Blog News Watch

Monitor your RSS feeds, draft new posts more often than you need to publish them, and comment on other blogs as often as you can are all catchphrases that bloggers hear constantly. They’re good bits of advice, too, but the compulsion is to spend too much time at the computer, working on our blogs, or when we’re not really working on them, refreshing the stats page.

But this kind of behavior creates blogging blindness; being so close to the subject that the most you can possibly do is regurgitate the work of others.

The mind needs time to relax and clear itself in order to put aside the ideas of others so that insight and ideas can start to form somewhere deep within the old nugget.

Many lists recommend relaxing hobbies such as reading books and watching movies, but for the outcome we’re looking for here, it’s best to avoid hobbies that are an infusion of other people’s ideas into your own mind.

1. Take a walk

Enjoy the scenery, even if it’s urban. Find beauty in the little things, but look for it yourself. Exercise your mind at the same time as you exercise your body - and remember, physical health and exercise is just as important to clear thinking as anything else. Swimming is also a great choice.

2. Play some poker with friends

Get around the table for some friendly gambling and conversation. Doesn’t matter if the conversation is light-hearted (like most poker games) or deep n’ meaningful (which has rarely ever happened to me in this setting!), just have some fun. If the conversation does get deep, try to contribute as much as you can. Otherwise, you guessed it - you’re absorbing more of other people’s ideas.

3. Learn an instrument

Sit down with a good guitar book and that $40 acoustic guitar from the grocery store (on my other blog it’d be an offense to suggest that!). Enjoy the process of learning without thinking too much about the end goal. Don’t rush it, take it one bit at a time. A common alternative is to learn a language, however, I think this overstimulates that linguistic part of your mind that you’re trying to calm down.

4. Draw, paint, or scribble

Doesn’t matter if you can draw or not! I certainly can’t - I might have a few artistic strengths but drawing certainly isn’t one of them. However, the attempt is at least relaxing!

5. Take your wife/girlfriend/pot plant to dinner

Without the movie, of course. Not scared of a bit of prolonged conversation, are you? Not only are you getting out and relaxing, having some decent food, but you’re saving your marriage/relationship/fertilizer from certain death since the significant other and the blog became competitors for your attention. Yes, I’m speaking from experience. No, I don’t have a pot plant.

Follow one or five of these steps, and do it regularly. Don’t let yourself develop blogger blindness! It’s for the good of the blog, the readers, and most importantly, you. You might just have some terrific insights along the way!

Tags: blogging, blogger blindness, relaxation, recreation

I just posted the list of 26 blogs that I read on a daily basis, but I left one of the list, and that’s Chris Garrett’s excellent blog. The previous post was a straight up list from the Daily folder in my news reader (though only the ones about blogging itself), and I don’t subscribe to the RSS feed for Mr. Garrett’s blog - I get it straight in my inbox. Why did I choose to fill in my email address instead of clicking the little RSS button? I really don’t know, but what I do know is that it’s also a damn excellent blog.

Only a minute or two after posting the first did I receive today’s update from Chris in my inbox. Shame on me. Go check it out!

Blogged with Flock

This morning, a good friend who is considering starting a blog asked me which blogs on blogging I read.

I showed him the length of the Blogging folder in my RSS reader, so he decided to rephrase the question: “Which blogs on blogging do you read every day?”

I keep a folder marked Daily and so should you - it helps to sort things in order of the priority you’d like to read them. Here are the blogs that I find are absolute must-reads, simply in the order that they appear in my RSS reader (no favorites here - my ultimate favorite isn’t near the top, but I’m not telling which one it is!):

