Archive for » October, 2008 «

24
Oct
Who Taught You – Open Mic
Barbara Swafford

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Happy Friday!

First, a quick recap of the week:

On Monday Darren Rowse of Problogger shared his answer to how he addresses comments on his blog. The comment section exploded with great ideas of how we can manage our comment section.

Tuesday I expanded on the New Blog of the Week (NBOTW) series and began including some not so new blogs. The three that were highlighted this week are:Deeper Issues, Exit 78, and Ribeezie.

And on Wednesday, I sent you over to Stephen Hopson’s blog (Adversity University) to read part one of his interview with me. Part two will be published next week. The first question of part two was the toughest question for me to answer. It made me delve into the past and brought up a lot of emotions, but hopefully my story and answer will be beneficial to others.

In case you didn’t notice, I took yesterday off from posting. My list was long and priorities were “calling”. The break did me good. In fact, I’m thinking of reducing the number of posts I publish each week.

While working behind the scenes I found some ebooks about blogging which I’ve added to my sidebar. I haven’t read any of them yet, but they all look fascinating.

I’m signed up for Commission Junction‘s affiliate program, so if anyone makes a purchase by clicking on the links, I make an 8% commission. If you’re a member of Commission Junction, and would like to showcase ebooks, simply apply for the “eBooks.com” program.

As I was reviewing the blogging books that are available, it made me wonder; how many bloggers learned blogging from a book?

Myself, I’m a self taught blogger. I learned what I know from doing online searches, reading Steve Pavlina’s blog, Problogger, Lorelle on WordPress, WordPress, other miscellaneous sites, and a lot of trial and error.

All of the themes I’ve used have been free ones I’ve found online.

What about you?

Today’s Question:

How did you learn to blog?

Was your theme free, or did you pay for it?

If you don’t have a blog yet, what resources are you using to learn blogging?

By the way, today is also “Open Mic”

The floor is yours. You know the rules.

Any blogging questions, comments and concerns are welcome.

Have Fun!

Keep it Clean!

And don’t forget to either check the “subscribe to comments on this post” box, or subscribe to my comments RSS feed (upper right sidebar), so you can follow along.

Happy Blogging & Have A Great Weekend!

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P.S. Did you remember to get your blog listed in my Blog Registry? It’s free and easy. Just leave a comment and introduce yourself.

Photo Credit: El Cande!’s photostream
Category: Archives, Blogging, Open Mic  45 Comments
22
Oct
It’s All About Me – Part Two
Barbara Swafford

all about me Its All About Me Part Two

Remember the interview I did for Blogger Dad?

Shortly after that, Stephen Hopson of Adversity University asked if I would agree to do an interview for him, too. I said “yes”.

Stephen’s questions are a little different than Blogger Dad’s.

Here’s a sampling from part one (it’s a two part interview).

What do you consider your proudest achievement in life? In this answer I share an incident that became a turning point in my life.

What is your dark side? This was a tough one to answer as I’m normally an upbeat, positive person. But as you’ll find out, there are some things don’t tolerate.

What is your secret to receiving so many comments on your blog? My secret is………..

Sorry, you’ll have to read the interview to find out my answer.

Here’s a link to the interview: Stephen Hopson Interview With Barbara Swafford, Part 1 of 2

See you there!

6d61b32587b54553fb32d6e3f55d87d6 Its All About Me Part Two
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Category: Archives, Interviews  20 Comments
21
Oct
Not So New Blogs Of The Week
Barbara Swafford

cooltext402406535 Not So New Blogs Of The Week

The more I blog, the more I realize it’s not just brand new bloggers who want and/or need additional traffic to get found. So as a “extension” to the New Blog Of The Week (NBOTW) series, I’ll also be showcasing blogs that are more than four months old.

I wasn’t sure how to do this and not overwhelm you with too many at a time. Thus, I’ll start with three.

The blogs will be listed in no particular order.

Dot at Deeper Issues started her blog in 2003 and blogged for three months, Then in 2007, she tried it again for another three months. With the third time being the charm, she has now been blogging for five months.

Being a “mature” blogger myself, the truth is in this humorous post of hers made me laugh. It’s titled:25 Good Things About Getting Old in which she writes, in part,

2. You’ve had a long time to learn to just be yourself.

3. You know that one gray hair is no big deal.

4. You don’t have to care what other people think about you.

Thanks Vered (of MomGrind) for the heads up on Dot’s blog.

The second blog I’ve picked is named Exit 78. This blog is authored by Mike Goad. To share his tagline, it reads,

Sharing some of my photos, vintage images I’ve discovered, and — occasionally — commentary and thoughts from retired life.

