Tag-Archive for » social networking sites «

15
Jun
S*%$+#@*.!*)& B(*!$@&
Barbara Swafford

In our construction business, my husband asks the employees to refrain from using curse words when they’re in the company of clients.

Especially women and children.

Because it is “the client” who creates work for all of us and ultimately provides an income from which we can pay the bills, he wants our employees to act respectful while on a job site.

Now, when they leave the job, that’s another story. Swearing and profanity on blogs and social networking sites

The employees are free to say what they want, how they want.

Today’s Lesson

Online we have freedom of speech.

We may not have clients who “pay the bills”, nor do we HAVE TO show respect.

We can say whatever we want, however we want.

And because of that, some will use profanity to bully others, get a point across, or to show off.

Others will write like they talk, which often includes the use of curse words.

And in some cultures, what some readers may see as offensive, isn’t offensive at all.

Personally, I don’t incorporate swear words into my writings, nor do I mind seeing a few curse words online. However, if a blog post is littered with offensive language or images, I click off.

Those types of posts are not my preferred reading material.

That said, with the world wide web being so large, I’m sure there’s an audience for that, too.

What say you?

Today’s Assignment

How do you feel about profanity in blogs and on social networking sites?

Do you use it?

Or are you offended by it?

Care to share?

signature for blog post.

Category: Archives, Blogging Language, Blogging Lessons, Writing Tips  Tags: , , , , , , , ,  73 Comments
29
Sep
Strike While The Iron Is Hot
Barbara Swafford

1250977572 22401fe420 Strike While The Iron Is Hot

Last week we discussed how many of us are blogoholics and spend massive amounts of time blogging. Although blogging is a great hobby, it can interfere with our daily lives.

Decreasing the amount of time we spend blogging can not only improve our real life social skills, but can free up more time to spend on other goals.

Today’s Lesson

Like many of you, I need to become efficient in my blogging activities. Listed below are five tips I’ve come up with for streamlining our blogging routines.

Set a timer when visiting blogs in your reader

Although I don’t do this each time I visit the blogs in my reader, when I do, it makes me realize how fast an hour passes when I’m reading other blogs and commenting.

Answer your comments less often

If you’re receiving a steady stream of comments, let them build up before joining in. Often commenters will “feed” off each other and an interesting discussion can ensue.

Pick one or two favorite social networking sites

Each time we add another social networking site to our list, it eats into our blogging time. Use the ones you enjoy the most and discard the rest.

Write when creativity strikes

Bloggers often have spurts of creativity followed by dry spells. When creative juices are flowing, write several posts at once. When the dry spells hit, we have something to fall back on.

Post date your articles

For those using WordPress, we can take advantage of the post date feature on our WordPress blog. In WordPress 2.5.1, the option is under “Edit” of your “write” screen.

Today’s Assignment

How do you streamline your blogging time?

Can you add other suggestions to the list?

Feel free to join in the conversation, share your time saving tips, or let us know how ideas posted by others will help you.

6d61b32587b54553fb32d6e3f55d87d6 Strike While The Iron Is Hot
.

Photo Credit: AMANITO’s photostream

Category: Archives, Blogging, Blogging Lessons, Comments, Networking, Posting, Save Time, Social Networking, Writing Tips  Tags: , , , ,  58 Comments
04
Jun
Blogging – Secretly Affecting Lives
Barbara Swafford

2404028812 8d3ede8922 Blogging Secretly Affecting Lives

Yesterday, as I was working, I overheard the TV in the other room. The subject for the Oprah show (it was a rerun), were people who lost massive amounts of weight.

The first guest’s story intrigued me, so I got up to watch the segment.

Nancy had weighed over 700 pounds, but she was now looking quite stunning.

Oprah asked her how she did it. Pills? Lapband? Gastric bypass?

No.

She did it with the help of a computer she received (as a present) from her sister.

Not being very mobile having the excess weight to tote around, she started spending time on the internet. She enjoyed political sites. She soon joined chat rooms, and shortly thereafter, began email friendships with the people she had met online.

Something about that online communication began to “fill her”, not with food, but with a sense of belonging. A sense of value.

Being able to “hide” behind a computer screen, no one could judge her. Like us bloggers, she was accepted for her words.

As if it were magic, something in her clicked, and she began losing weight.

She proceeded to lose over 530 pounds.

Today’s Lesson

Nancy’s story moved me.

It made me think of how we react to comments and emails. At times they could be so easy to dismiss.

Realizing that some people may be at home “crying” for help and reaching out to total strangers on the internet, made me realize how, as bloggers, by paying just a little bit of attention, we may be saving someone’s life. We may be their life line to the outside world. We may be the motivation they need to make a difference in their own life.

Our words can “fill” someone and give them a sense of value.

By “listening” to them, we may help them find hope.

