This week’s Weekly Digest is going to be a quick one, which I’m sure many will appreciate. I’m in Texas for WordCamp Dallas all weekend and so thrilled be surrounded by everyone talking about WordPress and blogging. I’m in heaven!

Live near Pasadena? I’ll be there April 2 for the Alliance for Distance Education in California talking to educators on blog technology and the social web. I think there are only a couple spots open.

I hope to see you in Chicago in May for the exciting Successful and Outstanding Bloggers Conference. The theme is “Biz School for Bloggers” and we’re going to be presenting the best of the best in the business of blogging. Liz Strauss just announced that the special price of USD $350 is ending April 1. And Chris Garrett, BlogCatalog, and Authority Blogger is offering a $2,000 consulting prize package as part of the SOBCon promotion. So many exciting things are coming together for this very special event, my favorite of the whole year. You’re going to regret missing this special event.

So help spread the word that I’m coming to Dallas, Pasadena, and Chicago and make plans yourself to attend. Hugs for everyone!

This is the Weekly Digest from Lorelle on WordPress. To subscribe to the Weekly Digest category of Lorelle on WordPress, you can subscribe by the Weekly Digest feed or by email with the Weekly Digest Email Subscription to stay up to date on what is happening in Lorelle’s world of WordPress and blogging.

The last issue of my weekly digest was Weekly Digest: Lorelle in Oklahoma with Family, Heading to WordCamp Dallas, WordPress 2.5, SOBCON, and More News if you want to catch up. If you do catch up, would you catch me up, too. I’m moving so fast I’ve forgotten where I’ve been!

Lorelle’s News

WordCamp Dallas This Weekend: I’m here in Dallas for WordCamp Dallas this weekend and today is the final day for registration which is required. It is going to be a jammed packed three days! Probably without sleep. The line up of speakers is tremendous and includes some top multimedia, WordPress Plugin and Theme experts, and other top bloggers and industry leaders.

See Lorelle in Action: If you can’t make it to WordCamp Dallas or any of the other upcoming events, you can see me in action at last year’s WordCamp in San Francisco talking about the blog conversation and content. This weekend’s event will be recorded on video and hopefully uploaded next week.

Alliance for Distance Education Summit: I’m really looking forward to the Alliance for Distance Education in California summit on April 2-5, 2008, in Pasadena. It will cover integration of web technologies into the classroom and distance education. The summit is open to the public and educational professionals, teachers, and leaders. I just checked with the officials and there are only a few slots open. If you wish to attend, even for a day, register now as I believe it might be sold out.

SOBCon 2008: SOBCon: Be There for the Business of Blogging! I will be there, will you? The Successful and Outstanding Bloggers Conference is one of the hottest events for bloggers. The best of the best gather and I’m so honored to be one of the lucky ones. It’s in Chicago on May 2 - 4, 2008. There is limited space available so register fast.

Interview on Blogger Talks: An interview I did recently with Blogger Talks is out: The Lorelle Story: An Interview with Lorelle VanFossen. It covers some of my web history, predictions on the future of the web and blogging, and a plea for new web technologies to make the web an easier place to blog and network.

Blogger and Podcaster Magazine: Blogger and Podcaster Magazine will feature me as a regular columnist this year. Get your issue in stores now, online, or subscribe. There are some very hot articles on blogging and podcasting. They are improving their website and I’ll be recording podcast versions of my articles so you can hear as well as read me.

What’s Happening with Lorelle on WordPress

Here’s the latest blog posts on Lorelle on WordPress.

• What You Need To Know About WordCamp Dallas offers up the things I had to know about attending WordCamp Dallas this weekend, so I thought someone else would need to know them, too.
• Guest Bloggers Wanted for Tony Hung’s Blog describes an offer by Tony Hung, popular blogger and former editor of the Blog Herald, and his need to find good guest bloggers while he is going into a major round of testing and sleep-deprived weeks as part of his doctor’s training. If you want a place to share your voice with the world and set an example of how good you blog, go find out what he’s got going on!
• Authority Blogger Contest - Win Free Trip to SOBCON08 covers a very exciting new contest worth over $2,000 and a trip to Chicago for the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers Conference in May.
• Weekly Digest: Lorelle in Oklahoma with Family, Heading to WordCamp Dallas, WordPress 2.5, SOBCON, and More News was last week’s attempt to sum up my online life.
• Bloggers Ask Bloggers To Help With Gmail is a request to bloggers to help us make Gmail, a popular email service for bloggers, be more efficient for bloggers.
• Blogging Resources: Business and Professional Resources and References for Bloggers and Writers is the latest installment in my series on blog resources, the resources I use to help me blog better and faster.
• WordPress 2.5 New Automatic Plugin Upgrade Problems addresses an issue of concern for many in the WordPress Community. Will this feature be ready for WordPress 2.5?
• 24 Reasons Why You Should Attend These Blog Conferences highlights the top speakers and reasons you should attend WordCamp Dallas, the Alliance for Distance Education in California, and Successful and Outstanding Bloggers Conference, and any and all blogging conferences.

Get The Book - Blogging Tips: What Bloggers Won’t Tell You About Blogging

My book, Blogging Tips - What bloggers won’t tell you about blogging, is selling fast, as people prepare for a price increase coming in May. Get your copy now before the price goes up.

You can order a copy from SplashPress or the new Blog Herald Bookstore. If you would like to order multiple copies, please email me first as that requires special handling.

For more information on the book, see the original announcement and a recent update with reviews and other information, as well as the Blogging Tips Book official page.

