Finding the "Write" Space in the Blogosphere

I’ve tried blogging plenty of times, but never quite got the hang of it. Heck! I never even bothered to “learn” how to blog. What I learned from both readings this week, is the proper procedures for blogging.  The last two pages of the New Media reading gave a simple outline for the best way to enter the world of blogging. Those steps were to “find blogs to follow”, “start connecting”, “start your own blog”, “post once a week”, and “promote your blog”. These five task are directly related to “The Four Uses of Blogs for Marketing and PR” that David Meerman Scott outlined in New Rules, which in short were to monitor what people are saying about you and/or the market you sell into, participate in those conversations, work with other bloggers in your in your industry, and influence conversations by producing your own blog. So, basically the synthesized message I received from each reading is that blogging is all about active listening and communication, which is a VERY important tool in marketing plans for your self brand and any company you may represent.

My favorite resources were 10 Ways to Find Blogs You’ll Love and Official Google Blog—Follow Your Favorite Blogs for helping me find example blogs to explore and give me ideas for my own. I liked the RSS subscription tutorial at the end of the New Media chapter because before this class I had NO IDEA what RSS was, let alone how to use it. I liked How to write for the Web: 23 Useful Tools because writing is most certainly not my strong point, so I certainly need tips if I’ll be producing content that millions of people will have access to. I also like the blog promotion article by Darren Rowse as well as the article from Mallory Woodrow because they both introduced me to the concept of “guest blogging” which I was completely unaware of. Lastly, another one of my favorites was the 6 Ways to Optimize Your Blog for Search Engines, because OF COURSE once I get a good start on my blog I want to be found!

Overall, I liked many of the sources and they are great primary resources for getting started. However, the most important way to break into the world of blogging and find your way is to implement these tools and actually start your own. So, with that being said, I am off to venture into the world of blogging, wish me luck!

MY BLOG!----> http://fyourlifestyle.wordpress.com/

Resources:

2-41(pg 75): http://mashable.com/2011/04/11/blog-discovery/

2-44(pg 76): http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/follow-your-favorite-blogs.html

Perfect Practice...3(pg 76) http://rss-tutorial.com/rss-how-to-subscribe-to-feeds.htm

2-9(pg59): http://econsultancy.com/us/blog/6771-how-to-write-for-the-web-23-useful-rules

2-15(pg 62): http://www.problogger.net/archives/2008/03/18/if-you-were-starting-out-in-blogging-from-scratch-how-would-you-promote-your-blog/

2-23(pg 65): http://netvantagemarketing.com/blog/blogger-outreach-how-to-get-links-build-relationships-and-not-get-murdered

2-20(pg 64): http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/6-ways-to-optimize-your-blog-for-search-engines/