Author: Barbara Swafford

The reign for the Urban Panther has ended, but we haven’t see the last of her. This “New Blog Of the Week”, often disagrees with what the Urban Panther says, and isn’t afraid to speak up. In his response to her claim that men need a GPS, he took offense…. read more NBOTW Author Defends Himself

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… read more Interview With Lorelle VanFossen – Part 1 – Stay Motivated

For the next two days I’ll be participating in our 10th Annual Neighborhood Garage sale. Needless to say, I’ll be away from my blog. In the process of trying to live more simply, I’ve decluttered our home of most things that don’t make my heart sing. It’s been a long… read more Open Mic – Have Some Fun Today

Remember when Lance and his blog “Jungle of Life”, were featured as New Blog Of The Week? In the comments, Chris of Wat da Wat, paid Lance and I a very nice compliment. He wrote: Nice pick Barbara…You know that Lance’s style of writing is similar to yours? You and… read more What Does That Have To Do With Anything

I’ll be the first to admit I make typos. Whether it’s in my blog posts or in a comment on another site, I type too fast, misspell words and before I double check for typos, hit “submit”. My spelling mistakes are out there for everyone to see. Sure, I can… read more It’s Not Your Fault I Can’t Spell

We all love a good laugh. After all, laughter is good for the soul. It’s often written, “laughter is the best medicine”. This “New Blog of the Week’s ” author has a fabulous sense of humor. When reading her blog, you may think she’s male bashing, but I see it… read more This NBOTW Will Make Your Laugh

Most of us blog part time, and many of us have found a blogging schedule that suits out life style. Some love social networking, whereas others love to write and read. Some post once a week, whereas others post 3-5 times a day. But, how do we actually spend our… read more A Day In The Life Of A Blogger

The first time I left a comment on another blog, it was pretty exciting to see my name “in print”. When I registered my avatar, that was exciting to see, too. I don’t think I’m alone. I believe most bloggers love to see their names and/or avatars on other sites…. read more FEFF – It’s Good For The Ego

I’m a sucker for happy endings. It may be a girl thing, but I always liked children’s books that ended “and they lived happily ever after”, and movies where you could envision the same. Today’s Lesson Since I started blogging, I’ve visited more blogs than I can count (and many… read more Why Didn’t You Say Good Bye

When part of the world is sleeping, I’m blogging. When you’re commenting on my blog, I’m asleep. Oh, the joys of time zones. Today’s Lesson My friend Catherine (from England) and I have this problem when we post. She’s 8 hours ahead of me, so if I were to publish… read more Your Today Is My Tomorrow

Like many bloggers who start a blog, she blogged for over a year, became overwhelmed and quit. She missed being able to chronicle her life, share stories of her kids, life, medicine and her love of photography. Isn’t that what gives us the most joy? Blogging about that which give… read more NBOTW – It’s Better The Second Time

Inquiring minds want to know, as does a fellow blogger. In a recent comment, Shilpan asked me a question. This post is written in hopes of getting him an answer. Today’s Lesson In my post titled “The Biggest Mistake I Made In Blogging”, I mentioned that my biggest mistake was… read more Commenting vs Social Media-Is One Better

Another month is upon us, and it’s time for BWAB’s Monthly Mini Meme (MMM). For those of you who missed the first edition of this series, the floor (comment section) is open to all readers to share one random fact about themselves. I started this series as a way for… read more MMM – Can She Talk?

Have you seen the TV show “House Hunters” (on HGTV)? It’s about home buyers who choose a new house (edited down to three for the show). At the end they say why they picked the one they did. Fast forward a few months, and the show concludes with the homeowners… read more Decorating Our Home In Blogosphere

In his “About” page he writes: Life can seem like a jungle sometimes, overgrown with all the “things” that are in our life. The animals that consume us (debt, busy-ness, work, family, etc) lurking around every corner. Isn’t that the truth? This week’s New Blog Of The Week (NBOTW) is… read more NBOTW Author Says “Life Is A Jungle”

