Anastasia

10 Blogs I Love To Read

Reading other people's blogs has not only helped me to improve my own blog but, most importantly, to broaden my horizons by learning about other cultures or simply adding to my knowledge of things. Here are a few of my favourite blogs which I really enjoy reading regularly. I hope that you will also love them as much as I have.

1. Agnes' Pages

From the very first moment I started reading Agnes' Pages, I was hooked on her blog. Agnes has a unique way to master words and attract her readers' interest.

2. Blind Pig & The Acorn

Before I came across Tiper's blog, all I knew about the Appalachians was that they are mountains in the eastern USA. Thanks to Tiper, I've learned a lot about her wonderful Appalachian heritage.

3. Bobbin Talk

If you love fashion, have a look at Aneta's blog. Simply brilliant!

4. Gal Friday

Although I was absent from Tina's blog for quite some time because of my heavy schedule at work and my many obligations, it's always one of my most favourite places to visit in the blogosphre. It's enough to read one of her posts to feel like being part of her beautiful world.

5. God of War Diaries

Whenever Kofla writes in English, I always stop by. I love his thought-provoking posts on a variety of social or political issues.

6. I love I hate America

Impossible to get bored when reading Bing's blog. Bing has admirably managed to reconcile two completely different cultures.

7. Mary Ames Hill

I was delighted to see my great friend Mary back to blogging. Her inspirational posts are like a haven of peace where I can sit back and enjoy her great content. I've learned so much from Mary - how to become a better person, in particular.

8. My Blog

Constantinos' blog is filled with his own personal experience of things in different circumstances and situations and his valuable, inspirational thoughts. I also feel very honured  honored to be a contributor and hope that Constantinos will eventually update his blog soon.

9. Taxidiaris

"Taxidiaris" in Greek is used to describe someone who enjoys travelling. Phivos' exceptional blog, in both Greek and English, is all about travelling around the world and also constitutes an excellent source of cultural information in addition to the truly amazing photos.

10. The World Around Us

Stefania's blog mostly consists of interesting articles, photos and videos relating to the world around us - a valuable source of information. 

Personal Blogging Vs Niche Blogging And 13 Blog Post Topic Ideas

When I started out on TypePad almost seven years ago, I wasn't sure what a blog was. I had previously read an article on blogging in a British magazine at my hairdresser's and thought I'd give it a try. I googled "blogging platforms" and eventually chose TypePad as it seemed to me the most reliable one. So, I set up my TypePad account in September 2004 - that was very easy to do, even for a computer illiterate like me! "And now what?", I asked myself. I clicked Compose and started writing about my day. To my mind, a blog was something like an online journal which you share with the world.

A few months later, having done some online and offline reading, I realised that blogging was far beyond that. Experts on blogging still recommend choosing a niche. I decided to keep my personal blog as my default blog but, in the course of time, I created three niche blogs: Cypria which is all about information on holidays in Greece and the Greek islands, English Today - a free online course of English as a second language and quite recently My Photo Blog - a collection of my favourite photos. According to experts, a personal blog isn't very popular with search engines unlike niche blogs. Funnily enough, my personal blog is much more popular than my niche blogs - although, I must admit that I have occasionally departed from my niche.

Not having a niche, on the other hand, may often lead to a blank computer screen  and you can't think of a word to write. I admire bloggers who claim their problem is quite the opposite - they generate a horde of ideas and always have something to write about. However, I've often hit a dry spell and found it relatively hard to break through a blank computer screen. So, I decided to carry a small notebook in which I jot down things that I find interesting while sitting at a café or waiting for my turn in a queue. More often than not, when I'm short of ideas, I click Compose and start writing straight from the heart. This is the greatest priviledge of personal blogging, isn't it?

Just in case you blog and get stuck at times , here are a few suggestions. You are very welcome to complete the list with your own ideas:

1. Create specific, step-by-step how-to posts (like how to use Windows 7, Facebook or Twitter)

2. Create a beginner’s guide to something - e,g, how to start a blog or how to make pomegranate jam

3. Write a Things You Don’t Know About Me post

4.  Write about your home and family first thing on Monday morning.

5. Write about something funny you overheard in public.

6. Describe what you consider to be the ideal way to bring up children.

7. Write a post about a dear friend.

8. Write about your first blog post.

9 Write about something amazing or frightening that happened to you.

10. Introduce your friends from a social network

11. Write about a typical day in the year 2099.

12. Write about a day that went disastrously wrong!

13. Write about the person you admire most in life.

 

 

Your Opinion Matters!