Blasts From the Past

Here are some blasts from the past especially for WordPress.com bloggers. I wrote a series of articles that addressed the issues of making your blog posts “fancy” with some fun content area HTML tips and tricks:

• Link Referrals - Linking to Site Search Tags
• How Much Will You Accept To Put Ads on Your Blog?
• Not Just Another “Top Lessons for Bloggers”
• Lorelle Live at WordCamp 2007
• Nine Years Writing: How I Generate Writing Concepts, Tools, and Strategies I Use

Blog Herald Columns

The past few weeks, I’ve been writing about blog conferences as well as other interesting news about WordPress 2.5. If there is a blog conference, or any web publishing and technology conference within a few hundred miles of you, go there. Attend. Talk. Meet. Greet. It will change your life and your blogging.

Come visit my work there and the other regular contributors covering fascinating blogging issues and news, and subscribe to the Blog Herald feed.

Recent articles on the Blog Herald included:

• Drilling Down Your Blogging Niche? A lot of people have a great idea for a blog, but they have just skimmed the top. I talk about how to dig down further into the concept idea to find the real purpose for your blog.
• Blogging is About Writing - and Not looks at that you really need to know and do as part of blogging - beyond the writing.
• How to Talk to a Blogger is another article on blog conferences and meeting bloggers, offering tips on the kinds of questions we would rather be asked other than “What do you blog about?”
• What Do You Bring to a Blog Conference? This article asks you what you need to bring to a blog conference to make the experience memorable, for you, but also for others so they will remember you long after the conference.
• Bird Feeders and Blogs: How Are You Luring Birds to Your Blog? was an interesting metaphor article using bird feeders to get you to think about what “food” you are offering your “birds” (readers) to keep coming back to your blog bird feeder.
• What Will You Not Blog About explores the line we put in our blogging sand box about what will will and will not blog about. What is the line you draw?

I write every week about WordPress in my weekly WordPress Wednesday News reports and recent issues covered:

• WordPress Wednesday News: WordPress 2.5 Due Any Day, Beta 2 Released, Many Plugins Updated, WordCamp Dallas This Weekend, WordCamp UK Suggested, and More
• WordPress Wednesday News: Sneak Peeks of WordPress 2.5, Beta Released, WordCamp Dallas Next Week, and More WordPress News
• WordPress Wednesday News: WordPress 2.5 Due March 17, Administration Plugins May Break, Tons of Plugins Updated, Add Buttons to Toolbar, WordPress Dallas and Now Milan!
• WordPress Wednesday News: WordPress 2.5 Next Week, WordPress Goes Social, Cleaning Out Splogs, and More WordPress News

Blasts from the Past of Blog Herald Posts

I’ve been writing for the Blog Herald for a year now, and here are some of the articles I’ve covered dealing with comments and comment spam.

• Busting Blog Ad Clutter
• Bloggers Who Blame Don’t Change Things
• If You Can’t Say Anything Nice, Come Blog By Me
• What Should Bloggers Apologize For and How?

This is the Weekly Digest of Lorelle on WordPress.
Subscribe to Lorelle on WordPress Weekly Digest Weekly Digest Email Subscription
Subscribe to Lorelle on WordPress Via Feedburner Email Subscription
Copyright Protected and Reserved - If you are reading this post outside of your feed reader or Lorelle on WordPress, the usage of this content is a violation of copyright and the DMCA. Please report it immediately so action can be taken against them. If you are using this content illegally, and you know who you are, consider this a cease and desist order.
Lorelle VanFossen is a member of WordPress, WordPress.com, the 9Rules Network, and author of Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won’t Tell You About Blogging.

For the first time in almost two years, the VanFossen clan came together in one place - well, at least our arm of the VanFossen family.

The convenience of coming to WordCamp Dallas enabled my husband and I to make a stop first in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to spend time with family first. In a few days, my husband is back to Oregon and I’m heading to Dallas for the almost sold out WordCamp event!

It is great to be back with family, especially to see how the kids have grown and to peak under the blankets at the new addition to the VanFossen/Quidatano branch of the family that popped out during our absense.

I’ve just checked in with the organizers of WordCamp Dallas and they say that the registration is filling fast. Better get registered now as it is going to be a powerful event. I can’t wait to see old faces and meet new ones. I think I’m more excited about hearing some of the other speakers than doing my own. It’s really going to be a great WordPress and blogging event. Hope to see you there.

Live near Pasadena? I’ll be there April 2 for the Alliance for Distance Education in California talking to educators on blog technology and the social web. I think there are only a couple spots open.

I hope to see you in Chicago in May for the exciting Successful and Outstanding Bloggers Conference. The theme is “Biz School for Bloggers” and we’re going to be presenting the best of the best in the business of blogging. Liz Strauss just announced that the special price of USD $350 is ending April 1. And Chris Garrett, BlogCatalog, and Authority Blogger is offering a $2,000 consulting prize package as part of the SOBCon promotion. So many exciting things are coming together for this very special event, my favorite of the whole year. You’re going to regret missing this special event.

So help spread the word that I’m coming to Dallas, Pasadena, and Chicago and make plans yourself to attend. Hugs for everyone!

This is the Weekly Digest from Lorelle on WordPress. To subscribe to the Weekly Digest category of Lorelle on WordPress, you can subscribe by the Weekly Digest feed or by email with the Weekly Digest Email Subscription to stay up to date on what is happening in Lorelle’s world of WordPress and blogging.

