Blog Exercises: I Don’t Trust That Site

I recommended an article to a student and they said they didn’t trust that site, thus shed doubt on my personal integrity. I asked why. “Because it’s on Blogspot.” Wow. I have to say that wasn’t the answer I expected. I didn’t expect someone, not web savvy in the least, would associate a blogger on […]

Blog Exercises: Emulator, Original, or Teacher?

In a candid interview on The Culture Show, Lady Gaga described the artistry of her work. I don’t know if any of it is any good, and I’m not sure it matters…it is a life force on its own. I’m still very young, in the duration of my life’s work. If you look at the […]

Blog Exercises: Gravatars

This Blog Exercise will help you update your global recognition on WordPress and all Gravatar-enabled sites. I’m going to let TimeThief of one cool site, a site dedicated to all things WordPress blogging, tips, tools, and tutorials, explain Gravatars in her post, “Gravatars for Global Recognition.” Whether you blog under your real name or under […]

May Day Protests: Having Your Say Beyond the Web

Yesterday was the annual May Day protests across the United States. I stumbled upon the Portland, Oregon, May Day protest parade on my way to meet with the panel members for the WordPress Theme Panel at WebVisions 2012. The power of the blog is the ability to have your say. A blog doesn’t guarantee the […]

Inspired by Glenda Watson Hyatt at SOBCon09

I just published “Glenda Watson Hyatt: Is Your Blog Disabled?” on the Blog Herald. I summarized the outstanding presentation the famous Left Thumb Blogger, Glenda Watson Hyatt of the Do It Myself Blog, gave at Successful and Outstanding Bloggers Conference (SOBCon) this past weekend. Glenda is a major fan and proponent of WordPress, and I […]

Blog Challenge: Worst Business Decision

As we continue exploring our mistakes, with last week’s blog challenge about the worst mistake we’ve made in a relationship, this week I’m going to challenge your work history and experience. Blog about the worst business decision and mistake you’ve ever made. We’ve all made dumb business decisions. Taken jobs we hated, told off a […]

Blog Challenge: Worst Relationship Mistake

We all make mistakes in everything we do. That’s part of learning. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to challenge you to blog about some of the mistakes you’ve made, and the lessons you learned and how these mistakes changed your life. As usual, these blog challenges are very specific, encouraging you to dig […]

Blog Challenge: Where Do You Consistently Find Inspiration?

In response to a post on Pennwriters Area 6 HQ on Inspiration and Dedication: Creative Resources, I wrote: …And yet, I find incredible inspiration in the little things, the things that inspired writers for thousands of years. A moment shared. A conversation overheard. A glance down a new street. A journey. A unroutine routine event. […]

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 […]

Blog Challenge: Describe Your Computer Setup – Then and Now

This week’s blog challenge is to blog about your computer setup as it was “then” in the early days of your computer life, and how it is now, in your modern technology life. What computer tools are you dependent upon for your blog that surround you on your desk? Do you podcast? What do you […]

Blog Challenge: Unusual Blog Subjects

This week’s blog challenge is: What’s the most unusual subject for a blog you’ve found? There are a lot of bloggers out there, but who have you found blogging about the most unusual subjects? Please do not list yourself. Let’s celebrate the diversity of others in blogging. So much of the time we spend studying […]

Stripped Down Naked to Honor Web Designers and Developers

In honor of April 9, 2008, as CSS Naked Day, my blog is going naked. I discussed this a few days ago with details on how to strip naked your blog if you would like to join in the celebrations. By going naked, my blog stands with thousands of others who recognize and honor the […]

Blog Challenge: Whatcha Reading?

I recently finished rereading all the books, one after another, by two of my favorite authors, Alan Dean Foster and Terry Pratchett. I read the whole Discworld series in order, then the Humanx Commonwealth by Foster in “chronological” order. It was wonderful to submerse myself in other worlds for extended periods of time, putting off […]

Blog Challenge: Testing Your Blog’s Accessibility

I’ve talked a lot over the years about how important it is to design your website or blog to be accessible. There is a growing number of bloggers and blog readers who are reading your blog right now with a screen reader which reads your blog to them, or some other magnification or screen customization […]

Blog Challenge: Blog About Being Small

Last week, I challenged you to blog about being “big” or a success, giving you the challenge to blog about a moment when you felt “big” or write about what it would look like if you were “big” or a success. This week, I want you to think “small” – when you weren’t a success. […]