Blog Editors Reviewed

By on April 17, 2006 in Blogging, Cool Tools with 2 Comments

Dan Masters (Idano) comment on my recent Qumana post points to his reviews of blog editor tools and is worth a bookmark (and Dan’s worth a feed).

The thumbs up seems to be for BlogJet. Lee Hopkins agrees. Yet, Allan Jenkins and Neville Hobson are partial to Ecto (so far). Steve Rubel too. Phil Gerbyshak suggests Performancing for Firefox (I still use IE – though I have Firefox).

Though I like free, if it costs time it’s not really free, is it? I actually tried Ecto a few months ago, but will give it another shot.

Technorati Tags:
, Qumana, BlogJet,

Whistle Stops – 04/17/06

By on April 17, 2006 in Whistle Stops with 0 Comments

Whistlestops_16 Others First Edition:

  • How do you treat those serving you? by Phil Gerbyshak at Make It Great! (feed) Phil adds on to a recent USA Today article from the perspective of a hiring manager. How many faces do you have? Any number above one is not good.
  • Pay it Forward – Create Opportunity by Helping Others by David Lorenzo at Career Intensity (feed). Help your business karma, help create your own buzz, but above all – help others.
  • Find a second reason to do anything significant (WTDY #123) by Rajesh Setty at Life Beyond Code (feed). Leverage the "have-to’s" in your life and make them "get-to’s" – one reason I always invite someone to a business event as a guest.
  • Just Say YES by ME ‘Liz’ Strauss at Successful Blog (feed) "Most favors don’t take as long as thinking up a reason to turn them down would. " How true!

Yes, but what do these links have to do with business blogging? Think about where you do business often.

- Is it because they treat you right or because they churn out lots of transactions?
- Is it the person you do business with or the logo/brand name?
- Is it because they take time to talk with you, smile with you, care about you?

Technorati Tags: Others First, , ,

OPML, Gada.Be & a Cup of Pirillo

By on April 15, 2006 in RSS Feeds with 0 Comments

On my “to-do” list this weekend is to set-up several search terms for a colleague so he can have a “river of news” delivered to his feed aggregator.
 
I’ve introduced him to the powers (and weaknesses) of Gada.be. I’m still trying to wrap my head around OPML and how best to filter some of the results of a Gada.be search. If only Chris Pirillo were in town….
 
Wait a minute!  Pirillo is in town!  If all goes well this morning with his dad (geting released from the hospital), Chris will be sitting alone at Being There in Altoona around 2pm today.
 
I hope I haven’t jinxed his showing up – and if so, I’ll be there. So show up for some coffee, some conversation, and a cup o’ Pirillo (or Sansone).
 
Technorati Tags : , Gada.be, OPML
 
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Qumana Blog Editor

By on April 14, 2006 in Blogging, Cool Tools with 5 Comments

Last night’s edition of Whistle Stops got lost twice due to either browser or network issues. I noticed today that one of the drafts actually got saved, so I posted it this morning.
 
I’ve not had too many issues like that, but one was enough to motivate me to try a few blog editors. Susan Getgood finds using Qumana easy, so that’s what I’m trying first.
 
In fact, this post is written using Qumana 2.0. Very simple to use, easy to add tags and hyperlinks.
 
I’ll work with this for a few days and try some others next week. I’m ready to post…
 
If you use a blog editor, I’d enjoy hearing about it.
 
Technorati Tags : Qumana, ,
 
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Whistle Stops – 04/14/06

By on April 13, 2006 in Whistle Stops with 3 Comments

Whistlestops_15Here are a few folks I’ve recently found around the bend and subscribed to their feeds:

  • Lynn Terry at ClickNewz! (feed) Internet Marketing Journal. I like the BlogRoll on a seperate page. That may end up happening to my new third column here.
  • JT Winebrenner at AiAlone (feed). Design Singularity. It’s easy to see that JT is a straight shooter. I look forward to more.
  • Diane Ensey at AListReview (feed). Another star in KnowMoreMedia‘s lineup?
  • Paul Williams at Idea Sandbox tells us about the new Corante Innovation Hub – another stellar lineup.
technorati tags: KnowMoreMedia Corante

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Whistle Stops – 04/12/06

By on April 12, 2006 in Whistle Stops with 2 Comments

Looks like a Party Train tonight. Music, Food, Google Dancin’…

  • Blog Like a Rock Star by Eric G. Myers at Evil Genius Marketing (feed) Good points, especially #2. If Peter Frampton blogs, would he end each post with a "Thank yooo"?
  • Web Strategy: Shish Kabob vs. Steak by Jeremiah Owyang at Web Strategy by Jeremiah (feed) Good visual stimuli! Guess what I had for dinner.
  • Keyword Discovery Tool to help you dance with Google. Tip of the Top Hat to Web Internet Marketer Rich Brooks at Flyte Blog (feed)

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Changing of the Blog

By on April 12, 2006 in Blogging with 8 Comments

Boy, changing this site was like cleaning out the garage. First thing you get before organization is … disorganization.

