From a distance, I've wondered if a Tablet PC would offer any value for bloggers. I couldn't come up with any.
First thoughts might lead you to think of something like Chris Pirillo's blog, which actually doesn't have anything to do with tablets at all. The jury is out whether a layout like this is any better than normal text fonts.
So after my lengthy two days of blogging, do I see any place for tablets in the blogging world? Yes...at least the way I approach blogging.
Some people might be so good at writing that they can plop down in front of their computer and type away. I can't. I come up with ideas sporadically for whatever I write--whether it's a blog or not--jot them down, scribble a few sentences, go onto something else, and then eventually work these snippets into a coherent article, posting, or whatever.
I see that MovableType has a private, "Draft" mode for saving intermediate versions of my posts. This feature is for people like me. But interestingly, I haven't used it yet. Why?
I've been starting my blog thought process in Microsoft Journal on a Tablet PC. It's perfect for jotting down topics I can discuss, things I want to try, things I have to fix in the layout, etc. Working in Journal and then carrying over my thoughts to Word is relatively easy, since they are right there together and I have the complete advantages of their UIs. The simple browser-based editor in MovableType doesn't compete.
I can envision a fairly rich Windows application for entering and managing blog content. But I can also envision companion interfaces to Journal or OneNote. Coupled together, the pair would probably fit the way I work naturally.
In fact, OneNote (which isn't just a Tablet PC application) has seeds of features that are blog-friendly as is. If you copy-paste an excerpt from IE, the URL can automatically be pasted along with the text into OneNote. Since many bloggers copy-paste and link to/from other sites, it seems like OneNote could be useful for storing these excerpts. I'll have to see how useful OneNote will become for me to manage my IE snippets. Similarly, I can imagine that this type of context-based copy-paste would be a time saver if added to a blog editor. There's plenty to think about here.
Loren,
I think a handwriting font lends to a more personal feel and is good for a blog. Too bad you can't just handwrite and post the handwriting. (new product!)
Kim tried using the Tablet to post in her blog and it'll take her a little more time to get the hang of it. I was watching her yesterday morning, and she's faster typing one finger at a time vs getting her handwriting to convert (she only prints).
Personally, maybe a highlight area in OneNote or Journal and push to blog button on left hold would be good. Would save us time on publishing content.
-- Lora
Posted by: Lora on April 22, 2003 05:19 PMMT might be the issue. It would be better if you were able to easily add images to the blog. You could then use images as your blog. PHP Gallery has this uploading file capability. Another feature of MT is a visual editor. PostNuke has a visual editor for help with the html code and PHPBB also has help. MT could use this feature.
Just my 2 cents
Posted by: LPH on April 23, 2003 07:40 PMForgot to mention that you might want to check out
http://wbloggar.com/
Posted by: LPH on April 23, 2003 07:58 PMKim could share the pictures she draws on the tablet.
Posted by: Loren on April 23, 2003 11:26 PMOK.I'll post it later.OK.
Posted by: Kim on April 24, 2003 01:02 PM