Archive for the Category »Blogging Lessons «

Aug

We all know the importance of blog titles.

If we optimize them with keywords or keyword phrases, we could possibly attract more search engine traffic. If we make them catchy sounding, others may click to read more.

When I published the Lose Weight While Blogging?” post, I later said on Facebook, “maybe I should have named it, “Can’t Stand Blogging?””

Today’s Lesson

The above mentioned post links to an article which states how sitting more than six hours a day can possibly cause health problems plus lead to an earlier death. As a solution, I shared how I decided to build myself a work walk station for my treadmill even though there are prefab ones available.

My comment on Facebook made me wonder, “If that same topic had been written by other bloggers, what would they have named it?”

Here’s what I’ve come up with based on what fellow bloggers blog about, and how they could formulate their titles.

I know my outspoken blogging friend Cath Lawson would chose:

“Get Your Rear In Gear”

And she would include the acclaimed photo of Betsy Wuebker’s derriere (which can be found on Cath’s homepage)

Friar, who is also an artist and cartoonist would include sketches of Vikings and name his post:

“Don’t Say the Vikings Didn’t Warn You”

Patty of “Why Not Start Now? might name it:

“Why Not Start Now?”

Public Speaking Expert and blogger Keith Davis,

“Step Up To The Podium”

Chase March, teacher and hip hop blogger,

“Hip Hop Your Way to Health”

Proofreader and writing coach Davina,

“Treadmill Walk Stations – Rendering The Right Impact”

Vered, professional blogger would use keywords:

“Use A Work Walk Treadmill To Extend Your Life”

Patricia of Patricia’s Wisdom would keep it simple.

“My Review: The TrekDesk Work Walk Station”

Debbie, mommy blogger and author of Three Weddings:

“Who needs a treadmill when you have three kids?”

Silly Girl, a reporter in real life,

“Reporting Live From The Office of the Future”

Tom Volkar, author of Delightful Work and life coach might use:

“How A Treadmill Could Improve Your Life”.

Barb Hartsook likes to serve imaginary coffee on her blog.

“Sip, Standing”

Singer, songwriter Jannie could write a poem or song titled:

“The Wedgie Work Walk Station Blues”

Hilary, our resident historian,

“How the treadmill was invented. How it’s helping people to stay fit. And its Place in the Office”

Colleen, blogger and Realtor from Washington State,

“Kennewick Realtors Stand Behind Their Listings”

Julie Walraven who provides a resume writing service:

“Stand Up For What You Believe”

Heather Villa, business coach and blogger,

“Don’t Take It Sitting Down”

The Bold Life author Tess, being true to her blog name might choose:

“Be Bold – Take A Stand”

George Angus, writer and author of Tumblemoose.com could title the post,

“We’ve Got A Standing Date”

Lori Hoeck, martial arts expert and author of Think Like a Blackbelt,

“Kick it Up A Notch! “

Sara Healy of Sharing Connection would include a photo and a challenge.

Story Photo. What Does This Look Like To You?

Tracy would tie in a link to her post which went viral.

What Does A Chicken in a Can Have To Do With a Treadmill?

Raul of Alien Ghost might title his,

“Don’t Just Sit There”

J.D. Meier of Sources of Insight would go all out.

“2000 Lessons Learned While Using The TrekDesk Treadmill Desk*”

Tony Single of Trottersville would include a cartoon in his post,

“How I Killed My Treadmill”

Evelyn Lin’s blog concentrates on abundance, awareness and self alignment:

“Forge Your Own Path With A Walk Work Station”

Mike Goad blogs remotely as they travel.

“Put Some Miles Behind You”

Linda, our resident “green blogger”,

“Environmentally Friendly Desk Option Could Save Millions in Health Care Costs”

Joy over at Unfolding Your Path To Joy,

“Find Joy, Stay Fit While Blogging”

Joella helps new bloggers on her blog, Blog with Wings,

“Stand Up For Your Writes”

Zeenat of Positive Provocations always has encouraging words for her readers,

“Positively The Easiest Way To Take A Stand”

Lisa does intuitive readings and blogs at Practically Intuitive,

“I See You Standing”

Mandy Allen likes to ask questions on her blog.

