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“Blogging is like a marathon that doesn’t stop. Ever.” Elise Bauer
So, how do I process the mountain of information that was BlogHer 08 ? By figuring what I recall without having to dig too deep into my notes. I did a similar conference round-up last year and found it a great way to organize what I had learned in the three information-packed days at BlogHer 08.
I am glad BlogHer continues to have panels for beginners. Some of us were putting our lessons to use even as our expert panelists spoke.
Here are some big lessons that stuck with me. Some of these tips seem basic but I found them super useful.
Please do add to the list or modify it if you figure I got something wrong:
* TEST: Have a test blog to mess around with. If your fingers are itching to tinker with that HTML, might as well contain the disaster to blog you don't care about.
* LINK, PERMALINK: Linking to other blogs --- besides making the content more wholesome --- will increase the chances of the favor being returned. When linking to a post, use the permalink option, so you’ll be linking to the specific post and not just to the blog.
When linking to posts on your own blog, you may want to use words you that indicate what the post is about rather than just say “here”. Otherwise, a search engine will read the word “here” and not the related subject it is looking for.
For similar reason, when linking to other blogs, use the blog’s/site's name and not just the blogger’s.
* BLOGGING ETIQUETTE: Follow the age-old golden rule: How do you want others to treat you?
a) Thoughtful comments: Yes, commenting on other blogs keeps the network going. But leave short, meaningful comments that don’t come across as only an attempt to promote your own blog. [Coincidentally, Nita, one of my favorite bloghers, just posted at A Wide Angle View of India about why she bothers to comment, or not.]
b) Link love: If you found a blog post you want to link to via another post, it’s nice to say how you got there.
c) Attribution: Always credit the source, especially for photographs and artwork.
Never use a kid’s photo from anywhere without permission from the adult concerned.
Get used to your stuff getting stolen, copyrighted or not.
For your own photograph, say something about the subject in the “alt=” and “title=” options in the HTML code. A Google crawler will pick it up if it is searching for a related subject.
* SAVE YOUR WORK: Back up your posts. If you fall victim to a technical snag, or loose your work when trying to move to a new blogging platform, that’s spilled milk you’ll be crying over.
*ATTEMPT TO WRITE WELL: It's a lot like writing a good news story. A lot of what we learn in Journalism 101, applies here.
a) A blogger raised an issue that I’ve often wondered about: as a writer, you could take up to a week to think through a post or idea. Should you be posting a lot just for the heck of posting a lot? That may not be a good idea. Frequency helps, but poor posts don’t. Good posts attract loyal readers. Blog frequently, but not at the cost of quality.
b) Don’t make reading a chore. If you are bored with what you’ve written, everyone else will be.
c) Keep posts short (I've already broken that rule here, no? But I'm still a student!)
*SOCIAL BOOKMARKING: First, avoid too much clutter on your blog.
Second, a service, say like Digg, sounds delicious, but may be dicey: a low digg on your post is a disservice. Use fewer services but understand them well.
*KEYWORDS: If you are uploading a video to, say YouTube, and you find a good related video there, use all the keywords used for that video in the same order and then add your own. Your video is likely to show up next to the popular one.
* LOOKING GOOD & TRAFFIC: You have very little time to wow your readers and entice then to keep coming back. So:
a) Your posts need to be either Useful, Entertaining or Timely
c) The Internet is a visual medium, use photographs. A digital SLR will greatly enhance picture quality. Image size should ideally be under 50K
d) Add polls, contests, Top 10 lists. Contribute to and conduct blogging events.
e) Avoid colored background for text. Makes it hard
