Buzz Marketing with Blogs for Dummies

This blog is the companion Web site for "Buzz Marketing with Blogs for Dummies," a book for business professionals looking for advise and solutions fir business blogging by Susannah Gardner.

Buy the book at Amazon

I'm Blogging This

A closer look at why people blog by People Blog. Bonnie A. Nardi, Diane J. Schiano, Michelle Gumbrecht, Luke Swartz. Check out their PDF file here.

The 3M's of Pro Blogging: Multiple Monetization Methods

Andy Hagan's blog site discusses his serach for new blog niches.

Tlog, a technology blog

Pedro Timoteo from Portugal has put together a very good blog site offering tips about blogging. He also shares his insights about Firefox, Google, and more.

Blog Site of the Week

Educational Weblogs is a home that stages a cluster of weblog sites built around the use of digital tools and weblogs in education.

So what is video blogging?

Here's another helpful vlog site to help explain the art of video blogging.

Vlogs are coming

Time was having a blog was the thing, now it's having a vlog that's that rage. Below are some vlogs to check out:

1. Wikipedia: Vlog
2. Vlog Blog
3. Momentshowing
4. Vloggercon
   

Blog Ladder

Blog Ladder is a combination forum/blog community. They emphasize a clean, lightweight and high quality approach to community blogging.

Ad dollars threaten bloggers' rebel reputations

When Anita Campbell started her Web log about small-business trends two years ago, she thought it would simply be a service for her clients and help her consulting business grow. However...

Squarespace

Here's an interesting blogging tool to help those mange all of their unique content right in one place.

Blog Site of the Week

This blog is one of the best ways to keep up on Madison Avenue's ups and downs.

More cool blogs

Here are some highly recommended additions:

• TEDBlog: TED + Blog = cool
• Presentation Zen: Fantastic know-how about being a better presenter, but much more than that, too, such as this post on Wabi-Sabi.

As Teens Embrace blogs, schools sound an alarm

Teens are among the most avid users of online journals and personal Web pages, but recent incidents at North Carolina State University and other schools should give them and their parents pause.

Blog Site of the Week: TED Blog

Blog site is TedBlog. This blog covers ideas that matter in technology entertainment and design.

Cliff Notes From the Blog World

Blog addicts overwhelmed by information may have found their savior.

Are Students ready for Blogging 101?

"It's part of my life," says one high school sophomore. And increasingly, it's also part of the curriculum. Read about it here.

Blog Site of The Week

Anita Campbell delivers a well-written and informative, with an international flair. Good mix of news and opinion. Check out RFID Weblog

Blog 100

So many blog sites, so little time. Hows does one find the ones worth reading?
CNET has the answer.

Blog Site of the Week: SimpleBits

SimpleBits is a small web design studio located in Salem, Massachusetts and founded by web designer and author, Dan Cederholm. Over the years, this site has evolved into a collection of design work and publications, reported by a popular notebook that covers standards-compliant web design, technology and life.

Blog of the Week

jkOnTheRun

James Kendrik's jkOnTheRun looks at the world through a mobile filter. Providing sometimes in-depth reviews of mobile technologies, this blog is clearly the work of someone with both knowledge and passion about the needs and interests of mobile users.

Google Blog Search

Blog Search is Google search technology focused on blogs. Google is a strong believer in the self-publishing phenomenon represented by blogging, and they hope Blog Search will help their users to explore the blogging universe more effectively. Whether you're looking for Harry Potter reviews, political commentary, summer salad recipes or anything else, Blog Search enables you to find out what people are saying on any subject of your choice.

It's del.icio.us

A social bookmarks manager. Using bookmarklets, you can add bookmarks to your
list and categorize them.

Want to know what your neighbors are blogging about?

Check out Blogdigger.com to see what your friend and neighbors are writing about on their bog sites.

Guide Aims to Help Bloggers Beat Censors

A Paris-based media watchdog has released a free guide with tips for bloggers and dissidents to sneak past Internet censors in countries from China to Iran.

Here's the guide in PDF.

Psst: Want to Know My Net Worth?

Elizabeth Harris for The New York Times wrote this interesting article about Jim Wang, a software engineer, who used his blog to document his quest to save for a down payment on his first home.

New Search Engines Help Users Find Blogs

In a recent article out of the Wall Street Journal, there's a race on to become the Google of blogs.

Web logs, online diaries written and published by everyone from college students to big media companies, are being created and updated at an astonishing rate. A handful of closely held startups see an opportunity: Build a search engine that can track the information zipping through blogs, nearly in real time.