I've been blogging on TypePad for almost seven years and this has been an exciting journey and a unique experience I have derived so much pleasure from. Back in 2004, I never thought anyone would ever read my posts. In the course of time, I realised that quite a few people in the blogosphere would stop by and read my blog and even leave a comment. As a result, I started taking my readers into serious consideration and trying to see what interests them most in my blog. I would like, therefore, to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for stopping by regardless of whether you leave a comment or not.

Sitemeter - 27 March 2011

Naturally, your comments are precious and your opinion matters. I don't have a niche as I usually blog on the spur of the moment or whenever I have some free time. I'd greatly appreciate your feedback and constructive criticism. 

• Is there anything you would like me to post blog about?
• What do you like most in my blog? What do you like least?
• Any recommendations?

 

Google Translate

Many of my friends whose native language isn't English have often asked me to translate my posts in French and Greek. I only wish I had the time to do that. It took me some time to test Google Translate knowing that this is an electronic translation. It's pretty good, though. Grammar and structure aren't always respected but if you don't understand English, Google will give you a relatively decent translation in a variety of languages.

First go to my sidebar on the right handside.Just below Search you can find Google Translate. Choose your language and click translate. You will then see Google Translate in process at the top of my post. Please, bear in mind that comments can't be translated but feel free to leave a comment in your language. Depending on your Internet speed, the page will be translated within minutes. Should you wish to translate the whole blog, it will take much longer, though! Don't hesitate to let me know if this works for you.

The Dream of Blogging

via www.google.com

I blog for pleasure, yet I do care about your comments and, most importantly, it means a lot to me to interact with you, to exchange views or simply communicate. To me this is the essence of blogging. Do you blog? Why do you blog? What do you expect from blogging?

TypePad: The Old and the New

Photo Credit: Everything TypePad

The TypePad Team has recently announced the retirement of the old interface at the end of May. However much I loved the old interface - that's where I started blogging after all - I was so thrilled with the new TypePad right from the start that I never switched back to the old - not even when I occasionally felt nostalgic about my good old online hiding place. When the new TypePad was first announced, I thought I'd give it a try although I am not really adventurous! But I thought I had nothing to lose since I could switch back to the old. At the beginning, I was lost! I couldn't find where everything was. It had taken me a long time to figure out how TypePad worked in the first place, back in 2004, that I didn't feel like starting all over again from scratch! Thanks to the precious help from the TypePad team, I soon realised that figuring out the new TypePad was a piece of cake. And I felt like Alice in Wonderland!

No wonder, the new TypePad largely contributes to enhancing the blogosphere by offering great features that no other blogging platform has to offer, such as blogging on Facebook via TypePad which has allowed me to keep in touch with many of my Facebook friends. Blog It is yet another revolutionary feature that any TypePad blogger can enjoy not to mention the search box that you can add to your blog, the threaded comments which allow a real interaction between commenters, the wide variety of incredibly beautiful one-click designs at Pro level.... and the list is endless.

But most importantly, on the new TypePad your voice is heard and your opinion matters. As no one is infallible, problems may occasionally arise. However, the TypePad Team people do their very best to resolve them effectively and if they can't do that, which is rare, they will send your help ticket to the TypePad engineers. It happened to me and I was very impressed!

So far, my personal experience on the new TypePad has been a wonderful journey which I thoroughly enjoy. I believe that we all ought to move with the times because the essence of progress lies in change.

Friday's Top 10 Bad Blogging Habits

1. Choosing a niche you don't know or like

Lots of people write about how to make money online, and they seem to do quite well... how hard can it be? What you don't see is how much work really goes into those blogs. You don't do well just by writing one post every now and again. Plus, it helps to know what you're talking about - otherwise, will anyone view you as an authority? It's also important to write about something you like, otherwise it's going to become a chore to update your blog. The best blogs are the ones where the author is passionate about the topic in hand.

