Blog News Watch

So, you may have heard that Google changed their whole deal on the issue of pagerank. Well, although I would like to blame them, especially for taking down my watchingfamilyguy.comblog down from a pagerank of 5 to a pagerank of 3. I was sad to see it happen.

But, I guess, in all honesty, you can’t really blame google for doing this. I mean, when there are so many new blogs emerging every day, of course there are going to have to be changes to the Google Pagerank system.

I wish I could pay google to make my pagerank a 10, but unfortunately, I dont think I have that kind of money, nor do I wish to pay google anymore money to google than they make per year.

Want some blogging links?

Although I strictly encourage you as a blogger to earn your readers through the web simply by attracting them to your posts, here is another way to “earn” your links.

I would really look down on somebody, though, if I saw them buying this product to increase their blog traffic or google Pagerank.

Actually, come to think of it, it would be insane to buy this only to increase your google Pagerank. Unless it is for a blog that you are trying to make money with via PayPerPost, its a complete waste of money.

What I say: Don’t worry, you will get your readers, just post your usual posts, and post them everyday. Now, this may not happen every day, but you should make an attempt to do so.

Besides, the more content you produce, the more google indexes that content, and the more of a change there is for a reader to come to your blog.

“Prominence” is a news value that many bloggers claim to hate.

But even they perpetrate it, because when some small-time blogger with two posts does something controversial, it’s going to receive much more coverage when, say, Darren Rowse does the same thing.

And, of course, it draws in more traffic, especially from search engines - why? Because people are actually searching for information on that person.

Prominence refers to how prominent and popular an individual or group is in any given community.

It’s truly the crux of much of the media, and when it comes to celebrity and gossip mags, pretty much the exclusive news value. Doesn’t matter how stupid or trivial something is… you can be sure the gossip mags will pick it up if it’s about someone famous!

Apply this one when appropriate for your blog, and with caution, but when you do use it, it can certainly help.

Prominence and Conflict are great news values to use in combination. On my blog Musician’s Notebook a post about the tensions between Dimebag Darrell and Phil Anselmo of Pantera might’ve been a great post around the time of Dimebag’s death, so long as I kept it relevant to the fact that my readers want information for musicians, not music fans (how to keep tension among musicians to a minimum might have been a good basis for the post).

Check the front page of your daily paper next time you’re walking past a news agency. I bet you that the majority of the stories on the front page have something to do with a prominent individual or group. The past few weeks here in Australia, it has been about politicians almost every day (we just had a federal election).

Now if only I could meet another Australian who cares about politics…

It seems you’re depending on the list you’re looking at; either Impact strikes at number one or number three on the News Values list.

When I was studying journalism, impact was the first on the list, but the list of news values that I used to plan this series had it down on number three. I wish I’d picked up on this before, but it is how it is.

In my opinion, Impact is the most important news value in the world.

Consider these two example story headlines:

Neighbors Fight Over Fencing

OR

Mother Kills Daughter During Fight About Preschool

Both headlines possess the news value of conflict (timeliness isn’t apparent but can be assumed), but which one has more sheer Impact?

Nobody cares about neighbors fighting over fencing, but when a mother kills her daughter because she doesn’t want to go to preschool, the reactions are certainly not so apathetic. Why? Because the story, and the events, made an impact.

When does impact occur?

According to a dictionary, when something has a strong effect on someone. That means when it offends their sensibilities, makes them emotional, or has to do with something the reader has a Strong Emotional Investment in.

The higher the Strong Emotional Investment, the higher the impact

Impact is all about emotions, so think about your readership and what the people in your niche are likely to be emotionally affected by. Remember, impact doesn’t always have to be negative, and I believe that we need more positivity in our information channels while the mainstream media does nothing but pump hate, war, violence and doom into our heads.

So do me a personal favor, and when you first try implementing Impact in your articles, try and make it a positive impact.

It’s a good idea to sit down and really analyze the type of readership you’re likely to attract. What creates Impact in a story depends on your niche and readership a lot more than most other news values.

Here’s what you do: define what your readers have a Strong Emotional Investment in, and what they have a Weak Emotional Investment in (what they don’t care about). You can leverage your list by writing stories with the following components:

• A criticism of something the readership has a Strong Emotional Investment in
• An article criticizing someone who has attacked or done something to damage the subject of your reader’s SEI (this will gain you favor with the audience as their “voice”)
• An article that connects a topic readers have a Weak Emotional Investment in with something an SEI, therefore making their emotional investment in it stronger and opening up further possibilities for future articles

How you use Impact is up to you, but learning to define it is the first step.

