All aboard for better blogging on The Holly Express!

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The Holly Express' new bloggin...

HOLLY, Michigan - The Holly Express is growing by leaps and bounds, attracting more people every week, and now averaging over 650 individual readers and nearing an average of 30,000 hits per day.

More readers equates to more comments. While we initially began looking into different commenting systems as a way of keeping bloggers more accountable for their comments, we also saw that technically, we could kick it up a notch by integrating Facebook into the mix.

Effective today, you must become a registered user on the Holly Express before you can comment on the blog.  The login registration module is found at the bottom of every page on The Holly Express.

By registering, you will be required to select a user name and provide us with certain profile information, including your real name and a valid email address. You’re welcome to continue saying what you think, but please understand that we still expect you to blog responsibly – be civil and obey the law. After you register, you will receive an email from us asking you to verify your information to activate your account.

While The Holly Express will know your true identity, other users will not be able to see your name, should you choose to select an anonymous pseudonym.

Among the system’s other “new bells and whistles,” readers can give a “thumbs up” or a “thumbs down” on any given blog comment. While you’ll still be able to view the latest posted blog comments in the RSS feed (please update your RSS links for comments), now you can select an option while posting that will automatically send you an email update whenever others chime in on the discussion.

Once you have become a registered user on The Holly Express, you will have the option of linking up with your Facebook account, allowing you to automatically share your personal criteria between the two accounts.

You can edit your profile information at any time and even upload an image to appear every time you comment on the blog. If you choose to link to your Facebook account, your profile image for The Holly Express will automatically be the same as your Facebook image. You will have to login and use your password anytime you wish to leave a blog comment. It’s that easy.

We have also included other great social networking features in your profile such as the ability to link your profile to your Twitter or Digg accounts. If you are not sure what these services offer, now is a great chance to try them out.

Over the last few months, the blog feature of The Holly Express has brought about many a great discussion among our readers regarding issues that have a direct impact on their lives and our community. We want everyone to continue enjoying this feature, but the bottom line is, you may be as anonymous or as transparent as you want, but by registering with us, you are accepting the burden of responsibility for your comments.

Be sure to review the blog policy on The Holly Express menu. We look forward to offering many more positive changes like this one as we move farther down the tracks. If you have any questions, concerns or feedback regarding our new blog system, please feel free to pass them along. We’re a work in progress, and are always striving to make The Holly Express the best that it can be!