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Blogging, RSS & Feeds
Writing Quality Blogs
Writing?Blogs?Blogs are on-line
journals where people express themselves through writing. Writing?Writing
is the process where one puts down words of a language on a format that
others can read. This process has not been around very long, to use one of
my writing teacher?s favorite sayings, ?Writing has only existed for one
day in the one year that humanity has existed.? Speaking and thinking come
much easier than writing. These processes just flow out naturally like a
river of consciousness; sometimes we hardly have to think about doing
them. Anyone and everyone can write words down on paper but that doesn?t
mean it?s ?good writing?, myself included. Like most things in life, our
society already takes writing for granted which is proving to expose more
of our ignorance. Writing is a new form of expression, and if we want to
do it in a way that the masses can connect with our ideas, we have to
think much more simply and clearly about this art. Now that was
quite a big paragraph, you?ve got to wonder if I really needed to say as
much as I just did to introduce this article on the best way to write your
blogs on the Web. I didn?t even mention this main idea, and that?s what an
introduction paragraph is meant to be for. This is a common mistake in
many blogs out there. We try to get too many ideas across in one
paragraph, sometimes even in one sentence! The key, as in all things in
life-is to keep it simple. Simplicity means that readers won?t get
confused about what your journal entry is actually about. Introduce your
main general topic at the start, and use the subsequent paragraphs to
discuss separate ideas that relate to this topic. Try to tie everything up
in the concluding paragraph, your main argument and the reason why you?ve
written in the first place. Grammar and sentence construction are
not easy systems to master, especially if you come from a school system
that spent more time telling you about historical battles and quadratic
equations than on how to read and write. This is a real problem. When we
speak we can get messages across to others easily, but if we put these
words down on paper, the writing just isn?t interesting and doesn?t
connect with people?s curiosities and fascination. When you write you are
not talking to a close friend. You can?t use slang and colloquialisms that
only your local community can understand. The aim is to connect with all
the people in the world, so let?s make it crystal clear and enjoyable to
read. Your computer has spelling and grammar checks, as well as
access to a thesaurus. Use them, but remember that the machine can?t
decipher all the intricacies of language. Language is a world in itself,
and much of its territories are undiscovered by the masses. So, again keep
it simple. Short, precise sentences with single ideas are great. Many
words in the English language have the same meanings (synonyms). Use the
thesaurus so you don?t repeat the same word over and over throughout the
text. It keeps the story fresh and doesn?t turn the reader off. There?s
nothing more boring than repetition. Using different words can be a lot of
fun and a learning experience, just make sure you use a dictionary (also
on the computer/Internet) to make absolute sure of the word?s definition.
Readability?Simplicity?Make your blog accessible by all people. You
can even take into consideration that many readers will have learned
English as a second language. As I?ve said in previous articles, keep to
the point-don?t go on tangents. Stick with the article?s topic, and
definitely stay within the realms of your blog?s main area. If your blog
is entitled ?Jazz music?, people who go there don?t want to hear about how
your football team won on the weekend! Please be consistent. How
irritating is it to visit a blog that hasn?t been written on in months or
years? I hope these little tips will help you on your quest to
producing ?good? writing that brings new friends and acquaintances of
similar outlooks into your world. If you want people to read, the aim is
to produce an emotional reaction in your reader. Pretend you are writing
to another form of yourself, if it were not readable, interesting and
fun?would you stick around?
Blog Problems
What in the world is up with the world of
blogs? Blogs are meant to be this great new technology where people can
share their ideas and interests with others around the globe. As far as
I?m concerned the state of blogs is one of chaos, confusion, and
anti-interactivity. The other day I decided to do some research on the Web
and try to connect to some blog writers out there that interested me. Let
me tell you it was not an enjoyable task as I had envisioned. I spent four
painful hours surfing through around a thousand on-line journals, and I
found only a few that interested me. What are we doing out there people?
