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Blogging the beginning and the future

Ever wondered how blogging started and when?  Blogging now mainstream, was still not considered the best way to communicate just five short years ago. I like to see it as a collision resulting in a new star, when the traditional publishing star was falling and the internet star was rising.

“Several broadly popular American blogs emerged in 2001: Andrew Sullivan’s AndrewSullivan.com, Ron Gunzburger’s Politics1.com, Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire, Glenn Reynolds’ Instapundit, Charles Johnson’s Little Green Footballs, and Jerome Armstrong’s MyDD — all blogging primarily on politics (two earlier popular American political blogs were Bob Somerby’s Daily Howler launched in 1998 and Mickey Kaus’ Kausfiles launched in 1999).”  Wiki The history of blogging

Now with social media  sites like twitter you can find blogs, swap links, and as a blogger, list at http://justtweetit.com/

Promoting your blog on twitter  and other social media  sites is an essential.

So as a reader of blogs rather than an expert (I have about thirty in my reader, which I visit regularly and others that I stumble upon whilst on twitter or just searching), I humbly offer this advice to fellow bloggers.

Bloggers golden rules.

Make your posts shorter. We live in the info age. Info is streaming at us so fast and from every possible quarter, that rambling on for pages will loose me, and many other readers I suppose. Bite size rather than the whole roast beef.

Keep it short and sweet, provide links if you want your reader to get more, let them choose. There are blog posts that are captivating enough to hold me for pages if I’m on the mood, but not often.

If your comments start a thread that goes on and on and on consider stopping re-posting and starting over.

Comment on other’s blogs if you want to get the same attention.

There are people who categorically refuse to post comments based on the fact that people meaninglessly repeat what has gone before and rarely read the string, but I’m not one of them.

Let your readers know what the blog is about in the title or within the first few centimeters. Purpose!

Don’t steal content, but credit and link.

Donna Jackson

Social Communications Specialist

Wisequeen

Social media - Is e mail dead or dying?

O.K. we seem to be on a roll here, so who am I to stop it? First I wrote on social lending, social etiquette, and twitter social media, now let’s introduce Dopplr yet another way to keep in touch for frequent travelers with cool applications for bloggers and anyone who just wants to keep track.

I was skeptical when Facebook mania first took hold. Did I really want to know what everyone had for breakfast. Well, not everyone… but those special somebodies, yes!

I also wanted to know what my colleagues and peers were up to. So, facebook, linked n, twitter, plurk, and before you knew it a whole quiver full of unpronounceable names where in there.

Then I blogged live at a tech start-ups in Zurich and discovered Sandbox, Doodle, Wua la, Poken, Yes.com and so many other ways to keep up and transport your contacts wherever you need them. I will in the next few posts, give you the features of each of these.

But what does the corporate world think of this?  Here’s HP in action The big boys like IBM who need communication to flow between thousands of staff members on different continents. Is e mailing dead or dying? Do they use social media?

Somesso The corporate social media conference seeks to answer this question, kicking off in Zurich on 31st October and with dates in London and Barcelona to follow. They hope to captivate the attention of corporate communications experts in this niche market and plan to ignite passion where others have failed in more generic Web2.0 conferences.

Their website lists an impressive array of speakers. CEO’s and top managers are being encouraged to adopt social media as the medium of choice in communicating internally with their teams.

For those who would like to attend, tickets are available on the website up to the day and for those who can’t, pod casts and tweets will have to suffice.

Have something to say? send a comment.

Yours tweetly

Wisequeen

Donna Jackson

Social Communications Specialist

Twitter tips for twits

Most of us have heard of, or use twitter right? Wrong! most don’t, or at least not effectively. This social media, micro-blogging site, where you can send quick messages, links, and info to those who follow your updates, can be a lifeline to networking and building an internet presence.

I joined recently, and as a follow on to my post on social etiquette golden rules Here are some tips that I have to offer so far, as a relative newcomer.

Say who you are by including your name. Calling yourself sprogit may work as an enigmatic tease on a dating site, but this isn’t it.

Log in each day, respond to those who have started following you, if you agree. Spend half an hour twice a day and then get off. You have a life don’t you?

Don’t just give impersonal updates, have short conversations with those who post on your subject or area.

Contribute something useful to the social space.

Don’t spam other twitterers with a hard sell, this is not a place to sell your product it’s a place to socialise.

Don’t spend all day talking about your children and the chocolate cake they have smushed all over their faces. For you cute yes, for everyone else - not as cute.

Be a mentor to someone and receive mentoring from someone in your area of interest, that’s powerful.

Don’t blather on with political messages 24 /7, angry and bitter is what you become. Politicians have campaign managers for that, save your energy to make your business better.

Here’s a post on the types of social media users

Be a happy twit!

Have something to say ? send us a comment.

Wisequeen

Donna Jackson

Social communications specialist