Blog World in Las Vegas

In conjunction with the New Media conference in Las Vegas in October 2010, the Blog Expo was an interesting array of services targeting bloggers. I had a chance for a quick walk through of this trade show, curious to see what would be offered. In many ways, it was like any other trade show, with some notable exceptions.

One of the most striking exceptions was the lack of products on display. Unlike many trade shows were products are featured in predominant locations, this show didn't have many elaborate booths showcasing the wares of vendors. Instead, there were computers, lots and lots of computers. Obviously this is because the products are all designed for people working online, therefore demonstrated over the Internet and sold online. So the only way to demonstrate the product was to go to the computer at the booth and view the website with the offering. In the case of a few vendors, there were DVDs that were being distributed.

So why is there a need for synchronous communication to demonstrate something that is available all the time, anytime? Well, a few reasons came to mind. One is the excuse to get to Las Vegas. Even people in the blogging business like to have a getaway. Also, there is still some benefit to face to face explanation. But typically, this can be accomplished by email or online chat support. Perhaps another reason is the formation of a learning community where knowledge and experience is shared.

Some of the vendors were ubiquitous. As an example, Blogger was there. Who hasn't heard of Blogger? So why do they need to be at a trade show? I guess that's up to their marketing people. I'm sure they have their reasons. There were more than a few vendors I had never heard of though. Like services that make books out of blogs and easy ways to add videos to your blog. Also, there were blogging sites that catered to specific industries, like education.

The SWAG was similar to any other trade show I have attended. The usual book bags, pens, cup insulators and stress balls. I appreciated the stuff, but somehow I expected this group of Internet innovators to be more creative offline, just as they are online. Still, I have branded pens on my desk now that will lead me to a website if I want to explore the company. So I guess the give away items did the job.

Overall, it was interesting, but I still think it could have been done online.

Ron Strand teaches communications and continuing education at Mount Royal University and is working on a doctorate degree in distance education. He has a blog with some ideas about online learning, elearning and continuing education Ron Elearning.

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5 Tips For Writing a Great Travel Blog

1. A travel blog should entertain the reader.

One of the most important aspects of creating a good travel journal is a knack for telling a good story, write the blog the way you would tell your friends about the experience. If your readers find the story emotionally engaging then they will almost always find the blog useful and interesting. Make them laugh, make them cry, scare them with terrible travel tales of terror - but never, ever be boring.

2. A travel blog should be specific, but not too specific!

Remember that you are writing your diary to share your experience with the world, some people will be reading it to find out where you went, what it was like, and if they'd like to go there. So include special bits of advice, like the name of that really nice guesthouse you stayed at in Mui Ne, Vietnam - but don't list down the full street address, the owner and their family history, and other unnecessary details. Just by naming a business in your blog you will give any prospective traveler enough information to find their way to comfort!

3. Your readers should be able to read your travel journal.

This means if you are guilty of using appalling grammar and spelling, stop! It iz almost imposible 2 read sumfing dat iznt spelt or writen rite. So make sure you use the spell check, you'll make your blog far more popular if you do.

4. Your travel blog should allow the reader to easily find the information they need.

Try not to ramble too much if possible, some of the readers of your travel blog will be stuck in an internet cafe on the edge of a rain forest or desert - they will be paying $10 an hour to use the internet connection, which is slower than swimming through treacle. Help these poor souls (I've been one of them) by giving a brief overview of your blog if its a long one, start the blog with a paragraph that outlines the rest of the blog - and then fill in the details.

5. Make sure you get a free travel blog.

Using sites like RoundMyWorld.com allow travelers to access many great travel blogs at once, you may have one of the best blogs on the net - but as a piece of travel advice it is only applicable for one part of the world. By joining forces with other bloggers you can make a real difference to someone else's traveling experience.

Tom has traveled extensively and setup Round My World in 2009.

Round My World offers every user a free travel blog - Come and join the community today!

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The Top 10 Tips To Setting Up A Successful Blog

If you're serious about setting up a successful, small business weblog or blog that augments and enhances your business or service, here are 10 sure-fire tips to help you do it successfully.

1. Get Your Own Domain Name

This is so important. Piggy-backing off of another url makes less of an impact than http://www.widgets.com. Having your own domain name separates you from the hobbyists and children blogging, and lets the world know, you are a serious blogger. It also allows you to change hosting companies, maximize the customization of your weblog and it's still there even if the company that built the software goes out of business. Even if you decide to use Blogger.com and in the future it shuts down, you still have your own web pages on your own domain. You can start building with all your data intact.

