blogosphere http://www.artwoo.com Returned search results for blogosphere Copyright 2008 Thu, 04 Dec 2008 20:41:31 +0000 http://www.artwoo.com/rss/blogosphere The Exploding Popularity Of Blogging http://www.artwoo.com/article/the-exploding-popularity-of-blogging http://www.artwoo.com/article/the-exploding-popularity-of-blogging#comments Mon, 17 Dec 2007 04:30:01 +0000 frequent internet usersmatt garrettguardian indicated thatnumber of internet usersbright futuresexpanding universepersonal risk http://www.artwoo.com/article/the-exploding-popularity-of-blogging personal risk regardless of whether it explodes or evaporates. And you are also not alone.

Although there are now, according to Technorati 70,000,000 blogs online and 120,000 being started every day, a 2005 study done by the UK newspaper The 30% of those questioned who claimed to be had never even heard of a blog, let alone the blogosphere.

But for the millions of Internet users who have blogs, read blogs, or both, the health of the blogosphere is of great interest.

With another US presidential campaign already underway, those who track such things will be interested to know that in the last half 2004, according to a study done by the American Life Project, the who reading blogs more than doubled from seventeen to thirty-seven percent, although the number of those writing them rose from five to only seven percent.

The Presidential race in 2008 will more than likely see another boost in the number of blog readers as those who were too young to vote four years ago have become the dedicated bloggers on MySpace and other social networking and will be perfectly comfortable with campaigning done in cyberspace.

The statistics from Technorati seem to be telling us one thing: blogs have been around for over a decade, yet their popularity is greater than ever, and as more and more of the 18-25 crowd so prized by advertisers turn to the blog as their preferred means of online communication, the blog seems to have very ahead.

The blogs of today are already taking full advantage of online video technology. All that remains is for the sites which currently index blogs like Technorati to find other ways to keep track of what is becoming, like our , the ever expanding blogosphere Author: =A9 2007 http://www.BlogTactics.com | Blog Tutorials and Videos Grab Your Free Step By Step Guide to Setting Up Your First Blog Now!! http://www.blogtactics.com/newsletter.html ]]> Technorati And Associated Press Merger - How This Affects The Blogsphere http://www.artwoo.com/article/technorati-and-associated-press-merger-how-this-affects-the-blogsphere http://www.artwoo.com/article/technorati-and-associated-press-merger-how-this-affects-the-blogsphere#comments Wed, 23 Aug 2006 12:27:23 +0000 ap articlesap articletechnoratiblogsblogosphereblogblogger http://www.artwoo.com/article/technorati-and-associated-press-merger-how-this-affects-the-blogsphere
In the morning of May 23, 2006, and Associated Press (AP) initiated a new service that was guaranteed to make news in the osphere" rel="tag">blogosphere and give more PR for . The service includes having Technorati search for blogs that link to s. Those blogs will then appear on websites that use the AP Hosted Custom News and who opt for the new feature. The new feature includes having a Blog Roundup section that consists of the links to blogs containing the most relevant information on the "Top Five Most Blogged About" AP articles in the past 48 hours. Under each most relevant blog there is also a link to a list of the next 24 relevant blogs for people who want to read more on what the blogosphere have to say about the article. In addition to the Blog Roundup section clicking on a particular AP article will prompt Technorati to produce a list of "Who's Blogging About" that article.

The Effect to the Blogosphere

This new service is undoubtedly beneficial to the blogosphere. As a Digital Grit article mentioned, the new partnership would be of much interest for those who want better visibility for their blogs or for those s who are SEO-minded. For those in the know being linked back by the press is a bonus for your page rank. However, it has always been a challenge for bloggers, even for the popular bloggers, to be noticed by the press much less get link back by them. The Technorati-AP partnership changes all that. Instead of having to think of ways and gimmicks to get noticed by the press and still just end up with nothing all a blogger has to do now is to write posts in connection to current AP articles and link back to those articles. Technorati then submits that post along with other relevant posts to AP for affiliate websites to display on the blog roundup. Note, however, that the number of blogs that will be linked back to is limited. This means that for your blog to be linked back by AP your post has to be perceived by Technorati as among the most relevant posts in blogosphere. So for blogger that think that simply linking to AP articles will do the job for them is seriously deluded. As always good content is still the key to rising in popularity in the blogosphere.

Aside from making it easier for some bloggers to get a higher page rank, the Technorati-AP merger has a more universal effect on bloggers. Even if only selected bloggers will appear on AP stories, the arrangement will still result in more awareness of the blogosphere as a whole. People who previously had no knowledge at all about the existence of the blogosphere or at least do not read blogs as part of their regular ritual will not only be exposed to the idea of the blogosphere as an additional or supplementary source of information regarding current events. The links, which are updated regularly and are always relevant to current issues, will also encourage news readers to regularly read the blogs as well. This will undoubtedly suck in some of the news readers to be regulars in the world of blog and thus create more audience for bloggers.

The Technorati-AP partnership also does much for the blogosphere's credibility as a news source. Not only will it create awareness of blogs' ability to supplement the news it will also show that blogs have something more to contribute to the story. As Peter Hirshberg wrote in the Technorati weblog, "Increasingly, what the blogosphere says about a news story becomes part of a more complete story, lending diverse perspectives and often expert commentary. The AP believed it was increasingly important to deliver the living blogosphere as a compliment to their core professional news product." The new service that AP offers to its readers is a nod to the blogosphere's ever increasing contribution to the news network. In fact the motivation behind the partnership is actually AP's belief that "citizen-generated media could enhance the AP in their mission to be the essential global news network." The service has caused much excitement in the blogosphere and as Hirshberg put it, "is a deep validation of the power of citizen media and how each person is gaining more power - power to have their opinions and thoughts heard, in a truly democratic process."

As the deal legitimizes blogging even more it also blurs further the line between press and bloggers. Some journalists are offended that some bloggers feel that what they do amounts to journalism. According to the journalists what bloggers do isn't journalism but simply collecting stories that are reported by the real journalists who do the hard work of actually going out there to catch stories. They resent the idea that bloggers, who do their story telling in just one place should be given recognition as journalists for delivering commentaries on new stories. However, according to Jane Seagrave, AP's vice president of new media "The truth is there are not that many of us who are breaking news anymore, that have people on the ground ... the whole notion here is to spotlight those who are real content creators and not make news such a generic commodity on the Web." This means that they are focusing on worthy bloggers out there who produce quality content and have something of real value to offer and add to the telling of news stories.

What it Does for AP

As for AP, the move itself is also strategic since more and more bloggers are sure to link more to their articles instead of their competitors'. There are currently many news sources out there that bloggers individually follow and comment on. AP's new service will surely encourage bloggers to make AP articles their primary source of new stories and link to them, which would lead to greater traffic to AP affiliated sites from the blog world.

In terms of monetary returns, however, the project isn't expected to generate revenue for either AP or Technorati. The two companies will be sharing the profit made from the ads on the web pages but this profit is expected to cover only the cost of the project. This says something about both companies in terms of their desire to give better service to their users and in furthering the sharing of information in the Internet. http://www.theinternetone.net ]]> 20 Million Bloggers And Counting -- The Stats Of The Blogosphere http://www.artwoo.com/article/20-million-bloggers-and-counting-the-stats-of-the-blogosphere http://www.artwoo.com/article/20-million-bloggers-and-counting-the-stats-of-the-blogosphere#comments Wed, 06 Sep 2006 18:27:13 +0000 google yahooweblogstechnoratiblogsblogblogospherepings http://www.artwoo.com/article/20-million-bloggers-and-counting-the-stats-of-the-blogosphere Blogosphere continues to grow at a pace no one has anticipated. In fact, it would be very difficult to quote a number as the total tends to change by the second of every day.

The Report

According to the State of the Blogosphere report as of February 2006, is tracking 27.2 million " rel="tag">weblogs and is expected to double about every 5.5 months. The Blogosphere as it is at present is estimated to be over 60 times bigger than it was three years ago. New blog creation is placed at over 75,000 new weblogs everyday which translate to an average of one weblog created every second. It has also been noted that 13.7 million bloggers are still posting three months after its blog creation. This sends a clear message that blogging is becoming a habitual activity.

The report on the Blogosphere growth made in October 2005, showed Technorati tracking 19.6 million weblogs which was expected to double every five months. During this time, there were about 70,000 new weblogs created everyday and that the blogosphere was estimated to be over 30 times as big as three years prior to the report. A comparison between these two recent reports would show that the blogosphere growth is showing no signs of letting-up at the present. Reports prior to that of October 2005 will support this thinking.

While growth brings its benefits as well as its downside, the increasing popularity of blogs brought with it the proliferation of "s" or spam pings. These are fake or bogus notifications that a blog has been updated. It is believed that it accounts for as much as 60% of the total pings received by Technorati. This prompted the development of a sophisticated system that mitigates the spings and helps keep spam blogs out of their indexes. Technorati's efforts on working against this problem are continuous and in cooperation with other players such as Google, Yahoo! and others. Another aspect of the problem is the considerable percentage of new blogs that are either spam, machine-generated or attempts to create link farms or click fraud.

There are about 1.2 million posts made each day and a number of spikes in posting volume are generally seen during major news events. It has become impossible to read all the relevant posts to an issue or subject due to the sheer number of choices. Again, a challenge has been presented as to how to find the most interesting and most authoritative information in a monstrous sea of conversation.

This problem is being sought to be countered through the use of tagging. This is essentially a simple way for bloggers to categorize their posts to assist the searchers in their quest for the right information. There are thousands of categories that have been created to attract influential bloggers to write while more are created everyday to provide the most comprehensive coverage for the reader's varied needs and requirements.

