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Business Blogging 101? / My first blog

Joined
14 April 2002
Messages
2,273
We have recently migrated to a DotNetNuke content management system for our website and although our SEO is very good, it has been recommended to us that blogging on topical items would help going forward.

I have setup the blog and have entered my first blog here:

http://www.vcsonline.com/GoodStuff/BlogPMSProjectManagementSanity/tabid/61/Default.aspx

Anyone with knowledge, experience, or lessons learned in the world of business blogging?

Any help, advice, or constructive criticism greatly appreciated...

:smile:

TIA.
 
Blogger: Term used to describe anyone with enough time or narcissism to document every tedious bit of minutia filling their uneventful lives. Possibly the most annoying thing about bloggers is the sense of self-importance they get after even the most modest of publicity. Sometimes it takes as little as a referral on a more popular blogger's website to set the lesser blogger's ego into orbit.

Then God forbid a blogger gets mentioned on CNN. If you thought it was impossible for a certain blogger to get more pious than he was, wait until you see the shit storm of self-righteous save-the-world bullshit after a network plug. Suddenly the boring, mild-mannered blogger you once knew will turn into Mother Theresa, and will single handedly take it upon himself to end world hunger with his stupid links to band websites and other smug blogger dipshits.

Blogging: If minds had anuses, blogging would be what your mind would do when it had to take a dump.

Blogged: What you call a trivial or largely inconsequential topic once bloggers have processed through every tired detail. For more on this, look into: every minor news story.

Blogosphere: The "blogosphere" is the new buzz word that has replaced "information super highway." It's what idiots like to call a collection of "blogs," otherwise known as a tragedy.

Blogomania: Like all other manias, except relating to the infatuation of blogs. It's one step above the more caustic phrase "blog-o-rama." Thankfully the latter hasn't caught on to the extent of its brethren, but that doesn't stop me from punching anyone who says it in the dick.

Blogroll: A long list of links that nobody will ever click on. Bloggers not only link to their friends and fellow bloggers, but their eventual goal is to link to every linkable document on the Internet. Most "blog rolls" are so full of links that it can bring even the mightiest of search engines to a crawl as they sort through all the frivolous bullshit bloggers link to.

Thankfully, since most blogs are shallow in content, it won't take you long to load, and in turn, to close the browser quickly if you're duped into clicking one of these links. If you shut down quickly enough, you may be able to avoid downloading the mandatory 2 gigs of political banners on every blogger's website.

Blogshare: An imaginary share of a blog's worth, which is ironic, since most blogs have an imaginary share of readers.

Blogstorm: A zany phrase news anchors like to use any time they think there's an abnormal amount of posts on blogs regarding any particular topic. Of course, they fail to consider any amount of posting to a blog is abnormal since people who are well adjusted usually have better things to do, i.e., work, or failing that, anything else.

Blog Swarm: Stupid.

Blogging community: Losers, goths, bedwetters, and journalism dropouts.

Blawg: Some prick thought it would be clever to spell "blog" phonetically using the word "law" in the title. It's a phrase used to describe blogs primarily dealing with the law and legal issues. Wow, real clever, dipshit. How did you come up with that one?

Blogumentary: There was recently a bit of a feud regarding this word among two bloggers. Apparently some guy decided that they had exclusive right to use the word, not realizing that similar words (docudrama, dramedy, rockumentary, etc) have been free to use for all people since you can't just copyright an entire genre, and more importantly, that it's stupid. Who cares? Blogumentary? Really? Eat shit you morons.

Blogebrity: Wow, guess what this one stands for? Too easy. Hey, anyone can do it: take a blogger who's a chef, and you get: BLEF. A blogger who's a dentist? BENTIST. A female blogger with an itch? You guessed it: a BITCH.

Photoblog: Photoblogs make me yearn for the day when cameras weren't digital, film cost money, and it took time to develop pictures. I remember back when it wasn't easy for any random asshole with a camera to go out take countless pictures of nothing. Nothing is exactly what these pictures are of. No focus, no theme, no message, no posturing. Just countless pictures of Denny's at 2 AM. We don't care that you went to Denny's. You're not an artist. You're not deep. Get a new hobby.