“Is Your Job Killing You?”

John Hoff, author the fabulous blog security book and video series WordPress Defender*,

“Stand Up To The Bullies“

Junk Drawer Kathy would come up with something funny.

“What I’ve Gained From Blogging Besides Thirty Pounds”

Kelvin Kao, is a puppeteer who also likes to make videos, He might make a video of a puppet on a work walk station and title it,

“It’s So Easy, Even A Puppet Can Do It”

Jay Schryer of Porsidan is in a wheelchair, and since a treadmill work walk station wouldn’t be conducive for his life style, he might teach others with disabilities how to stay fit.

“Alternative Ways To Incorporate Exercise Into Your Day”

Patricia Singleton of Spirtual Journey Of A Lightworker would share more of her knowledge,

“How To Stay Fit As You Journey Through Life”

Jodith of Administrative Arts could teach office managers,

“How To Improve Productivity In The Office”

Walter of Lionslinger shares life lessons on his blog,

“Another Lesson In Life. Don’t Sit. Get Fit”

Chania Girl shares happy thoughts at Living Happiness,

Don’t Worry! Be Happy! Work Standing!

Julie is always so cheerful as shares her thoughts from Italy. She might title hers,

“Hello Gorgeous, Wanna Go For A Walk?”

Miguel de Luis could do a post in Spanish.

“Si Si” (Sorry Miguel, that’s all the Spanish I know )

Lance might turn this into a “Sunday Thought For The Day”,

“Embrace Life, One Step At A Time”

Lori at Jane Be Nimble shares wonderful stories on her blog,

“Be Nimble. Be Quick. Blog Your Way To Fitness”

Wendi Kelly at Life’s Little Inspirations blogs to inspire others,

“Latest Innovation Sparks Creativity”

From Roses to Rainbows author Linda might title hers:

“From Flab To Fab – Stand Up And Blog”

Julie, author of Random Meanderings enjoys hiking.

“Take A Hike”

Evita at Evolving Wellness would share her wisdom on health.

“Easily Fit Fitness Into Your Day”

Eliza of Silver and Grace who writes for women over forty, might title her post:

“Stand and Stop That Middle Age Spread”

Angela Sims at Living, Loving, Laughing… might say,

“Don’t Laugh, It Works”

So, there you have it. How one blog title could be written fifty-two ways.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Today’s Assignment

How do your choose your blog titles?

Do you try to use catchy ones? Or do you prefer using keywords?

Care to share?

*Affiliate Link

Category: Archives, Blogging, Blogging Lessons, Keywords, SEO, Writing Tips 93 Comments

Jul

Lose Weight While Blogging?

Barbara Swafford

It’s not uncommon to hear bloggers admitting to experiencing a weight gain since they started blogging.

Let’s face it, if we’re sitting in front of our computers, writing posts, leaving and/or answering comments and socializing online, we’re not moving.

In fact, with blogging being so addictive, exercise is often the last thing on our minds.

Unfortunately, this life style may be detrimental to our health.

Today’s Lesson

The American Cancer Society published an article titled, “Study Links More Time Spent Sitting to Higher Risk of Death” which shows those who sit for more than six hours a day may be subject to an earlier death.

It claims the statistics are worse for women.

But that’s not all,

When combined with a lack of physical activity, the association was even stronger. Women and men who both sat more and were less physically were 94% and 48% more likely, respectively, to die compared with those who reported sitting the least and being most active.

Dr. Patel goes on and elaborates,

“Several factors could explain the positive association between time spent sitting and higher all-cause death rates,” said Dr. Patel. “Prolonged time spent sitting, independent of physical activity, has been shown to have important metabolic consequences, and may influence things like triglycerides, high density lipoprotein, cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, resting blood pressure, and leptin, which are biomarkers of obesity and cardiovascular and other chronic diseases.”

