Nobody likes to listen to the harsh realities of anything that they do. When it comes to blogging especially, this is the case because more than half the world is blogging today. However, facts have to be faced, however bitter they may be.

1. Practice will not make you perfect

The advice that everyone doles out is to keep writing and writing till you become perfect. Mixing the wrong ingredients and vegetables while cooking will not make one a perfect cook, how many ever times you cook! If one wants to become perfect in the art of blogging, it is very important to receive feedback from correct quarters and have the ability to work on that feedback. Just writing on and hoping that perfection will come is a bad idea!

2. Blogging is not easy

A brief stint into blogging is enough to convince anyone as to how hard it really is. It involves painstaking research, content creation and presentation in writing. The content has to be compelling. This requires a lot of editing. Making the content interesting involves adding pictures and videos and even quizzes and polls. After all that, there will not be sufficient readership or even comments. Patience is the key. One may have to wait for about 2-3 years before your blog starts attracting large traffic.

3. Blogging is not a financial model or a money-making machine

Many take to blogging with the financial incentive. There are many who claim to have made thousands of dollars by simply writing for a few minutes every day. That is true once you have become a blogging authority which requires on a decade of hard work! Today, the number of people who earn money for luxurious lives can be counted on fingertips! So, instead of making blogging your business, it would be a better idea to use the blog to promote whatever business you are doing.

4. Blogging is not about you

Another big myth that has got itself enmeshed in people’s psyche is that the blog is an extension of the writer. That is how it begins. But soon, the ugly side raises its hood. A blog actually is all about the readers – what they like and dislike. As long as your personal life adds meaning, inspiration and enthusiasm to the blog, it is fine. But beyond that, readers will get repelled. The focus definitely shifts from what one wants to write about to what one’s readers want one to write about.

5. Blogging does not require you to interact with all readers

While blogging is majorly about your readers, it does not mean that one has to pay attention to each and every comment being made. The best idea would be to provide quality content, receive feedback and make necessary improvements. Many times people comment on blogs only to get backlinks to their own blogs!

6. Blogging can get you depressed

In the first place, people begin blogging as a means of escape. Finally, they get so stuck in the maze of blogging and blogging success that there seems no way out. People suffer bouts of depression!

7. Blogging advice in abundance is unnecessary

If reading blogging tips and guidelines regularly were to make bloggers, anyone would have become a successful blogger and blogging would have been easy. Keeping the basic points in mind is sufficient – write quality content, write content which interests you and finally have loads of patience. Write for the joy derived from writing and not for traffic alone.

Blogging is gaining much popularity in business domain as well. Earlier, it was seen as a part time job, but not it is becoming a priority for individuals and business houses. Moreover, it can be said that there is no rule for what to do and what not to do. But, yes, you should keep a check on the likes and dislikes on your initiatives.

About the author: Claudia is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on luxury and technology. She recently read an article on mobile blogging that attracted her attention. These days she is busy in writing an article on blog while you cook.

The act of writing a blog post or an article for that matter, takes time and energy. From my own experience, it takes a LOT of time and energy. I wrote an earlier blog post on the importance of sticking to a consistent pattern of writing. For me, I wrote at least one blog post a week. That lasted for about a year but it wasn’t easy. As I’m more swamped in my day to day, I find it even harder to find the time to write.

Now there are many styles of writing when it comes to blogging. You could say that one can take a free approach and write a post without any editing whatsoever. This style could work for some, as the readers might only be interested in the content of the writing and not the aesthetics. It’s my opinion however that style matters. And by style, I mean editing, grammar and spelling.

Now, I can’t claim that I have perfect spelling or grammar. I can say however, that when I write a post, I make sure to comb through it and take out a lot of unnecessary content. In fact, when I write a draft version of my post, I find that I spend about 80% of my time editing the post compared to actually writing it.