Podcast: Someone had the revolutionary idea of taking a compressed audio file and putting it online. Yeah, doesn't sound so sexy when I describe it for what it is, does it you morons? It would have been a great idea if streaming audio wasn't already around for over a decade before the word "podcast" entered the lexicon. Man, I can't stand the word "lexicon." Talking about all these shitty words has made me start using shitty words. I'm so pissed, I just slammed the door shut on some kid's nuts.

Podcasting: It's snob for "streaming audio."

Podcatcher: Any idiot with an iPod, web browser, or ears.

Warblog: A blog that primarily deals with war. Filled with whiny blow hards who are fixated on their stubborn ideas and conspiracy theories. For example, there are countless hours pissed away by conspiracy theorists who think the WTC towers were demolished by bombs planted by the government. These armchair engineers write endlessly about how the physics of the collapse was impossible, how the temperature wasn't hot enough to melt steel, and how the planes were carrying missiles. Of course, the one thing they don't postulate is a REASON.

My personal favorite warblog was one that had a flash animation with people who were quoted as saying "it didn't sound like a plane to me... it sounded like a missile." Thank you Joe Nobody for giving me your expert opinion on what missile sounds like, because gas station superintendents are usually the best people to ask about the sonic signature of ballistic missile thrust.

Warblogger: Like all other bloggers, an idiot. Usually a self-righteous prick with a political axe to grind. Tragically, these dullards fail to realize that nobody cares what they think. And no, the 2 comments per post you get on average doesn't count. Get some real opinions, then maybe you'll get some real feedback.

Warblogging: The act of writing amateur, unfounded, and borderline illiterate opinions about war and war strategy.

iPod: This is one of those inventions that makes people say: "why didn't I think of that?" On news shows anyway. One of the anchors on FOX News said "now the music industry is waiting for someone to come along and invent the next iPod." Wow, if only I had thought of the bright idea of putting an mp3 player on a portable hard drive. Damn that's brilliant. I had that idea years ago. I also have another idea: a car that can fly. I will sue anyone who makes it.

iPodder: A pompous ass who thinks he's eclectic. Wake up asshole: you're not living in an iPod commercial. You can't dance. Everything you listen to sucks. Get a job.

e-nable: E-nable? How about I e-nable my foot to your mouth?

URL (as pronounced "ERL"): Few things invoke more contempt for humanity than someone who pronounces URL as "erl." It's an acronym, not a word you douche! Between people who say "erl" and programmers who pronounce char (an abbreviation for character) as "chär" (with the "ch" pronounced like in "chart"), I get so pissed that I just want to saw my arms off.

The suffix "pundit:" Stupid.

The prefix "pundit:" Stupid.

Liberal media: Whiny, bitching, cry-baby conservatives love to prattle on and on about the "liberal media." To be fair, except for FOX News (Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, John Gibson, Neil Cavuto, Steve Doocy, E.D. Hill, Brian Kilmeade, Brit Hume), Clear Channel, Laura Ingraham, Dr. Laura, Rush Limbaugh, Hugh Hewitt, Ann Coulter, Newsmax, G. Gordon Liddy, Michael Reagan, Michael Savage, The New York Post, Sinclair Broadcast Group (WLOS13, Fox 45, WTTO21, WB49, KGAN, WICD, WICS, WCHS, WVAH, WTAT, WSTR, WSYX, WTTE, WKEF, WRGT, KDSM, WSMH, WXLV, WURN, KVWB, KFBT, WDKY, WMSN, WVTV, WEAR, WZTV, KOTH, WYZZ, WPGH, WGME, WLFL, WRLH, WUHF, KABB, WGGB, WSYT, WTTA), David Horowitz, Rupert Murdoch, PAX, and MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, they're right.

The suffix "gate": Watergate, Filegate, Rathergate, eat shit already.

Xanga: The bottom of the barrel of blogs. It's incredible that the user base is able to write so much, yet say so little. I have to give a bit of kudos though, considering the fact that many of the users have the reading comprehension of a bowl full of pubes.

LiveJournal: Here's a little trick you can use to find out whether a link someone sends you is worth checking. If it contains the words "live, journal," or any combination thereof, you can safely ignore the link without missing out on anything.

