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One of the best features of blog platforms is that they’re so customisable. Through plugins and widgets, you can easily add handy sharing capabilities, lists of recent posts, a live Twitter feed, whatever you like -- adapting your design to your needs, setting it apart from the competition and making it distinct.Here’s a look at some of the coolest WordPress and Blogger widgets out there, to help you spice up your blog with the features that are right for you.For ...
It’s time to take that last step and go mobile. Your competition is already there with nice, neat, accessible and entertaining blogs. Just because you’re online doesn’t mean your readers are compelled to visit you from their smartphones. You have to make it simple and enjoyable for them.Why go mobile?There is a reason people use mobile apps instead of opening clunky browsers on their phones and looking up information as they would on a desktop computer. People turn to mobile ...
Part of being a blogger is constantly advertising your ideas as unique. Even if you maintain your own site, you have to establish credibility. Writing guest blogs on other prominent sites is one of the most effective ways to make yourself known as a thought leader in your niche. Here are a few tips for pitching ideas to other bloggers.1. Know the blog
You’ve got an amazing topic in mind, and you want a reputable site take a chance on you. ...
Admit it; just thinking about writer’s block is frustrating you.Writer’s block is a unique obstacle in that it gets worse with time. If you write for a living or for recreation, you know what it’s like to struggle with wording or to find a topic in the first place. Professional bloggers cover a range of topics and often write under irregular deadlines. Here are a few simple tips for getting your creative juices flowing.1. Just start writing
Few sights are as ...
A recent ruling in a Portland, Oregon Court decided that a blogger cannot claim to be a journalist and is, therefore, not protected by normal rules (for example to protect sources). The blogger was ordered to pay US$2.5-million in penalties.The ruling was interesting because it failed to consider just how much the world has changed. The ways in which we transmit information interact with each other have both changed in a phenomenallyA large section of the online world receives ...
"Why don’t you write about the non-mumsy mom type sites? Or something like that. You know what I mean" was pretty much the brief I got. And so I set out on a quest.I ploughed through pooey nappy posts and pictures. I was up to my elbows in constipation advice and lurid descriptions of piles and varicose veins. I nearly lost my bottle in an onslaught of product endorsements and cutesy pie backgrounds. And let’s not mention the ...
A survey of nearly 500 journalists across 15 countries has found that some journalists use social media and blogs to source and verify stories. But the majority don't.Nearly half of respondents (47 percent) said they used Twitter to source new story angles. Over a third said they used Facebook (35 percent). Blogs were also highlighted as a key element of this process with 30 percent saying they used blogs they were familiar with, while 42 percent also drew from blogs ...
Meeting Matthew Inman, you'd never guess that this shy, slightly built 27-year-old is the caustic genius behind The Oatmeal, one of the web's most phenomenally successful humour sites. You'd expect someone brash, angry, and overweight (like his characters). But then he opens his mouth, and the audience quickly goes from chuckling to screaming with laughter.Speaking at the interactive portion of the South by South West (SXSW) conference, Inman shared a few of his experiences in starting The Oatmeal, which in ...
Being the third largest blogging nation in the world after US and China, bloggers in Iran have in so many ways aroused curiosity. They have also commanded admiration for their drive for freedom of expression in an environment that is regarded as hostile to bloggers.Iranian bloggers have been thrown in jail for years and some unfortunately never return. Iranian bloggers still persist - in spite of the threats and hostility - in airing their views, passion and love for ...
As is to be expected, there are a number of things that change when you are suddenly US$315-million richer. One of the first things you may notice is that your status as media-darling, underdog, lefty champion goes out the window. So it is following the acquisition of the progressive news site and content aggregator Huffington Post by AOL that multiple voices are being raised in objection.The attacks have come on multiple fronts, but most are focussed around the business ...