In January of 2008 as my way of paying it forward, I started the New Blog Of The Week (NBOTW) series.

Here it is, seven months, twenty nine blogs later. As I look through the list, I am amazed at the talent displayed by these great authors who willingly share from their hearts, with stories of their lives and lessons life has taught them.

For those new to Blogging Without A Blog (BWAB), the New Blog Of The Week (NBOTW) series posts every Tuesday, and for a one week period the blog is showcased in my sidebar.

Today is a recap of all of the NBOTWs and their authors. Some are still going strong, whereas others are either on hiatus and/or busy living their lives.

To all of the NBOTW authors, wherever blogging has taken you, I wish you all of life’s best.

Here they are, in the order in which they were showcased:

1. Natasha’s World by Natasha
2. NezSez by Nez
3. David Lano.com by David Lano
4. Three Weddings by Debbie Yost
5. Bizlift Blog by Sterling Okura
6. In My Heels by JEMi
7. Admnistrative Arts by Jodith
8. The Growing Life by Clay Collins
9. Plain Talk – Ordinary Wisdom by Pat
10. Creative Journey Cafe by Mark Penta
11. Yes To Me by Akemi Gaines
12. Kitchen Table Medicineby Dr. Nicole Sundene
13. Success Soul by Shilpan
14. Between Us Girls by Lori
15. Golden Zen by Harmony and Ginger
16. Life’s Little Inspirations by Wendi
17. Be Playful.org by David
18. Happy Dogs Make Happy Humans by Kaye Swafford and Krystal
19. On Simplicity by Sara
20. Work Happy Now by Karl Staib
21. Forced Green by Linda
22. Abundance Blog by Marelisa
23. MomGrind by Vered
24. The Jungle Of Life by Lance
25. Dr. Cason.org by Dr. Cason
26. Urban Pather’s Lair by Urban Panther
27. Urbane Panther’s Den by Urbane Lion
28. Rajaie Talks by Rajaie
29. Tender Loving Elder Careby Linda Abbit

For all of the readers of BWAB, do you see names of favorite bloggers?

If you haven’t visited these blogs, click on the links, visit others and make new friends.

Do you know someone you would like to nominate? Would YOU like to become a NBOTW? It’s easy, just leave a comment or fill out the contact form (in the header). All nominations will be considered. The prerequisite is:

1) The blog should be less than four months old
2) The blog must contain value based content

Next Tuesday I’ll resume showcasing new blogs.

Thus far, we’ve covered staying motivated, errors bloggers make, and if good content is good enough.

Today Lorelle will be sharing her view on a problem new bloggers may not have (yet), but it’s a scenerio that can strike at anytime.

4) You’ve been blogging for many years, and have also written the book, Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won’t Tell You About Blogging. How do you find fresh content without rehashing old subjects? Or, is rehashing old subjects a good way to give new birth to older posts?

Rehashing is such a harsh word. With time, everyone is redundant, and sometimes topics need to be revisited, so revisiting them in new ways puts a fresh light on things. For instance, I’ve written a lot about copyright protections and content theft. I still don’t get that people think stealing is bad, and plagiarism is really wrong in the offline world but think nothing of it in the virtual world. I don’t know “if it’s on the Internet, it’s free” mythology got started, but it’s got to stop, especially when it comes to content theft. After a while, you would think there isn’t much anyone can say new on the subject, then along comes someone like Jonathan Bailey of Plagiarism Today who throws some new logs on the fire and once again I learn that there is even more that can be said on the subject. I encourage him and he encourages me, and we’ve built an amazing friendship in the process.

Here’s another perspective. Orson Scott Card created one of his most powerful characters, Andrew Wiggin in Ender’s Game. He went on to write numerous sequels to follow one of the world’s most popular and award winning books. Years later, he wrote Ender’s Shadow, telling the same story of Ender but from a different perspective, the point of view of one of the other characters, Bean. That started a new series of sequels. Just when you think that Card had broken all the rules as he described so well in Ender’s Game, he did it again and started a new series for the twentieth anniversary of the first book, part of the Enderverse (“Ender Stories”) series, again rehashing the original from totally new perspectives.