Content Management System: A pretentious way of saying "text editor."

The acronym CMS: Man, it's like you guys create these words, then you turn them into acronyms to make this shit even cornier.

Killer App: I can't stand this phrase, mostly because it's applied so loosely. App is short for "application," but that doesn't stop people from using it every chance they get: "the fast food industry needs a killer app." What? What does that even mean? An application?

Webmistress: You're not a webmistress, shut up. It's a word used by uppity women who, in spite of a woman's inherent flaws, has been able to land a job as a webmaster. Then they have to go and piss all over years of civil rights they've wrestled away by calling themselves "webmistresses."

trackback: It's snob for "referrer."

travelblog: Guess.

Emo: An abbreviation for loser. Emo is the new goth, except goths are still around, so it's becoming almost unbearable.

Metrosexual: A gay guy still in the closet. This word is so contemptible that even the man who coined it has since apologized for being such a douche. I cringe every time I hear this word.

Retrosexual: This word wouldn't exist if "metro" didn't happen to rhyme with "retro." It's supposed to mean the opposite of a "metrosexual," which makes it another superfluous word since we already have a word for the opposite of a metrosexual called "straight."

Friendblog: None are known to exist since bloggers don't have friends.

Watchblog: Let's not.

Videoblog: Another idiot who had the bright idea of coining a term for posting a file online, except instead of music, it's crappy home videos.

Vlog: I don't even know if this is being used yet, but I suspect it will be used soon if it hasn't, so preemptive strike, bitches.

Vog: I

Vloggers: CAN'T

Vlogging: GO

Vlogged: ON

Moblog: ANYMORE.


From
http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=banish
 
nick,

i follow a number of profession-specific blogs and find them interesting and helpful. otoh, i know of blogs that haven't been touched since their initial creation and, i suspect, cause more harm than good to their creators.

i'm sure you have lots of ideas to work with, but perhaps a good starting point would be to summarize some of your lesser-known technical papers on your blog and see what kind of interest / response you get.

sorry i can't be much more help than wishing you best success.
hal
 
nick,

i follow a number of profession-specific blogs and find them interesting and helpful. otoh, i know of blogs that haven't been touched since their initial creation and, i suspect, cause more harm than good to their creators.

i'm sure you have lots of ideas to work with, but perhaps a good starting point would be to summarize some of your lesser-known technical papers on your blog and see what kind of interest / response you get.

sorry i can't be much more help than wishing you best success.
hal

Thank you Hal for the encouragement. Honestly I started with the goal of SEO but am starting to think/hope it can be a marketing vehicle we can leverage and a great feedback tool.

Any opinion on technical vs general?

Rants vs raves?

Organized by topic or mix em up?

Thanks again. Actually thought I would NEVER do a blog of any kind but I too started following blogs and it isn't so much what you write but the feedback you get trading ideas and marketing approaches that I think would be valuable. It also makes great newsletter material.
 
Nick, I think it'd be helpful to have a more detailed bio to give your new readers / subscribers an idea of what you two have in common. It could be on your blog (as shown here in the right column) or available by a link (from blog to bio, for example).

You might find some of the suggestions on Thirteen Blog Clichés helpful, too.

I see there's an RSS feed link on the page, but it would also be a good idea to add the appropriate alternate link tag in HTML to make it easier for search engines, RSS aggregators, browsers, etc. to find your feed. If the software you're using has an option for this or if it's not too much work to add it manually, go ahead and do it. The HTML code would basically look something like this...

HTML:
<link rel='alternate' type='application/rss+xml' title='PMS:  Project Management Sanity' href='http://www.vcsonline.com/GoodStuff/BlogPMSProjectManagementSanity/tabid/61/rssid/3/Default.aspx' />

Based on the "for dummies" series you've shared here, I think you've got an excellent writing style for a blog!
 
Nick, I think it'd be helpful to have a more detailed bio to give your new readers / subscribers an idea of what you two have in common. It could be on your blog (as shown here in the right column) or available by a link (from blog to bio, for example).

You might find some of the suggestions on Thirteen Blog Clichés helpful, too.

