Thoughts.com

Thoughts.com is the premier free blogging website in the web. In fact, in my opinion it's better than a lot of three paid blogs out there, and I'm not just saying that because they pay me. Of course, since they pay me I would say that even if it was not true, but I want you trust me that it is. Blogging websites aren't very useful if you can't find people's blogs, though, are they? Thoughts understands this, which is why they give you several means of blog searching.

popular tags

Once you log in to Thoughts.com and are brought to your homepage, you should notice the "Popular Tags" section. In it, you will see some of the keywords that are used most often to tag people's blogs. If you are interested in any of those topics, click on the tag. You will then be brought to a list of blog posts tagged with that keyword. Feel free to search those posts at will and if you like what you read, check out other blog posts from that user.

browsing the blogs

Another way to do a blog search is to click on "Blogs" on the top menu bar. Doing so will direct you to another page that, by default, lists the most recent blogs. Underneath the "Blogs" tab, however, are a few categories you can choose from: Popular Posts, Top 10o Blogs, Recent Blogs and Random Blogs. You can use these categories to browse blogs on Thoughts.com. By clicking on "Popular Posts," the blog posts listed are arranged in descending order by the number of views, so you will see the most viewed blog posts first. By default, the list consists of the most popular blogs in the last 24 hours. However, by clicking on the appropriate selection, you can make the list include the most popular posts in the last 48 hours, week, month, year, or all time. Selecting "Top 100 Blogs" gives you a list of the 100 most popular blogs, not the most popular individual blog posts. Each blog is sorted by the number of total views for their combined posts.

On the page you will see the title of the blog, the main profile photo, and the most recent blog posts by that blogger. Conducting this search is a good way to discover Thoughts.com's most popular bloggers and maybe you can even learn a thing or two about what makes their blog so popular. Sometimes it's just because they write a lot of blog posts. Other times, it's because they have something to say that people want to hear. "Recent Blogs" is what comes up by default when you click the "Blogs" tab. It is a listing of the most recent blog posts. This blog search is designed to keep you up to date on the news posts added to the site. Sometimes, though, you might not want to make a decision. There are just so many blogs out there and you want to read something, but you don't want to spend your time searching. You just wish someone would choose blogs for you. Don't worry. That's what the "Random Blogs" tab is for. By clicking on that choice, a list of blog posts are provided at random. Some are popular, some are not. Like with the "Popular Posts," you can limit the random blog posts to 24 hours, 48 hours, one week, one month, one year, or all time by clicking on the appropriate choice. Yes, I know; you still have to make a choice. If you are that set on not making a decision, simply select the first blog that shows up in the random search and read that. There, I did the work for you. Another way to conduct a blog search is to select the "New Members" tab. Doing so will bring you to a list of the recent posts by the people who have most recently joined Thoughts.com. This can be an exciting way to discover a brand new blog. Many of the posts you will find are by people who have never even blogged before. Be sure to make them feel welcome.

friends and bookmarks

If you come across a blog that you enjoy reading, you may want to bookmark that blog. Doing so will help you keep track of the blog so you can find it again and will also notify you when the user has a new blog post. Bookmarking a blog is basically saving it as a favorite because you intend to read more posts by that blogger. If you enjoy someone's blog, you may also want to become friends with the blogger. Thoughts.com gives you the opportunity to send a private message (like an email) or write a public message on their profile. To add the user as a friend, click the "Add as a friend" link underneath their profile photo. Friendships is contingent on their approval because, let's face it, you're only friends if both parties agree that you're friends, right?