How Do You Blog?

About a year ago, Frank Paynter asked, Why Do You Blog?  Now Frank is asking,

How do you blog?

There’s as much latitude possible in the answer to the HOW question as there was in the WHY question, and rather than lead you in one direction or another, from tool sets to formal pajama wear, I’ll just leave it open-ended…

How do you blog?

I’ll appreciate emailed responses and/or links to posts at your sites where you address the question.

My response is below the fold.

Tools:

• Computer:  Macintosh Powerbook G4.  Have laptop, will travel.
• Blogging software: I use Typepad as the platform, because it meets my needs pretty darn well. 
• Writing software: I compose most long posts in BBEdit (I've a nasty habit of closing the tab I've been working in, resulting in a lost post.).  Short posts I compose directly in Typepad.  If I have something that's in Word format I "scrub" it through BBEdit.
• Image management & alteration: I use iPhoto to manage the images and Photoshop Elements for image editing.  Lately I've been using images less -- I don't know why.  I would not describe myself as a power user.
• Tagging:  I'm starting to use RawSugar a lot.  I'm inconsistent about Technorati tags; I've never gotten the habit of del.icio.us.  But I'm getting more interested in folksonomies
• Search: Google -- the "search term" site: "URL".  I haven't put a search box on my blog yet; I should.
• Aggregator: I started using Bloglines in the summer of 2005.

Inspiration (Blog Seeds)

• Google News Alerts: I have about 80 news alerts on various topics and proper names, for stories I'm following.
• Files: I keep a file called "blog seeds" on my computer.  The contents are stories I'd like to blog about, or relate to something I'm thinking about
• Drafts:  I used to use drafts a lot, as a way of stockpiling things, but I've gotten out of that habit too.

Policies

• Comments: I've gone to moderating comments as a way to screen out the comment and trackback spam.  I do edit comments from others, because I don't want scatalogical language on my blog.
• Editing posts:  I do edit posts -- if I make big changes, I'll make a note of it.
• Removing posts:  I've done it, with and without notice.  I learned that merely deleting a post doesn't always have the effect the remover would hope.
• Blogging policy:  Lisa Williams urges all bloggers to have a formal, written blogging policy.  I didn't take her advice, and unintentionally caused heartache to somebody dear to me.  I urge you all to develop a blogging policy. Update: My blogging principals and policies are here. More examples here here here and here.

When and Where
At my desk. In my car -- when my daughter wasn't driving, I had down time as she was engaged in activities and I was the chauffeur.  (Chauffeuse?).  I'd find a hotspot and blog away.  In hotels.  I spend too much time on this blog, but it has brought me friends and clarified my thoughts.

Comments

[Stu Savory, Germany]

Does removing posts actually work? (I've never done it). Surely the search engines archive it all forever? Thus we blog in indelible ink.