The Art of the Fan-Based Blog: Content, Content, Content Part II

By DB Ferguson of the No Fact Zone So you’ve finding all kinds of content for your fandom based upon our previous discussions. You’ve found a trough of information to flow into your blog. Now what? How do you get all that information into your blog, and should you? Do you need to publish everything? […]

Blog Struggles: Trackbacks Count

At a blog conference recently, I overheard the following exchange over a laptop as part of a blog review exercise: “For your blog to be successful, you need more comments on your blog posts.” “I have plenty of comments on my blog. See, this one has 14 comments.” “That post has only one comment. The […]

The Art of the Fan-Based Blog: Create a Game Plan

By DB Ferguson of the No Fact Zone Are you ready to plunge into your own fandom blog? Then it’s time you started thinking more like a webmaster than a fan. A fan is all agog with the thrills and spills of their star, but hosting a fandom blog means making a plan and sticking […]

Duke DesRochers: Future Social Media Renaissance Man

In this modern world where entertainment has many fronts, movies, network television, cable television, and the web, The Food Network is among many entertainment companies trying to notch it up and take advantage of online social media to find The Next Food Network Star. My cousin, Duke DesRochers, has entered the contest, and as far […]

Designing WordPress Themes For the Slowing Web

Jonathan Bailey of the Blog Herald wrote about Surfing the Slow Web, a summary of his recent experience trying to connect to the Internet as an evacuee from Hurricane Gustav. While most web designers are pushing the limits of heavy handed design towards high bandwidth, the world still doesn’t work that fast or wide. According […]

Blog Challenge: Describe Your Software – Then and Now

Last week’s blog challenge was Describe Your Computer Setup – Then and Now. This week, I am challenging you to blog about your blog software, then and now. I’ve used just about all types of computer technology, from the early days of data storage on gigantic floppy disks to magnetic cards to “640K is enough […]

WordPress Podcast Wants Your Favorite WordPress Plugins

This week’s WordPress Podcast with Charles Stricklin and Jonathan Bailey is asking listeners to email them their top 10 favorite, can’t-live-without WordPress Plugins. WordPress Plugins are invaluable tools and extensions that help you do more with your WordPress blog. There are a lot I couldn’t live without, but that list changes over time as Plugins […]

Blog Struggles: When Is Your Blog Focus Too Narrow?

As I struggled to determine my blog’s focus, I debated like many about the definition of “narrow”. After all, how narrow is narrow in your niche? After years of personal debate on this issue, I came up with this answer: Your blog focus is too narrow when you run out of things to write about. […]

A Clear Blog Purpose Will Make or Break Your Blog

Blogging Bits offers “A Beginner’s Teeny Weeny Guide to Blogging”, a simple step-by-step resource list of articles from around the blogosphere covering a variety of blog tips and techniques. The list includes: Setup Promotion Monetization Miscellaneous good practices The comments include other recommendations that are worth tracking, too.

Weekly Digest: Lorelle in Oklahoma with Family, Heading to WordCamp Dallas, WordPress 2.5, SOBCON, and More News

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 […]

Shopping for a Blogging, Traveling Laptop

My laptop has reached the four year birthday and I’m ready for a new one. Every computer and laptop I’ve owned I’ve pushed beyond it’s capabilities from day one. I will never forget the first computer my husband and I bought “together”. Within three days, I’d filled the 2 gig hard drive, the largest one […]

Weekly Digest: Lorelle in San Francisco, Heading to WordCamp Dallas, Pasadena, Chicago, and Writting About Blogging In Between Talks

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 […]

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 […]

Weekly Digest: Lorelle in San Francisco Talking Blogging and WordPress, Offerring Blog Resources, Beating a Plagiarist, and More

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 […]

Blogging Resources and Sources to Help You Blog

As a blogger and professional editorial and technical writer, I have collected a variety of online resources and references to help me write, blog, and work. The following are a list of Internet resources, sources, references, guides, and tools that help me with my basic blog writing research and publishing. I use these resources to […]