Most blogs are personal but many of which feature the new influences of consumer decisions. These are the consumers that provide feedback about large brands ranging from positive raves of product excellence to rants about the latest product recall. These have prompted more businesses to consider the relevance of maintaining a blog as part of their regular activities. With so much freedom and availability of on-line information or misinformation, any business would benefit from having their own conversation forum for their brands, products and services to protect their reputation. Blogs provide the chance to give the other side of the story especially for businesses that are on siege with negative feedback.

The Blogosphere Statistics

In the year 2004, which was considered the Year of the Blog, some interesting facts came to the fore with regards to blog readership. A very sharp increase was noted during the most part of the year despite the fact that most American Internet users have no clear idea about blogs. The increase in interest was evident on both the creation and demand sides.

The surge in blog creation and readership was partly credited to the fact that 2004 was an election year in the U.S. with a highly divided electorate. The concentration was on political blogs which spilled over into other areas. Spikes on blog activities were readily seen during Iowa's caucuses, the beheading of Nicholas Berg and the Southeast Asian Tsunami catastrophe, among others. Blog traffic tends to spike sharply when certain web-communicable events occur.

In a survey conducted during the same year, it was found out that 57% of bloggers are male, 48% are under 30 years of age, 82% have on-line experience for six years or more, 42% live in households earning over $50,000 income annually, 70% have broadband connection at home and 39% have college or graduate degrees. It was also the year that the conversational dynamics of blogs caught on. A considerable percentage of American Internet users have posted comments or other materials on blogs and are regular blog readers. The more active bloggers update their blogs regularly resulting to more than 275,000 posts daily or approximately 11,000 updates an hour.

In the same breath, there seems to be some initial data that says less than 10% of women are political bloggers and approximately 20% only of blog readers are women. There also seems to be a belief that the blogosphere is elite because of the qualifications of most of its bloggers as well as its readers. Its present composition however, may not exactly agree with the said data as gender and educational background have long ceased to be exclusive factors to be considered. Generally, as long as someone has something to say or contribute, the blogosphere will always welcome him/her with open arms.

Several other studies indicate that most blogs are abandoned soon after creation and that only a few are updated regularly. The average lifespan of a blog is very short. Most blogs do not even reach 100 days while some gets abandoned after a year or more. A typical blog would be one that is written by a teenager updating friends of daily happenings in his/her life. The tone would be very informal with no particular concern for form and spelling.

With the phenomenal popularity of blogs, some are quick to point out that it is about to reach its peak and suffer the same fate as an outdated fashion. Blogs' attraction can be largely attributed to the novelty attached to it, but it can be tiring when overdone. Bloggers should look for that balance where frequency and relevance come together.

Blogging may be replaced sometime in the future by some technical innovations. That is just the way it is in modern technology. The good thing about it is that some things like the need to converse with another would remain. So even if blogging goes, a better alternative would surely come that would serve the same purpose, but definitely in an improved way. http://www.theinternetone.net ]]> Myths About Blogging http://www.artwoo.com/article/myths-about-blogging http://www.artwoo.com/article/myths-about-blogging#comments Sat, 17 Jun 2006 12:32:33 +0000 main stream mediablogsblogblogospherebloggersbloggerblogging http://www.artwoo.com/article/myths-about-blogging blogs" rel="tag">blogs, s" rel="tag">bloggers and the in general. Here are just some of them and some clarifications:

Anyone can start a blog! Not just anyone! There are some requirements, some more obvious than others. Obviously, you need a computer that you know how to use, an Internet connection and some experience using the Internet. You also need a host for your blog; there are blog hosts that are free and some that cost a small amount per month. One last requirement is not just an ability to communicate your thoughts but also a willingness to do so.

Anyone can set up a blog! Some blogs are much easier to set up and use than others, this depends on your blog host (e.g., blogger, iblogs, typepad, tblog, etc.). Some blog hosts take you through a couple simple set-up steps and you're off writing your first post but there are others that get far more technical than the average user may be ready for.

doesn't take up that much time! That depends! Some posts, when you have a clear idea of what you want to say, may take just a few minutes while you may struggle for days (literally) with others that involve complex issues or thoughts. In general, blogging is a daily activity for the serious blogger (some bloggers write up to ten posts a day) and a once-a-week activity for the casual blogger.

Most blogs are political! Many blogs focus on political topics but most blogs are just bloggers discussing their lives, loves and travels. A list of the 50 most visited blogs at BlogHub (http://www.bloghub.com/top50blogs.htm) shows very few political blogs.

Blogs are in competition with the main-stream media! This is true in a few cases (not as many cases as bloggers would have you think). Just recently, there have been some very popular and influential social and politically-oriented blogs that have caused main-stream media outlets to back-track and change their coverage of important events.

Bloggers just criticize and have no new information to add! This may be true in some cases but blogging today is much more than the personal activity it used to be. Corporations, media outlets, public personalities, politicians and experts in almost every field have now joined the ranks of blog producers. Considering all this expertise, one would have to say that bloggers have a lot of new information to add to any debate.

You can't believe anything you read in a blog! That's a bit of an overstatement. You'll run across bad information and even intentional untruths in blogs but, for the most part, bloggers who state facts are stating what they honestly believe to be fact. It is always up to the readers to verify that any information they receive is accurate information.

The blogosphere is a meritocracy! Does the cream rise to the top? Of course it does but outside of the world of the dairy, a lot depends on how you define cream. If you consider the those bloggers who have the highest readership to be the "best" than yes, the blogosphere is a meritocracy with readership being the 'payoff' for being the best. The best, however, is not always the most popular. You will, while surfing, run across some extremely intelligent, extremely poignant and extremely erudite bloggers who have a very small readerships, as evidenced by very few, if any, comments to their posts. That can be explained by those blogger's lack of willingness to 'play the game' that must be played to attract a large readership, e.g., aggressively promoting their blogs, spending many times more hours reading and commenting on other's blogs than they spend writing for their own, listing their blog on every available directory, etc.. Every one of us has a different definition of success, to some, a large readership is adequate success, to some using their blog as a money-making device and actually making some money is the ultimate success while to others, like those with an intentionally low profile, feel that simply creating posts that are perfect expressions of what they want to say is reward enough.

Need a laugh? Speaking of myths, if you need a good laugh, go and read the post titled: "Blog Myths and Facts" posted by 'Frank J' at the IMAO blog

(imao. us/archives/002581.html). Discover How YOU - Or Anyone - Can Easily Create Your Own Professional eCover In Just A Few Minutes without Having To Hire An Expensive Web Designer OR Use A Third Party Software! http://www.photoshopecoversoftware.com You may reproduce this article as long as it is accompanied with a hyperlink. ]]> Secrets Of Free Blogging Web Site http://www.artwoo.com/article/secrets-of-free-blogging-web-site http://www.artwoo.com/article/secrets-of-free-blogging-web-site#comments Thu, 07 Jun 2007 10:29:58 +0000 promoting your blogfree blogfree blogginggooglesearch enginesbloggereponym http://www.artwoo.com/article/secrets-of-free-blogging-web-site bloggers, a ging web site is a great way to get started in the blogosphere. Popular blogging web sites like blogger and allow users to set up and host a blog without paying any fees at all.

This encourages people to start blogging, because the fact that one of these sites can provide you with all of the tools that you need to get your blog up and running without spending any money means that you have nothing to lose by starting a blog. The fact that it is so easy to find a way to blog for free is one of the reasons why so many people who have never had any other kind of web presence before find themselves drawn to blogging.

By signing up with a web site, you may find it easier to get listed in that you would if you were starting your own blog from scratch. For example, runs the free blog hosting site blogspot and crawls its pages very often looking for updates, so if you have your site hosted by blogspot you are almost guaranteed to be listed on google's blog search engine.

This easy access to search engines can take some of the work out of , and can help you gain a following with a minimum of marketing effort. Setting up AdSense on your Blog is a breeze, and you can complete the whole process in less then an hour. Free $97 Adsense Secret Ebook on Adsense Tips here.

If your blog attracts a large readership, you may want to consider moving your site. Many people feel that being hosted by a free blogging web site gives a blog a kind of amateur flavor that is fine for a new member of the blogosphere, but is not appropriate for a high-profile blog.

Having your own domain can help you make your blog feel professional, and finding a company that will host your domain is not difficult or expensive. Once your blog takes off, you will probably be able to sell enough advertising space to be able to afford to buy a domain and pay for a hosting package, and still have money left over. However, it does not make sense in most cases to invest in these glossy luxuries before you have a sizable readership.

Starting your blog on a free blogging web site is a great way to build a following before you spend any money on your blog. If and when your blog becomes popular and you are ready to take the next step and purchase your own domain, your readers will follow you to your new home. Most people can make their AdSense Blog sites veritable cash cows! Free $97 Secret Adsense Book at http://www.honestreview.info/adsense/index.html

The fact that it is possible to use a free blog host like blogspost, blogger, or eponym as a kind of incubator for your blog is great news for bloggers everywhere. Most people can make their AdSense Blog sites veritable cash cows! Free $97 Secret Adsense Book at http://www.honestreview.info/adsense/index.html ]]> How To Blog News Stories http://www.artwoo.com/article/how-to-blog-news-stories http://www.artwoo.com/article/how-to-blog-news-stories#comments Tue, 03 Jul 2007 16:20:00 +0000 blogsbloggerssubway caradsensebloggingimagesinstantaneously http://www.artwoo.com/article/how-to-blog-news-stories Blogging news stories as they unfold is one of the most exciting and controversial applications of technology that have discovered. One thing that makes the blogosphere so active is the fact that it is possible to update a blog , so the news on tends to be more current than the news in the paper, or on television.

