Blogging

I keep hearing about RSS, XML and RSS feeds. I just barely have a clue what they are, but when people then start talking about RSS aggregators, what are they talking about and why would I want one? Do you use an aggregator, and if so, which one?

Ain’t jargon fun? RSS is Really Simple Syndication and it’s a simple data-only version of a Web page or, in the case of a weblog, Web site. Why is that interesting? Because it’s then easy to write programs that track this XML formatted data stream and let you know when there’s new material added to the site.

For example, if you were tracking the Ask Dave Taylor RSS data stream then when this article “went live” on my site, you’d receive notification and be able to read it within minutes of it arriving. Maybe not so critical for my tech and business Q&A, I admit, but I also track a number of different business newswires and was reading about the Proctor & Gamble acquisition of Gillette at least a day prior to my colleagues. How do I know that? Because they’ve told me that it was my own article on the subject (P&G buys Gillette for $57 billion, but how much is that in human terms?) that alerted them to the $54 billion transaction).

Helpful Hint: If you’d like to track an RSS feed and you have a browser with RSS support, you can click on the cute little XML button you find on many different Web sites. If your browser doesn’t know what to do with that and instead shows you a cryptic page of text, you’ll need an RSS reader or aggregator. Keep reading, but remember that you can also “right click” (or Ctrl-click for you Mac folks) and copy the link address to your buffer, then paste it into a ‘subscribe’ field in your reader.

The problem is, I don’t want to check 100 RSS feeds any more than I want to visit 100 Web sites every day, and that’s where aggregators come in. Whether they’re standalone programs, plug-ins for your favorite Web browser or email program, or Web-based services, RSS aggregators remember your subscription list, check each site on a periodic basis, and alert you to any new articles that have been published.

If you’re not thinking “wow, very cool” then you are spending too much time visiting Web sites! To scan the headlines of just a dozen sites on an hourly basis would probably be a full time job and if you need to keep abreast of your industry, as I do, then you wouldn’t have any time to actually do anything, which would obviously be deleterious to your career long-term!

So there are programs you can download that are RSS aggregators (or RSS readers, basically synonymous) for Windows, Mac and Linux/Unix systems. A few of the most popular are BlogExpress and FeedReader for Windows, NetNewsWire and NewsFire for Macintosh and Lifera for Linux.

Don’t like having yet another application running? You can graft RSS capabilities into your Web browser (or run Firefox or Safari / Tiger, both of which have elegant built- in RSS capabilities) or your email program. Notable entries in this category are NewsGator (grafts into Microsoft Outlook on Windows), Pluck (grafts into Microsoft Internet Explorer on Windows) and Safari Menu (add-on for Apple’s Safari browser that includes some RSS support).

Finally, you can subscribe to an RSS aggregator Web service which gives you a custom Web page that includes the newest information from your hand-picked RSS feeds. The highest profile solution to this is My Yahoo, which recently announced support for RSS feeds as additional personal home page information sources, though it just shows you a rolling ‘latest five articles’ from each source, so it doesn’t work for me because I’d still be left trying to remember which I’d read or not. Other possibilities include AmphetaDesk, Bloglines, and Feedster.

Instead of those, however, I use a great Web-based product called NewsGator Online, which gives me the ability to track as many feeds as I like (fellow blogger Robert Scoble tracks over 1200 in his NewsGator Online account) along with the flexibility of keeping in sync at home, in my office and on the road.

Whichever solution you choose, I promise you that once you start traveling down the road of RSS feeds and RSS aggregators, you won’t turn back. In fact, you’ll find that every time you go to a Web site that you like, you’ll immediately start hunting for the “syndicate” or “rss” or “xml” button. i certainly do, and I’m more plugged in now than I could ever have been in the past.

It’s a rolling sea of information out there, and an RSS aggregator gives you a sail and GPS navigation system. It might just save your life out there!

Dave Taylor has been involved with the blogging community for years and is widely respected as an expert on business blogging, among other areas.

Blogging is hot, and seems to be becoming hotter each month. Although blogging originally was dismissed, by many successful publishers and other online “gurus”, the truth is that now, a few years after the “blogging trend” began, there are actually more blogs and more bloggers online than ever before. Blogging, obviously, is “here to stay”!

Actually first documented in 1997, Web logs initially used the abbreviated version: wee-blog, with a Web log editor referred to as a blogger. Since then, all types of Web logs (blogs) and blogging software have emerged, giving rise to this lucrative and dynamic market.

Now, everything from advertising blogs to zoology blogs exist, with every topic in between apparent online. Political blogs are rampant, and groups of bloggers across the globe post regularly on every topic imaginable.

What does a blog supply that an e-zine, newsletter, or forum might not? What has skyrocketed the popularity of the blog over the past several years?

