Posting Frequency of Different Types of Bloggers -- Are there any patterns?

This post is inspired by: Ideal Posting Frequency For Different Types Of Bloggers, Posted by Sarbajit Saha

Here is a quick sample from different bloggers (bearing in mind many corporate blogs don't show the Archive/past post/history button).

Samples here are from Real Estate, Knowledge Management and two from religious and spiritual care.


In this age of self-publishing, many have blogs. But, "Blogging frequency is fairly infrequent, on average." (source). While there is some truth in the statement: "I believe people are looking for higher value, more useful information... (source)." Nevertheless, the fact remains to be seen: How often and what is the pattern in the blogging map???

Do the following numbers show any posting pattern (may be by most and / or least productive periods/years)? The answer is for you to compare similar blogs and judge. Is there a similar tool or measure (like  Blood pressure monitor) to know the frequency? Please let me know if there is a tool. Your comments and suggestions to improve this blogging map is going to be very valuable to many in the cyberspace!!! 

A. The following is one example of a real estate agent, Samina Vakil's blog: The summary is 13 (Jan-Oct 2013); 8 (2012); 18 (2011); 50 (2010).

Blogger Interface Upgraded -- The Good News and the Not So Good News

Good NEWS: My Blogger Tricks:

EXTRACT:
All BlogSpot blogs will be automatically upgraded to the new blogger look so that it may blend other Google Products. With the introduction of Google Plus , developers at Google have given the same design and look to every Google service to keep things simple. The current interface at draft.blogger.com will now be officially launched at Blogger.com from First April 2012 onwards. This upgraded interface has many new features and is a lot faster. All your favorite blogging actions now have several shortcuts thus making your blogging experience even more worthwhile. We will also learn how to turn back to old blogger look or switching back to old user interface. Lets have a quick look at some of the important changes. Continue reading

Not So Good NEWS: Dave Lucas: New Blogger Interface Problems

EXTRACT:
I woke up this morning with that new sluggish blogger interface shoved down my throat!
Well, I thought, if I could find a way to zap facebook's timeline... I could handle this!
UPDATE (10:30pm) The alleged "upgrade" has also crippled blogger's ability to read and publish posts that are "scheduled" - such posts must now be published manually.
I prefer the old, more compact, version of blogger's interface: here's why:
The opening interface looked like it was "buffering" the way a music video does on dialup. Hey, I'm on BroadBand!
It took much longer than usual than upload a post.
Trying to get an image up was a real bitch. The pictures just wouldn't stay centered as programmed.
The new interface seems to hate it when you're editing the template HTML.
And to add insult to injury, anyone doing blogger work on an iPad is SOL! (Continue reading)

What others say:

The Thinking Mother: New Blogger Formatting Problems: Sorry

The Real Blogger Status: Better Get Into The New Blogger GUI Soon ...

The New Blogger GUI (2011) was pushed out, during the past week, to a number of blog owners - and the complaints are showing up in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken. Some are polite.

Please, Blogger - allow us the option of staying with the old format.

and some less polite

Are you listening Google? Your new interface SUCKS!

Only one thing is obvious - many people, suddenly finding themselves using the New GUI, do not like the New GUI.

www.allblogtools.com Three Issues/Problems With new Blogger Read_Me / Jump_Breaks And How-To-Fix-It

Dreamz~n~Wishz: New Blogger Problems

Anybody else having trouble navigating this new blogger? They auto switched me over today and I can't seem to find my way around very easily. And I can't add to my blog list on my page. And I have no little pencil icon to click on to make edits. I think they are in the process of working out bugs...but I was doing just fine with things the way they were and I don't like change when "it wasn't broke for me...so please don't fix it". Grrrrr.... And on top of that today is Picnik's last day. So sad. Adjustments and adapting, Lisa...you can do it. Sigh.

Orange Crate Art: The new Blogger interface, unliked

productforums.google.com: I'm getting an error message when I try to embed a custom template ...

Continued problem with Blogger Server - Women's League for ...

Blogger Interfaces Compared @ Digital Waffle: The Ultimate Tech Blog for Everything Tech


Solutions:

Vertical pictures turned horizontal - solution How to revert custom domain back to blogspot @ the original Blogger Tips and Tricks

Bloggerati: How to install a new blogger template.

Defence and Freedom: The new Blogger interface sucks

Blogger New Interface Layout @ Simple Blogger Tips - Simple Blogging Tips, Tutorials, Hacks, Guides, Help and More! Only for Blogspot Bloggers!

Post a video in the "updated blogger?" The icon is not available ... www.google.com › Help forum › Blogger › How Do I?