First of all, just getting to a blog can be a pain in the arse. For
example, you type in the words ?Philosophy blogs? and a whole bunch of
sites come up. Some are conglomerate sites with thousands of journals, but
the area you?re searching for may have only one blog in it! This is
because they separate the blogs into a million different categories, like
?love?, ?lovers?, ?lovable? etc. Why not have just a few main categories
to choose from? The next problem is the content. People with
?philosophical? blogs are having personal chats with their mates about the
local dance competition on Tuesday! Why not go to a chat room if you just
want to talk to your friends? Blogs are supposed to be a personal
viewpoint expressed to the whole Web community. Wouldn?t you actually like
to meet more people like yourself? How is this going to happen if you talk
in strange uncommon slang and acronyms that you and your friends can only
understand? Please stick to the subject at hand, and take it at least half
seriously. Another major problem is the fact that you can find a
really cool blog that sparks an interest, but then find that the writer
hasn?t added an entry in over a year! What?s it doing on the Net? Have
these people passed away? I seriously doubt it, as there are so many blogs
in this ?lost? state. Having a blog is a responsibility; it?s a shared
diary for the whole community. How can someone form a relationship if you
only write in your blog once a millennium? Back to the subject of
content: These on-line journals are a real chance to communicate regularly
with others with similar views to yourself. We can learn a lot from each
other, as each human is an individual with special traits and skills that
only they have. So why do we see so many blogs just talking about trivial
nonsense like ?Who the coolest movie actor is.? Humanity is an intelligent
species evolving everyday towards a higher consciousness. So where are all
the thinkers out there, the people who have taken us to the next levels of
spirituality and scientific exploration? I?d really like to hear what
you?ve got to say, but all I can find are philosophical beliefs on why
died pink jeans express one?s true inner self. The issue of making
comments on someone?s blog is also a controversial one. Why have comments
sections if you?re not going to reply to people who have expressed an
interest in what you?ve had to say? How is this community going to
function if all the conversation is one-way! Come on people, wake up and
smell the onions! Let?s change the blogging community into the awesome
structure of shared knowledge that it was intended for. Please don?t let
it turn into the small-talk world of chat rooms.
Writing Good Blogs
There?s a lot of blogs out there on the
Web, most of which don?t entice one to go back regularly to read updates.
What is missing from these on-line journals that would essentially make
them ?good? blogs? Well, the answers in life usually come down to
simplicities. So let?s look at the problem like we were children. Children
don?t complicate life with miscellaneous information, and when they speak
they tell you straight to the point exactly how they feel and think about
a subject. First of all, we should ask the questions,? Why do blogs
exist? And what are they here for?? Well, in an ideal world ?good? blogs
would help people connect, sharing knowledge and feelings about issues in
life. As they are journals written by individuals we would hope that
they?d be readable and open to comment by all other people, not just a
select group of friends. The key is speaking in a way that is
understandable by the masses, get rid of acronyms and local slang that
only few will comprehend. Keep the sentences grammatically simple and
generally short and concise. Try to write in your blog as often as
possible because if people enjoy reading your thoughts and ideas they?ll
want to communicate or at least be filled in regularly on ?your world?.
Ask questions, comment on other blogs of similar content, start
communities with others you?ve never met, based on your interests. Keep
focused; if your blog is about thoughts on war and peace, keep your
thoughts on the latest movie and how hungry you are for somewhere else.
The idea is to incite intelligent communication so that in time our
collective stockpile of knowledge and wisdom will gradually grow like a
tree in fertile soil. I think of most importance is the fact that
you want this journal to be ?good? reading. Of course we all have ideas
about what genres and styles we like, but writing from your heart and soul
is imperative for the connection with others that you?re looking for.
Share yourself; don?t hide behind walls of fear of ridicule and judgment.
In real life relationships trust, respect, intimacy, and unity are all
necessary for a bond to form. It?s the same in the ?virtual? world; people
want to hear from real people-not just one-sided, highly opinionated
arguments from egos that don?t want to hear the ?other side of the coin?.
Now, in my last article I really tore apart most writers out there,
and here I?m giving some pretty complex ideas on how to fix the problem of
?bad? writing. In my next article I?ll attempt to go back to the simple
basics of how to write for beginners. I hope I haven?t come across as too
judgmental, I just truly believe the ?blog world? could become a real
asset to humanity, and at the moment it?s missing the mark. Ideas
about sentence structure, grammar, paragraphing, using a thesaurus
(varying terms used so as not to sound repetitive), whether or not your
blog is suitable for a personal or professional approach, are all
important to creating a simple and enjoyable read for the blogging
visitor. If you are a beginner, please check out my next article on the
basics.
RSS is a Life Raft, Saving Us from a Sea of Useless
Information
One of the main problems with the Internet these
days is the fact that there is so much information out there; it can be
quite hard to find the particular knowledge that you?re looking for. It
can often feel like you?re surfing waves of thick chocolate fudge sauce
and your honeycomb board has a crack that?s getting wider by the second.
