The strangest part about diving back into email was to see the number of replies and discussions all at once.  To have hundreds of messages all about five or six different topics is actually pretty crazy.  During the week when emails come through, it’s easy to respond, save, or delete, and that seems like it takes no time at all.  But when batch processing hundreds of emails from the previous week, it seems a lot more cumbersome and overwhelmingly daunting. So what is the actual cost?

Apparently checking email costs $650 billion. The constant interruptions of non-mission-critical messages interrupt the day enough to lose massive amounts of productivity.

Now don’t get me wrong, I think there is incredible strength in the productivity of email, it’s just not always used correctly.  Confirming and scheduling meetings works very well with Outlook’s meeting request scheduler.  But discussing a recent news story or a “clean out the fridge” message and CCing hundreds of people on every reply?  Maybe there’s another place for this.

Quick step back: office-wide discussion is incredibly important and helps bring an enterprise closer together to build teamwork, comradery, and so on, and important company/office news needs to be spread around so that all employees are on the same page.  But is email the proper venue to do this?  I agree with the guys at Mzinga, in that the better way to communicate within a company is through online communities.

The functionality of email is no longer what it used to be.  Which is likely why Read Write Web claims that Email is in Danger.  Ultimately I don’t think email will ever really be replaced, the same way we still have snail mail for many things (although yes, that’s slowing too), we will have a need for email for a long, long time.

But anyway, this is basically just a 6am rant about how I’m nervously avoiding having to deal with my inbox mess.  But the biggest trick I know, that was illustrated here: close email when attempting to do something else.  I checked my email this morning, saw the endeavor ahead, closed it and started doing something else.  The only way I know how to combat the productivity suck of email, is to avoid it.

How do you fight email?  If you have an idea then comment below or message @znh on Twitter.  Just don’t email me about it.

Its inherent freeness keeps it popular and widely used, but ultimately Blogger should be a way to learn the ropes, not climb them.  Over the last few years I’ve helped build dozens of blogs, both personal and corporate.  Although I do my best to steer clear from using Blogger, it happens.  Often.  And I’ll find myself stuck with limitations and pushing through work arounds

So please keep in mind that if you currently use Blogger for your blog, I mean no disrespect and it says nothing negative about your blog.  Because maybe some of these things aren’t important to you, but they are dramatically important to me, and that’s why I (disclosure) use WordPress.

10 Shortcomings of Blogger Blogs:

1. Page support. Ever tried to create an “About Me” page?  Or a “Contact”? Or any of the pages that should be completely standard in blogs?  Apparently Blogger doesn’t see these things as necessary. This is by far the dumbest oversight for the platform.  There are ways to do it, but why should you have to trick your platform into letting you do something so standard?
2. “Read More” option. Yes, I’m well aware there’s a work around (that requires writing a brief code snippet on each post… not good for the basic users), but why should we have to work around?  Why can’t it just work?
3. Easier image alt-texting. The only way to play nice with the search engines is to go into HTML mode and manually type in ALT tags? Really?
4. More advanced template customization. There is a relatively small template development community for blogger, mainly because the options are so limited.  But one template page containing all the blog’s code?  Annoying.  Give me external CSS please.
5. Simpler template customization. Yeah, I know. But the limited widget options aren’t bad, but if Blogger really is the platform for the masses then it should have many, many more options and a public repository of widgets.
6. HTML stripping. Ever tried pasting text into a Blogger post and have it come out with some of the funkiest characters ever?  This is less Blogger’s fault than it is Microsoft’s but it’s still really damn annoying and is the only blog platform I’ve used that still has problems with this.
7. Improved permission support. Many blogs have multiple authors contributing content.  Blogger has two sets of permissions: Admin or Not Admin.  For a company blog you need an admin and you need permissions and authorities and notifications and more to set up a work flow.  Blogger doesn’t have any of this.
8. Scheduled posts. I’ve gotta be wrong about this one.  At least I hope I’m wrong.  But Blogger doesn’t allow you to schedule posts for the future.  This just makes no sense to me.  (Oh, but it is in “beta” apparently).
9. Categories and Tags. Each serve a very important but separate purpose.  Blogger gives you the option of Tags or nothing.  Not much of a choice.
10. SEO support. WordPress has dozens of plugins made specifically for search engine improvements.  Metatagging, better sitemap building, titling, keywords, everything.  Blogger does not.  It actually makes these things either difficult or impossible.  Maybe Blogger knows how bad some of its blogs are and doesn’t want to subject them to the public…

