PureBlogging

It is not my intention to just link to my own articles on WebProNews everyday on this blog. It just so happens that I’ve been covering stuff that seems relevant here, so if the shoe fits…

Those of you out there who blog about current news topics might be interested to know that Yahoo! News has a redesign in the works that will feature a section where blogs covering news items can get some links.

To see the new design, you can go to any Yahoo! News article page and alter the URL slightly, replacing the “S” with “Story” in the following manner:

news.yahoo.com/s/…

news.yahoo.com/story/…

I have not heard anything about when Yahoo! intends to roll this new design out, but once they do, it should be a good way for bloggers to pick up some good promotion. Yahoo! News is pretty popular, so it should drive a good amount of traffic to the blogs it features.

For more on the topic, read my WebProNews piece.

I promise this blog won’t consist entirely of retreads of my own work as time goes on, but I don’t know how many of you are WebProNews readers anyway, and there’s some crossover in topics of interest.

Links are often used in blogging to provide reference to a point or a hat tip, which is why one of the latest things Google is up to could provide an excellent resource for bloggers. Google is archiving print newspapers, and not just new ones. They’re going back in history.

Not only will this provide great linking material for more interesting blog posts, it could open up a plethora of resources to draw inspiration from in the first place.

We all know that writer’s block is a problem that commonly plagues bloggers, particularly those trying to earn some income from their efforts. The need for interesting content is a constant one, and thanks to Google the Search Giant, the inspiration is going to flow more rapidly than ever, I don’t care what niche you’re in.

If Google truly gets anywhere close to the number of newspaper publications even in America, let alone the entire world, into its archives, there are going to be so many interesting subjects out there worth (at least to somebody) discussing. There’s going to be a lot of information for all audiences.

All of the small town news items that never quite make it to national news, “from revolutions and politics to fashion to local weather or high school football scores,” as Google itself says. They’re even including all of the photographs, headlines, articles, and advertisements from these publications. There’s got to be plenty of fuel for advertising and photography blogs alone right there.

What I’m really getting at, is that there is a ton of information on the Internet waiting to be blogged about, but Google is bringing a great deal of the offline information online too, and that is a whole lot of information, stories, and history. Google even has North America’s oldest newspaper as a partner. It’s publication dates back 244 years!

I think you see my point. From now on, if you are suffering from blog writer’s block, you’re not looking for a topic hard enough. For more on Google’s latest project, I wrote this piece for WebProNews.

Lately there seems to be a lot of efforts being made to make blogging even more social than it already is. I have written several times on sites like WebProNews and SmallBusinessNewz about some of the things different platforms like Movable Type, WordPress, and Blogger are doing to make their services more social, and why blogs are really kind of like social networks anyway.

Rather than rewrite these articles here, I will just provide you with a few links. I don’t intend for posts on this blog to just be collections of links in the future, but since I am new to the blog, maybe it will give you a little taste of where I’m coming from.

- The Social Part of Blogging

- Google’s New Blogger Features

- Movable Type: Blogs Not Social Enough

- Facebook Connect Plugin for Wordpress Glimpsed

Anyhow, I just thought the topic of blogs as social tools seemed like a good topic for me to start with here, so I thought I’d throw these at you.

As far as this blog itself, you can start expecting at least one new post usually about 5 days a week. So those who don’t subscribe to the feed, please come back frequently!

You’ve probably noticed a lack of posting here recently. This is because the blog has changed hands. It has been purchased by iEntry Network, and posting will resume on a more frequent basis from here on out.

We will keep in the general theme of blogging and post about blogging trends, tips, and other blog-related topics. With that said, please continue reading, subscribe to our RSS feeds, and continue to enjoy articles about the blogging world.

Thanks,

Chris C.

Happy beginning-of-the-week, everyone. As promised, I saw The Dark Knight over the weekend and, unsurprisingly, nearly pooped my pants with glee. A little plot-heavy, a little crazy at times… but good gravy, what a Joker. And that Aaron Eckhart was pretty damned unbelievable as Two-Face as well. I still haven’t seen Mamma Mia (nor have I heard good things about it, sadly), but that’s why the good lord made weekday matinees. I’m pretty sure they got made on the fourth day, somewhere between naked mole rats and Tejano music.

So, let’s see what’s going on in the world this week…

(opens newspaper, shakes creases out)

Freelance Writing Gigs asks: Is a Blogger a Writer? My answer: Sure! Every blogger is a writer! Not every blogger is a good writer, mind you…

Two good Twitter-related posts over at friend-of-the-site Crenk: Steven Finch points out ten great tools for using Twitter, and Luis Sandoval offers the top ten Twitter add-ons for Firefox. I’m about the world’s worst Twitter user; I tweet about once per week. Or I won’t tweet for five days, then make between six and eight updates in two hours. Then I’ll neglect it all over again. You know where I belong? 1850, that’s where.

Speaking of Luis Sandoval, he’s got a great post that asks one of the purest and most important questions every writer should ask his- or herself: Are you writing intentionally?

The folks over at SEOmoz are in the midst of a great discussion: What part of the SEO process is hardest for you? For me, it’s pretending I know what I’m talking about. Kidding, kidding. Or… am I?

At the Writer’s Bag, there’s a brand-new post about semicolons which does two things: Settles a discussion I had with commenter PS3 after my comma post, and makes completely obsolete the post I had planned on semicolons.

Cracked offers up its holiest of holies in two articles: The Top Seven Secrets for Writing a Cracked.com Top Seven List, and Seven Cheats for Hitting the Front Page of Digg. My prediction is that they won’t work for you. But then, I’m a depressive, pessimistic bastard who likes seeing other people fail, so I may not be the best source of advice. Again, I’m kidding. We all know by now how awesome I am.

Now: Stop reading websites and start writing something that excites you.

So, you’ve all heard about Starbucks, right? They’re closing down something like 600 stores in an effort to get everyone to stop making jokes about how there are Starbucks cropping up all over the damn place. Also, they’re apparently hemorrhaging money like crazy.

But I know the answer, and it’s so simple that I’m going to offer it to Starbucks right here, at no cost.

The answer is vocabulary.

And bloggers can learn a lot from Starbucks’ mistake.

Let me explain.

This morning, after some pointless shopping at my local Target, I stopped at Starbucks for the one drink I enjoy there: A green tea frappucino. I know that’s what it’s called because it’s not on the menu, and someone served it to me by accident once. Since then it’s taken me about five visits to get the name right, because Starbucks refuses to treat me like an adult. continue reading this entry »