Conflict is the first news values journalists use to determine newsworthiness, and the first news value that bloggers can apply to make more compelling content.

The second news value bloggers can apply to their writing is timeliness.

The mistake bloggers make is putting timeliness at the top of the list. Sure, blogging is more time-centric than many mediums for your message, but certainly not as much as newspapers.

And if blogging is more timeless than newspapers, and journalists put timeliness as number two… well, you should to. Get the order right: it’s important!

Timeliness: The When Factor

It’s a pretty simple concept: timeliness as a news value means that the closer in time your blog post is to the event that you are writing about, the more valuable that piece is.

It’s also important if you care about search engines because if you’re first in and best dressed, you stand more of a chance of getting indexed on the first page for certain search terms.

Choose Your Timely Stories Wisely

Sometimes a bit of considered planning is better than being the first to publish a post on something. Use your discretion here. If you can get an article out before everyone else and it’s a considered, useful, valuable piece, you’ve hit the jackpot… while the news is still timely, anyway!

If something requires perusal of long, complicated documents - legal ones, perhaps - then peruse them (and understand them) before you jump to conclusions and write about it. You can be sure of two things:

• Smart bloggers you are competing with will wait until they have perused, so don’t worry about them beating you too much
• Stupid bloggers will fire off a half-assed article because they want to be first and be flamed to hell and back for all the inaccuracies and incomplete thoughts they publish

Want to be flamed because you’re stupid?

…

I didn’t think so.

Timeliness is an important factor. The news values exist because writers have identified what attracts the readers interest; however, that same factor has also imbued many news rooms with an unhealthy mentality that is all about timeliness. It means many papers are driven by disasters and crises.

Value For Readers is your first consideration. News values, including timeliness, are your second considerations; always, always, always put value first.

Here’s the question to ask every time you find yourself rushing: does getting this post out before everyone else really provide much value to my readers?

Don’t get me wrong, I may have spent most of this article warning of the dangers of this news value, but it is still important. And while it’s important, the most important thing that can ever be said about it is a warning.

So use Timeliness - when it is appropriate.

Journalists are pretty much professional bloggers.

Sure, there are a whole gamut of differences, but there are enough similarities that some journalistic knowledge can go a long way to improving your blog.

I mean, these guys spent three years or more of their lives learning how to write content that has to grab attention day after day, right?

For the next few days, I’ll focus on how news values can help your blogging. News values were the first thing I was taught in journalism school. They slammed that stuff down our throats as if they were trying to get a dog to take its worming tablet.

The First News Value: Conflict

How many popular stories around the blogosphere did you see in the past week that were focused around some kind of conflict?

Unless you only read blogs about blogging, probably a lot.

Even the blogs about blogging experience traffic spikes when conflict gets involved. John Chow and Shoemoney actually considered planning some conflict to popularize their contest.

Conflict attracts readers like day old food attracts flies.

It holds people’s attention. It fascinates people to see conflict and controversy arise, while they become spectators waiting to see which side wins.

There are always two sides in a good conflict story.

There are always two polarized, opposing sides in any good story about conflict. There’s lots of conflict in the Middle East, but it’s so multifaceted and complex we only hear about it when there’s a clear polarity; Lebanon against Israel. Israel against Palestine. The list goes on, and it’s all polarized pairs (and usually one of them is Israel).

People don’t get the same rush from conflict when it’s complicated. It has to be simple, down the line polarity where readers can pick a side and root for it. It’s not always right, it’s not a good sign regarding the quality of human thought, but that’s how it works.

People will hang around until there’s a resolution.

So hold onto that resolution. Don’t throw it out there straight away, but don’t dissipate the tension altogether by ignoring it. Hold the carrot out there. Let them come back for a bite the next day. But don’t hold out too long - you just want them to take that second look at your site so the seeds of a brand can be sown in their minds.

Conflict also has the power to divide your readership, and if you take too clear a stance on something, do it for the right reasons: because you believe in that stance. Otherwise you’ll alienate readers who disagree with that stance, even if you don’t fully believe in it.

By the way, I’ve got a post on ProBlogger today - it’s about how you are perceived by readers and how your voice can impact this.

More news values for bloggers coming soon.