Look, in the end successful blogging is about good content.  No amount of flashy design or advanced site functionality will pull in readers if your content is lacking. Conversely, there are a lot of very popular blogs published through Blogger, all because they have great content.  The blogging platform is ultimately irrelevant - this post is really just about making that platform work for you.

If you’re new to blogging and not yet ready to take off the training wheels, start up in Blogger.  It’s free, simple, and basic enough to not screw up.  But once you’ve grown tired of its limits, read this guide, and take your blog to a new level.

What else do you wish were included in Blogger?

Lastly, I’m on vacation the rest of the week, but will be back in town for PodCamp Boston - hope to see many of you there!

Jeff’s post plays into the 2008 trend of anti-PR/blogger relations stories; most notable is the recent squabble between Lifehacker’s Gina Trapani and pretty much every PR company out there. Catch up on the whole story through Defren’s post that justifiably defends the PR industry. Basically it has become “cool” to bash the PR industry (see the Bad Pitch Blog for more).

First off: lazy work is lazy work. If you suck at your job and you blind send hundreds of emails to hundreds of bloggers saying “please write about my company” then you’re going to get what’s coming to you (seriously, read the Bad Pitch Blog… it’s embarrassing). BUT - that is no reason to get down on the industry.

The problem is that the concept of “Blogger Relations” is relatively new and evolving as quickly as bloggers themselves. Bloggers aren’t just that kid in his mom’s basement talking about WoW, or that teenage girl talking about puppy dogs, the captain of the football team, Hanah Montana, or … what do girls like these days… Morgan Freeman. Bloggers have become some of the most influential writers in the world. The line between mainstream media and bloggers has been completely blurred.

So back to Pulver’s point: it’s not something you can batch process. Pitching all bloggers the same is like pitching every magazine the same. Personalize your process and you’ll be much, much more successful.

And now onto the joke in all this: how to pitch Zach. Oh, and I get pitched occasionally and so far have had a few good pitches and a few ok pitches, but nothing bad. So if you’ve pitched me in the past- good work! You haven’t sucked, but you have potentially screwed up one of the bullets below. Secondly: I’m no Gina Trapani, nor do I get remotely the volume of email she gets. I’m not even close to being internet famous, or hell, internet popular. For the time being, I can handle lots of pitches.

So here are a few tips to pitching Zach, a small-time blogger:

• Like everyone else has said: read my blog first. I talk about startups, gadgets, web apps, and Bostony things. If you fall in one of those categories, I’ll be much more receptive, plus- I love those things and will get excited to read more
• Put at least a tiny effort into personalizing the email. My name is all over this blog and it’s all pretty informal. Writing to “dear sir” is just going to confuse me and make me think you are selling V1AGRA PILL5S!!! or other spamminess
• Be responsive. I have no problem responding to pitch emails asking follow up questions so if I respond, get back to me. Seriously, why would you pitch me otherwise? Also, I’m friendly in emails and often use too many exclamation marks, so at least it’ll be fun to correspond
• I promise that if I DON’T like your product, then I’ll contact you before I write anything for a chance to engage. That’s how I keep my integrity. And besides, I really only make fun of the iPhone and AOL (so if you are either of them, you probably shouldn’t pitch me)
• Sending me beta invites and/or free stuff will make me happy and much more eager to write about you
• I also like beer, popcorn, and video games

This is my point in all of it: I think a few of the mainstream bloggers have given blogger relations a bad name. I’m flattered when someone pitches me. This is where the difference is for me: I actually get excited when a pitch email lands in my inbox asking if I’ll review something. I think it’s cool! And so do a lot of individual bloggers.

