How to take a self portrait picture with your cell phone, blackberry, iphone or any other digital camera device

This is a pet peeve of mine whenever somebody takes a self portrait of themselves for Facebook.  Do not ask me why it bugs me but here are simple instructions of how to take a picture of yourself with your digital camera device:

Here are two pictures taken of myself with my blackberry:

The Wrong Way

The Correct Way

Okay, bad pics but done in the same area with the same phone on the same day.  When taking your picture you want to turn your phone the opposite way you normally would.  While standing in front of a mirror, look at your reflection of your camera/phone's screen in the same mirror.  Once you get good shot of yourself, snap the button and you now have a self portrait.  Another way to remember is that you want a picture of yourself, not your mirror.

The Funny Way

How to make your Google Blog Title Animated - Upload large animated gifs

Google Blogs now supports animated gif, which means now you are able to upload animation to your blog posts or import them from outside links.  You can also create your own animated blog post title like the one done on my new business blog, Elizabeth's Digital Business Cards."  Many sites do not support animated gifs beyond, at the most, three megabytes.  What you can do though is upload an animated gif to a blog post and than link it to your blog title.

Here are the steps:

1. Create a new blog post
2. Upload your photo using the insert image button than add selected
3. Right click the photo in the compose mode of your blog post and copy image URL
4. Go to your blogger settings, select the header gadget and paste your link in the header tab, under the area that says: From the web.  Paste an image URL below.

Note: You do not have to submit the blog post of your image for this to work but can actually save it as a draft.  This trick actually uploads all photos to your picasa account, which is automatically obtained upon the creation of a Google account.

Add pop-up text to an embeded sound file in a Google Blog post

Adding an embedded Wave file in a Google Blog can be fun and important but what about adding a little pizazz to it by showing pop up text along with the embedded media in your blog post at the same time.  For example, you want your blog visitor to hear a particular song, what can be more useful than to have the artist name and title show up when the blog visitor clicks on the embedded media.  Try it with mine below:


This is simply done by adding the following code while in HTML mode of your blog composer:

<embed width="250" height="50" autostart="false" loop="false" playcount="2" src="http://YOUR-PERSONAL-SOUNDFILE.wav" span title="YOUR OWN TEXT"></embed>

That's it, you are all set, ENJOY!

Note:  Blogger is very fussy with some codes, such as this one.  Once you are done editing this in HTML mode you will notice that upon going to compose mode and than back to HTML mode your wav will disappear. 

Spice up your next blogpost - How to make any image animated on Google Blogs and websites!

This tutorial is actually so easy you are going to wonder why you never thought of it yourself. All you need is an image and a scrolling marquee html and you now have an animated picture on your blog post or even on your Google Blog sidebar within the Javascript/HTML Gadget.

Here is the code: 

<marquee><img src="http://yourimage.com></marquee>

Using an image of your own or one hosted from an outside website will work either way.  Simply upload the image or copy and paste the site where the image is being hosted.  Click on HTML at the top left while in compose mode of your Google Blog post and enter <marquee></marquee>.

Next while your mouse courser is in between <marquee></marquee> click on the image icon and choose one of the options below to upload your image to your Blog.

Add an image from your computer

Add another imageWe accept jpg, gif, bmp and png images, 8 MB maximum size

Or add an image from the web

Add another image

URL

Learn more about using web images

You can even take an animated *.gif, like the one below, and add extra animation to it.  Just a quick note, for some reason animated *.gif images will not work hosted directly on a Google Blog.  If you wish to use an animated gif, it needs to be hosted from a website that supports animated gifs.

Force readers to subscribe to your RSS with this cute subscribe now widget for blogger

Below is the code to add the following Subscribe now with Twitter, Facebook, RSS and Google Plus Buttons.  All you need to do is just copy and paste the code into a new Gadget change the highlighted text to your own information and you are set.

I have created another Subscribe now button, to get the code simply click the links below to view and even save the text documents.   At the bottom of the code is the code for google circles, if you wish to remove it, just delete the section at the end of the document that says:
<script type="text/javascript">mbgc='f5f5f5';ww='320';mbc='cecece';bbc='3F79D5';bmobc='3b71c6';bbgc='4889F0';bmoc='3F79D5';bfc='FFFFFF';bmofc='ffffff';tlc='cecece';tc='6a6a6a';nc='6a6a6a';bc='6a6a6a';l='y';fs='16';fsb='13';bw='100';ff='4';pc='4889F0';b='s'; pid='108709237685683796184';</script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetsplus.com/google_plus_widget.js"></script>

Coffee Cup Subscribe Now - Download

Button Subscribe Now - Download

3D Social Network Icon Subscribe Now - Download

Elizabeth's Blogger Wikis: Add a facebook login button to your blogger using html code

Elizabeth's Blogger Wikis: Add a facebook login button to your blogger using html code - Simple method

People have been having issues with the above tutorial on adding a facebook login button to your Google Blog on Blogspot. After doing a little research and testing for myself, there is another way. If you are using a heavily scripted blog on blogspot then the above tutorial will not work and you will get one or both of the following errors:

• An invalid API key was specified
• A large ugly Facebook Logo Button

To fix this problem, unfortunately you are going to have to use the more difficult tutorial but the upside to this one is that there is logout button as well.  As you can see from mine on the top left when you log into Facebook from my site it works and you will also notice the logout option.