[Pro] Blogger template problem @ FreewayTalk

Updated tabs of new blogger platform | Techblaster.NET

Blog Reviews - Success With Languages

About the Site:
Success With Languages is an educational site. The subject of the site is about the childhood experiences with language, thought and society (some may call this Socio/Psycho-linguistics, some others prefer to name it as: Comparative Linguistics).

"This blog aims to help language learners in any level the owner of the weblog is a trilingual parent who has lived and worked with more than 4 languages for more than 40 years. She shares her journey from the eyes of the child and how using simple childhood methods, to live with languages."

How much is the traffic, one word: terrific:

APPEARANCE (layout, colour, positioning and style)
Overall Appearance = 9
Layout = 9
Color Scheme/Theme = 9.5
Headings/Font = 8
Ease Of Navigation = 8
Loading Time = 9

CONTENT (text and images and context)
Quality = 9
Quantity = 10
Spelling/Grammar = 9
Content Interest = 8.5
Theme Continuity = 9
Use Of Pictures/Video = 8.5

MISCELLANEOUS
Reader Interaction = 9.5
Incentive To Return = 8.5
Active Links = 9.5
Accessibility = 9
TOTAL = 143/160
[e-metrics / benchmarks courtesy: jennij]

Recommendation:

Technical: Generate a site map (they say it is good for search engine optimisation), or a detailed menu or cloud to visualize what is all hidden in layers and pages.

In short, the site is focused, updates quite often, encourages readers to be loyal and return for another glance / round trip. The site needs some cleanup to be able to navigate freely.

The content is well written, with no communication errors, whatsoever. The posts have a catchy heading. The design may need some alteration in order to display a distinction between: a) internal and external links, and b) commercial ads from professional content--some say ads are OK so long as they are not a barrier to your site's goal (see the other side). Overall the site is simply impressive and reveals the authors passion to be the best in this field!

On the same shelf:

Blog Reviews - Willowby Woods

Blog Title: Willowby Woods a witch’s forest of piffle, poetry and painting
Blog URL: http://www.willowbywoods.com/
Former Blog URL: http://witchwoman.wordpress.com/
Blogger: Crystal Raven
Blog's Date of migration: August 12, 2008
Blogger's Profile: http://willowbywoods.com/about-2
"This site is about my daily life as a witch, mother, wife, poet and artist. I will also touch upon minimalism, home organization and time management. "
Subject Profile: Development and Growth Art
Tags:Book of Shadows Hedge Witch Series Piffle Poems Theory Tidbits
Tag Cloud @ Blogcatalog:

book of shadows
bs
children
family
hedge
witch series
life
personal development
piffle
sabbat
Spirituality
the artist's way
the hedge witch series
tidbits
winter solstice
witchiness

Strength: Good design. Netmechanic analysis gives five star to each: a) Link Check and b) HTML Check & Repair. Overall technically (above, right side) there are no major issues, going by this automated roundup.
The tags or Categories are well organized and user-friendly. More subject-wise tags tell you what the blog is all about: Tags: poetry Mental Illness witchcraft pagan fine art persona;

Layout is cool and the content is well spread in first and second columns (and a third column hangs).
Navigation is easy and presents no problem

Weakness: No major weaknesses to report. Minor issues include: a) the third column can be used to add content--instead of leaving it blank; and b) there is no direct link to archives (The heading: Dusty old Tomes, leads you to comment section, not to the old posts).

What do others say about this blog [This blog is currently rated a 5.00 out of a possible 5 based on 4 comments. ]:

• Mylissa: I really like your blog. Very interesting!
• rani: Wonderful blog, from which we can all learn a lot. Thanks.
• Cassandra: great personal and insightful blog. she is true to herself and i love that!
• Ruben Ricart: Great Blog! I have the same theme for one of my blogs.
• The Review Guy- Clear, crisp, simple, smooth. All words I would use to describe your blog layout. I love simplicity.
• Blog Review DailyNot only is the author a witch, she is also a pretty good poet… Witch Woman is a blog that is interesting and scary at the same time…
• KatYou have an amazing way of putting the facts down, without sugar coating them and making them touch the hearts of the reader.
• MelindaI love your site! I find your writing so inviting–and I love the way you explain your beliefs in such a matter - of - fact way that is easy to understand. I love your blog–and think you are a great addition to the blogging world.

Recommendation: Good job. The content is focused. The design is cool, the site is not overloaded. This site is of interest to all those who wish to look at life with an alternative perspective. The author synchronizes mental illness, creativity and practical approaches that work and work well.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

On the same shelf of Spirituality on the Web, see more in my book:



Here is a sample from inside the Book: Cyber Worship in Multifaith Perspectives--full of resources that will facilitate building bridges in a Multifaith society.