Orson Scott Card has influenced several generations and new audiences by writing about the same story, over and over. Imagine the market potential! How many ways can he come up with to tell the same story? Who knows. I learn so much from what Orson Scott Card writes and publishes, I think most of his books should be required reading, no matter what your business or writing genre.

Another expert at finding new ways of making old subjects interesting is Liz Strauss. Her new ebook, The Secret to Writing a Successful and Outstanding Blog — The Insider’s Guide to the Conversation That’s Changing How Business Works, is a life changing book on blogging and social networking for me and a lot of other bloggers and companies working on the web trying to get our heads around the quickly changing market. You asked if content was still king and I told you that a successful blog is about conversation – Liz writes all about how to write for the conversation in a way that is an eye-opener on the subject – even for those of us who call ourselves experts.

I love how people find new ways of saying the same old thing. I dig deeply through the web to find articles on blogging and WordPress which say the same thing, but in a new way. It’s like sitting in a room with friends debating an issue. It’s a chance to hear all the different opinions and see the reactions and feedback. I read through the posts, check out the comments, and it’s like I’m at a party. I love it.

The web has opened up the world to millions of points of view, so it’s easy to get locked into a march on your blog, but open yourself up to new perspectives and watch your own shift and change.

And attend conferences and meetups. That will get your juices flowing and your head spinning every time. Meeting bloggers in person is one of the greatest joys of my life as they fuel me!

Today’s Assignment:

Short of using Hunter’s “Automatic Blog Post Rehasher”, where does your inspiration come from?

Are you often at a loss for creative ideas, or is your list long?

When you see other bloggers write on the same subjects you do, are you intimidated, or do they inspire you to do a better job?

Photo Credit: Lorelle’s Logo

Anyone who has followed my blogging journey, knows Lorelle VanFossen (of Lorelle on WordPress) is whom I often turn to when I have questions about WordPress and/or blogging. She has been my blogging “rock”, and like so many others, I tagged her as “Queen of WordPress”.

I am humbled and honored that Lorelle granted me an interview. I chose to ask her questions that would not only help me, but the BWAB community as well. She answered eight questions from which I have created a series.

Lorelle took great care in responding to my questions. Read carefully, as her answers hold value for all bloggers.

Let’s get started:

The Interview

Thanks again, Barbara, for taking time out to talk to me and for being such a loyal supporter. It means so much to me to know that there are people like you out there, showing the world that it is a great place to live and friends are everywhere. Thank you for that.

1) Blogging Without A Blog (BWAB) caters to new bloggers. Since most blogs do not make it past month four, what advice can you give a new blogger to help them stay motivated to continue blogging?

Month four? Wow, I thought they didn’t make it past the first week. Kidding. Sort of. Sigh.

I’m always puzzled at why people thinking blogging is different from any other hobby or job. Motivation to keep blogging is no different from anything you do. If you don’t find job pride and satisfaction within the work, you never will.

Blogging is like assembly line work, and not. You have to keep producing content, not as often as most people think, but frequently and on a regular schedule. Not because search engines will love you more, or most of the reasons you hear, but because you want people to trust you and reply upon you. You want them to depend on you. We like it when people show up on time and in a regular manner. So it goes with blogging.

Blogging is also about creativity, finding new things to write about – or the same old things written in new and interesting ways. I blog about blogging. You would think that after all these years, I’d be bored blogging about blogging. After all, there is only so much you can say about blogging, right? Then why is it you and so many others are blogging about blogging, too? There must be something of interest and value to support myself, you, and the many others out there in this saturated market.

Choose a subject that has long term interest, and you will have a never ending source of inspiration for story ideas. The motivation will be there naturally.

If your topic is narrow, and you run out of things to say, then stop. If your topic is too big, you will burn out just because you have little focus. You can’t blog about everything and anything. There is just too much. Still, there is a middle area there worth exploring.

One of the best ways to stay motivated is to have a plan – a long term plan. I’m always working off an editorial calendar covering two years ahead. I write for a variety of blogs and have to plan what I write about so I don’t overlap stories, but also to connect them occasionally together by content and theme. I keep a running list of article ideas in a text file on my computer, one for each blog, so I always have an idea or three waiting there in the wings if my brain locks up. I set goals, story ideas, and themes way in advance so I’m always working towards something and not hunting for things to write about in the instant, though that does happen occasionally.