The last issue of my weekly digest wasLorelle in San Francisco, Heading to WordCamp Dallas, Pasadena, Chicago, and Writing About Blogging In Between Talks if you want to catch up.

Lorelle’s News

WordCamp Dallas Next Weekend: WordCamp Dallas is March 29-30, 2008 and registration is filling fast. I’m a few hours drive away and eager to meet all the great people attending. The line up of speakers is tremendous and includes some top multimedia, WordPress Plugin and Theme experts, and other top bloggers and industry leaders.

Alliance for Distance Education Summit: I’m really looking forward to the Alliance for Distance Education in California summit on April 2-5, 2008, in Pasadena. It will cover integration of web technologies into the classroom and distance education. The summit is open to the public and educational professionals, teachers, and leaders. I just checked with the officials and there are only a few slots open. If you wish to attend, even for a day, register now as I believe it might be sold out.

SOBCon 2008: SOBCon: Be There for the Business of Blogging! I will be there, will you? The Successful and Outstanding Bloggers Conference is one of the hottest events for bloggers. The best of the best gather and I’m so honored to be one of the lucky ones. It’s in Chicago on May 2 - 4, 2008. There is limited space available so register fast.

Talking Blogging (and Win My Book) with Rachelle Chase: If you don’t have a copy of my book yet, Rachelle Chase, one of my co-speakers at the San Francisco event asked readers to share their thoughts on blogging to win a copy of my book and they had some great things to say. I’ll soon share some of my thoughts on their thoughts here, so stay tuned.

Interview on Blogger Talks: An interview I did recently with Blogger Talks is out: The Lorelle Story: An Interview with Lorelle VanFossen. It covers some of my web history, predictions on the future of the web and blogging, and a plea for new web technologies to make the web an easier place to blog and network.

Blogger and Podcaster Magazine: Blogger and Podcaster Magazine will feature me as a regular columnist this year. Get your issue in stores now, online, or subscribe. There are some very hot articles on blogging and podcasting. They are improving their website and I’ll be recording podcast versions of my articles so you can hear as well as read me.

Guest Blogging With Liz Strauss: Don’t forget to catch my recent guest blog post for Liz Strauss, Reviewing Your Face to Face Networking Techniques, a Lorraine style post with tips on why you should attend conferences and get “in the face” of everyone you meet.

What’s Happening with Lorelle on WordPress

Here’s the latest blog posts on Lorelle on WordPress.

• Bloggers Ask Bloggers To Help With Gmail is a request to bloggers to help us make Gmail, a popular email service for bloggers, be more efficient for bloggers.
• Blogging Resources: Business and Professional Resources and References for Bloggers and Writers is the latest installment in my series on blog resources, the resources I use to help me blog better and faster.
• WordPress 2.5 New Automatic Plugin Upgrade Problems addresses an issue of concern for many in the WordPress Community. Will this feature be ready for WordPress 2.5?
• Shopping for a Blogging, Traveling Laptop covers some of my wishes and concerns as I start shopping for a new laptop to help be blog as I travel. Readers offered some fantastic recommendations.
• 24 Reasons Why You Should Attend These Blog Conferences highlights the top speakers and reasons you should attend WordCamp Dallas, the Alliance for Distance Education in California, and Successful and Outstanding Bloggers Conference, and any and all blogging conferences.
• Weekly Digest: Lorelle in San Francisco, Heading to WordCamp Dallas, Pasadena, Chicago, and Witting About Blogging In Between Talks was the last Weekly Digest report on Lorelle’s World of activity.
• Blog Resources: Researching the Research, Finding the Facts, and Seeking Supporting Evidence is another in my blog resources series. This article covers resources I use to uncover the facts, statistics, and information to support my opinion and advice.
• Blog Resources for English Language and Blog Writing offers resources to help writers write and bloggers blog. After all, blogging is about writing, so those of us who take our blogging seriously enjoy learning more about the method of communication we use.
• Weekly Digest: Lorelle in San Francisco Talking Blogging and WordPress, Offering Blog Resources, Beating a Plagiarist, and More is last week’s Weekly Digest.
• Blogging Resources and Sources to Help You Blog is part one of a series of articles I’m writing to share the resources I use to help me blog.

Blog Struggles Series

I will soon be releasing more in my ongoing series on Blog Struggles. So far, the series includes:

• Blog Struggles: The Search for Blog Content: We put so much energy into “finding” blog content that we often forget the best source for good blog content: from within us. I offer tips and techniques for pulling content from your head.
• Blog Struggles: Ideas and Drafts: We come up with such great ideas and then what? We jot them down, make lists, start post drafts, and they sit there staring at us, as we procrastinate over what to do with all these ideas and how to keep them in check. I offer tips on how to best keep track of your ideas and drafts.
• Blog Struggles: The Blog Focus: As part one in a sub-series of posts on Blog Struggles, I look at the issue of the blog focus, your blog’s ability to turn you from a blogger into an expert.
• Blog Struggles: Why Should Your Blog Have a Focus: Your blog doesn’t have to have a focus, but if it does, these are the reasons, and benefits, of why it should.
• Blog Struggles: Finding Your Blog Focus: Continues the Blog Focus theme and offers tips for finding your blog’s focus and direction.
• Blog Struggles: Changing Your Blog’s Focus: Once you find your blog focus, how do you change your blog? Or should you start a new blog? I cover the tips you need to know to redirect your blog.
• Blog Struggles: When Spelling, Grammar, and Punctuation Interferes With Your Blogging looks at the issues around the impact of poor writing habits and skills and whether or not they impact the success and reading of your blog.
• In Blog Struggles: When Are Too Many Comments Too Many Comments?, I share a struggle I faced not long ago about an over-enthusiastic commenter who left a ton of comments on my blog within a few hours, making me very suspicious. We are often faced with suspicious comments, so what do we do? How should we handle them?
• Blog Struggles: Taking The Moral High Blogging Ground addresses the issue of deciding which ethical and moral road to take on your blog.
• Blog Struggles: Blogger’s Depression looks at the rarely discussed by normal aspect of blogging: depression. When the enthusiasm for the effort is lost and apathy sets in, and how to overcome it.
• Blog Struggles: It’s The Rituals That Help Us Focus: I share some of the rituals I use to get me “in the blogging mood” and ask you to share yours.
• Blog Struggles: When An Old Post is New Again takes a look at some of the struggles I’ve had when a past post suddenly gets picked up and sensationalized. I discuss the methods I use for keeping my old posts up to date, especially when fame comes knocking.
• Blog Struggles: Recovering From a Traffic Spike really touched a lot of people as they related to the addiction that traffic spikes bring, as well as the hassles.
• Blog Struggles: Surviving the When Blogging Goes Bad Blues look at how to keep on writing when life gets in the way.

