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 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!

Romance Writers of America San Francisco Chapter - web publishing seminar 2008 - photograph copyright Lorelle VanFossen 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:

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:

Blog Herald Columns

Blog Herald Logo 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:

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.

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.

One Comment

Grand Caveman

Posted September 15, 2008 at 11:07 am | Permalink

Great post. There’s more information and links than I can handle in here. Thanks, it should be pretty helpful by the time I’m done.