Unlike news delivered by these other media, news that appears on blogs does not have to travel through a series of editors and administrators before it reaches the public eye. This has some advantages, and some distinct disadvantages.

One of the most notable cases of news hitting a blog before appearing in other media took place in July 2005 when terrorism struck London. As passengers were evacuated from a near an explosion, one man took several photographs of the scene with his cellular phone, and within an hour these were posted online.

First-person accounts of the catastrophe began appearing on blogs soon after these photos appeared, and people all over the world learned about the events in London by reading the words and seeing the photos posted by bloggers.

The fact that these stories and images were being spread directly by individuals operating without the added filter of a reporter helped to make the crisis feel very immediate to people across the globe. When it comes to blogging, news often appears in a very personal context. This has the potential to be the beginning of an exciting new era of reporting, one that takes "New Journalism" to it's logical next step by putting the power to shape how the news is written and read directly into the hands of the public.What are the percentage of people earning on Blogs? And how much do they earn? Get your special $97 report on Adsense Tips and Tricks!

Many bloggers and cultural commentators who are champions of the weblog movement feel that this growing trend of individuals who getting their news from blogs is a good thing, because it makes the flow of information more democratic.

By decentralizing the control of news, blogs allow more voices to enter the field of debate about important current events. However, many people are adamantly opposed to the use of blogs as news outlets, and there are plenty of good arguments on this side of the debate. Unlike newspapers or television stations, few blogs have fact- checkers, and there is little attention paid to journalistic accountability on many blogs. How can you find high paying keywords for your Blog? Free $97 Secret Adsense Book at http://www.honestreview.info/adsense/index.html



This can lead to the rapid spread of misinformation, and more than one falsehood has taken the blogosphere by storm. The questions about whether blogging news as it happens is ethical or not are very complicated, but no matter where you stand on the topic of current events blogs you are almost sure to agree that this movement has the potential to revolutionize how modern people get their news. Most people can make their AdSense Blog sites veritable cash cows! Free $97 Secret Adsense Book at http://www.honestreview.info/adsense/index.html ]]> The Pitfalls Of Business Blogging http://www.artwoo.com/article/the-pitfalls-of-business-blogging http://www.artwoo.com/article/the-pitfalls-of-business-blogging#comments Sat, 07 Oct 2006 10:27:09 +0000 blogginghush hushtarget audienceblogosphereniche businessbloggap http://www.artwoo.com/article/the-pitfalls-of-business-blogging blogging" rel="tag">blogging. They are conversing in real time about your products or services, news and developments in your niche. They are discussing about your new product release. Sad to say, if they have not spread it already, they are definitely gossiping about the customer service blunder you hoped you could keep hush-hush. Word travels fast in the . Blogging gets you noticed and referenced, favorable or not, in your industry's conversations. Business blogging has its benefits but, alas, it also has its share of pitfalls.

A business blog can help build your company's reputation and credibility in your area. It is a cost-effective way to communicate with targeted audience. It provides business feedbacks through comments. A well-executed blog can boost search engine rankings thus raising chances of potential customers visiting your site and ultimately generating sales.

More importantly, you should be aware of the pitfalls or perils that accompany business blogging. If you have finally figured out how blogging can work for your targeted market, then, seriously consider the technical pitfalls of creating a blog that might befall you especially if you are a newbie in the field of blogging.

Before embarking on blogging, you must have read and read some more blogs to familiarize yourself with the blogosphere especially your specific niche. Reading other blogs can spur ideas for blogging topics. Not doing any research will leave you writing in futility. You don't know what questions your wants answered and what they would like to read. More so, you might not even have a clear-cut goal. What is the purpose of your blog? What problem does it want to solve or to fill? You have not determined what is it you are trying to get done. You definitely will not have good topics to write about because topics should be in consonance with your business objectives. Writing without a purpose will get you nowhere. It will just turn readers away.

Not knowing how to use your blogging software properly will, in most cases, produce a non-professional-looking blog. A blogging tool goes to great pains to ensure that your blog will look good, the text look beautiful and the html code it generates follow web standards. It will be to your business advantage if you understand how the vast and sophisticated features work to increase your blog's chance of being found on the Internet. Keep in mind that first impressions count with readers.

Not optimizing keywords, categories, subscriptions will make it difficult for readers to find your blog. The primary purpose of a blog to be successful is readership. Search engines are a great source of readers. If you are writing a blog post that you want to be read, bear in mind that readers will use keywords to find your blog entry. Keywords are vital to high search engine ranking. Top ranking equals traffic and traffic is readership. Categorizing your blog will also make it more user-friendly and make the content more search engine ranking friendly. Subscribing to an RSS feed allows readers to receive automatic updates whenever you publish fresh content. Not making frequent posts makes readers lose interest in your blog as there is nothing new to peruse. You have to make it a priority to post consistently. The more you post the more reasons the readers will come to read some more.

Finally, you have sorted out how to avert the technical perils of business blogging. Brace yourself; there are even deeper pitfalls with much more severe repercussions to consider. For one, businesses that allow misrepresentations -- faulty or misleading information to appear on their blogs can create a public disaster. Some business companies keen to develop one-to-one links with customers, set up character blogs. A character blog is typically conceptualized by marketing people to promote a product or service using fictitious character. This kind of blog is quite risky as some ardent bloggers regard them as an insult to the blogging community. A classic example is the Vichy case. As part of its marketing launch for its new anti-aging cream, Vichy's advertising team created a blog featuring a bogus author named Claire who incessantly whined about the travails of aging using the same wordings as the Vichy print ad. It elicited a flurry of negative reactions from around the blogosphere condemning Vichy for passing off a phony on their turf. Blogs are about real conversations with real people.

Turning a deaf ear to what the blogosphere is saying can be fatal to a company. Kryptonite, a lock maker company did not respond quickly to a blog comment and cost them millions of dollars. Engadget, a highly trafficked blog published a video file showing how a Bic ball pen can easily open a Kryptonite lock. Kryptonite took its time before issuing a statement that did not assuage the thousands who bought the lock in good faith. Bloggers lambasted Kryptonite and caused heavy traffic to the Engadget blog site. Finally, Kryptonite succumbed and replaced the locks at a staggering cost of $10 million. Take heed; monitor what others are saying in the blogosphere. Your blog is part and parcel of a dynamic conversation. You should track your image in the blogging arena. Reputation risks can surface if your company pays no attention or misjudge the opinions in the blogosphere.

Business blogging can expose your company to legal problems that can cause serious damage to your business reputation. Irresponsible blogging can subject your company to libel, slander and even harassment lawsuits. Off-hand comments may offend customers. Disclosure of confidential corporate information and trade secrets will definitely place a company in jeopardy. Several instances of indiscreet blogging have caused employee terminations. Ellen Simonetti, A Delta Air Lines employee was fired for posting inappropriate images of herself in uniform on her blog. A system administrator at the Manitoba Health Sciences Centre was sacked after posting on his blog "Sitting around doing nothing for three hours while being paid -- priceless." Needless to say, companies should draw up corporate blogging policies that will state clearly acceptable and unacceptable blogging practices. Companies should educate its employees about the business and legal risks involved with blogging.

In a nutshell, do not blog for the sake of blogging. A clear business goal is a must. See to it that your blog reflects your company's desired image. Carefully weigh the implications of anything you post. Be wary of potential consequences and be reminded that with blogging, anything that appears on the Internet is instantly available to a global massive audience. http://www.theinternetone.net ]]> Business Networking And Blog Courtesy-working On A Professional Link Campaign For Blog SEO http://www.artwoo.com/article/business-networking-and-blog-courtesy-working-on-a-professional-link-campaign-for-blog-seo http://www.artwoo.com/article/business-networking-and-blog-courtesy-working-on-a-professional-link-campaign-for-blog-seo#comments Mon, 28 Jul 2008 07:57:38 +0000 professional appearanceundisputed expertpromotion tacticsnews networksmajor newsgolden rulebacklinks http://www.artwoo.com/article/business-networking-and-blog-courtesy-working-on-a-professional-link-campaign-for-blog-seo
However, some manners are in order when it comes to posting comments and linking to your blog from other blogs.

It comes down to common courtesy. We've all heard the '', right? Do unto others and all that jazz? The goal is for us to get a much needed backlink to our website, that's true. But that's not all we want. Spammy can be obtained pretty easily. There's even software out there that will blast your links to a million different blog posts comment areas. But it's not really what we want or need.

I'll tell you one reason why.

Before even thinking about the other guy's blog, and common courtesy, let's consider your overall . Think of your backlink campaign as one big press release for a minute. If you were blasting a press release to the major today, you would want to present a super professional appearance right? You would want the world to see you as the in your field, professional, classy, the very best. Right?

Then why would you use a different approach and spam your link across the blogosphere? Making you and your website (translate: your company) look cheesy and unprofessional? If you knew that was the way the world perceived you and your business, you probably would have thought twice about it before you used a link blaster and posted your link to a million spam blogs. The problem is that many businesses and many bloggers don't think the internet is part of 'the real world'. They don't stop and think about the fact that their actions on the web can have the same negative impact that they would have in the real world when it comes to cheesy and sleezy .

Nope, the internet is different in their eyes. They only know they need a bunch of links. It's not important to them to build an overall web persona. PR is not a concern. But it should be. Because the web is no different than any other advertising medium. People are people, and if they read crappy comments that make you and your company look bad, they are not going to do business with you.

Now, let's also consider the other blogs out there and some basic manners. In the real world, that is the one that doesn't have a keyboard attached to it, you need to have some etiquette when it comes to business networking, right?

For example, if you are a member of the local rotary club, you don't walk into the meeting each week shouting, "Make $5,000 every day using my secret methods"!

Do you?