Over stimulus is the issue here; you wanted to read opinions from music
enthusiasts about music, and every second blog article had to do with new
punk hairdo trends and which band has the coolest tattoos. How can we find
only the content we?re looking for without getting bogged down in
miscellaneous information that erodes both time and patience? The
answer is in context. There?s now a way to sift through the cacophony of
babble and wisdom to find exactly what you?re looking for. Instead of
having to join clubs and organizations and receive their newsletters via
email at their convenience you can now have control over what you receive.
Having to search through millions of blogs to find the few you like has
now become an obsolete task. The new system is called an RSS Reader: ?Rich
site summary? or ?really simple syndication? are the common definitions of
this software. The process begins by signing up to receive automatic
updates from blogs and other Web sites that distribute summaries of their
latest postings to your reader. You then find which ones you like and
delete the rest. You can keep adding new sites until you have literally
hundreds of informative connections in your areas of specific interest.
Another great aspect of the RSS Reader program is the fact that you
can put in key words of interest and the computer will surf the Web for
you and add new blogs and web sites to your list, rating them according to
the terms you have selected. You then scan over these and add the ones you
feel are relevant, deleting the detritus. Eventually you will have an
email-style formatted file where you can search through all your favourite
writers, news, and topics? latest information. Then you also have
functions such as ?comment? so you can automatically share your input with
your fellow humans. Or, you can reply to the ?messages? and actually
communicate with the producers of the ideas. This will really help
to decentralise the information sharing processes of the current top-down
mass communication systems like the media. We can hear multiple opinions
on an issue and give our own views, instead of being told one story that
is heavily affected by the company?s personal perspective of the
situation. So, you can see this has the potential for something quite big.
Less time wasted, finding all the knowledge you?re looking for, and
sharing your opinion and meeting others similar to yourself has never been
so easy. The RSS Reader is a knife cutting away all the useless packaging,
revealing the true content of the gift of the Internet.
Blog Reflection
I still consider myself to be a blog
writing novice but as I?ve got a few entries under my belt I can tell you
about an unexpected bonus of this journaling process. A lot of people
think that blog writers are just people who are tooting their own horns
blabbering on self-righteously about what they believe to be true in life.
On the contrary, for me writing a blog has helped me to reflect on my
experiences that I may have otherwise have forgotten if I hadn?t written
them down. It has become a process of self-actualization, whether others
have read my thoughts has become less of a priority for me. When I
read over my past entries I am surprised to hear about thoughts, ideas,
and wisdom that is quite relevant to my present experiences. It?s like I
already knew some of the solutions to my problems in the present, but I
still had to go through the experiences to actually have this knowledge
become truly learnt. I also find it rewarding in both the respects that I
get to ?relive? certain moments in my life, and I get to analyze my
previous thoughts. This analysis often leads me to new ideas that I
couldn?t see clearly when I was in the original moment. ?Reliving?
past experiences by reading old journal entries can be a powerful
experience indeed. You can be transported to the moment in time you were
writing about, as well as the moment and feelings you had when writing the
blog entry. Experiencing these events and feelings again can be a really
enlightening process, especially if the emotions you had were strong ones.
An example of this from my blog www.thepowerofeverythingthatis.com
is a recent upheaval of emotions I wrote about when a young lady I?d been
dating and really started to like a lot told me she didn?t want to kiss me
anymore. Now when I read this entry I can feel those same painful
feelings, but in a new light as the time has passed and I?ve moved on. It
gives me hope in understanding that all feelings pass, and also in the
knowledge that all things happen for a reason. This knowledge I couldn?t
see at the time as I was totally enveloped by my agony. These
insights into past feelings and thoughts have been an eye opener for my
self-introspection process. I think the blog can give you the chance to
get to know yourself better, something all humans could find beneficial.
All of us are on quests to find out who we are and why we are here on
Earth. The blogging process might just be another avenue for people to
find out who they truly are. Keep on writing my friends!
Feed The Need: 5 Ways To Use RSS To Boost Your Business Or
Organizational Success
RSS (it stands for Really Simple
Syndication, among other things) is a relatively new technology that
allows anyone who creates frequently changing web content - news, blogs,
current events, etc. - to deliver their messages to interested readers
with no fuss, no muss and best of all - no spam!
What Is This RSS, XML, RDF, and Atom Business?