Step 1: Search for the code below and add code in red.....final look will be

<html expr:dir='data:blog.languageDirection'
xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'
xmlns:b='http://www.google.com/2005/gml/b'
xmlns:data='http://www.google.com/2005/gml/data'
xmlns:expr='http://www.google.com/2005/gml/expr'
xmlns:fb='http://www.facebook.com/2008/fbml'>

Step 2: Put the below code above </head>

<script src='http://static.ak.connect.facebook.com/js/api_lib/v0.4/FeatureLoader.js.php' type='text/javascript'/>

Step 3: Put this code above </body>

<script type='text/javascript'> 
FB.init("YOUR_API_KEY_HERE" , "");
</script>

To add your_api_key_here, click the above link to find out how to obtain an api_key.

Step 4: Save changes you are almost done!! 

Adding Facebook Connect-->>

LOGIN BUTTON-
<fb:login-button autologoutlink="True" length="short" background="white" size="large"></fb:login-button>

PROFILE PICTURE-
<fb:profile-pic uid="loggedinuser" facebook-logo="true" linked="false"></fb:profile-pic>

USER NAME-
<fb:name uid="loggedinuser" useyou="false"/></fb:name>

Make an Adobe PDF file from any document or website in Ubuntu

Adobe PDF files are supported widely among many websites, for filling in application, emailing documents and downloading manuals from various websites.  When creating an Adobe document it also gives you that feeling of security that it will be safe, because unlike many documents that you may email or post on a website, it cannot be edited like a Word Document possibly can. There are ways of creating a Word Document by setting the correct write protection properties but with an Adobe PDF file, there is very little maintenance in protection you document, which is great for a beginner.

In Ubuntu/Linux there is an option where you can print to file, but unlike windows it has the option of printing a file as a PDF document.  This feature is great when creating a Resume or maybe you would like to back up some emails for future reference.  In this tutorial I am going to show you how to, with ease, create an Adobe PDF file through your gmail account.

Step One:
Go into your GMail account and open the email you wish to print.

Step Two:
Click on the print icon in the top right corner of the email

Step Three:
A new window will open and the print dialog box will automatically open.  For other documents you can Click on File --> Print, the hot key would be ctrl+p

Step Four:
Select the option Print to file in the window as pictured below

Step Five:
Just below that you will see a box with Name and to the right of that you will have the option of selecting the radio box of either PDF or Postscript, select PDF.

Step Six:
Name your document, make sure that *.pdf file extension is included.

Step Seven:
Below the Name box is the default Save to folder, change that as necessary.

Click on the print button, you are finished converting your GMail email to an Adobe PDF File!

Add a Custom Google Search to your Google Blogpost

Adding a Custom Google Search to a website/blog can bring in extra revenue with a Google Adsense Account.  How it is used on your website/blog is the important part in earning revenue.  This tutorial will show you how to add a Custom Google Search to your Google blogpost and to learn how to make more use of a custom Google Search and earn extra revenue with Google Ad in a blogpost, click here to read more.

Step 1:

Go to your Google Adsense Account

Step 2:
Click on the My Ads Tab

Step 3:
Now click the link that says Search on the left pane

Step 4:
On the top click the tab that says New Custom Search Engine and fill in the fields as you wish.

Step 5:
Select Save and Get code and a iframe window will open, select the code, copy and than in the google blogpost where you want the code paste the code while you are in HTML mode when editing the post and your search bar will look like this.

Try mine out and enjoy!

Free tip:

Do you like how the eyeballs look on each side of my search bar pointing?  Once you have selected an image that suites your needs, add an image and than anchor each image on the left and right. To get them to fit on one line you may have to edit your Google Custom Search Engine size.   Once you have the images anchored, one on the left and the other on the right, just drag them to each side of the search bar.

To do this just change the character size from 55 characters to more or less, depending on your needs.

How to put music on Google Blogger/Blogspot

There are many ways of putting music on your Google Blogger/Blogspot and it's another fun easy way to draw more users to your site.  My favorite is mixpod, which has been around for quite some time now.  With mixpod is  you can select from a few of their ready made skins or, a personal favorite of mine, is the MiniPod which lets you customize the skin with the option of using some select eyecandy designs.  Mixpod has their own search engine, mostly YouTube approved videos/songs.  If you are unable to find the video/song you are looking for you have the option to manually enter a YouTube URL and once approved MixPod allow you to add to your playlist, the approval usually takes about twenty-four hours.

Here are the instructions to adding music to your Google Blogger/Blogspot:

© Copyright: see author in the original source of this image.