No. You network. You shake everyone's hand and say hello. You get into conversations and have intelligent discussions. You add something to the group as a whole. When asked, you give your expert advice and opinions and you build new relationships that turn into new client relationships.

So why would you do it any differently online?

When working on links from other blogs and other business communities, have the same manners you would if you were in that rotary club meeting. Be a contributing part of the conversation. Get involved and work on your professional appearance at the same time. Post relevant comments to the current discussion. Don't interrupt like a thirty second commercial break, changing the topic so that you can promote your new product or service. Stay on topic and contribute something useful.

It's o.k. if you don't agree with someone. Good debate can be good for business. Some people will agree with you and visit your site based on your professional opinions. But only if your argument is written professionally and with some class. Stay out of name calling sessions and stay away from labels. Don't call anyone an idiot or a moron. In the end, you end up looking like one.

Your comments are mini press releases. They are little road signs showing how professional you are. Or how unprofessional you are. Your public appearance is up to you. So have some courtesy when posting your comments. It will make the difference when it comes to how successful your linking campaigns are.Chuck Crawford is an established expert in web design, traffic development and website financial analysis. He has been helping people design and develop their internet business since 1995. visit Expert Business Blog Management , San Antonio Professional Website Design, Affiliate Marketing Website Experts or call (559) 761-0910]]> How Top Management Uses Blogs To Increase Business http://www.artwoo.com/article/how-top-management-uses-blogs-to-increase-business http://www.artwoo.com/article/how-top-management-uses-blogs-to-increase-business#comments Mon, 09 Oct 2006 16:27:08 +0000 blogosphereboeing commercial airplanesblogtargetsun microsystemshectic schedulesgeneral motors http://www.artwoo.com/article/how-top-management-uses-blogs-to-increase-business Sun Microsystems, , and Hewlett-Packard have ventured into the ging arena. What is prompting these busy executives to take time out form their to join in the conversations in the ? Simple, it is the desire to promote a new atmosphere of openness with employees, shareholders, customers, prospects and the general public in the process not only increasing business but, more so, giving a human voice to the company.

Bosses -- Why Blog?

"What began as an experiment has become an important means of communication for GM. It has given me, personally, an opportunity to get much closer with you, the public." These are the words of General Motors vice chairman Bob Lutz. The blogosphere, the press, and most of GM's constituents are tuned into his blog which gets more than 5,000 visits and 13,000 page views a day.

In its simplest terms, a blog can be an online and very public journal. It is an effective medium used by top management to communicate directly to its market segment, business associates, stockholders and employees. Blogs serve as channels for management to explain to these people that the directions and actions and views that management is taking are in the best interests of all parties concerned. Through a blog, the CEO or any high level executive has the opportunity to converse with his audience on a regular basis. The executive is in a unique position to set the agenda, steer the discussion and shape the views and opinions. In a way, top management executives would seem to be the logical persons to blog in behalf of the company. Nobody can represent a company and a product or service brand better than top executives especially the CEO. They are in a good position to comment on certain issues.

Blogging provides management with a fast and cost-effective means of conducting two-way communications with the company's audience. Management and customers, industry peers or the public all have the opportunity to respond either in the comment box or their very own blogs. Management wants to find out how the public views the company so it can improve its products or services. Listening and engaging the blogging community can turn out to be a highly effective way of discovering what your targeted audience thinks about your company. Top management can use feedbacks, good and bad, to their advantage. These feedbacks are used to improve products or services and systems. The immediate and open communication achieved thru blogging can enable a company to gain a high position in its industry. Corporate executive blogs also provide a fast and direct method of managing research on customer experiences, company perception, commentaries on policies and agenda.

Unfavorable comments are not filtered out. Management evaluates these inputs and responds accordingly. GM vice chairman Bob Lutz emphasized it is extremely important to run the bad with the good comments or else credibility will suffer. In the blogosphere, credibility counts the most. Once it is gone, the blog is useless. Filtering out the unsavory remarks takes away the essence of a real conversation. It completely eliminates the likelihood of any wrong perception about your product or service being corrected.

As a whole, top management executives use blogs to help generate sales thereby increasing business. Blogs help them develop a human voice that customers, prospects, shareholders, industry peers, employees and the general public can relate. Giving a human voice to the company is significant as people basically do business out of relationships as they do out of prices and benefits. Blogging promotes a two-way communication about what is important to companies and communities -- dialogue that more often than not builds a working relationship.

Effective Executive Blogs

It takes a combination of passion, personality, expertise in one's field, wit and wisdom, writing proficiency to make an executive blog worth reading. An executive blog is not just a summary of company press releases. For a blog to be efficient, avoid having posts that read like a press release. Blogging is more informal and thus easier to bring readers into the conversation. Executive bloggers are advised to get personal while taking into consideration that a certain level of propriety is necessary.

Blogs are perfect for executives in as much as the focal point is on a subject matter that are an expert. An effective blog allows the executive to deal with business concerns and expound on major industry or company issues. For an executive blog to be successful, it should at all times reflect the conviction and voice of the executive, not the PR or legal department. This can be quite difficult as an executive blogger has added responsibilities to watch what he says, keeping in mind securities, disclosure rules. The best executive blog is one written by the executive himself. It is hard to be transparent when another blogger is posting opinions on industry or company trends that he has nothing to do with.

An effective blog uses short but concise and periodic entries rather than long and boring white papers. In fact, some of the outstanding blogs are those that have only one or two sentences with links directing readers to related articles.

A good executive blogger just focuses on two or three vital points. It is then scanned and proofread by a blog-savvy staff member. He also should organize the content of his blog. Arranging the corporate and industry issues he plans to tackle over time is recommended to build cohesiveness. Categorizing entries with relevant keywords can result in higher search engine ranking. New entries should be posted regularly, at least two to three times a week. There is nothing worse than visiting a blog that has not been updated.

Some executives hire the services of public relation firms to draw up blog strategies and at times to help them maintain the technical side of blogging. Others have in-house communications staff to handle logistics for them. Some executives write entries on their BlackBerrys or e-mail them. More importantly, executives claim they write their own blog personally with the slightest or no editing from the public relations or communications department.

Finally, to earn credibility in the blogosphere, an executive blogger should also take comments, favorable or not with a grain of salt. It also means owning up to bad news about the company. As Seth Godin, marketing guru and best-selling author emphasizes, an executive blog works best when it is based on candor, urgency, timeliness, pithiness, controversy and utility,

With the deluge of readers visiting blogs, expect more top management executives blogging to increase business. http://www.theinternetone.net ]]> Are You Passionate About Your Blog? http://www.artwoo.com/article/are-you-passionate-about-your-blog http://www.artwoo.com/article/are-you-passionate-about-your-blog#comments Mon, 07 Jan 2008 15:15:00 +0000 trustworthy businesstoday many peopletrue commitmentinteractive technologymission statementsphonebookinternet search http://www.artwoo.com/article/are-you-passionate-about-your-blog interactive technology your blog will engage in a two-way communication that will benefit you and your customers. As business owners are becoming bloggers they are opening a brand new channel of communication to their customers. Remember, a blog is a lot of work and if you're not passionate about it you will not succeed. Anything that requires a lot of work is going to require commitment.

Today, many people regularly turn to the for products before they reach for the , or newspaper. Wouldn't it be nice if your customers would be able to find your business through your blog? Your blog has the power to bridge the gap between clever advertising copy and run of the mill . Your blog can do much more than a classified ad. Your blog can build credibility and it can establish you as a .

To be a successful blogger, you must have passion. Passion itself is not enough. To provide value for your visitors you have to provide relevant information. The only way to provide useful information is to do your homework. You have to be ready to research and study about the topic you're writing about. If you'd rather talk about dogs than your products you should not write a business blog. If you're faking it you readers will know. Worst of all you will know, and you will fail. Without your blog will become just another casualty of the blogosphere. When you create real value for your customers they will talk. Your business is going to be a talk of the customers. When you successfully blog about your products you have the power to provide your customers with useful information. In such a way you engage your visitors. A good blog will engage your visitors as opposed blatant advertising that just shouts your name. As a blogger you allow your readers to comment directly on your site gaining an insight into what you customers think. Don't worry if you don't like everything your customers say. Your customers will speak the truth, and the information you gain from such interaction is going to help you succeed. Therefore you should welcome such response. Webene http://www.webene.com ]]> Further Proof That Blogs Rule The World http://www.artwoo.com/article/further-proof-that-blogs-rule-the-world http://www.artwoo.com/article/further-proof-that-blogs-rule-the-world#comments Sun, 16 Apr 2006 12:50:04 +0000 wal marttargetmodern marketinglinksharetraditional marketingrss feedsfyi http://www.artwoo.com/article/further-proof-that-blogs-rule-the-world
I don't go to Wal*Mart. I like to buy American where I can and in Wal*Mart I can't. I'd rather go see my friend Dan Sorrentino at Newtown Hardware for my sundries than some guy I don't know that I have to walk the length of a football field to find. But I know a lot of people who visit Wal*Mart on a regular basis. , Wal*Mart has an affiliate program through that is okay. Wal*Mart also has a blog, called Wal*Mart Facts.

Since it is the largest retail outfit in the world, Wal*Mart has a pretty big painted on its back. It's always taking a beating for its employment practices or lack of this or corporate that. Being a PR person for Wal*Mart must be pretty tough. According to the Strategic Public Relations Blog, Wal*Mart is trying to soften its public face. To this end it has hired the venerable public relations firm Edelman in Chicago.

According to the blog, Edelman and Wal*Mart set up a program they call Action Alley. Action Alley was set up to practice what Modern Marketing calls Outside In marketing:

has been built around the idea of creating a central set of messages and sending them out into the marketplace.