Blog Reviews - this time this space

Blog Title: This time this space: Personal development, growth & relationships
Blog URL: http://thistimethisspace.com/
Blogger: timethief
Blog's Date of birth: April 23rd, 2007
Blogger's Profile: http://thistimethisspace.com/about/
Blog profile: http://thistimethisspace.com/about/
Subject Profile: thistimethisspace personal development, growth & relationships blog contains information and techniques I use for transforming and improving my life.
Tags:
Aromatherapy Beauty Tips Blogging Children Climate Change Conscious Living Cooking Creative Visualization Depression Dreaming Essential Oils Featured Articles Fibromyalgia Goal Setting Health Humor Imagery Inspiration Internet Relationships love massage Meditation Personal Development Personality Poetry and Quotes Politics Psychology Rants and Opinions Recipes Relationships Relaxation Techniques Self Help Sensuality Sexuality Sleep Social networking Spirituality Time Management Uncategorized Vegetarian Diet and Recipes Wisdom womens issues wordpress.com wordpress.org Yoga

Tag Cloud @ Blogcatalog:

blogging
children
communication
conscious living
election 08
featured articles
health
Imagery
internet relationships
personal development
Psychology
relationships
self help
sexuality
Spirituality

Blog Posts Frequency: January 2009 (3)December 2008 (8)November 2008 (10)October 2008 (9)September 2008 (6)August 2008 (6)


Strength: The title truly reflects the author's idea of being in-time and this is reflected in the four themes: Health, Personal Development, Relationships, and Sexuality);
The taglines are detailed and are rightly called categories (most bloggers forget that they are classfying the information into some categories, and not just simply tagging--incidentally, tagging is the fashion of the day);
Layout is cool and the content is well spread in two columns;
About Me page tells you about the blog, and about the author;
Sidebar is decently organized with mouse-over feature; and the themes (mentioned above) are well explained.
navigation is easy and presents no problem

Weakness: There is no major issue. However, one minor technical issue bothers. The non-techy audience fails to read the full article (in each post). They don't see the idea that if they click on the title of a post, they can read the full article. Using ... (three dots) without any indication of continuity may be avoided or be replaced with a better substitute.

First post: This time ~ This space
Bottomline of the First Post: "Until we recognize that the crisis in the way we humans govern ourselves is due to viewing ourselves as being separate and apart from the environment that sustains all, no real changes will be made."
What do others say about this blog:

• darkspark: inspired writing. a happy mix of topics that readers will always find some value from.
• Stephen Wilson: What a great blog. Very peaceful, yet very open. I think it's what most people set out to do, but few realize.
• G.Sannino: I really am blown away at how well you write. I enjoyed reading your affirmation page. Sometimes we forget to do a lot of those things. The design the layout is very professional. Thanks for putting it out there.
• Kanishk Patel: Hey that is one gr8 blog and great collection of postall the post looks to be from heart
• techno: ...after reading this article u touch my heart. u r very soft but ur approaching style may be can't understand.... ok keep going. thnx... touch ur deep earn.
• Robert E. Lee: Your personal blog is wonderful. I spent more time there, than I have ever spent on a blog before. Very well researched and written. Your words draw people in and you can't stop reading.
• Scott Rose: TimeThief and her work are an asset not only to the community at Blog Catalog, but to the blogging community at large
• Alex Great: Good stuff time, I was browsing around your blog and wanted to write a comment but kept reading and reading. I like the way your blog is cross linked too.
• Sheila: When entering onto this site, I feel warmth, invited, not overwhelmed. This site gives me motivation, my own personal growth from reading information on this site.
• Many many many more fans @ BlogCatalog

Recommendation: Very useful information for all those who are interested in personality development and related themes. Prompts further study and research with its excellent documentation (each posts provides with reports, case studies, etc.)

See also some related titles @ Amazon:

Blog Reviews - NEW YORK PARALEGAL BLOG

Blog Title: NEW YORK PARALEGAL BLOG
Blog URL: http://www.newyorkparalegalblog.com/
Blogger: Joel Irving
Blog's Date of birth: April 25, 2008

Blogger's Profile: New York Paralegal

Blog profile: Legal news and views from a NY Paralegal.

Subject Profile: Law & Legal News & Media

Tags: law legal news criminal law paralegal civil law new york paralegal

Tag Cloud @ Blogcatalog:

000
charges
department
for
in
justice
new
new
york
new
york paralegal blog
of
paralegal
pay
the
to
york

Blog Posts Frequency: November (20); October (32); September (39); August (41); July (32); June (59); May (21); April (9).