1. Make Money Online with Brandon Hopkins
2. Dosh Dosh
3. John Chow
4. Quick Online Tips
5. Performancing.com
6. Weblog Tools Collection
7. Blogging Pro
8. Liz Strauss - Successful Blog
9. Skelliewag.org
10. JohnTP
11. Andy Beard’s Niche Marketing
12. ConverStations
13. The Wrong Advices
14. BusinessBlogWire
15. Blogtrepreneur
16. Copyblogger
17. Problogger
18. Lorelle on WordPress
19. The Blog Herald
20. Subtraction
21. Micro Persuasion
22. How to Change the World
23. FreelanceSwitch
24. Seth Godin’s Blog
25. Rough Type
26. Fast Company Now

Blogged with Flock

Tags: bestblogs

Just came across this excellent encapsulation of McLuhan on Rough Type - check it out:

McLuhan’s central thesis, encapsulated in the famous phrase “the medium is the message,” was that the technologies through which we take in information—the media, broadly defined—become “extensions” of our bodies, exerting a profound influence over how we think and act. When an important new medium arrives, it can reshape who we are as individuals and as a society.

I think that McLuhan would be stunned if he were alive today to see the blogosphere become such an important medium and tool of change in society.

Link

Blogged with Flock

Tags: communicationstheory, marshall mcluhan, blogosphere, blogosphere theory

It’s time to share the love and link to some of the best blog posts from the last couple of days. Enjoy the following great reads:

• Check out Skellie’s guest blog at Copyblogger on writing with clarity.
• A similar post by Khoi Vinh on brevity.
• 6 Podcast Checks To Keep Your Show On Track by Anna Farmery
• On marketing your blog by Valeria Maltoni
• Can you complete Lorelle’s latest blogging challenge?
• Darren Rowse knows where you can get cheaper blog logos - for now
• The Blogtrepeneur talks about planning for your blog
• Something many bloggers struggle with - jealousy - is discussed on Dosh Dosh

Khoi Vinh is a great web designer. From his website Subtraction, to his dog’s own site, to the work he does at NYTimes.com, I have a great deal of admiration for his skills as a designer and his unique style (even though I’m not a designer myself so my opinion doesn’t constitute an objective, professional one).

If you’re in the process of designing a theme for your blog, I suggest checking out his article, The Elements of My Style, especially if your blog is going to be very text-heavy. This is one of Khoi’s specialties.

I think Google’s site ranking system is broken.

In fact, I think they broke it a very long time ago.

The Internet is meant to be inclusive, to level the playing field a bit in a competitive world, and to give newcomers a chance. Of course it’s still possible to build a new site up to popularity, but the world’s biggest search engine isn’t helping matters.

Since Google’s search is the average internet user’s portal to almost all the information they access, breaking Google means breaking the Internet.

Problem: Google’s most important ranking measurement is inbound links.

This means that in order to ever be seen in a Google search result that doesn’t contain your name or your blog’s name, you have to be popular. You know how in the real world people complain that governments and corporations keep the rich, rich and the poor, poor?

It’s the same with the holy ruling class of the interwebs, Almighty Google, who will give you priority only if you’re already a popular blog. Keep the popular sites popular, and the unknown sites unknown.

I know that it’s an easy way to determine good quality sites versus spam sites, but it’s the easy way out that takes the magic out of what the world thought the Internet was when the hordes began to adopt it.

How do you win today? The two most important things I believe you can do are:

1. Create value. If you don’t offer value to readers, you’re not going to become valuable.
2. Forge relationships. Enter the discussion. Don’t segregate yourself or stand on the sidelines. Use the full potential of the Internet to reach out to other bloggers and form networks of good writers giving the gift of good content.

Relationships are the key to success in an Internet where search and indexing have been broken.

Flock 1.0 has been released at last. I blogged a review of the browser’s 0.9 version yesterday, and it turns out 1.0 was already out in the open - so unfortunately, I’ve begun this review of an otherwise excellent browser on a negative point: the automatic check for updates is not as effective as it should be.

In the process of using Flock in the last few days I’ve exited the software and re-opened it many times and not once did it let me know 1.0 was available. I checked my update settings, and they’re all on. It was only when I downloaded and installed Flock on another computer this morning that I noticed some changes!