Get The Book - Blogging Tips: What Bloggers Won’t Tell You About Blogging

My book, Blogging Tips - What bloggers won’t tell you about blogging, is selling fast, as people prepare for a price increase coming in May. Get your copy now before the price goes up.

You can order a copy from SplashPress or the new Blog Herald Bookstore. If you would like to order multiple copies, please email me first as that requires special handling.

For more information on the book, see the original announcement and a recent update with reviews and other information, as well as the Blogging Tips Book official page.

Most Popular Articles on Lorelle on WordPress

The most popular posts on Lorelle on WordPress the past few weeks were:

• Video, Music, Podcasts, Audio, and Multimedia WordPress Plugins
• WordPress 2.5 New Automatic Plugin Upgrade Problems
• 24 Reasons Why You Should Attend These Blog Conferences
• Lists of Your Favorite WordPress Plugins
• Adding RSS Feeds to WordPress
• Designing a WordPress Theme From Scratch
• Blogging Resources and Sources to Help You Blog
• HTML, CSS, PHP, and More Cheat Sheets
• Blog Resources for English Language and Blog Writing
• WordPress Plugins for Images, Photographs, and Graphics
• Blog Resources: Researching the Research, Finding the Facts, and Seeking Supporting Evidence
• Adding RSS Feeds to WordPress
• Monetizing WordPress Plugins
• Blogging Tips - Hundreds of Resources for Your Blog
• Content Theft and WordPress
• Secret Out - How Google Ranks Websites
• What Do You Do When Someone Steals Your Content
• Do-It-Yourself Search Engine Optimization

Nice Things Said About Lorelle

Siege Curmudgeon wrote a gratitude blog post featuring a thank you to me for writing about bloggers helping bloggers and how important that is for this blogger and all bloggers. We have to stop once in a while and remind each other that this is about “us” and we are all part of a family of communicators around the world, not just alone shouting on a street corner.

Baikong created “My Top 10 Best Women Bloggers with Influence” and included me among some fascinating female bloggers. What an honor!

Inspired by 45n5’s Top 100 Make Money Online Blogs, WPThemesGallery has created the Top 40 WordPress-oriented blog resources. Currently, I’m at number 5 according to their chart. This is also similar to Top 25 Blogs About Blogging by Daily Blogging Tips.

Blasts From the Past

Here are some blasts from the past especially for WordPress.com bloggers. I wrote a series of articles that addressed the issues of making your blog posts “fancy” with some fun content area HTML tips and tricks:

• WordPress.com Blog Bling Article Series
• WordPress.com Blog Bling: Decorating Your WordPress.com Blog with photographs, graphics, and more
• WordPress.com Blog Bling: Lines and Smilies
• WordPress.com Blog Bling: Fun Font Bling
• WordPress.com Blog Bling: Blockquotes and Quotes
• WordPress.com Blog Bling: Blogroll and Sidebar Bling
• WordPress.com Blog Bling: Signatures and Writing Code
• Adding Video and Podcasting Bling to Your WordPress.com Blogs

Blog Herald Columns

I’ve written some blog challenges on the Blog Herald recently, trying to get bloggers to start thinking about how they are blogging and why. The response has been interesting as people are starting to evaluate the deeper meaning of their blogging, too.

Come visit my work there and the other regular contributors covering fascinating blogging issues and news, and subscribe to the Blog Herald feed.

Recent articles on the Blog Herald included:

• What Do You Bring to a Blog Conference? When you attend a blog conference, what do you bring to the conference to make yourself “memorable” to the other attendees? I offer some examples and make recommendations on the best things to bring with you when you go to meet other bloggers.
• Bird Feeders and Blogs: How Are You Luring Birds to Your Blog? Using the bird feed metaphor, I likened a blog to a bird feeder and asked you to come up with some of your own analogies on how to attract more birds to your blog.
• WordPress 2.5 Plugins Beware: Automatic Plugin Upgrade Problems addresses an issue of concern to many Plugin authors and fans. Will the WordPress Automatic Plugin Upgrade feature be ready for WordPress 2.5 release?
• Blogs Are Public Documents - Bloggers and Commenters Beware looks at the issue of the “public” part of publishing on a blog and how you have to be ready for others to publicly respond back.
• What Are You Not Doing With Your Blog asks a good question. A lot of people think there are a lot of things they have to do with their blog but never stop to ask themselves what are they not doing with their blog that they should. Are you making the most of your blog and blogging experience?
• Looking For New Places to Take Your Blog Out showed some examples of how some bloggers are getting more social and viral promoting their blog, and asks what you are doing to take your blog out to attract new readers from different venues.
• What You Don’t Know About Blogging Can Hurt You offers some wisdom I’ve accumulated over the years of blogging on how not to blog - or better yet, what you don’t know about blogging can hurt your blogging experience as well as SEO.