So if you’re in PR and tasked with pitching bloggers, don’t be deterred by Trapani’s actions. Take it as a cautionary tale, don’t be lazy, send me free stuff, and don’t be afraid to reach out to the little-guys.

It’s nothing that new.
I’ll admit it, when the first gen iPhone came out last year I understood why people where waiting in line. This thing was living in Rumorville for years, then marketinghypeville for six months. People were jazzed because there had never been anything like it before. No one knew what to expect. I’ll even go as far as calling it a new paradigm of gadgetry.

But the 3G iPhone doesn’t improve on that. It’s just a little rounder and a little faster on the insides. The operating system still looks the same and acts pretty much the same. Hell, even Mossberg says so.  Being one of the first few to have this thing in your hands means pretty much nothing.  We all know what to expect.

It won’t actually have good data speeds for another few months.
Expecting to get that “3G” iPhone out of the box and be blazing through the webs at a lightening quick pace? Think again (side note: I’d love for someone to go through the line at the Apple store and poll to see how many people actually know what “3G” means).

Last year when the iPhone was launched AT&T’s network basically crashed for a month leaving iPhone users (and all the loyal 3G users) with TMobile like connection speeds (that’s bad, btw (2nd side note for new readers: “btw” is one of the only abbreviated terms I’ll use, but I only do so ironically because it actually has more syllables than “by the way”)). Adding a million customers onto a limited capacity bandwidth slowed everything down for everyone and things will be severely throttled again this summer.

And as Venturebeat tells it, this will improve in a few months, but not by Friday. So get out of line.

There will be an extremely limited resale market.
This is the most important point of all because I’m not sure people really understand this yet. Last year many of the early iPhone scorers were able to resell the devices for loads more than they paid. Good deal, right? Wait in line a few days a make a few grand- not too shabby. But not this time.

To purchase a 3G iPhone you will be required to sign up for an iPhone contract with AT&T (or spend $700). Sure the $200 pricetag is nice, but at iPhone contract prices, you’ll be hosed by the year’s end. What this means is that buying two to unlock (which is going to be more difficult) and sell on ebay will be a fruitless effort requiring you to be locked into a contract.

So why are people doing it?

Idiots. Also: fame. And: marketing hype. People get really caught up in the marketing (Apple is awesome at capturing the masses) and understand the exposure of being in this silly line. Just look at iPhone Jonny, a guy who will likely be interviewed dozens of times for his expert ability of waiting… in a line… for a week.

Basically, it’s the summer time. The news stations don’t have much to talk about and this is something to grab onto for the next week. Hell, I put the over/under on number of Gizmodo posts dedicated solely to the lines at stores at 42.5 - make your bets. So if you’re in the market for a 3G iPhone, I don’t blame you- it’s cool, but don’t get in line now. Just wait a month or if you really need the Apple-fix then go on Saturday morning and you’ll be fine.  Just don’t wait in line.

And once you do get a 3G iPhone… can I play with it?

Here’s the inspiration for today’s post: the number of times I’ve heard people, in every industry and every sized company, say that “oh, well a blog’s not for me”. Well you’re wrong. It is. No matter who you are, what your company does, how big or small it is, consumer product or not: just do it.

Individuals
Personal branding. Heard of it? Go ask Dan Schawbel the personal branding expert- he’ll teach you. Another way to put it, so that everyone can be interested, not just the web junkies: when you first meet someone and get their card, or just a name, what’s the first thing you do when you get near a computer? Google them. Wait, you don’t? That’s just me? Yikes, I sound creepy now.

But if you are like me, and a large majority of people, then chances are you have Googled someone. And you’ve probably Googled yourself too. So what comes up?