When done correctly the Music Player below will be your outcome.  As you can see, you can also copy and paste the code right into a blogpost.  This is a great idea when posting something and using music to get the artistic point across to the readers of your blog.







Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Free Resume Tip: Create an attractive Resume on #CapitalAreaHelpWanted.com

When posting your resume on CapitalAreaHelpWanted.com to apply for jobs you have probably noticed how there are no options to create an attractive resume using bullets, underline and bold.  There is actually a way around that when posting a resume on CapitalAreaHelpWanted.com's website, you can view how mine looks by clicking here to view it.

First, if you haven't already done so, is first create a resume using a word processing program, such as Microsft word or my personal favorite is LibreOffice Writer because it is free and you can save documents in *.doc Microsoft Word Format.  Once you have completed your resume at the top click File --> Save As and than save as a HTML document, you will need to change the file type from the default output format to HTML.  In the newer versions of word processing programs simply saving the resume as resume.html will also work.

Next open up your web browser and now on the menu bar you will need to go to File --> Open or use the shortcut/hotkey on your keyboard by pressing Ctrl+O.  Now browse to where the resume is save and open it.

To view the HTML source code for a Web page using Internet Explorer 3.x and later, click Source on the View menu. To view the HTML source code for a Web page using Internet Explorer 2.x, and FireFox you can right-click the Web page, and then click View Source.   FireFox's shortcut/hotkey is Ctrl+U on the keyboard.  In the new window that has opened, go to Edit on the menu bar and choose the option select all, the shortcut/hotkey on your keyboard is Ctrl+A.  Now go back to Edit on the menubar and choose Copy, the shortcut/hotkey on the keyboard is Ctrl+C.

Next go back to CapitalAreaHelpWanted.com and again you will need to go to the Edit on the menu bar and select Paste or use the shortcut/hotkey Ctrl+V.


*Note:  When creating a resume on CapitalAreaHelpWanted.com you have to use their name and address format at the top, so on your resume do not copy and paste or make sure that you have removed the name, address and telephone number field of the resume, just paste in the body of the resume is all that is needed.

How to get the facebook developer's Like box to work with Google blogger

To easily add a like box to your blogspot blog first you will need to create an app by going to the Facebook Developers website and clicking on the Get Started link to see their tutorial on creating your app.  The reason you need an app is so that you can obtain your own unique AppID for any app that you would like to use on Facebook, such as, the Like Box, the Facebook login button and networked blogs.  To make your personal like box go to the Like Box - Facebook Developers section. 

Once you are done setting up your Like Box at the bottom where it says Get Code, you want to change it to the IFrame than copy that code.  Next go to your blogger layout, add a new gadget, select the HTML/javascript and paste your code than save.

Click to enlarge

That is it, you are all done and you now have your own like box!

Add a facebook login button to your blogger using html code

UPDATE This is an updated tutorial on how to add a FaceBook Login button to your Google Blog/blogger/blogspot. Since my last post there are a few things that can be done so that the login button shows either when you are going directly to your personal blog or viewing a post. The earlier bug was that the login button was not showing, this has to do with the first step for it to work correctly.

Step One

• Create an FaceBook App on the Facebook Developers website.  This step is pretty much an easy walk through.  Below is an image of what you need to get your app working correctly.  Once you create your Facebook app it does take a little while for it to work on the website/blog so be patient.

• In the image below make note that the following fields need to be completed.  This set-up is a basic format.  Once you create the Facebook app, this will help to promote your website as well.

Click to Enlarge

Step Two

• Now that your Facebook app is ready the rest is very easy.  Go to the blogger design site and select the blog you wish to add the Facebook Login Button to.

• Select the Layout button and add a new Gadget, scroll down the list and select the HTML/Javascript Gadget.

Step Three

• In the window copy and paste the following code:

<div id="fb-root"></div>
<script>(function(d, s, id) {
  var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
  if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
  js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
  js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=CHANGE THIS TO YOUR PERSONAL APP ID TO YOUR OWN PERSONAL ID LIKE THE ONE IN THE IMAGE ABOVE, JUST ABOVE THE SECRET KEY";
  fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));</script><div class="fb-login-button" data-show-faces="true" data-width="200" data-max-rows="1"></div>

Click Save and you are done!

IMPORTANT:  An issue that many of you will come across is:

An invalid API key was specified.  

If you read this post prior, it was incorrect.  The reason you will get this error is when you are using the Facebook Login button on a heavily scripted blog.  Another issue is that you will see a big annoying Facebook logo in place of the login button on your blog, the fix to this is to either go and find what the conflicting problem in the HTML of your blog that is causing this error or just back up your blogger template and than select one of the Google Blogspot templates offered.

After doing this myself the error disappeared and the login button works great and  Blogger does have some very nice templates now.

UPDATE: I have posted a more difficult tutorial for those who are running into the above problem.  Another common problem with the heavily scripted blogs is you will see a big ugly Facebook Logo instead of the nice login button like mine on the top left sidepane.

Add a login button to your google blog - More technical method with better results