Strength: Excellent in content, analytic, focused and compassionate.

Weekness: There is none as a major issue. However, Labels, as a feature are unweildy (none has time and patience to scroll the full length of the list of all the labels). Need a smaller widget that shows prominent ones, ONLY.

First post: Advertise With New York Paralegal Blog

Bottomline of the First Post: None (to quote)

What do others say about this blog: No comments, as yet from the audience to say what they like or not. There are however, discussions about posts, and that is a positive sign of loyal audience.

Recommendation: Very useful information for all those who are interested in legal guides, judicial reports, case studies, etc.

See also Amazon's related titles:

Blog Reviews - Security for idiots and other people that care

Blog Title: Security for idiots and other people that care
URL: http://securityforidiots.blogspot.com/
Blogger: David Tamayo
Blog's Date of birth: April 3, 2008.
Blogger's Profile: "Intense in a caring nurturing kind of way. I would gladly give my life to defend those that I love. I will teach those that I do not know how to defend themselves, but to learn from each other, I will come to know you. Once I know you, you will become someone that I love."
Blog profile: "The goal is to develop a community of like minded people that believe if they strive to be the best that they can possibly be they will be better able to serve and protect the ones that they love. True security comes through the peace of mind of knowing that your life is totally under your control. Let's grow together during this journey and realize what true power over our lives really means."
Subject Profile: Personal Development Development and Growth
Tags: love Security self defense power peace of mind intent

Tag Cloud
caregiver
decisions
eddie
boy
ellen
degeneres
Help
hope
inspiration
intent
olympic
games
positivism
prayers
senate
president
stress
thank
you
wealth

Blog Posts Frequency (2008 sample): August (1); July (1); June (5); May (5); April (7)
Strength: Caregiving and lifegiving. Looks good with visuals, and banners.

Weekness: I agree with one reviewer, about the word idiot in the title. Addressing someone as Idiot, I would say, idiot may sound as unintentional mockery of a human being.
First post: Why discuss this?
Bottomline of the First Post: "First off, I do not want anyone to think that I will only be talking about security in the missionary sense. Really how one lives one's life will reveal the total sense of how secure one's life can be. Don't get me wrong, gadgets gizmos and techniques will definitely be covered. Please feel free to ask questions, give feedback, or just critique."

What do others say about this blog:

• "Security for idiots and other people that care" is a very interesting blog. One can spend hours reading blog spots, concerning some quite delicate themes, without getting bored. All the articles provide a considerable amount of information, yet there is always the author's opinion that can be felt.
• Very useful articles, unbalanced advices and encouraging words, great blog! There is only one thing I don’t like (it’s just a matter of personal taste) the word idiot from the blog title, but that is just my opinion. Your blog is really great - your honesty and sweet soul come out in your passionate writing... it really is compelling to read your thoughts on various topics...

Recommendation: We need many more compassionate and spirited bloggers, and David's Blog can be rated as doing its best to meet its goal. I read his review of a movie on Caregiver, and was highly impressed by his writing style, and in one word he is: communicative.* Any expatriate will enjoy reading this analysis of the movie.

*Would you leave your family to take a job in another country? / Caregiver Photo video part 2a / Caregiver Photo video part 2b :

Blogosphere: Information professionals guiding you to the best bits of the blogosphere

[Note: This is not a review / interview from my desktop]

"Much relieved Fulham FC fan James Lappin tracks the inspiration for his blogging career back to reading a Korean poem while waiting for a haircut in a barber's shop in Surrey"

Q: What do you do?

A: I am a 39-year-old records management consultant and trainer,working for TFPL in London.

Q: Where is your blog?

A: I am one of the contributors to the TFPL blog, at http://tfpl.typepad.com

continue reading the interview

Blog Reviews - Managing Personal Finance

I tend to find that, by serendipity of course, some blogs are typically more in depth and engaging. However, some others simply link to other sites. Among the former is the following blog:

Blog Title: Managing Personal Finance
Date of birth: Sept 11, 2007.
Blogger Profile: Devray, a consultant in Personal Banking. Contact
Subject Profile: Finance, Personal.
Blog Posts Frequency (2008 sample): April (1), March (3), Feb (2), Jan (2)
Strength: Motivational, educating.
Weekness: None.
First post: Do we manage our personal finance in a right way?

