Lorelle’s Family History Blog Featured in the Everett Herald Newspaper

I was recently honored with an article about my Family History Blog in the Everett Herald newspaper serving Everett, Snohomish County, Washington. The article, “Blogger digs into her roots: Snohomish County native works to uncover her family’s history,” quickly describes some of my family’s history related to the Snohomish County area on the Knapp and […]

Cooking Up a Story: NPR Explores Web Businesses

Today, National Public Radio (NPR) will feature a story on unusual businesses working on the web featuring Rebecca and Fred Gerendasy of Cooking Up a Story, a Portland, Oregon, area internet video production company. Their successful video blog, Cooking Up a Story and Cooking Up a Story YouTube Channel, produce a wide variety of film […]

Blog Challenge: What’s Your Blog’s Story?

Everybody has a story. About their life. About their work. About how they got their current job. About how they want out of their current job. About their parents. About their childhood. About their schools. About…well, everything. This week’s blog challenge is to blog your blog’s story. What is the story behind your blog? I […]

Blog Challenge: Who Would You Like To See Blog From History?

Kate Blogs asks us who would you like to see blogging from the past: The blogging world contains everyone from politicians to tea-ladies, best selling authors to paper-boys. In a way, having access to such a wonderful new technology makes one feel a little sorry for people in the past. At one time, if someone […]

Blog Challenge: Personal Blogging – Tell Us a Story

Here’s another Blogging Challenge for you this week. There are all types of blogs from highly technical to wildly biased political. This week, I want to focus on the personal blog. A personal blog is more of a diary or journal, a collection of personal writing about a person’s life, be it day-to-day stories or […]

Using Your Feeds for Story Ideas

After a couple months of incredible productivity, I hit a dry spell. There was plenty I should be writing about, but shoulds don’t motivate very well. So I went hunting. I’ve written about the many resources available for story ideas, but here’s a trick I do to get me back on course. I call it […]

Tell Your Story: Have You Had Your Content Stolen?

Call it stealing, call it copyright infringement, call it damned annoying, but answer the question: Have you had your blog content stolen? I’ve written a lot recently about what to do if your content is “violated” by others using it without permission, about the growing trends in content theft through feeds and other methods, how […]

Blog Exercises: How Does Your Blog Make You Money?

In an interview with Daniel Scocco of DailyBlogTips, he asked me how long a blogger should wait to monetize their blog. Ha! Forever! I do not think bloggers should monetize their blogs. I think that people who want to get into the business of blogging must make a business plan on how they will use […]

Blog Exercise: When Was the Last Time You Got Personal

I walked into a friend’s home and found the fridge covered with refrigerator art from her seven year old. The traditional home often features such childhood artwork but this was extremely precious as the child has learning disabilities and drawing. The artwork was beautiful. I stood there transfixed at the crude scribbles, trying to find […]

Blog Exercises: Are You Setting an Example for Others?

A milestone in personal rights seemed to have been achieved recently when US basketball player, Jason Collins declared publicly he was gay, hopefully setting an example for others that it is now “safe” to come out of the closet. The news in and around his announcement has me thinking about heroes, mentors, and risk-takers, those […]

Blog Exercises: Blog Work Flows

In “A Sample Blogging Workflow” by my friend, Chris Brogan, he talks about the process of blogging with consistency and determination in mind. Your company has decided to launch a blog, and you’re the lucky blogger. Maybe you’ve even asked for this pleasure, suggested it to the boss yourself. Only now, you have to deliver, […]

Help Spread the Word – Writing for the Web Class

There is still room available in my Writing for the Web course at Clark College Corporate and Continuing Education in Vancouver, Washington, just across the river from Portland, Oregon. This professional development course runs from June 11 – 27, 2013 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9AM – Noon. The class size is limited so there […]

Blog Exercises: If You Had a Dream Speech

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.” I have a dream that one day out on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the […]

Blog Exercises: Memorial Moments

Today, the United States celebrates Memorial Day (not the movie). The day is dedicated to remembering those who died while serving in the United States military services. Originally known as “Decoration Day,” the holiday started after the American Civil War (1861-1865). While the dates are debated, the first Memorial Day observance as a holiday was […]

Blog Exercise: Inspired by Photography

We are all inspired by photography, a picture that motivates and inspires, that moves us, sometimes to the point of changing our perspective on a subject or on our life. With all of the power found in photography, over the next few weeks I will be offering Blog Exercises with the emphasis on getting you […]