Blogging is no different than any work. You set goals, you make plans, you stay focused and disciplined, and you show up. If blogging isn’t working for you, find something else to do. Not everyone is meant to blog – but for those who stick around, it’s fantastic, isn’t it?

Today’s Assignment

Based on Lorelle’s answer, do you feel any different about your niche, or lack thereof?

Do you have a long term plan for your blogging activity?

Blogging reminds me of each of us, stepping up on our virtual soapbox and telling others what we think/feel.

Some bloggers tell stories of their day, and tie a lesson in life to it.

Others do tons of research and share their findings

A lot of bloggers share from their experiences, and teach their readers.

And then there are others who write to push people’s “buttons” trying to get a reaction.

Often bloggers are a combination of all of the above.

Today’s Lesson

Shortly after I started blogging, I read that controversial posts can bring tons of traffic to your site.

I thought of ways to write a controversial post, and for my Observation Mountain blog, the closest I came was “Should Smokers Pay A Higher Insurance Premium”. It got two differing comments (both from people who didn’t have blogs (or didn’t leave an address) That blog doesn’t get a lot of comments, so it didn’t surprise me.

When I wrote about profanity on this blog, (which wasn’t meant to be controversial). It got the most attention. Not so much in the comment section but other bloggers used it as inspiration for a post of their own. They said if they want to use curse letter words in their blogs, it’s their propagative, it’s “freedom of speech”. I don’t have a problem with what others do. I just don’t use, or allow profanity on my blogs, and don’t read blogs that are laced with it.

Creating controversy isn’t my nature. I want to help people with my words, and make them think. Sometimes I may make one pass around the “pot”, but most of the time it’s only a blip on the radar screen.

Hunter recently wrote a post, 10 Reasons Japan Is Better Than America which when I read it, didn’t think it was THAT controversial, but his comment section exploded with snide remarks.

Months ago Ian Denny wrote a post titled “The Best Bloggers Are Left Handed” . That too, created hostility.

Catherine Lawson is known to be controversial. When she wrote a post titled: “Is StumbleUpon Going Down The Tubes”, one comment said “go die”, and other commenters agreed.

Controversy will almost always get a Digg or Stumble. Traffic will often soar, as well as RSS feed reader counts.

What you have to ask yourself is, are you ready to defend your viewpoint and handle the negative comments?

Today’s Assignment

Have you ever written a controversial post? Did you see your traffic soar?

Would you consider writing a controversial post? Could you handle the negative comments?

Or, do you prefer to blog quietly in your own words, and stay away from conflict?

I’m bending the rules for this New Blog Of the Week (NBOTW). The blog is over four months old.

It’s the subject matter of this blog that brought me to this decision.

She writes in a niche I haven’t seen before. It’s not about productivity, or inspiration, nor is it about business or becoming more creative.

It’s not about making money online, nor is it a mommy (or daddy) blog.

She blogs about dogs. a subject that is near and dear to my (and hubby’s) heart….remember the story of how we rescued Lucky?

The information she shares in helpful and well researched. She writes about shedding dogs, and dogs that get sores. Not only does she write about these subjects, she shares help for dog owners.

From her you can learn how to calm yourself and your dog. She shares how giving a dog a head massage has an added benefit. She writes:

A soothing massage may be just what your dog needs—to be lovingly handled and stroked by his/her favorite human. While giving your dog a massage, your own sense of well being and relaxation can surface as well.

To quote her post, Socializing Your Puppy For Health and Happiness….

A puppy should have its full set of vaccinations before being socialized–that is usually completed by around 16 weeks of age.

This blogger and I call ourselves “cousins”. We’re not sure if we are, but we both share the same last name.

Her name is Kaye Swafford, and her blog is “Happy Dogs Make Happy Humans”

By reading her “About” page, you’ll read about her loyalty to animals. To quote her and her “best friend” Krystal:

Krystal and I are committed to donating 5% of our income from HappyDoggies.com to environmental and animal welfare organizations throughout the world. When you read this blog, you will often find notices of volunteer opportunities and fundraising programs.

Drop by and say hello to Kaye (and Krystal), and join me in congratulating her on the NBOTW title.

Hello again, Cousin Kaye.