Update: Evan Hamilton, Flock’s community rep, has informed me that the auto-update roll-out of Flock 1.0 has been deliberately delayed for a couple of weeks, so they can roll out in stages. Good strategy on Flock’s part.

The People Sidebar: True Social Network Integration

Regardless, 1.0 is a great experience. In my review of 0.9, I mentioned that Flock did not come with any integration of true social networks; it focused on blogging sites, photo sites and the like. Well, scrap all that - the social internet browser is now officially social!

As of this revision, Flock integrates Facebook and Twitter quite nicely, under the new “People” sidebar, where the RSS feed reader, account listings, and handy Web Clipboard reside. Twitter and Facebook are joined in the People sidebar by YouTube and Flickr, which have been integrated with Flock for some time but until now did not take advantage of the friends capabilities of these sites.

Facebook works great. You’re one click away from changing your status no matter where you are on the web, and it notifies you of new messages and requests. There are also quick access buttons that allow you to share the currently open web page with your friends and upload media. Media can be uploaded using Flock’s in-built media upload tool. Your friends’ status and avatars are shown in a list below the controls for your own profile.

There’s also a “My Media” button there, and clicking it opens the Media Browser. You can see my massive collection of one photo on Facebook in the Media Browser screenshot.

Twitter integration also works well. You can tweet from the sidebar and the last tweet from other users who you’re following shows up below your own controls. If you don’t have too many friends on Twitter, though, a lot of space is wasted here; maybe in the future Flock will be able to tell if there’s any wasted space and if so, fill it in with previous tweets from the same friends.

My World

Flock’s “My World” concept is fantastic. It shows a list of your favorite sites - most recently viewed favorites from del.icio.us and Magnolia - as well as the latest headlines in your RSS feeds and recent media in libraries you’re subscribed to on Flickr, Photobucket and YouTube. It includes easy access to search and all the social features of Flock; if you want to blog a photo or link you see on your My World page, you’re already a click away.

I know that doesn’t change anything in a browser where those features are pervasive, but it’s nice to see them there. News bloggers in particular will find it a useful hub to peruse the day’s relevant news items, find media and blog about them.

Default Search Engine - Yahoo! v. Google

Flock is automatically set to use Yahoo! search services, which is probably a matter of personal taste for the developers. I think that it’s well known that Google provides much more effective search solutions, but their popularity in the search department is beginning a decline - especially with the bloggers, and especially after they began penalizing those who wanted to make some honest money through paid text links. I wouldn’t have used Yahoo! but no matter; you can change the default search engine to whatever you want in Preferences.

Blog Poster

The Blog Post feature works really well. Bloggers with a discipline problem who don’t post as often as they should may find using Flock remedies this to some extent (though nothing beats self-motivation and discipline!). It lacks text alignment controls, but all you need to know is a little HTML and flick the Source button to remedy this.

It’s a matter of drag n’ drop to add images to your post, but Flock gives you no choice but to upload images to Flickr, Photobucket or Piczo. To become a popular choice amongst more bloggers it NEEDS to be able to upload images to your blog server, much like ecto does. And if ecto can do it, I’m sure it’s not hard to implement.

The Crash

As you can see, there are a few screenshots in this article. When I dragged the My World screenshot to the blog post window, it caused the whole post window to freeze up; nothing worked. The rest of the Flock browser continued to be operational. I poked around for a bit trying to find a way to unfreeze it, until giving up hoping beyond hope there was some kind of auto-save function.

When I logged in again, there was no indication that the post was recovered until I opened the Write Post function again. A dialog box then opened informing it had recovered the post and I wiped the sweat off of my forehead. Phew. The only change I’d make to this life-saving feature is to have it let you know on software start-up to save extraneous panicking!

