Successful Blog

The Mic Is On: We’re List Crazy!

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It’s Like Open Mic Only Different

Here’s how it works.

open mike night

It’s like any rambling conversation. Don’t try to read it all. Jump in whenever you get here. Just go to the end and start talking. EVERYONE is WELCOME
The rules are simple — be nice.

There are always first timers and new things to talk about. It’s sort of half “Cheers” part “Friends” and part video game. You don’t know how much fun it is until you try it.

Tonight we’re gathering lists!

We might also talk about

  • Holiday Lists, End of Year Lists — too many to name
  • Best of Lists, Top Ten Lists, Greatest/Worst Lists
  • Lists we wish we could give away
  • Wishlists and Dreams

AND THE EVER POPULAR,
Basil the code-writing donkey, and Milton the Moose.

2oo6

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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The Mic Is On: Will I Be Successful? Tell My Fortune!

Rodney Rumford Is a B.A.D. Blogger!

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Blogger A Day Call: Hello is Rodney there?

If you go poking around MojoPages, you’ll find a page called “About the Team.” On that page, you’ll find a picture of Rodney Rumford. It says his title is “Visionary Geek.” Look closely at that picture. It’s a revealing one, to be sure. The smile on his face is a give away. This man is having the time of his life. He’s the proverbial kid in the candy store.

“I love blogging!” Rodney told me. He wasn’t just talking about typing into a dashboard. He was talking about every bit of technology that could be possibly, minutely, in any way be related, contemplated, configured or construed to be blogging or a cousin to it.

“I love blogging!” Rodney said as we talked about his personal “blog” podblaze which is really podcasting and videoblogging. He asked me whether I was Mac or PC .Then he was off to the races, telling me exactly what I should be downloading — in which order and how to use what for podcasting and video. I hardly had to ask and I knew the quality that each would produce for me. We both agreed that podcasting was where I was probably going to end up next. We talked about Liz on Blog Radio.

Rodney and I talked about content theft and spam blogs and the weird attraction such tawdry activities hold for the sort who do it. I could almost hear him shaking his head as he told his story of the run in he’s had in the past. I told him my own story and we decided that folks like that must get some charge that we don’t understand.

Soon enough we left that topic behind and were talking again about things that could be built and cool things that would be coming in the future.

“I love blogging!” Rodney mentioned as it came up that he was developing a blog platform that would interact with Google in a way that would put real estate folks’ listing into Google almost immediately. We had quite a discussion about which industries, which sorts of people, take to blogging most quickly and which seem to lag behind almost wanting to be dragged to the web. We wondered what makes some folks resist change so — even when their phone books are dead.

Then Rodney told me the story of an 80-year-old client, who is now a prolific blogger. Rodney says he blogs five times a week. This client teaches people everything he knows –the guy is an award winning shooter. “I couldn’t stop him.” Rodney said.

I bet that’s just so. Rodney’s love for blogging and everything about it is contagious. It sings in his voice and shows in his blog pages.

Of course, most of all I can still hear him saying, “i love blogging!”

Which really means that blogging is what thrills the visionary geek in him.

B.A.D. Blogger Quote

Blogging is a way to leverage technology so that I can share knowledge.–Rodney Rumford

Stop by Rodney’s Blog, MojoPages, and say hi!

Thanks, Rodney, 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.

Open Mic 7pm Chgo Time: We’re List Crazy!

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He’s Making a List and Checking It Twice

Personal Branding logo

YES, the mic will be open again tonight. So start collecting your thoughts. Remember, you get to bring what you want to talk about.

The rules are simple — be nice.

There are always first timers and new things to talk about. It’s sort of half “Cheers” part “Friends” and part video game. You don’t know how much fun it is until you try it.

Tonight we’re gathering lists!

We might also talk about

  • Holiday Lists, End of Year Lists — too many to name
  • Best of Lists, Top Ten Lists, Greatest/Worst Lists
  • Lists we wish we could give away
  • Wishlists and Dreams

AND THE EVER POPULAR,
Basil the code-writing donkey, and Milton the Moose.

It’s like any rambling conversation. Don’t try to read it all. Jump in whenever you get here. Just go to the end and start talking. EVERYONE is WELCOME.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles
The Mic Is On: Will I Be Successful? Tell My Fortune!

Michael Stelzner Announces Top 10 Blogs for Writers

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Best Blogs for Writers

On November 13, at his White Papers Blog Michael Stelzner announced he was looking for nominations for the Best Blogs for Writers on the Web by saying

As the executive editor of the 20,000 reader WhitePaperSource Newsletter, I have been tasked to seek nominations for the top blogs for writers.

Today he announced the winners.

  1. Brian Clark’s CopyBlogger: This blog is the leader because it does an amazing job of helping writers improve their writing.
  2. Deborah Ng’s Freelance Writing Jobs: For freelance writers seeking new work, this site is your sole destination.
  3. Tom Chandler’s Copywriter Underground: This site provides regular doses of inspiration and writing tips.
  4. Liz Strauss’s Successful-Blog: This blog has some amazing insights into the craft of writing.
  5. Angela Booth’s Writing Blog: All writers will find something useful at this site.
  6. Kristen King’s InkThinker: This blog is focused on improving the written word.
  7. Anne Wayman’s The Golden Pencil: Wayman provides gold nuggets of information to freelance writers.
  8. Carson Brackney’s Content Done Better: Follow one man’s journey to write better copy and make a living along the way.
  9. Dianna Huff’s B2B Marcom Writer Blog: This is your destination to learn about marketing communications copywriting.
  10. Allison Winn Scotch’s Ask Allison: For writers looking to break into the publishing world, be sure to check this one out.

PLUS ONE: Michael A. Stelzner’s Writing White Papers Blog THE blog by the man who wrote THE white paper on white papers and then wrote Writing White Papers: How to Capture Readers and Keep Them Engaged. There’s a reason his newsletter has 20,000 subscribers.

It’s an honor to be on this list. Wow! When you check them out, you’ll know why I feel that way. What a fabulous resource this is. It’s going on the New Blogger Page.

Thank you, Michael for all you contribute, and for finding the Top Ten Blogs for Writers.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

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Being Smart by Accident: Why Living Your Brand as a Writer Is Everything

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Every Choice IS the Story

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In 6+1 Traits — Word Choice, I make the point that we cannot talk without talking about ourselves. The words that we choose to express what we mean also reveal things about who we are and our world view.

The same is true about every choice we make. What we bring to each choice is our experience as a person and a writer. Therefore, each choice we make reflects who we are in a most telling way. Our writing and how we present it says more than we sometimes imagine. That’s why we need to internalize what we stand for, what we value and offer as an entire story. In other words, as a writer, a business person, someone people read . . .

It’s crucial to live our brand to communicate clearly.

I had this brought home to me by a reader, TS, this week. Choices I unconsciously made affected how he saw, not just this blog, but blogging in general. I’ve included an excerpt from his email that tells the story. . . .
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