أرشيف شهر فبراير, 2008

More of Me Podcasting: The FourFourNiner Episode 2

فبراير 29, 2008 في 2:37 م · Filed under Podcast

A little while back now, Chris Garrett and I got together again for another episode of the FourFourNiner podcast, where we answer blogging and design related questions.

From the limited show notes:

David and I are back to answer more bloggers questions! Episode 2 sees us tucking into Blog Networks, Expression Engine vs. WordPress (with input from the legendary Andy Clarke), letting people post to your blog (and David shows us with a snazzy plugin).

Chris, even with me crying for him not too, added some out takes at the end, sure to make some people laugh at us being kinda dumb.

Definitely worth listening to if you have thirty minutes to spare. Check it out on The449 blog.

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C.E.O. Blogger Interview with Steven Finch

فبراير 29, 2008 في 2:23 م · Filed under Interview

David Peralty: So, as with any and all interviews on and off the web, the most pressing introductory question is, who are you, what do you do, and where can people find you online?

Steven Finch: Hi.. well I’m Steven Finch and I’m currently the CEO of a new media company here in the UK named Insomnia. Additionally, you can find me at my personal weblog, Crenk.com.

David Peralty: So, new media means a wide variety of things. Can you tell me more about Insomnia and what they deal with?

Steven Finch: Well Insomnia is a media company. We currently have our majority of assets in the music industry, and we are just about to launch our first web assets, which is also based in the music market.

The first web asset is called Routenote, and is a music licensing and distribution company.

David Peralty: Crenk.com talks a fair bit about what is going on in the online world. It seems like you are joining two very competitive niches. What made you think that you could build a successful company, and blog in the current marketplace?

Steven Finch: Both companies are definitely in two very competitive markets, but two markets that I think are changing very rapidly.

Personally, I have been pretty much living on the Internet since a young age, and I have always taken notice of the Internet and where it was progressing. This, mixed with my knowledge in how business really works, seem to really help in the growth and progression of the company in both sectors.

David Peralty: So, as a CEO of a company, you must have an interesting view on the blogosphere. Do you think it will continue to expand endlessly or have people already reached their saturation point when it comes to blogs and online media?

Steven Finch: Well at this stage, it is definitely growing, but I always believe in information overload. Blogs are about having your say, but sometimes it is very difficult to find voices or publications that are actually worth reading. This will always be an issue when the blogosphere is continuing to grow.

David Peralty: Why did you end up choosing WordPress for Crenk.com? Did you try any other options?

Steven Finch: I tried blogger for a while, but it didn’t seem to have the customizations and plugins that I was after; hence, WordPress. It seems to be the most adaptable, and seemed to get my vote from the moment I started using it.

David Peralty: If other CEO’s are looking to join the blogosphere, what would advice would you give them? Warnings, tips, tricks are all good.

Steven Finch: A warning I would hand out is don’t ever personally attack someone, be it a blogger or even just a user of your site because at the end of the day, the users are always what makes or breaks an internet company, and loyal ones are very hard to come by.

Additionally, make sure you disclose all of your conflicts of interest, with regards to other companies, advertisers, stocks, and etc.

David Peralty: Do you have any blogs that are great inspiration for a new blogger? Be they technology, PR, corporate, or other?

Steven Finch: Well Xfep of course, but I am also a fan of Dosh Dosh for blogging, Read/Write Web for technology and also Centernetwork.com. Additionally, I have learnt a fair bit from Foundread.com.

David Peralty: And lastly, when can we expect Routnote.com?

Steven Finch: We are currently in private testing at the moment and should be opening to the public in approximately two months.

David Peralty: Thank you again for taking this time to talk with me. I would love to see more CEO’s get into the blogging world, be they new media or not. I am looking forward to the increasing build up of Crenk.com as well as the launch of Routenote.com.

Steven Finch: Thank you very much.

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Back in My Groove

فبراير 29, 2008 في 2:00 م · Filed under Site News

So now that we are heading into March, I am even more determined to get back into my blogging groove on here. I still have many things I want to teach everyone, as well as some great new things I have learned over the past few weeks.

If you have been wondering what’s going on with this blog, the answer is that I have been busy with the Northern Voice conference, and working on jump starting Blogging Weight, and all the activities that go along with getting healthier. I won’t get preachy about making fitness a priority on here, so you’ll have to go check out that site for more details on what I am doing to get fit.

Also, Splashpress Media has been eating up tons of time as we slowly get ready for the big WordPress 2.5 upgrade coming late in March. I hope to have many details on here with regards to how the upgrade goes.

If you haven’t subscribed, now would be a great time to do so. I also recommend my Super Feed which tracks me everywhere I blog. If you want to keep track of all my posts on Forever Geek, Blog Herald, Blogging Pro, Devlounge, Blogging Weight, DavidCubed and here, I highly recommend you all subscribe.

Here is looking forward to a great spring for all of us in the northern hemisphere.

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The Conference Effect

فبراير 25, 2008 في 9:33 م · Filed under Community, Conference

Traveling across the country to attend Northern Voice was a lot of fun. I even got to hold my own session about being a network backed blogger, giving tips to people about how I got into the industry, and giving out advice, suggestions and tips to help them. I expected a whole two or three people to show up, and I was given the smallest room for my speech. Of course nearly three dozen people ended up showing up. It was really great, and I hope to speak more often at events.

The biggest effect though of attending a conference is the lethargic time of healing after the event is complete. I am currently trying to get my brain wrapped around everything I learned, all the great people I met, and all the traveling I had to do.

Next time, I think I am going to stay put for a few extra days to adjust better before jetting back to home.

I will have tons more on the conference, the people, and pictures I took over the next few days.