Before I started this blog and other many other web creations of lesser-value, there was information about a few races I had run in years back and my (get ready for the embarrassment) Vermont state high school chess ranking (2nd, btw - but it’s a really small state…). This isn’t anything I’m ashamed of (sort of), but it’s not the full explanation of me. When someone looks for me now- they find what I want them to find.

I control the message. The results for Zach Hofer-Shall are what I’ve made them to be.

By writing your own content and branding it with your name, you can control the message too. By blogging regularly with content you know- you can align yourself with the text you want and take advantage of Google and make it work for you. Then in the future when employers, colleagues, friends, that girl you met that one time at a bar, will find the information about you that they should.

Small Company/Startup
This is the one I work with the most and is the easiest argument to win. If you are a new or small company there is one fundamental marketing truth: people don’t know you yet. And more importantly, they aren’t going on Google searching for your company name. If you’re Kleenex, or Amazon, then good- you’re probably going to do fine online.

But if you are “Roger’s Online Flowerporium” and you want people to find you online- you’d better face the fact that no one is searching for “Roger” or “Flowerporium” when looking for flowers online. They’re looking for flowers. So blog up the market and align your brand with your products

By blogging regularly with content about your industry you align your company with your market and products and even though you aren’t going to see massive returns from Google organically, the odds are better if you actually write that content.

Plus, small companies have the benefit of the reputation of being… well, small companies. You’ll be able to connect to customers better and build a small, but real community of consumers. And it’s better to have a small group of consumers who love the brand, than hundreds that don’t really care (that’s another debate for another time).

Medium/Larger Company
You’ve got a presence, probably an online marketing strategy (you have a company website, right? Ok, now keep going with that idea…), but now what? How do you standout from your competition? And how do you connect with your consumers? Blog! (I bet you saw that one coming.)

Setting up a blog for an established business gains the benefits of the social web as well as can be. Consumers are beginning to expect companies to have voices and human connections- they have questions- they want answers. You can give this to them and set your company apart from the market by blogging to give your company a personality. And by listening to them you can gain more market research than any surveys or blind studies ever could. You customers are there talking- why not communicate with them.

You already have a community in the real world, but unless you have a blog you are missing the opportunity to engage the community where they spend their time: online. And what I touched on earlier, the human element, is arguably the most important. It’s strange how quickly it’s happened, but I now completely expect every corporate website to have a blog, and if I don’t see one I assume the company “doesn’t get it”. How strange is that?

I mean, I realize I’m fairly jaded, being a social media consultant. But not having a company blog today is like not having a website in the 90s (I’m pretty sure I stole that line from one of the dozen books I’ve read on this exact subject).

Basically, blogging has become a completely acceptable means of corporate and personal communication. It’s no longer just that weird kid in his mom’s basement blogging about World of Warcraft and his feelings, it’s now normal for everyone at every level to be blogging.

That’s it. Stop reading this now and go blog. If you need help, email me.

I’m off for a few days for the hot-dog-eating, beer-drinking, fire-works-watching holiday, not blogging. Helping me fill the little hole left without my posts- go blog.

Today’s word count: eight bazillion. Number of times “blog” is mentioned: six hundred and thirty four.

But if you have heard the news on Apple’s upcoming super-phone, then you likely heard that it’s going to be available at 8am on July 11th (next Friday, for those that want to go stand in line now).

The early July release comes as very little surprise to just about anyone (including me, from seven months ago).  I mean hell, as soon as the first iPhone was released it was pretty much assumed that there would be a follow up a year later.  We all knew this!

So where are the competitors?  Apple has already stolen a huge chunk of the smartphone market in the last year, why would the competition just let this launch come up without a fight!?  Where’s the Android Dream Phone (Q1 2009)?  Where’s Blackberry’s Bold (September for ATT)?  The Palm 800w (expected Q4 2008)?  Where’s HTC’s Touch/Touch Pro (Q4 2008)?!  None of these guys could get their act together to release a product in time to lure anyone away from the iPhone?  I don’t get it.