Nancy’s story make me realize, blogging gives us more power than we can ever imagine.

How are you using yours?

Today’s Assignment

Make time to read the story of her weight loss, at Nancy Makin.com. It’s guaranteed to move you to think of how we treat others who visit our blogs, email us, or join us on social networking sites.

Nancy’s life was changed by the internet, has yours? How?

Since you started blogging, have you found more value in your own life?

Does blogging “fill you up?”

Photo Credit: tommy pariah’s photostream
Category: Archives, Blogging Lessons, Networking  Tags: , , ,  24 Comments
22
May
When Is Enough Enough
Barbara Swafford

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If I had a dollar for every time I (figuratively) banged by head against the wall while learning blogging, I would be rich.

It’s no wonder bloggers get stressed out and aren’t always sure how to grow their blog.

In yesterday’s post we learned how addictive we become to spikes in traffic created by social networking sites.

But have you ever done any research on how many social networking resources there are?

I did, and I may have only touched the tip of the iceberg.

Today’s Lesson

Wikepedia has a huge list of social networking websites (approximately 125). They include sites such as Buzznet, Couch Surfing, Linkedin, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and many more.

Of the big shooters, Facebook reports:

* More than 70 million active users
* Facebook is the 6th most-trafficked website in the world (comScore)
* Facebook is the 2nd most-trafficked social media site in the world (comScore)

According to the data on Wikipedia’s site, MySpace claims 110,000,000 registered users, and Windows Live Spaces reports 120,000,000.

I’m not done yet.

Lets jump to another class of social networks.

This list is the result of a link Kaye (NBOTW) shared with me.

On Social Maker.com you can join up to 47 social bookmarking sites. These include Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Propeller and Spurl, just to name a few.

Whew!! That’s exhausting.

And there is more (+/- a duplicate or two), as neither list included MyBlogLog, Blog Catalog, or Squidoo.

Add to that, bloggers who strive to get their blogs listed in Technorati’s “top 100″ blogs.

So the question becomes, what will work best for YOU?

Do you do what others do, or do you venture out on your own, researching each social networking website to determine if you want to be a part of that specific community.

It’s a tough choice, but it’s a choice only YOU can make.

Today’s Assignment

How have you determined which social network works best for you?

Do you allot a specified amount of time for time spent on social networks?

Has it helped get your blog found?

Do you think it’s important to join multiple social networks, or is what you’ve done enough?

Photo Credit: ©aius’ photostream
Category: Archives, Blogging Lessons, Social Networking  Tags: , , , , , ,  21 Comments
09
Apr
Social Networking Can Kill Your Passion
Barbara Swafford

34758108 31c5e9f7d3 Social Networking Can Kill Your Passion

Blogging is a hobby by most definitions. That is, unless you are a problogger (a professional blogger who blogs for a living)

Today’s Lesson

The further you get into blogging, the more you learn about social networks and how, by joining, they can help promote your blog, i.e. gain exposure.

Join all social networking sites which others say are important (to be a part of), and you’ll soon be spending many hours Stumbling, Digging, Twittering, plus updating your profiles, pictures, podcasts, and/or videos on Facebook, MySpace, MyBlogLog, Flikr and YouTube. That’s on top of responding to numerous emails, and answering comments on your blog.

Add this to your already busy schedule of work, kids, friends, telephone calls, cell phone calls, texting, instant messaging, personal emails and life, and your head will be spinning.

But, if you read a little further, it’s also suggested, to form a large community in blogosphere, you should start following what your cyberspace friends and online mentors are Stumbling, Digging, and/or Twittering. Soon, social networking is eating into the rest of your life. Your personal life begins to deteriorate, as does your health.

When you think back to those first days of blogging, it was actually fun.

Now your love of writing has gone by the wayside.

You’ve sold your soul to social networks, and your passion is dead.

It’s time to ask yourself if you really care what a cyberspace friend or A-list blogger is doing in their free time. Do you really need to read every post they Stumble or Digg? Is it really necessary to follow them on Twitter? How can you possibly read every post they suggest, plus rate it and/or review it?

Forming communities with other bloggers and doing a small amount of socializing is good. But if your blog is targeted to “the masses”, your audience may not even know what social networks are (let alone how they work). You have to ask yourself, are you wasting too much of your precious time? Have you lost sight of your true audience?

Would your time be better spent writing good content? Learning more about the mechanics of your blogging platform? Or visiting the blogs of your loyal commenters and sharing in the small community that has formed?

Today’s Assignment

How much time do you spend on social networks?

Has social networking helped to gain exposure for your blog?

Are those that you follow, reciprocating and visiting and/or commenting on your blog?

Is it time to get back to that which you’re passionate about (writing)?

Photo Credit: ARTS’ photostream

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Category: Archives, Blogging Language, Networking  Tags: , , , ,  23 Comments
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