Blogging Observations
I have been running with the blog post a day process here at Mephistos since the first of January with an end goal of doing it every day this year. It is not always easy mind you, but generally that has to do with actually finding the time around my generally busy and hectic schedule to spend the 20-30 minutes typically required to write the post. Of course sometimes they come a little quicker than that and yet other times, when you add in a bit for finding an appropriate image that is legal to use, giving credit and doing some proof reading and editing it ends up closer to hour. Â Time flies by the way, hard to believe we are staring the third week of January and hence 2011 already! Â Anyway, while doing this a following some other folks that are trying the same a few things I have observed that I thought I would share.
- Suggested blog titles/subjects – I have seen a bunch of theses that are lists of twenty, thirty, fifty, and even two hundred suggested blog titles and/or subjects. I do not mind them and have looked a couple of them. For the most part they seem to be largely the same root group of twenty or thirty suggested, ingested and spit back out in a different order with different wording. Many of the suggestions are not very general in nature and only apply to either specific kind of very narrow blogging topic or would only be applicable if you had actually experienced the subject being suggested. Anyway, my question is this? Do people really have that hard of a time coming up with the subjects to blog about? I have a good fifty, maybe more blog drafts that are nothing but a title and a note of what I intend to write about in general. Those are really just in case kind of things though, as I almost always have something in mind every time I touch the keyboard to blog.
- Podcasts - What are the general thoughts on those? I guess I am coming at from two directions. First, I was taking some time to do some blog reading this morning. During that reading time, I was jamming to my favorite tunes and did not really want to pause that to listen to someone speak to me for four to six minutes in what I could read in half the time while continuing with my personal DJ. It was some potentially interesting stuff mind you, but not enough to get me to hear it and so that ‘blogger’ lost me as a member of their audience. The second way I am going at is this. Is that really blogging? I suppose some folks count it as such, but it lacks so much of what a blog is. I can’t search the text, my ability to find it based on key words from other outside sources is very limited, if I find the passage I like – I have no ability to copy it for quoting, and generally, if I want talk radio (I do generally) I want a more broad less specific view-point on things. Thoughts?
- Pre and post dating – I am curious about the thoughts that you all have on this. If I am posting daily, but I know for instance that I am going to have a time crunch with the office and social things for a few days, if I write a few things ahead of time and post date them so I have a posting appearing every day on the blog is that is still in the spirit of posting daily? What if the converse is true, in that I get unexpectedly slammed – like multiple systems go down and spend one of the thirty to forty hour stretches patching things back up. And then I come back and pre-date some posts to fill in the day or two I missed? Is that still in the spirit of a daily post so long as I have a post for every day in a fairly reasonable time space of the day actually occurring?
- Twitter – I starting to find about as much traffic from twitter as I have from other social media sources. It is not quiet there, but it is definitely getting closer. With that in mind I think I need to get busy and get the following me on twitter link in the sidebar menu. Of course I need to do that with a couple of the other networks that I am participating in as well, like the Networkblogs for instance. Reason I took some down was because the real estate they were taking and general clutter, but I am lot more pleased me with the look of things now and think there is room to re-visit such things going forward. Â Okay, if you have looked over the top right, I have put that follow me on twitter and several other social network buttons up there on the right. Â Additionally, I have put moved the RSS feed button and login buttons into the same area.
hey I just came across your post through a postaday2011 search on twitter. I wanted to just over a different perspective on podcasting. In many cases it is much quicker for a reader to just scan through a post and be down with. Podcasting while not every one's cup of tea can do to things for you. First it can bring you an audience that sadly just doesn't not read much. there are so many people that just don't read. the 2nd thing the podcast will help with is bringing traffics to your site. Podcasting is just another form of creating content that you can share. With podcasting especially, there are many directories and search engines dedicated just to that form of content. Good luck with the rest of the challenge. Cant wait to read more through out the year.
Great post - I thought I would weigh in on the pre and post dating thoughts. My opinion is that it is ok to post date but not back date. The reason I want to post daily during the challenge or 3 to 5 times a week when not in the challenge is because I want to have new and changing info on my site on a regular basis for my readers to read. That builds steady traffic. No need to back date if I miss a day because I can't go back and get that traffic. As for post dating - I do that often because I travel so much. On those days when I know I won't be in the office I can still provide value to my readers. Just thought I would share - Thanks, Michele Scism
Hi Ray, Let's see if I can comment on all four...:-) Suggested blog titles/subjects - As much as I look at suggested topics, I always go with whatever is percolating in my head. Some days, I wish I could just do Scott's prompts but I prefer the organic way I get my topics. I will use some of his eventually. Podcasts - I'm with you on that one... Funny, I do listen to music when I'm reading or surfing the net. I listen to NPR in my car and the rest has to be written visuals or on paper. Pre and post dating - I keep fantasizing about pre-posting enough blog posts for a six month period so I can focus on other pressing matters... It's fine to use the pre-post; even encouraged. :-) Twitter – I still love Twitter and have made some great friends there. I will Twitter friend you now that you have your social media buttons/badges everywhere :-) LOL! I'm trying to write shorter posts as tempus fujit and people are busy... we shall see! Thanks for stopping by, Elizabeth
- spam
- offensive
- disagree
- off topic
Like