I write every week about WordPress in my weekly WordPress Wednesday News reports and recent issues covered:

• WordPress Wednesday News: Sneak Peeks of WordPress 2.5, Beta Released, WordCamp Dallas Next Week, and More WordPress News
• WordPress Wednesday News: WordPress 2.5 Due March 17, Administration Plugins May Break, Tons of Plugins Updated, Add Buttons to Toolbar, WordPress Dallas and Now Milan!
• WordPress Wednesday News: WordPress 2.5 Next Week, WordPress Goes Social, Cleaning Out Splogs, and More WordPress News
• WordPress Wednesday News: WordPress 2.5 in Two Weeks, New Hot Media Library, Instant Upgrades, Theme Designers Lack Inspiration, More Plugin Vulnerabilities Found
• WordPress Wednesday News: WordPress 2.5 News, Colleges and Schools Love WordPressMU, Viddler Meets WordPress, Theme Buyers Beware, Columns in Blog Posts, Feeds Without Plugins
• WordPress Wednesday News: WordPress 2.5 Live Reports, WWW or Not to WWW, 16,000 Post Migration, MT Does WP, WP Does Kazakhstan, and Gets Mugged

Blasts from the Past of Blog Herald Posts

I’ve been writing for the Blog Herald for a year now, and here are some of the articles I’ve covered dealing with comments and comment spam.

• Should Blogs Have Forums? Should Forums Have Blogs?
• What Will Stop Comment Spam?
• Are You Losing Readers? Why?
• Are You Losing Readers? How Do You Keep Your Readers Reading?
• Improving Your Blog: Clean It Up
• Improving Your Blog: Consistency

Lorelle’s Linkworthy Links

• Decision or Choice: Is the Difference Stealing Your Focus and Your Time? by Liz Strauss of Successful and Outstanding Blogger really asks the hard questions and this time she is in your face with the truth of how you need to decide or choose - or you lose.
• Do You “No” Your Way to Greater Success? by Freelance Switch is a great lesson in how to say “no” the right way on the path to building your business.
• Eight Lessons from Eight Months of Full-Time Freelancing is another gem from, Freelance Switch on freelancing. There is an interesting evolution in the process of becoming a freelancer that continues as you move more into independent and away from dependence.
• How Many Lifehacker Posts Do You Want Per Day? [Reader Poll] is an interesting poll that pretty much lines up with much of my own research on how often you should publish blog posts without overwhelming your readers.
• 30 Tips to Rejuvenate Your Creativity is a good kick in the butt from Lifehack on stirring up your creative juices.

This is the Weekly Digest of Lorelle on WordPress.
Subscribe to Lorelle on WordPress Weekly Digest Weekly Digest Email Subscription
Subscribe to Lorelle on WordPress Via Feedburner Email Subscription
Copyright Protected and Reserved - If you are reading this post outside of your feed reader or Lorelle on WordPress, the usage of this content is a violation of copyright and the DMCA. Please report it immediately so action can be taken against them. If you are using this content illegally, and you know who you are, consider this a cease and desist order.
Lorelle VanFossen is a member of WordPress, WordPress.com, the 9Rules Network, and author of Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won’t Tell You About Blogging.

It’s been a very busy week for me, traveling to San Francisco, meeting friends and clients, and having a great time. I went to an interesting seminar on US politics, which took an interesting turn recently. Also attended a book signing and talk by Bill Hayes, author of “The Anatomist: A True Story of Gray’s Anatomy”, a biography and author’s story of uncovering the real story behind the legendary anatomy book that sits on the shelves of most homes. I also explored the legendary Cliffs Variety Store in downtown San Francisco and had too much fun digging through all its hardware and bits and pieces wonders. I love these kinds of shops!

The conference on web publishing with the Romance Writers of America in San Francisco went really well and I met so many wonderful and enthusiastic people - I can’t wait to share some of their stories with you.

If you don’t have a copy of my book yet, Rachelle Chase, one of my co-speakers at the San Francisco event is giving away copies of my book to those who comment on her blog about their perspective on blogging.

I leave in a week to head to Tulsa, Oklahoma, family home of my husband, for a few days to play with family, especially all the nieces and nephews, and then down to Dallas and Frisco to play even more with WordCamp Dallas on March 29-30, 2008. I’m so excited about this conference, and thrilled to meet so many WordPress and blogging fans. Hope to see you there.

Live near Pasadena? I’ll be there April 2 for the Alliance for Distance Education in California talking to educators on blog technology and the social web. It’s almost sold out.

I also hope to see you in Chicago in May for the exciting Successful and Outstanding Bloggers Conference. The theme is “Biz School for Bloggers” and we’re going to be presenting the best of the best in the business of blogging. Liz Strauss just announced that the special price of USD $350 is ending April 1. You’re going to regret missing this special event.

The future post bug in WordPress.com I reported on last week has finally been fixed. Along with the fix came dozens and dozens of trackbacks as the server “re-released” thousands of blog posts across WordPress.com, triggering new trackbacks and pings from posts that might have already sent them out. Apologizes for duplicate effort. Some things I can control. Others, I just sit back and enjoy the right.