Summary / objective stated in the first post: "Managing Personal Finance" provides you with well researched facts. Each post exposes personal interaction with financial experts and industry professionals. Starting with banking, credit cards, economy, home, insurance, investment, marketing etc. you get in-depth information about a wide variety of subjects. Be it fighting bank with banks or tips to survive an economic storm, planning your child's future or an investment plan for the middle class or even tips to corporate success, all are there for you to gain from.

Also, you will find Devray's involvement with compassion in the world of financial care, and hence the existence of Internet's first get-out-of-debt community. This site offers debt care's 101; includes interesting tid bits, such as, Shocking facts that debt consolidation and debt settlement companies do not tell you; Know how to solve debt problems; etc.

Topics / Themes:

• Banking
• Credit cards
• Economy
• Home
• Insurance
• Investment
• Marketing
• Misc.
• Review

Most Popular Posts (by comments received):

• Loan recovery – Are banks...:
  
• Selecting the right credit...:
  
• Taking care of Eyes:
  
• Credit card – Our fight...:
  
• Tips to Survive the Perfect...:
  

Recommendation: If you want to read and reflect on your financial assets, this one blog will have you hooked up and give you the required peace of mind!

A related resource, just-in-time:

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?

When a book gets really popular, like The Time Traveler’s Wife, then I’m sure I don’t want to read it. When I finally got over myself and read it, it was terrific. This is just probably my need to be special, or something. Thus spake: Ted!

See also: Same shelf and aisle, The Sheila Variations: Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?
Strangely enough, I cringed from reading Harry Potter.

Top 25 Nursing Blogs (By the Numbers) - Webmetrics revisited

PS. Web metrics (or Web analytics) applied to blogosphere is attracting the interest of many quantitative and qualitative visualizers. Here is one such by Rod @ Informaticopia:

"The Nursing Online Education Database has recently published their collection of the Top 25 Nursing Blogs

I think the piece highlights some difficult methodological challenges in assessing the "reach" of various web 2.0 technologies.

In ranking the top nurse blogs, their goal was to show — using objective data from reliable third-parties — which blogs are the most popular, according to visitor traffic and site backlinks. To this end, we used data for these four metrics to calculate the rankings: ... continue reading

See also:

• Web Analytics @ information visualization Blog
• CRITIQUE MY BLOG!
• Visualizing Traffic At My Blog Via Mapping The Pathways
• Visualizing Comments on Blogs

36 Blog Rules to Keep You in Business

If ou are a corporate blogger or interested in what works in blogsphere, you have Nancy Flynn's excellent book that tells you have far, how much and how deep should you go, and more so what are the boundaries that you should be aware. [Info courtesy: Microsoft Momentum, June 2007: 7]

BLOG RULES: A Business Guide to Managing Policy, Public Relations, and Legal Issues by Nancy Flynn (AMACOM Books, 2006)
Here are some rules to keep you and your business in business and out of court.
Blog Rule #1: The blog is an electronic communications powerhouse.
Blog Rule #2: Business blogs are not necessary or appropriate for every organization.
Blog Rule #3: Savvy business owners and executives must learn how to strategically and successfully manage the blogosphere today.
Blog Rule #4: It’s the casual, conversational, anything-goes nature of the blog that makes it both so appealing to blog writers and readers.
Blog Rule #5: An organization without an external blog program may risk losing position, market share, reputation, and sales to tech-savvy competitors.
Blog Rule #6: The strategic management of blogs or any other electronic business communications tool begins with the establishment of written rules and policies governing usage and content.
Blog Rule #7: A business blog opens the organization up to potential disasters.
Blog Rule #8: Management, technology, and the legal system have not yet caught up with the potential benefits and risks of business blogging.
Blog Rule #9: Strategic blog management begins with the establishment of a clear objective.
Blog Rule #10: Don’t allow IT (or legal, records management, or human resources) to dictate your business blog program.
Blog Rule #11: Require employees to sign a confidentiality agreement to protect trade secrets and confidential data belonging to the organization, employees, customers, business partners, and other third parties.
Blog Rule #12: Use discipline to maximize employee compliance with blog rules, policies, and procedures. continue reading Blog Rule # 13 - 36

From The Critics
Business Times (New Haven, CT):
Blog Rules is the one guide readers need to help ensure that their organizations are helped and not hindered by this revolutionary tool.
Niche Magazine:
Since the rules about business relationships and blogs can be hazy, Nancy Flynn has written an essential guide..
Library Journal:
Flynn's book... is more strictly for CEOs fearful of blogging. [continue reading these critical notes at bn.com]

Table of Contents (sample, see full list at bn.com)
Ch. 1 Why blog rules? 3
Ch. 2 Blogs pose unprecedented risks to business 13
Ch. 3 Start with a clear objective : why blog? 20
Ch. 4 Proceed with caution : self-assessment for would-be business bloggers 26
Ch. 5 Treat blog posts as business records 39

Great minds like a think: “Hey, vertical and horizontal! You ‘da mensch!”