2. Ignoring questions

Replying to comments is a good idea, although you don't have to reply to every single one in great detail. You can reply to a few at once. If someone asks you a question, whether it's in a comment or sent via email, answer it! Well, unless it's an obvious attempt to knock you down a peg or two - in which case you should answer it very well!

3. Pushing good posts off the front page

OK, you just posted something that's doing quite well, and has had a few comments. Do you really want to push it down the page with a new, not quite so great post? What about if you write a great post that's only been up for a day, and could get more comments if you leave it at the top?Sometimes, bloggers are far too quick to post the next item. I went for a few months where I blogged every day, and it was tough on me, and tough on my readers. Here's a novel idea: post less often, and make it easier on everyone!Of course, the "why not leave the post online for another day?" argument could run and run, and some posts may not do very well at all and you WANT to push them down a bit. So, use a bit of common sense with this one. Watch the comments you do get, see if the discussion could continue, and decide if you want it to. Don't just post again the next day because you feel like you should.

4. Posting for the sake of it
This follows on from point 3, but it's more of an obvious one. Some posts are pretty pointless. The writing makes it seem as though the author is simply treading water, not writing about much in particular, and just posting to up their quota - especially if every other post is sponsored.Apparently, you can write paid posts without writing worthless posts in between. I wouldn't know because I don't do paid posts. Worthless posts though, I've done a few of those... not anymore though. All of my posts are now "worthful".

5. Failing to make your blog load quickly

Never mind how much clutter there is on the page - how long does it take to load? I say never mind the AMOUNT of clutter because it only takes one widget to kill your load time.The trick? Don't put anything on your page! An empty site loads so much faster. It's not much fun to read though. So, instead of jumping on every widget bandwagon there is and adding everything to your site that everyone else adds to their site, add things one by one. See how well they load (or don't load). Decide if they are actually worth having on your blog.If you add 20 widgets to your blog in one go and suddenly your blog slows down, who you gonna call? Widget Busters?

6. Not proof-reading your posts

Proof-reading may sound dull, but it is a very good idea. You may be able to get away with an error here and there, but if you have loads of mistakes in every post, it can be distracting. Some of the errors I've seen are so bad that I honestly don't know what the person was trying to say.If English isn't your first language and you're writing for an English audience, you still have to get your point across. Blogging is all about WRITING - to publish a good blog post, you have to be able to write. If you're not good at writing, you may want to (a) get better - practice makes perfect, or (b) think about whether blogging is for you.Find me an error in this post and I'll give you 100 Entrecard credits. Well, I might if you're the first, if it's a genuine error, and if you have an Entrecard account. Otherwise the credits won't be much good.

7. Using full-size images

You just bought a digital camera and can't get enough of it. It's so easy to point and shoot, then transfer the photos to your computer. Trouble is, the photos are taken at a high resolution - i.e. BIG, both in terms of height and width, and file size.Upload that image straight to the web and link it from your blog. You may be happy to sit and wait for the image to fully display, but many people won't want to.Do everyone a favour - RESIZE YOUR IMAGES prior to uploading them to the web. At least make them a respectable size.

8. Mixing English and non-English in the same post

Maybe you have an audience who likes this. The key is to know your audience. Are they predominantly English-speaking readers? If so - keep the posts entirely in English.I've seen blogs where the posts seem to chop and change between English and ... well, I don't know the language, but it wasn't English! The author goes in and out of a couple of languages. As I said, if your readers are used to this, it's one thing ... but it can be quite misleading to potential new readers.Some blogs have posts that are entirely written in English but the comments are in multiple languages - why is this? Am I missing something? Was I supposed to learn to read two or three languages in the same sentence when I was still in school? Sometimes I feel like I missed a year of school. (Maybe because I did! Although it was one of two "higher education" years, so it wasn't compulsory.

9. Writing the same posts as everyone else.

One of my tips for getting links from other blogs was to "report, not review". This is one way to stand out. The thing with "reporting" is that while some of your readers may be interested to read your post, you may have a lot of people who drop in to find the same post that's on another site they just came from.With some posts it's a case of quoting a section of the original and commenting on it, which can be done to good effect. But some posts just lift the content from another blog and don't add anything else to it.Do we really need to know about WordPress version whatever? From every blog on the Internet? OK, maybe you do. I'll just skip those posts.

