Archive for January, 2008
Is word count important when writing posts? Would you always enjoy reading a post overly written? Have you thought about how readers feel when they have to scroll at length in a single post?
Let’s face it. When the words start flowing it’s not always easy to control our fingers on the keyboard. We find it difficult to chop a single word. And we end up with texts full of adjectives, adverbs and unnecessary words which hardly add any value and are not easily digestible. They make reading boring.
Well, it’s a fact that people read much slower from the screen than from a print out. It is therefore important to pay attention to word count. Writing in a clear, concise and straightforward manner will go a long way in developing and maintaining good readership.
I won’t pretend to be a mentor here. I just want to share some useful tips I found at The Writers’ Perspective. In her post Blogs: How to Keep your Word Count Down, Maria Schneider stresses on the need to avoid wordiness. “Keep it short,” she says. “Be ruthless. Cut down your wordiness. It will make your post more concise and readable and that’s essential to good blogging. Good writing = Good blogging.”
In her follow-up post Cutting words in your posts: Part 2 Maria gives a concrete example of how you can write ‘cleaner and tighter” by editing your post.
I know you should be asking yourself: “How short?” While there’s no hard and fast rule, “300 words a post is a good target,” recommends Maria in her 20 Tips for Good Blogging.
I hope these make sense to any would-be blogger or anyone interested in revisiting their blog and improving their style.
So, keep writing and mind your word count when you write your next post. I’ll be more careful myself.
Alfa King MemoriesYou’ve just started blogging or you already are in the sphere, perhaps at a crossroad. A number of questions are haunting your mind. You want to write freelance but you can’t figure out whether it’s feasible. Or you might also be wondering whether you can earn some income online while blogging.
Well, your worries are legitimate. Don’t be shy about them. It’s a good sign when you start questioning yourself. The bottom line is there’s an answer to every question and we’ll try to find out together from the horse’s mouth. Who can best tell us than those who are already experienced and have earned some authority in the blogosphere?
In this interview I’ll talk to a renowned figure in the blogging world. Someone who has made a name for the passion she has for “creating web content on a wide variety of topics”. One who sticks to a fairly regular schedule. I’m referring to Skellie, author of Skelliewag and Anywired.
Skellie has written a number of authoritative articles and tutorials about blogging, and working and earning income online. She’s also a guest blogger for other no less reputable and professional blogs like Problogger, Freelance Switch and Daily Blog Tips. She has a unique voice and provides insightful and innovative ideas about blogging with the audience in mind. She is sharp, pertinent and has a sense of direction.
Are you ready? So let’s welcome our guest of the day.
Alfa King: Hello, welcome to Alfa King Memories. Thank you very much for having accepted to be interviewed despite your heavy schedule. Could you please introduce yourself and the services you offer?
Skellie: My name is Skellie and I run two blogs: Anywired (about working and earning an income online) and Skelliewag (a unique blog about blogging). I’m also a freelancer writer at several other blogs, which allows me to work entirely online.
Alfa King: Ok, but how do you manage with so much commitment, maintaining two blogs and writing for others? How do you reconcile quality with quantity?
Skellie: A lot of what is technically work for me feels like free time. I enjoy writing posts and doing blog related stuff, so I largely avoid the problem of procrastination. I make sure I know what I need to do each day and I do it in order of importance. It’s not GTD but it seems to work OK 
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Alfa King: From what I’ve gathered reading your blog it’d seem you left your job to rely fully on online income. A courageous and calculated move, no doubt; because I’ve read about people saying “Oh, but that’s enough only for the utility bills”. Can anyone earn a living online?
Skellie: It’s not for everyone. You got to have daily and extended internet access, which is difficult for some. You’ve also got to be pretty comfortable with the internet and technology. Self-motivation is another essential characteristic, because there’s nobody standing over your shoulder to make sure that you’re doing work. If you have those three things, I think it’s entirely possible, but it seems to suit entrepreneurial types best.
Alfa King: What next, after Skelliewag and Anywired? Any books in the pipeline?
Skellie: I’d like to write an eBook or/and a self-published paperback to compliment Skelliewag, but that isn’t really ‘in’ the pipeline yet. It’s hovering around the entrance to the pipeline but has yet to put a foot in, so to speak 
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Alfa King: Every blogger aims somehow to gain popularity and authority. If you had to, what advice would you give to someone embracing the blogosphere?
