Blogging Basics Managing Information Overload How to find your blogging community Beth Kanter Beth’s Blog

http://beth.typepad.com

Take Aways Why a Blog Community is Important 7 Steps To Finding Your Blog Community Information Coping Skills Flickr photo by Tracy Hunter

http://informationcoping.wikispaces.com

Two Minute Poll Blog? Read Blogs? Comment on Blogs? http://www.flickr.com/photos/raincitystudios/

Why Build A Blog Community?

Generate word of mouth and traffic/visitors/subscribers to your blog Helps you establish authority in your content niche and your "personal brand“ Get ideas for blog posts Different perspective or additional information related to the topic of your post - and gasp! corrections

Thomas Hawk It’s more fun!

Okay, so what I need to do?

The 7 Steps 3: Reading 6: Track 5: Comment 2: Find Bridge Bloggers 1: Niche 7: Interact 4: Keyword Search Feeds

1: Define Your Niche Food Chocolate Desserts Candy Dark Milk White

2: Find the bridge bloggers

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smudie / 3: Read them in a RSS Reader

Here’s another analogy

Photo by niclindh You’re ready to get to work!

These steps require a few hours of research in the beginning to identify bridge bloggers, set up reader, and make it a habit.

Browse and Scan

Bingo – Bridge Blogger

Add to Your Reader

You read the blog in your reader ..

Not here

It won’t create email overload!

4: Use Blog Search Engines – Ego and Keyword

Twitter Search too!

Simplicity, Time Box, Thoughtful

5: Become the Queen of Commenting

Read and comment on blogs Think before you write! What did they say well? What did they miss? Answer questions What are other people saying How does it apply to you Look forward Look backward Ask what if?

6: A system to track your comments

It’s on your handout!

7: Write posts that encourage readers to comment.

Invite Comments

How You End Your Post Really Matters

Be Open Ended

Respond to your readers!

And don’t forget to link to other bloggers

Define Your Niche Identify Bridge bloggers Use RSS Reader Monitor your "ego" and "keyword" feeds from Technorati and Twitter Become the Queen of Commenting Have a Good System for Tracking Your Comments Write posts that encourage conversation

Will I have to deal with more email? How am I ever gonna find time to read lots of blogs? Photo bybiwook

Just thinking about it give me information anxiety!

Take the Quiz: How Information Overloaded Are You?

Let’s walk the line …. 0 20

How does information overload make you feel? What works or what doesn't in managing your information overload? What causes your information overload?

Defining Information Overload

It’s okay that you’ll never be “caught up”

Don’t Read Every Word

Don’t Live at the Post Office

Know when to turn the damn computer off and take a walk

More stuff on the wiki! Questions? RiBB It ..

Thank You! Beth’s Blog http://beth.typepad.com Wiki http://informationcoping.wikispaces.com Have a blog post topic idea? [email_address]