This section includes everything you need to know about reading COWBlogs, as well as options for account set-up.
What am I looking at when I get to the COWBlogs?
The heart of the page is a list of summaries of the most recent blog entries. You'll see very quickly that they cover a wide range of interests, from a wide range of people.
Just under the title of each blog entry, you'll see a link to the author's name. Just like at the COW forums, that takes you to the author's profile.
On the same line, you'll also see a list of topics that the author covers in the post. More often than not, a single blog entry will cover multiple topics. When you click on one of them (either After Effects or Final Cut Pro in this example), you'll be taken to an entire page on that topic, built on the fly from all the COWBlogs at once.
At the bottom of each entry, you'll see another link that takes you to that author's blog, with all the entries that he or she has written.
And of course, the "Read more" link takes you to the rest of the entry.
How can I find all the COWBlog entries for a specific topic?
You'll find this in the Navigation menu up and left from here.
Click on COWBlog Search. This takes you to a complete list of all the topics tracked by the COWBlogs. (Authors set the topics of their own blog entries when they write them.) Clicking the "+" next to each topic expands the list, so that you can see the title for each entry on that topic.
Who’s got a COWBlog?
Just click the COWBlog Authors link, also up and to the left. Authors are listed in the order that they last logged in.
What’s "Bessie's Blog?"
Bessie has her own view of the world, and of course it's centered around The COW. She'll keep you up to date with news of the latest tutorials, podcasts, new forums, and other news about The COW. Bessie's Blog will also feature news and tips for The COWBlogs.
Do I need an account to view the COWBlogs?
It works exactly the same way that The COW does: no need for an account if all you want to do is read the entries.
What are the benefits of registering for an account?
Onece you've created an account, you can add comments to COWBlog entries.
You can also have the latest entries on your favorite topics, blog entries, and COWBlog authors with a feature called Subscriptions.
On each post, you'll see "Subscribe" links for that specific blog entry. You'll also see a link for "Subscribe Blog," which notifies of all entries from that author.
Once you've added threads and blogs to your list of subscriptions, you can now manage them on the "Subscriptions" tab of your My Account page.
The Subscriptions tab also allows you to receive email updates of all entries on chosen topics from all blog authors.
How do I update my account?
In the links at the upper left of your blog, you’ll see the link to My Account.
The View tab shows you how the world sees your profile. We’ll enter some of this for you when we set up your account, but you’ll want to fill in the rest.
Next is the Edit tab, which has two parts.
The first is Account Settings. At the very top you'll see a link for "TinyMCE rich-text settings." This allows WYSIWYG text entry. It's on by default. You can either turn it off here, or on a post-by-post basis. You'll probably want to leave this on unless your browser has problems with it.
Further down, you'll see a place to upload your picture. You'll also see a place to choose your Theme. This will change the way your blog looks, both to you and to your visitors.
There aren't many to begin with, but keep checking back. More are on the way.
How do I enter my personal information?
That's on the next tab of My Account, Edit. It's pretty straightforward, too. Your company name is required. A link and your location is optional.
So is "Other things to know about me" field, which is just below that. It's as free-form as it sounds. Put anything there you want.
(The box there is very small by default, but you can use the resize handle in the lower right to make it bigger.)
This is just some of what's available once you register to create an account. Please note that a real name is required to open a COWBlog account.
For any questions about reading COWBlogs not answered here, visit the COWBlogs Help Forum.
Read on for details on how to start your own COWBlog!