Googling for vertical and horizontal worship (religious / spiritual practices) I came across the following comment by a Rabbi and in a broader discussion on if “Abraham” and “Brahman” might be etymologically related:

"... the first five commandments have to do with man’s relationship to God, while the second five govern man’s relationship to man. quoted and posted by SC&A @ Sigmund, Carl and Alfred

see also:

SPIRITUAL GEOGRAPHY: The Horizontal and Vertical Communities of our Dual Citizenship

Vertical and tacit: Multifaith and Knowledge Management in Perspective

Linked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means

Basic duties of the Muslim… by Muzzamil Siddiqi [with reference to relationship with God and and people-to-people]

CRITIQUE MY BLOG!

NB. Beware: This is a zone you must enter ONLY if you want a critiq / deconstruction of your mindmap as a citizen of the blogosphere.

STOP HERE! SEND ME THE LINK TO YOUR BLOG VIA THE "SUBMIT YOUR BLOG" BUTTON ON THE SIDEBAR AND I WILL PERSONALLY READ AND REVIEW YOUR BLOG WITH YOUR LINK BEING PASTED ON THE FRONT PAGE! GREAT WAY TO INCREASE TRAFFIC AND EXPOSURE TO YOUR BLOG. ALL I ASK IS THAT YOU PLACE MY BLOG LINK IN YOUR SIDEBAR.

Better: Comments
Up to date: Regularly
Bad: Post dated: Posted by blogger at 6/30/2007 [although the calendar shows it is posted around 20th June]
Competitive intelligence: folows good practice [I give a three star to this Blog] -- see other critiq blogs:

Zaib Kaleem's Blog Review Series

XOM Website Reviews

Between Friends....

The Blogger Review

A Blog for Bloggers - Blog Directories Reviews

SOB HALL OF FAME

Bestest Blog of All-Time

Famous Blogs - Blog Of The Day Awards - Top Blog Awards - 2007 Weblog Awards

Share The Love Blog Awards

Seventh Annual Weblog Awards

See also my previous blog posts:

Reviewing a blog - benchmarks?

Visualizing Comments on Blogs

Visualizing Traffic At My Blog Via Mapping The Pathways

Blog As A Teaching Tool

A Visible Pathfinder for Increasing Blog Traffic in 2007

Blog: Vanity Presses or Archives of Human Thought

An Army of Davids - It is All About Blogs and Infostructure

Unputdownable

P.S This is not a review from my desktop. This review is courtesy: Filipina Librarian in the Land Down Under. As far as I see, this is about a new book and how a librarian is reading between the shelf.

Out Front with Stephen Abram: A Guide for Information Leaders, by Judith A. Siess and Jonathan Lorig, ALA Editions.

"This is what I can say of Stephen Abram's book Out Front with Stephen Abram: A Guide for Information Leaders (Chicago : ALA, 2007). I have just finished cataloging the book and intended to read it later but when I started reading the first article I just couldn't stop. (Frankly, for the first time I actually hoped I would miss my train on my way home home so I can read more but I arrived a couple of minutes early at the train station. However, I made use of the train ride and was able to finish the book in time for me to get off the train.)" continue reading the comments

Previous posts from my blog:

Leadership Basics for Librarians and Information Professionals

SLA Leadership Summit 2007

Blooker prize honours best blogs

PS. This is not from my desktop [Info Courtesy: Thadakamalla Sujatha Rao @ Auckland City Libraries]

BBC News, 13 March 2007, 15:06 GMT
The short-list for a literary prize aimed at honouring the best books based on blogs has been announced.
Among the 15 short-listed "blooks" is one which claims to have invented a new genre of fiction.
Last year's winning blook - Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously - has now sold over 100,000 copies and is being made into a film.
The prize aims to encourage cutting-edge literature, more of which is beginning life in the blogosphere.
"Blooks are the latest landmark in the history of books," said Bob Young of Lulu, the self-publishing website which sponsors the prize.

...
Well-known blogs that have become books include The Devil Wears Prada and Belle de Jour: The Intimate Adventures of a London Call-Girl.

Continue reading

Reviewing a blog - benchmarks?

What is important in a blog's review?
Is it layout, design, format, context, content, or what else?

