OK, so maybe putting two youtube clips in back to back posts seems a little lazy, but it’s Friday and we all need to have some fun and laugh. This clip is from a private party for the late Don Adams. Don was the voice of Inspector Gadget as well as the original Maxwell Smart. One of things that you may not know is Adams’ close friendship with Don Rickles. Rickles is, in my opinion, the original and best insult comic ever. Here is a clip of Rickles doing what he does best, needling the members of the audience that has come together to celebrate Adams 75th birthday.  What makes this clip a little more poignant is the heartfelt words Rickles speaks at the end coupled with the knowledge tha Adams was dying of cancer at the time. Enjoy!

This is a great video on Youtube. It gives a concise explanation of what a blog is, for those of you new to this, as well as a history of how blogs came to be.  It’s very simplistic but pretty accurate.  The video uses a type of stop motion animation using paper cut-outs, similar to South Park. If you need to educate yourself quickly or have a friend who can’t seem to grasp what you do, show them this.

what I look like when I’ve spent too much time in front of a computer?

Try this.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love doing this. And after working as a public school teacher for 7 years, I love this even more.  But there are times when I just can’t look at my computer screen any longer.  When I get to that point, I usually take a walk or find something else to do.  Hopefully, you do the same.

I was reading an article by Daniel Scocco in which he discussed how to guarantee your comment will be removed from a blog. Remember, I’ve mentioned before that commenting on other blogs is a great way to promote your own blog as well as create more interaction in the cyber-community. But, there are traps to avoid if you want to make sure you don’t have your comment removed. There are some obvious tips, such as not using bad language or verbally berating the author or another commentor. There are some new tips that I have to admit I have been guilty of in the past.

While I don’t write in all capital letters, which is the equivalent of shouting to the community, I have overdone my comments from time to time with extra html code to make certain ideas stand out. There’s really no need. If you haven’t used your comment to write a completely new article and youare clear and concise with your ideas, people will understand your point. And, this is almost one of those “D’uh” type of tips, but I never thought about it. Leaving one line comments such as “Great Post” adds nothing to the discussion. If you don’t have time to make a comment at the time, come back when you have a chance to make a meaningful contribution.

Ok, one of the things I’ve picked up in learning how to blog is to offer different reading experiences. I want to offer one of those new experiences with an open survey. Here’s the survey question: When you visit a blog, what have been some of the biggest distractions? No need to include specific examples in your comment, but be as descriptive as possible so the rest of us can understand what you saw and experienced.

With every blogger wanting to capture readers, it goes without saying that if every blogger did nothing but write on his own blog, there would be no interaction between anyone. Sometimes, bloggers are the most prolific commentors. If you want people coming to your blog to check out your ideas, you need to sally forth and announce your presence on other blogs. Find a blog that discusses the same topic you do and engage the blogger by leaving a comment. You can even leave a link to your blog in your comment. I wouldn’t do this all the time, especially if you comment on a particular blog multiple times. If you really want some fun, find a blog that discusses the opposite point of view from your blog and leave a comment and link. Now, we do want to foster communication and discussion, so name calling and similar juvenile behaviors will not foster positive interaction. So, get out there, let the internet world know you exist, and keep it civil.

I was reading an article today from David Hutchison. In it he talks about how he has turned his blog into a type of micro-community. He wanted a blog with a lots of readers and activity, but he realized that if he were to try and do everything himself while still working a traditional day job, he was going to quickly burn out. So what Hutchison did is got in touch with a few people, each with an area of expertise, who are interested in blogging, had them submit a sample post and now has a blog with many contributors in terms of original content.

That seems all well and good, and I understand the desire to build a large community within the blog through using other people’s ideas and posts, but the whole concept of blogging to me is more of a one man operation. What Hutchison has set up is basically a free mini-corporation. I don’t know if anybody is making money from posting on his blog, and maybe I’m being a little narcissistic, but if I’m going to post to someone else’s blog, I feel like I should have some sort of compensation. My time is precious and I have multiple blogs which I update with fresh content, so I want to have my own blog(s) and have complete control of the content.

Well, for today’s bit of fun, I dip into the archives of classic animation for a gem from the Warner Brothers studio starring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. I grew up on Bugs Bunny and have seen hundreds of cartoons multiple times, and there are a few that attain the status of timeless. This is one of those. I’m also a lover of great music, so when you marry Bugs’ wacky antics with memorable music, it’s a no-lose situation. Bugs uses an opera to mold Elmer, literally, into whatever he wishes. Quite possibly the most memorable part is where Bugs rubs fertilizer into Elmer’s scalp, growing what he thinks is hair, but what ends up being daisies. Enjoy.

This bit of advice comes from Edward Khoo and is something that not only applies to websites and blogs but to life in general. That is the area of criticism. It’s inevitable; at some point someone is goign to come along and not like ar understand 100% what you’re trying to accomplish via your online endeavor. As a result, they will offer their opinion on what you should do. Now, before mentioning a few of Mr. Khoo’s ideas, I have a couple of my own. First, you have to realize that criticism can be a wonerful when offered by the right person, and it can also have the potential to be downright mean coming from the wrong person. The right person’s comments can make you better if you’re willing to take what they say and objectively see the pros and cons. The wrong person’s comment can be beneficial is terms of giving you an opportunity to turn the other cheek. My dad used to say that opinions are like rear ends: everyone has one and they all stink. While I’ve come to adopt that philosophy to only a few opinions, I still listen to others when they have an issue with something I do. Read what Mr. Khoo has to say here.

If you’re looking to catch the attention of readers in your area of expertise, you’re going to need to make use of keywords. Keywords and links are what Google uses to determine how to rank your website or blog. So, if you want people coming to read, you need to make sure you’re using good keywords. For instance, let’s say you want to blog about womens bathrobes, you’ll want to make sure you use words people would type in to search for something like that. Also, if you want to have a blog about mens jewelry, you’re going to need those keywords. Now, if this is already your area of expertise, you’ll know some of the lingo or jargon. Inserting it naturally into your blog post is the next step. You can’t just insert your keywords into random spots. Google seems to be able to detect when you’re just loading a posts with certain words. What you have to do is insert your keywords in a way such that it seems like not having them inserted reduces the power of your message. So, find the right words, then insert them naturally, and you’re on your way to catching the eye of the reader.