It's been a
long day at work and you're in no mood to cook dinner or go out. Time to
count on the reliable pizza delivery guy. The order is called in and he
promptly arrives with smokin' hot pizza within 30 minutes as promised. If
it were only that easy with a picky family where no one can agree on the
same restaurant for dinner. One wants Mexican, another wants Chinese, and
another wants a burger and Mexican. Instead of running to three different
places, you call a delivery service that goes to all of them and brings it
to you. What could be easier in getting a meal without cooking it or
fetching it?
Is a Blog Right For Your Business?
Lemmings are cute, but
dumb. If you tell them to jump off a cliff, they will. Just like the
people who start blogs because everyone is doing it. Guess what happens
after a little while? The blogs die.
RSS & How to Use It (part 1)
Have you ever read an
article, intended to explain RSS in simple terms that, begins well, but
soon descends into confusing jargon or information overload?
RSS & How to Use It -- Part 2
Welcome to part 2 of the
article that aims to give you just enough information to help you
understand RSS and start using it.
What Are RSS Feeds
RSS Feeds.
3 Reasons To Publish An E-Newsletter AND A Blog
With spam
filters on high alert, delivering a newsletter by email is not as easy as
it was even one year ago. Should it reach your subscriber's inbox (without
getting siphoned into a junk folder), it still has to vie for attention
amongst dozens ? or even hundreds ? of new messages.
Benefits to RSS
RSS streamlines communication between
publishers and readers. Since RSS has had a popularity surge, webmasters
have been experimenting and using RSS feeds to deliver content in new and
innovative ways. Typically, RSS feeds contain news headlines and content
summaries. The content summaries contain just enough information without
overwhelming the reader with superfluous details. If the reader is
interested and wants additional information they can click on the item in
the feed, accessing the website which contains additional details. RSS
readers aggregate multiple feeds, making it easy for individuals to
quickly scan information contained within each feed. Feeds are generally
themed, allowing users to opt-in to feeds that are of interest.
Internet Communication
Email, Instant Messaging, Blogs,
RSS, Forums and Listservs: What's Next?
Should You Get A Blog?
A blog is a type of website. It
allows the website owner to easily write messages that get posted to the
site automatically, often in a journal or diary-like style. A particularly
appealing thing about blogs is that your readers can comment back to your
posts fairly easily, and a continuous stream of fresh conversations
result. (This is a good thing.)
More Articles from Blogging, RSS & Feeds:
2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23
Web
2.0 Software includes Japanese-language support.ThomasNet Industrial News Room (press
release), NY - Aug 15,
2007It is suited for advanced Web
applications that incorporate blogging, RSS, search, and Wiki
capabilities into single, fully integrated suite.
... |
Expert:
Web 2.0 a risky businessBCS, UK - Aug 14,
2007Speaking at the Gartner IT
Security Summit in Sydney, Joseph Feiman, vice president and fellow
of the research firm, said that organisations implementing
... |
NewsGator
Offers iPhone NewsreaderInformationWeek, NY - Jul 25,
2007The software includes Web apps
that incorporate blogging, RSS, a search wiki, and new social
networking capabilities into a single application and sign-on.
... |
3
Key Questions To Ask About Internet MarketingPR-GB.com (press
release), Bulgaria - Jul 31,
2007... email, ezines, banner
advertising, blogging, RSS, text links, search engine
optimization, affiliates, autoresponders, and other ecommerce
applications.
... |
Note
for states other than NCLocalReplay, NC - Aug 3,
2007If you clicked here from the
“news” link on one of our pages that are covering your local
team, this is our news site for NC. We are still building news
... |
New
Feature: Pictures Of The WeekDonklephant - Jul 30,
2007By Justin Gardner | Related
entries in Blogging They’ll always be changing, so be sure to
check the bottom of the page for new content.
... |
New
Feature: Pictures Of The WeekDonklephant - Jul 27,
2007By Justin Gardner | Related
entries in Blogging A new feature I’m introducing is Pictures of
the Week. At the very bottom of the page you’ll find a
... |
The
Ron Paul RoundupDonklephant - Jul 25,
2007By Justin Gardner | Related
entries in Blogging, Media, 2008 Election Meanwhile, The Nation
discusses how campaign contributions show that Ron Paul is
... |
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Internet
Communication
Email, Instant Messaging, Blogs, RSS, Forums and
Listservs: What's Next?
How
To Use RSS Feeds In Your Marketing
It was Friday night. I
finished reading a book about RSS feeds. Quickly set up one for my site,
submitted it on directories and went to bed.
Top
10 Reasons to Start Blogging
"What's blogging?" you ask.
