Successful Blog

One Question, One Answer

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You Might Recall

Tully said on the phone last night that people do things and then sort of hold their breath waiting to see whether Liz would let this one go through . . . Oh no!!! I did it again!

You might recall that last week, it was Tuesday. Tully posted a meme that was astoundingly clever and stunningly well-thought. He had found a way to get bloggers to ask relevant questions in such a way that the question would be answered by a blogger who knew the answer, and the answer would be written on a blog where such an answer belonged. That’s no small feat if you think about it.

Without planning, some guy might ask a question, the blogger who answers would write the answer on his or her blog. How likely is it that the blog will be about the same topic as the question? Not very likely considering how much bloggers like to help.

Ah, but Tully figured how, in the construction of his meme to avoid questions being asked of a blogger who had a blog where an answer didn’t belong. Voila!

I only had one problem. I needed the directions called out. So I sent a question back to Tully in answer to his question. I know, you’re not supposed to answer a question with a question. Sorry. It was called the One Question, One Question blog. Tully answered with the One Question, One Answer – How To

And now that I know how to . . .

I move the One Question, One Answer meme further along.

My Question, My Answer

The question that Tully passed me is a good question, I think. You’ll understand why I say “I think,” and not “I know” when you read my answer, well sort of.

Tully’s question:

Liz, as a full-time/professional blogger, a great deal of your day is spent reading other blogs (direct or via RSS feed), commenting, and blogging – you no doubt have a system that you have been developing for some time now that works well for you.

What ADVICE would you give to relatively new bloggers who are feeling swamped yet only have limited time to read, comment, and blog?

My answer:

Wow! There’s a hidden assumption in that question. It’s that the bulk of my day is spent reading other blogs. I don’t know for sure that I can say that is true, It’s certainly not true every day. Some days the bulk of my day is spent talking to bloggers via voice. Hmmmmm.

Where do we get this notion that we have to read every good blog? I can’t read every great book ever written. I can’t listen to every wonderful piece of music ever composed. I can’t watch every play, see every sunrise, enjoy every movie, attend every concert, taste every wonderful wine, or meet every person I might want to meet before my time is up. I’m only one person and to try to do more than one person can do is silly at best and leaning toward downright disastrous if I tried.

Writing is my work. I build my day around that. I pick the times during the day that I write most effectively and that’s when I write. I keep a list of a limited number of bloggers that I find inspire me. I read them in between the articles that I write. On Thursdays and Fridays, I read all of the posts of the week from many bloggers — it’s more efficient than switching from blog to blog every day. I often read late at night when all of the bloggers have long since gone to sleep.

I only comment when an important thought comes to me or when I have something I want to communicate. Sometimes what I might have commented turns into a post that I link back.

There you go, Tully. Not the answer that you’d expect, but then you expected that by now, I suppose. 🙂

My turn to pass on a question and the How to rules to the next blogger.

Roger von Oech You are Tagged

Here’s what you do.
Read Tully’s how to rules for the One Question, One Answer Meme and then if they work for you link to them when you answer this question for me.

How do you feel when you are in a place where you cannot be creative? What do you do to keep your spirit going at times like that?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related
One Question, One Question, 1/2 Meme . . . Overly Started, But Not Begun

Thomas R. Clifford Is B.A.D. Blogger!

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Blogger A Day Call: Hello is Tom there?

BAD Blogger Button

When I suggested to Director Tom that he be a B.A.D. Blogger, he was, as he is, the curious person who makes stories on film. He wondered about what we would do, and say. He suggested “Saturday morning with a cup of coffee sound.” 🙂

I thought here’s a guy who was going to be a perfect conversation partner for me — worth looking forward to the way children look foward to Saturday morning cartoons.

I tried to set his mind to ease a bit with “We’ll just talk like regular people. 🙂
It’s a phone call. I bet we’ll get it right. Probably have a whole lot more fun than Dinner with Andre.”

Tom set the tone for the call when he replied to my email with, “Regular people? Fooey! Aw, c’mon.” 🙂

What could I possibly answer to that, but “Okay then, like us.” 🙂 . . . ? And looking back I have to say that’s exactly who we were.

Tom answered the phone and immediately we were talking, and laughing. Laughter comes easily to both of us. We spent most of our time working on changing things on Tom’s blog, while we did so we talked about blogs and what he did. Boy that was fun!

Tom talked about his awards and his films, but I liked most the part when he talked about how he started blogging. He said that he went online looking for someone, anyone,who explained how to do what he does. “Everyone has a website,” Tom said. “I don’t want to attract other filmmakers. I want to tell folks who want to tell stories on film how to do that.”

