The topic at New Media Cincinnati last weekend was on blogging. It was a very informative meeting, and, of course, the subject of Evernote came up as a resource for writing posts.

Perhaps one of my favorite ways I’m using Evernote is for blogging. I used to write my posts in WordPress, but sometimes I take a long time to write and WordPress would time out. So now I write it in Evernote. The advantages are 1) it’s easier to jump in and write when I find moments of time. I don’t have to log in, wait for it to load, then click 2-3 times to get to the post; 2) as I find elements that are relevant to that post, I can just put them in the article or in that notebook.

My notebook is called Blog Posts. Then, each post is a note. That can also be graphics, like screenshots, images, videos or a list of resource links. Whenever I have an idea for a blog post, I hop over, and write the title and whatever related content for it that is in my head. Then go just back to what I was doing; like a digital notepad. I like to make a Note for each post title; as I scan the Notes list, I can see all the topics at once and decide which one I’d like to write more on.

As I save screenshots (or graphics) for a specific post, there are a couple ways to tie it to the post. I can tag it, or I can copy and paste the image from its note to my article. Whatever works best at the moment.

Watch Your Formatting

There is something you should be VERY aware of here. I would not recommend Evernote for writing long, long documents, like a book, or anything that would require specific formatting. One of the biggest shortcomings, and greatest complaints about EN, is it’s word processing and styles. It has very limited functions, and sometimes adds spacing blips that I swear is a bug. And you can’t easily remedy it. It also isn’t necessarily easy to find another place further down the document, like cutting and pasting whole sections. I suppose you could keep notes for Resources for a book, or just typing quick things up. But I would copy it out of EN when it came time for formatting, page numbering, and foot/endnoting.

So give EN a try to for your blogging. It may not be right for your final draft, but for simple writing of your post, doing research, or collecting data, it can’t be beat.

The January meeting of New Media Cincinnati was a panel discussion of privacy issues on the web. Be sure to also check out the recording of the meeting at newmediacincinnati.com.

New Media Cincinnati always meets the 2nd Saturday of each month 3-6pm at The Pub in Rookwood. For now, it is free and open to the public. Check the website for the latest details. We talk about social networking–Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn–podcasting, video, blogging, etc. for all knowledge levels.

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Sorry for the late posting of this video. You know, sometimes life gets in the way. I’ll do better next month!

Questions from a Hat is a New Media Cincinnati favorite. Attendees write down questions concerning anything new media, social media, Twitter, Facebook, video, podcasting…these are all put in a hat and, guess what? The emcee, in this case Daniel Lewis, draws a question and the group answers it.

New Media Cincinnati happened again this month! Fans of new media gathered on March 13 to listen and participate in a panel discussion about Online Privacy. The meeting was hosted by Daniel Johnson Jr who also served on the panel with DG Hollums and Michelle Beckham-Corbin. The panel discussed their respective views on how much of their private lives they share publicly, the tools that are gaining widespread popularity and the privacy implications, and the business marketing potential for these tools.

Special thanks to Eric Marschall of EJM Designs for sponsoring the event.