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Expand Your Skills Beyond Blogging

فبراير 21, 2008 في 11:44 م · Filed under Problogging, Tips

Bloggers of the world, I hope I won’t shock or upset you when I say this, but if your only skill is writing, go work for a news paper or magazine. Bloggers need to have a wide range of skills, whether you are working for yourself or working for a blog network, the more things you can do, the more valuable you will be.

The average blogger in a blog network is just a content generation machine. It is the marketing, advertising, server team, and many others that really make most blogs into profit generation machines.

As we continue to move forward, one thing I am noticing is that there is lots of competition for blogging related jobs. So if you can’t set yourself apart from the crowd, you won’t get the job you are looking for.

Learn how to do more with the blogging software you currently use. Learn how to do marketing, advertising, basic server support, upgrading WordPress, and a myriad of other skills, as they will stand you in good stead.

I probably wouldn’t still be doing this full time if all I was doing was writing because, and to be quite honest, I am not that great of a writer. I love writing, but I am like a pianist that plays random notes and doesn’t know any real tunes. Sometimes it might sound good, but I am only faking it.

Thank goodness I know how to do other things.

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10 Reasons Why Bloggers Hate Blogging

فبراير 19, 2008 في 9:07 ص · Filed under Quick Notes

Over on Geeks are Sexy, there is an interesting post about why bloggers hate blogging. It mostly centers around the normal things that bloggers get frustrated with like slow traffic increases, slow uptake on RSS subscription options, and revenue that doesn’t even pay for coffee.

While it is an interesting article, I do think it oversimplifies some issues, and throws out some generalizations. I do think for a blogger just starting out, this article could be a good reality check, but it would have been nice to see some positive points thrown in there as well. Just because some bloggers hate blogging, doesn’t mean that blogging itself is bad.

Here is a snippet from the article:

7- RSS Subscribers too long to increase

Every single day you are looking at your stats hoping your RSS feed will finally display the magical number: 100 subscribers. But nope, you haven’t passed the three figures yet. If on a count of 25 subscribers you remove your 5 web email accounts and 10 of your friends, you are stuck with 10 pure RSS subscribers, and this sucks. You could try opening 75 new accounts randomly on mac.com or gmail, but that would be a real pain. And you would still be talking to yourself… so emailing you might be a better idea. Increasing RSS subscribers takes time and energy, and unless you are ready to spend countless hours producing quality content, you better stop blogging once and for all.

I have to admit, I enjoyed the cartoons included with the article, so check it out for that, if nothing else.

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Patience is the Key to Success

فبراير 19, 2008 في 8:53 ص · Filed under Problogging, Tips

There are so many people handing out advice all the time on how you can become more successful that it can become so confusing. I am here to tell you that the only piece of advice that you truly need to become a success online is patience. I have been blogging for around five years now. I have been a full time blogger for two and a half years, and the people that are making the big bucks, getting noticed online, and will continue to do so are those that are patient.

Darren Rowse didn’t expect to make blogging his full time job. And even as he began to profit from it, he didn’t jump in hastily. He took his time, and took the appropriate steps to get to where he is today. The same goes for pretty much every other blogger out there. While it might feel like they all achieved success overnight, you have to remember that they went through a long process to get to where they are today.

I compare it to the old question, would you take a million dollars today, or starting today with a penny, and doubling it each day for a month? Those that chose the quick route are left with a million dollars. Those that took the doubling route end up with nearly eleven million by months end. (source)

Patience is more than a virtue, it is the key to success.

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Starting a New Blog

فبراير 17, 2008 في 4:34 م · Filed under Site News

While I haven’t been writing as much on the blogs I should be writing on, or even on this one here, I have decided to start a new blog. This one is more a personal therapy session, as it is about weight loss, and my struggles with being obese. I will be writing in there and chronicling my work at trying to get out of the obese world.

If you want to check it out, head on over to BloggingWeight.com.

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Server Woes Stealing My Energy

فبراير 17, 2008 في 4:32 م · Filed under Hosting, Productivity

So, if you head on over to Blogging Pro, you might notice it is down. If it isn’t down, you are one of the lucky few that has actually been able to load the site over the last two or three days. At one point the site was down for upwards of eighteen hours. Talking to server guy and waiting for everything to get fixed made me bite my nails more than normal. This has also meant that I haven’t got much done lately.

I was able to install the great WP Super Cache on the site, but unfortunately, that didn’t seem to stop it from dying again.

Server issues are the most frustrating things, no matter where you are hosting your site and I hope you will all hold on as I continue to drive server guy nuts about getting everything running.

After we get this issue resolved, I am going to be redoubling my efforts to get Splashpress Media as optimized and as efficient as possible when it comes to our server and thus WordPress hosting environment.

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Bad Days Effecting Blogging

فبراير 16, 2008 في 3:13 ص · Filed under Productivity

So yesterday, wasn’t a great day for me. Things didn’t go my way, and that made me a little depressed and cranky. Even worse because my wife is gone to Belgium for her grandparents 50th wedding anniversary and that leaves me completely alone.

With everything that went on, my day was severely hampered in the blogging department, so much so that I really didn’t get much of anything done. Add to that, issues with Blogging Pro, and I was ready to drop everything, and go on a very long vacation. It was one of those days where I would have killed to be back in an office job environment. As a blogger, I sometimes wonder what it would be like to get back into a traditional workplace and even if I could find a job in the computer and networking field I used to be in. I am getting sidetracked though.

Usually, I am able to shake the issues I am having, and just refocus, but yesterday, that wasn’t possible for some reason. It made me wonder if blogging, as a job, is more effected by emotion than other career choices. I think of blogging sometimes as more of a creative endeavor. Like painting a picture or writing a masterful book, and I know that art is definitely influenced by blogging. What is your take? Is blogging more effected by emotion like art, or is it just a bad day like with any other career?

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