Blogger Tips and Tricks

I have a knack for exploring every features, hidden or otherwise, of computer programs that I come across, including Blogger. Maybe someday O'Reilly and Co. will come out with a Blogger Hacks book, but here's my own version, starting with something simple but may be overlooked.

So you sit down at your MacBook Pro(yes, in my universe, everyone uses a Mac) and pour your heart out on the topic at hand. You rant and rave for hours but your blog entry isn't yet finished. Suddenly, you lose the connection to the Internet and poof all your passionate prose disappear. For this example, there's nothing for you to do except to pour your heart out again and start all over. However, had you used the Save as Draft blue button next to the orange Publish Post button, at least you would only need to re-write since the last time you used Save as Draft. Seven years ago I worked at a place where typewriters was still in use and email was only being tested. Archaic as they were, with a typewriter whatever you typed was there instantly, there was no need to Save or Print. With the switch to email and computer, every now and then someone would keep typing on and on without saving and then the unthinkable happened. All their hard work went up in the thin air. Nowadays, Microsoft Word, Excel, and other popular software have automatic savings to avoid this costly mistake. Google Mail autosaves whatever you type in Draft every so often, but alas the technology hasn't been integrated into Blogger. So, Denizens of Blogosphere, use Save as Draft and go back to the posts to edit them again and again.