Navigating through TSP - Help with commenting, finding blogs, and smarty things you need to know!

By Rachel H

Today is focused on helping new readers, as well as our loyal followers, navigate through Smarty Pants and to find exactly what you need.

Every blog we write is archived. You can always find a past blog on our site. The question is how to do this. You have a couple options:

One is to use the Blogger Search Box in the very upper left-hand corner of the site. All you need to do is enter a key word that may pertain to the topic. For example, the other day I decided that I wanted to make the Breakfast Cookies that Deborah Martin blogged about over the summer. I went to the search box and typed in “breakfast”. A bunch of blogs popped up that all obviously contained the word breakfast. I scrolled through them and halfway down the page popped up Deborah’s Blog on Smarty Tips for a Healthy Breakfast.

We had a reader contact us looking for the blog her family member, Wendy Piazza, wrote for us. We showed her how to type “Wendy” in the search box, and all the blogs containing that name showed up. She easily found the one for which she was searching.

A second option to finding a particular blog is to use our Categories list. This list can be found on the left side of the website. Simply scroll down our page and you will see them directly underneath the banner ads from our sponsors. If you remember reading about a cool playset made by a business in the Triad, you could search under “Active Lifestyles,” “Smarty Sponsors,” “Greensboro Business,” etc. All of our previous blogs related to these topics will pop up. Many blogs are archived under more than one category. For example, our blog on Education Resource Group could be found by looking in any of the following categories – Tutoring, Education, Elementary, High School, Middle School, Resources, and WS Business.

This categories list is also useful just for browsing topics of which you may have interest. Our “Health” category always has terrific posts from local doctors. If you click on “Smarty Moms or Dads,” you may run across a friend who has been featured who you may have missed! “Parks” and “Day Trips” are great to check out when you want to find out new places to take the kids. We also think “Education” is a great category as well, with many blogs that can help you and your child throughout the school year. And lastly, you can find out all about TSP and the ladies behind the site by clicking on the categories labeled “About Us” and “About the Site.”

If all else fails when searching for a blog, you can click on the Contact Us link on the left-hand side of the page to email us directly and get help finding a particular blog. The only ones that we do not leave archived on the site are the Wednesday Event postings, but we can always pull an old one up for you if needed.

Another great tool on TSP is the pink and green buttons on the right side of our page. Currently, you will see “Most Popular Posts,” which can also help you find a blog that you and many others enjoyed, and “Birthday Party Directory” which is a terrific place to start when planning a party for your child. Many of the businesses on this directory also offer discounts to TSP readers, so make sure you read the write-up on each. We will continue to add more of these buttons on additional topics of interest to our readers.

Also note that any time a word is bold and underlined, you can click on it to take you to that particular website or blog. The same goes for our Smarty Sponsor ads on the left of the page. Click on their banner ad to visit their website and show them some TSP love!

Another topic I want to cover today is on commenting. The only way the TSP bloggers know if their article was helpful is if a reader posts a comment. Please participate in the daily conversations! We love to hear what you have to say, but more importantly, we love your ideas! As we say in our motto, “We don’t claim to know it all, but we’ll provide plenty of info on what we’ve learned through research, trial and error!” We count on other moms to give us their two cents and weigh in as well. We know you have great ideas that we have not thought about, so tell us!

Here is all you do to enter a comment: At the end of each blog you can click on “Post A Comment.” You will see a text box to enter your thoughts. Then you have four choices for “Choosing An Identity”. If you have a google account, click the first circle and enter your email address and password. Sometimes you may also need to enter the secret letters for security and then click “Publish Your Comment.” If you do not have a google account, you can click on Name/URL and write your name in the space provided. You can write just your first name, initials, or whatever you please! You can leave the part that says URL blank. Then “Publish Your Comment.” Finally, if none of the above work, you can click the circle next to anonymous and publish your comment that way. Again, the more comments we get, the happier we are because it is great feedback as to what our readers enjoy! You can read guidelines for comments under our About the Site category.

And last, but not least, the easiest way to stay tuned-in to TSP and navigate like a pro is to keep us on your Favorites List. Make us part of your morning or evening routine and check the site on a daily basis. We always have one new blog each day and once in a while will post a Smarty Alert mid-day if we have something else to share.

Do you have more questions? Email us at triadsmartypants@gmail.com and we’ll help you out!

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Posted by Triad Smarty Pants at 5:00 AM