Although the study does not include all of the details, and we’re all going to die sooner or later, it did make me think about my own lifestyle.

After all, I have an office job which requires me to sit for extended periods of time. treadmill desk Lose Weight While Blogging?

I looked at my choices and here’s what I’ve come up with.

An option which could possibly extend my life, AND decrease that middle age spread.

Blog standing.

Let’s look at this option.

I can buy a work walk station with all of the bells and whistles from Steelcase for $4199.
Another choice is to buy a TrekDesk Treadmill Desk from Amazon* (see above photo) for less than $500.
I could “Build A Walking Work Station in 20 Minutes for $20″ as described in a post and video from Lifehacker.
Or…I can just blog less and move more

Of the four choices, I’m not only trying option #3, but will be blogging about my experience on my Observation Mountain blog.

The way I see it, “Gotta Run” just took on a whole new meaning.

Today’s Assignment

What about you?

Are you blogging more? Moving less? Gaining weight?

Care to share?

Other links which inspired this post:

Disclaimer: This blog post is my observation only and is not to be construed as medical advice or treatment. Please consult with your physician or a qualified health care provider prior to beginning any exercise program or to find out how excessive sitting could affect your health.

*Affiliate link

Category: Archives, Blogging, Blogging Lessons Tags: Blogging, exercise, obesity, treadmill walk station, weight gain, work walk treadmill 60 Comments

Jul

Women vs Men – Who Wins The Word Count Award?

Barbara Swafford

A statement was made years ago that women use an average of 20000 words each day, whereas men only use 7000.

However, after reading the article What language barrier? by Deborah Cameron author of The Myth of Mars and Venus: Do Men and Women Really Speak Different Languages?,she points out the statement wasn’t based on fact.

Although the statement was not based on fact, some saw this as on opportunity to label women as “yakkers”, and men as the “strong, silent type”.

Today’s Lesson

Before I read the above article which states the word counts for women and men isn’t true, I assumed that was why it appears women comment more on blogs, chat more on Facebook, appear to tweet more on Twitter and at times are more wordy with their posts.

But, I realized it’s more than that.

It also has to do with which blogs I follow, what types of blogs I read, who I friend on Facebook and whom I follow on Twitter.

Since I tend to pal around with more women than men online, obviously I see women “talking” more.

But, that’s just my observation.

What say you?

Today’s Assignment

In your travels through blogosphere, social networking sites and in your comment section, who do you see “talking” more?

Men, or women?

Care to share?

Category: Archives, Blogging, Blogging Lessons, Comments 59 Comments

Jul

Which One Are You

Barbara Swafford

When I started blogging in 2007, I didn’t see anyone else with the name of “Barbara” commenting on the blogs I frequented, so “Barbara” become the name I signed onto blogs with.

Within a short period of time that changed and I started seeing other commenters with the name Barbara.

By that time I knew I wanted to build my online presence so I added my last name.

Today’s Lesson

When I travel through blogosphere, I see many bloggers who only use their first name as their online identity.

It’s not that there’s anything wrong with that, however, it can be confusing, and can be a detriment.

Example: Let’s say your name is Clifford AND you don’t use an avatar*. You comment on blogs, build your online presence and soon become well known in your area of expertise. All is good in your world.

Than along comes another avatar-less Clifford, who begins to comment on the same blogs as you do, AND his blog is in the same niche as yours.

Those of us who follow links, may assume Clifford #1 and Clifford #2 are the same person.

They’re not. but we don’t know that because there’s little or no information to differentiate between the two.

The work Clifford #1 has put into developing his online presence could take a hit while Clifford # 2 could have just gotten an unexpected boost to his readership and reputation.

That said, I realize many bloggers choose not to use their real last names, nor do you have to.

Some choices are:

Choose a very unique log in name

This can work well for those who blog anonymously, however if the day comes when you want to “come out”, it may be necessary to do a large “media” blitz to notify those who know you by your pen name so they continue to follow you.

Make up a fictitious last name.

Keep in mind, if you do this and you want to build an online presence, be consistent and use the same pseudonym on all blogs and social media sites you frequent.

