“Blog Wise Tip 7: Use the Right Tools” plus 1 more |  |
| Blog Wise Tip 7: Use the Right Tools Posted: 01 Mar 2012 12:01 PM PST You might think that, with blogging being a digital pursuit, the bloggers we interviewed for Blog Wise would be right up with the latest and greatest productivity gadgets, philosophies, and software. They're not. Physical toolsInterestingly, almost every one of the bloggers we spoke with relies on physical productivity tools to some degree—pen and paper, wall calendars, and whiteboards. "I actually have to have something visual to look at deadlines on a calendar," says Amy Porterfield. "So what I have is on my wall in my office I actually have a yearly calendar, but it's month by month, and I'll put my deadlines in there." It seems that for many of us, there's a sort of psychological benefit in having our to do list, for example, at our elbows, and separate from the computer in front of us. SoftwareIn terms of digital tools, these bloggers stuck with the mainstream software options: Google Apps like Calendars and Docs, Basecamp, and Evernote. "I write whenever ideas come to mind," Jeff Goins comments. "I use Evernote a lot, whether it's on my phone or on my laptop, and I'll just write some ideas down or a quote or whatever, and a lot of that turns into articles later." Many bloggers simply used the apps that came with their computers—iCal, Notepad, or Word, for example. "I use a lot of text documents," Darren problogger.net reveals. "I have about ten open on my computer at the moment. They're just plain text documents, and that's where I put my to-do lists and half-written posts and that kind of thing." Email, clearly, plays a massive role in productive communications between bloggers and their teams; Skype does too, but to a lesser degree. HardwareThough it wasn't talked about in detail, the interviews conveyed the impression that smartphones have been a boon for most pro bloggers' productivity. As a storeplace for diary and appointment information, email access tool, alarm, and cache of contact details, the smartphone's invaluable. It also makes working on the go achievable even in locations that don't have wifi—and at times when you're nowhere near your computer (or, for that matter, a notepad). In particular, bloggers with families relied heavily on their phones. Heather Armstrong uses Google calendars on her phone. "I can make a change, my husband can make a change, and it immediately updates on my phone so that I know what to be prepared for the rest of the day." In his interview, Darren revealed, "My wife, she's out for a walk at the moment—I texted her and said, "Please don't let the boys in my room. I'm doing an interview now.'" Communication, he says, is critical to his productivity. The other piece of hardware that got the thumbs-up? The tablet PC. "If anything pops into my head I have a tablet next to me [where] I just write it down so that I can forget about it in that moment and stay focused," Amy explained. What's your favorite productivity tool? Let us know in the comments. And if you’ve downloaded your copy of Blog Wise and you’d like to share your thoughts on it, we’d love to hear them, too! Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger Blog Wise Tip 7: Use the Right Tools     |
| Understanding the Hype Cycle of a Blog Posted: 01 Mar 2012 06:04 AM PST This guest post is by Nischala Murthy Kaushik. It's the start of a new year—the time when organizations work on their business strategies. And when you work on strategy, the one thing you definitely do is get a perspective of two facets of your operation:
One thing that I definitely read this time of the year are analysts’ reports by (Gartner, Forrester, IDC, and so on. I’m always looking for ways to learn, apply, adapt, and leverage new ideas, thoughts, and insights into my blogs. During one such pensive moment, I was mulling over whether there was any evidence of Gatner's Hype Cycle on blogs. And yes, I believe there is! What is the Hype Cycle?The Gartner Hype Cycle is a methodology that’s been used effectively by Gartner since 1995. The Hype Cycle provides a graphic representation of the maturity and adoption of technologies and applications, and how they are potentially relevant to solving real business problems and exploiting new opportunities. The Gartner Hype Cycle methodology gives you a view of how a technology or application will evolve over time, providing insight into managing its deployment within the context of your specific business goals. The key phases in Gartner's Hype CycleEach Hype Cycle drills down into the five key phases of a technology's life cycle.
(Check the source of this information for more details.) The hype cycle of a blogIf you’ve been blogging, or watching the blogosphere for any length of time, you can likely see how the hype cycle applies to blogging. Let’s step through it in detail. The trigger of a blogEvery blog is triggered by something. Technology may not always be the trigger, but it is a definite enabler. Had technology not evolved to where it is, blogging may not have existed as it does today. The trigger for a blog could be:
The key questions you need to answer when you start a blog are:
It's good to have some degree of clarity on these issues at the outset. Of course, they will change and evolve with time, but you need to have baseline answers in place if you are to move forward and start your blog. In this phase, the blogger is usually unsure about many things:
The best piece of advice for this phase of the Hype Cycle of a Blog is to test the waters by creating a blog. Keep at blogging, read about blogging, experiment, learn, and evolve. Along the way, you will discover your own commitment and interest towards blogging. The peak of inflated expectations for a blogThis is the phase in which one of the following happens to your blog:
The best piece of advice for bloggers experiencing this phase of the Hype Cycle of a Blog is:
The trough of disillusionment of a blogThis next phase in the Hype Cycle of a Blog is probably the most crucial as it will determine how long you will continue blogging. This is the phase when most bloggers are somewhat disenchanted with the results of their blogging efforts, either due to their own lack of interest in blogging, lack of a reader base, lack of interest from the blogosphere, limited shares and comments… The best piece of advice for this phase of the hype cycle of a blog is:
The reality is that many bloggers quit at this stage, disillusioned by their own capabilities at blogging as well as all the hype that surrounds blogging. Slope of enlightenment of a blogThis is the best phase in the Hype Cycle of a Blog—it's at this point that a blogger has his or her "Eureka" moment and feels that:
If you have reached this point, consider yourself lucky. Many congratulations to you! The sky is the limit for what you can achieve here. You can sell products (like books), personal services (like consulting and advisory services), your own ideas, and other's products services and ideas. You have the potential to become a cyber-celebrity and most importantly you have the opportunity to create an impact on those who read your blogs. The only advice for this phase of the hype cycle of a blog is this:
The plateau of productivity of a blogThis is the phase when you mature as a blogger, and your blog matures too—both go to a new elevated level. Your blog has a brand of its own and you have a presence in the blogosphere. Not many bloggers get here simply because they don't spend enough time asking and answering the key questions from the start of their blogging journey. If you're in this phase, you don't need any advice: you know where to go and how to get there! Which phase of the hype cycle is your blog in? Leave a comment to let me know. Nischala currently works at Wipro. She blogs at Nischala’s Space, Thoughts & Expressions and VERVE: The Quintessence of my Life – both of which have been added to the List of Best Indian Blogs @ http://indianbloggers.org/. In addition, she writes guest posts at sites like Problogger, FamousBloggers, The Change Blog and 12Most.com. For the full list of her guest posts, refer to the My Guest Posts Section on her blog. Nischala has completed her MBA from Indian Institute Management Bangalore [IIMB] ,one of the premier Business schools in India. She takes pride in being a Mother, Philosopher, Writer, Scholar & Guru of Life for Life and most importantly, the Chief Happiness Officer (CHO) of her LIFE J. You can follow her on Twitter @ nimu9 Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger Understanding the Hype Cycle of a Blog     |
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