Two features were recently introduced for WordPress.com users. For those of you that don’t know the difference, I’ll just call it FREE WordPress.
The Image Widget
The first feature I’ll talk about is the Image Widget. This widget lets you add a static image to the side bar of your blog. When I looked into this I found out that the image needs to be one found on the web and needs an extention that you typically find for images like .jpeg, .gif, .png etc. I was rather disappointed because I wanted to post an image from my computer, not from the web.
So I gave it some thought and then it dawned on me – I can put this widget to use by adding a Twitter icon which links to my Twitter account.
Follow Ileane on Twitter
Check it out over on the right. Might not look as great as some of the others I’ve seen on PAID WordPress blogs, but it gets the job done. The link has been clicked 5 times since yesterday which is more than the link I’ve had on my Contact Page for over a month.
The SoundCloud Widget
The second feature is a little more near and dear to my heart and it is the SoundCloud widget. By the way, don’t go looking for a SoundCloud widget on the FREE WordPress widgets list, I just made the name up. See, I was looking for a way to add some jazz music to my blog that would be static. I’ve included a Coltrane YouTube music video in a post before but it’s an older post and it might not get noticed much anymore. So when FREE WordPress introduced easy integration with SoundCloud by embeding a SoundCloud track into a post, I thought, this is a great feature. But how can I make it better?
SoundCloud Screen Shot
Well, I took things a step further and played around a little to see if it would work and- Voila!
I used the Text Widget and added a SoundCloud track called Piece of Cake from jazz artist Kevin Peter Jones. You can find it on the right right under the picture of Your Host (that’s me!), and if you want to hear a great jazz song press play. So if you’re a music lover, I’m sure you will find something over at SoundCloud that you’ll want to use on your blog in a “SoundCloud Wigdet” 😉
Smooches!
ms. ileane speaks 
Hi ileane,
Great information. I am playing with SoundCloud and as requested will get back to you with a few tracks.
David, thanks for stopping by. I appreciate the comment. See you in twitterland.
Hi ileane,
Thanks for all the interesting info.
I found that by using a Flickr account and putting the flickr widget into my sidebar I could add my photos from that account into my posts, and also have some photos displaying in the sidebar which when clicked will take visitors to the rest of my Flickr pictures. Will be handy once I start to travel
Hi Pommepal,
Nice to hear from you. I must visit your blog soon so that I can take a look at the images you’ve posted. It’s always a delight to see them.
Thanks for the Flickr tip. Have you thought about joining our little bookmarking group on Diigo? We are building a collection of articles that focus on improving WordPress.com blogs. You can view the collection of articles at this link http://groups.diigo.com/group/WordPress_com
Cheers!
G’day ileaneb,
I had a look at the articles and found them very interesting, I am planning to use geo tagging in the future. Not really sure what diigo is, I am very new to all this technology. If I sign up to your group does that mean I have to contribute? or can I just enjoy and learn from all the good tips?
Hi!
When you join the Diigo group you never have to contribute, just enjoy learning from all of the tips that are posted there. You can get updates via email on a weekly or daily basis.
Thanks you for asking. Please join us!
Thanks for the invite I will go join up