This is a light hearted, easy to follow blog in which Mike writes short crisp posts and shares his awesome photographs complete with camera settings.

The last blog for today is named Ribeezie. Ricardo Bruno is the author. Although he specializes in social media, he also includes articles on blogging. In a recent post titled: 5 Things That Ruin Your Blog he wrote,

You attack other people; other bloggers. It’s ok if you disagree with another person’s opinion. But attack ideas, NOT people. To flat out say “hey, you suck!” is NOT cool! Bloggers are a tight-knit bunch, attack one and you attack the entire community.

I couldn’t agree more. Blogging communities are definitely known for their loyalty to the blog author.

So there you have it. This week’s picks for the not so new blogs of the week. I guess I should call this NSNBOTW. Wow, that’s a mouthful.

So my dear readers, what do you think? Is it a good idea for me to showcase not so new blogs, too?

I’m anxious to hear your answer.

6d61b32587b54553fb32d6e3f55d87d6 Not So New Blogs Of The Week
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P.S. Did you remember to get your blog listed in my Blog Registry? It’s free and easy. Just leave a comment and introduce yourself.

Photo Credit:CoolText.com
Category: Archives, New Blog Of The Week  36 Comments
20
Oct
A.S.K. Darren Rowse – How Does A Problogger Deal With Comments
Barbara Swafford

darren 1 199x300 A.S.K. Darren Rowse How Does A Problogger Deal With Comments

I don’t know about you, but I love getting comments on my blog posts. Granted, they do take time to answer, but for me, there’s nothing better than the sense of community that forms in the comment section.

Recently I’ve noticed some blog authors have totally closed their comment sections and others close them for certain posts. A few blog authors never answer their comments, and some answer each and every one.

I was curious how Darren Rowse, author of Problogger and co-author of ProBlogger: Secrets Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income A.S.K. Darren Rowse How Does A Problogger Deal With Comments deals with his comments, so in this installment of A.S.K. (Answers Sharing Knowledge) series,

I asked

Many blog authors stay active in their comment section. It appears you prefer to be more elusive. Was this a decision you made early on, or have other factors influenced you to not be a part of the discussions?

Darren answered

This is something I grapple with on a daily basis. Unfortunately as my blogs have grown and comment numbers [have increased] it gets harder to maintain being able to interact with comments as I once did.

The other factor is that I’ve found that over time my readers have stepped into the place I once occupied and have begun to answer one another’s questions etc. I guess it’s about building a culture of conversation on your blog.

Reflecting On The Answer

Thank you Darren for taking time out of your busy schedule to share your answer.

Darren points out a factor we don’t always consider when we begin to blog. Will we be able to continue to answer comments when our blog expands?

Recently I’ve been thinking about what I would do. I haven’t come up with the perfect answer.

What about you?

Todays Assignment

Do you think a blog author should respond to answer each and every comment?

What would/will you do when answering comments takes up so much of your time, you’re left with no time to publish posts and/or maintain your blogging activities?

I’m curious to hear what you think. Feel free to share your answer.

6d61b32587b54553fb32d6e3f55d87d6 A.S.K. Darren Rowse How Does A Problogger Deal With Comments
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Read other answers in the A.S.K. (Answers Sharing Knowledge) series.
A.S.K. Darren Rowse of Problogger – How Do We Increase Our Readership
A.S.K. Andy Bailey – What Was The Inspiration Behind The CommentLuv Plugin
A.S.K. Liz Strauss – How Do You Inspire Readers To Join Your Community
A.S.K. Liz Strauss – How To Format Blog Comments To Maximize Comments

Photo Credit: Darren Rowse/Problogger
Category: A.S.K., Archives, Blogging Lessons, Comments, Interviews  Tags: , , , , ,  64 Comments
17
Oct
Blog Registry – Open Mic
Barbara Swafford

Did you get your blog registered on the Blog Registry post?

Do you have any questions or concerns?

If so, this is the post on which to leave them.

I may have forgotten a thing or two in the rules, so as time passes I may be adding additional items.

My hope is everyone plays by the rules and we end up with dozens, or hundreds of names of bloggers who think like we do, and/or are looking to grow their communities and/or make friends in the process.

The mic is open.

The floor is yours.

Share your thoughts on my new feature. I’m all ears.

6d61b32587b54553fb32d6e3f55d87d6 Blog Registry Open Mic
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Category: Archives, Blog Registry, Open Mic  31 Comments
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