Tag: blogging

Last on the Card – November 2023

Carl Setzer2 Comments

Fandango posted his response to Bushboy’s blogging prompt “Last on the Card“. The basics of the prompt: post the last photo on your phone or camera’s SD card that was shot in November.

I opted to hop on my phone and see what’s there. So, I was at an event last night, a Book/Movie Discussion for Killers of the Flower Moon. We had a table there with a few resources to learn more about the Native American experience, both in the US as well as local tribes. I took a photo of two books I did not have.

Book covers: "Living Nations, Living Words" and "How To Talk With An Indian".

These are books I hope to attain. The one on the right was written by a local author, Jay Bowen, who was at the event. I spent quite some time talking with him last night, so I have a valued connection.

Blogging Regrets?

Carl Setzer2 Comments
crop female freelancer using laptop at table at home

So, Fandango (I’m sure you’ve seen me write about him before) posted a few days ago about regrets he had during his blogging career (is it fair to call blogging a career?).

He, like me, started his blogging on Blogger. Now, Fandango regretted not starting on WordPress. I weighed all the options back in 2005 when I launched my blog. When Blogger was acquired by Google, I thought that this would be the BEST platform. And, well, I was wrong about that. I shifted over the WordPress years ago, and haven’t really updated my Blogger site (just a few random posts here and there). But Blogger gets far more hits than the WordPress site. Last month, Blogger got 1,008 hits while WordPress got 221. I expect the Blogger stats may be misleading, but I haven’t spent any time researching that.

Anyway, be that as it may. Stats are only so valuable. I get more engagement on WordPress, like the interface better, and find the ecosystem of plugins wonderful. So, though I don’t exactly regret my time with Blogger, I am glad I made the move to WordPress.

Being Strategic With Social Media

Carl Setzer
facebook application icon

I’ve known people whose business is dependent completely upon a single platform. YouTube is a huge one, but I also see people 100% dependent on Instagram, TikTok, or even Facebook, for their business. I’ve been thinking a lot about that recently.

A friend of mine, due to the LastPass hack, lost access to his YouTube channel. Then there’s the drama over at Twitter, with people being banned from the platform on the whim of Mr. Musk, and I can continue. So, I hope you’ll understand that I highly recommend that you DO NOT rely 100% upon a single platform where you have no control.

Social media sites are great tools for connection, but they’re best for directing people to a website. One you own, you control. Encourage folks to subscribe to a newsletter, or the website. Then, by combining your website with blog posts and newsletters, and you have a very powerful tool to stay connected with your audience even if you’re blocked from a key social channel. Also, if you have a website connected to your social platforms, your audience has a way to find and reconnect with you if you lose access to YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, whatever.

I particularly like sites built on WordPress, as it’s extremely portable. Wix, Squarespace, and the like are tied to a single provider, too. With WordPress, I can port my website to another hosting company with relative ease (related: make sure you back up your files somewhere other than on the hosting platform).

Be strategic with your digital portfolio. Be prepared for various calamities, as well as for the eventual falling out of whatever must-use platform the people abandon next. Technologies evolve. Audiences evolve. Platforms evolve. Business sustainability requires you to be thoughtful and strategic.

Insights On Blogging Insights

Carl Setzer2 Comments
blog icon information internet

Fandango, a blogger I’ve been following for a bit, posted a reply to Salted Caramel’s blogging insights prompt from Monday of last week.

As I’ve been blogging since 2005, both personally and professionally, I think I have something to add. Let’s explore, shall we?

First, let’s look at Salted Caramel’s caveats.

  1. It is also fine for your “quaint passions” to change over time.
  2. This quote applies only to personal/hobby blogging

For point 1, I actually think they should change over time. Especially for a personal blog, you want to show your evolution. Changing interests point to explorations and make for a more interesting read over time.

Point 2: I agree somewhat. Depends, ultimately, on the professional blog’s focus. If it’s for a company, sure. But if you’re a sole proprietor (say, freelancer, or real estate agent) there’s value in having a broader sampling into the person you are. My professional blogging was, mostly, focused on real estate. Real estate industry centered blogs can get…boring. I find it valuable to write about the bigger you, and the bigger community around you.

  • Why do you live where you do?
  • What do you love about it?
  • What are the challenges?

So, more than just “housing starts are up, prices are, too…”. In these cases, the client is hiring you. Why should they be interested in you?

Anyway, that’s my fast two-cents. What do you think?

