Research on the WordPress, Web Development, and Web Design Job Market

In 2012 and 2013, I did extensive research for the grant program to develop and rewrite the Web Developer degree program at Clark College. This research included an analysis of current and future job opportunities for students graduating with that degree with a solid understanding of WordPress. Now that the program has completed its first […]

The Web is All About The Writing

Reading “7 Things You Need to Know about SEO in 2014” from Compete Pulse, I was fascinating to read that “size matters:” Most blog posts range between 400 and 600 words, but the ideal length for highest ranking is actually around 1,500. Many still believe that a successful website is one that offers the information […]

Blog Exercises: Self-Sabotage Writing

You probably don’t want to hear this…I’m sure you don’t care what I have to say anyway…if you aren’t interested, go somewhere else…if you are here to learn something stick around, if not, take a hike…I don’t expect you to figure this out…This does require some intelligence to understand, so if you can’t be bothered, […]

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 […]

Writing for the Web Course Starts June 3, 1013

I will be teaching “Writing for the Web” at Clark College Corporate and Continuing Education in Vancouver, Washington, Tuesdays and Thursdays, June 3 – July 8, 2013. The class will be at the West Coast Bank Building in downtown Vancouver, Washington, just a few minutes from downtown Portland, Oregon. Writing on the web is now […]

Writing for the Web Course

February 18 – March 25, you will find me teaching “Writing for the Web” for Clark College Corporate and Continuing Education on Mondays from 1:30-4:30PM in the West Coast Bank Building in downtown Vancouver, Washington, just across the river from Portland, Oregon. Come join me! This is the first class of its kind at the […]

Expand Your Writing Abilities: Novel-in-a-Day Project

Last year, Literature and Latte, the creators of the powerful Scrivener writer’s program, shook the writing world with an innovative “Write a book in a day” project. They are doing it again this year. This form post for Novel-in-a-Day 2: The Revenge details the information. The event is Saturday, October 20, 2012, 2100 UK time, […]

Blog Struggles: How Do You Know When to Stop Writing a Blog Post?

As I prepare for my meeting with Alan Dean Foster, one of the world’s most prolific and famous science fiction authors, I’m not the only one inspired by the whole concept of making dreams come true. Robyn Seaton introduced Alan Dean Foster to me after she and I met at WordCamp Phoenix, and PodCamp Arizona […]

Lifehack’s Writing Tips

Every once in a while, Lifehack tackles writing tips and tricks. Recently, two great articles caught my eye. Just Keep Writing! motivates you to just keep writing, inspired with quotes from famous writers on what they believed kept them writing. If you feel the writing spirit waning with your blog, these are some great motivational […]

Liz Strauss: The Secret to Writing a Successful and Outstanding Blog Ebook

When Liz Strauss stood before WordCamp Dallas and said she had 60,317 comments on her blog, the audience was staggered. Even Matt Mullenweg was impressed. Everyone was impressed and wanted to know her secret. Now you can get the secret behind online community building from Liz Strauss. After several years of research and writing, Liz […]

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 […]

Blog Resources for English Language and Blog Writing

I blog in English and it behooves me to get it write – okay, at least once in a while. The challenges I face as a writer are not just generating ideas but finding the write way to convey those ideas. I frequently need to check the spelling or definition of words I come up […]

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 […]

Nine Years Writing: How I Generate Writing Concepts, Tools, and Strategies I Use

By Greg Balanko-Dickson Lorelle mentioned in an email today, “I’ve been asked by many readers that they would love to crawl inside your head and find out how you write content.” I have long thought about sharing my approach. Lorelle’s email got my attention today and I decided that it would be as good a […]

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, […]