Posted by Phil on October 8, 2007 – 6:43 am
Ever hit a dry spell in your writing? Was it a mental block, life distractions or just in a funk? I’ve never been much for a loss of words but noticed that the rate of posts this last week slowed-down considerably from the rhythm I’ve been keeping in the weeks preceding it. In my case I hit a very busy point where a number of areas of my life required a great deal of attention. Work spiked among other items requiring a new campaign involving a micro-site and a video. Video production is a very taxing process for me.
So I’ve been pondering this issue of creative proliferation that drives much of what makes-up a decent blog post. Nothing too overly profound, I think the creative flow is like a sponge. The more time there is to soak-up thoughts and ideas through reading, contemplation and experimentation gives birth to new thoughts, new ideas. These new ideas serve towards some valuable information that is worth sharing. It’s a fascinating process, one I richly enjoy.
I’ve noticed in times of high demand for creative juices at work the sponge can get dry if it’s coupled by a harried schedule, other outside stresses and a change in routine of some sort. Life rhythms get out of balance and more energy is required to bring things back into a normal stride.
The shift of seasons has had an effect on my creative process. Family rhythms have changed with school back in session. The weather is changing and the hectic pace of the Fall is now in full swing.
What have you noticed about your posting rhythms? Is there one key aspect that affects your creativity? Or do you find a specific combination of positive or negative elements to peak or valley your flow?
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Posted by Phil on September 25, 2007 – 10:29 am
Recently, I was accepted to author articles on rustylime.com. Rustylime is an online magazine of editorials, reviews and news briefs. For regular thoughtsparks.net readers, most articles will be reposts from this site. It will come as no surprise to you that I will most often be writing topics in the technology and communication categories. Catch my first article, which is a recent repost of the article Photo Sites Must Adequately Inform Copyright Usage.
I had the privilege this last month to speak with a web design class at a local private high school. There was a nice write-up on ets-lindgren.com on my presentation entitled "Web 2.what?"
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Posted by Phil on September 10, 2007 – 7:10 am
Becoming a better writer is possible for everyone, no matter your educational level or experience. Whether writing an email, a blog post, comments on another blog, or a report at work this skill can be strengthened through some simple steps.
Apply these ideas and I promise you will improve your writing or your money back. 
- Read literature a trifle more challenging. Two of my favorite books to read are the King James Bible and Shakespeare. No kidding. Both books will change your life. OK, call me weird, but every once in a while I get in a quirky mood and read through "Much Ado About Nothing" when I’m in a romantic mood or "Hamlet" when I’m in a more somber mood. Great stuff.
- Read well-written blogs, magazines, side-walk graffiti. I read many blogs and revisit few. Even some of the more popular rags don’t hold my attention. When you find a blog that is well-written, read every word written by the author and learn from their style. One of my favorite magazines is Fast Company which by the way, has an excellent website as well.
- Proof it like you were in geometry class. No matter what you are writing, take the time to check your work. Editing your work is essential to becoming a better writer. Print it out, preview before posting, review after posting, correct spelling and grammatical errors.
- Don’t be redundant, saying the same thing over and over and over again. As much as possible, steer clear of using the same verbiage in a given post.
- Become a foxy speller. Firefox has a built-in nifty spell checker that underlines questionable words in form fields.
Use the tools Luke. Constantly hit dictionary.com and thesaurus.com to look-up words. I use it for posts, comments and anything else I’m writing. Add the dictionary.com button to your browser for quick reference, as pictured to the right.- Ask your significant other or brother or mother to read your work. My dear wife periodically will review a post or other key writing projects when I get stumped on some phrase. It’s a huge help.
- Set small, tangible goals for yourself. If spelling is your greatest struggle, try for 30 days to proof and look-up every questionable word.
- Outline it, then write it. Sometimes when writing, it helps to get the main points on paper and then go back and write out the more eloquent prose.
- Write to a person not a post. Think of a specific reader and write as if they were the sole audience for the post. This can be an amazing visual tool.
- Look-up words you don’t know. When you are in a conversation or reading, find out what a word means. Do this at least once a day and you’ll quickly strengthen your vocabulary.
- Mimic other writers. As you discover writing that you enjoy, implement some of their style and way of phrasing information. Just like children imitate their parents, we can learn from those we read.
- Find your voice. Listen for your unique way of communicating information and cultivate that style.
- Exercise your writing muscle. The more you write, the better communicator you will become. Writing is as much a marathon as it is an artistic work of art. In fact, probably more so.
- Write fewer posts. If you find yourself to be a prolific writer but producing a great amount of errors, slow-down, check your spelling, sentence and paragraph structure. Raise the bar and you’re readership will grow, I promise.
- Say more with less. If you can convey the same information with less words, do it. Your writing will pack a greater punch.
What other tips, tools or methods do you use to improve your writing?