Samsung took a valid stab with its Instinct, especially by dropping the price to a ridiculous $129.  And that’s it.  Seriously.  That’s it.  I don’t get it.

What’s even more difficult to understand is how the competition would even let users think about the iPhone because iPhone converts are going to remain loyal to the iPhone.  It’s a device that will suck you in to its usability - the way Apple products do.  You just get used to the way the function and you don’t want to go back.  Other hardware manufacturers aren’t just going to lose users for one generation of a phone; they will be lost to the iPhone for years to come.

Personally, I’m about as die-hard a Windows Mobile fan as you can find.  And you want to hear a sadly honest admission: the 3G iPhone is enticing.  A year ago I laughed at the iPhone for its wimpy EDGE connectivity and its lack of MS Office interoperability, but it’s a year later and those mistakes have been fixed.  And I have no new options for WinMo.

Is the new iPhone that much cooler?  No.  But by dropping the price to $200 and being the only cool new phone on the market this summer, it will win.  The damn thing can’t even copy and paste (yep, that is correct), but it will still be the best offering on the market.

The general public has never been so empowered than with help of social media (at least since “Gen Y-Bother” and its brutal social apathy has taken this country by storm… but that’s an argument for another day). The participatory web allows people to connect with others that have similar interests to band together to make a change. For non-profits and activists groups this really is an incredible opportunity to make a difference.

There are a number of startups popping up to help connect people online for a good cause (a few cool ones around Boston, actually - like MakeMeSustainable.com and Good2Gether.com (both were previous Web Innovators presenters)). And someday I should dedicate an entire post to these type of startups… but that’s not what today’s about.

Nope, today’s post is about something much less philanthropically focused and considerably less honorable. This is about consumer advocacy through the social web. What do I mean by this? Banding together people online with similar interests to help companies produce better products. That’s right, the internet can do that too.

One of the biggest examples of this recently has been MyStarBucksIdea.com, an appropriately URLed site that allows Strabucks customers to provide ideas for the coffee behemoth. Users then get to vote on ideas and whichever ones do well enough, the Starbucks execs will then hop down from their gold-plated throwns, slip on some money suits, and help make these ideas come to life. So far the idea has produced that lighter crappier coffee and the discussion of punch cards. BUT it’s still a great idea.

Another impressive example of consumers pushing a big brand (the sole reason I’m writing this post): Nike and the McFly 2015’s. Remember Marty McFly’s shoes in the greatest film of 1989, Back to the Future part II? No? Seriously? Oh, well I sure as hell do!

Well it turns out there are a lot of others like me online, enough so to create and support, McFly2015.com, an online petition to get Nike to create the shoe that fits snug with the push of a button. As Wired reports, the McFly’s will be in limited production by the end of July. Sign me up!

The reason I see this to be especially cool, is that there is no way it would happen without the internet. Nike would have no idea there is a cult following behind such an obscurely awesome sneaker, but with the influence of the social web, Nike can easily see the demand and thus, create a supply. It makes you wonder why companies spend millions in market research, when all they need to do is watch the web; the answers are out there, provided free by customers every day.

So what product changes would you like to see? Blog about it and it might just happen. I’ll write up a few of mine later- right now I’ve gotta go get in line to get some sneakers…

More importantly, I’m a Twitter enthusiast. I enjoy the conversations created with it, the people I’ve met through it, and I love the community that thrives around it. But one of the things I really love about Twitter, is that it’s a seemingly constant stream of irrelevant nonsequitters (as opposed to those awkwardly relevant nonsequitters…). Getting bits and pieces of conversations on Twitter is actually just as fun as reading the whole thing. And to take advantage of people’s disjointedness on the 140 character forum, I created this list.

Quick disclaimer: I did zero background checks on these tweets. The people listed here might have actually meant some of these to be dirty, might not be very funny, and some might not want to be up here. If not- let me know and I’ll find someone equally funny that can laugh at themselves. Also, this is my first relatively inappropriate post… so hopefully it’s worth the laugh.

