Category: blogging

Blogging, SEO and Social Media Marketing

6 Essential Blogging Tools for Bloggers and Non-Bloggers

Blog Tools for Non-bloggers and Bloggers
Blog Tools for Non-bloggers and Bloggers

Whether you have a blog of your own or just read blogs, these are tools to help you to become more efficient and have a better look at the information that is important to you.

The tools I will outline here are for both non-bloggers as well as bloggers. I say non-bloggers, but only to suit the people who have this mysterious idea that because they only read and comment on blogs that they are not still a blogger. If you participate in blogs, I hate to break it to you, but you are a blogger! Blogs are made up of an originating author, and all of those other authors who come to share their view and create the dialogue of a blog.

Whichever you are, or even if you are just a casual reader, I want to give you some really useful pieces of information to help you receive more benefit from blogs and to make the information more manageable. These will not take a lot of time to implement, and it will be worth the time you spend. Do not just drop this information off in your bookmarks and wait until you forget it. If you use these tools as described, my guess is that you will start being more efficient right away.

Some of these are very basic and you may know them, and some may be unfamiliar to you. I will start with a couple essentials that most bloggers know, but yet their readers may not. If you are a blog author, you also will want your readers to know this information in order to receive greater value and usability from your blog. In any case, whether you have your own blog or you are a reader and commenter, these are very useful and provide benefit to any blogging efforts.

Blogging Tool One: Gravitar

Gravitar.com – This is very basic, but many people still ask how to have their picture show up when they comment on a blog. The answer is a Gravitar. Gravitar is free, and very simple to set up. All you need is a picture and an email address. Gravitar is a globally recognized avatar that is recognized by the email address you use when you submit a comment.

Blogging Tool Two: BackType

NOTE: This information about BackType is now outdated. They changed things since I published this article. BackType can still be a useful tool, so check it out anyway.

BackType.com – What are people talking about? Are they talking about you, your industry, or other interests? BackType will help to keep you informed about things people are saying in blog comments and social media venues. For example, here is a BackType search for “Murnahan” … my last name. I like to know if something shows up there!

BackType provides other beneficial functions too! BackType aggregates a user’s comments across many blogs and social networks and puts them in one place. It is a great tool for finding discussions about topics or people you want to keep up with. You can track specific people, and also track your own comments. BackType uses the Web address you enter when you comment on a blog to aggregate the data. If you sign up, you simply enter the Web addresses you use when you make comments on blogs in order to claim your comments. Then it allows you to determine whether it is a legitimate comment or somebody claiming to be you. An example is if you take a look at my BackType profile, you can see comments I have made on many blogs, and also follow a link to join in the discussion.

BackType is free and it can be very useful without signing up. However, if you want to claim your comments across the Internet, you can sign up for BackType here. Since BackType is not all-inclusive, I will share a couple more comment aggregation services.

Blogging Tool Three: Disqus

Disqus.com – Pronounced “discuss”, it is as it sounds … it is about discussions. Disqus does more than many users will realize, and I want to clarify a couple things to help you understand it. You do not need to have a Disqus account to comment on blogs that use Disqus and you do not need to have a blog to use Disqus, either! Note that Disqus just works just like any common blog comment system if you do not log in.

Disqus has a couple of very different purposes. One function of Disqus is that it works as a commenting platform and is used by some really popular blogs such as Mashable.com, and of course aWebGuy.com.

It seems that Disqus gives some users the impression that they must log in using an account to comment. This is not the case at all, but it does allow users to log in and comment using other social media profiles if they choose. It can also optionally share your comments on social networks so your friends can see what you have to say. There is no need to log in! That is just an option, and even if you are logged in, you decide whether to share the comment on your chosen networks.

Another great function of Disqus is that it works as a comment aggregation and threading platform. As an example, here is my Disqus public profile. Notice that you can reply to blog comments, view the context of blog comments, and follow a link to the blog where the comments were made. That is just downright cool, don’t you think? Imagine how much easier it is to keep up with the conversations you participate in with tools like Disqus on your side. Of course, Disqus is not used on every blog, so I have more cool tools for you!

NOTE: You may find more detailed and up-to-date information about Disqus in my more recent article titled “Why Disqus May Be The Best Social Network of 2011”

Blogging Tool Four: Intense Debate

IntenseDebate.com – This is a service similar in some ways to Disqus, but also different in many ways. I use it to keep up with a handful of other writers’ comments, and I also use it for sharing comments. You can see what my Intense Debate profile looks like to get an understanding of the service. An example of the use of Intense Debate as a commenting system in a blog is found at this tech blog where I also write. Intense Debate can help you keep up with more conversations … this is a good thing!

Blogging Tool Five: Google Reader

It may shock many bloggers to realize how few people are using feed readers efficiently, or using them at all. Sure, some bloggers and active users of blogs are totally prepared and see every piece of information they wish to consume. The truth is that a lot of people are still clueless about what that little RSS icon means. REF: Subscribe

If you are not clear on this, I will simply explain that RSS is used in about everything from cat food to stock quotes. An example I put together to make this point is in an aggregation of feeds from some of my various blogs and other social networks. I call it the Murnahan Online Activity RSS Aggregator. Beware that it may load a bit slowly due to the many feeds it pulls from, but it makes a good point for how RSS (really simple syndication) works.