Skellie: I think the most important bit of advice I can give in a single sentence is to define your target audience and focus on being as useful as possible to them. That’s a really useful guiding principle to have.
Alfa King: Thank you once again, Skellie. It was nice talking to you. I do hope that your experience and advice will serve as inspiration to would-be bloggers and anyone interested in blogging. I look forward to the pleasure of further collaboration with you in the future. Cheers.
Skellie: Thanks Alfa! It’s my pleasure.
There you are folks. I hope you make something out of it. If you have anything still flickering in your mind, please let me know. The comment box is there for you. Use it. Explode it.
Last year I promised to come up with an interview category where I’d talk to experts in various fields, writing and blogging in particular. I started the first interview with a famous international freelance writer and editor, Nick Daws. It was a great success with unprecedented number of hits.
This time I’ll be interviewing a popular and well-established blogger who’s been “creating web content on a wide variety of topics for more than seven years”. We’ll talk about blogging in general and earning income online.
So, watch out.
You’d recall in my post the other day I mentioned about the free multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. I committed myself to let you know what I think about it once I’d have checked it out. I’ve gone through it and here’s what I have retained:
- Once you go to the Simpleology page, you have to follow some steps before you can access the course.
- The first one urges you to copy and paste a code on a blog post on your blog.
- Then you need to confirm that you’ve done so by giving them the related URL for them to verify.
- After which you’ll need to follow another series of steps involving signing up with Simpleology, which will allow you access to their pages.
- There’s a series of offers and downloads which you need not necessarily accept. It’s not a pre-requisite to view the course. But you have to go through the steps before you can reach the course page.
- Then you reach one of the pages of the Simpleology “WebCockpit”, with the label “Daily Targets” as heading on the top left hand corner. If you look in the right-hand column you’ll see the blogging course under the heading “Electives”.
Well, I must confess the steps were indeed a real chore. But it’s the price you got to pay if you want to have a free stuff, worth checking.
What can I say? The course is indeed interesting and enriching for anyone contemplating to set up a blog. But others with already a blog will find it useful too; sort of reminder for any improvement. There are 15 lessons, each on an average of five minutes, which you can access in audio files. Alongside there’s an interactive quiz which allows you to test how you understood the topics dealt with. You have also the option to download and print the course as a PDF file.
It’s a very simple easy-to-understand-and-follow course, packed with tips starting from what a blog is all about, how you can create your blog using the various soft wares available, promoting your blog, making money from your blog… you know, things like that.
All in all I’ll say it’s very well presented, straightforward and professional. It’s worth taking a peek and grabbing your copy while it’s still free. You may also browse the other pages and see what’s in there for you, if interested. You may also leave the site without any obligation.
That’s what I had to say about it. If you happen to check it, do let me know what you think about it, either in my comment box or via my contact page. After all, my blog is all about sharing knowledge and experiences.
Cheers.
Around the beginning of last month I came up with a post about the relevance or not of a degree for one to be a writer. I suggested that although you may have a good academic qualification you’d need to master some basic writing skills.
It was in some sort a follow up to a previous post where I stated that “there’s no straightforward answer to it.” And that “most writers, coaches or writing course providers would say you don’t need an English degree. They’d say a good command of English is all you need.”
This question of whether you need to have a degree has been haunting the minds of people on a global scale. While some time ago when not everybody could afford higher education for various reasons, a degree was held in high esteem. Degree holders were “demigods”. Today everybody seems to have access to higher education up to some college or university level. They haven’t lost their importance though.
But then people start talking about experience. Many companies look for experience in addition to your degree. New degree holders are often held in hostage while seeking jobs. How can you acquire experience when you haven’t had the opportunity to work? And how can you apply for jobs when you don’t have the qualifications?
This brings me to the question: “which is more important: education or experience?” And that’s what precisely JCM Enterprises, “a professional team of Canadian and U.S. writers with experience, talent and high-caliber skills” attempts to answer in their latest post “Do You Need a Degree to Be a Professional?