But I’ve been craving a three-column layout with two sidebars on the right side since I frist started blogging. Today, I got brave and it took most of the night. Now, I’m thinking of switching back (and I’m hoping you comment below with your opinion).

First, several kudos go out to John at TypePad Hacks for ideas on the additional sidebar, then Ed at The Technology Evangelist and Alex at Alexôme for ideas on the Category Cloud to the right. I also exported a Blogroll from Copywriting Watch.

So, my question(s) for you – Does it now look to crowded? Will that really matter as feed aggregators become more mainstream? Should I use a fluid width?

The Tag Cloud is nice (but not finished) and I’ll share how I did that in a future post. From a usability perspective, the added links add to the load time and it may cause readers to reach for the Excedrin.

Your thoughts?

Technorati Tags: , Blog Strategy, , Tag Clouds

Whistle Stops – 04/11/06

By on April 11, 2006 in Whistle Stops with 1 Comment

Whistlestops_14 With several new projects brewing on my hotplate, today’s stops are dedicated to project management blogs:

  • A Project Management Fable by Timothy Johnson at carpe factum (feed): I’m half-way through Tim’s book, A Race Through the Forest and I’m feeling both pain and joy reading about Fauna and Flora Forest (I’m feeling Ben Tortisse’s pain thus far). I’ve been working a bit with Tim on his blog, but frankly – stories come natural to him so I don’t know how much I’ve contributed. Watch for a review on his book here soon.
  • The Next Book by Scott Berkun at Berkun Blog (feed) Scott, who authored The Art of Project Management, is looking for your input for his new work on innovation.
  • Getting Unstuck by Hal Macomber at Reforming Project Management (feed): Hal is also writing a book (I gotta hire some of these guys – too much time on their hands?) and pulls out three great books to get unstuck. I’ll suggest another to Hal – Write Fast by Jeff Bollow, a great recipe for writing just about anything – including blog posts.
  • Taking Life Too Seriously by Lucia Mancuso at PMS Diva (feed): I’ve had the pleasure of talking with Lucia on the phone a few times – and one of these days we’ll hook up and get to work. I love the work the folks at The Blog Studio – and Lucia plays a key role in what comes out of there.
  • 100 Rules for NASA Project Managers #80? Remember who the customer is – and check with the customer when you go to change something significant. Love it!

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Get in the Routine of Feed Reading

By on April 11, 2006 in Blogging, RSS Feeds with 3 Comments

G694_phils_batting_cage_001 As a High School baseball coach, we had a routine for Batting Practice: B.P. Routine: Bunt down the first base line, Bunt down the thrid base line, Go the opposite way, Swing away.

As a Business Blog coach, I suggest this routine for opening your computer applications each day: Computer Apps Routine: Email, Browser, Feed Aggregator.

By having your Email, Browser and Feed Aggregator open right from the get-go, you’ll be able to respond more efficiently. Whether that’s to send a post/article to a client, respond to what’s written about you, or post something to your blog, you’ll be working smart.

Your feed aggregator – be it SharpReader, GreatNews or Bloglines -should always be open. Remember that blogging (conversations) has two roles – Writing and Reading or Talking and Listening.

It takes 30 days to make a good habit stick. Listening is a great habit. Think of your feed aggregator as your online hearing aid.

Related Posts:
Blogging has Two Roles…
Blog Tracking – SharpReader
Blog Tracking – Bloglines

Technorati Tags: , , Sharpreader, , CurioStudio

Photo Credit: Billy & Lizzi

Whistle Stops – 04/10/06

By on April 10, 2006 in Whistle Stops with 0 Comments

Whistlestops_13

One thing I’ve noticed about Mondays, they seem to be filled with great posts/articles. Here are a few that caught my attention:

  • Microchunking Content Doesn’t Mean Microconsumption by David Beisel at Genuine VC (feed) "In the end, people will indeed consume media where they want to and how they want to – including how long they want to spend with it. (And in the level of production quality which they want, but that’s the subject of another post)." Exactly. This goes along with yesterday’s post.
  • Great Lessons from Steve Pavlina by Dave Lorenzo at SoHo Savvy (feed) Dave gives his thoughts on Steve’s post 10 Stupid Mistakes by the Newly Self-Employed. Dave truncates some of Steve’s thoughts – read both. It’s well worth it.
  • Choosing the Right Tool for Closing More Deals Online, a Fast Company article by David Teten and Scott Allen. The authors of The Virtual Handshake compare the tools of Blogging, LinkedIn and Online Communities using their Seven Keys to a Powerful Network. Proof that each is a valuable business tool for different reasons.
  • Create more buzz at events: Become a Peripheral Host by Ron McDaniel at Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing (feed): Great advice to either help you break out of your shell and/or instantly grow your network. To shy to do this? Hey, a stranger won’t invite you to Thanksgiving anyway – but they might after they get to know you. Own the Room.

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