If you want to put all of the data that is important to your work or other interests in an easy to manage place that you can absorb, you need a good feed reader. Google  Reader is the reader of choice for the masses, and with good reasons. There are many RSS feed readers available, and many that work just great. I use a few of them, and for different purposes, but most of my RSS feeds reach me using Google Reader. If you are not using Google  Reader or another good feed reader to keep up with what your industry is doing, you are missing a lot!

Spend some time and get familiar with Google  Reader. Use it and click every button until you feel comfortable with how it works. I could write a book on this, but in the interest of helping you today, I suggest starting by opening your eyes and taking some time to improve your efforts with this little jewel.

Blogging Tool Six: FeedBurner

How many people do you think a blog turns away each day because when somebody unfamiliar with RSS clicks on the RSS feed and finds either a bunch of XML code or a styled-down version of the blog and does not know what to do with it? The answer is “a lot of them!” For example, if you use Google Chrome, which is quickly growing in popularity, a standard feed just comes across as XML code.

FeedBurner by Google clears that all up and offers users a simple link to subscribe in whatever reader they like, or to subscribe by email. FeedBurner is simple for a blog owner to implement, and simple for the reader to use.

More Blogging Tools

There is a big world out there, and I cannot list everything in one blog post. I hope that these few tools will help you or somebody you know to be more efficient and prepared to deal with the massive information of the Internet.

I would like it very much if you will provide your comments about these blogging tools or add additional suggestions that others may find useful.

Hookers Write the Best Blogs

Hookers Are Not All Bad
Hookers Are Not All Bad

Who would have guessed that hookers write the best blogs? In this fast-paced scan-and-click Internet world, what are people actually reading? It may sound crazy, but you could learn a lot from a hooker.

With over 200 million blogs on the Internet, who can slow down and read the whole thing? Hookers know the answer, and it is really pretty basic. When you hook the reader right up front, they will have more reason to keep reading and want to know more. So keep reading! I wrote this to help you get more productivity from your time online, and if you are a blog author, to help your readers get more from your articles.

Bloggers and Hookers

If you are a writer, it is your responsibility to assure readers a good value for their time. But first, you must give them an incentive … a hook. Thus, a writer with a good hook could be called a “hooker”. In order to do this, effectively, you really must think about the way you read. I have often found myself scanning through information in such a mad rush that I sometimes miss the good stuff. Consider for a moment how many articles you start to read but never finish. You only get a fraction of the message because you toss them aside and click on the next flashy thing that catches your eye. Your readers are not so different. A look at your Website statistics will show how long an average visitor spends on your site, and it is never as long as you would like. So, if you are a good hooker, “turning the trick” is the next big battle.

Turning the Trick 

This happened to me just yesterday. I was reading a blog post that I thought was kind of interesting. I put it aside and figured I would read the rest later. I thought it was good enough that I tweeted it (sent a message using Twitter.com), but I almost didn’t finish it. Just a moment later, I saw that somebody “re-tweeted” it. The article very nearly ended up in my vast “to read” pile (which often remains unread). Once I read just a bit more, I could not stop … I was hooked! The terrible part is that I almost missed reading something that I ultimately found very interesting and useful.

So, in the example above, where did this all go wrong? I had actually read far enough to know it was a good article. The hook had been set, right? Wrong! The author almost lost me, and not because it got boring, but rather because he did not set the hook deep enough, fast enough. If the author had fully engaged me in the very beginning, I could have probably suffered through a lot of boring reading, just assuming there was something coming to re-spark my interest.

Quality Ad Copy

Quality ad copy always starts with a hook. If you get that part right, the rest is much easier. If you canont come up with the right hook, get help from a friend or hire a professional.

Quality ad copy with a good hook is more important on the Internet than any other place. You only have seconds to reach your readers. I don’t know any writer who feels good about losing a reader early, and when it comes to business writing, it hurts your bottom line. I personally love to look at my reader statistics to see people spending a lot of time on a page. This means they are actually getting what I tell them. It means I have done my job well, which is very satisfying to me. Be sure to look at your statistics, and if users are coming but not staying long, you are probably not setting the hook.

Am I a Hooker?

Yes, I am a hooker for hire. I got you to read this far, didn’t I? If I can do that, just imagine what I can do to help you reach more people and “hook” your audience. Of course, I don’t want to lose you here, because the good stuff is yet to come. If it will help you, take a deep breath, stand up and shake, get a cup of coffee, or do whatever you need to do, and then when you are ready … come back and read some more of my blog. Perhaps my section on SEO Lessons and the importance of quality Internet marketing will interest you, or take your pick from the left side of this page. This is all here to help you, and I will try to not let you down.

Origin of the Word “Hooker”

Since this blog post refers to hookers, I thought I would share this clever video to explain the origin of the word “hooker”. Enjoy! Oh, and Please Tweet This!