January 24, 2005 – 7:59 pm
Here are some items related to webfeeds that have caught my interest lately… TOP OF THIS LIST: “E-mail v RSS, let us move on…” by Alex Barnett (Online Customer Experience Manager with Microsoft UK), May 22. Useful matrix, with links, which demonstrates why the now-perennial debate over whether e-mail publishing is dead should be laid to rest. Bottom line: E-mail and webfeeds are complementary. (Read the rest of this list…)
January 24, 2005 – 11:31 am
If you like to read weblogs, you should definitely take some time to explore Blogdigger. This search/resource site offers many interesting features related to finding and using webfeeds. One particularly cool feature I want to share with you is Blogdigger Groups. This tool allows you to combine the contents of two or more blogs — so the combined content is easily accessible in one place…
January 19, 2005 – 4:22 pm
This week I’ve been writing and speaking about the nascent field of professional blogging – that is, the practice of being a consulting blogger-for hire, or operating a weblog with a functioning revenue model that goes beyond Google Ads. This is a field that interests me greatly, and I’m working to making it a bigger part of my diverse career.
So I joined forces with a highly energetic and creative group of 20 like-minded entrepreneurial bloggers, and we’ve formed the Professional Bloggers Association (PBA). Today, I am pleased to announce that I was just elected to this group’s board! I’m in great company…
January 19, 2005 – 10:04 am
I remain an incorrigible word geek. Here are some items related to this theme that have caught my interest lately…
TOP OF THIS LIST: Stupid Attractors. The attractor is key concept of the mathematics of systems. Three types of attractors are generally defined: finite, periodic, and strange. I posit a fourth type – the stupid attractor. Rather than create a meaningful pattern, here the “solutions” that converge are random bits of cosmic jetsam and annoying dunces. Examples of stupid attractors include shopping malls just before Christmas, or the IMAX theater just outside of the Grand Canyon. However, in the grand design of the universe, stupid attractors serve the greater purpose of consolidating idiots in clearly identified clumps that can be avoided. (Read the rest of this list…)
January 18, 2005 – 1:08 pm
Here is another audio edition of CONTENTIOUS. In this show I discuss how organizations (companies, nonprofits, institutions, agencies, etc.) can communicate more effectively and credibly in the age of online media. The secret is abandoning the common belief that your organization should speak with a single, monolithic voice. Nobody believes that. Organizations are made up of people. If your organization wishes to participate in the public conversation, start communicating like human beings. You can give the people within your organization a public voice (inside and outside your organization) through a weblog or podcast. This enhances your credibility, connections, and reach. In addition, applying journalistic practices to your communications (especially in a weblog or podcast) can further strengthen credibility. (Listen to the show, and read the show notes…)
January 17, 2005 – 10:46 pm
Yep, I have a bunch more items on the topic of blogging professionally that I’d like to share with you. (Here’s the first part of this grab bag.) TOP OF THIS LIST: “Internal Blogging More In Focus - Blog Consultants Beware,” Corporate Blogging Blog, Jan. 10. Fredrik Wackå wrote, “If we compare to web communication in general an intranet is for many companies more effective in terms of ROI than an external site. Blogs will, I believe, be another example of this - and that should worry blog consultants… It’s one thing to for example build a personal brand with blogging for an individual. It’s an entirely different thing to try to change corporate culture, working methods and so on with blogging as one of many tools. Where a good writer and decent businessman can build a blog consultancy to do the first, it takes strategic organizational and communicative competence to do the other.” I respectfully disagree with Wackå on this one… (Read the rest of this list…)
January 16, 2005 – 7:37 pm
Here’s a cool service. If you want to sample a bunch of different podcasts but prefer not to download the files, check out Podcasts 24/7. This site offers continuous streaming audio that allows listeners to sample a wide range of podcast shows. It’s a pretty good introduction from the listener’s perspective…
January 16, 2005 – 2:05 pm
An emerging field that should interest writers and editors is professional blogging – that is, creating and writing blogs for organizations, as an editorial service. Or, that can mean finding a viable revenue stream for a weblog, such as advertising or sponsorship. All kinds of organizations (from independent consultants to major corporations and nonprofits) are realizing the value of blogging. Lately I’ve found many interesting items about this field… TOP OF THIS LIST: The saga of Jeremy C. Wright, author of the popular weblog Ensight. This enterprising blogger made a splash in late 2004 by auctioning off 3 months of his blogging services on eBay. The winning bid was $3,350. Anyway, Wright immediately founded the blog consultancy Inside Blogging with blogger Darren Barefoot. Wright gave notice at his full-time job. In early January, he was stunned when he was summarily fired for blogging. (Read the rest of this list…)
January 15, 2005 – 3:05 pm
In case you missed it, I was quoted in a Jan. 11 dot Journalism article by Jemima Kiss, “CBS sacks four after blogs trigger Rathergate.” This story explored whether the firing of those executives was actually a constructive response to the journalistic fiasco. Kiss did a great job with this article, it’s well worth reading. Of course, I had much more to say in response to her questions than she would ever have room or inclination to publish. That’s OK. She’s a good editor. In case you’re interested, here are my complete remarks on the topic…
January 14, 2005 – 1:10 pm
A couple of days ago, when I was up at my rustic mountain getaway, I published a short “soundseeing” audio show describing my cabin and the nearby town of Ward, CO. As promised, my husband Tom brought up his digital camera yesterday when he came to pick me up at the cabin. I’ve created a FlickR page for those photos. BUT BEFORE YOU VIEW THOSE PHOTOS, read this…
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