Or … “How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love the Blog”

Learn a free, simple, web-based method of collecting, sorting, storing, and recalling blogging ideas.

The Problem

The bane of every blogger’s existence: “Now where was that article I wanted to link to …”

Followed closely by: “And … um … I had this really cool thing I wanted to say about it but …. how’d that go again?”

Does your blog-fodder collection system - if you even have one - resemble nothing so much as a bunch of yellow sticky notes slapped haphazardly along every square viewable surface of desk real estate?

If so - or if you have none at all - you might want to give my system a try. Its advantages: it’s free; it’s centered around web-based technologies (nothing to buy and it’s mobile to boot); it’s robust as hell; and best of all - it works.

The Tools

What you’ll need:

• A browser
• A free account at Stikkit.com
• The Stikkit bookmarklet, configured to pop up in a new window
• A rudimentary understanding of how tagging works (but even this is optional)

To get the full benefit of this system, you’ll also need:

• Firefox as your browser of choice
• ScribeFire

However, these tools (while helpful to any blogger) aren’t necessary. I’ll explain more about them, how they’re used, and why they’re so handy as we go.

The System

You’ve got your account, your Stikkit bookmarklet thingie is installed in your Links toolbar, just waiting for you with its little exclamation point, all humming with bloggy excitement.Your Firefox browser’s fired up and you’ve got the little ScribeFire yellow notepad and pen down there in the bottom right corner just begging to take a memo…

Now what?

Go forth and browse, young blogger. Browse, click, read, scan, link to your heart’s content. This is fast-paced filling the well time, folks. Not hard-core research. Just … browse. See what strikes your fancy.

Oops. Wait a sec. Back a page. Right there. See that article? On the land speed of that zombie fish that crawls out of the water and walks? Wouldn’t that make an awesome post? OK, maybe not. But let’s pretend it would. Here’s what you do:

1. Scan the article for the killer quote - whatever you want to copy directly into your post, or maybe the lede, or the first paragraph - whatever you want to use or whatever might prompt you to recall the full idea you’re having right this very minute. Select it, and copy it (Ctrl + C on Windows; Cmd + C on Macs).
2. Now, with the text selected and copied, click the Stikkit! bookmarklet.
3. What happened? The Stikkit window popped up and (probably) promptly disappeared beneath the open browser. Never fear. Down to your task bar. See the window’s minimized bar? Click it. Up it pops again … and, 99% of the time, the text you just selected will already be there. That’s right, without pasting the text, the bookmarklet opens a window prepopulated not only with the selected text but also with the page’s URL and page title. And on occasion, with preselected tags. You’ll probably want to …
4. Erase the tags in the Stikkit window. Just select and delete. You’re gonna want your own. (Alternatively you can keep them but you’ll have a larger selection of tags to browse through when it comes time to draft your post.)
5. Now, jot down a few notes about this article. What fantastic idea occurred to you while reading it? What angle do you want to take on your blog post? What further research do you need to do? Type it into the Stikkit window.
6. Now - here’s the genius part: tag it. I created my own tagging system based on the abbreviated names of my blogs (BCLB for my bankruptcy practice blog, ELB for my employment practice blog, BNW for this one, etc.). I also tag based on the subject. I don’t tag indiscriminately and freely, though I know a lot of people swear by this method. For a limited purpose such as blog fodder control, I have found a more restrictive system works best for me. Your mileage may vary, of course.  To tag in Stikkit: use the @ symbol immediately preceding the tag. Ex: @BCLB - would tag a stikkit for me as BCLB.
   
7. Click ’save.’
8. Lather, rinse, repeat.

You’re going to want to do this not only in a dedicated “looking for blog material” session but also throughout the week as you play (OK, OK, work) on the ‘Net for other purposes. Whatever you run into that strikes your fancy, just follow the steps: select, click, note, tag, save. Get it? select, click, note, tag, save. SCaNTS. Me so clever.

The Recall

When it’s time to blog, it couldn’t be simpler using Sisk’s SCaNTS (try saying that five times fast - hell, try saying it once).