10. Spamming anyone and everyone with your link

Hi, how are you today? "Visit my blog!" Hey, can I ask you something? "Visit my blog!"Is anyone free for a chat? "Visit my blog!"

And that concludes my post. What do you think? "Visit my blog!"

Not very encouraging is it? If someone can't even engage in conversation with you, are you going to visit their blog? If they only comment to leave their link or they email you the link thinking it's a nice way of networking with you... does that make you want to read their blog?

Nope!

So that's the list - what bad habits do you think that bloggers should avoid?

Source : Blogging Habits  BY Ben Barden

Friday's Top Ten Tips on Blogging Love

My blog tonight is inspired by Show Some Blogger Love posted by The TypePad Team.

10. Read through someone's blog before leaving a comment - including videos or links.

9. Don't be arrogant. Close your comments if you are not likely to visit your readers' blogs. Personally, I don't mind. I leave comments if I like a blog regardless of whether the blog owner leaves a comment on my blog or not. Most people won't do that, though. And this is a pity because there are so many great blogs around from which you can derive so much knowledge..

8. Don't leave a comment because you expect a comment back. This is childish.

7. Do not offend anyone in your comments even if you disagree or don't like a blog . Offensive language hinders communication.

6. Make time to visit your friends' blogs even if you have nothing to say. We all write to be read!

5. Blogging is fine but don't get addicted to it!

4. Even if you have nothing to say about a friend's blog , send an email and say hi.

3. Out of courtesy and in an effort to be simply polite, use English in your comments on a friend's blog whose friends come from different countries even if some of them include your own. Everyone should understand everybody else's comments.

2. Learn not to ignore anyone who leaves a comment on your blog. Respect the time they have spent reading your blog and leaving a comment. Learn to be humble and say "thanks for dropping by" even if you hate their blogs and even if you get 350 comments daily.

1. Show some blogger love. If you have time to blog you should make time for your readres as well.

Blog It!

Blog It is what I now consider TypePad's coolest tool! When it was first introduced, I wasn't very tempted to use it as I usually write my own blogs, and then as most of you know I'm not computer literate! But then, on second thoughts, and after Zalary's recommendation on a help ticket, I thought I'd give it a try. It works perfectly with Firefox , not with Internet Explorer 8, though. In layman's terms, all you have to do is log in to your TypePad blog and drag the Blog It button to your toolbar! Cool, right? Then go to any website you like, highlight text from that website and click...Blog It! A window opens with the high lighted text and if you like you can add some notes, then click publish and ....voilà! Without leaving your favourite website, you have posted to your TypePad blog. You can also post your favourite photos or videos...before you say Jack Robinson! 

However, TypePad warns that this may turn out to be addictive - especially because it saves time and you can blog within minutes and with 2-3 clicks. And yes, we're all busy, aren't we? I don't think Blog It will be addictive for me as I usually type out my blogs. Yet, I sometimes blog material from the Web and have often forgotten to quote my sources. No way to forget through Blog It. I would like to thank TypePad's very cool team and Six Apart for endeavouring to offer their members the very best in blogging. 

Comments or Not ?

Well, I had to change my comments settings for one very simple reason. Oh no, no spam - thanks to Typepad's great spam filters - but I've just realised that many people would take advantage of my recent  comment settings...to pretend they're my friends! Ah right!  Clever but in the long run it did not work.

As very few of you know I don't blog to get comments. I mainly blog to have readers. Readers are more important to me than comments. However, I do value my friends' comments.The comments of those people who really care for me. And they are always welcome. Signing up to Typepad Connect is free - it's up to you to decide whether your friendship is true or not. I have seen blogs "buying" comments ...promising "this time I will answer ALL your comments" . I could feel the insecurity of that blogger. How sad!  Believe me I was shocked. I can't promise you that I'll answer all your comments if you leave any. For one very simple reason: I don't always have the time. I also hate "comments for the sake of a comment so that you comment on my blog as well". To me 2 comments coming from true friends are worth 5000. Please don't get me wrong...I know that having changed my comments settings could be very unfair for those of you who are great true friends. But then again, true friends have so many other ways of communicating. And I know we will keep in touch as we've always had all those years.