2. Learn your blogging software

You need to be able to customize your blog to reflect your business. Whatever software you settle on, whether you start with blogger.com and move on to Typepad or WordPress, you need to learn to work with and change the templates, add your blogroll, set-up what your advertising, change or add pictures and more. In order to make your blog unique and different, you'll need to have at least a minimum amount of knowledge of what you're working with.

3. Learn from those who've already gone before.

Read and study other blogs. Don't be afraid to contact and ask questions. When you want to learn to do something you need to study what is already successful. There are many ways to find blogs, but I've found that BlogExplosion is one of the easiest ways to get free traffic while surfing others blogs. Find out more about BlogExplosion by visiting my website.

4. Post to your blog on a consistent basis.

Updating once a month won't get you much readership. If you update your blog 3-5 times per week with interesting and informative articles and tips about your industry, people will look forward to what you've updated and return again and again.

5. Blogging is like networking and building a virtual family.

The readers don't care what you are selling until they know you care about them and what's going on in their world. Blogging sales messages is the quickest way to lose readership and destroy any relationships you might have. People go out on the Internet and into the blogosphere looking for information, help and fun topics of interest. If you provide information and benefits for them surfing to your blog on a consistent basis, they will return. If you come at them like a used car salesman, people will find other places to spend their time.

6. Allow comments and trackbacks.

Part of the magic of blogging is its interactivity with the virtual world through the comments people make to your blogging articles. Grow a thick skin, and put your opinion out there. Depending on what you're blogging about, comments can range from "Nice Post" to things very much less complimentary. In either case, it's a give and take, not a one-way news delivery or sales pitch.

7. Read other people's blogs

If you don't read and explore the world of blogging, leave or comment on other blogs or participate in the process, your success will be diminished. It's kind of like playing tennis blindfolded. You'll never have any idea of where the ball is, so how can you hit it? Part of joining the blogosphere is getting into the thick of things. That means living outside of your own blog.

8. Create a blogroll.

What's a Blogroll? It's a list of links to other people's blogs you like. Why would you want to create traffic to other people's blogs, you ask. It is important that you give in order to get. Reciprocal linking in the industry you're blogging about builds relationships and links back to your site. This, in turn, increases your search engine positioning. More people find you and your readership grows. It's a give and take. If you read a blog and like it, find the news relevant and want to add it to your website, comment with a trackback, add the blog to your blogroll or links section, and the other website will most like reciprocate. Blogging is more about building a community than cut and dry business. Think warm and fuzzy, because most bloggers, whoever they are, respond much better to honey than vinegar.

9. Ping the news aggregators. Tag your posts.

It's important to let people know when you update, and by pinging, you let the world know that something new has appeared on your blog. Learn about using tags on your posts so that when you update the news services will know how to classify your update. If it's about "blue widgets" and you tag it as such, people searching for information on that topic will find you. Technorati covers tagging in an easy-to-read format that anybody can grasp quickly.

You'll find information about using Technorati tags by dropping by my website.

Ping using Pingoat: What to do: Go to Pingoat and submit your blog, selecting as many appropriate news aggregates you like. Then bookmark the next page that shows your ping "results." Every time you post, visit this page and you will automatically ping the news aggregates.

or

Ping using Pingomatic: What to do: Go to Pingomatic Do the same as above.

10. Download, use and master an RSS reader.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, this is the first place to start. FeedDemon is a popular aggregator that resembles Microsoft Outlook and delivers both podcasts and feeds from other blogs. You can also get feeds through My Yahoo or MSN Spaces. If you're only tracking a few feeds these are great. For a large number of feeds, you'll need something like FeedDemon. Find out more about FeedDemon by visiting my website.

There you have it. A quick and easy guide to setting up a successful blog. It will take you a bit of time, but it will be well worth it in the end with increased traffic, expert status in your industry and the ability to inform as well as interact with your readership.

For a listing of links to the various places mentioned in this article, simple visit my website and click on the Top 10 Blogging article listed. Happy Blogging!

Judith Allyson Brandy is a writer, breast cancer survivor and science fiction fan with a slightly skewed, amused perspective of the world.
Read some of her other articles at: http://www.writingbuzz.com

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What is a Blog? How Do You Get Into Blogging?

The blog was born in 1990 and today there is the option of letting your blog readers leave you comments and feedback about your posts. A post is your writing entry for the day. There is no limit to the amount of posts you do a day and blog owners who love to write can find themselves writing a few times a day. There is now the option of "following" a blog by subscribing to it and not missing out on anything. When the blog writer creates a new post, the follower is then notified of the new post.