With future posts fixed, I should be back on a regular schedule for publishing again here. The posts have been written, just not released, and I didn’t add more to the queue in case they all released at once again.

So help spread the word that I’m coming to Dallas, Pasadena, and Chicago and make plans yourself to attend. Hugs for everyone!

This is the Weekly Digest from Lorelle on WordPress. To subscribe to the Weekly Digest category of Lorelle on WordPress, you can subscribe by the Weekly Digest feed or by email with the Weekly Digest Email Subscription to stay up to date on what is happening in Lorelle’s world of WordPress and blogging.

The last issue of my weekly digest was Weekly Digest: Writing About Writing, Working on Books, Lots of Speaking Gigs, and Blog Struggles is a Success if you want to catch up.

Lorelle’s News

Preparing for WordCamp Dallas: WordCamp Dallas is March 29-30, 2008 and registration is filling fast. The line up of speakers is tremendous and includes some top multimedia, WordPress Plugin and Theme experts, and other top bloggers and industry leaders.

Alliance for Distance Education Summit: I fly from Dallas to Pasadena where I will be among the key speakers in the Alliance for Distance Education in California summit on April 2-5, 2008. I’m really looking forward to meeting other educational professionals committed to integration of web technologies into the classroom. The summit is open to the public and educational professionals, teachers, and leaders. I just checked with the officials and there are only a few slots open. If you wish to attend, even for a day, you have to register next week or it will be sold out.

SOBCon 2008: SOBCon: Be There for the Business of Blogging! I will be there, will you? The Successful and Outstanding Bloggers Conference is one of the hottest events for bloggers. The best of the best gather and I’m so honored to be one of the lucky ones. It’s in Chicago on May 2 - 4, 2008. There is limited space available so register fast.

Guest Blogging With Liz Strauss: With Liz away this past week in Austin for SxSW, I took over her blog for the day with Reviewing Your Face to Face Networking Techniques, a Lorraine style post with tips on why you should attend conferences and get “in the face” of everyone you meet.

Talking Romance with the Romance Writers of America in San Francisco: It was so much fun speaking at the Romance Writers of America San Francisco Chapter’s special event on Web Publishing for Authors on Saturday. I met so many wonderful writers and learned a lot about how the romance writing industry works. We talked a lot about how to maximize your blog with social networking and marketing techniques to help sell books and increase your marketability by leveraging the skills you exhibit on your blog. And don’t forget to visit Rachelle Chase whose holding a blog comment contest and winners get a signed copy of my book!

Interview on Blogger Talks: An interview I did recently with Blogger Talks is out: The Lorelle Story: An Interview with Lorelle VanFossen. It covers some of my web history, predictions on the future of the web and blogging, and a plea for new web technologies to make the web an easier place to blog and network.

Blogger and Podcaster Magazine: Blogger and Podcaster Magazine will feature me as a regular columnist this year. The most recent article time and financial blog management. Get your issue in stores now or subscribe. There are some very hot articles on blogging and podcasting. They are improving their website and I’ll be recording podcast versions of my articles so you can hear as well as read me.

What’s Happening with Lorelle on WordPress

Here’s the latest blog posts on Lorelle on WordPress.

• Blog Resources: Researching the Research, Finding the Facts, and Seeking Supporting Evidence is another in my blog resources series. This article covers resources I use to uncover the facts, statistics, and information to support my opinion and advice.
• Blog Resources for English Language and Blog Writing offers resources to help writers write and bloggers blog. After all, blogging is about writing, so those of us who take our blogging seriously enjoy learning more about the method of communication we use.
• Weekly Digest: Lorelle in San Francisco Talking Blogging and WordPress, Offerring Blog Resources, Beating a Plagiarist, and More is last week’s Weekly Digest.
• Blogging Resources and Sources to Help You Blog is part one of a series of articles I’m writing to share the resources I use to help me blog.
• Weekly Digest: Catching Up, Speaking San Francisco, Future Post Mixup, Talking to Blogger Talks, and More was last week’s Weekly Digest and update news.
• Where Do You Go For Your Blog Research and References? The introductory article that looks at how we use the web to find the resources, facts, statistics, and more we need to write our blog content.
• Lorelle Talks to Blogger Talks is the announcement of an interview I did with Blogger Talks.

Blog Struggles Series

I will soon be releasing more in my ongoing series on Blog Struggles. So far, the series includes:

