Workbench Help FAQ

I don't understand how to upload an image.

1. Save the .jpg or .gif picture (that you want to use for your blog) onto your desktop, so that we'll know where it is for a later step.
2. Log into your Blogburst account by going to http://www.blogburst.com and clicking on "workbench" at the top right corner of the screen.
3. When you login you'll see your blog listed under "Summary." Click "Edit Blog Profile" for the blog in question. You'll be taken to the "Edit Blog" page.
4. On the "Edit Blog" page you will see a "Blog Image" section, with a "Browse" button beside it. Click the Browse button.
5. You should be taken to a File Upload pop-up window that has an icon for "Desktop" somewhere, probably in a column on the left hand side. Click the "Desktop" icon.
6. You should now be able to see everything on your desktop, including the picture you want to use. (if not, make sure "files of type" says "all files.") Click on the name of the image you want to use, then click "Open" in the lower right.
7. You should be returned to the "Edit Blog" page. Scroll down the page and click "Save." You should be taken back to the "Blog Profile" page.
8. If you don't see the image you selected beside your blog, refresh the page (F5 on Windows, Command+R on Mac) and it should show up.

Why isn't my blog/user image updating? I submitted it but I don't see it.

It doesn't appear instantaneously, since your browser is caching the page. Refresh the page (F5 on Windows, Command+R on Mac) and you should see the updated image.

How do I change my email address in Blogburst?

Go to the "My Account" tab, and you'll see your email address listed. Click "change" and you should be able to change your email address.

Be sure to use a real email address, since any information that the Blogburst editors need to send you will go to that address.

How do I change my login username in Blogburst?

Changing your email address (see above) will also change your login username, since they are the same thing.

How do I change my password in Blogburst?

Login using the old password, and then go to the "My Account" tab, and choose the "Change Password" subtab.

I don't remember my password. Help!

No problem. Go to http://www.blogburst.com and click "Workbench" in the upper right corner. On the next screen, choose "Forgotten Password" under "Other options."

I blog from a non-US location. What should I put in for my Zip Code? You require 5 digits.

Just use 00000 and it'll be fine.

My blog is verified, but I don't see my blog in search results yet!

It takes about an hour for posts to appear, basically because if we grab info too quickly from some sites, it is possible that we'd get banned, which would be unpleasant for all concerned. Wait an hour and your content should appear.

Why did my press release blog get turned down?

It's not likely that a blog that just publishes press releases and offers will be picked up by a publisher, so our editorial team will not likely accept it. However, we HAVE accepted commercial blogs (i.e. blogs from companies) that are publishing original content that is informative or entertaining (ex. a tips and tricks article, etc).

The "submit" button isn't working!

There are a couple of reasons why this could be happening. First, go to Internet Explorer (assuming of course that you're using IE) and choose Tools, Options to open up the options menu.

Click on the Security tab please. At the bottom of the Security Settings window, you should see a little box with the title "Reset custom settings" Choose medium and hit the Reset button. This will ensure that Javascript is turned on without compromising your system security (at least according to Microsoft).

It could also be that the form isn't filled out properly. The Submit button does not show up until the following conditions exist:

1. You have filled in all the fields on the form
2. You filled in your feed URL and hit the "Get" button underneath it.
3. BlogBurst must then be able to find and validate the feed.

I've seen situations where it looks like the feed was found successfully, but our system could not validate the feed. When that happens you will receive an error message about it, but will be in black text just above all the fields in the form. If you get an error there that you don't understand, or think is wrong, let us know.

My blog is "under editorial review." What does that mean?

Our editorial staff looks at all blogs once the blogger has verified their blog. The editorial team takes a last look to make sure the feed is working properly and the content is good. Your blog was in this state of final editorial review when you saw this message.

From this point, Editorial categorizes your blog and "activates" it in Blogburst, which makes it discoverable by publishers and available to show up on their sites.

I have a really good post in my blog. Who do I tell about it?

You can pitch good posts to our editorial staff at blogburst-editors@pluck.com.

Why doesn't my blog show up in "browse by topic?"

We limit the number of pages of blogs that will come back in any set of search or browsing results. It's just that your blog is falling off the bottom of the viewable list.

When will BlogBurst show a new post I've made?

It takes about an hour for new posts to appear, basically because if we grab info too quickly from some sites, it is possible that we'd get banned, which would be unpleasant for all concerned. Wait an hour and your content should appear.

What does "headline impressions" mean?

Headline impressions indicate the number of times someone views a page on a publisher's site where an abstract or headline from your blog exists.

