Resources page

Information to help you set up your Blogsite.

• Deciding What URL To Use

Your Blogsite URL is determined by you. While we can host the entire system and domain name on our servers, we recommend that your blogsite become a subdomain of your primary domain ( such as b log.yourcomanydomain.com ).  For more details, see Creating a Blogsite Domain Name.

When you've made this decision, let us know.

• Your Blogsite Styling and Design

We brand your blogsite with your company logo and color scheme. For Advanced blogsites, we will also style the blogsite to closely match your primary web site.  We can also accommodate specialized style or design needs.

• Inviting Guest Bloggers to Participate

Your blogsite provides the ability to syndicate guest weblogs into your site. Guest weblogs are intended to increase the amount of interesting content on your site by presenting other authors' content that supports your own viewpoints and is complimentary to your own blogs.

Take some time to identify bloggers that you would like to invite to be presented as guest weblogs on your own blogsite. Once you have some bloggers in mind, use this sample email text to invite them.

Note - we require that you obtain authorization to syndicate other author's content in your blogsite.

• Creating a Blogsite domain name

You may use any domain name with a Scenario d Blogsite, but in some cases, you must create an appropriate DNS entry.

In general, you may use any domain name or subdomain name you wish for your Scenario d Blogsite.  There are two basic categories of names:

• A blogsite.com subdomain (e.g.,  myCompany.blogsite.com)
• Your own domain or subdomain (e.g., myCompany.com, blog.myCompany.com, or info.myCompany.com)

For the second category, you (or your ISP) must set  up a DNS entry for your blogsite name that points at the blogsite.com server.  In general, we cannot do this for you because, as the domain name owner, only you have the necessary permissions to make the necessary DNS entry.

• How to Create Your DNS Entry

The following instructions are intended for the webmaster or ISP who will make the DNS change.  If you do not understand these instructions, please feel free to contact us for additional assistance.

To use a domain name using MyST Technologies platform, the domain name must resolve to the app2.myst-technology.com IP address.  This can be done using either a DNS CNAME; record or a DNS A record.  The CNAME record is the preferred approach.  However, an A record can also be used.

CNAME Record

Create a CNAME record for your desired blogsite name.  The CNAME record must specify that your blogsite name is an alias for app2.myst-technology.com.

A Record

Create an A record for your desired blogsite name.  The A record must specify that your blogsite address is 64.9.206.25 (app2.myst-technology.com).

IMPORTANT:  Do not use a domain redirect!  It is important that you set up a DNS entry using one of the methods describe above.  If you simply redirect to blogsite.com, it will not work.

• Testing Your DNS Entry

Remember, a new DNS entry can take as long as 72 hours to take effect everywhere in the Internet, although changes often propagate within a day.

A simple DNS entry test is to "ping" your domain name.  You should see that IP address associated with your domain name is 64.9.206.25.  If you see any other IP address, or if you are unable to ping you domain name, the DNS entry is not set correctly.

To ping from a Windows or Linux command line, simply issue a ping command as follows:

ping domain-name

Note: For security reasons, MyST Technology servers will not respond with details to any ping request. But they will indicate if your domain name is properly configured with our servers.

There are also a number of free, web based ping services you can use to ping your blogsite name.  Here are several such places:

http://dnsstuff.com/

http://centralops.net/co/Ping.vbs.asp

http://network-tools.com/