Sunday, February 21, 2010

The Blogging Tips Meme

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I gave up making Kirk of the Week posters a while ago, as they take more time than one might think. But this topic seemed ripe for one.

(I gather Shatner always made sure he was front and center, facing the camera.
If he'd known how beautiful his back was, he would have turned around more.)
___________

I came across the blogging tips meme, below, on Woolamaloo Gazette.

It's from a few years back, but nothing ever dies in the blogosphere.
Still, I checked all the urls, and while I was at it, made them live links.
Interestingly, they're all alive––(except one, which I deleted, maybe wrongly; but it's gone now...)––maybe because a lot of these folks are into the culture of communications, technology and science [fiction]?

I don't tag people, but if this meme appeals to you, pick it up and pass it along.
Or just leave a tip in the comments; I'd love to see what you all have to add.

-Start Copy-

It’s very simple. When this is passed on to you, copy the whole thing, skim the list and put a * star beside any you like.

Add the next number (2. 3. 4., etc.) and write your own blogging tip for other bloggers. Try to make your tip general.

After that, tag 10 other people.

1. Look, read, and learn. ******

2. Be EXCELLENT to each other. *******
www.bushmackel.com Bush Mackel: "Technology––I Just Eat This Stuff Up!"

3. Don’t let money change ya! ****
www.therandomforest.info The Random Forest: "Ramblings, Opinions, Reviews and More"

4. Always reply to your comments. *****
www.chattiekat.com The Kat House, also blogs www.blogsweluv.com Blogs We Luv

5. Link liberally — it keeps you and your friends afloat in the Sea of Technorati. *****
www.chipsquips.com Chip's Quips: "A tiny spark of wit for a highly flammable world"

6. Don’t give up - persistance is fertile. ****
www.velcro-city.co.uk Velcro City Tourist Board: "Science fiction, science fact and all that's in between"

7. Give link credit where credit is due.****
www.sfsignal.com SF Signal (rich in sci-fi tidbits)

8. Follow your own path. Do anything you want, it’s your blog. ***
www.bigdumbobject.co.uk Big Dumb Object: "A blog about Science Fiction... where Science Fiction is taken in the broadest possible sense."

9. Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can blog today. Backlogs are the primary cause of Blogger's Block. **
www.thegenrefiles.com
The Genre Files: "Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror | Fantastic Art | Graphic Novels | Movies | more…"

10. Don’t be afraid of giving an honest opinion when you post, even if it is different from most others, as long as you can explain your position and give a decent reason for it.**
www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/ Forbidden Planet International

11. Using some visual material can really make a post look more attractive - pictures, photographs, video embeds and so on, and also help break up larger posts, such as interviews and reviews to make them more readable instead of offering a huge chunk of unbroken text. Just bear in mind not to over-use pics and to keep them relevant to the article. And cute kitty pics are always popular *
www.woolamaloo.org.uk Woolamaloo Gazette: "satire is the best defence in any democracy."

12. Avoid crushing your readers under a tsunami of text.
Besides images [see #11], use subheadings, line breaks, bullet points, whatever, to avoid the "tl;dr" response (= too long; didn't read).
"l'astronave" at www.gugeo.blogspot.com

-End Copy-
___________________

LEFT:
By toothpastefordinner.com.

I found it on the blog of the
Oxford Internet Institute
--OII, or "oii"--how clever is their logo, below right?

.
Art Sparker sent me this link to a great post:
"What I've learned in two years of blogging",
on John Struan's blog Super Punch.

While I never worry about how many readers I have (I don't even check), unlike John,
I like a lot of his advice on creating a readable blog.

Some of it applies to life in general too, like,
3. Give more than you expect to receive.
I'd add: be sure it's something you want to give, since for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction... somewhere.

7 comments:

ArtSparker said...

John Struan has a good post about blogging at superpunch

http://superpunch.blogspot.com/2009/03/what-ive-learned-in-two-years-of.html

Fresca said...

Thanks--I added the link to the text.

ArtSparker said...

((((We won't mention the girdle))))

Fresca said...

New Rule:
People who pick on the captain will be barred for life.

(Heh. Girdle schmirdle, makes no nevermind to me!)

ArtSparker said...

Oh, sorry. I'll be good.

Marz said...

Yes, picking on him only encourages his ego.

Personally, I find man-girdles downright sexy.

Not really. But hey, toupee, girdle....whose keeping track? Besides, if any man could wear a girdle with dignity, it would be the Captain.

(Forgive me for jumping in, I couldn't resist.)

I agree, Fresca: his back is a work of art. Such a very pretty creature.

Fresca said...

Please, jump right in, Margaret,
especially if you're going to praise our beautiful boy.

More interesting than the girdle is how you can see the outline of their U-shirts underneath sometimes, as here---was the set cold that day? Surely the starship had perfectly regulated temperatures and the future-fabric maintained a perfect body temperature?