mails. Also smart phones let you read a lot of e-books. I am fond of adventurous and other story e-books.
I don’t have a smart phone but I have used my iTouch whilst at MacDonalds but it was more for checking twitter than for posting on my blogs. Way, way too small for doing that. It was because of the size factor that I bought the MacBook Air. So much easier to work with.
I should have mentioned other mobile devices. MacBook Air, iPads, and other cool tools are even better. If you carry them all of the time, that is. I used to carry a laptop everywhere I went but now I leave it at home since I can use the phone to keep up on little tasks while I’m out.
You are doing right use of smart phone for your business.These are the facilities that smart phone companies have planned to give their users.
It actually depends on the type of person using it. If itâs a youngster using a Smartphone then he will surely make use of face book and twitter more than other sites, if itâs a businessman then he will only use it on the professional front and for kids it will be more of fun and games. Smart phone can be used by anyone provided they make the best use of it.
That’s a good point Terry, demographics will play a roll in the way we use available tools.
Every thing is now on your finger tips. Just one touch on the screen and you are done with your work. Doing business over the phone is now become a very common thing. You can access the mails now from wherever you want. All you need is just a smart phone and the internet access. Smart phones are desired by everyone.
Actually Jody, don’t even need internet access, just the G3/G4 service. Thanks for commenting.
Adding you to my new list of CommentLuv enabled blogs, Brian – have you seen it yet?
Hi Ana, actually I have seen it. I really appreciate you adding my blog. Very cool. Have you seen https://hotblogtips.com/bloggers yet? TrafficGenerationCafe.com is on there. Thanks, I’ll leave a comment there.
Hey Ana, would you mind adding my brand new site? (just launched today :-)…. Added Comment Luv as well .
Congratulation for being listed on Ana’s blog.. I wish my blog could be listed.
With the release of 4G LTE, albeit, not yet spread out, stay connected and updated to our blogs is not that difficult. It is actually no reason to leave it for long time..
I use my Android phone in almost every way you mentioned, except from blogging. I have only posted two or three articles from my phone and it was an exception. Twitter and feed reading are the main functions I use related to my blog. Indeed, I only use Twitter from my phone, as I can see new notifications and my TL in the home screen. I hate the web interface in twitter.
Hi Rafa, It’s funny the Twitter app, at least the official Twitter app, is actually better than the web interface. On my phone I can easily see which tweet and reply was in reference, or even a string of tweets. I can also go to someone’s profile and see all of the @replies and tweets that referenced that account. I love the Twitter application.
Hi Brian!
I have never used the official app. I have recently discovered Tweetdeck for Chrome, which is actually the same app I use in my Android, and it is pretty good. Anyway, I prefer to review my TL in my phone, it’s just one of my quirks XD
Hi, Brian!
I guess I am still not a “smart” blogger,as I still do not own a smartphone. It may sound crazy, but I never felt any particular need for it. Seems to me that I barely have enough time to manage things during the day, and I just know that if I had a smartphone, I would additionally be checking mails, being tempted about social networks…playing games…all those time consuming stuff.
This way, I protect myself in advance.:) It is my choice…so far.
Hi Kristina, You sound pretty smart to me. There is, without a doubt, a cost that comes with each tool we use. The smart phone can save us time and make things easier but it can also be overwhelming and, if not careful, become very intrusive to our daily lives. This is your third comment on this site so in my book that makes you very smart. 😉
Brian I use my HTC Incredible 2 for everything! I can keep up with live sports, I also use the WordPress for my Android Photo Art site (just a hobby), my communities (FB, Twitter, Plus, etc…) news, weather (hurricane tracking since I live on the coast)….
But what I love the most right now is the quality of my camera with a few apps (HDR Camera+ and PhotoShop Express are my fav’s) and my camera is a beefy 8MP so I take AWESOME pics and post them to my hobby site, FB, Twitter, and Plus all with just a few strokes….. my phone is out of commission though since I dropped it off my deck four floors to its death the other day, ordering a new one through the insurance I luckily carried on it!
Hi Keith, The HTC Incredible 2 is a lot like the HTC EVO that I use. The evo also has the 8mp camera and HD video. On thing I wish they would improve on mine is it’s ability to take action shots. The camera takes incredibly clean and crisp pictures until motion is involved. Once something is in motion, I don’t even bother taking the shot with my phone anymore.
Another very cool feature of both HTC phones is it’s mobile Hotspot feature. Booting up my laptop from anywhere I go just using my phone as an internet connection is a huge plus. I completely forgot to include that in the post.
