If you're looking for a handy, no frills book of suggestions for blogging, this book should meet your requirements. Having been designed as an email course, 30 Day Blogging Challenge consists mainly of 30 very short articles on different aspects of blogging. Being able to buy the whole lot in the form of a book is excellent for those of us for whom deferred gratification is an alien concept.
Review of Problogger’s Guide To Blogging For Your Business
Before looking at the book in detail, it’s worth pointing out what the book is, and is not. It is, as the title implies, concerned with blogging in order to promote your business. It is not about blogging as a business in itself. It’s an important distinction, not least because once we take money out of the equation then “business” can be used as shorthand for any type of enterprise, including a charity, a cause, or a school.
Something of interest 11/28/2011 (a.m.)
Using Google for Article Ideas
Stumped for some ideas on what to write about? One way to tackle that sort of block is to generate ideas randomly. The trouble with random idea generators, however, is that they are usually either outlandish (for example “mobile fish typewriter”), boring, or repetitive. That’s because they’re too random. Also, you have to dance to someone else’s tune: there’s no input from you whatsoever.
4 Ways to Write Quickly
in How to
“Well, just bash it out. Even if you have to do it all in bullet points and stitch it up later.”
That was Elaine’s response to my comment that I had, in effect, only a few hours in which to write a comparative review of two educational technology products, obtain all the specs, and come up with ratings and an incisive conclusion, and all in 1500 words.
My cup of tea froze halfway to my lips.
“Bash it out?! Stitch it up? I’m not some hack who just churns the stuff out like a machine. I’m a craftsman. Each article is a work of art, each word carefully selected having been hand-picked from the millions of words available. The result is a thing to be admired, savoured, treasured even.”
“You mean like haute couture?”
“Indeed. Exactly so.”
How to make your web pages text-reader friendly
Pictures on websites look great, don’t they? But only if people can see them! Not everyone has broadband access; some people still have (very slow) modems. Others use a text-based browser, or a text reader that reads out the web page to them – or simply do not have the time to wait while pictures download and appear on their screen.
Something of interest 11/15/2011
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Blogging and tweeting as a collaborative writing engagement
Interesting ideas here, including use of a projector. I like the way the class is enjoying the work of other schools, and the way they collaborate in their responses.
Mind your language
in Language, News & views
Here are a couple of odd uses of language I came across recently. At least, they made me sit up and take notice, and perhaps that was the point.
Read MoreMaking your email links more user-friendly
in Handy hints, How to
All websites should have easy-to-find contact details. It’s been found that the average time a person will wait for a web page to appear is 8 seconds, before giving up and moving on to another site. If the same holds true for locating information, you need to make sure that visitors can find your details in under 8 seconds.
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