Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Clearing Up the Confusion E-Zine Vol 01 Issue 18
------- Clearing Up the Confusion E-Zine -------
Vol 1, Issue 18
It's a bit gray and gloomy outside my window this afternoon.
It's not that I don't enjoy this type of weather, but it does
make me want to curl up in my cave with a blanket and a nice cup
of hot cocoa. Of course, as an entrepreneur, I can't afford to
hole up for long, so I have to get out both physically and
electronically. This week we're going to focus on one way of
doing the latter: Publishing a Blog.
----------------------------------------------------------------
In This Issue...
----------------------------------------------------------------
1. Article: What's on your Mind: Blogging
2. Blog Posts
3. Shameless Self-Promotion
4. The Fine Print
----------------------------------------------------------------
1. Article: What's on your Mind: Blogging
----------------------------------------------------------------
If "writing is the basis of all wealth", then blogging is where
you can start putting some loose change in the piggy bank.
Blogging, for those who've been too busy to pay attention to the
evolution of the online world, is the practice of publishing
regular written pieces on the Web ("blog" comes from the
shortening of "Web log"). The trick with a blog is that it is
easy to start and difficult to maintain (though it doesn't have
to be).
First of all, though, why would you even *want* to start one of
these blog things anyway?
* Publication. Not all of us have access to more traditional
forms of publication, such as writing books, newspaper columns,
or magazine articles. A blog is a good way to get your ideas
out there.
* Practice. Maybe someday you'd *like* to be published on one of
those venues. Until your writing style is up to that level of
quality, though, a blog gives you time and space to perfect
your writing craft.
* Exploration. Even if your writing is of a high quality,
sometimes you just need a place to try out some new ideas.
This is especially helpful if you've developed any sort of
audience. Quite often they are more than willing to point out
the rare flaw in an otherwise excellent concept.
* Communication. As you develop an audience, assuming you grant
them the privilege, the will begin to comment on your blog
entries. Many of these folks can end up being valuable assets
and potentially even clients, customers, or even friends.
* Authority. By focusing your blog on a single topic and
positioning yourself as an expert therein, you develop a
reputation of expertise in that subject. Of course, this
doesn't happen overnight, but even Michael Arrington, author of
the popular and prolific TechCrunch blog (www.techcrunch.com),
had a first post at some time.
Assuming you find any of these reasons compelling, the first
thing you must do is start. If you already have your own website,
then quite frequently your site will include access to blogging
software. Check out your website's control panel or check with
the folks from technical support to find out how to activate the
feature.
For those who don't have access to such tools, never fear! You
still have access to a variety of possibilities.
* Blogger (www.blogger.com). This is the one that I use on my
blog (clearing-confusion.blogspot.com). It takes about five
minutes to set up a fairly decent-looking blog. In general,
the tools are clear and easy to use. You can either host your
blog on their servers (which gives it a URL like
http://weasel-hunter.blogspot.com/) or host it on your own web
server.
* WordPress (www.wordpress.com). Another popular service/tool,
you can either choose to use their free hosting service for
your blog or host it on your own site. Many Web hosting
services offer WordPress as a part of their basic features.
I've also heard that the standalone version works fairly well
as a content management system for a relatively simple site.
* LiveJournal (www.livejournal.com). This one is fairly popular
with those maintaining a personal (as opposed to a company)
blog.
* TypePad (www.typepad.com). TypePad is more focused on
professional and business blogs. I've never used this one
myself, but a know several folks who swear by its sophisticated
interface and capabilities. They like it enough that they're
willing to pay the nominal monthly fee.
I won't go into the details of how to write a good blog or how to
gather an audience for your blog. Those topics have been covered
in a variety of books and online tutorials. If you are
interested, do a quick Google search on "how to write a blog" or
"blogging tips". The resulting overflow of information should
keep you busy for days.
Once you actually have your blog up and running, the big thing is
to keep writing on a regular basis. Pick a frequency, whether
once a week or once a day and stick with it. As of April of this
year, Technorati (technorati.com), a blog tracking service,
reported that it tracked over 70 million blogs. Of those,
though, only about 15.5 million had been updated within the last
ninety days. Do you think those other 55 million blog authors
are getting much out of their sites?
I've been blogging now for about a year and a half and have
written over 250 posts. I've turned some of those have into longer
articles to be published elsewhere. I've had folks from all over
the world read my work. One or two have even taken the time to
comment and give me feedback.
And for me, little gives me more thrill than to know that my
ideas have reached out and touched somebody.
Copyright 2007, Greg Peters
----------------------------------------------------------------
2. Blog Posts
----------------------------------------------------------------
Links to posts on the "Clearing Up the Confusion" Blog from the
last year:
Thursday, October 11, 2007 -- Long Distance Radio
http://clearing-confusion.blogspot.com/2007/10/long-distance-radio.html
Saturday, October 06, 2007 -- Looking at Things from All Sides
http://clearing-confusion.blogspot.com/2007/10/looking-at-things-from-all-sides.html
----------------------------------------------------------------
3. Shameless Self-Promotion
----------------------------------------------------------------
The "Clearing Up the Confusion" E-Zine is a production of Greg
Peters, owner, chief cook, and bottlewasher of Cyber Data
Solutions. CDS has been helping website designers develop better
web presence for their clients for more than a decade. Visit us
on the Web at www.cyberdatasolns.com to see how we can help your
webmaster.
----------------------------------------------------------------
4. The Fine Print
----------------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe:
You can subscribe to the "Clearing Up The Confusion" E-zine at:
http://www.cyberdatasolns.com/ezine
Questions:
If you have any questions, concerns or comments regarding the
Clearing Up the Confusion E-zine, please email Greg Peters at:
gpeters@cyberdatasolns.com
This content may be forwarded in full, with copyright and contact
information intact, without specific permission, when used only
in a not for-profit format. If any other use is desired,
permission in writing from Greg Peters is required, with
notification to the original author.
We never send the "Clearing Up the Confusion" E-zine uninvited,
and we NEVER share, sell or rent our mailing list to anyone. Your
privacy is safe with us.