If you visit some of the live publisher sites you will see that they typically have 3-20 headlines on key pages like Travel, Tech, etc. These headlines rotate several times during the course of the day as new posts from the bloggers, selected by the publishers for their "channels," are pulled into the system. We are currently able to track the number of headline impressions for your blog - however, because these headlines rotate on and off pages, we cannot provide a link to them (in your reports page) that points to a publisher's page - because by the time the link is created, that publisher's page may no longer have your headline or abstract on it due to the rotation of the headlines.

Post views show the number of times someone clicked on your blog post's headline on a publisher page, in order to read the full post. This action creates a unique page, and we can therefore link to it.

Therefore, you'll almost certainly always have more headline impressions than post views.

What is the difference between a feed URL and a Blog URL?

For most blogging platforms, the blogger has the ability to turn on what's called an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed, which makes it easy for anyone with an RSS reader (now built into FireFox browsers and soon to be coming in IE; there are dozens of readers out there) to subscribe to the feed of your blog's content to read at their convenience. You might recognize the little orange icons you see on web sites that say XML or RSS. These icons are usually clickable and link to the RSS feed for that blog.

We use the RSS feed in BlogBurst to link your blog to our network. Once this link is made and the blogger sets up a profile in the BlogBurst network, they can keep posting to their blog as they have always done, and the content will automatically flow through the RSS feed to the network for syndication.

To make a long story short, the Feed URL for the blog is the web address where the feed for the blog resides. It is usually an extension of the blog's URL. For example, www.InThePinkTexas.com is the blog's URL and www.InThePinkTexas.com/wp-rss2 is the blog's feed URL, as automatically generated by this blogger's blogging platform.

Your blogging platform may or may not offer an RSS feed. If you do not have the ability to turn on RSS feeds for your blog, then BlogBurst is not going to work for you. However, if you have a feed already, or can turn it on as an option for your blog platform, then you need only type in the address (aka URL) for your blog and our tools will sniff out the feed URL for your blog ... so you do not necessarily have to know anything about RSS feeds to take advantage of our network.

How do I change my blog URL?

Go to the "My Blogs" tab, then go down to your blog and choose "Edit Blog Profile." This will take you to a page where you can update your blog information. Choose "Update URL" from the appropriate field and you should be able to make the change.

How do I change my feed URL?

Just like a blog URL. (see above)

Where can I edit my profile? I don't see any way to do so.

Log into the BlogBurst workbench on www.blogburst.com, click on the My Blogs tab. You should see your blog listed there.

Click on the blog in which you want to update the avatar image. That should take you to a page called the Blog Profile page.

Just below the page title ("Blog Profile") is a red divider bar with the name of your blog, followed by the word Edit. Click on Edit and you should be able to update all your blog's profile information, including the ability to upload the Blog Image (about 1/2 way down the page).

Please fill out the rest of the profile information for your blog while you are there.

Why isn't my feed working?

That's the $20,000 question. First thing I'd do is go to http://www.feedvalidator.org and enter your feed URL and see what the validator says. The nice thing is, if your feed has errors, Feedvalidator will tell you why and give you "help" links that will usually tell you why, and what you can do to fix it. If that doesn't help, give us a shout.

Why can't I select my feed from the drop-down menu when I add a blog? It isn't listed.

Because of the bewildering variety of blogging platroms and their occasionally unique structuring, this happens occasionally. There's a great workaround for this. Re-start your "add a blog" process (the part where you just add the blog URL, then get sent to the more detailed info page) but instead of using the blog URL initially, use the feed URL instead. When you get to the details page, you should see the feed URL in the dropdown menu this time.

I put the verification script in the sidebar/header/main page but it says I'm not verified. Why?

There are lots of potential problems with this approach. Put the code in a blog entry instead, and if that doesn't work, let us know.

I used HTML to describe my blog in the Blog Profile form, but that didn't work. Why?

We don't allow HTML in form fields, as we have found it to have unpredictable results.

I got an invitation, but now the invitation code doesn't work. What happened?

Chances are, you clicked the link and "redeemed" the invitation already, rendering it inoperative (in essence, it's "used up") but also giving you access to Blogburst at the same time. Try logging in to the system by going to http://www.blogburst.com and clicking "log in to workbench; more than likely you will be able to.

If all else fails, please drop us a note and we'll get you straight.

Do you have filters to block out profanity?

Yes we do. Our publishers have the ability to filter out "inappropriate language" based on word filtering, and they can basically select the level of filtering they want to apply, much like the MPAA's film rating system: from G rating (most heavily filtered) to totally unfiltered. Only the words are filtered — the entire blog entry remains intact, except for the filtered words.

While filtering is somewhat controversial, the upside is that it allows bloggers to maintain their style without having their entire entries blocked from appearing on a publisher's site - only selected words, at the discretion of the publisher's filtration level.

More coming soon!