Check out the list here:
Bloglines
DayPop
Feedster
Ice Rocket
Technorati

Sun Explains Why Weblogs belong in Your Business

Use blogs to cut through the media clutter and connect more closely with customers, say Sun innovators-and avid bloggers-Simon Phipps and Tim Bray.

Bloggers journal Katrina destruction

As Hurricane Katrina tore across the Gulf Coast on Monday, the Web provided some of the most vivid, first-hand accounts of the storm's destructive path in the form of blogs, online photo galleries and discussion forums.

Build a Better Blog

Here's a helpful blog site on various tips and tricks for creating a professional business blog.

Dell: In the Bloghouse

A PC-owner's Web diary of complaints about customer service has yielded heavy traffic and some near-contrition from the maker.

Article courtesy of BusinessWeek

Yahoo! Health Blog For Hope

Yahoo! and the American Cancer Society are breaking new ground in an effort to connect individuals in the fight against cancer. In a 30-day Blog for Hope event on Yahoo! Health, celebrities from every walk of public life will share the triumphs, insights, and personal stories of how cancer has affected their lives. Join these bloggers and millions of blog readers around the world as we unite to raise awareness and bring an end to cancer.

As blogging blooms in China, firms aim to cash in

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Blogging is blooming in China as the country's vast pool of Web users clamor to make their mark online and ambitious local start-ups battle foreign heavyweights for a piece of the market.

Corporate Blogging and the CIO - Yahoo! News

Blogging began as a few individuals keeping online journals and now has become an industry unto inself, replete with its own terminology (blogs, bloggers, blogosphere), data formats, software applications and servers. Not unexpectedly, blogging has evolved from personal diaries to a method of corporate communication among management, employees and end-users.

WSJ on Marketers Reading Blogs

The Wall Street Journal has a look at marketers who look to blogs for discussions of their brands. This is a trend a lot of us are familiar with, but the specific examples are very useful.

Measuring the Effectiveness of Corporate Blogs - Yahoo! News

Executives at Microsoft write them and so do chief-level people at Sun Microsystems. Blogs (a name derived from combining the terms "Web" and "log") have drawn a great deal of attention over the past several years. The reason blogs are so popular is in part due to their seemingly unscripted format and the ability of users to post comments.

One in six Americans visiting blogs | CNET News.com

A new report out by a leading Internet research company has revealed that fully 30 percent of American Internet users visited blogs during the first quarter of 2005.

Blogging As You Go Belly Up

Check out this BusinessWeek article [by Stephen Baker] about blogging as one goes belly up.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Blog tool wins innovation prize

A team of students who created a location-aware blog tool have won the UK finals of an innovation competition.

One Blog Created “Every Second”

The blogosphere is continuing to grow, with a weblog created every second, according to blog trackers Technorati.

Fifth Annual Weblog Awards

Here are the results of the Bloggies on 'best-designed weblog':

winner
Loobylu

Karen Cheng
Jason Santa Maria
Brookelyn.org
ShaunInman.com

Yahoo working on blog search tool?

It appears Yahoo may be working on blog search technology that would compete with Technorati. In a blog posting earlier this week, Ian Forrester writes about a talk given at Open Tech 2005 last weekend in London by Yahoo's Jeremy Zawodny.

"Jeremy Zawodny was very interesting and pointed out a couple of things: The rumors about Yahoo working on a Technorati killer, are true. The aggregator will support Microformats and RSS Extensions, including some of Yahoo's rivals. Yahoo will be REALLY opening up more APIs. Zawodny failed or kept very quiet about the Konfabulator take over. Yahoo are counting RSS/Atom as a type of API not just as a syndication format," the blog says.

Meanwhile, Zawodny's blog mentions the trip, but is mum on the talk. A Yahoo spokeswoman said the company had no comment.

Weblogs At Harvard Law

What makes a weblog a weblog?

Advice to corporate & senior executive bloggers from GM's Bob Lutz: "Jump"

On the fence about starting a corporate blog authored by senior execs? Bob Lutz, who is GM's CBO (Chief Blogging Officer) as well as global vice chairman for product development, says: just do it. From an article written by Lutz for Information Week: Nothing To Fear From Executive Blogging. The article begins:

"To blog or not to blog? For a lot of senior executives these days, that is the question. The answer, simply enough, is to blog. No better opportunity exists to engage in an open dialogue and exchange of ideas with customers and potential customers."