So you might ask why I do this? For one, it’s important to me to not sound like I’m rambling. Two, I like to provide my readers with a quick and succinct read. After all, you only have a few minutes of their time and you’re lucky if they read your entire post. Finally, a well thought out blog post with proper spelling and grammar, makes you more credible. That being said, it’s not the be all and end all. I know many blog posts or blogs that are poorly written but remain highly entertaining. I guess it’s a matter of personal preference.

To illustrate my point, I’ve included the original draft version of the post you’re reading now below. Take a look at how much longer it was before my cuts. You’ll notice that I eliminate any unnecessary thoughts or sentences.

So if you’re thinking about getting into blogging or writing, consider editing as one of your biggest tasks you’ll encounter.

ORIGINAL DRAFT:
Whenever I hear someone say ‘print is dead’ it makes me cringe a little. It worries me that an industry that is so important and filled with talent is at risk of disappearing altogether. I’ve been writing my blog for almost five years so I would like to think that I have had some practice at writing. But when I look at an article, in a newspaper, written by a professional journalist, I come to realize that my writing skills aren’t even close. This makes me sad because I really do believe we need journalists to add credibility to the stories we hear and find online. So to me, online should play the role of distribution and I really do hope they find a sustainable model that can support top notch journalism.

I have digressed somewhat from my main point. That is, the act of writing a blog post itself or an article or that matter, takes time and energy. From my own experience, it takes a LOT of time and energy. I wrote an earlier blog post on the importance of sticking to a consistent pattern of writing. For me, I wrote at least one blog post a week. That lasted for a year but it wasn’t easy. As I’m more swamped in my day to day, I find it even harder to find the time to write.

Now there are many styles of writing when it comes to blogging. You could say that one can take a free approach and write a post without any editing whatsoever. This style could work for some as the readers might only be interested in the content of the writing and not the esthetics. It’s my opinion however that style matters. And by style, I mean grammar and spelling.

Now, I can’t claim that I have perfect spelling or grammar. I don’t think a lot of us can. I can say however, that when I write a post, I make sure to comb through it and take out a lot of unnecessary content. In fact, when I write a draft version of my post, I find that I spend about 80% of my time editing the post compared to actually writing it.

So you might ask why I do this? For one, it’s important to me to not sound like I’m rambling. Two, I like to provide my readers with a quick and succinct read. After all, you only have a few minutes of their time and you’re lucky if they read your entire post. Finally, a well thought out blog post with proper spelling and grammar, makes you more credible. That being said, it’s not the be all and end all, as I know of many blog posts or blogs that are poorly written but remain highly entertaining. I guess it’s a matter of personal preference.

To illustrate my point, I’ve include the original draft version of the post you’re reading now below. Take a look at how much longer it was before my cuts. You’ll notice that I eliminate any unnecessary thoughts or sentences.

1) First and foremost, Dollshaveclub.com, the business model is ridiculously brilliant.  Just the other day, I was in the bathroom cursing my expensive disposable blades for being so expensive.  With a price point of $1/month I was even skeptical that it could be done.  You can say I still might be.  But if it works and is legit, this company will do well. One of those, ‘I wish I would have thought of that’ moments.

2) If you look at the ad above, you will notice how funny it is.  The timing is beautiful and Michael’s attitude is both fun and witty.  It makes it easy for the viewer to connect.  Turns out the video production cost was around $4500 and done in-house!

3) I’m not sure what their exact social media strategy was but I can tell that they got the video out to bloggers, media and online types.  I first saw it on Twitter from a guy named @JasonKeith.  From there it just spread, again, like wild fire.

4) Amidst their servers being flooded with traffic, I’m sure their subscriptions will still be high.  The ad and service resonated well with me and made me visit the site again, now that it’s up.   It turns out they don’t ship to Canada as of yet but when they do, I will sign up.   Their site looks amazing too and my only suggestion is to post up an FAQ page, letting me know about international orders.  That will probably save their sales representative, loads of time.

I really do love seeing a campaign launched this way.  It goes to show that anyone with an amazing idea and some know-how, can use social media and online to be ‘virally’ successful.

