Blog from your desktop with GNOME Blog

Jack Wallen
Feb 14, 2011
Updated • Dec 5, 2012
Linux
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7

With my on-going search for making my life ever-easier, I have turned to using smaller applications to keep my readers and fans informed. This can get to be an overwhelming problem when you are tweeting, facebooking, blogging, and - oh yeah - writing. So instead of adding to my already-large collection of tabs in Chromium Browser, I have found smaller tools that are one-trick ponies that tackle the task at hand with simplicity and speed.

One such tool allows me to blog to my various blogs quickly. I want to introduce you to this tool so that you are quickly blogging from your GNOME desktop.

Compatible blogs

Naturally you can't expect GNOME Blog to handle every type of blog in the blogosphere. But it does handle:

  • blogs.gnome.org
  • Blogger
  • Livejournal
  • Avogato
  • Self-run WordPress
  • Self-run Moveable Type
  • Self-run Pyblosxom

Obviously each type of blog will have different setup requirements. Let's examine how to connect GNOME Blog to a self-run WordPress blog.

Configuring WordPress

Figure 1

In order to blog to WordPress from GNOME Blog you have to enable remote publishing via XML-RPC. Without this set, you will not be able to blog from outside of the web interface. To configure this option you must first log on to your WordPress blog (with administration rights) and then click on Settings > Writing. In that section (near the top) you will see the spot where you can enable this (see Figure 1).

Once you have checked off the box associated with XML-RPC, scroll down and click Save Changes.

Now let's install and use GNOME Blog.

Installation

Installation is simple. I will demonstrate the installation on a Ubuntu 10.10 desktop. Follow these steps:

  1. Open up the Ubuntu Software Center.
  2. Search for the term "blog" (No quotes).
  3. Click the Install button associated with GNOME Blog.

That's it. You will now find the tool in Applications > Internet > Blog Entry Poster.

Using GNOME Blog

Figure 2

When you fire up GNOME Blog click on the Preferences window so you can choose the type of blog you want to write to. From this new window (see Figure 2) select "Self-Run WordPress" from the Blog Type drop-down and then fill in the rest of the information.

You will not be able to select the Blog Name from the drop-down until you have configured the URL, username, and password. Once you have done that click Lookup Blogs and select the blog you want to post to from the drop-down.

Once you have selected your blog, click the Close button, and you're ready to begin.

Posting

Figure 3

Posting with GNOME Blog is simple. From the main window (see Figure 3) you can enter a title and the body of your blog. You can also add a link into the body of the blog by clicking the Add Link... button and entering the link title and url.

Upon completion of your blog entry, click the Post Entry button and your blog post will make its way through the ethernet to your blog.

Final thoughts

It should be obvious that you can not do much as far as formatting, adding images, and the like. But for simple text-based blog posts, you can't beat the simplicity and ease of use of GNOME Blog.

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Comments

  1. Jack said on August 22, 2012 at 12:26 pm
    Reply

    I am a huge fan of gnome and I’ve been using it to write blogs for ages now and is definitely a must for any person that likes to write blogs whenever. This is so much better than any other way.

  2. Dasha said on August 15, 2012 at 6:48 am
    Reply

    hello

  3. michael said on June 12, 2012 at 1:58 am
    Reply

    Very Helpful and easy to follow. For anything else Gnome Related, check https://www.gnomeescape.com

  4. Superbsongs.com said on March 4, 2011 at 10:38 am
    Reply

    Great………

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