Blogger’s Toolbox

Research

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Letter Generator

GovTrack — Easily track and monitor pending federal legislation

Recent “Major Rule” Evaluations by GAO. (A major rule is a regulation that will likely cost $100 million or more each year).

Websites & Hosting

WordPress.com — Free blog service that will familiarize you with WordPress so you can easily transition to a self-hosted solution

WordPress.org — Self-hosted blogging software and basic CMS.

GoDaddy — Domains, Hosting, etc

Google Apps Free Edition — The power of GMail, but on your own domain.

Name.com — Domain registration. Prices are competitive with GoDaddy, and better for certain TLDs, especially ccTLDs.

GastonRight & OrsusMedia. Host your site on my server (never oversold). Plans start at $10/month. I also offer design services.

Podcasting

Liberated Syndication (libsyn.com) — Podcast media host.

Audacity — Free sound editing and recording software

Social Media

Bit.ly — URL Shortener with analytics and the option to use your own domain

Buffer — Easily schedule posts for consistent social media updates

Tweetbot — Excellent Twitter client for Mac and iOS with multiple account support and bit.ly integration

SocialBro — Social Analytics. There is a free version available as a Chrome add-on.

Other Tools

LastPass.com — Password manager with synchronization, browser plug-ins, and 2-factor authentication

NetNewsWire — RSS reader for Mac & iOS with synchronization through Google Reader

LeeMail.me — Generate a unique email for each mailing list, etc. you join and protect yourself from spam.

UberConference — Free conference calling with excellent online interface and optional call recording (limited number of participants).