Some interesting comments follow the article which, I’d say, is written in a well-balanced manner. Like one that says: “I agree that my writing skills owe more to my high school English teachers than to anything I learned in university.” Or another one: “my room mate, a structural engineer, never went to college, never got any kind of formal training, and is totally self-taught. He works for a major Sign Company here in Vegas and totally blows away any of the other engineers in his department.”
I’m keen to know more about this problematic issue which I consider of vital importance in an environment of cut-throat competition. I am also concerned about how it works in different counties. In my own, a degree is required for important positions. Then you are a professional. So folks, what do you think? Do you value a degree? Do you consider that a degree is essential in life? Or experience? Or both?
I’m evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they’re letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.
It covers:
- The best blogging techniques.
- How to get traffic to your blog.
- How to turn your blog into money.
I’ll let you know what I think once I’ve had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it’s still free.
The New Year sets the pace. Just another series of carnivals where Alfa King Memories has been featured since December. Here’s the list:
1) Enhancing your authority is featured in Successful Blogging Principles for 2008 at The Next 45 Years
2) Booze off with SMART resolutions is listed in the Happiness section of the Personal Development & Happiness Carnival #24 at Slow down Fast
3) Blogging year, against all odds appears in three carnivals:
(i) Just Write BlogCarnival (edition seven) in the section Blogging/Journaling at Incurable Disease of Writing
(ii) the January 10, 2008 edition of carnival of the vanities at Conservative Political News – BETA Version of Site
(iii) Writers Block carnival under blogs at Writers from across the blogosphere
(iv) Personal Stories of Change Blog Carnival: Edition 13 at I will change your life.com
4) Which comes first, Christmas or New Year? is listed in the Carnival of Family Life – Christmas Edition at Colloquium in the Family Humor section
5) No more hope from Celina 7 things you can do is mentioned in The Special Holiday Edition Of The Carnival Of Cities at An American in Oslo
That’s all folks. I hope that makes sense. See you at the next series.
It’s the aim of every blogger to become an authority in the blogoshpere. For whatever reasons; little does it matter. And once they accede to a certain level, it’s legitimate to want to reach the summum bonum. I’m sure you’ve made this as one of your resolutions for the new year. Am I right? Well, don’t feel uncomfortable if you haven’t. You can still think about it.
One of the ways bloggers gauge their authority is through the popular social media. Technorati is one of them that lead you to the desired recognition. I said “desired” because you set your pace. You’ll get recognition if you desire recognition. And when you are recognized, you are appreciated, you drive in-bound traffic; you enhance your authority.
However, one thing you should bear in mind. Your degree of authority lies where you are in the authority hierarchy of Technorati (because we are talking of Technorati). You can easily guess that the most authoritative of all would be those that lie in the Top 100. Can you make it? Huh… That’s big achievement. Yeah it is.
Whatever the level of your blog, if you are committed to delivering quality materials to your readership, there’s no doubt you’ll pull traffic to your site (for whatever reasons). People want value content written in a clear, concise and consistent manner. If you can do this there’s no reason why you can’t reach to the top of the table.
Still sceptic? I’ll tell you how. Just follow the seven tips that Skellie gives us in A Guide to Breaking Into the Technorati Top 100.
Good luck.
The new year crept in with new hopes as far as the weather over here is concerned. It’s been too dry and hot during the last few months. Enough. The absence of rain coupled with high evaporation rate has considerably depleted our reservoirs. December did bring but a few drops of rain, although Celina passed by with little significance.
But the new year heralds well. On the very first day we had about 2 inches of rain. Cloud masses started to grow in the region and led to the formation of low pressure systems in the vicinity.
After a short break as from the 2nd January, the downpour has taken up again since yesterday. Figures available from the local weather services indicate about 2 inches of rainfall around the main reservoir. In some regions more than 4 inches were recorded. But these do not seem sufficient for replenishing the reservoirs, which are still well below their capacity. The authorities are still worried about the water distribution and management strategies.
The cloud bands associated with the low pressure system which passed to the west of Mauritius last night are still extending over the region. We do expect some more inches by tomorrow.
This time of the year is crucial for our water collection and management. It’s during this time that we can expect the most significant falls to allow the reservoirs to tune up to their full capacity. It’s during this time also that the drought is most dreaded. The big dark clouds haven’t shown themselves yet. There’s still some hope, until March.