This can be thought of as an 'Inside-Out' approach, where the communications infrastructure required to manage brands and image (cameras, editing suites, media, design and creative personnel) is held inside large organisations and used to distribute information out.

However, as savvy consumers filter out unwanted advertising information using PVRs, adblockers, SPAM filters, , subscriptions and customer communities, the Inside-Out approach is becoming less and less effective.

Not surprisingly, some companies are looking around for new ideas. Open Source Marketing is one idea that people are turning to as they realise that the values behind the Open Source Movement can be applied to industries beyond technology.



The Open Source approach can be described as 'Outside-In'. It recognises that in a distributed environment a lot of information and content about a company or brand is being produced outside of the organisation by consumers and other stakeholders. And that companies need systems that allow them to react to this information.

It also recognises that frequently this information is more influential than the spiel produced by a company or brand. For example, someone looking to book a hotel will probably place greater value on a customer community such as virtualtourist.com than a hotel website.

Having lived a lot of my life around marketing weenies, I can tell you that outside-in marketing scares the living hell out of marketing people, because it means they've lost control of their brand and their message, and they're not just pulling levers and watching what happens.

Getting back to Wal*Mart, the marketing weenies there perceived that what was being said in the Blogosphere was nibbling away at their brand. They're probably right. The job of Action Alley is apparently to help -ahem- steer those out in the Blogosphere toward writing more positively about Wal*Mart.

According to the Motley Fool a guy named Brian Pickrell wrote a blog article suggesting that the State of Maryland telling Wal*Mart how much employee health insurance they have to provide might be a bad idea. Without reading the article I would probably agree with him. According to the Fool, his article sounded a lot like a press release created by Edelman.

So the rigamarole seems to be about Wal*Mart's conspiracy in feeding news stories to influential bloggers to try to influence what they write. Of course they do. So does everyone else, and to say otherwise is either naive or stupid. That is what public relations are all about.

While I was laughing at this whole thing something very, very cool struck me -- all the hubbub is because a company that earns $30 million a day is trying to influence a bunch of bloggers, rightfully believing that they have a lot of influence on the brand, and wrongly believing that they have any influence over them.

We bloggers aren't stupid, you know. We may use your marketing tripe propoganda, but the marketing weenies have to understand that the only reason we use it is because we agree with it. And while the purists can squawk, I don't see any problem with that.

So all of us nobodys as a group can turn a ship the size of Wal*Mart.

Blogs Rule. Matt DeAngelis runs http://www.AffiliateBlog.com.. Matt is the former CTO of Modem Media, a pioneer in the Internet ad space. As a foot soldier in the Internet revolution, Matt devised the technology behind many of the most successful ad campaigns of the time. ]]> Corporate Blogging: Do's And Don'ts http://www.artwoo.com/article/corporate-blogging-dos-and-donts http://www.artwoo.com/article/corporate-blogging-dos-and-donts#comments Mon, 09 Oct 2006 16:27:11 +0000 blogginglibel slanderblogosphereblogsblogsun microsystemsimmensely http://www.artwoo.com/article/corporate-blogging-dos-and-donts blogging" rel="tag">blogging phenomenon has started to make companies view the potential benefits of corporate blogging. They all agree that achieve a mass media effect through the high level of networking in the wherein news disseminates very rapidly. The blogosphere (online community of blogs and their writings) has heralded a new communication tool that can influence public opinion of a company. However, companies are slow to react to the growing credibility of corporate blogs as communication channels.

A recent list of Fortune 500 company blogs shows that only 5% of the United States' corporations have joined the blogging arena. Companies are treading this still unfamiliar territory with caution and skepticism. Company executives, public relations people and legal experts are just starting to figure out how they can utilize the potential of business blogs without subjecting themselves especially their companies to possible complications. Indeed, some companies are hesitant to plunge into the "scary" world of blogging for fear of encountering legal and business risks inherent in blogging such as libel, slander, lawsuits and disclosure of confidential and proprietary information.

Despite the fear, some industry leaders like Microsoft, IBM, and General Motors, to name a few, have dived headlong into corporate blogging. These companies recognize that a blog is an effective yet low cost way to boost corporate communications and marketing objectives and at the same time connect with customers and prospects.

Basically, a blog (short for weblog) is published with easy to use software that enables a blogger (blog author) to create and update blog pages from which he can express his thoughts on a particular subject. Written article on a blog is called a "post" and can be linked to other blogs, websites, news features, photo images and audio files. Links added to the text of blog posts allow blog content to be indexed and accessed by popular search engines such as Technorati and then disseminated in the web.

A corporate blog makes it easy for readers, be they customers or prospects, to find the latest and most accurate information about its new products and services. It can help achieve customer familiarity with the company products or services. Through the corporate blog, a company can converse directly with customers and prospects. Two-way communication creates trust and builds customer relationships. A corporate blog is the perfect choice for interacting with existing and potential clients. Corporate blogging serves as a channel for a company and its customers to meet on common ground and to know each other more. A corporate blog allows a company to closely track where and under what condition its products or services are being discussed online. Through the corporate blog, a company can keep an ear to the ground to hear what is being said about the company and speaking up when the situation calls for it. A more personal or understated benefit of a corporate blog is that it gives a human face to a perceived faceless and detached business entity. A corporate blog conjures images of people who are passionate about their products or services and are eager to engage customers and prospects.

It is a risky world out there and the blogosphere is no exception. For companies who are contemplating on setting out into the world of corporate blogging, it is in your best interests to have knowledge of some basic dos and don'ts of corporate blogging.

First on the agenda is do determine whether your company needs a corporate blog. A blog might be inappropriate for your company. Not all corporate cultures can tolerate the open, direct communication inherent to make a corporate blog successful. There are instances where blogs could not be reconciled with business practices and regulations. Clearly, there are risks to consider. Risks lie mainly in the content and the character or tone of comments which admittedly can only be censored to a limited degree.

If a corporate blog can fit your company culture, selecting the individual or employee who will write your blog is doubtless to say the most important decision. An ideal corporate blogger is one who is an expert in his field. He should also write with passion and sincerity. The object of your blog is to engage your customers and prospects in conversation and the most effective way to start a conversation is to be sincere and honest in your blog while writing about topics that are important to your company. He should have good writing skills. More importantly, he should be one who is respected by his peers and reacts calmly to outbursts. Blogging is an intense medium. The individuals who will blog for your company should be the ones who can keep their cool despite critical comments. Most likely, the ideal individual is not your CEO. Corporate speak won't thrive in the blogosphere.

In corporate blogging, goals/missions are of prime importance. For a blog to yield value, it has to be created with specific goals in mind. Some of these goals may be to increase company credibility, enhance customer service and interaction, and give customers a peek of the behind-the-scenes "feel" of the corporate culture, showcase new products or services and more. The important thing is to be clear about your goals. You have to be sure about what you are trying to get done and stick to them. As with any corporate undertaking, you also need to periodically evaluate how well you are meeting these goals. If blogging is proving to be futile, then make changes. If it still does not work, then discontinue blogging.

Do take time to know your customers or prospects. Find out what your audience care about, what they are interested in. You have to identify what their needs are and what service you can perform for them. To get their attention, work out a way to participate in a conversation credibly. To be credible, come up with worthwhile content -- ideas, insights, news and information. Content need not be long but should be interesting. Corporate blogs should not veer away from its chosen categories or topics. This is not to say you cannot be personal in your blog posts because you should, but the audience you are trying to connect with do not want to read through your blog if it is injected with a litany of personal rumblings.

Do engage your audience in lively and substantial conversations. Take into account what they say and reply to their comments. Respond in a professional and businesslike manner whether the comment is positive or negative. Allowing comments from your audience will definitely mean some complaints and criticisms. Don't take them personally. Respond honestly and your company credibility will rise. Allowing audience to make comments is a distinct characteristic of blogs. Openness is important for successful blogging. That said, use a feedback filter or comment moderation to monitor and control comments and delete comment spam (useless comments).

For a blog to accomplish its mission, do update regularly. Post frequently and consistently, daily or weekly, at least. Do be generous with your links. Linking is one reason why blogging has become a popular online communication medium. The best corporate blogs, more often than not, have lots of links in each blog post.

Do draw up a set of corporate blogging policies. Set limits on what information can be made public. Make clear what is allowed and what is not. Legal issues crop up in blogging. It is better to have some safety nets. In drafting blogging policies, it is advisable to do some research on it and publish proposed policies to get some feedback.

As for what not to do, do not close down existing employee blogs. More often than not, an employee is already writing a blog. It might be full of grievances about the recent spate of oil increases or it could be snapshots of a relaxing vacation in the Maldives. Maybe this employee is singing praises of the company's new product. Why not engage this employee blogger in a dialogue about what your corporate blog aims to achieve. Don't wait for a crisis to break out before creating a corporate blog. It takes time to see potential results of blogging. Don't keep your corporate bloggers anonymous or hidden behind some make-believe characters. The audience will know and it will have detrimental effects.

Lastly, a blog is not a miracle cure. It will not single-handedly turn your distressed company around. Corporate blogging should be incorporated with other marketing and communication tools to achieve desired results. http://www.theinternetone.net ]]> What Makes A Good Blog http://www.artwoo.com/article/what-makes-a-good-blog http://www.artwoo.com/article/what-makes-a-good-blog#comments Tue, 20 Mar 2007 19:52:01 +0000 bloggingblogospherebloggersnicheweb surfersdemographicpersonality http://www.artwoo.com/article/what-makes-a-good-blog blogging web site from all of the others. Whether you are starting up a new web site aimed at or whether you are looking to make your existing blogging site more distinctive, the key to building and maintaining a site that will capture the interest and attention of the blogging community is finding your . If you can fill a unique need in a way that no other web site does, you'll be able to build a lasting readership among . Once you have discovered a niche, you will still have a lot to do, but finding your place in the is the place to begin.