• Blog Struggles: The Search for Blog Content: We put so much energy into “finding” blog content that we often forget the best source for good blog content: from within us. I offer tips and techniques for pulling content from your head.
• Blog Struggles: Ideas and Drafts: We come up with such great ideas and then what? We jot them down, make lists, start post drafts, and they sit there staring at us, as we procrastinate over what to do with all these ideas and how to keep them in check. I offer tips on how to best keep track of your ideas and drafts.
• Blog Struggles: The Blog Focus: As part one in a sub-series of posts on Blog Struggles, I look at the issue of the blog focus, your blog’s ability to turn you from a blogger into an expert.
• Blog Struggles: Why Should Your Blog Have a Focus: Your blog doesn’t have to have a focus, but if it does, these are the reasons, and benefits, of why it should.
• Blog Struggles: Finding Your Blog Focus: Continues the Blog Focus theme and offers tips for finding your blog’s focus and direction.
• Blog Struggles: Changing Your Blog’s Focus: Once you find your blog focus, how do you change your blog? Or should you start a new blog? I cover the tips you need to know to redirect your blog.
• Blog Struggles: When Spelling, Grammar, and Punctuation Interferes With Your Blogging looks at the issues around the impact of poor writing habits and skills and whether or not they impact the success and reading of your blog.
• In Blog Struggles: When Are Too Many Comments Too Many Comments?, I share a struggle I faced not long ago about an over-enthusiastic commenter who left a ton of comments on my blog within a few hours, making me very suspicious. We are often faced with suspicious comments, so what do we do? How should we handle them?
• Blog Struggles: Taking The Moral High Blogging Ground addresses the issue of deciding which ethical and moral road to take on your blog.
• Blog Struggles: Blogger’s Depression looks at the rarely discussed by normal aspect of blogging: depression. When the enthusiasm for the effort is lost and apathy sets in, and how to overcome it.
• Blog Struggles: It’s The Rituals That Help Us Focus: I share some of the rituals I use to get me “in the blogging mood” and ask you to share yours.
• Blog Struggles: When An Old Post is New Again takes a look at some of the struggles I’ve had when a past post suddenly gets picked up and sensationalized. I discuss the methods I use for keeping my old posts up to date, especially when fame comes knocking.
• Blog Struggles: Recovering From a Traffic Spike really touched a lot of people as they related to the addiction that traffic spikes bring, as well as the hassles.
• Blog Struggles: Surviving the When Blogging Goes Bad Blues look at how to keep on writing when life gets in the way.

Get The Book - Blogging Tips: What Bloggers Won’t Tell You About Blogging

My book, Blogging Tips - What bloggers won’t tell you about blogging, is selling fast, as people prepare for a price increase coming in May. Get your copy now before the price goes up.

You can order a copy from SplashPress or the new Blog Herald Bookstore. If you would like to order multiple copies, please email me first as that requires special handling.

For more information on the book, see the original announcement and a recent update with reviews and other information, as well as the Blogging Tips Book official page.

Most Popular Articles on Lorelle on WordPress

My blogging resources article series will continue next week. The response has been overwhelming to this series and I’m very excited about sharing the resources I use to help me blog. I’m looking forward to seeing your lists, too.

The most popular posts on Lorelle on WordPress the past few weeks were:

• Designing a WordPress Theme From Scratch
• Blogging Resources and Sources to Help You Blog
• HTML, CSS, PHP, and More Cheat Sheets
• Blog Resources for English Language and Blog Writing
• WordPress Plugins for Images, Photographs, and Graphics
• Blog Resources: Researching the Research, Finding the Facts, and Seeking Supporting Evidence
• Adding RSS Feeds to WordPress
• Monetizing WordPress Plugins
• Blogging Tips - Hundreds of Resources for Your Blog
• Video, Music, Podcasts, Audio, and Multimedia WordPress Plugins
• Content Theft and WordPress
• Secret Out - How Google Ranks Websites
• What Do You Do When Someone Steals Your Content
• Do-It-Yourself Search Engine Optimization

Nice Things Said About Lorelle

5 Top Women Bloggers of Influence by Quick Online Tips recommends me among top notch female bloggers, including Gina Trapani, Jennifer Slegg, Liz Strauss, and Emily Chang.

I am so thrilled at the tremendous response my series on blogging resources has brought. I’m looking forward to others cleaning out their bookmarks and notes and sharing their favorite online blog resources that help them blog better.

Sharonb of Mindtracks wrote in Blog tips and advice that she likes my sights because not a week goes by “without something being published on her blog that is either useful or thoughtful.” I like that description, and it reminds me that I have to work harder to live up to all these expectations.

Increase Your Readership with Keyword Knowledge from Jenni’s Blog on Blogs brings up one of my favorite subjects, writing keyword-rich content on your blogs, and highlights an article on how people find your blog on the web by searching, and how you can help them find you, that I’m really proud of. It doesn’t get much notice, but it was an honor to write. Thanks, Jenni, for making me dust it off again.

Blasts From the Past

Here are some blasts from the past I’ve written that still are interesting today and might be useful to you:

• Breaking the Limits of Customizable WordPress Themes
• Are Web Page Link Previews Here to Stay?
• Blog Building: Who Controls Your Blog? You? Your Host?
• Who is Making Blogging Bucks and How?
• WordPress.com Announces Strong Password Indicator
• Bloggers Are Not Webmasters and Webmasters Are Not Bloggers

Blog Herald Columns

I waited with much of the world on Monday for the anticipated release of WordPress 2.5, but alas, the release has been delayed. It’s still ahead of their original schedule, but frustrating for those so eager to pick it apart.

I’ve written some blog challenges on the Blog Herald recently, trying to get bloggers to start thinking about how they are blogging and why. The response has been interesting as people are starting to evaluate the deeper meaning of their blogging, too.

Come visit my work there and the other regular contributors covering fascinating blogging issues and news, and subscribe to the Blog Herald feed.