Use your first name and the name of your blog

Something like “Barbara @ BWAB” (Blogging Without A Blog) is something I had considered, however at that time I already had two blogs and wanted the option of linking to either one without changing my log in name.

Use only the name of your blog

This can work well, except it may appear impersonal to some.

Use keywords

Many bloggers like to use keywords to describe themselves and their sites, however depending on the keywords, your login name can appear spammy.

For anyone trying to build their online presence, the name we use becomes crucial as it can follow us forever on the world wide web.

What say you?

Today’s Assignment

How did you choose the name you use online?

Have you ever encountered confusion because two or more bloggers have the same name?

Care to share?

This post was inspired by part of what Kelvin Kao said in his comment on the *Who’s Who In Blogosphere post,

I am someone that needs a last name to attach to a person since a common first name, like, say, Jennifer can be anyone. Also I have a habit of changing the names of rss feeds in my feed reader to the blogger’s name, so I tend to have better recognition for blogger names than blog names.

Category: Archives, Blogging, Blogging Lessons, Branding Tags: Avatar, blog anonymously, Blogging, Branding, Comments, Login name, pseudonym, Social Networking 69 Comments

Jul

Who’s Who In Blogosphere

Barbara Swafford

You know those little pictures you see posted next to comments on blogs, Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites which identify the author?

Sometimes you’ll hear them called gravatars (globally recognized avatars), but many just say “avatars”.

I like to call them ADvatars since they “ad”vertise who we are.

In some ways they are like our calling card.

Since they brand us in blogosphere, it’s suggested we use the same image on all sites we frequent and that they represent how we want to be known, whether by our photo, our logo or an image which best represents us.

Today’s Lesson

Recognition online is very important.

So the questions become, “What is the best way to brand ourselves?”, and “How will others recognize us?” .

By our name? By the name of our blog? By our avatar? Or, all three?

To test what brands us the best in blogosphere, I’ve created a little game.

Listed below are three columns with the names of 20 random blog authors, the name of their blog, and their avatars.

I then scrambled each category.

To play, take time to study each list and see if you can match the author to their avatar and to the name of their blog.

Don’t cheat. Honest answers will help all of us to gain better recognition in blogosphere.

Ready to match them up?

Good Luck!

AUTHOR
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1) George
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2) Keith Davis
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3) Kelvin
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4) Mandy
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5) Hilary
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6) Tess
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7) Raul
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8.) Lisa
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9) Tony
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10) Joella
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11) Heather
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12) Linda
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13) Chania Girl
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14) Julie
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15) Wendi
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16) John Hoff
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17) Evelyn
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18) Friar
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19) J.D. Meier
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20) Lori Hoeck

BLOG NAME
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Practically Intuitive
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Alien Ghost
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Heather Villa
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WP Blog Host/Blog
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Trottersville
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Blogs With Wings
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Positive Letters
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Mandy Allen.com
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Sources Of Insight
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Tumblemoose
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Puppet Kaos
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Easy Public Speaking
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Living Happiness
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jbulie’s blog
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Think Like A Blackbelt
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Life’s Little Inspirations
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Abundance Tapestry
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The Bold Life
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Roses 2 Rainbows
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Deep Friar

AVATAR

Today’s Assignment

How did you do?

How do you recognize fellow bloggers? Is it by their name? The name of their blog? Or their avatar?

Care to share?

P.S. To repeat what I mentioned in an earlier post, for those of you who haven’t added an avatar/gravatar to your profile; it’s very easy. Refer to my post titled, “How To Get and/or Add A Gravatar to Your Post Comments”. If you have any questions of need help setting up your avatar, please feel free to ask.

Want more of the game? See: How Branding Works In Blogosphere and Are Domain Names Overrated?; earlier posts in which we matched other bloggers to their avatars.

Category: Archives, Blogging, Blogging Lessons, Branding Tags: Avatar, Blog, Blogging, Blogosphere, Branding, Comments, Gravatar, Social Networking 61 Comments

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