The answers are really quite simple:

1. Blogs are more highly interactive. Posters get to see the results of a post immediately, as the post appears simultaneously after posting. Posters also don’t have the usual moderation that appears in forums, where posts may be deleted without warning. Usually, in blogs, more freedom is given, and posts are usually accepted no matter what the content, or the topic.

E-zines and newsletters, with their one sided presentation of views, have decreased in popularity with the increase of the popularity of blogs.

2. Blogs are easy to maintain and easy to start. The sheer volume of choices is staggering! Everything from “blogging software” to “blogging services” are available, and even a novice blogger will find blogging quick and easy to do.

3. Blogs are “Search Engine Friendly Food”. Search Engines love blogs, because of the constantly changing content that appears daily. Search Engines are constantly “searching” for new content, and blogs meet this requirement splendidly!

4. Blogs are actually a lot of fun! The entertainment aspects of a blog cannot be dismissed. A great deal of “voyeurism” exists on blogs, where other bloggers continually monitor discussions, both pro and con concerning an issue. Discussions on blogs can be “heated” and interesting, with much repartee occurring daily! Blogs are a rousing form of media, indeed, with many bloggers returning repeatedly throughout a day to view new posts.

For a view into popular blogs of many categories, just visit: http://www.blogit.com

5. Many blogs are capable of syndication. Syndication is a great way to ensure that your writing and your views are exposed to as much of the general public as possible. Syndication is many times included in blogging services now, and this has drawn individuals to the art of blogging continuously.

For an example of a blog service that features syndication, please visit: http://www.typepad.com

6. There are no lists to maintain, or spam filters to worry about with blogs. This is one reason why so many writers and publishers have turned to blogs. E-mail delivery of newsletters and e-zines has become difficult over the past few years, with the advent of spam filters. Blogs are not delivered, and therefore, no methods of defeating filters are needed, and no “non-deliverables” occur, which has been the bane of writers and publishers prior to this.

A good blogging software exists at: http://www.silkblogs.com

7. Blogs are economical. Since no lists are maintained, there are no list server costs. Blogging software and blogging services are also very reasonably priced, giving good value for the money spent monthly consistently. Some blogging services charge others to “read”, while others charge writers to “write”, but overall the monthly charges are rather minimal either way.

8. Blogs are educational. There are such a variety of informative and educational blogs available now, that a search for any subject usually turns up hundreds of offerings. Differing points of view on all subjects are offered routinely, giving a reader or poster an “insight” into the hearts and minds of other bloggers.

Blogs also, to be successful, however, need to contain the same elements of a popular newsletter or e-zine:

A. Compelling, well-written content. No one, either online or offline wants to read materials that are poorly written or difficult or boring to read.

B. Updated material. Just as in newsletters or e-zines, if material is not updated continually, then the audience eventually dies.

C. Rousing topics. Topics of interest to a wide range of readers succeed more than topics that appeal to very few, or are rather dull topics.

D. A nice layout and visual appeal. A blog is akin to a Web site for written materials, and just like in the design of a Web site, every care should be made to have the blog be visually appealing and friendly to visitors.

Newsletters, e-zines and forums, of course, will remain. But as you can clearly see, blogging, bloggers, and blogs themselves, have definitely added to the “online experience” and will possibly (and hopefully) be around for decades more!

Vishal P. Rao is the owner of: http://www.work-at-home-forum.com/ An online community of people who work at home.

We have now entered the world of blogs! Sounds kind of Harry Potterish, doesn’t it?

If you’re over 20 years old, you probably think this is some crazy sci-fi phenomenon, or I’ve simply lost my mind. Don’t fret, the vast majority of people don’t know what a blog is all about and more importantly, why it matters to them.

If you’re under 20 you can stop reading because you probably know all about blogs, and the value they have in sharing information. You’ve been trading game-breaking codes, South Park clips, and jokes through blogs for months now or maybe even years.

In a recent article, Johnson Ong quips “I have a blog. Doesn’t everyone? You mean you don’t? How uncool are you? According to Merriam-Webster, ‘blog’ was the word of the year last year. Not having your own blog is like not having your own Gmail account. What? You don’t have Gmail either? My God, what are you? A caveman!”

Over or under, cool or uncool, I want to address blogs from a business standpoint, and the tremendous value they can deliver to business. There are several reasons that developing a blog is a tremendous strategy for any business.

1) It will increase your web presence significantly the search engines love blogs!

2) It will allow your business to educate customers and prospects about certain subjects, and appear as experts

3) It will raise your business profile with your vendors and other strategic partners, if they are invited to contribute to your blog

4) Other blogs can, and will, take information from your blog, and you will increase your exposure to anyone that participates in the ‘taking’ blog

5) Blogs accept subscribers, and everyone that subscribes to your blog will be constantly updated (pinged) by you with current information

So What is It?

