Blogging My Experience

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I've been thinking . . .

about a panel on blogging I saw.

About a month I was at a dinner at which a panel of experienced and well-known bloggers spoke. The audience was made up of mostly Internet marketing folks who do not blog.

Being there to see what was said and what was heard was an education in itself. When I left that night, I thought that disparity might be the most important “take away” that I had gained from the experience.

The experience. Note those two words.

The further I get from that night, the less I discuss the differences between what was said and what was heard and the more I repeat one comment made by a panel member it was Jory Des Jardins who said,

We blog about our experiences.

I agree. The best bloggers do that. They offer information that comes wrapped in the insight and wisdom they’ve gained from having “been there.”
We write about our experience of life, what we have learned, much like I am doing now. That’s how we help each other out.

That’s my “take away,” my insight, and my advice. Blog your experience.

Thanks Jory for your help on this one.

Liz's Signature

Truly Unique and Outstanding Blogs — Recap Week 7

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A Recap of the Facts

Finding Ideas Outside of the Box logo 2

On Monday, February 26, I started a quest to find 200 Unique Blogs. . . . I said that the blogs I am looking for

are one-of-a kind, stand-out, nothing-like-it, wow-will-you-look-at-that. only-one, wish-I-had-that-idea blogs. Every blog in the bunch will be outstanding in its own way.

Then I restated the definition:
A unique and outstanding blog is one so compelling and remarkable that it sticks with you — days later you still want to tell folks to experience it. A unique and outstaninding blog has an amazing impact on a reader. It is unforgettable to both the adult and the kid in you.

Did You Think I Dropped the Ball?

No way. Not on this one. I’ve been looking. Right now this makes somewhere near 75 of them. At 200, I’ll look them all over, take some out, and look some more. I am bound and determined.

A few more Outstanding Blogs

Here are 15 more possibilities. Do you have any you’d like to add to the next list?

  1. No more blank tapes

    2. http://nomoreblanktapes.wordpress.com/

  2. The In-sect

    3. http://www.in-sect.com/

  3. World Photo Blog

    4. http://www.worldphotoblog.com/

  4. equivocality

    5. http://www.equivocality.com/

  5. Momo Freaks Out

    6. http://www.momofreaksout.com/

  6. Taking Your Camera on the Road

    7. http://www.cameraontheroad.com/gallery_of_photography

  7. Wetpaint

    8. http://www.wetpaint.com/

  8. Listen To Your Kids

    9. http://www.listentoyourkids.net/

  9. We Feel Fine

    10. http://www.wefeelfine.org/

  10. Suggestica

    11. http://www.suggestica.com/

  11. Savage Chickens

    12. http://www.savagechickens.com/

  12. ping mag

    13. http://www.pingmag.jp/

  13. 25 peeps

    14. http://www.25peeps.com/

  14. found_drama

    15. http://blog.founddrama.net/

  15. BLOG ZICHTBARE ZAKEN

    16. http://zichtbarezaken.web-log.nl/zichtbarezaken/

I’ve only two things left to say:

I’ll be looking . . . are you still looking with me?

Have you seen any unique and outstanding blogs? . . .

UPDATE: I wondered at certain comments that were made about 25peeps when I put up this post. This morning it was linked in a post by In-Sect and I saw that it was updated with new pictures from my last look. What a mistake I made not realizing the direction in which this blog would inevitably go. The overall impact of the 25 photos has become increasingly more sexually graphic from where the blog began. To me that’s a sign the blog has lost it’s focus. I have removed it from the list of potential contenders.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related
Truly Unique and Outstanding Blogs — Recap Week 3
Truly Unique and Outstanding Blogs — Recap Week 1
How Many Truly Unique Blogs Can We Find?

That Which We Watch Grows

Filed Under Branding, Successful Blog | 21 Comments

More or Less?

Personal Branding logo

What is one positive value you are known for?

Have you looked at it lately?

We improve and grow in the places we look the most.

Why not make our strengths stronger?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Above the Fold: BRAINPRINT — bytecomics.com/blog/

Filed Under Branding, Successful Blog | 21 Comments

What Would a BRAINPRINT Look Like?

ABOVE THE FOLD

In a comment over at Performancing on March 6, Troy Shanahan said “I wouldn’t mind you having a skim over my blog… but it’s so badly laid out that I really don’t expect too much improvement.” It sure sounded like he thought his blog was a mess.

I thought to myself, here’s a guy who seemed like he felt in trouble, but I went and looked. His only problem was an over used template that he hadn’t made his own. It seemed to me that a few changes would make a big difference . . .

