Good day to you from wherever you are reading *waves regally*. Welcome to my first Blog Talk Round-Up for Brit Mums. This will be a monthly feature (the first Wednesday of the month).
We (the Royal “We”, naturally), always say that you shouldn’t blog about blogging but, if that is the case, then how are we ever supposed to find out about blogs, blogging, slightly technical do’s and don’t’s and everything else in between?
For the first post, I’d like to give you an insight into the type of “tech” blogs I read and why. I would also like you to send me your suggestions from around the web if you think they should be featured here. Just tweet me a link (@nickie72) with a short reason and I’ll try to feature the post here next time. You can even nominate your own!
- First of all, did you know that Brit Mums are collating an “Improve Your Blog” series? It’s a good idea to have the main page bookmarked and keep checking back as there are new posts being added all the time. I’d like you to check out the Time For A Blog Design Rethink post by Janis Curry as there are some fantastic tips in there to help you see your blog through the eyes of a reader.
- Next I was reading a post on Blogger Sentral about how your blog name and title appear in Google searches and how you can improve your search ranking by adding a small section of HTML into your main template. Don’t be scared about doing it – always make a back-up of your blog before you start and the instructions are very clearly laid out. I have also found that this nifty little tip works well for tweet-outs and Facebook shares too.
- Violet Posy has been seen around the Twittersphere bemoaning the closure of the free photo-editing suite, Picnik. She has compiled a definitive list of alternative free replacements and also highlights the best paid-for photo-editing software for Windows and Mac.
- Leading on from Violet’s Google rant, there is a lot of discussion at the moment around Google Plus (G+) and privacy issues. This blog post from Social Mouths highlights exactly that even thought they are attempting to blog about it in a positive light, I think it’s important for us all to understand what can and can’t be seen just by adjusting a few settings on our social media accounts.
- Did you know that Ruth from Geekmummy has an Audio Blog? I think this is a really innovative way to blog quick updates whilst on the move but also to capture interaction with your children such as story time or maybe even a review from your child’s point of view.
- All of you with Blogger blogs… did you know that you can now reply to individual comments (threaded replies) if you have updated your comments settings. The Blogger Buzz tells you exactly how to do this with screen grabs and instructions. It should only take you two minutes to do and you will increase your on-blog interaction. I highly recommend it.
- And finally for this month, I have a confession… I broke the rules of Listography (again) and gave you Ten Tips For Bloggers (it should have been five). You can see a bombardment of bloggers give you their best advice in the Listography Link Up. Set aside some time to go through them all – there’s some real gems in there.
I hope you have enjoyed this round-up. See you again on Wednesday 7th March for the next one and don’t forget to send me your recommendations.
Thanks for the roundup Nickie, it’s good to know what’s going on in our part of the blogsphere.
Glad you enjoyed it. I attempted to get a good mix of parent bloggers and non-parent bloggers.
Fantastic list, will book mark and share, as I think sometimes especially in my little tiny niche of prem mum bloggers, their blogs take off, and they feel a bit lost as to how to maximise their impact and grow as they do. I know I have.
I’m going to try and get a few hints and tips in there each month so you can find something new to do each month.
Great info as always Nickie and thanks for the mention. Off to check out that html thingy
No problem, Kate – that Listography appeared at just the right time