Booze off
Back to work guys. Fire crackers’ time’s over now; the festive time too. Work resumed today, at least here in Mauritius, although quite a number of commercial undertakings are still on holiday – not necessarily merry-making, rather taking a well-deserved rest after the rush of the end-of-the-year crazy sales. Government employees were released early as on every 3rd January. Tomorrow will be a normal day, pending serious business as from Monday.
There was some rush at the petrol stations this morning. As my tank was practically empty, I headed straight to my usual petrol station. “No petrol, Sir,” shouted the attendant before I could stop. I drove to another station some 500 metres away. Several vehicles were queuing. I managed to get the boy’s attraction towards me. He approached hesitatingly. I handed over a 1000-Rupee note and he was on the point of activating the pump when his colleague snatched away the petrol gear. The service was interrupted as the station owners were awaiting a price rise to make windfall gains.
Frustrated, I glanced at my fuel meter. There seemed to be sufficient amount to run some 20 kilometres to my office. I decided to take the risk. There were at least two other stations which I could still try on the way. I was fortunate at the third one. I could have missed a day’s work.
But the much-awaited (by station owners) and much-dreaded (by customers) price increase didn’t take place. The Automatic Pricing Mechanism committee which met late in the afternoon decided to keep a status quo.
Revitalize yourself
Well, that was some side news. Let’s go back to our business.
Are you still boozy? Any hangover? OK, try the following:
(i) Take a good rest; sleep;
(ii) Avoid caffeine;
(iii) Re-hydrate yourself with water;
(iv) Revitalize with Fruit juice/orange juice for Vitamin C.
Anyway it’s always hard to start a new year. The festive mood is still in the back of your mind with the weekend ahead. 3rd and 4th falling just before a weekend always makes you feel clumsy. So you got another couple of days to revitalize yourself and get ready for the daily routine as from next week. See your activities with a fresh look. Learn from past events. Find out where you erred or failed. Don’t forget failures lead to success, only if you can recognize them.
Take a fresh look ahead
New Year is also time for new resolutions. If you made any, the routine should look different. Did you? Don’t worry if you didn’t. It’s never too late. Get yourself to the task. Work out your objectives that you want to attain for this year. Better write them down or publish them and make sure you discipline yourself towards achieving them.
Here’s how you could proceed:
(i) Make a list of the things you want to achieve during this year. These are your goals. List as many in different areas of your life.
(ii) Brainstorm at least a couple of them in each area. Find out which ones you cherish most and why. How they are going to improve your life or will positively impact on your life. This will help you gauge their importance to you, hence the need to achieve them. Make a priority list.
(iii) From the potential goals select about five or six that you feel are most important. You cannot focus on too many goals. You need to narrow down.
(iv) Make a detailed road map that’s going to guide you from where you are now to where you will have to be in order to realize them. The steps should be clear and easy to understand.
(v) Put your plan into action.
(vi) Monitor your progress regularly, perhaps at least once or twice a week. Be true to yourself. Devote some time for this exercise. This will help you to keep on track.
(vii) Keep yourself motivated and review to make sure you are not distracted or disrupted by anything that stands on your way at any time at any point. -
Be SMART…
For a resolution plan to be successful it should be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound.
When formulating goals make sure they are:
(i) Specific – not ambiguous; exactly what you want to achieve, not just vague assumptions;
(ii) Measurable – there needs to be a system to measure progress against a standard you’ve set yourself;
(iii) Achievable – not far-fetched; and capable of being reached with reasonable amount of effort and application;
(v) Relevant to the improvement of your life; and
(vi) Time-bound – set reasonable time frames with specific start and completion dates and times.
…or rather smartER
I’d propose to add two more letters to the mnemonic:
(i) E for Enthusiastic, fostering enthusiasm towards reaching the goals; and
(ii) R for Reliable – a plan that you can rely upon to fulfill your objectives, a plan that’s not going to let you down in the middle of the road. Above all you should yourself be reliable.
If you were already smart last year I do hope you become smarter this year. All the best.
If you have any other suggestions, please let me know. Shout in my comment box. You may also consider subscribing to my feed or spread the word.
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