Most blog entries usually consists of a catchy title and there is the headline, body, post date, author name and tags for the blog. The tags are used for search engine purposes. For example, if someone on Google may be searching for something that your blog pertains to, that blog may pop up.

What Type Of Blog Template Do You Need

Today, there are all sorts of new blog designs for blog owners to create a blog look they want. There are many options from business templates to something very casual. There are free blog templates that are provided with the blog hosts that people sign up for. If blog owners don't like the templates provided, they can do a search on Google and find what they are looking for. There are many free and some at a minimal price.

You Don't Need Any Technical Skills To Start A Blog

The blog world is growing with advanced techniques and is a great way to network and keep in touch with others. Even the non-experienced can set up a blog in just 5 minutes. Imagine a place where you are free to write about whatever you want. You are basically publishing your own words!

Where Can You Find The Tools To Start Blogging

There is a lot of information on blogging when you do a search but the most recommended site to create a blog is Blogger and WordPress. These are the most popular for bloggers and are both easy to navigate and use. Blogger is set up so you can easily customize your blog layout. The blog layout is the way it looks to your readers when they visit your blog. It's very easy to upload a post along with pictures on Blogger and some say it's a great place for beginners.

WordPress Has Become The Blog Platform Of Choice By Many Professionals

WordPress is the chosen blog format for many business professionals. Many use WordPress today to not only set up their own blog but also small shops. The blog world has certainly advanced and choose a blog site that you feel comfortable using. Some try to get set up at both, Blogger and WordPress to get a feel for it and determine which one they prefer.

Ron has been online for the last five years and has been using blogging as his preferred platform to market and promote his sites online. So What Exactly Is A Blog find out this and everything you need to know about blogging at Ron's Blog Affiliate X Files.

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Introduction to Blogs

If we think many years back about the internet then we see at that time internet is just bounded in web pages. As time passed, Picture, Sound, Animation makes this world interesting for people. Then, we saw the brilliant innovation of Search engine, which make the internet more near to the people, because, with help of search engine a person search for anything that he wants. Now, the revolution of internet is progressing well, and more features are adding to internet day by day. Then, we see Blogs and Blogging, which is also a new part of the internet world.

What is a Blog?

It is the place at which anyone can write about anything that he wants. Today blogs are the most popular creation of internet among the people. That's why the Blog is increasing rapidly. The big reason of the increase is that with the help of blogs anyone can write online and show it to the whole population of internet, But, if he goes to the right way So, his words will get the attraction of the internet world.

Blogs can be defined as, A place at which anyone writing and publishing anything online, and these form a list of, weblinks. Blogs are also known as weblog. Who write blogs are blogger, anyone can be a blogger and write blogs with any aim?, People with any profession can be a blogger (News reporter, Columnist, Journalist, Online diaries, Celebrity).

A News website is a main example of the blog, which form like a blog. In the news site, we see every day changing news of the world and these are frequently updating and publishing. Nowadays, blogs are used for numerous purposes. But, it is not guaranteed that all blogs are using in a good way, a blog may be also using in a negative way, for example, weblog which is providing health information to the people, so, the blog is for a positive way. But, if a person hates some buddy mostly are celebrities, politicians, etc. then, he writes a blog against them. So, this blog is using in a negative way.

Now you're thinking that how blogs are different from websites. Basically there is no difference between blog and website. However, the method of work in blog is different from websites. In websites, if you want to write about something you first need to create an HTML page, then publish your work online. In blogs, if you want to write you don't need to create any HTML, but write just as you working in a word processor and when you complete your written works then you just need to press 'Publish' button and all your work will be online in seconds, and this way you save big time. The reason of this fast work is that blog is working under software, which is managing all the content that we write. It seems like a file box, in which whenever you write all your work placed in a correct place of the file box.

Now we discuss about the most popular blog service Blogger.com, in which you can create your own blog and publish your writing work by doing few simple steps. Now you've understood about blogs (Weblogs) and how they are different from websites. As we described above that blogs are working under the software. Today, many websites are using software where we see 'Powered by'. Softwares are helping website to work easy, fast and good management.

In blogs if you want to change the basic appearance and looks of the blog then you don't need to create any separate html for every single entry of content. However, you must need to choose a template of the blog. When you select it then all your content will appear in the design that you see in template of blog.

Some Important Blog Terms:

Entry: A piece of content in a blog is blog entry.

Post: sometimes blog entries are post when they published with Date & Time stamp (label).

Archive: All blog post/entries arranged in a month & year wise list. This list in a blog is archive of blog or blog archive.

All Information about blog learning is here http://makeblogperfect.blogspot.com

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