OK here from Computerworld could be competition for Facebook. Kevin Rose is not stranger to getting early information. As the founder of Digg he should know where it is at.
Follow up at the link below.
Monday, June 28, 2010
More On Business Blogging - Or Blogging For Business
I think that Lena West's list (from the link below) was very insightful and it is put in a good order.
Number 4. paraphrased as find out what's working and what's not working in your marketing program, cut what is not working and add that time to your social media program. I think this is right on target.
To often I hear that "I don't have enough time to do networking" and yet I suspect time is being wasted in areas that are not supporting your business. Sit back and make the list. Go outside the office and look in - is everything working?
I also thought that number 8 is very important. "Create your short list" (we are into lists) - find out where your clients/customers are and go there. We need to spend time with our clients that is what social media is supposed to be doing. No need to try and use all the tools, just the ones where the people are.
And remember it is "Social".
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Advertising Pays Versus Readers Reading
OK here is a blog that I thought would be pretty good and the writing is not bad but the advertising is the pits.
In following the link below it would appear that you are on a classified advertising page with a story written in and around all the advertising.
The worst ad's are the animated ones that keep distracting the reader from the actual content. I was a little turned off by the page.
I did a little more research and it would appear that Helium is a electronic publishing house(?) or perhaps an online magazine for which you can write and even (maybe) get paid. You can check out their What Is Helium page here and see for yourself.
Their front page looked interesting and I will have to say that I started out very negative however I will be going back to look at Helium some more.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Blogger Eats His Own Dogfood
This post on TechCrunch was very interesting and a fun read. Sometimes your blog can be about life stories that are of interest to someone. I read this and enjoyed it and like any good friendship I pass it along.
Business Blogging 101
This article from the Telegraph (UK) hits the nail on the head. Too many business bloggers spend all their time talking about themselves or promotion and not really "networking" as in the social sense.
This feature relates to Facebook, Linked In and Twitter however it is also carried over to blogging. To often the social media is handled my the marketing department and is looked at as just another advertising or PR medium. Maybe marketing people just aren't social.
Dr. Ivan Misner is the founder, as stated in the post, of Business Network International (BNI) and is the author of Masters of Networking.
The link to the article is below. It's short and worth taking a look at. I like his references to "farming" and "cultivating" as opposed to "hunting". Take a look.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
On Making Money in Blogging
Sometime back I downloaded the Kindle for PC software from Amazon (Free) and yesterday I
downloaded the book PROBLOGGER - Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income (not Free). I started reading the book on my HP Mini netbook. So far I find it to be a very interesting and useful book so I wanted to pass it along.
I am finding the book to be straight forward and easy reading with lots of good content. There are eleven chapters in the book and they include Bogging for Money, Niche Blogging, Setting up your Blog, Blog Writing, and many other worthwhile things to read.
The web site for PROBLOGGER is the work of Darren Rowse, co-author of the book by the same name. The blog at PROBLOGGER is also loaded with plenty of information and follow up to the book.
Another style and method for you to review.
A note on Amazon and the Kindle for PC.
I found reading this book on both my netbook and my tablet PC very easy. To get your own software go to Amazon’s Kindle for PC then scroll down to find the link for Kindle to PC or Kindle for Mac.
I started reading on the netbook and then installed Kindle for PC on my tablet PC and was able to access the book and open up to the page where I left off on the netbook. Synching is automatic with Wispersync (part of the software).
There is a registration process however once you set up the Amazon account it really is quite easy.
The book, PROBLOGGER, retails for $24.99 and Amazon had it for $16.49 however on the Kindle it was $9.99 and that is a good savings.
The Kindle allows you to make bookmarks and to write notes which for me is necessary. I had that issue with Audible – Amazon’ audio books on tape or CD.
I know that Amazon’s Whispersync will let you synchronize between the PC, the Kindle, the iPhone and the iPad. I suspect that very soon there will be a Kindle download for the Android phones as well.
Enjoy!
Friday, June 18, 2010
Blogging Software
The good people over at lifehacker had a post about blogging software and in that post directed it’s readers over to Wikipedia and a Blogging Software entry.
This is an interesting link as it shows a great number of links and or items that can be of great interest to you. It could be a good reference tool for you.
Look through the entry for Developer-Hosted Platforms and you will find a current list of places to have your blog hosted.
They is also a list of the top 20 blogs (not sure if this is maintained) and the software that is used by each blog.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
More on Commenting from Technologizer
Following on my prior post here is more fodder to fuel the fire about comments.
Technologizer is a very popular blog and Ed Oswald, a blogger at Technologizer, is questioning blogging with or without comments.
Some consider blogging to be a "conversation" and I have said that and have used the term to desecribe blogging on many occasions. Now the question is; can blogging be a one-sided conversation? Can we turn off comments and still have a blog?
Does allowing comments legitimize the use of the term blog?
Knowing as Ed says we can delete the inappropriate comments, the ones that are vulgar or use profanity, however not necessarily the ones that disagree with out point. That is what makes up a conversation or discussion.
As always, read the post and see how you feel.
Comments - Another Point of View
Interesting post on comments. I have put it here for you to get a different point of view on comments.
