Blog Best Practices - Classmate Blog Replies

Here are the links to my blog replies this week:


http://cdeisnor87.blogspot.com/2014/05/blog-review.html?showComment=1401022644252#c3474237711524714208


http://checoopercom510.blogspot.com/2014/05/blog-8-2.html?showComment=1401036537265#c3199765133082892182

Blog Best Practices

In today’s digital world, there are countless blogs written by people from all walks of life, so how can one blog stand out from the rest?  In order to determine the best practices for creating a successful blog, I selected a blog from the Time’s list of “The Best Blogs of 2011" to examine.  I chose to analyze the blog “Get Rich Slowly," which focuses on personal finance.  I currently work as a marketing professional in the banking industry, so this blog interested me because it directly relates to my current business field.

First, I think one of the most important practices of managing a blog is to create a clear, identifiable theme for your posts.  The blog “Get Rich Slowly” identifies itself as a financial advice blog.  One thing that I particularly liked about this blog was that not all of the posts were about obvious financial topics.  When people think “financial” they immediately think of banking, but there are so many more aspects about finances that touch our daily lives.  The most recent post on the blog was entitled "Ask the Readers: How do you dream?" by Linda Vergon; the writer reflects on dreaming and whether or not it is worth it to dream about something that may never be attainable.  Although the majority of the post was not financially related, the author keeps to the overall theme of the blog by wrapping up her post by applying her thoughts to the topic of personal finance.  The writer even poses a question to his audience to promote reflection and discussion of the ideas presented in her post.  The format in which the writer chooses to present a financial discussion is not only engaging, but it also promotes reader participation and feedback.   

Next, frequency of posts is a key component for a successful blog.  The homepage of “Get Rich Slowly” displays the most recent posts to the site.  I searched backwards from the first post, and it seems new blogs are posted almost daily.  The posts are also created by several different authors, which makes frequent posts less cumbersome; additionally, it allows the site to provide a wider range of perspectives on a single topic.  Many of the authors seem to have been chosen because of their firsthand knowledge of the particular subject matter.  For instance, one of this week’s blogs focused on generating income through real estate.  The author of the post was a landlord herself, so she was able to provide insight on the pros and cons of taking on this type of income generation.  All of these factors allow the blog itself to stay relevant and keep readers interested with their continuous posts by various authors on a variety of topics.        

Finally, generating profitability is an important aspect for those bloggers that are making a living from their work.  Anyone can create a blog, but not everyone can make a career out of blogging.  Therefore, bloggers are faced with the challenge of obtaining advertising to support their work.  I think the most logistical way to find interested advertisers is to find ones that relate to the blog’s overall theme, and “Get Rich Slowly” does just that.  All of the ads on the homepage are financially related.  There is a web banner for Ally Bank prominently placed at the top of the blog’s homepage while the rest of the ads were placed on the right hand side of the page.  Although I am sure that the blog owners are making generous revenue for strategically placed ad, I felt that the Ally Bank banner took away from the branding of the blog itself.  The banner was right in between the logo and homepage site and the first post, so it seems too integrated into the blog itself.  Revenue is very important to bloggers, but I think it should be secondary to the overall look and feel of the blog itself.  First and foremost, consumers are coming to a blog for the content, not for the advertising.    

All blogs cannot fit into a single mold, but there are basic characteristics that are apparent within a successful blog.  Theme and frequency are just two of the many staples to creating an engaging blog.  Revenue generation is also very important for career bloggers, but it should not be the central focus of a blog’s layout.  Content is what truly drives a great blog, so that should always be the main focus above all else.          

Joe Paterno Press Materials

For Immediate Release

Contact: Ashley DiSipio, ashley.disipio@snhu.edu

Joseph “JoePa” Paterno Dies at Age 85

State College, PA – On Sunday, January 22, 2012, Joseph “JoePa” Paterno lost his battle with lung cancer at age 85.  Paterno had been admitted to the local hospital where he died on January 12 for treatment related to his lung cancer. Best known as the head coach of the Penn State football team for 44 seasons, Paterno received dozens of awards and honors for his victories and leadership over the course of his career. 

Paterno’s legacy was recently clouded by the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal that broke in 2011.  When Sandusky, who was Paterno’s assistant coach from 1969-1999, was charged with children molestation, Paterno came under fire for not taking more aggressive action when an abuse incident was reported to him in 2001.  In his last interview before his death, Paterno reflected that he could have done more, and said that "...I backed away and turned it over to some other people, people I thought would have a little more expertise than I did. It didn't work out that way."  In November 2011, Paterno announced he would retire at the end of the football season, but was instead fired and was unable to complete his final season as head coach. 