The full name for a blog is a weblog. It’s a repository for articles, newsletters, information, and discussion boards. It’s like a ‘what’s new’ page on the internet in whatever subject you choose. When people research any topics that you have on your blog, they may very well end up on your blog through their search. If you’ve done it right, your blog is of course, fully branded to your company, and linked to your main website.

If you keep current articles, and information on your blog, you will receive hits from people looking for information about those subjects. You will also receive hits from other blogs, and they will then distribute your information to their own audiences.

You will receive hits from contributors of articles or news items, as well as people looking for those particular contributors through a search engine.

Hopefully, you get the picture. Your web traffic should increase exponentially through the proper use of a blog.

Business Blogs

Business blogs have yet to sweep the business community, which presents a significant opportunity to adapt the technology to any business. It will allow you to share expertise and knowledge with a much larger audience, which should create a significant benefit.

There is specific blogging software, and you will have to learn how to create an effective and valuable blog. You will also have to learn how to acquire and produce current industry information to populate your blog with articles that will maintain interest and value. Yes, there is an element of work to it you didn’t think it was free, with no effort required, like the mumps did you?

As you add current information to your subject area, or to secondary subject areas that you may include in your blog, your chances of more hits are higher. If you continually contribute self-generated articles and news items to the appropriate subject areas, your chances also increase. In addition, there are sources that allow you to publish their materials, which can be used to increase the value of the blog, and therefore the likelihood of being found on the good old inter-web.

So How Does It Work?

If you still push the Pause/Break button in the upper right-hand corner of your keyboard to request permission from your boss for a visit to the bathroom, you can skip this part. Otherwise, it’s really not too hard to follow.

Without getting too technical, there are many web robots (bots), crawlers, and spiders, and similar technologies that have RSS Reader capability. That’s the stuff that is specific to blogs. They are basically looking for news, and blogs have that news.

If you do it right, these bots, crawlers, and spiders find your blog, and send information elsewhere, which is just what you want. Your blog is basically yelling at these web ‘beasts’ to “come on in and take this great stuff I’ve got.”

For example, these web ‘animals’ include yahooslurp, googlebot, feedstercrawler, pubsub, syndic8, msnbot, newsgator, CP30, & R2D2.

O.K., the last two were Luke Skywalker’s buddies, but the rest are real.

It will take 4 to 6 weeks for the search engines to adjust rankings but the ultimate result will be that you will progress up the ladder in the engines in the various topic areas that you feature. When people are searching for technologies or subjects that are being discussed in your blog, they will find you on the search engines.

That should be a hint that you should have content on your blog about the subjects that are most often searched.

When a subject is searched that is covered by one of your branded, self-generated articles, your fully branded information may be pulled to another blog, or to a specific person doing a search in that topic area. You can post that same article on your website, and it won’t go anywhere. However, on your blog it gets a shot of super juice, and may just get pushed through any number of doors.

Linking The Benefits Increase Your Brand

When website owners and bloggers (yeah, I’m now a blogger!) think of linking, they are usually referring to inbound links from external websites and blogs. For example, if you had a link to your website on the website of another business.

While adding more inbound links on external sites is important, there is also a sort of ‘reverse’ link strategy associated with blogs.

Your blog’s incoming links will provide another benefit when someone is referred to an article in your blog from another website. For example, through GooglePageRank, the receiving page (you) gets a boost up the search engine when that happens, which helps the blog overall by boosting the popularity of the blog, which in turn is what increases the search results, which in turn drives up the search engine rankings.

What!? I wrote it and I have to read it six times to really follow what I’m saying.

Basically, the more people that visit your blog when they come from other sources, the more likely it is for people to find you when searching for a whole myriad of topics. That type of benefit does not exist with normal website traffic, because those visits don’t effect web site rankings on the search engines. But blog traffic that is through a link from another site will drive you up the search engines. There that’s much more clear!? As clear as fog in a low-lying bog. Ouch!

Web designer Sue Studios says; “Blogs are highly strategic, here-to-stay desktop tools that can strengthen relationships, share knowledge, increase collaboration, and improve branding. Think of the potential for your e-newsletter strategies:

1) Articles within newsletters can be linked to a blog, extending life and creating a massive conversation

2) You can offer a bi-directional forum to customers to get true, personal opinion on your products and services

3) Company experts can start a blog and become industry experts, helping your company edge out competition and, through this interactive forum, draw customers into another exchange of information and thoughts.”

Well, it’s snowing out so I think I’ll go blogging! Wait, is that something you do in the snow, or is it something you do to stay out of the snow?!

Or is it a Celtic dance? Or should the Steelers have blogged that kick Sunday? I’m confused.

Dennis Schooley is the Founder of Schooley Mitchell Telecom Consultants, a Professional Services Franchise Company. He writes for publication, as well as for schooleymitchell.blogging,com and franchises.blogging.com, in the subject areas of Franchising, and Technology for the Layman. http://www.schooleymitchell.com, 888-311-6477, dschooley@schooleymitchell.com.