Smart phones can replace your laptop. Staying connected wherever you are is now possible with the help of smart phones. These phones help you work comfortably even In case you are traveling and need to connect to your work. In my office we have a link where all of us stay connected 24/7 just to share the data and stuff with all the members of our team.
Hi Wayne, I much prefer the laptop over the smart phone but I admit I leave my laptop at home more than ever now. Like I was telling Keith, I do love the Hotspot feature of my phone. I can connect to the net with my laptop via my phone when I do take it with me. Thanks for commenting.
i also prefer a small netbook,if portibility is your concern,in laptop,we can much more than that in smatrphone
and also,the main thin-our rate of doing work increases
I have a Smart Phone. I bought this piece last month as was never able to stay connected and have access to my office mails. It works very well and I found it of great help. Also I can now post all the articles and blogs that I write. I donât need to wait for reaching home first and then accessing all the comments and feedback’s through my PC or laptop. Now I can do my work from wherever I want.
Congratulations on the new smart phone Carlos, I hope it helps you with everything on your new blog.
Bloggers do not need to sit for hours in front of their computer as blogging is now possible on the smart phones. Uploading all the blogs, articles can be done over the smart phones now. Bloggers now can even check about the status of their blog and even can reply to the comments which the visitors have posted on their blog. Blogging on the smart phone is very interesting. It’s like surfing.
It’s true Shiliang, we save time and have the freedom of travel while still going about our daily blogging duties.
Smart phones are a little expensive as compared to the normal phones. But yes the bloggers can afford to have these phones as they utilize most of the time in blogging and article uploading, checking for comments and replying to the same. Also smart phones provide you with such applications that can ease your work and also your work gets completed much faster than the normal phones.
Hi Joseph, I guess we just need to think of it as an investment rather than just another utility.
Though I donât have a smart phone, I am thinking to buy one this week. But I am very much confused as to which one to buy. Some say that Black berry is the best while the other friends of mine voted for Samsung Galaxy series. Anybody out here please suggest which one would be good enough for me as I am a blogger and thinking of buying a phone for my professional use.
If your service provider offers it, I would look into the new iPhone 4S. The price is far less than the earlier versions.
I would strongly suggest the Samsung Galaxy! To be honest I am a fan of iPhones, Macs and Apple in general. However, I must say that Samsung is really on the right track with the Galaxy series. Those are the only ones that I would consider buying instead of the iPhone.
Thanks Ana, iPhones are great, especially since they just released the new iPhone 4S at a much more affordable price.
What i really like about Android phones is that web browsing is much faster compared to other smartphones. Also, it’s multi-tasking capability doesn’t slow down the phone. In my opinion, Android phones are best for bloggers since it’s web browsing capability is superB.
I like the iPhone too, anything that give the fastest internet and access available is fine with me. I’m still waiting for 4G in my area.
Between a tablet and a smartphone, I’d go with the latter in a heartbeat. Plenty of uses for us as bloggers and easy to carry around. Of course, once tablets become more feature-rich, maybe I’d change my mind.
Thanks Noel, I’m thinking of both. My HTC evo has “Hot Spot” technology that allows for instant wi-fi via my smart phone. I’m actually using it right now with my laptop. I’m considering a tablet when out of town rather than a laptop. I can use the smart phone for internet access on the tablet just as I’m doing now. I’ll have the phone all of the time, it may as well be a smart phone that works well with other devices and programs.
Hands down, smartphones are the best thing created for blogging. Although I’m not as savy posting with an all touch smartphone, my Droid 2 Global does the job. Any serious blogger or even writer should use the smartphone for work!
Hi there,
with the smart phones it is easy to stay connected and even sync your sites so that your Twitter Followers,Facebook Fans and your blog readers can all stay informed of your recent posts. The mobile phones blogging basically is a good solution for the busy people wishing to be in touch.
Regards. Tanya
I think this is nice idea. It is a mandate especially for those who travel a lot. I have an android cell phone. This helps me to stay in touch with all my friends and also helps me to check and reply to all my office mails. Also smart phones let you read a lot of e-books. Thank you.
I have never used the official app. I have recently discovered Tweetdeck for Chrome, which is actually the same app I use in my Android, and it is pretty good. Anyway, I prefer to review my TL in my phone, itâs just one of my quirks XD
Hey!
I even search for coffee shops through my iphone, so that i can go there and have a discussion with my fellow bloggers and tweeting new things learned and blogging ideas discussed.It’s all so fun mates!!!
This is indeed a great list, though i already use some of the apps, i cant wait to add the rest to my list and try them out. Thanks for your post.