Facebook has emerged as a viable marketing platform for those serious bloggers who wish to share their ideas and vision with global audience. Effective channelization of the marketing strategy is sure to bring increased returns to the business and social media sites have emerged as a viable tool to accomplish this endeavor.

The bloggers need to make concerted efforts to ensure the successful implementation of marketing strategy through social media websites, particularly facebook and adopting following measures will bring success to this endeavor.

a) Understanding of target audience
Develop an understanding of the audience you wish to target. Showing concern and developing content that matches the needs and aspirations of your target audience is the first step of gaining a valuable share of the online market. Business promotion is a challenging task and you will end up gaining a sizable share of the market, if you develop a keen interest towards the needs of the customer and connect accordingly. Therefore, understand the target audience before you proceeds further.

b) Have clear goals and objectives
Another imperative of being a successful business marketer through facebook is to have a clear understanding of your goals and objectives. The goals can vary as per business plans as one may wish to increase traffic to the blog or save expenditure incurred through traditional advertising.
The objectives you need to accomplish should be clear in your mind and need to be highlighted adequately on facebook. These could vary from increasing sale or reducing market costs. Having clear objectives and goals will lead to comprehensive call to action and you are sure to see a surge in the product sale, whenever you highlight the same on facebook.

c) Implementation of tactics to achieve results
Implementing tactics to achieve results is a vital part of marketing strategy. Facebook offers you varied ways to accomplish this. Giving a platform to your regular customers to interaction with you can be a viable strategy that will bring great results. You will not only be able to connect with the audience directly but will also be in a better position to understand the needs of your customers.
Alternatively, you can post some relevant pictures highlighting the innovative pictures of the product or service you are promoting. Sending email messages to your friends and regular customers on the status of your facebook page is a viable business promotion tactic that will achieve great results.

d) Measuring the outcome
Facebook provides you with a measuring tool to see for yourself, the progress you have made in your business. You can check for yourself the traffic, landing page hits and conversions.

Facebook insight is a valuable tool that helps one to check the progress and devise adequate remedial strategy, if the results are below your expected parameters.
Being innovative and encouraging experimentation is the key if you wish to promote the business through facebook. Be passionate in what you do and develop a deep rooted understanding of your business needs.

Facebook is a valuable asset and will help you in your endeavor of being the best!

About the author: Claudia is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on luxury and technology. She recently read an article on iPhone accessories that attracted her attention. These days she is busy in writing an article on 3D Laptop.

It’s most likely that the recent attempt to pass legisilation in the US under the acts SOPA and PIPA created a stir for many, who in this new year have started to contemplate government intervention of the internet. From what I can tell, it isn’t that far away.

Of course there are two sides of this story. On one side, you have government legistlators trying to shut down unlawful and illegal wholesale copyright infringers. On the other side you have the protectors of free and unfiltered information available on the net, whatever that means.

I’ll talk more in future posts on where I stand about these issues but we are starting to see a very drastic change in how we use the internet

Zaid

This is a threat

Right or wrong, when the people have the power to form movements and spread their message quickly, the easiest and most effective way to shut them down is to go to the root of the ‘problem’ and prevent any further means of communication.  If you look at what’s happening in places like New York where the Occupy Wallstreet movement is gaining steam, it’s easy to predict that there might come a point where the mayor makes the decision that a site like Twitter needs to shut down.  God forbid, the movement turns into riots or violence, it’s safe to say that something along the lines of what happened in London is quite possible here.

To make it clear, I’m not part of any movement and I’m not advocating any of this to happen.  I just think that more and more, it’s bound to happen.  When it does, we’ll have to evaluate what it means to have access to tools like Twitter and we’ll have to see if our freedoms are intact and if the internet still represents they type of autonomy we think it does.

Counter Arguement

Evgeny Morozov, the author of the book Net Delusion proposes the argument that in the extreme case the internet can be used against its people by ‘suppressing free speech, honing their surveillance techniques, disseminate cutting-edge propaganda, and pacifying their populations with digital entertainment’.  He cites countried like China and even Iran where he states that a movement like the Twitter movement didn’t accomplish much.