Recent articles on the Blog Herald included:

• What Are You Not Doing With Your Blog asks a good question. A lot of people think there are a lot of things they have to do with their blog but never stop to ask themselves what are they not doing with their blog that they should. Are you making the most of your blog and blogging experience?
• Looking For New Places to Take Your Blog Out showed some examples of how some bloggers are getting more social and viral promoting their blog, and asks what you are doing to take your blog out to attract new readers from different venues.
• What You Don’t Know About Blogging Can Hurt You offers some wisdom I’ve accumulated over the years of blogging on how not to blog - or better yet, what you don’t know about blogging can hurt your blogging experience as well as SEO.
• Waiting for WordPress 2.5 is my foot tapping experience of waiting for the release of WordPress 2.5 which has been delayed to March 17, though it is likely it will be later than that as they haven’t released the beta version for mass testing yet.
• WordPress Upgrade Preparation Checklist covers some basics and beyond you may need to do to prepare your WordPress blog for upgrading to WordPress 2.5 next week.
• Are You a Writer Who Knits or a Knitter Who Writes? A lot of people are struggling with answering the question of whether or not you are one thing or the other while doing both things. It’s an interesting look at how we label ourselves.

I write every week about WordPress in my weekly WordPress Wednesday News reports and recent issues covered:

• WordPress Wednesday News: WordPress 2.5 Due March 17, Administration Plugins May Break, Tons of Plugins Updated, Add Buttons to Toolbar, WordPress Dallas and Now Milan!
• WordPress Wednesday News: WordPress 2.5 Next Week, WordPress Goes Social, Cleaning Out Splogs, and More WordPress News
• WordPress Wednesday News: WordPress 2.5 in Two Weeks, New Hot Media Library, Instant Upgrades, Theme Designers Lack Inspiration, More Plugin Vulnerabilities Found
• WordPress Wednesday News: WordPress 2.5 News, Colleges and Schools Love WordPressMU, Viddler Meets WordPress, Theme Buyers Beware, Columns in Blog Posts, Feeds Without Plugins
• WordPress Wednesday News: WordPress 2.5 Live Reports, WWW or Not to WWW, 16,000 Post Migration, MT Does WP, WP Does Kazakhstan, and Gets Mugged
• WordPress Wednesday News: WordPress 2.3.3 Security Must Upgrade, Plugins Vulnerable, Automatic Upgrades, and More
• WordPress Wednesday News: WordCamp Hamburg Success, Automatic Upgrades Coming, $5,000 Bounty, Prologue Theme, and WordPress Wins Again

Blasts from the Past of Blog Herald Posts

I’ve been writing for the Blog Herald for a year now, and here are some of the articles I’ve covered dealing with comments and comment spam.

• The Selflessness of Top Bloggers
• Portable Applications Bloggers Can’t Travel Without
• Blog Firsts: The First Ever Events by Blogs
• Comparing Amazon.com’s Social Interaction with Blogs

Lorelle’s Linkworthy Links

• Good Fixed-Width/Monospaced/Programming Fonts by Abhijit Nadgouda offers tips for fonts to use with programming code. A neat twist on a favorite subject of mine: fonts.
• The Wall Street Journal reports bigger computer monitors means more productivity, increasing task completion by 52% on 24-inch monitors over 18-inch. Interesting. Makes me think about getting a bigger screen laptop - ah, but the weight of lugging it around. No thank you. I’ll just squint for now.
• Got a beef or bitch? Want to wine? Mashable offers 24+ Sites Where You Can Vent Your Anger. Beats beating your pillow.
• Life Hack offers How to Write a Business Letter That Gets Results, an interesting spelled out method for writing powerful business letters - with tips bloggers should read to help them blog better.

This is the Weekly Digest of Lorelle on WordPress.
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Lorelle VanFossen is a member of WordPress, WordPress.com, the 9Rules Network, and author of Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won’t Tell You About Blogging.

This week finds me in San Francisco starting a spring and summer of public appearances and conferences. I’m getting really geared up for WordCamp Dallas on March 29-30, 2008, and Successful and Outstanding Bloggers Conference in Chicago in May. I hear both of these are filling up fast, so get your registration in immediately.

I took time out to help Liz Strauss with a guest post while she’s on a business trip, and had some fun releasing my alter-evil twin, Lorraine, to talk about what you need to do to maximize your social networking when you get up close and personal at a blog conference.

This week also finds WordPress.com having trouble releasing future posts. The developers are working so hard on the WordPress 2.5 release on Monday, so they haven’t gotten to this new bug on WordPress.com. I expect it to be fixed soon. What does this mean for me? It means that future posts I’d written to be released while I’m working in San Francisco go unreleased unless I make an appearance and re-publish them.

Ain’t blogging fun.

This is the Weekly Digest from Lorelle on WordPress. To subscribe to the Weekly Digest category of Lorelle on WordPress, you can subscribe by the Weekly Digest feed or by email with the Weekly Digest Email Subscription to stay up to date on what is happening in Lorelle’s world of WordPress and blogging.

The last issue of my weekly digest was Weekly Digest: Writing About Writing, Working on Books, Lots of Speaking Gigs, and Blog Struggles is a Success if you want to catch up.

What’s Happening with Lorelle on WordPress

Here’s the latest blog posts on Lorelle on WordPress.

• Blogging Resources and Sources to Help You Blog is part one of a series of articles I’m writing to share the resources I use to help me blog. Next week, I’ll be sharing web technology resources, writing resources, business for bloggers and writers, and more.
• Weekly Digest: Catching Up, Speaking San Francisco, Future Post Mixup, Talking to Blogger Talks, and More was last week’s Weekly Digest and update news.
• Where Do You Go For Your Blog Research and References? The introductory article that looks at how we use the web to find the resources, facts, statistics, and more we need to write our blog content.
• Lorelle Talks to Blogger Talks is the announcement of an interview I did with Blogger Talks.
• Blogging Romance with Lorelle in San Francisco is the announcement of upcoming programs and events where I will be speaking, starting with the Romance Writers of America in San Francisco.