Apple Blog Wants You

The Unofficial Apple Weblog is looking for a few good bloggers. If you follow Apple, write well, and are able to post once or twice daily, you could secure a readership and make a few bucks. The Unofficial Apple Weblog covers Apple news and is the most heavily trafficked publication in the Weblogs, Inc. network.

David Sifry: Who's Saying What In Blogville

David Sifry is relentless in evangelizing the importance of blogs to business. "You can either choose to listen or choose not to listen," says Sifry, 36, CEO of Technorati, the leading blog search engine. "Either way, people are talking about your company, they're talking about your product, they're talking about your competitors." In August, Sifry will press the point when he rolls out a subscription service for customized searches so users can track buzz about their companies.

But with giants Google (GOOG ), Yahoo! (YHOO ), and MSN (MSFT ) seemingly poised to enter blog search, it's not clear whether Technorati, with its relatively tiny server capacity and name recognition, can compete. Despite big growth in the number of blogs it tracks -- now 13.3 million -- Technorati is slow and erratic, bloggers complain. Sifry attributes that to the ambitious task of tracking both relevance and timeliness. Sifry, a serial entrepreneur, says his goal "is to build something great." Users, he's betting, will follow.

By Dana Goldstein

Related information about Technorati
- Technorati: A New Public Utility
- Technorati's web site

How Beijing keeps the blogosphere from spinning out of control

Blogs Under Its Thumb

How Beijing keeps the blogosphere from spinning out of control

Blog Business Summit

This extraordinary gathering will show you how to make blogs work for your business. The event takes place August 17-19, 2005 in San Francisco.

Business Blogging for Beginners

Creating a business blog is a lot like hosting a cocktail party: You're networking with customers in a low-pressure setting and, at best, nurturing great relationships. How to make your company's blog the talk of the town? Elizabeth Albrycht of Blogging Planet and Andy Lark of the Lark Group give the lowdown on blogging style and etiquette.

Publishing a Blog with Blogger, Visual QuickProject Guide - By Elizabeth Castro

Publishing a Blog with Blogger, Visual QuickProject Guide - Examples

Harold Jarche's take on Real Benefits of Blogging

Harold Jarche's Real Benefits of Blogging | GoodBasic

Blogging Tutorial

Blogging Tutorial - What is a Blog? Weblog, RSS Feeds, Really Simple Syndication

Blogging for small business, consultants, coaches, and free agents?

What are the benefits of blogging for small business, consultants, coaches, and free agents?

Best Way to Store, Search,..your photos.

If your wanting to store your photos onto your blog site, try Flickr.

Netscape co-founder eyes video blogs

If Marc Andressen is right again, bloggers will be lured with video on social networking site 24 Hour Laundry.

Blogjet

It's a cool little software that can make blogging more fun and easier to keep up with, especially if you have more than one weblog. See their web site.

What is Videoblogging?

Videoblogging is a new form of expression centering around posting videos to a website and encouraging an audience response. It is the next step from text blogging and podcasting.

Google to start 'video blogging'.

Jobs says Apple will support podcasts

Apple Computer will support and organize podcasts in the next version of its iTunes and iPod software.

Google Introduces Mobile Blogging

Blogging, now you can take it with you thanks to Google.

Podcast AlleyBlog!

Podcast AlleyBlog is the podcast lovers portal. Featuring the best Podcast Directory and the Top 10 podcasts (as voted on by the listeners). You will also find podcast software, the podcast forum and great podcasting info.

Weblog info from Wikipedia

Wikipedia offers some good information on the world of blogging.

The Business of Blogging

eMarketer has issued a new report on blogging for businesses: "The Business of Blogging"

Bloggers' Conference Emphasizes Reporting

Bloggers — those Internet-based writers without rules — are fighting back against criticism that their work is unreliable, libelous or just poorly done.

Blogs: The Next Hot CRM Strategy

When Microsoft announced that it was establishing a blog to educate consumers and businesses about its forthcoming operating system, Longhorn, it was hardly considered a novel strategy.
Are blogs the new CRM [Customer Relationship Management]?

Six Tips for Corporate Bloggers

Blogs represent an explosion of information, from inside and outside companies. Those who figure out how to mine this treasure while protecting their own gems will fare just fine in the new world. But it's a risky world, full of hazards. Here are six tips for companies setting out into the blogosphere.

Blogs Will Change Your Business

Look past the yakkers, hobbyists, and political mobs. Your customers and rivals are figuring blogs out. Our advice: Catch up...or catch you later. Check out this BusinessWeek article.