Every great blogging web site starts with a great idea, and you can't build a successful site that will last without one. There are many great sites aimed at today's bloggers, and competition for the attention of this growing is fierce. To make your blogging web site stand out from the pack, you will need to offer something that no other site is currently offering, or you will need to do the same thing that an already popular site does but in a more impressive or valuable way.

One way to discover an ideal model for your blogging web site is to look at the sites that have successfully captured a blogging audience already to determine if you can appropriate some of their strategies to help realize your vision. Of course, you will also need to add a unique flair to your project in order to stand apart from your competition. Many people agree that the web sites that do the best in today's market are the sites that have the most . The fiercely individual surfers who are bloggers are a demographic that responds especially strongly to personality, so consider how you can give your site a unique and attractive feeling by lending your own voice and sensibility to your site's design and content.

Once you have a great idea for your site, have pinpointed a special niche that you are well equipped to fill, and have infused the site with personality, the next step is figuring out how to get the word out to bloggers. In the long run, a great idea just isn't enough to propel your blogging web site to success. You will need to draft a smart and realistic marketing plan in order to draw readers to your site. Once you hook a blogger, your great content will keep them coming back, but it is vital to get that first glance or your site won't have a chance to shine. Chris Kameir is the CEO of San Diego's Web Marketing Company, Colizer Inc. His Search Engine Blog can be found at http://www.kameir.com. ]]> Some Of The Best Ever Blog Specific Tools http://www.artwoo.com/article/some-of-the-best-ever-blog-specific-tools http://www.artwoo.com/article/some-of-the-best-ever-blog-specific-tools#comments Fri, 15 Sep 2006 04:27:10 +0000 google toolsblogbloggingtechnoratigooglespublishing toolsblogger http://www.artwoo.com/article/some-of-the-best-ever-blog-specific-tools Blogging is one of the most popular activities people do on the Internet today. According to , there currently are seventy-five thousand (75,000) new blogs everyday and about 1.2 million new blog updates everyday. As the activity of gets more popular, there will be more and more tools that will be created to specifically address the needs of the blogging population of the Internet users. This article will attempt to catalog some of the best ever blogging tools created for users. To help users find the tools that they need, these blog tools are classified here into four main categories -- blog publishing, blog reading, blog searching and the blog toolbox -- a collection of tools important to the serious .

Blog publishing

Blog can be further categorized into three sub-categories: Online blogging services, do-it-yourself blog publishing platforms, and accessory blog-publishing tools. Blogging services provide the blog engine that you need to get yourself started in blogging as well as the hosting. Though most of the services offer this for free, some of them require that you become paying members in order to fully enjoy all the benefits.

Blogger -- Google's Blogger is one of the earliest blogging services and it helped popularize blogging. It is one of the easiest ways to get started blogging because of the focus on usability and easy blog creation. The Blog this feature, which is integrated in many , makes posting to Blogger possible in many different situations. It is also integrated with Google's Adsense advertising program that makes monetization of your blog quick and easy.

TypePad -- Typepad is the largest paid-blogging service around. As mentioned, a paid subscription is required to create a blog using the service. It uses the Movable Type blogging technology but it caters more to the non-technical users.

Wordpress.com -- one of the newcomers in the online blogging services, Wordpress gets its credibility from the success and popularity of the blogging engine that it uses --Wordpress.

Xanga -- Xanga is one of the largest blog-networks, boasting a user base of 27 million users worldwide. It edges over its competitors by offering excellent community features such as blog rings, metros, and a social networking profile system.

MSN Spaces -- Although it is relatively a newcomer in the blogging services space, MSN Spaces boasts of a huge user base, because of the ease at which existing MSN services users were able to start blogging. The integration with the rest of MSN's services (hotmail, messenger) makes Spaces a very good blogging option for the existing users.

Do-it-yourself blogging platforms on the other hand, only provide the blogging engine. Although you have to find your own hosting service, DIY blogging platforms give you more control in configuring your blog. Below are some of the best DIY Blogging platforms.

Movable Type -- Movable Type powers TypePad and it adds the usual advantages of a server-side blogging platform: flexibility, more advanced configuration, and total control over your blog.

Wordpress -- Wordpress is an increasingly popular open-source blogging platform that is written in PHP and backed by a MySQL database.

Radio Userland -- Radio Userland, one of the earliest content management systems used by the pioneering bloggers, is still a good blogging platform choice. It has solid RSS features that include a built-in aggregator. Configuration is done in a desktop web server then it is upstreamed or sync to the web server. This gives the blogger a cached copy of the whole blog.

Blog posting tools are third-party applications that are used to compose and publish blog posts. These tools usually support multiple blogging services and are ideal for those without a persistent Internet connection.

W. Bloggar and BlogJet -- these are two of the best blog-posting tools in the market, and both are available for free. They support almost all of the blogging platforms. They do what most web-based posting apps does, including rich text editing, with the added feature of being able to save your drafts offline.

Performancing for Firefox -- a Mozilla Firefox extension that allows you to immediately compose a blog post while using the Firefox browser. It is Ideal for active bloggers who use Firefox as their web browser. It automatically saves your unpublished posts.

Blog Reading

RSS/Atom aggregators and other RSS tools belong to this category.

My Yahoo -- My Yahoo tried to bring the concept of RSS subscription to the Internet masses. Though it lacks the more advanced features, it serves well as a good aggregator.

Google Reader -- Google's web-based RSS aggregator that features an AJAX-driven user interface. It has a good support for tags or labels, and features a very nice reading interface. One of its best features is its labels-sharing feature that allows you to put aggregated content to your blog.

Bloglines -- Bloglines is one of the most widely-used web-based RSS Reader. It uses the traditional two-frame reading interface, and subscriptions are grouped into folders. It has a good blog-suggest feature, that uses linking analysis to suggest which blogs might be of interest to you based on your existing subscription set. You can also share your subscriptions using Bloglines.

Blog Search

Tools used to search information and blogs, and to watch the blogosphere for topics or issues being actively discussed.

Technorati - Technorati is one of the best blog search engine, feature wise, and is indexing over 49.4 million web blogs. It serves as a one-stop shop for those who want to know the current happenings in the blogosphere, including features such as blog ranking based on linking, personal aggregator (for those who login) and many other nifty tools.

Sphere -- one of the newcomers in blog search that came even after many other engines have folded down already. It promised to deliver more relevant blog search results, and it rightfully did so, as attested by its early beta testers. It features a "sphere it" feature that allows you automatically query http://sphere.com to see topics that might be related to what you're currently reading.

Blogger's Toolbox

A collection of other tools essential to the serious blogger

Mint / Measure Map /Google Analytics -- these are three different tools used to analyze your blog statistics. Mint specializes in giving you a big-picture snapshot of your traffic, somewhat lacking in the providing specific details, something that Google Analytics is good at. Analytics can provide detailed information on what's happening on your blog, which contents are popular, what keywords used in searches that bring you readers, and many others. It features a calendar to specify the time range of the analysis that you want to see. Measure Map, like Analytics is a fresh acquisition of Google, but still in early stages. It somewhat sits in the middle of Mint and Google Map in terms of what information is provided.

Akismet -- Akismet is a highly-acclaimed anti-comment spam plugin for Wordpress blogs. It is free for personal use.

Feedburner -- Feedburner is a tool that "burns" your RSS feeds in order to add tracking and analysis features. This way you can see statistics regarding your RSS subscribers.

The tools listed above are just a few of the many others that can help users; from those who are just starting to blog to those who want to become even better bloggers. It also includes some tools for searching and aggregating blogs, because a good blogger must learn to watch the blogosphere closely if it wants to be able to make more effective blog contents. http://www.theinternetone.net ]]> Using Bloggers For Pushing Products: A Good Idea? http://www.artwoo.com/article/using-bloggers-for-pushing-products-a-good-idea http://www.artwoo.com/article/using-bloggers-for-pushing-products-a-good-idea#comments Sat, 07 Oct 2006 10:27:02 +0000 bloggersblogsblogospheresun microsystemssee advertisingbloggingdisseminate http://www.artwoo.com/article/using-bloggers-for-pushing-products-a-good-idea blogosphere. The discussion centers on using to push products and getting compensated in return. Should bloggers accept monetary payment or any form of remuneration for writing about certain products, services or events on their ?

Issues and Views

Now that is spreading like wildfire, drawing large crowds of audience, business advertisers, sponsors and the like are one in advocating it as an effective means of advertising -- getting a company's message out. It is now everyday staple to on personal blogs. Leading companies like Microsoft, Nokia, and General Motors have even joined the "blogwagon'. Top management executives like president Jonathan Schwartz and Intel chief Paul Otellini now blog. It is a fact that word from a trusted source holds much water to consumers. Word of mouth is undoubtedly the most effective form of advertising. Marketing people put a lot of weight into pursuing free publicity. Aware of the massive growth of blogs and the increasing clout and its being a trusted medium, it isn't surprising that bloggers are being used to promote products, services or events. Blogs have the ability to information instantly to a widespread audience.

Everyday, more companies are paying bloggers in cash or in kind for promotional spaces on their blogs be it in the form of outright sponsorship or product reviews. Most bloggers keen to keep their blogs financially sustainable openly accept sponsorship and carry ads on their blogs.

A problem now looms. Blogging has no established code of ethics regarding bloggers accepting compensation for blog coverage. The immediate issue bloggers will have to address is whether bloggers can accept payment in any form for writing about specific topics. If yes, a subsequent issue is disclosure and transparency. Certain events have brought these issues into focus. These events have sparked engaging discussions and varied views on the appropriateness of all these going ons in the blogosphere.