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Posted by Phil on August 27, 2007 – 7:20 am
This post is number 100 for thoughtsparks.net and to celebrate, I thought I’d write a reflective look on what I’ve learned from blogging to date. In its five short months in existence, this blog has gone through some evolution and yet has remained true to its original intent, "Igniting Ideas for the Common Good." I recently debated about splitting the blog into two, but have come to the conclusion, based on reader response that there is an appreciation for the method to my madness. Thoughtsparks.net will remain as it has been, a tech-oriented site with a very human touch mixed with ideas and reflections.
While it would be difficult to write a complete list, some of the things I’ve learned from blogging include:
- It is hard, if not impossible, to predict how people will respond to posts. I’ve written some posts that I thought were real zingers that just lay there. Others, that I thought had much less expectation garnered much greater response.
- Blogging is fun. I’ve blogged in the past but something struck me through this process that has made it really enjoyable. Maybe it’s being a part of blogging communities like MyBlogLog, maybe it’s that I put more attention to it and stuck with it long enough to gain readership.
- Publishing a blog is work. Yes, the tools developed now make it easier than ever, but getting a blog up-and-running and keeping it alive with fresh information takes time, thought and hard work.
- I’ve met some really wonderful friends through blogging from all over the globe. This has been a delightful side effect that I was not expecting from the beginning, but there are a good number of people that I’ve met that I’ve developed a measure of ongoing correspondence.
- One of the best ways to improve ones writing is to blog consistently. I average about 20 posts a month, which is around 5 posts a week. In addition to comments and correspondence, that is a good amount of writing. The process for writing a blog requires a higher level of thought in structure, content and presentation than most typical writing for work.
- People appreciate fresh, original content creation. Authenticity cannot be faked and blogs that are poorly written with rehashed information or media are obvious to everyone.
- Ideas are everywhere. When you get in the mode of looking for something to write about, things pop-out from many sources. Sometimes it’s a conversation at work, others something read online or experiences with friends. What makes blogging so fascinating is the ability to take the most unusual aspects of ones life and relay that information to others.
- Being an online communicator is a two-way street. Being quick to respond to comments, visiting and commenting on others blogs is a highly interactive experience. Blogging can make one reachable, which is part of the appeal for readers.
- Blogging is a smart career move. Developing an online voice promotes oneself as a competent professional.
- Blogging becomes part of your daily life. Not just a past-time, it’s a passion and a pursuit. My life is richer for it.
To all my dear friends that write blogs with passion and excellence, thank you for making my life richer. Welcome aboard new readers. Let’s grow and learn together.
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Posted by Phil on August 20, 2007 – 9:50 pm
Have too much traffic to your site? Want to shew-off a good portion of potential readers? Well, it’s actually quite easy. Just follow these tips and you will alienate many people from frequenting your site, myself included. Here we go, just do the following:
- Include pop-up windows. Even one will do the trick. Have it activate on page load. Most users will have it blocked, but either way, you’ll send them running.
- Make sure your page loads slowly. Load-up with unoptimized images, include 25 or 30 widgets and set the blog to load 40 or 50 posts.
- Feature 10 or 15 YouTube videos. Don’t actually add much content to the posts. This will tip off the reader to head to YouTube if they are really interested in videos, or for readers in a controlled environment at work, they won’t see the content anyway.
- Publish poorly written posts. Since you haven’t spent much time and care in writing your posts, folks won’t spend time reading it. I guess that’s a pretty fair exchange.
- Leave mountains of spelling and grammatical errors. Don’t think of running a spell checker.
- Post lots of grotesque imagery. Feature intense, gnarly imagery and you’ll attract a portion of readers. But the rest of us will head-off to other blogs and oh by-the-way do just about anything to avoid your site.
- Write with endless vulgarity. Publish posts with a stream of blanky blank verbage which shows your disregard for the sensibilities of the reader and lack of creative expression. You will have effectively convinced the reader that their time is spent better elsewhere.
- Plagerize, barrow and steal. Just barrow content from other sites. The originators won’t mind right?
- Post lots of tasteless degrading nudity. Those photos are just the ticket to send folks running, especially when they are reading at work.
- Feature dancing baloney. That’s my bosses term for pointless animation and stupid features. Post animated graphics that the user can’t shut-off, send them into a seizure and generally irritate them. Add some good annoying music to it and you are set.
There you have it. If you try really hard you too get rid of all of those pesky readers. I’m sure you can be creative and think of some other ways, but there’s a few to get you going.
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Posted by Phil on June 26, 2007 – 9:01 pm
Living life on purpose is something I strive towards. I enjoy looking at cause and effect, the end results. Writing to a blog is a process that is done with definite goals in mind. I wrote about the Top 20 Reasons I Blog back in March. In reviewing those reasons, by-and-large they are still the same.
Doing the Math
Today, I did a quick look at my web stats using Google Analytics. I’ve seen a 22% increase in visits from the previous 30 days. Sounds impressive. So, making the blanket assumption that I will see a 22% increase each month from the previous one, I figure that by next April I will have a whopping 186 visits per day. If I were to purposely monetize the site and saw a 3% return click rate on ads at .25 cents per ad, I’d be making roughly $42 a month. If for some reason I was able to triple the return I would be making $126 a month by next Spring. If you figure I spend at least 30 hours a month blogging including reading and commenting (and probably many more, I’d hate to count), I’d be earning $4.20 an hour. Wow, does that motivate you or what?