I cannot count how many times I’ve landed on a blog, only to click off. It wasn’t because the blog was laced with profanity, nor was it due to the site sporting too many ads It was because I couldn’t see the writings. By seeing the writings, I mean the… read more I Can’t Read It, If I Can’t See It

It’s Friday, and I’m adding another great freebie to my “Free and Easy Friday Finds”(FEFF) Last week I found a new plugin called “Random Posts”. It’s quite slick. Via the use of a plugin (link to follow), you can display posts from the past. What this plugin does is extract… read more FEFF – How To Get More Hits On Old Posts

It’s sad but true, many bloggers may not be reading your posts. They scan your words, may (or may not) find something to comment on, and then click off. Today’s Lesson If you read the comments to yesterday’s post, Vered mentioned she had read (possibly on Skellie’s blog) that some… read more Bloggers Flunk The Reading Assignments

On Monday we discussed the importance of your most current post. It was decided our best work may be buried in our archives. But, how do we know what is our best work? Is it the post we spent days constructing, editing and reediting until we had it perfect? Or… read more Blog Posts – Are We Our Worst Critic?

If you’re part of the BWAB community, you’ll see her commenting. If you travel through blogosphere, she’s there too. She’s small in stature, but has a large presence in social networks, as well In fact, she’s everywhere. The name of her blog may produce visions of a “mommy blog”, but… read more NBOTW Needs No Introduction

Have you ever noticed the majority of visitors to your blog only comment on your most recent post? Even your loyal readers aren’t digging to find more of your writings. If they are, they often don’t comment. Why is that? Today’s Lesson As bloggers we’re continually publishing new posts. As… read more You’re Only As Good As Your Current Post

Hi all, Welcome to my new series. It will be called “Free ‘n Easy Friday Finds”. As some of you already know, I like to use acronyms (abbreviate with letters), so it will often be referred to as “FEFF”. Each Friday, I will share something that is free to bloggers…. read more Free ‘n Easy Friday Finds

We all make mistakes when we start blogging. I know I did. Today’s Lesson I didn’t do enough homework and was unprepared for what blogging entailed. I made small mistakes like typos (and I still do), and big ones like crashing my blogs. I didn’t know HTML, coding or the… read more The Biggest Mistake I Made In Blogging

Have you ever noticed males seem to dominate the computer industry? Anytime you hear about a computer “geek” or “guru”, it’s a guy. Blogosphere isn’t much different. The “A-List” bloggers we all hear about are men too. Today’s Lesson When I started blogging (March 2007) most of the blogs I… read more Blogs Aren’t Just For Boys Anymore

I didn’t have to go far to find this week’s New Blog Of The Week (NBOTW). I found her in my comment section. Want to guess who she is? You may have already visited her blog. Here are a few hints. In one post she says, “Don’t give away your… read more NBOTW Will Donate $1,000,000

Have you had a chance to read Darren Rowse’s (Problogger) recent post? It’s titled: What Thomas Edison Can Teach You About Blogging. In it, he writes, Most blogs are abandoned after a month or two…. the average time that it takes a blog to rise to the top of the… read more Most Bloggers Are Quitters – Are You

I’ve written about adding a favicon (favorites icon) to your blog before, but it entailed coding. Now there’s a plugin that will automatically add a favicon to your blog. For those who don’t know what a favicon is, it is the tiny icon that shows up in your browser (URL… read more Adding A Favicon Just Got Easier

Comments on blogs are powerful. They not only help a blog get discovered, they affect the author and the blog’s readers. Today’s Lesson I love the comments I get on my blog. Most bloggers do. When I read the comments I’ve received on my blog, as well as the comments… read more The Power Of A Comment

Have you ever had days when you just didn’t feel like writing? I have. Today’s Lesson I have lists of ideas for blog posts, and half finished drafts, as well. Having blogged for over a year, there have been many times when I look at my list of ideas for… read more Step Away From The Blog

Going “green” doesn’t mean we must join forces with others and become labeled as “tree huggers”. Going green means we are aware of our carbon footprint and hope to make changes in our lives which, in turn, will make this world a better place for future generations. Although some may… read more NBOTW Promotes Living Green