1. Open up Stikkit’s home center. You might want to stay logged in if you’re the only one using your computer, or that particular user account; otherwise, log in and out at every session.
2. Click on the little luggage tag icon in the row of icons at the top. That’s “tags.”
3. Click on the tag for the blog you want to work on.
4. Ctrl-click on the link - this brings up the reference URL in a new tab.
5. Click on the ScribeFire icon in the tray at the bottom of your browser window (it’s the yellow notepad and pencil).
6. If you haven’t already, set up ScribeFire with your blog(s)’s login info: Click “ADD” at the bottom of the right hand column, and follow the prompts. ScribeFire automatically recalls your blog’s categories for you (and you can add new ones, right from the ScribeFire window - pretty nifty).
7. In SF, select the blog you’re working on from the list under the “Blogs” tab.
8. Still in SF, click the “Categs.” tab and select the appropriate category. (Hint: I use my subject tags in the Stikkit for this purpose - they help me gauge the best category to use.)
9. Type in your working (or final, if you’re that good) title in the “Title” bar in SF.
10. Copy and paste in your working quote from the Stikkit, if you have one, into the text window of SF.
11. Compose your blog post, using the Stikkit and the reference page in your browser tabs as resources.
12. You can save it to your blog as a draft form in SF: simple click on the “Publishing Options” button to the right of the title bar, and select “Publish as Draft.” Alternatively, leave that box unchecked and when you get to step #14, it’ll publish your post to the blog immediately.
13. While you’re still in “publishing options” though, you’re gonna want to take advantage of some wonderful SF tools - add your Technorati tags (and click “Add Tags to post”), plug in your trackbacks, if any (separated by commas), click “bookmark post at del.icio.us using same tags” and “Enable pings” (and choose your ping forum of choice).
14. Click the reddish-orange “Publish to: {blog name}” button (after a once-over check to make sure you’ve got the right blog, etc. - it’s been known to happen … not to me, of course … <cough>).
15. Back in Stikkit - click the “edit” stikkit icon (again, a pencil) and add a DONE to the end of your blog tag. Ex: @BCLB becomes @BCLBDONE.  Click “Save.”

Why My System Rocks

The tagging portion of this system, together with Stikkit’s amiable user interface tools, makes it simple and effective - highly customizable without being confusing (which, in the land of apps, is really not a combination you come across too often, I’ve found). Using ScribeFire, even without the Stikkit component of the system, is a real time saver for bloggers. You can blog straight from the reference page without switching back and forth - keeping the text you’re working from and the text you’re working on both in plain view at all times. It might be a small bit of time saved, but it adds up to one great big reduction in the hassle factor.

The tags in Stikkit also help me plan my postings. I can see from the clouds on the main tags page which subjects are heavy with stuff and which are light - and which don’t exist at all. I can then tell - “hmm, ’tis been a while since I blogged about sex harassment at ELB - time to find some new stuff.” Changing the tag at the end of the process keeps your housekeeping up to date. This removes your resource from the active items list - the list of ideas to be blogged about - and puts it in the list of items already blogged about, creating a nice archive of your past resource material.

I’d love to hear comments, improvements, and suggestions on this system. It’s always a work in progress, and I’m forever looking for tweaks.

Technorati Tags: managing blog material

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If you’re thinking about starting a new blog, or looking for new content for your existing blog, step outside your own expertise and engage your curiosity.

You’ll often hear advice to the tune of “write what you know” when you’re first starting out in any sort of writing endeavor; blogging is no different. You’ll be urged to select a niche within your field of expertise; and to stay within that field at all times. This, they say, gives you an air of authority. It gives your writing a trustworthiness that it would other lack, they imply.

They are wrong.

Not entirely wrong, mind you. It is true that if your passion happens to align nicely with your past experience, that’s a match made in heaven for a respectable niche blog. But it’s not true that writing outside the realm of that experience is always a bad idea. In fact, I advocate just the opposite.

If you’re having trouble getting a blog going - if traffic is low, or the Digg count simply isn’t happening - try a new tactic: write what you want to know. Think of what fascinates you - what motivates you to stay on the web at all hours researching the answer to the underlying question. What’s that question? Whatever it is, answer it in your blog posts; it’s a good bet if it interests you, it will interest others. But also, when we step outside our comfort zones as writers, a funny thing often transpires - we get better. Our writing acquires an edge, a “zip” that it didn’t have before - and that can be vastly appealing to readers.

So take a moment today to think about the subjects you’d like to learn more about - the questions you have, the issues that provoke your inner detective - and consider whether there’s a blog or potential post material in the answers.

starting a new blog, finding blog content

If you want your blog to perform at its peak, here’s the ultimate, bottom-line, unavoidable truth: you. must. niche. your. blog.