If thoughtsparks.net were to become profitable one day, I would probably give the money away. I strive towards a personal integrity that is not about compromising my posts to win popularity or even to turn a quick buck. If I don’t challenge, educate, delight or encourage my readers, then I will banish myself from the blogosphere. This blog, while autobiographical at times, is really about the readership, about you. Truthfully, the well-formed comments speak to this site becoming an online community of folks who are thinkers and are looking for honest information and encouraging pros.
Why I Blog, Simple Really
- Learning. As a professional web developer, blogging keeps me on the bleeding edge of new technology. As a communicator it sharpens my writing and critical thinking skills. As a student of people it teaches me the unique and dynamic nature of the human condition.
- Giving. Blogging is an opportunity to share lessons I’ve learned and tricks of the technical trade. It’s an avenue to offer assistance to people near and far.
What Motivates You?
Statistically speaking, the number of wealthy bloggers are very few. You stand a much greater chance of making serious income in many other pursuits. So why do you blog? What really drives you and gets you up every morning? Is it pursuing financial gain? Is it altruistic concern for others? Is it a creative thirst for expression? What’s your bottom line? I’m curious to know.
Posted by Phil on March 14, 2007 – 5:49 pm
Filed under Reviews, Writing
So I finally decided to give Helium a try. It’s a site where you write short articles and if they rank well, they pay you. I thought, what the heck I’ll try it. Shortly after posting I noticed that my article ranked number 15 out of 28 for the thread. Pretty cool. Read it at: http://www.helium.com/tm/211717/total-hosting-solution-google. To early to say whether I’ll keep writing for them, but perhaps I’ll take some of my better postings and publish under the right topics. We’ll see.
Posted by Phil on March 14, 2007 – 4:15 am
I’ve read several blogs lately about blog burnout. Wikipedia defines burnout as, "a psychological term for the experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest (depersonalisation or cynicism), usually in the work context." Perhaps some folks lose sight of, don’t really know why, get board with or have false expectations for what blogging is about.
I imagine that people who blog primarily for "easy money" or for any one or two reasons will run short after a while and either trudge on dutifully or just give up. If you are facing blog burnout perhaps a perspective check will cure your ailments. If not, give yourself a rest.
Here’s Phil’s Top 20 Reasons I Blog:
- It’s fun. I enjoy writing and creative expression
- It’s interactive. I enjoy getting comments from people and writing comments on other peoples blogs.
- It’s instructive. I’m learning about online marketing and communication.
- It’s flexible. I can go in pretty much any direction I want at a whim.
- It’s measurable. With Google Analytics I can track how much traffic is coming to my site and from where.
- It’s a career builder. Linking to LinkedIn and writing about information related to my field of web development and design lends credibility to my professional life.
- It’s an opportunity to network. I enjoy making connections and getting to know people across the globe.
- It’s possible to monitize the site. While I think I’ve made a whopping 1 cent from Adsense, I see how you could get a monitary return on your investment. I may position this or another blog eventually to better return income. Notice it’s not the first or last reason I blog, just somewhere in the middle.
- It’s creative. I like coming up with new ideas to write about. If you ever read something by me that sounds like something someone else wrote, it’s a coincidence. I value originality.
- It’s an outlet to rant about poor products. Honest feedback, criticism and critiques make for better product offerings.
- It’s an opportunity to promote good things. When someone or some organization is doing something good, I enjoy writing and helping to promote all things for the common good.
- It’s a new way of relating to people. Social media is much more than techno-dweeb stuff. It’s about real people sharing their lives.
- It’s an avenue to record thoughts. I enjoy reading my previous entries and reflect on what was happening or what I was learning at the time.
- It’s fun to have an avatar on MillionDollarAvatar.com. While not the first to come up with the idea of allowing people to post avatar’s (icons from their blog). Kevin, originator of MillionDollarAvatar has done it in a great spirit and I just like the site.
- It’s a way to stay current with cutting-edge information. Blogging encourages interaction, which means I’m both writing and reading what others are saying about relevant topics to my life and work.
- It’s a tool to keep my mind sharp. I strive to publish informative or thought provoking entries which requires work to develop good ideas.
- It’s an opportunity to practice what I preach. I promote the use of technology in my work place. Being a practitioner builds credibility and integrity in my work.
- It’s addictive. I have an addictive personality by nature and blogging just seems to fit with who I am. I list this different from being fun because sometimes it’s fun and sometimes it is addictive. There is a difference.
- It’s a place to post photos and other media. I enjoy taking pictures and every once in a while I snap a pretty decent shot that is fun to post.
- It’s a medium that is always changing. I love to dive into new things but am not of a maintenance person. New challenges, new ideas, new projects all gun my engines. While a blog may run on, it’s about fresh content and that makes it fun for me. I’m going to be experimenting in the future with music, video, line-art, photography and the written word. Who knows what’s next.
Why do you blog? If you aren’t why not? Jump on blogger.com today and get rolling.
