Blogging 101

Words are nice, but pictures can say thousands of words. Adding complementary graphics and photos to your blogs really can make a difference in presentation and reader enjoyment. At the same time, you want to make sure you don’t use copyrighted material on your blog. That’s why I’m always on the lookout for free resources to use for my blog. Media which is in the U.S. “Public Domain” is free from copyright and available to use. My favorite place to find Public Domain material is Wikipedia. When you see an image on Wikipedia, click on it and your get sent to that image’s own page. The page will tell you the permission-use of the image which can range anywhere from Copyrighted (Do not use) to Public Domain (Free!). Other stops in between are Copyright/Fair Use, Copyleft, GNU License, and various forms where the author permits use but the work must be credited a certain way. Go for the easiest one — Public Domain. Instead of randomly finding images in the Public Domain, look for works created by the U.S. Government. Since these images, and the government which created them, are paid by U.S. taxpayer money, they are owned by the public, i.e. not owned by any single person. You can use them, sell them, change them — all to your hearts delight. Other works which are Public Domain are very old pieces (e.g. 200 years old) where the original copyright has expired and is now Public Domain. Age requirements vary by country and type of work, but usually Wikipedia is very good at documenting these requirements and displaying the correct status. Keep in mind, Wikipedia can get things wrong from time to time, but as long as you stick with U.S. Government works, they are most certainly in the Public Domain!

Popularity: 96% [?]

Making friends in the blogosphere is a simple as communicating. As I’ve said before commenting on blogs is half the fun of blogging. The multi-party dialog from commenting on blogs is what it is really all about. If you want to make friends with a blogger, just start being a regular visitor to their site and leave constructive comments with your name. Pretty soon the blogger will recognize your name and maybe even start visiting your blog. I have met dozens of really interesting people like this whom I now consider true friends. When I need help or they need help, we can ask each other for assistance without any barriers. I’ve even met some other bloggers in person at blogging events held in “real life”.

Popularity: 87% [?]

Your spam-catcher will help cut down on junk comments but that doesn’t mean you should let the other comments get posted without review. The action of review is called moderation. This means you approve or deny each comment from being published. Good bloggers publish a comment policy on their blog (e.g. at the end of each post, or in the sidebar) which outlines which types of comments will be welcomed. Common things to avoid when approving comments are 1) People signing “key words” instead of their name 2) Non applicable links being added 3) Offensive or Hateful comments directed at you or other commentators. These sort of comments should not be allowed to pass through.

Popularity: 99% [?]

Comments to your blog posts are what makes your blog a blog and different than just a static web page. Comments from readers help create the conversation and allow immediate and direct feedback to your thoughts. Allowing comments on your blog should be a no-brainer but you need to becareful about spam comments. If you are using WordPress as your blogging platform, you can install a plug-in to help stop spam comments automatically or at least help you monitor them efficiently. AKISMET is a plug-in which comes with WordPress — you just need to activate it and you will start seeing less junky comments.

Popularity: 90% [?]

What is a Splog? Well it’s a combination of the words SPAM and BLOG (Funny since Blog is a combination of the words WEB and LOG). Splogs are bad news for the blogosphere and the Internet as a whole. Splogs come in several varieties. First are the non-sensicle splogs. Their content does not make any literal sense and usualyl just comprises of keywords and links. The purpose of these splogs are to generate inbound links to other sites. The second type of splogs are the content-stealers. They steal content from legitimate  blogs and post it as their own. Some pretend to be nice and credit the original source, but its still stealing. The purpose of these blogs can be similar to the first but also usually have heavy advertising to generate page view revenue. If you are the victim of a splog (stealing your content), report them to Google.

Popularity: 58% [?]

Coming up with your own personal style and content is a key to successful blogging. One such way to create value is to have a reoccuring theme to your posts. For example, if you love to write about movies, you could have a “Movie of the Week” theme, posting once a week on a given day like Monday. Call it “Movie of the Week Monday” (MOTWM) and design a small logo using MS Paint. Take it to the next level by adding a permanent link in your sidebar using the logo as the image. Hyperlink the image to a tag search of your blog (tag=Movie of the Week), so your readers can instantly filter and display all your MOTWM posts with a click! This sort of idea can be adapted to countless themes and subjects and can go a long way in creating a strong readership and your own distinctive content.

Popularity: 59% [?]

To Blogger or not to Blogger, that is the question that new bloggers need to ask. What this means is whether you should use a free blogging host or pay to have your own hosting. For people new to blogging, I would recommend using a free host service like Blogger.com or Wordpress.com. This is a great way to “try before you buy”. No sense investing any money in it if there is a chance you will not like it or continue. But if you have blogged before or know you want to do it, then a free host limits your blogging ability. You are limited not only in how much control you have over your blog (widgets, style, layout) but also in the content you are able to include! The Terms of Service of free blogging host services limits or censors what you can and can’t write about. It also can limit your ability to place advertisements on your blog, if you decide you want to. Bottom line: If you are totally new and are not sure blogging is for you, try a free blog out first. Otherwise, get your own hosting!

Popularity: 35% [?]