The power of a morning ritual May 18, 2007
Posted by JamesVinzer in Writing, articles, blogging, freelancing.add a comment
From Freelanceswitch.com Leo writes about the benefits of creating a morning ritual for one’s blogging. This actually is something I would approve of as well, because I’m trying it out as well. Leo writes:
If you’re having trouble getting your writing done, try creating a morning writing ritual. You can get a lot more done each day, as an early boost of productivity will spur further productivity throughout the day.
Several of his reasons for this are useful, such as getting your most important task overwith, and the fact that routines help things get done. He also writes some tips about getting into this ritual:
Prepare the night before. When you first wake up, you’re not always thinking right. Prepare for your morning writing ritual when your thinking is clear, in the evening, and your morning will start off so much better. How can you prepare? Get your writing tool out and ready to go — whether that’s your word processor (Google Docs for me) with your document open and ready to go, or your favorite writing pad and pen, have it out and set up.
There’s plenty more tips that are definitely of use for the blogger to be.
How to write a great blurb November 26, 2006
Posted by JamesVinzer in articles, blogging, structure, style, technique.add a comment
A blurb is a mini-article. These articles are often used for describing new technologies, or gizmos, gadgets, etc.
These blurbs usually consists of one, and no more then two paragraphs. This means that you will need to summarize all of the information you desire in those two paragraphs, because anything more will lose the attention of the reader.
The two paragraphs can be broken into two separate areas. The first paragraph is directed at the audience of the blurb, and the second is a description of what is being blurbed. (Is that a word?)
For our example, I link you to a particularly good Gizmodo blurb. Note how Mark presents a reason why you would want to buy this thing: “For only $3, you can own a pocket spy camera that takes stills and movies, and can double as a webcam.” He’s trying to get you on the price of the camera, as well as the fact that it is easily pocketable.
In the second paragraph comes the specs, or the description of the camera. In here, you play the specifications that people will like. Here, people are wanting something that is small and will fit into their pockets. But Mark doesn’t discuss the history of the gadget in question, which if you check the comments of the site, doesn’t seem rather good. Now, I’m not saying you should outright lie about the description (You shouldn’t.) But you can present only the specs people will care about.
Lastly, especially for a cheap P.O.S like this, it’s good to include a little humor about the object. Just a little something to make the reader chuckle.
Blurbs are good for people who do things like reviewing small things such as software, devices, billboards and the like. The only things I’d recommend you stay away from are things like movies and restaurants. Those require a full-scale article for reviewing.
Happy Blurbing, and good Blogging!
Technorati Tags: writing, blogging, blurbs, articles, gadgets, blogs, techniques
How to be a funny blogger while being serious November 24, 2006
Posted by JamesVinzer in articles, blogging, style, technique.1 comment so far
I’ll tell you now, the old adage is true: Dying is easy, Comedy is hard, especially blogging comedy while trying to maintain a professional status.
It’s hard to maintain a balance of seriousness and comedy, but when you hit it, your abilities will only skyrocket! See, this is why blogging is both an art and a science. Only by knowing your audience will you become one with your funny bone.
Nevertheless, there are several things you need to consider.
1. Who is your audience?
This is the most important of these rules.You need to know your audience! Their likes, dislikes, preferences, hobbies, all of it is important! While you may not be able to get it all, the more information you can get your hands on, the better. Look at Lifehacker. Lifehacker specializes in software and techniques to help one get organized. Its audience is mainly tech-savvy people who are quasi-disorganized and in need of help. As such, they can empathize with their audience by using comedy related to what they know about the audience.
2. What comedy is your audience into?
Now that you understand your audience, you can spend time trying to learn what jokes they like. The reason this is important is because if you tell the wrong jokes, you may alienate your audience. You wouldn’t post jokes about blond women on a feminist blog, would you?
Your best bet is to read the comments on your blog. See what types of jokes people who comment on your blog post, and check the reaction to the jokes. Joke styles with more positive reactions suggest that you can use that style with ease. Jokes with more negative responses…avoid at all costs.
That’s the two main questions you should be asking yourself, but there’s also so much you can do:
1. Check the current events relevant to your blog
Every blog has some sort of current event that is significant to it. Imagine if RSS was obliterated. Ol Chris Pirillo and Lockergnome would be reporting immediately on RSS’s replacement, since they’re essentially one of the pioneers of RSS. For a political blog, anything that craps out of the government is fair game for you. Anti-DRM? Boycott RIAA’s got you covered.
Take these examples and poke fun at them. Make a mockery of Barack Obama! Humiliate the next thing to poop out of “Web 2.0!” It’s all fair game!
2. Learn joke styles
As any person with some sort of jokebook knows, there’s more then one joke in the world, no matter how any movie puts it. Furthermore, there’s also plenty of joke styles. For example, inference. The joke above is an inference to a movie called The Aristocrats, which was essentially several comedians telling the same joke. It makes the person think, and for some, it makes it even funnier. A disadvantage is that there are people who don’t want to think, and people who haven’t seen The Aristocrats.
My suggestion to you is to buy a couple of jokebooks, and see how the different jokes work. There’s also lightbulb jokes, racial jokes, stories, and many more.
3. Some things to watch out for
First, avoid overusing humor. If you make an entry too comedic, your seriousness will take a dive. Some humor is good, but know when it is needed. Don’t laugh about a murder or a fire that left many homeless, and especially don’t joke about anything on the caliber of Hurricane Katrina, or anything of a similar disaster.
Also, avoid cliches! Cliches are tired and boring. If you really need to put one in, at least modify it a little bit, so your readers won’t be running like the blog-boring plague.
Humor is a hard tool to master, but once you master it, not only will it improve your blogging, but all your friends will be amazed at your comedic wit!