Tom explained to me that there were three important questions I needed to answer to tell a good story on film — I should know

  • What do you want to say?
  • Who’s going to say it?
  • What pictures compliment the story?

Tom said that’s how to tell a smart story in a smart way.

Go read his blog I think he does great job of it and every time he leaves me wanting to say, “Hey Tom, would you do it again?”

B.A.D. Blogger Quote

I love all sorts of ideas and philosophies. . . . I need to play around in the sand boxes. . . . I have to at least look, with blogging, I wanted to participate. — Thomas R. Clifford

Stop by Tom’s Blog, Director Tom Blog, and say hi!

Thanks, Tom you B.A.D. Blogger!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Want to be a B.A.D. Blogger see the. . . a B.A.D. Blogger? page in the sidebar

SOB Business Cafe 03-23-07

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SB Cafe

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking–articles on the business of blogging written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

Strategic Name Development talks about branding your band.

Logic + Emotion has Armano v. von Oech.

Wendy Piersall at Problogger has a way to gain leverage from an A-Lister.

Ask Dr. Kirk gives some pointers on how to present information during a presentation.

Blogging Pro’s new design is available.

Related ala carte selections include

The Instigator Blog has decided to take on Copyblogger at writing the most contagious headline ever!

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like. No tips required. Comments appreciated.

Have a great weekend!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Spring on My Bike

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I've been thinking . . .

I wasn’t much of an outdoors kid, really. I lived in my head. My imagination was plenty. I could find worlds there that kept me busy for days. I could find castles and dragons, and knights and ladies — except on the first days of spring, then I was torn away.

On the first days of spring, I was on my bike seeing how the neighborhood had changed.

There was something about moving from the blacktop of Main Street to the bricks of Congress Street over by Washington School where the kids were playing again. There was something about feeling the change in vibrations through seat of my bike as I made my way there.

I’d stop by the swingset. I’d give it a try one more time. Nothing like a swingset to make a kid feel like she could fly. Then back it would be to my bike to see where the neighbors had been all winter and what they’d been doing.

There’s something about that first real weekend of spring that makes the whole world feel new again.

On the first day of spring, I didn’t even mind homework. . . .

I’m not the type to ride a bike in the city, but I sure am the type to enjoy a spring day — or even a day that reminds me that spring is coming.

This morning, I look out the window and see a blue, blue lake. The harbor is blue and so is the lake beyond it. Any minute now the sailboats will be returning.

I’ll be having that spring bike-riding feeling all weekend, because I can’t help but enjoy being alive when I’m thinking that way.

Liz's Signature

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

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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…]

Change the World: Just Show Up . . . BE There

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Meet Me for Lunch Tomorrow?

Change the World!

When I went to the UK for the very first time, it was on a business trip. It was escorted from publisher to publisher by a dear friend I’d known for 9 years a that time. He was a buttoned up Brit. I was an American with too much personality. He was my credibility with the rest of the British citizens and publishers I was meeting along the way.

I was such an interesting experience to spend this time with a friend of so many years and so much time spent talking on this side of the water. I knew him well. We had many times over cognac figured out how to solve all of the problems of publishing and the greater world. We knew each other’s foibles, idiosyncracies, and downsides, and still loved each other.

He knew how self-conscious I was about folks who pick up me at the airport. I knew that no one ever saw him in a shirt without buttons up the front.

Still it was revealing to see him in his natural habitat.

On the day before I left the UK, he dropped me at my hotel and said, “Shall we have a leisurely lunch before I take you to Heathrow tomorrow?”

I said, “It depends on who comes to the door.”

A slightly sad, shy smile crossed his eyes, not his mouth. He’d said from the day we met he loved the American sense of irony. That was his way of saying he liked the way I told him the truth.

“And what would the lady prefer?” was his answer.

“I’d like YOU to SHOW UP — all of you. Not that guy in the tie I’ve been with all week. If HE comes, I’m closing the door, eating lunch alone, and taking a taxi to Heathrow. That guy is boring.”

He said, “I understand.”

The next day, a man with a grin showed up. He was live, wearing a sweater over his buttoned up shirt. We had lunch at a bistro that served the most wonderful fruit brûlée. I can’t tell you what we talked about. I don’t remember, but I remember we laughed a lot.

He was there. It was real. It was what friendship is about.

He showed up and he has ever since.

I can’t tell you how my world has been better because of it.

It really means something when you know someone will be there.

We can change the world — just like that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
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If you’re ready to change the world, send me your thoughts in a guest post. Feel free to take the gorgeous Change the World image up there that Sandy designed back to your blog. Or help yourself to this one.

Change the World!.

Email me about what you’re doing or what we might do. Let’s change the world one bit at a time together. Together it can’t take forever.