Marqui, a Vancouver company that sells communication management services for automating websites announced its experimental program -- paying bloggers to mention the company in their blogs. The aim is to increase brand awareness among the powerful members of the software developer community. Marqui signed up 20 bloggers. Under the program, bloggers are mandated to display Marqui icon and mention Marqui in their blog posts at least once a week. They are free to write anything positive or negative. They are at liberty to blog openly about Marqui products or pursue a different approach. In return, they will be paid $800 a month. In-depth details of the program rules together with an FAQ section are posted online in Marqui's own blog. According to Stephen King, Marqui CEO, the program has been a success. Company mentions on Google skyrocketed. Marqui has been swamped with reader feedbacks on its products. Conversely, the program has drawn many criticisms.

Rob Greenlee of WebTalkRadio commented that it is unnatural to think that a paid blogger would post negative comments about a sponsor. Stowe Boyd, president of Corante's weblog network threatened that the Marqui program will turn the blogosphere into a graffiti-laden slum where the readers won't be able to distinguish if a blog posting is genuine or a paid message. In his response, King defended that if a reader comes across a blog and sees the part that is sponsored, certainly there will be skepticism. However, bloggers disclose their relationship with Marqui, write both positive and negative comments without fear of any deletion from Marqui. Another blogger feels that the Marqui program just needs some fine-tuning. Disclosure of payment arrangement between Marqui and participating blogger should be mandatory. Contracts of bloggers should not be renewed based on positive write-ups they provided or whether they are amenable to writing product reviews, be it favorable or unfavorable.

Newsweek revealed that 100 influential members of the tech community, Silicon Valley, were periodically offered products or services in return for word of mouth endorsements (or not). BzzAgent, a Boston company enlisted volunteers to call up bookstores to generate buzz for a particular book, feigning ignorance. A recent service called Pay Per Post patterned after pay per click business model pays a blogger a commission for each completed (clicked) post that promotes the advertiser's product or service. All these different situations point to a need for some ethical standards bloggers should adhere to. Some basic guidelines have to be set.

Blog Ethics and Standards

Bloggers are known to be non-conformists. This distinct characteristic distinguishes them from the rest in the online world. They are typically beholden to no one. They are defiant in the face of authority. Bloggers comment and spread information according to their own unconventional standards. On the contrary, it is also this freedom that may jeopardize their integrity and thus their value.

At present there are no definite ethical standards that lay down a blogger's responsibilities and provide a clear code of conduct that will ensure his integrity. Bloggers have no definitive code of ethics but there are some general principles that are widely held. Transparency is the hallmark of blogging. It is one of the weblog's distinct characteristic and greatest strength. A blogger should be transparent with regards to his actions, motives and financial considerations. Since blogging is a trusted medium, it is to every blogger's advantage to disclose conflicts of interest (monetary or otherwise) when appropriate. A blogger who is given free access to a service he is reviewing or receives a product for review should disclose said fact. Subsequently, there is an implicit understanding that the blogger will be objective and honest. Anyway, a company should not expect a positive review just because the product was provided for free. It will not do the company any good if a reviewer just sings praises. If there is a problem with the product, the company would surely like to be informed to make the necessary improvements. Readers will be properly informed and form their own judgments. A blogger should in all instances maintain independence and integrity. Lost trust is extremely hard to regain, in some instances, never regained. A very important tenet that any blogger knows by heart is to publish as fact only that which he strongly believes is true. He should be open about his sources, biases and actions.

In a nutshell, using bloggers to push products may be acceptable to some, but others may frown on it. As for bloggers, it is a matter of choice. A blogger may be open to accepting payments to help build buzz for a product on his blog or not. If he does choose to accept compensation, transparency and disclosure are of utmost importance. His reputation is stake. http://www.theinternetone.net ]]> Just How Important Are Technorati Tags And Wordpress Categories http://www.artwoo.com/article/just-how-important-are-technorati-tags-and-wordpress-categories http://www.artwoo.com/article/just-how-important-are-technorati-tags-and-wordpress-categories#comments Mon, 21 Aug 2006 00:27:19 +0000 blogtechnoratiblogospherekitchen gadgetssearch enginesactual timeblogs http://www.artwoo.com/article/just-how-important-are-technorati-tags-and-wordpress-categories search engines are currently the principal means for accessing s in the Internet, having one's blog listed among the top result of a search query is paramount in order to drive traffic to one's blog. To help boost your blog's ranking for search engine, here is a tip that any webmaster worth his salt can tell you: Think of the most probable keywords or tags that will be used to search for your blog and then make sure to include these words in your blog post. Make them part of your title. If you are a WordPress user, make them your tag or WordPress category. Doing so would give you a better chance of being crawled by the search engines.

About Technorati Tags

Technorati is a popular real-time search engine that monitors what is happening in the world of we -- the . Adhering to the idea that the relevance of a blog is determined by the number of other blogs that link to it, Technorati traces the number of links, the perceived importance of blogs, as well as the of blogging. Technorati automatically receives advice from blogs as soon as they are updated. Technorati tracks down all activities in the blogosphere and indexes them immediately after posting.

As bloggers have probably realized by now, Technorati is an authority in keeping up with the blogging community. Technorati is one of the best traffic sources. Blog posts organized by Technorati tags are its main feature. Technorati makes your blog much easier to find when Internet users search by utilizing Technorati tags.

A Technorati tag is a keyword or a category used to briefly describe the subject matter of a blog post. It can be one or more words. Bloggers categorize or classify their blog posts using tags. The process of assigning tags to blog posts is known as tagging.

For instance, you have a post about cooking, you can use tags like healthy cooking, culinary delights, , regional cuisine, food trips, etc. as your tags. You can tag your post with anything you wish. Technorati will still index it and display it on their tag pages.

Technorati tags are like the tags bloggers add to pictures or images on Flickr, the photo sharing site (e.g. using the tag "culinary delights" for a photo of a sumptuous parmesan chicken with quick salsa verde dish). Technorati tags are also like the tags used to bookmark blog posts in http://del.icio.us. Bloggers assign tags and share all the links with other users through the tags. In fact, Technorati works with these two sites. When you go to Technorati and view a particular post for a specific tag, you will also see images and links to blogs given the same tags by bloggers on http://del.icio.us and Flickr.

Technorati tags offer another way of finding information and interacting on the Internet. Technorati tags usher you to a collection of posts tagged with the same tag. Technorati tags can link to related tag categories not just on Technorati but the other tag sites as well showing a compilation of posts from around the web all related to the tag. Tags can also link to a generated blog post enumerating all the posts on your blog associated with that specific tag. Technorati tags can also be linked from within the text thru a list anywhere on your blog that will take you to the Technorati site for more posts related to the same tag.

Technorati uses WordPress categories as tags. Technorati will automatically recognize your WordPress category names as tags. You can add more tags by just adding a rel="tag" to any link on your blog. You can also avail of the numerous WordPress plug-ins for maximizing Technorati tags which can be found on the Plug-ins/Technorati list in the WordPress site.

About WordPress Categories

Bloggers using WordPress as their blogging platform can maximize the Categories feature. Categories come with WordPress. You have full rein to add as many categories or subcategories as you like to make it easy for users to find information they need. As mentioned earlier Technorati uses WordPress categories as tags.

Each post in WordPress is entered under one or more categories. This allows posts with related content to be compiled together. Each category may be assigned to a Category Parent. Categories are displayed in hierarchy and alphabetically. Subcategories are displayed after the Parent Category. There are some basic information associated with a category -- a unique name, category parent, description (optional) and the number of posts which are members of the category.

Links to categories are shown in different places on the blog. WordPress lists category links in the sidebar. WordPress also shows all the categories to which a given post belongs. When a user views a blog and clicks on one of the category links, a page with all the posts belonging to that category will be displayed.

Just like traditional website marketing, organizing content into categories, in this case WordPress categories, helps both visitors and search engines to easily understand what your blog posts are about and find other posts related to the same category.

Optimizing Technorati Tags and WordPress for Search Engines

Tags are categories that organize the blog system. Given that WordPress categories translate to Technorati tags, it follows that by tagging a blog post, you connect it with a unique category. Technorati provides a tag search that allows web surfers to browse for posts in a particular category. If your posts are properly tagged, this can bring significant traffic.

Google, Yahoo and MSN incorporate Technorati's tag pages into their search results. This is the reason why Technorati receives much traffic. The longer your post stays at the top of a Technorati tag, the more traffic you will receive. To stay on top, you can continue posting new content related posts to a specific tag.

How high the Technorati tag ranks in the search engine results depend on certain factors. It depends in part on how relevant and unique your Technorati tags are. The more relevant they are, the more likely your blog post will appear in search results. The better you match your Technorati tags (WordPress categories) with the actual content of your blog post, the higher your post will rank in search engines. It will also be effortless for web surfers to navigate within your site. To put it simply, the higher your search engine ranking, the more traffic you receive.

Another factor to consider in attaining a high page rank in search engine results is the number of bloggers that have tagged their posts by linking back to Technorati. In fact all blog posts that tag directly to Technorati have received a boost in link popularity. Based on the number of links to your blog from other sites, your blog is given a Google PageRank (a system for ranking web pages and blog posts). The higher the rank, the easier it will be for web users to find your blog when they search for related data. A high Google PageRank will definitely increase your search engine optimization as Google PageRank serves as the basis for the entire web search tools. http://www.theinternetone.net ]]> Blogging Ideas, Do They Make Money? http://www.artwoo.com/article/blogging-ideas-do-they-make-money http://www.artwoo.com/article/blogging-ideas-do-they-make-money#comments Sun, 01 Jul 2007 19:30:00 +0000 bloggingmake your existingadsensebloggersweb surfersblogosphereniche http://www.artwoo.com/article/blogging-ideas-do-they-make-money Blogging Web Site is No Longer Enough

Because there are so many blogs and web sites about blogs on the internet, it can be tough to distinguish your blogging web site from all of the others. Whether you are starting up a new web site aimed at or whether you are looking to blogging site more distinctive, the key to building and maintaining a site that will capture the interest and attention of the blogging community is finding your .

