Blog Resources: Researching the Research, Finding the Facts, and Seeking Supporting Evidence

As part of my ongoing series on blog resources, covering the many online resources I use to help me blog, you can tell that I don’t deal with rumors or guesses. I like facts. I don’t mind a few estimates, but I like being right when I make a claim or statement, so I work […]

Where Do You Go For Your Blog Research and References?

I needed to know the dimensions of a US quarter compared to the Euro coins. Where should I go? Hmm, maybe I’ll hop in the car and drive to the library to dig through the shelves for coin collecting books. Nah. Maybe I’ll drive over to that coin and stamp collecting shop I saw over […]

Please Don’t Use Google To Research References

I’m a huge fan of Information Wants To Be Free, a wonderful blog for librarians by Meridith Wolfwater. I’ll be writing more about her blog later, but I wanted to point out a great article called Whatever you do, don’t use Google. After we teach our students how to distinguish between authoritative and unauthoritative resources, […]

Research: Tips for Surfing the Net for Information on a Deadline

Surfing the Net on Deadline – Staci D. Kramer’s Tips for Reporters, Editors and News Directors is a great checklist and how-to steps for bloggers as well as reporters. Here are some highlights: * Rule #1: Troubleshoot your software when you aren’t on deadline. * Build — and maintain — a bookmark file for your […]

Blogger as Researcher – Almost a Journalist?

In a short and well-written post, Gail Fisher of the The Los Angeles Times writes about the “Journalist as Researcher” on Poynter Online. While aimed at journalists, it made me think about the blogger as a form of journalist, reporting upon the world around them. Here are some important points she makes. Read: Be well-read. […]

Research and Choices You Make in Website Designs Can Make or Break Your Website

“Design Choices Can Cripple a Website”, by Nick Usborne on A List Apart, explores how the choices you make in choosing and creating a website design can make or break your site or blog. Here’s how design choice can make a difference Here are just a few of the design elements we have found can […]

Benefits of Using Furl and Del.icio.us Together for Research

Furl and Del.icio.us: Almost Perfect Together is an interesting correllation between Furl and Del.icio.us and protecting research material. To understand the benefits of these two tools better, this is seriously worth a read. As I’ve mentioned before, two web-based tools I use extensively to keep track of important or interesting online information are Furl and […]

Blog Exercises: How Long Are Your Paragraphs?

How long are your paragraphs? Have you measured them lately? One of the telling differences between traditional writing and writing for the web is the length of the paragraph. Look at the example below. Which is easier to read? On the left, the paragraphs are huge, long blocks of text. On the right, the paragraphs […]

WordPress Anniversary: Comment Spam Lessons

It’s hard to believe that I’ve learned much from comment spammers over the years. I’ve learned that they are among the most hated folks in the world, yet you have to respect them as well. As I look back on ten years of blogging with WordPress on this 10th Anniversary year, I realized that comment […]

Blog Exercises: The IKEA Effect for Bloggers

The Ikea Effect was coined by researchers who found out what we all know but rarely admit, we put too much ownership into our own brainchild ideas and concepts. In other words, we tend to fall in love with our own ideas and creations. If you have ever been around kids, you’ve probably had that […]

Blog Exercises: The Search for Like Minds

I tat. My 95 year old grandmother-in-law taught me almost 20 years ago. Tatting is 17th century lace making based upon island and coastal women looking for something to do besides fixing fishing nets for the men of the village. They got creative with their netting shuttles to make fine lace doilies, scarfs, edging, table […]

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 […]

Blog Exercises: Add Industry Events to Your Editorial Calendar

In the blog exercise to create an editorial calendar, I gave you many ideas for setting self-assignments and deadlines for content throughout the year on your blog. Don’t forget to investigate your industry to discover events, conferences, and news to add to the calendar. Whether you go or not, take time to research calendars and […]

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: Honor the Moment

In “Okay, Everybody, Group Hug!” the author of True Stitches, Heather, honored the moment of a publishing triumph. This is my 300th post. An accomplishment of sorts, I guess, although it took me years and years to get here. But along the way I have connected with so many wonderful people, which is the greatest […]