Is
Blogging For You? Take This Quick Quiz
What The Hell Is A Blog
Anyway?
The
Language of Blogs
I read over a lot of blogs each week,
casually surfing one or two of the blog exchanges I belong.
The
Real Bloggers Must Come From Another Planet - I Can?t Find Any Here On
Earth
What in the world is up with the world of blogs? Blogs
are meant to be this great new technology where people can share their
ideas and interests with others around the globe. As far as I'm concerned
the state of blogs is one of chaos, confusion, and anti-interactivity. The
other day I decided to do some research on the Web and try to connect to
some blog writers out there that interested me. Let me tell you it was not
an enjoyable task as I had envisioned. I spent four painful hours surfing
through around a thousand on-line journals, and I found only a few that
interested me. What are we doing out there people?
Will
Spam-Blogging Be The Death Of Blogging?
Technorati reports that
30,000 - 40,000 new blogs are being created each day.
Blog
and Ping: The Basics!
The buzz words on the internet at the
moment are Blogging and Pinging and according to the internet guru's we
should all be looking at these as the must have system to be attracting
visitors to our site and consequentially making revenue.
Blood Test for
Your Blog?
Are you contributing to one of the estimated 36.1
million (and growing) blogs online? Or are you thinking of entering the
fray and starting to publish a blog for your small or home business? Make
sure you are publishing the right type of blog for your kind of business,
or all that writing time will have been for naught.
Marketing With
Blogs - Part 3
In part 1 and part 2 of this article series on
marketing with blogs, I discussed the reasons why blogs are excellent
tools for marketing, and provided some tips on using your blog to sell
your products and services online.
RSS
& How to Use It -- Part 2
Welcome to part 2 of the article
that aims to give you just enough information to help you understand RSS
and start using it.
Why
Your Blog Might Be Sabotaging Your Business
Many marketers were
very excited when forum and newsletter discussion focused first on blogs
(about two years ago) and then on RSS feeds (mainly within the past year).
It was a brand new opportunity for marketers to use, one that promised
both search engine success and a way around spam complaints. So they ran
out and created a free blogger account or bought some software and began
blogging and trying to set up RSS feeds.
The
Viability of Blogging to a Niche Market
Niche marketing is an
old and very successful marketing strategy whereby a company focuses on
marketing and selling to a clearly defined segment of potential consumers.
The company earns by supplying a unique product or service to this
narrowly defined market which other companies have not met or provided.
Should Affiliates
Really Use Blogging and Pinging To Get Indexed?
There seems to
be a huge craze lately with everyone trying to blog and ping to get their
websites indexed into the search engines. Although this can be a great
tool, all marketers should first understand exactly what they're getting
themselves into before starting.
How
to Get a Blog on the Internet
Of all people in the world I was
easily one of the most pessimistic about computers, the Internet and now
that I even know they exist-blogs. I think blogs are pretty cool but I
never thought I could have one. I thought the processes of getting a site;
domain name and the actual building of the blog would just be out of my
league. I'm a complete novice when it comes to technology, but I do like
writing a journal, and I thought having a journal on-line would be both
fun and make life simpler for me. No more writing with pens, other people
can read my stuff and comment on it, and I could add pictures to
illustrate my points and make things look more interesting.
Business: Deliver
Information Safely
Businesses that are not using feeds today,
as part of their marketing and advertising plans, will soon do so, or
should thinking of implementing them soon. Although this is a fairly new
communications tool it is growing rapidly. The reason is that the
information gatherer, consumers, etc., are or will be using readers to
view information. The main reason is that information can be viewed with
No Spam, No Junk Mail and No Viruses threats.
Steps To Creating
and Promoting RSS Feeds
RSS, or Really Simple Syndication as it
is commonly known, is a technology that gives webmasters the ability to
easily distribute and publish syndicated content on the Internet. It seems
like all Internet businesses now have RSS feeds available; at least your
competitors do. You have finally made the decision that you have to have
one. Where do you start?
The 6
Top Reasons Marketers Should Blog
If there is a downside to
blogging, I have yet to find it. The more you learn about blogging, the
more there is to like.
How
Can You Use Blogs To Increase Traffic?
I am conducting my 1st
customer appreciation webcast and asked my subscribers list what is their
most pressing question they have about blogs and rss.
NEWS
FLASH! Article Directories JUMP-ON The RSS Syndication Band
Wagon
Quick question... do you publish 'Articles' on a regular
basis?
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