If you can fill a unique need in a way that no other web site does, you'll be able to build a lasting readership among . Once you have discovered a niche, you will still have a lot to do, but finding your place in the is the place to begin.

Every great blogging web site starts with a great idea, and you can't build a successful site that will last without one. There are many great sites aimed at today's bloggers, and competition for the attention of this growing demographic is fierce. To make your blogging web site stand out from the pack, you will need to offer something that no other site is currently offering, or you will need to do the same thing that an already popular site does but in a more impressive or valuable way.

One way to discover an ideal model for your blogging web site is to look at the sites that have successfully captured a blogging audience already to determine if you can appropriate some of their strategies to help realize your vision. Of course, you will also need to add a unique flair to your project in order to stand apart from your competition.Setting up on your Blog is a breeze, and you can complete the whole process in less then an hour. Free $97 Adsense Secret Ebook on Adsense Tips here.

Many people agree that the web sites that do the best in today's market are the sites that have the most personality. The fiercely individual surfers who are bloggers are a demographic that responds especially strongly to personality, so consider how you can give your site a unique and attractive feeling by lending your own voice and sensibility to your site's design and content.

Once you have a great idea for your site, have pinpointed a special niche that you are well equipped to fill, and have infused the site with personality, the next step is figuring out how to get the word out to bloggers. In the long run, a great idea just isn't enough to propel your blogging web site to success. You will need to draft a smart and realistic marketing plan in order to draw readers to your site. Once you hook a blogger, your great content will keep them coming back, but it is vital to get that first glance or your site won't have a chance to shine. Most people can make their AdSense Blog sites veritable cash cows! Free $97 Secret Adsense Book at http://www.honestreview.info/adsense/index.html ]]> Getting Blog Links http://www.artwoo.com/article/getting-blog-links http://www.artwoo.com/article/getting-blog-links#comments Sun, 25 Jun 2006 06:32:22 +0000 blogspeople findblogbloggerbloggersbloggingtraffic issues http://www.artwoo.com/article/getting-blog-links bloggers trying to get other to link to them. A lot of traffic can be gained by doing this with blogs that are both related to your topic and blogs that have a lot of readers.

This can sometimes be very difficult for new s because they do not yet have enough readers or page rank to interest the bigger blogs.

Talk to other who are in the same position as you right now and develop a lasting relationship. You link to them, they link to you and as both of your blogs grow those links will pay off for you.

Many a blog they like, then will take suggestions from that blog about other blogs they might like. So someone goes to a blog you have traded links with and likes them, then they follow your link and if your content is good, they add you to their reading list. The same happens in reverse for the one you link back to.

Sooner than you think both of your blogs will become ones that a circle of people read. The more blogs you do this with, the more your circle will eventually grow.

Don't be too concerned with page rank. Many of the established blogs with good page rank are not going to link to you until you build up your readership at least a little. There is a reason for this and it isn't arrogance, though it may feel that way at times.

The reason is that many people start blogs, but few people actually become bloggers. daily takes a commitment that many are not willing to make. The established blogs might link to you regardless of page rank and if they see you are committed to writing your blog and becoming a blogger.

They don't want to link to someone's blog that may or may not be around next month. It is a disservice to their readers and a hassle to remove your link later or check and see if you are actually still blogging. They do not have the time to hold your hand on it.

If they check out your blog and you have been posting to it every day for quite awhile, say 6 months at least, then they might give you a helping hand and welcome you to the blogosphere.

Put it into your schedule to make a post every single day, even if it has to be a short one due to lack of time. When there is a time you know you will not be able to post for a few days, make a post for each of those days and if you are using wordpress you can timestamp the posts so that each one appears on the scheduled day. That is one way to keep your blog fresh for your readers every day.

Another tip is, as we post to our blogs daily, there are times when you have two or three things you want to blog, but if you are finding it hard to post daily, timestamp the second or third post for other days rather than posting them right now unless it is something time sensitive. Try to stay two or three days ahead so that if you miss a day, it won't hurt you.

If you are using blogger or other blogging software that doesn't have the timestamp feature, save them as drafts, then log in when you have little time and post your draft. If you have time to blog a post, then leave the draft there until you need it.

Don't let yourself get frustrated if everyone doesn't want to link to you right away. If you are blogging good content, you may find they are linking to you before you even ask! Chris McElroy AKA NameCritic writes six blogs daily and manages blogs for several companies. He consults with clients about their projects and can help with ways to increase their visibility. His blog about blogging is at http://www.blogs.pn His humor blog is at http://www.wholettheblogout.com Start your own blog at http://www.thingsthatjustpissmeoff.com ]]> What Is A Blog And Why Have One? http://www.artwoo.com/article/what-is-a-blog-and-why-have-one http://www.artwoo.com/article/what-is-a-blog-and-why-have-one#comments Sat, 26 May 2007 09:15:01 +0000 bloggingtargetpersonal blogvoyeurismvoilaurgeblogs http://www.artwoo.com/article/what-is-a-blog-and-why-have-one Voyeurism became the fad.

No one started to become "someone" through . No talent scout needed, no silver spoon in one's mouth upon birth required. All you need is a trusty computer, some typing skills, the to write just about anything, and ! You can create your own blog!

In the beginning it was just students and youngsters that got bitten by the blogging bug. Now, almost anyone of any age and status can participate in the blogosphere - the community of bloggers.

But before one decides to jump into the bandwagon of blogging, it is important to note what one's purpose is for blogging. Choose from these varieties of functions that a blog can deliver:

Political Blogging

Putting up a blog for the purpose of getting in touch with people who have critical information to either share or contend with is one of the trendiest functions of blogging nowadays.

Not many have been involved with blogging about their daily agenda yet while lip servicing, or doing community service or any government-related events compared to the next blog purpose.

Opinionated Blogging

Just like political blogging, these kinds of teeming with the author/s' comments backed with hyperlinks is what keep opinionated blogging thrive. However, opinionated blogging can be sometimes just become an outlet for personal frustrations or just any that does not necessarily delve into pure politics. It can talk about products or services that one finds either good or bad. An opinionated blog can also be just the generic blog that details one's daily life.Is it really worth placing an AdSense banner on your blog? Get your Free $97 Adsense Secret Ebook on Adsense Tips today.

Niche Blogging

These blogs could either be personal or group blogs that a certain market. Hobbyists often create these blogs. So, if you are into badminton or other racket sports, your niche blog will only or usually only be composed of posts that are related to rackets sports. Most people can make their AdSense Blog sites veritable cash cows! Free $97 Secret Adsense Book at http://www.honestreview.info/adsense/index.html Niche blogs are often monetized either through including advertisements or selling text links. They become feasible as source of income due to the well-targeted readers that often subscribe to them. Most people can make their AdSense Blog sites veritable cash cows! Free $97 Secret Adsense Book at http://www.honestreview.info/adsense/index.html ]]> What to Focus on When Learning to Start a Blog http://www.artwoo.com/article/what-to-focus-on-when-learning-to-start-a-blog http://www.artwoo.com/article/what-to-focus-on-when-learning-to-start-a-blog#comments Mon, 25 Aug 2008 05:29:39 +0000 step by step directionswebster dictionaryblogger searchpersonal journalnecessary stepsgoogleblogosphere http://www.artwoo.com/article/what-to-focus-on-when-learning-to-start-a-blog Webster dictionary. Studies now show that Americans alone have created more than 8 million blogs. Many of these blogs have become wildly popular.

A blog is considered a for anyone to read and the most recent entry is always at the top of the page. The tools available to make a blog are inexpensive and easy to use. Therefore, publishing to the Web is simple for anyone.

Blogs have exploded in popularity over the past few years. The most popular tool for creating and maintaining a blog is Blogger, which is part of the ever-expanding empire. Blogger offers a free services where you can manage and host your online journal.

When you start out you will be given step-by-step directions in order to install and set up your blog properly. If you have questions or problems you can repeat the without any fear. Blogs are actually quite intuitive, you just have to follow easy steps.

What you should center on when you start a blog is where you can go to if you have any doubts or inquiries. As you begin you will have many questions, such as if you can edit, delete, click which button and where do I find this or that?

The best advice is to become well acquainted with Blogger. In fact, the easiest way to set up your blog is to sign into their site. When you do you'll see the Blogger toolbar which enables you to conduct a . There is a nice help section that provides all kinds of guides for your convenience.

This search will refer you to additional information if you need it, such as discussions, languages, help, etc. All of their information is free and they have a world of great resource. You can spend as much time as you want and educate yourself on topics you choose.

Since Blogger is into the service of creating blogs you will be able to spread out with them as you go along. You will be able to understand more and be ready to enter the when you are ready.

When your posts go out there are many etiquette rules, certain communication technologies, special language, and reflective skills that you will be capable of displaying because of Blogger's access to information.

You have to set up your blog before you can begin to do anything. However, if you make a mistake while setting up you'll have to return because the computer will not let you continue. Once that part is done, it's done!

The main center point for continued learning and growth should be Blogger and the resources that they already provide to you. There are also lots of blogs about blogging that you can read. These will help you to learn to create material that people will like and can help you to bring valuable traffic to your blog.

Some of the better blogs out there can also teac