Last preface: it should be noted that the amount of time this took due to the incessant Bloaty the Fail-Whale showing up unexpectedly… let’s just say that I’m glad Bezos is throwing cash at Twitter. So let’s call this a celebratory post for those little birdies to lift that fat jerk to safety.

Wait… it’s a whale… shouldn’t he stay in the water? Those damn birds are trying to kill it! Hasn’t anyone informed Twitter of this!?

Ok never mind. Let’s just dive into the list of the best “that’s what she said” quotes:

1. @ GorgeousNerd: “The Incredible Hulk satisfied my explosion quota for the week. BOOM.“
2. @OHSNAPiTSEG: “LOL look at the size of this thing!“
3. @socialmedium: “tweeting all day makes you a little loopy“
4. @arleigh: “I think someone is sneaking toys in the back door every time I take a full trash bag out to the car.“
5. @brendalogy: “Voice is coming back, slowly and surely. But still feels like a mighty tennis ball stuck in there.“
6. @Humanoide: “The rides are fun, but we’re all wet… Just finished lunch, going back for more thrills!“
7. @da7ve: “taking a good beating every so often only makes you stronger.“
8. @honeybyfire: “I am playing with balls of all shapes and sizes lol“
9. @machineplay: “ouch. :( that’s so hard.“
10. @jstichweh: “Are you going to ride it all night long“
11. @matholemu: “calendar coordinating is rough, but it gets me excited to see what’s coming up!“
12. @JohnPierre: “huge! way too big. goona switch to trackball“
13. @NickCaiello: “English peeps if you need a ride call me“
14. @mario85: “What is aTrojan Horse Back Door, and how did I get 4?“
15. @tricias: “I would have a play with this but there is no time tonight.“
16. @thecolor: “says I’m sooo bad. I’ve not plurked since this morning.“
17. @mashable: “Twit in an elevator. Twitting it up while I’m going’ down.“
18. Update: Redacted upon request - SORRY!
19. @MarlanB: “I love getting tweets from the mars probe. It’s like a mini-Discovery Channel.“
20. @AllieM: “i just googled myself…it’s so fun…ok now going to bed…night C:“

If you enjoyed these as much as I did- why not follow me. I’m @znh on Twitter and will likely have my own embarrassingly out of context quotes at some point too.

More importantly: let me know of better ones! What have I missed?

I’ve addressed Mobile Phone Operating Systems before, concluding that it’s a rapidly developing (and awesome) market with the iPhone, Windows Mobile, and Google’s Android. Well during the Boston Gadgetry Meetup last month the group pretty much only talked about how the Palm OS is barely even mentioned anymore.

Well it turns out that there’s an OS sibling neglected even worse than Palm: Symbian. You know Symbian? That functionally ugly operating system that mainly resides on Nokia phones? Well, in all fairness if you haven’t used a Nokia then you likely didn’t know Symbian even existed. And even if you owned a Nokia, you might not have known you were using the Symbian OS.

As the story goes, yesterday Nokia (the hardware manufacturers behind such such horrible products as the Ngage, the E90 Communicator, and the 7380 Fashion Phone, as well as such beauties as the N95 and … well, that’s it) bought the Symbian Operating System. The goal behind all this (as the Engadget post will tell you) is to open source the OS to make it competitive with the rest of the market.

What does this mean? “Open Source the OS” refers to opening up the code so that software developers can build things for it. Exactly the way Google’s Android is set up. And the way (sort of) that Apple’s iPhone OS is (marketing itself as…). By opening up, it invites developers to actually make it better. This has been a hugely important push for Android in competing with Apple, while Apple pushes to compete with WinMo and Blackberry’s OS.

What do I think of this? First, I think it’s good. All operating systems should be open for development because ultimately it will make better products for the end user. BUT I’ve argued before that the mobile development community is already far too segmented. There are too many options for good developers out there that to build an application to reach the masses, you’d need to recreate it for each OS… or more likely- it will really only be built for one and the public will miss out on it.