Photoshop site for bloggers

For you Photoshop lovers, here's a link to the latest news and info about the top pixel-wrangling application on the planet.

Blogging from East to West

What should we make of blogging? Is it simply the latest internet fad, a truly democratic tool for change or, as some have suggested, a vehicle for mob rule? David Reid finds blogs are rocking the boat both East and West.

Red vs Blue

Natalie Glance has co-authored a paper about the political influence of blogs that "examines the degree of interaction and behavior among top conservative and liberal political bloggers during the November Presidential election." Should be fun reading for all the political-blog geeks out there. Here's the PDF.

2005 Photobloggies

"The Photobloggies is an annual award ceremony celebrating photoblogging around the world. Through the Photobloggies, you can find some of the best photoblog sites on the internet, chosen by photobloggers and photoblog readers. Organized by Brandon Stone, Jake Dobkin, and Rannie Turingan, it includes awards based on geographic region, photoblog subject matter, and "best of" categories."

Rannie wrote to remind us that nominations for your favorite photoblogs are still open until Wed, Mar 16 at Midnight. I don't know if that is enough time to try your hand at creating a Hello/Blogger powered photoblog, but consider it a personal dare from your pal Jason.

Small Businesses Discover Blogging

WSJ:

To build an audience, blogs don't have to be edgy, provocative or funny, says blog coach Griff Wigley, of Wigley and Associates, Northfield, Minn., who has helped several dozen small companies start online journals. But they do have to be authentic and provide useful information. The personal touch helps build relationships with customers, something particularly important to small companies catering to local communities.

Blogads Reader Survery Results 2005

The results from the Blogads reader survey are up:

Last year, 61% of responding blog readers were over 30 years old. This year, 75% are over 30 years old.

Last year, 40% had family incomes greater than $90,000. This year, 43% exceed that figure.

Year over year, some figures are remarkably stable. One reader in five is a blogger. As was the case last year, exactly 1.7% are CEOs. Almost the same number (44%) spend more than $500 for air tickets. 86% purchased music online, last year and this. Last year, 79% were men. This year, 75% are men.

1.8% are entrepreneurs.

Single Screen Checkout Helps Stop Shopping Cart Abandonment

A company called Molecular Inc. has developed a single screen checkout process that they claim has increased conversions for TJMaxx.com by 50% (Internet Retailer reports). Yes, I said 50%.

How is this related to blogging and business? Well, if you are a blogger using affiliate links on your site, you are reliant on the merchant you are promoting to find ways to best convert the potential sale you have referred. Translation: If they don't convert to a sale, you get NOTHING!

Most bloggers aren't Internet retailers, so they don't know about the epidemic of shopping cart abandonment (pdf) that faces online merchants. In a previous report from Internet Retailer, they predicted that in 2004, shopping cart abandonment could reach as high as $63 billion in lost sales.

Still don't think it effects you as a blogger? When choosing an affiliate partner, be sure to check their shopping cart. Don't be afraid to test it out and see how it works. Choosing the right partner with the better shopping cart that converts even 1% more could be the difference between making $1.00 or $10,000.

Don't be afraid to tell them how to improve it either. KowaBunga! Technologies (the company I work for I should point out) does have an excellent solution called SiteConvert that helps do the same thing.

US Soldiers in Iraq making money from blogs

Not content with just spreading freedom and democracy in Iraq, US Soldiers are apparently teaching the locals a few tricks about capitalism, according to a report in the Army Times.

The newspaper, which also leads with a cover story on the growing number of US troops blogging from Iraq, writres that Army bloggers are taking donations to purchase equipment and are also selling branded gear. Others are obtaining funds for local charities.

The story also includes some good advice for soldiers thinking of starting a blog.

How to Write Compelling Blog Posts

Writing blog posts and comments on blogs is actually very simple. The basic guidelines: keep your copy lively, factual, tight, clear, short and search engine optimized.

CMO on Blogging

One of CMO Magazine's feature stories this month is on corporate blogging. It's a pretty decent overview of the two types of business blogs (corporate and employee) and some of the upsides and perils of the new media. If corporate blogging is new to you, this might give you a good introduction.

Quit Your Job to Blog, Blog, Blog

After years of juggling a full-time job and a high-profile blog, Jason Kottke is calling it quits. Quits for the job, that is.

Blogs make everyone louder

And it's effecting (at least around the edges) everything from business to churches to politics. Link: BBC NEWS | Technology | Global blogger action day called.

My question, which I have no answer for, is what happens when the volume goes up to 11? When there is just too much noise? Does it all get filtered? Who filters?

