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

skelliewag reveals the power of breaking the rules.
It was a little painful to read Darren Rowse’s series of posts on letting your blog go. It hit a nerve with me for reasons that are probably self-evident: in the last four months there have only been eight new posts at Skelliewag.

Writing on the Web reports and reminds us that we work to get paid.
Because that’s how blogging works. You write relevant content to make your readers’ lives better and one day, they respond to your offer of a service or product. There’s more to it than that, of course.

Pajama Professional reports and details two ways to right a wrong.
I wanted to build a list to occassionally share information outside the blog and maybe promote a few products. I wanted it to be an avenue for useful information, but I felt like “saving” stuff for my list might lower the quality of the information on the blog.

Read, Write, Web reports and reveals the benefits of a feedreader at work.
We recognize that the single biggest barrier to feeling justified in reading blogs on the clock may be that most people simply don’t know how to find the best blogs that are relevant to their work. For that we refer you to our recent post Comparing Six Ways to Find the Best Blogs on Any Topic and we discuss specific tactics you can use below.

Marketing Diva reports, relates, and tosses out a few pink boas.
Networking on iPhones and Blackberries. Networking in-person. Tweets on screens. Tweets on cells. Parties and People. An industry finding its way. New companies. New technology. New bloggers. Conference Word: Vulnerability

Related ala carte selections include

Six Revisions goes gorgeous.

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

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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

Seth’s Blog offers a thought on noisy people.
Should you listen to the loud ones, the ones who call the sports radio stations to complain about the pitching, the ones who post websites about your lousy service, the ones who organize nationwide boycotts?

Talking Story weaves a lesson about friendship and learning.
I find I am thinking about friendship, and what it has done for me over the course of my life.

Punctuality Rules gives journalism new meaning.
Did you ever really think about the fact that “Journalist” has two completely separate meanings?

Blogsessive rocks on blogging.
Have you ever wondered what was it that made blogging turn into such a mass phenomenon, with billions of bloggers and readers spread all over the world?

spatially Rrelevant is inviting community intelligence.
If you find it particularly useful, feel free to let some folks know about it. The concepts in the book are a continuing area of interest for both Sheryl and me, so feedback appreciated.

Pistachio sheds more light on listening.
Any brand looking to “get” social media must learn to listen, first. People are talking about your company, brands and products. They’re also discussing preferences and desires about the market your product serves.

Essential Keystrokes shows the gymnastic skills of WordPress.
The first decision I had to make was whether to code the new WordPress site from scratch or to use another theme as a base.

Related ala carte selections include

zefrank rejiggers his own memory game.
based on your advice here is an updated version of the Flickr Memory Game :: if you have the time i would love your advice on making it better ::

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

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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

I’ve been gathering tips and suggestions on e-mail etiquette for a while now, and looking for the opportunity to share them. ‘Respect’ seemed like the right framework, so with no pretences at originality, here’s are some classic ways to disrespect my inbox plus a collection of great links and resouces on how to get it right.

Confident Writing is exploring an in-box epidemic.

Christine Kane is exploring fixes some folks search a lifetime to find. Read both parts.
The problem with all of it is this:

It’s what I call “fixing the outside form.” It’s like trying to change a movie plot by rushing up to the screen and shouting to the characters what they should do next. Very tiring. Not very productive.

the Blog Herald is exploring handwriting analysis in a new way.

business Opportunities and Ideas is exploring how to fix a lack of attraction.
Sadly advertising does not work for the majority of small businesses. So they give up believing that advertising is only something “big businesses” do, claiming that “advertising doesn’t work for my type of business”.

Write to Done is exploring the “writes” of success.
I love reading about my favorite writers and what writing habits led to their success. Below, I share with you some of my favorite writers’ work habits … and it’s obvious that there’s no single way to success.

David Airey is exploring words that look good.
Inspiring typographical Flickr collections, for designers and type nuts. The following groups contain more than 50,000 images showcasing typography. Just about enough to quench your type desires.

Related ala carte selections include

Carpe Factum is exploring that eternal question . . . while you’re there contact him about the deal he’s got on group purchases of his business fables.

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

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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

own your brand has thoughts about creativity.
“I can help him!” declared the neighboring teller.

“No, you can’t!” replied “my” teller.

BIGG Success has thoughts about how to get where we’re going.
In this age of personal branding, a coach can do the same for us – take us where we can’t take ourselves. We’ve found that our coaches save us time – we get where we want to be faster because they help us identify what’s most important.

the brandbox has thoughts about things rolling downhill.
All of us, at one point or another, have had a bad experience with a company. Sometimes, it’s mild enough for us to grumble for a few moments and go on our way, and give them another shot another day. Other times, it’s bad enough that we’ll never do business with that company again, but we don’t spread that to other people.

Bold Enterprises has thoughts about checking out and checking in.
If you were to lose your job, how surprised would your network of acquaintances be to hear from you?

Occam’s RazR has thoughts about tricks to get your attention.
Which is worse:

Or that sinking feeling in your gut where you realize you’ve been gamed through human engineering?

Related ala carte selections include

influx technology has visuals on the future of information retrival.
Mac Funamizu a web/graphic designer working in Tokyo, Japan has developed some great visuals showing some interesting concepts around the future of search.

Have a few thoughts about that brand new feeling. . . .

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

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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

The Marketing Fresh Peel has brought us . . . an entertaining and enlightening conversation.
I’ve hosted some excellent authors in past Post2Post series, but interviewing Tom adds a whole new level of excitement for me. I’ve been a fan of his cartoons for a number of years and I’m routinely amazed at how with a simple cartoon, he can take issues that baffle brand managers and marketers and portray them with such clarity.

Loudmouthman has brought us . . . a real opinion.
There is this snobbish notion that my profession and interests are not Real. That conversations via email, skype and twitter are not real compared to conversations you may have when you meet face to face in physical sense , the term more commonly referred to In Real Life.

Confused of Calcutta has brought us . . . some reasons to remember how our links connect us to each other.
When I read this evocative piece by Tim O’ Reilly on Linking To Yourself, and began to understand just how widespread the “habit” had become, I began to wonder.

Engaging Brand has brought us . . . something to wonder about.
Seven more wonders of the — ahem — business world.

45 Things has brought us . . . the wisdom of family television.
When I saw the apartment, I fell in love. It was in an old Victorian home that the owner had converted into three units. High ceilings, a claw-footed bathtub and no olive green appliances. I immediately grabbed it and put down my deposit.

But after moving in, I began to discover some things that I had not observed in my first starry-eyed inspection of the place.

Related ala carte selections include

Less Ordinary has brought us . . . a reason to bring out the living color.
I don’t know about you, but when the weather is like this I find myself sinking into a colour slump: that state in which you no longer really see colour around you, you become very serious and work-orientated and you forget to have fun.

Meanwhile . . . thanks to everyone who bought my eBook this week.

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

–ME “Liz” Strauss