What would I like to see happen? Nokia to drop Symbian and make Windows Mobile phones! As ugly as hell as some of Nokia’s phones are, these guys aren’t afraid to push the envelope to make crafty devices. The Nokia N95 is, and as a loyal HTC fan I hate to say this, the BEST hardware in the American market. It has a 5mp camera, impressive 3G chip, and a solid chunk of memory. But it runs by far and away the WORST operating system.

Well anyway, this is what I’ll discuss tonight at the Gadgetry MeetUp tonight at the Hill Tavern in Beacon Hill. If you want to attend, RSVP on the page there, or shoot me an email. I’d love to hear an argument about how the hell anyone expects Symbian to compete- open or not.

UPDATE: TechCrunch just copied my post… but with much better detail and factual coverage read it here

This goes along with ProBlogger’s running series of “Ways to let your blog go” - if you’re looking for other demotivators for blogging make sure to read the collection. Or if you are looking for real tips, just read ProBlogger regularly- it’s about as good as a blogging-blog gets.

Also, hopefully my new methods help my productivity enough that I actually get around to the “productive” post… because otherwise this would be a pretty disappointing list.

1. Sit down at the computer and just start writing.
The whole “Just sit down and start typing” thing works well if your problem is getting material out. But if you’re like me and have seriously trouble with brevity then all this will do is draw out your posts beyond an interesting level. You’ll end up with introductions longer than the post itself (something I’m known for (which isn’t good)).

Instead, try keeping a notebook of thoughts (or a running .doc if you want to practice writing) so that when you sit down you already have enough thoughts to start pulling it together.

2. Just go hunting for a topic when you’re ready to write.
The internet is a vast wasteland of worthless time sinks. Hunting for a topic will get you off track and then three hours later, after you’ve watched every crazy Parkour video on YouTube, you still haven’t started your post.

To fix this, try keeping a “blog topics” folder of bookmarks (favorites for you IE weirdos) so that whenever you are ready to start writing you can open up the folder and have dozens to choose from depending on your interest that day.

3. Get wrapped up in finding pictures
I’ll never discredit the value of images for a blog and to be perfectly fair: I miss opportunities on this blog by not using more images. That’s my bad. But at least I don’t waste too much time digging around for the perfect picture to compliment my post.

Keeping an image repository would be ideal, but the biggest tip I have for this: compromise. It’s ok if the image isn’t exactly what you want- the power of your blog should be in the writing anyway. Unless you’re a photo blogger, people aren’t coming to your site for the pictures.

4. Writing blog posts while your email is open.
I consider myself relatively talented at multi-tasking and can write well with distractions. But not blogging. When writing for a blog it should be a cogently readable thought. I find that if I jump to emails or other distractions while blogging then the topic will be fine, but the text will suffer.

I find time to write blogs usually early in the morning before the bulk of the day’s email comes in, or on weekends. If this is tough- then just close the inbox. Minimize isn’t enough. Close it.

5. Pushing out a disinteresting topic.
This is a huge one for me. Even if I’ve done well and have notes and links already in front of me, some times I’ll start writing a post and will realize it just isn’t that interesting. This happens. It’s ok. BUT- I find that if I force myself to push through it then it will take two or three times as long to write and will likely end up crappy anyway.

If the topic isn’t going well- save it to a draft and start over with something new. Truth be told, this post was outlined a few weeks ago but I just didn’t like it. So I saved it and waited until a bit more inspiration hit me (ironically, I couldn’t come up with this fifth bullet, which you see now is pretty important).

Blogging should be fun. People forget that sometimes, but blogging should be something you do because it’s enjoyable. I find that if I get hunting for pictures, digging around for material, or I don’t like the topic, then I’m not having fun. Fundamentally these tips are all about making blogging easier and thus, more enjoyable.

And that was a productively written blog post.