The idea of a blogger being a curator has been argued before and there are some valid points to this. If anything this blog could be considered that by the terms mentioned in this post. I try to point you to other reporting on subjects as well as write my own commentary.
Read on.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Social-media experts’ No. 1 tips | SmartBlog On Social Media
This article is short but very strong. The four points can be used with any social media tool including your blog. Take the time to read this.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Can You Really Make Money from Your Blog with Affiliate Links? | BlogHer
This is a good blog regarding making money from blogging. For the beginner on blogging this should be a must read.
There are also good links at the bottom of the article that could show you the way to affiliate links.
I cannot make too many comments on this article as she says it quite nicely. Read on.
Some Problems with Comments
The story you read by following this link may not be a story you are familiar with. It does bring to light something that as a blogger you need to be aware of - the comments.
When you start to blog there are always those that will disagree with you and some of them will not be nice. One way or another you have to monitor you comments.
Disagreement in conversational form is OK and you should be part of the conversation. I am not saying to get rid of all negative comments. On the other hand, keep in mind that you must also have a think skin.
If the comment is trashy or goes over the line get rid of it but do not take it to heart. If everybody agreed with me I think it might be a boring world the difficulty is in how people handle their disagreement. I don't tolerate insults or foul language.
As I said, I don't mind someone not thinking as I do, it is a free world - right? However if you really want to rant and rave in opposition to my thoughts then get your own pulpit, or blog as in this case.
If you write reasonably I might even point to you so that people can get a dissenting view point.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
What I’ve Learned from a Year of Blogging About Saving Money - It's Your Money - TIME.com
Another interesting approach to blogging and this from TIME.
I try to put links up here to other blogs so that not only can you see various styles but that you see the variety of blogs that are out there.
I thought this one was interesting as well as informative. I think of us all in blogging not as competition but as part of a real time conversation that would begin with; "Have you seen......".
If you know of blogs out there that I should put a link to here let me know.
Be sure to send me a link to your blog and let me also pass that along to others. l
Have a GREAT week!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Medication and Blogging
It is amazing how a little medication can inhibit your blogging (or anything else for that matter). I have been away from this blog for almost a week and it is due mainly to the pills I have been taking for back condition.
A little history here. Last Saturday I was sitting in Starbucks reading and writing and posting information to the blog’s I maintain. I got up to leave and felt a my back twinge and hurt a little bit. I did not know that was going to start the downward spiral.
By Sunday I could not stand up straight and walking was not one of my better abilities. A doctor’s visit on Monday and then
the medication; Muscle relaxer, anti-inflammatory, and pain killer. That's about all one needs to lose concentration when reading or writing.
Sometimes there is a reason for not writing. Like the medications says “This could cause drowsiness as well as make you dizzy (don’t go there). Reading the warnings on the sides of the medicine bottle can sometimes scare you into getting better faster.
The long and or shot of it all is I am getting better and the back is on the mend. I just might be able to stand up in a classroom next week and that is a good thing. I enjoy showing people how they can use their software and to tell about all the ‘new’ things coming down the pike.
My wife will also like it since she will get the living room back and get rid of all the “stuff” that one brings to the sick bed. I have been resting on the couch so if the medicine didn’t put me to sleep the TV would.
Have a great day and take care of your back, you will need it. In fact take care of all the parts it could make for along life. Hope to see you in a class soon.
And that is my excuse for not writing and I am sticking to it.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Ways to Improve Your Blog Content
Kipp Bodnar gets it right in his blog "10 Simple Strategies for Business Blog Content". I found this to be right on not only for business but for whatever you are blogging on. This is a very good reference and should be part of your book.
I am not going to re-list all of the items however I would like to bring out a quote from the blog.
"The reality is that the web is full of too many great ideas and different types of content, that you should never run out of things to blog about, regardless of your industry."
This is so right. Read and use Kipp's list as both an example and a guide. Print it out and put it up on the wall, when you run out of ideas read it again.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Idea's For Increasing Traffic To Your Web Site
A business blog that passes along information on how to drive more traffic to your blog.
As I have stated many times, a business blog is a conversation about many things other than "what we do". This blog is helping bloggers drive traffic to their site while driving traffic to it's own site.
This business, Drop Ship Access, wants people to sign up for their business however the blog posting is good information whether you sign up for their opportunity or not. They are providing useful information all the way around.
I will return here to 1) see how they are doing and 2) I have an interest in what they are doing.
More On What (or How) To Go About Blogging.
Just discovered this blog and I will pass it along. It would appear to have information of interest. After reading the blog click on the title and go to the home page of this specific blog and look at some of the other post's.
I acquired this on via an Alert that I had set up at Google for Blogging.
Reporting vs Blogging - Does It Matter Who or How It Is Done?
Below are two recent articles in the NY Times regarding journalism and blogging. They are both interesting reads and both articles bring up important point about blogging.
If you read (and I recommend it) please keep in mind that these conversations or journalistic reporting's regarding reporting and or blogging appear to me to be searching for answers as to what each individual thinks is correct in today's world.
Bigger picture here is what do you do when writing about others and their thoughts, actions or appearance's? I think there are some interesting questions raised here.
This is Sunday thinking.
If reading this please read the top one first as the second article is a response to the first.
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