One more thing before we start. There's a "help" button in Blogger that all browsers can use (see fig.1). I strongly encourage you to take a moment and read through the topics there. I've made our blog as easy and transparent to use as possible so some topics, like ftp, aren't necessary for you to understand but still, take a look.

With IE 5.0+
People who post in Blogger with this browser have access to three buttons in the upper right corner of the edit window that Netscape/Mac users can't see; a globe, the letter B and the letter I (just left of the "Post" button, see fig.1)
 

Fig. 1

To create a hyperlink in your post first highlight the text you would like to be clickable then press the "globe" button. A new small window will appear with http:// already filled in for you. Just fill in the rest of the URL (or paste with <Control-V> if you've already copied the URL) and press "ok". Voilla, you've made a hyperlink! It will look funny in the top window because of the html tags but will look normal after you "Post" it into the bottom window.

You make bold (the B button) or italic (the I button) text the same way. First highlight the text then press the appropriate button. Easy! And remember, you always have a chance to edit your post if it doesn't appear as you would like in the bottom window.
 

With a Netscape or a Mac browser
You don't get the three buttons in fig.1 so you'll need to learn a wee bit of html and put the tags in manually. Ready?

HTML is just a series of tags that are integrated into a text document. They're a lot like stage directions - silently telling the browser what to do, and what props to use. Any simple ASCII word processor (like Notepad, or the Blogger top edit window) can write these tags. For the moment all we need to learn here are three simple tags; we'll make some bold text, some italic text, and set a hyperlink.

The first thing to remember about tags is that they travel in pairs. Every time you use a tag - say <b> - you must also close it off with another tag - in this case, </b>. Note the slash - / - before the letter "b"; that's what distinguishes a closing tag from an opening tag. 
 

To make bold text use the <b> </b> tags.
Example: I want the word <b>bold</b> to appear bold.

To make italic text use the <i> </i> tags.
Example: I want the word <i>italic</i> to appear italic.

Not too tough. On to hyperlinks!

Hyperlinks (text you can click on) work the same way using the <a> and </a> tags but have to contain a bit more information. In the following example the words "click here" will be the text that appears in the browser and can be clicked on.

If you <a href="http://7393.org">click here</a> you'll go to "The Red Brick Times".

Notice that the extra URL information is contained within the bracket of the first "a" and enclosed by quotes: <a href="http://7393.org">. The href= call must be used within the bracket as well.

Right after the closing bracket of the first "a" tag comes the text that will appear in your browser: click here

Finally we apply the ending tag: </a>

Here's the complete link one more time:

Bonus info: The same "a" tags work for email too.

If you <a href="mailto:whatley@7393.org">click here</a> you'll send whatley some email.

One extra warning: if you forget a quote mark (") or a bracket (<) or a slash (/) you'll get unexpected results. Sometimes you can even disable the "edit" link under your post in the bottom window at Blogger. Never fear! Blogger has a "safe" mode to allow for this. To see how to use it read the "help" screen in the Blogger post environment. In fact (word to the wise) read the entire help window the next time you're there. It's, uh, helpful.