Basics
Blogging and Mistakes
Saturday, December 1st, 2007One of the reasons many nonbloggers don’t want to start blogging is because they’re afraid of making a mistake, especially on the Internet, where they imagine millions of people are witnessing their humiliation. I’d like to tell these would-be bloggers they have nothing to fear because they won’t be making any mistakes, but of course […]
What’s the Big Deal About Blogs?
Saturday, December 1st, 2007Lee and Sachi LeFever have a great three-minute video series about various Web 2.0 tools called the Plain English series. This one is Blogs in Plain English and does a nice job of explaining how they work and why you might want to have one. Also check out:
RSS in Plain English
Wikis in Plain English
Social Bookmarking […]
Blogging by Visiting
Thursday, November 29th, 2007One of the things that happens when you first start blogging is that you tend to be very focused on yourself. You’re consumed with things like:
What should I write?
How do I get people to come over here and read what I have to say?
How often should I post?
Should I keep tweaking the layout of my […]
Evolution of a Blog Post
Sunday, November 25th, 2007I find that for a lot of new bloggers the process of developing a post, commenting, etc. can be a little mysterious. I thought it might be helpful to show how I created a recent post because it also demonstrates how commenting occurs and how you develop deeper knowledge and a broader network based on […]
Advice for New Bloggers
Monday, November 5th, 2007Over at The Bamboo Project, I asked readers to share with me their advice for new bloggers. Here’s what they had to say:
Deciding to Blog
On the subject of deciding to blog in the first place, the consensus seems to be to start a blog when you find something you feel strongly about and that you […]
Commenting Do’s and Don’ts: Some Advice to Get You Started
Thursday, October 11th, 2007A few days ago we discussed the different ways you can get your feet wet in the blogging pool. Commenting on blog posts is one of them. It’s also a great way to develop relationships with other bloggers and to introduce yourself into the online community.
Here are some Commenting Do’s and Don’ts to get you […]
Learning New Technologies
Wednesday, October 10th, 2007New technology can be intimidating at first. There are new skills to learn, new terminology. You can feel like a stranger in a strange land. It’s important to remember though that every technology we use was once “new.” Eventually we “get it” and it becomes part of how we do things. Just watch […]
Entering the Blogosphere–You Don’t Have to Start in the Deep End
Thursday, October 4th, 2007Remember when you were first learning to swim? Unless your swimming instructor was a sadist, he or she probably had you start in the shallow end, learning how to move your arms and legs and practicing your breathing. As your skills improved you progressed to more advanced moves until one day you were in the […]
Why Blogs Matter
Wednesday, October 3rd, 2007At first glance, a blog doesn’t seem that different from any other site you’ve probably visited. It has words, pictures and links. It may have video or audio. But dig a little deeper, and you’ll see that a blog is a very different animal from a regular web site. It’s because of what Robert Scoble […]
What is a Blog?
Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007From the Weblog Project, check out these video introductions to blogs.