A techie would say, a blog is nothing but a Website. So, the review of a blog, is just like reviewing a website.
But then the techie may have a second thought, and might say 'wait a minute.' A Website most of the time constitutes distinct components, such as, (a) Web pages, (b) client based or server based content, and c) most important it is a showcase for a business. Whereas, a blog is, by and large, is not a site to host, store, and be-all or end-all in Web architecture. Some may be specific purpose blogs, but general use of the term blog is more with an immediate goal (see e.g., How To Build A Blog Empire).
Aha, then a blog is in this sense a window, and the Website is most of the time the main door, if not the main house for a business.
So, what makes a review of a blog different. Let's leave this for another post.
Here, let us look at how bloggers review a blog. For instance, @ Blog About Your Blog, the description of a blog includes: Layout, Content, Suggestions. A quick glance at these details gives a better picture:

Layout
Great header at the top, as the tagline says “the perfect blend of good and evil”. The template is a darker theme, but it works. Simple but decent. No ad placement or huge banners to take away from the content. You do see a somewhat large picture of the author, I might make it a tad smaller.

Content
What I like everytime I visit this blog is the number of comments, it’s ridiculous. 39 on some, 42 on another, heres 53! It’s obviously a personal blog so there should be a few more comments than other blogs, but that’s still really good. She must have a nice broad readership. It gives the blog other story to read basically. First the article, then the comments.

Suggestions
With a blog as big as this one, she should make it easier to find certain posts or topics. Categories or a search bar would definitely help that. Read the complete review

Another sample Blog Review: by Zaib Kaleem

This time around my review is for NotSoBoringLife.com. First comment..great domain name…I’m surprised it wasn’t taken already. As always, I navigated to the “About Me” page first to learn more about Nathan Metzger. Right off the bat, Nathan has me interested in learning more about how to lead “a not-so-boring life”. Like him, I’m married with two kids and sometimes things get a little less than exciting. I’m always looking to shake things up…..”shark wrestling” sounds a little extreme for my angling skills but I’m definitely overdue for a game of paintball. Read the complete review

My own two cents in reviewing a blog (and my own blog, with malice towards none):

Details of my blog: Multifaith Information Gateway
Content: general coverage of faithwise information. Meant to promote religious tolerance in a multicultural and multifaith society.
Strength is in its unique contribution: This blog founded the first ever Multifaith Hall of Fame This Hall has received 14 comments from visitors.
Weakness: The blog on the whole is too general. Hence, lacks focus and depth.
User comments (general): very few.
http://multifaith.blogspot.com/2006/06/multifaith-hall-of-fame-of-21st.html: May 2006; total visitors todate, Bravenet counter is 3729.
Indexed (cited) in:
Faithcommons.org
FoundationforPluralism.com
Spirit And Sky Definitive Spiritual Directory
Successful Blog: SOB A-Z Directory
All Things Spiritual Directory
LS Blogs Directory
Technorati
Del.ici.ous

P.S. The question then remains, what makes a blog, and what are the components that are a) essential and b) that are recommended?

NB. This question is not so simple, or simply about description of what are the itmes in a blog that are usable / useful (see such a catalog) or list of contents that make a blog. Furthermore, neither this is a question about functionality of a blog; nor about diffrent types of blogs; see similar views; and much more; and also CRITIQUE MY BLOG!

Any comments?

Related posts from my desktop:

The real secret to a successful blog/book/business...

Citing a Blog, Wiki - Style for bibliographic notes and references Blog As A Teaching Tool

Add a little more random to your product

A Visible Pathfinder for Increasing Blog Traffic

Visualizing Comments on Blogs

25 Basic Styles of Blogging

The real secret to a successful blog/book/business...

PS. This is not from my desktop

"For the last three years, Bert and I have tried to explain the "secret" to the success of the Head First books. We've tried to explain the "secret" to how a little non-news, non-scandal blog could land in the Technorati Top 100. We've tried to explain the "secret" to why Javaranch is one of the largest, most active, and well-loved developer communities on the internet. One big clue: we're not that talented. There is a secret, yet, but it's mostly a if-WE-can-do-it-ANYONE-can-do-it thing."

Success no longer has to be a meritocracy (or advertocracy), today it's just as much a loveocracy. Full article

A Visible Pathfinder for Increasing Blog Traffic in 2007

The wise learn from their own experiences but the truly intelligent will learn from someone else's!" - Benjamin Franklin.

My 2007 resolution for return-on-investments in blogging is to have a two-way traffic. The prescription is, please:
1. post a comment--aka, visual signature--in this blog on whatever subject (spam and phishing EXEMPTED)
2. turn on your blog comments' button; I will reciprocate not once, but every post that you create in 2007. This is my own idea of live and let live. I do reciprocate; my 2006 ledger shows Bloggers, such as, Sukhdev Singh, K. G. Schneider, Nancy White, Nirmala Palaniappan, David Tebbutt, Peachy Limpin, Thomas Brevik, Steven Edward Streight, Neil Patel, Diane Levin, and more.