I see there's an RSS feed link on the page, but it would also be a good idea to add the appropriate alternate link tag in HTML to make it easier for search engines, RSS aggregators, browsers, etc. to find your feed. If the software you're using has an option for this or if it's not too much work to add it manually, go ahead and do it. The HTML code would basically look something like this...

HTML:
<link rel='alternate' type='application/rss+xml' title='PMS:  Project Management Sanity' href='http://www.vcsonline.com/GoodStuff/BlogPMSProjectManagementSanity/tabid/61/rssid/3/Default.aspx' />

Based on the "for dummies" series you've shared here, I think you've got an excellent writing style for a blog!

Great advice and exactly what I needed to get started. Thank you so much and I enjoyed some of the blogs on the site you listed. If that is yours - very impressive as well.
 
Nick, read what I posted above, and don't post stuff that no one really cares about. As in the other posted in the link..

It is 9 PM local time here in Atlanta Georgia and I just threw my suitcase on the bed of the downtown Hyatt, pulled out my laptop, and started writing my first Blog entry.


"I don't begrudge anyone their right to post whatever it is they think they need to post on their blog. But let's be perfectly clear: your readers aren't coming to your blog to read about you. They're coming to your blog to find out what it can do for them. If you find your blog turning into a diary of your daily activities, you'll have a very limited audience unless you happen to be a real world celebrity. Even my wife isn't particularly interested in the minutiae of what I do every day. Why would I expect my readers to be?"


When I open this page I want to see what you have to offer. Not to be a dick I really could care less what time you got to Atlanta, I have a life too and most people could care less about it. Get to the facts, Why am I here? What can it do for me? Why should I care what you have to say? You work 90 hours a week and sell software to help manage time?
 
Nick, read what I posted above, and don't post stuff that no one really cares about.

Not to be a dick but you didn't post anything, you cut, paste, and threadcrapped (there is a difference). FYI - next time you want to steer someone to content just post a link and say "this is what someone else wrote and I have nothing to add". Also, that is the oldest blog on the Internet and everyone with a browser has bookmarked and has read "your post" 14 times 5 years ago.

:eek:

If you have advice on how to run a business blog that hasn't already been posted - great. If you are here to impress us with your cutting and pasting and be the lord over what is interesting in the world - move on and let others "post".

PS: If you are so tired - go to bed but stop crapping in this thread.
 
Not to be a dick but you didn't post anything, you cut, paste, and threadcrapped (there is a difference). FYI - next time you want to steer someone to content just post a link and say "this is what someone else wrote and I have nothing to add". Also, that is the oldest blog on the Internet and everyone with a browser has bookmarked and has read "your post" 14 times 5 years ago.

:eek:

If you have advice on how to run a business blog that hasn't already been posted - great. If you are here to impress us with your cutting and pasting and be the lord over what is interesting in the world - move on and let others "post".

PS: If you are so tired - go to bed but stop crapping in this thread.



Good luck with one more lame blog on the web talking about your life.
 
Wow, first time I've seen someone hostile on Prime over blog content. Actually, first time I've seen any 3rd party hostile over blog content. :eek:

Nick, thought this might help to start out with (in broad terms). Kinda inspirational, entertaining, and informative all at the same time.

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6gmP4nk0EOE"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6gmP4nk0EOE" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
 
If that is yours...
I wish had that kind of insight and skill with words. :) They are just some of the ones on my subscription list, not anything I authored.

Here's some more advice...

  • Write Articles, Not Blog Postings - To demonstrate world-class expertise, avoid quickly written, shallow postings. Instead, invest your time in thorough, value-added content that attracts paying customers.
  • Weblog Usability: The Top Ten Design Mistakes - Blogs are often too internally focused and ignore key usability issues, making it hard for new readers to understand the site and trust the author.

Not totally related to the topic: I found Why Blogs Work quite insightful. Even though (or perhaps, because) I have a techie / web programming background, I didn't appreciate how blogs shifted the web landscape when they first started getting buzz. This guy explains very nicely what I didn't get at first (also highlighting some of the concepts illustrated in the video Shawn posted): they "turned the Web into what it was always meant to be: a read-write medium for everyone, not just techies."
 
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