The Art of the Fan-Based Blog: Cultivate Your Passion

By DB Ferguson of the No Fact Zone If you’re going to build a fan site, it’s assumed that you have a passion for the subject of the blog. You don’t have to know everything about the subject of your site, but you do have to really be passionate about this journey you are about […]

How Do You Become a Passionate Blogger? Blog Your Passion.

Eaton Web offers “How to Become a More Passionate Blogger” and makes a very important point: Passionate bloggers have advantages over non-passionate bloggers including attracting a higher quality and more supportive readership. So, how do you become a more passionate blogger? First of all, enjoy your niche. Blog about something you love. If you don’t […]

Liz Strauss Guides Lorelle on a Quest To Find Her Passion

When Liz Strauss called me to warn me she was going to make me the “star” of a story as part of Joanna’s Thematic Links Post Writing Challenge, using the post titles of all the bloggers who participated in a story, I was a little nervous. The result is delightful and fun: Liz’s Thematic Links […]

Blog Challenge: Blog Your Passion

Sometimes I find a post that “sings”, that makes my heart glow with gladness because someone got it. It’s fun to help people discover where their passion lies. I guess it appeals to the a teacher in me. Just let me start with a question. Then I get to do go looking for relationships while […]

Are You Blogging Your Passion or Blogging to Blog?

Watching a recent episode of Battlestar Galactica called “Dirty Hands”, I was struck by the wonderful portrayal of a class society, one ruled by hierarchy and tradition rather than by freedom and passion. I have many friends raised within countries which still play by these rules, where you are and do what your father or […]

Abhijit Nadgouda – SEO Turns Into Passionate Blogging

I’m a fan of Abhijit Nadgouda’s WordPress.com blog, and now Nadgouda’s off onto his own full version WordPress blog, iface thoughts. In a recent post, From Fear To Satisfaction, the move from WordPress.com to a full version WordPress blog is discussed starting with the revelation that most of his blogging has been “completely ruled by […]

Blog Exercises: Dissecting Post Categories

In a recent article, Noah Weiss shared his struggle to figure out categories and tags on his personal site. I know many of you following these Blog Exercises have also struggled to figure out your categories, so I thought Noah’s site would be a perfect example, He has gratefully given me permission to rip his […]

Blog Exercises: Fall in Love with Words

There are certain clues that tell you how much a restaurant will cost. If the word “cuisine” appears in the advertising, it will be expensive. If they use the word “food,” it will be moderately priced. However, if the sign says “eats,” even though you’ll save money on food, your medical bills may be quite […]

Blog Exercises: Battling Self-Doubt

Self-doubt happens to everyone, even bloggers. You are blogging away, full of inspiration, motivation, and energy, then wham! Something happens in your personal or professional life or you get hit upside the head by some bloggy or social media incident and your confidence is sucked away. Self-doubt moves in, and it doesn’t move in pretty. […]

Blog Exercises: What Are Your Reasons For Blogging

We all have our reasons for blogging. Having our say, sharing our experience, teaching, learning, creative outlet, money, reputation, because they told you to…all of these are good reasons to blog, but to keep blogging you need something more. In this blog exercise, I want you to consider the more. It is the answer to […]

Blog Exercises: Site Policies and Bloggers Code of Ethics

It’s time to start working on all of your site policies, one by one. So far, we’ve touched on some of these in Blog Exercises: The Don’ts of Blogging, Blog Exercise: Taking a Risk With What You Blog About, Blog Exercises: Comments and The Blog Bullies, and Blog Exercises: Quoting and Blockquotes. The basic policies […]

WordPress Introduction Course in Vancouver, Washington

I will be teaching the WordPress I Introduction course at Clark College Corporate and Continuing Education starting Saturdays, April 27 – July 13, 2013, 9am – noon, in Vancouver, Washington, just across the river from the Airport at the Columbia Tech Center. What a great way to get to learn about how WordPress works without […]

Blog Exercises: What Are Your Reference Articles

What are the articles that drive people to your site? What are the posts that help people understand and benefit most from what you publish on your site? What articles represent you as an authority on the subject? These are your reference articles. We all have them, the articles that explain who we are, what […]

The Secret Recipe of Comment Spam Comments

Mr. Louis Vuitton just sent me a message in my blog comments I’d like to share with you. I share this touching message because it is highly educational when it comes to the art of spam comments, and serves to remind us of why we love having Akismet, the best comment spam fighter, on our […]

Blog Exercises: Make an Elephant Out of a Fly

G.I. Gurdjieff said, “We have made an elephant out of a fly.” A friend of mine and fellow college professor, Mark Smith, is a dedicated follower of George Gurdjieff, a Russian spiritual leader. He’s been sharing some of his teachings with me. This one caught my attention and immediately had to be added to these […]