Now, I know I’m not the only blogger singing this anthem. And I’m not talking to the pleasure bloggers who are blogging for personal reasons - only for their own purposes, not to make money but to express themselves creatively. Obviously, a blog that serves as the chronicle of your life will by necessity (hopefully!) have many diverse topics.

But if you’re doing this for any other purpose - and that purpose is related to making money, in any way - you really need to narrow your approach. Not so narrowly that you run out of material in a month, but narrow enough to distinguish yourself - narrow enough to reach that small, “long tail” audience, and keep them coming back.

Chris Garrett has another riff on this meme and it’s worth a read. (Plus, Marillion rocks. Named my kid after a song of theirs.)

Technorati Tags: niche blogs

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Here’s the debut of a new feature at Blog News Watch - “Flagship Content.” The idea is simple: every so often (not necessarily weekly, though I’ll strive for that if possible), I’ll feature a blog and spotlight what could be considered that blog’s “flagship content.” If you’re not familiar with the term flagship content, I’ll direct you to Chris Garrett’s blog with instructions to subscribe to the feed, and discover in said feed the link for the download “Killer Flagship Content.”

Today, we’re looking at I’d Rather Be Writing’s post from April of this year, “Twenty Usability Tips for Your Blog - Condensed From Dozens of Bloggers’ Experiences.” Let’s look at what Tom Johnson did write right here:

• The “lessons learned” approach. This is highly worthwhile - Tom’s creating value for his readers out of the battle stories from others’ experiences. The confidence factor is high; the reader knows these ideas have some merit right out of the gate, so s/he comes to the post with a sense of trust.
• Note how Tom builds on that trust by developing the ideas that follow and accompanying them with visual aids. Some of his readers will be visually oriented - meaning pretty pictures will help drive home the point. Others will be aurally oriented - those readers, I think, tend to “hear” the words spoken aloud in their minds as they read. By including words and pictures, Tom’s grabbing a wider audience.
• The scope of this post is broader - much broader - than I’d normally advise. But that’s completely appropriate for flagship content - that, in fact, is exactly what you want to do. Flagship posts are not about quick reads - they’re about creating a meatier entree, one that will sustain the reader past the point of consumption. Tom’s created a resource that will be bookmarked, referred back to, passed in email, shared via StumbleUpon, Dugg, and otherwise circulated.
• Note how Tom offers support for his assertions - the Technorati graph is brilliant.
• And the bonus “resource” list - it’s not promised in the headline so it strikes Tom’s readers as a gift. And we all love getting presents.
• Finally, Tom doesn’t just make points - he offers advice. He doesn’t simple tell his readers what’s wrong - he tells them how to fix it. He doesn’t just point out what’s right - he tells us how we can make our own blogs “right,” too. Note the specific referrals to particular plug-ins. This is another facet of making flagship content a significant resource, as opposed to just a quick read or “tip.”

Is there anything I’d change about this post to make it even more effective? Not much - Tom’s done an excellent job here. One thing that might have offered it a bit more organization would have been the inclusion of headers and grouping each suggestion in the appropriate group - for instance “Design Tips,” “Writing Tips,” and “Management Tips.” But twenty is a good number - not too numerous to make browsing straight through migraine-inducing, and enough to offer a satisfying roundup of instructional points.

flagship content for blogs, choosing blog content

It’s the new “KISS” - Keep It Short, Silly! In the face of growing competition for your audience/readers’ attention spans, you don’t want to hamstring your blog right out of the gate. Keep your posts short and succinct.

Here’s how:

• Narrow your focus. Don’t try to cram too much “subject” into one post.
• If you find yourself using too many tangents or transitions, this is a clue! Drop back and get the eagle’s perspective - how much are you really trying to say here?
• Try an outline. Sometimes, writing a draft in outline form can help you spot a post that’s too broad in focus.
• Consider a series. Maybe what you’ve got is really several related posts. Try fleshing each particular idea out a bit more fully and see where it takes you. Serial posts are a great way to generate return traffic.
• Use formatting. If your post necessarily has to make several points (this one’s a great example), turn to formatted lists - the unordered (bulleted) list and/or the ordered (numbered) list - to help retain interest without wearing out your reader.

Take the time to sculpt your posts, just like a sculptor would his or her clay, and you will be pleased with the results - not to mention the leftovers for future posts!

blogging, length of blog posts, blogging tips