So I invited Troy to get tweaked Above the Fold. Here’s how the Above the Fold Tweak Process works.

  1. I make a “before” screenshot.
  2. We talk through some changes for readability.
  3. The blogger makes the changes.
  4. We talk while the tweaks are in process.
  5. I take an “after” screenshot and share the results in a post.

Tweaking BRAINPRINT

The blog:

URL: http://byetcomics.com/blog/
Blogger: Troy Shanahan

Before

Unfortunately I took this before shot of the About page on Troy’s blog. I hope you’ll be able to transfer what you see from this page to his new home page. I didn’t realize that until after we were well in the process. My mistake — sorry.

BRAINPRINT

Three Tweaks that We Agreed Upon

In this series, we concentrate only three important tweaks for each blog that is featured. On Troy’s blog, those three tweaks were these.

  1. We would put up the header he had designed.
  2. We’d adjust the template to work with the header.
  3. We’d decide on a color palette that worked.

Troy and I started with the header. What we did first was go to the byet comics site and look at what’s there. We looked at that header and back through some of the comics. Somehow we got on the idea of doing a collage around one character. Troy went off and did that.

When he came back with the header in place, all I could say was “Wow! What a difference!”

It took awhile to figure out how to get WordPress not to show the type for the name of his blog and the subhead. Finally Troy realized the answer was to use display: none; in the style sheet.

The next adjustment was choosing the color palette to match the header. Adjusting the “a link” to green. We used a color tool to get the right one. H2 sidebar heads went to the right shade of orange.

We made other changes. Can you see them?

For the results, turn the page now. Read more

Truly Unique and Outstanding Blogs — Recap Week 3

Filed Under Branding, Successful Blog | 24 Comments

A Recap of the Facts

Finding Ideas Outside of the Box logo 2

On Monday, February 26, I started a quest to find 200 Unique Blogs. . . . I said that the blogs I am looking for

are one-of-a kind, stand-out, nothing-like-it, wow-will-you-look-at-that. only-one, wish-I-had-that-idea blogs. Every blog in the bunch will be outstanding in its own way.

Then I restated the definition:
A unique and outstanding blog is one so compelling and remarkable that it sticks with you — days later you still want to tell folks to experience it. A unique and outstaninding blog has an amazing impact on a reader. It is unforgettable to both the adult and the kid in you.

Remember John Said This Would Be Interesting

John, a wise, money man and bartender at the sidebar, said that it would be interesting to watch.

I still think he was talking about the fun and intrigue observing blogger behavior cross paths with . . . um, er . . . me.

And well, so far it has been.

You see I’m starting to wonder whether our “one size fits all sitcom world” has made us immune to what “unique” really means. I looked it up to be sure I had it right. Merriam Webster and I agree.

  • 1 : being the only one : SOLE
  • 2 a : being without a like or equal : UNEQUALED
  • 3 : UNUSUAL

Maybe I have a special bond with this word that means peculiar. Could be.

A few more Outstanding Blogs

The first list was 15 in no particular order. Now here are a few more. This is taking a long time. That seems like it should be.

  1. Bobbarama

    2. http://www.bobbarama.com

  2. Hello My Name Is Blog

    3. http://www.hellomynameisscott.blogspot.com/

  3. Propellerhead

    4. http://www.propellerhead.tv/

  4. Oh, The Joys

    5. http://othejoys.blogspot.com/index.html

  5. Sand in the Gears

    6. http://www.tonywoodlief.com./

  6. Kim and Jason EscapeAdulthood

    7. http://www.kimandjason.com/blog/

  7. nakedpastor

    8. http://nakedpastor.com/

  8. Chief Happiness Officer

    9. http://positivesharing.com/

  9. KINEDA

    10. http://www.kineda.com/

  10. My Marrakesh

    11. http://moroccanmaryam.typepad.com/

  11. tdaxp

    12. http://www.tdaxp.com/

  12. the ageless project

    13. http://jenett.org/ageless/

  13. Tomorrow Could Be Boring

    14. http://nukapai.typepad.com/

  14. Onemanbandwidth: An American Professor in China

    15. http://onemanbandwidth.com/wordpress/

I’ve only two things left to say:

I’m still looking . . . are you still looking with me?

Not all unique and outstanding blogs come from North America . . .

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related
Truly Unique and Outstanding Blogs — Recap Week 1
How Many Truly Unique Blogs Can We Find?

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