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Flock didn’t really have any of the ugly, but here’s a recap:

The Good

• Great new social network integration with Facebook and Twitter
• My World - all your online activity, encapsulated at a glance
• Easy to use blog poster with drag n’ drop media
• Easy bookmarking of favorite sites

The Bad

• Facebook integration should depend less on simply opening new tabs within the Facebook site
• Twitter integration doesn’t utilize space effectively
• The choice of default search engine isn’t the best choice, in my own opinion
• Blog Poster absolutely must have the ability to upload files straight to your blog

The Bottom Line

Flock is an excellent browser for the Web 2.0 social-savvy user and for the casual blogger, and, to an extent, the problogger. Once Flock can handle uploading images straight to your blog, it’ll be a much better experience.

If you’re a blogger I suggest you head on over to Flock.com right now and download this browser; it’ll make your life easier, and your blog readers will be happier when their favorite blog receives a sudden and strange upgrade in posting frequency.

Blogged with Flock

Tags: flock, social networking, web browsers

Darren Rowse has a great post discussing the many Reasons to Have a Vanity Folder in Your News Aggregator. It’s important to keep track of the conversation, and just as important from a PR point of view, to keep track of public opinion on your writing - if other bloggers don’t like you, that’s going to taint the blogosphere’s readership, too. It’s also important to ensure that nobody is defaming you. If somebody is making defamatory imputations about you that destroy your reputation and could affect your chances of forging a career you need to know so you can take action (so long as what’s being said is untrue).

It’s always nice to reward someone who has linked back to several of your posts, too, and a vanity folder lets you keep track of your biggest fans. I’d only do this if the writing on the other end is high quality, but so long as it meets that criteria, it’s a great way to build relationships.

Defamation and rewarding others aside, I think the most important and useful utility a vanity folder has to your blogging efforts is as a measurement and evaluation tool. Are your efforts to promote and market a blog actually working? If so, how much? Since blogging is about the conversation, tracking the reach of your articles is absolutely essential. I still remember the line my old public relations lecturer used during the introductory lecture:

“Public relations efforts without measurement and evaluation are not public relations efforts.”

Why? Because without careful monitoring, you don’t know whether your plan is working or not, and whether to adjust a broken method or lock down a working method.

That, dear reader, is the best reason I can give you for starting a vanity folder.

Tags: problogger, darren rowse, vanity folder, public relations, measurement, evaluation, marketing, promotion

I’ve had Flock on my computer several times. I’ve configured it, used it for half an hour and then fallen back on the sheer habit of using Firefox. It’s a web browser, after all, and kickin’ a browser habit is particularly hard. It was Flock 0.7 (Cardinal) that I had on my computers, sitting there untouched. Now 0.9 is out and I’ve barely left the program since I downloaded and installed it two days ago. In fact, I’m writing to you from Flock right now.

Flock is billed as the social web browser and I think it delivers in a big way. It may not integrate with any of your social networks yet, but it does allow you to post blog entries from the browser as you surf, to add favorites to del.icio.us and other social bookmarking services with the click of a button built-in to the toolbar; even the “Mail this to a friend” feature common on many websites is actually a feature of the browser itself.

Your Flickr, Photobucket and YouTube accounts can also be accessed through Flock and the Media Bar allows you to easily drag photos and videos from your accounts straight into your blog posts. It’s nothing short of amazing.

Flock can also serve as an RSS feed reader, but I found that it wasn’t the best I’d ever used; it’s a bit basic and web-based for my liking. I like to read feeds pretty much the way I read email and NetNewsWire allows me to do that.

Perhaps my favorite feature of Flock is its most simple; the Web Clipboard. The Web Clipboard allows you to drag images and text from the web to a drawer that will hold them until you use them later. So simple, yet so useful.

There are two overarching categories of blog activity; writing and promotion. Flock will help you write more, which is the first step to having something to promote.

If you’re a blogger, Flock will dramatically increase your productivity. If you want to get your posts-per-day rate up, download it immediately; you’ll be posting incessantly as you surf! In a sentence: I don’t know how I lived without it!

Tags: flock, flock review