PUNCHLINE: Increasing Blog traffic is a major concern, even for many Gurus [e.g., Adrian W Kingsley-Hughes' Three simple actions that doubled my website traffic in 30 days]
Previous post:

Visualizing Comments on Blogs

Visualizing Traffic At My Blog Via Mapping The Pathways

Blog As A Teaching Tool

Idea courtesy: Bloggers Compose Their Yearly Ledgers, By Jeralyn; and How to Pay for Blog Comments, @ usability blog of John S. Rhodes; So what'd you get? by Ryan Block

Technorati Tags: blog comments   2007 blog   blog traffic   2007 resolution   2007 blogging     popular bloggers   popular comments   top bloggers   Reward-program   return-on-investments

Business of Blogging Report 2006

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary named blog the word of the year in 2004, undoubtedly because of the enormous impact on the presidential election that year. In case you've been asleep since then, blog is short for weblog, an online diary where the blogger shares her opinions with the world, discusses personal interests, rants on politics, or just logs in the events of the day. Continue reading from Booklist

This world of blogs, wikis, podcasts, etc., is also known as the read/write Web. Interestingly in todays flat world, blogs are where the heart of the businesses marketing is being transplanted. Businesses, let me reiterate, need to know three things, synchronously, viz., a) input, b) thruput, and c) output. And, the Report (in hand) is just a sample of visualizing the Return-on-Investment.

The Business of Blogging
Published By: eMarketer
August 2006
17 Pages, 38 Charts
Price from: $695 / £ 375.30 / € 549.05 More details; and Table of Contents

Key questions the The Business of Blogging report addresses include:
What are the three main reasons blogs have not caught on with businesses?
How many US businesses are currently blogging?
How many plan to blog in the future?
Should marketers tap into the blog market?
How large is the blog audience?
What are the dangers of blogging?
And much more

Sources:
American Advertising Federation (AAF)
Backbone Media
BIGresearch
Burson-Marsteller
CIO Insight
comScore Networks Inc.
eMarketer
Forrester Research
Gallup Poll
Guidewire Group
Harris Interactive
Makovsky & Company
Nielsen//NetRatings
Pew Internet & American Life Project
PQ Media, LLC
Princeton Survey Research Associates
Reveries.com
Socialtext
Technorati

Among the conclusions:
A year ago, eMarketer looked at the business of blogging, and determined that blogs were a personal forum, a one-to-few-medium, and were not practical for businesses. Things have changed.
Blogs that cover product and strategy issues in a compelling, behind-the-scenes way are far more engaging than any press release.

Companies are learning (sometimes the hard way) that monitoring blogs is now an essential part of blog management.
eMarketer believes that a majority of business will participate in blogging over time, as consumers come to expect an alternative to traditional corporate communications. Monitoring blog content is also vital to brand management
Continue reading...

Comments from other reviewers:
Review: eMarketer $695 2006 Business of Blogging Report

A year ago, we told you that eMarketer's 15-page, $695 2005 Business of Blogging report was not worth the money, and brought no new insights to the conversation. Now, the 17-page, $695 2006 eMarketer Business of Blogging report has been published. And this time we recommend it for corporations that still need an overview of blogging.

Report changes tune on blogging for business

Today, eMarketer released a report called, “The Business of Blogging: A Review“, that “analyzes the contradictions behind why everyone is talking about blogs but so few business are actually posting them.”

eMarketer Releases The Business Of Blogging Report

I was fortunate to receive a full media (re: Blogger Media) copy from eMarketer entitled, The Business Of Blogging. This fifteen page report outlines the current Blog space in terms of business adoption and the possibilities for growth going forward.
While I’m not sure that there is anything available within this report that has not been made available publicly before, it does shed light on this burgeoning medium that is not being widely used by the corporate world for, what seems like, obvious reasons.

My comment:
I feel this is a useful analysis on creating an awareness about the value and return-on-investments. Knowledge managers, CEOs, and other information professionals will find this beneficial.

See also:

Report changes tune on blogging for business

The Business of Blogging: A Review, By James Belcher

Beyond Blogging 2006 - Washington DC, Friday, May 19th, 2006

Weblog Research : Business Blog Consulting

Tags:
─ emarketer
─ emarketer_business_of_blogging_report_2006
─  Business
─ Blogging
─  Company
─ Blog?