The family released an official statement on Sunday, after unconfirmed reports surfaced on Saturday that Paterno had already passed, which stated in part that Paterno, “…died as he lived. He fought hard until the end, stayed positive, thought only of others and constantly reminded everyone of how blessed his life had been.”

Paterno leaves behind his wife of 40 years, Susan, five children, and 17 grandchildren.

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Facebook Post:  Joseph “JoePa” Paterno has lost his battle with lung cancer at age 85.  He passed away on Sunday, January 22 at a hospital in State College, PA.  Paterno experienced a successful career as a college football coach, and was the head coach of the Penn State team for 44 seasons. "He was a man devoted to his family, his university, his players and his community," his family said in their official announcement of his death.  However, his lifetime of accomplishments was tainted during the last year of his life when a child sex scandal broke involving his longtime assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Read the full statement from Paterno’s family here: http://goo.gl/kAB6O0.    

Social Media Tools

Social media has changed the scape of our online world by allowing the global society to interact in ways we never thought to be possible.  This new media form has evolved into countless outlets and tools that allow users to customize their social experience.  Social media also poses a new challenge for writers and journalists to identify the best avenues to reach their target audiences.  To gain further insight on the complex world of social media, I tried three Social Media Tools to assess which would be most effective in reaching new media users.

First, this blog itself has been a test of a social media tool for me.  It has been challenging to switch gears from writing in a very formal, academic way to writing for an interactive audience.  It has become essential for writers to be able to adapt to new media writing styles.  In her article The Transformation of NPR, Jennifer Dorroh discusses how NPR addresses the need to incorporate new media into their business plan and states, “The organization [NPR] is asking all of its journalists to rethink their storytelling and audience interaction…” and they spent $2.5 million “…to train its 450 editorial employees in digital storytelling skills and to pay for substitutes to fill in for them while they learn.”  This shift in focus by NPR is just one example of how traditional media outlets are incorporating new media forums into their reporting approach.   It is essential for journalists to be part of the social media revolution or they will be left behind.  Social media writing requires an entire new skill set, which I have experienced firsthand during my blog writing journey.

Next, I tried tools that could drive people to my blog, one of which was social networks.  Social networks are the first thing I think of when talking about social media.  Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+ are just a few of the online communities that have been established as part of the social media revolution.  Users can consume, interact, and share media that interests them, and that is why it is so crucial for writers to utilize these sites.  For example, I follow UMass Boston, my undergraduate alma mater on LinkedIn, and they recently posted an article about their upcoming Social Media Day event.  By “liking” the article, I am showing my interest in the piece.

I also went so far as to “share” the story so that all of my followers can now access the information even if they do not follow UMass Boston.
 

In her blog post regarding building online relationships with readers so that they can interact and share just as I did with the UMass article, Burlington Free Press reporter Lynn Monty reflects, “It’s imperative they [journalists] live in as many social networks as possible, just like newspapers hitting doorsteps each morning, we need our links hitting tablets and iPhones where people are … and they are on each and every social channel.”  Now that journalists are writing for new media, they need a way to direct consumers to their content.  Social networks provide that link between online users and the writers’ long forum content, so journalists must work to build a following on social networks in order to have their stories heard and shared with others.

Finally, another tool that can drive consumers to my blog through mobile channels is QR codes.  I currently work as a Marketing Officer for a small community bank, and I have recently begun using QR codes on our print advertisements in order to have potential customers visit our website.  The site I prefer to utilize is QRStuff.com because they provide quick and simple QR code generation for free.  I created a code that links straight to this blog:

These codes not only allow writers to create access to their online media content, but it focuses on mobile access, and Monty notes, “As the web has moved from search to social, news has moved from doorsteps to mobile devices.”  Computers are no longer the only way to access online information; mobile web access has become increasingly popular, and 55% of cell phoneowners use the internet on their phones.  QR codes are meant to be scanned by a mobile device in order to access the content, and they can be found everywhere in today’s advertising world.  Creating a link between the print world and the online world allows writers to cater to traditional media audiences and new media audiences.
The way we share information has changed drastically, and social media has become the hub for consumer interaction and media sharing.  Journalists are tasked with not only adapting to a new writing style, but also finding ways to bring readers to their content.  Consumers have unprecedented control in the new media landscape, so it is important for writers to be able to understand and navigate social media in order to have a successful online presence.