Some thoughts on the Dark Brandon thing

Carl Setzer2 Comments
mad formal executive man yelling at camera

A blogger I highly admire, Bernie Michalik, posted this article looking at the whole Dark Brandon meme that’s running through the internet right now: On The Good and Bad Aspects of Dark Brandon (a quick aside for those unaware of the meme “Let’s Go Brandon”, it’s basically an anti-Biden euphemism. If you wish to explore it further, here’s the Wikipedia article.)

I understand that it feels good, at one level, to meet political invective head-on. However, I find it counterproductive. Bernie pulls an apt quote:

“Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.”

George Bernard Shaw

So, my thoughts? As Luke Skywalker put it, “This isn’t going to go the way you think”.

It’s best to keep our end goals in mind. Which, hopefully, isn’t just to score pyrrhic points in the eternal game of poltical one-upmanship.

Blogging Advice

Carl Setzer1 Comment
blog icon information internet

My blogger friend, Pooja, wrote this post today: “BLOGGING ADVICE YOU SHOULD IGNORE“. If your blog is important to you, check out her advice.

Here is one I want to highlight:

  • Don’t spam! Instead of feeding the engine garbage, put out the best content you can. Another way to think of this is “think long-term”.

Anyway, it’s a good post and worth reading.

A Blog, A Reflection, And A Recommendation

Carl Setzer6 Comments

My friend Bill posted this earlier today: “Where everyone would love to drown“. Seeing the headline in my inbox, and knowing Bill, my brain connected it to the Stevie Nicks song “Sara”. Google, and its scion YouTube, assisted me as I wanted to listen as I read. Here’s what I played:

Hints of youth, of those people who’ve impacted us greatly, but who fade to myth over the decades. That’s what came to mind for me.

In response, a haiku awakened. True to form, I guess. 

Summers of my youth
Tastes of freedom and heartache
Crowds passing me by

I highly recommend you head over to Bill’s blog, the Pink Lightsaber. He’s a talented writer well worth the gift of attention.

A Note On Blog Posting

Carl Setzer

I follow a number of blogs, most of them sending me emails about new posts. Today I received around 15 messages from one as they posted post after post. So, I wanted to remind everyone about a great feature within both WordPress and Blogger (and I expect other blogging platforms as well): Scheduled Posts.

With a plethora of blog posts to load, instead of blasting them all out at the same time, balance them out over time. Besides the kindness to your readers’ inboxes, Google prefers that SEO-wise, as you end up with more continuous content and updates.

WordPress:

So, in WordPress’ block editor, before you post, head to the upper right-hand corner, click the gear, then “Post Settings”, then “Status”. Click on a date and time for your post to go.

Annotation 2020-02-16 093350

 

Blogger: 

The advice is pretty much exactly the same, if the visuals are different.

Annotation 2020-02-16 093441

So, there you go! Spread those posts out, get better SEO and avoid flooding inboxes. And keep on pursuing greatness!

A Quick Piece Of Blogging Advice

Carl Setzer

One of the blogs I follow will, often, post a flurry of posts in one burst. So my email becomes laden with a string of 8, 9, 10 posts.

I want you all to be aware of a feature within all blogging platforms I’m familiar with: “Scheduling Posts”.

Below is a screen capture of the current layout for WordPress.

Annotation 2019-09-20 091109

 

This helps in a couple ways.

  1. You don’t flood your readers with content.
  2. Regular postings are better for you, SEO-wise. Scheduling 10 posts to occur over 10 days is better for your site in the eyes of Google.

So, one fast bit of blogging advice. Cheers!

A Blogger Blogging On Blogging

Carl Setzer

I easily get caught up trying to make things perfect. I know far too many folks with the same proclivity. I also know that writing is what I need to focus on. Get more posts out, I should create a podcast and vlog…and that conflicts with “perfection”. It gets in the way of my goals.

As a blogger, I need to blog (insert “duh” here). Losing focus on creation keeps me from this. I hate that. So, I am working on simply posting. Posting as often as I can, as best I can. Letting go of it needing to be perfect.

The same goes for design work. Get something done. Finished is better than perfect.

Lately, I found myself struggling with “focus”. Related, somewhat, to perfect, I guess. There’s a notion within blogging that you want your blog to have as narrow a focus as possible. And there’s validity to that. It makes the life of a reader much easier. But a blog is not a book. It’s not a magazine…blah, blah. There’s a personal element to a blog. I have a wide array of interests. It’s perfectly wonderful to explore them  all in one place, too.

A blog should be a unique expression, each one one-of-a-kind. They should reflect the writer’s personality. I also believe they should be informal.

What do you like about blogging? What do your favorite bloggers do? And do you discern a particular style of writing to label “blogging”?