A new blog every six seconds, they say. Is there a new blog reader every six seconds as well? It continues to get interesting.

Blogging for Business

Weblogs are all the rage around the Internet. Can they help your business? Sure, with the right approach.

Blog Business Summit

This extraordinary gathering will show you how to make blogs work for your business. Just click on the 'Blog Business Summit' banner.

Amazon invests in blogging site

Amazon is dipping its toe in the Web log phenomenon with an investment in 43 Things, a new Web site where people write about their goals and accomplishments and are linked to others with similar interests.

Audioblog your blog site

The push-button ease of blogging open online publishing for the rest of us. Check out their blog site.

Here are some examples of blog sites using audioblog:
1-The Eric Rice Show
2-Linger's Guide Service
3-Cops on Top - Expedition Web Log

Ask Jeeves buys Bloglines

Ask Jeeves announced Tuesday that it has bought privately held Bloglines, a site for searching millions of personal Web pages and aggregating news headlines.

Blogging for Business

Looking at futures uses for blogging.

Inside Microsoft

Blog site for people curious about Mircosoft...you know, the evil empire.

IUpload and Pheedo Target Blog/RSS Advertisers

Two startup technology companies have joined forces to enable online publishers to insert advertising positions within their blogs and RSS (define) feeds.

Why advertising, marketing and PR pros should blog

Blogs are a cheap, convenient and enjoyable form of PR and marketing that should be part of every business plan in 2005, writes Bob Cargill, senior creative director of Yellowfin Direct Marketing.

Building a Better Blog

Brian Bailey offers his Top 10 ideas for how to build a better blog.

Understanding and Reading a Blog (for Newcomers)

John Dvorak has an excellent post on How to Read a Blog with some great graphics that illustrate various blogging principles, courtesy of Steve Rubel.

Business Blogs As A Powerful Linking Strategy

Blogs are loaded with theme relevant content and links; that's one reason they get rated so highly in the major search engines. Adding a blog can be just the thing to boost your business. Wayne Hurlbert explains why.

Blogging: Genius Strategies for Instant Web Content

A book review: Web logging, known as blogging, is an easy way of updating a web page via a browser without the hassle of launching an FTP client or HTML editor. Some people claim that the blog is an entirely new form of communication - and Biz Stone is one of them.

S.F. blog company buying a rival

Six Apart, the San Francisco company that helped popularize blogging with its personal publishing software, is acquiring competitor LiveJournal, bolstering its ability to compete in an industry that includes Internet giants Google, Microsoft and AOL.

The Bloggies

Every January, intense campaigning and mudslinging rages among Web celebrities, Trekkies, and the citizens of Dallas. See the categories for in 2005.

Check out past Bloggie winners: 2004, 2003, 2002, and 2001

Web Logs 101 - Introduction to Blogs - Frequently Asked Questions

Basic blogging FAQs; Introduction to Weblogs; Web Logs for Beginners.

What was hot in the blogosphere in 2004?

BlogPulse scoured a year's worth of blog posts, links and trends to create a section chockful of year-in-review statistics, charts, finds and surprises.

Deconstructing the Blog

John C. Dvorak offers his insights into what constitutes a really great blog.

Top ten bloggers

Adam Gaffin of NetworkWorldFusion, rates his top ten blogger sites realted to interesting tidbits and resources.

PUBLICISE: Tell the world

There's no point having a Weblog, if no one ever reads it. So, how do you get people to visit and read your work? Here are some tried and tested methods.

Report: Big boost for blogs in 2004

The number of blogs and the use of blog readers rose rapidly last year--but a majority of Americans still do not know what a blog is.

Why There's No Escaping the Blog

Freewheeling bloggers can boost your product—or destroy it. Either way, they've become a force business can't afford to ignore.

Sidebar: A Collaborative Difference

With collaboration software snagging a portion of IT budgets these days, how is blogging related to all those virtual meeting places being built out there?

Blogs Bubble Into Business

Weblogs began as a personal communications medium, but they're moving into corporations as tools for collaboration and knowledge management.

Sidebar: Why a Business Blog?

Here are some of the ways weblogs can benefit a company:

Blogging's ROI Sources

A reporter asked how one could quantify an ROI for investing time in blogging. It's a good question. What do you, and other business bloggers, gain from the investment in time to, sometimes, write something of value for a mostly anonymous audience?

The Blogging Iceberg

Of 4.12 million hosted weblogs, most little seen, quickly abandoned.