Archive for the Category »Open Mic «

Oct

393466886 93a4a580b0 m Who Taught You Open Mic

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!

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

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.

Category: Archives, Blog Registry, Open Mic 31 Comments

Oct

Just A Click Away – Open Mic

Barbara Swafford

385635328 7512539390 Just A Click Away Open Mic

Here it is Friday already. This week has flown by. For me it’s been month and quarter end on my real job, thus taking me away from visiting other blogs as much as I’d like.

To recap the week:

Monday – We discussed writing blog posts when creativity strikes

On Tuesday Eric Hamm of Motivate Thyself was named the New Blog of the Week (NBOTW)

Wednesday was a special day for me. I was the subject of an interview by Blogger Dad.

And yesterday, we talked about the misconceptions of blogging

My Friday question: Based on the fact some bloggers would like to make money blogging, do you click on ads or make purchases through a link you see on a blog?

My answer: Prior to blogging, I clicked on many ads assuming the “links” would take me to a specific topic. It would upset me when the click lead to an ad and not to information that could help my research.

Now that I’m blogging, I understand the concept. Although I go to other blogs for the content, sometimes the ads are just too intriguing, not to click.

What about you? Join in the conversation and share how ads on blogs affect you? And if you’re monetizing your blog, are you seeing results?

I look forward to reading your answers.

By the way, today is also “Open Mic”

The floor is yours. You know the rules.

All blogging questions, comments and concerns are welcome. You choose the topic.

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.

Photo Credit: liewcf’s photostream

Category: Archives, Making Money, Open Mic 45 Comments

Sep

Updates – Time Tracking – Open Mic

Barbara Swafford

Hi All,

Another busy week has come to an end.

To recap the week:

1) On Monday we looked at how blogging can fill a void in our lives.

2) Tuesday Davina and her blog Loving Pulse were showcased as New Blog of the Week (NBOTW)

3) Wednesday was a day of gratitude. How we can thank others for commenting and frequenting our blogs was discussed.

4) Yesterday was a fun day. Everyone contributed their definitions of blogoholism (is that a word?) If you haven’t read all of the comments, you must check them out. We have some true comedians in the BWAB community, and they did they best to make us laugh.

This week I upgraded to the newest CommentLuv plugin. It took a few tries, but I now have it working properly.

My Friday Question:

How many hours a day (average) do you spend on blogging activities?

For me, at times it seems my blog is always on my mind, but having checked how much time I spend on writing/editing posts, answering comments, visiting other blogs and commenting, working behind the scenes, checking stats, checking/answering emails, and partaking in social networking , I average 8 hours a day.

And to think, I call myself a part-time blogger. Whew!

By the way, today is also “Open Mic”

The floor is yours. You know the rules.

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!

Photo Credit: wan fauzan’s photostream