Category: Blogging

Workshop: Get Yourself Out There! An introduction to blogging.

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As a blogger for almost five years, I’ve run a number of blogs and I’m keen to pass on what I’ve learned to others stepping into the blogosphere. So here it is, a workshop for people who want to blog but are not sure how to get started or where to go with it.

blogger

The golden rule for writers is ‘Show, don’t tell’ – so I’m going to do exactly that! I’ll show you how to set up and customise your own blog, without any knowledge of programming, HTML, CSS or other techy talk! The only ‘tell’ you need is why you’re doing it: Which is, to get yourself out there and link with other like-minded souls, or, to find an audience and/or potential customers!

Using Blogger.com, the aim of this workshop is to give you an online presence which is simple for you to maintain, particularly if you’re busy or dislike using the internet. My wish is for each participant to leave the session with a fully operational, customised blog. If time permits, we can look at linking with social media, directories and other bloggers too, in order to build your audience.

You will need:

· a wifi enabled laptop (although our venue, coFWD, does have Ethernet cables if needed)

· an email address – you will automatically have a gmail account set up for you as part of your Google profile but it’s good to have an alternative for security.

· a unique password.

· A title for your blog – this is different from the web address and can be changed. The web address cannot be changed though, so I’d recommend using your name for that. E.g jayenolan.blogspot.co.uk is my blog address but the title is ‘A tingle in my fingers’.

Also, have a favourite picture of your own saved that you’re happy to share with the world, a favourite Youtube video you can find easily and a written piece about yourself you can use in your first posts. (You can always delete or amend afterwards).

The workshop will be held at coFWD, the coworking space at 161 Rochester High Street, on Tuesday, January 15th from 7.30pm – 9.30pm. The cost is just £12.50 and space is limited to just 6 places. Please visit the Eventbrite page here to secure your booking.

I look forward to seeing you,

Jaye 🙂

Happy National Freelancers Day

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Happily, I can sing that to myself. Giving up the permanent and stressful office job in March to concentrate on writing didn’t go entirely to plan when the regular freelance writing job* I had came to an end, but temping and casual work alongside other freelance writing means I’m free to get involved in a lot of other projects.

One of which was interviewing Daniel Nash, of BRFM, a community radio show in Sheppey, which you’ll find amongst September’s posts on this blog under ‘My Sheppey’. He returned the favour, interviewing me – you can hear it here.

‘Write around the river’

Local writing collective, ME4 Writers, put together an exhibition and reading entitled ‘Letters Home’ which was the first time I’ve ever done such a thing since school – read all about the project and listen to the podcast here. I’m about an hour in but do listen to the others; a real mixture and very emotional.

The Rochester Literature Festival is so exciting to be involved with. The launch was fantastic and the second event, although a much smaller, more workshop led one, was equally stimulating. Read all about it here and sign up to the newsletter on the ‘About’ page so you don’t miss anything.

To satisfy my need to write about my local community, Goingoninmedway.co.uk has a number of articles by me, about interesting people doing interesting things. Hopefully, there’ll be more where they came from but firstly, I’m concentrating on a few ideas that have been kicking around for months, awaiting the time I had nothing else to do.  *laughs* There’s also a very interesting idea taking off – the Medway Christmas Carol, involving lots of local musicians and artists. If it ends up anything like its inspiration, it’s going to be fab!

My friend and fellow LitFest founder, Phil, is also regenerating The Regenerate, to which I’ll be contributing (even if we disagree about Rochester Castle!) plus – yes, there’s more – other LitFest founder and friend, Emma, is the editor of WOW magazine, so look out for me in there too!

*the local website – who wanted a local perspective and community bod – changed their mind and decided they wanted a qualified journalist, two and half years after I’d put my heart and soul into it. They let all the community publishers go (about 100 of us across the country) although some lucky ones were re-employed to cover two sites for the same money. Sadly, the Kent management went for one full timer to cover the whole area. So now it’s all rehashed police, fire and council press releases – which you can read in the Medway Messenger, along with a lot more local community news (send me yours for Upnor and Shorne!)

Bloggers celebrate as the mainstream ask: Where now for Clark Kent?

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Clark Kent, aka Superman, has resigned from The Daily Planet. His position there became untenable when he “voiced his disdain for the direction the newspaper is headed, lacking real journalism and real reporting”, according to staff at a comic book store in New York’s Time Square.

1994 Daily Planet Pin

Daily Planet  (Photo credit: JD Hancock on Flickr)

There was derision from some quarters that Kent would become little more than a blogger, in a sweeping dismissal of the online community. However, bloggers of the world are thrilled to have such a high profile writer now featuring in their number and believe it will gain them a lot more respect from mainstream media.

There was some confusion at the decision. David Mitchell, writing in The Observer, said: “Initially, I assumed he was protesting against all the nasty commenters on the Daily Planet website: the thousands calling him an arsehole without having paid for the paper, or complaining that he only got to save the world because of his posh upbringing on Krypton. But apparently not: as well as his other powers, Superman is super-thick-skinned and embraces the internet age. He’s off to work in new media and, according to Scott Lobdell, writer of the Superman series, is “likely to start the next Huffington Post“.

However, according to my sources, Kent was quick to deny this, saying: “It isn’t like I’m just going it alone. Contrary to earlier reports, I’m not starting my own Huffington Post, I’m heading up the new publishing arm of Wayne Industries. The owner, Bruce Wayne, is assembling an awesome editorial team and has already snapped up top freelance photographer, Peter Parker, along with feted investigative journalist and features writer, Diana Prince.”

He continued: “We are committed to providing a comprehensive news service and guarantee to be in the thick of the action, bringing you live coverage via social media and live event blogging (you can follow me @superclarkey). We’re confident that no other world service will compete with or have access to, the quality coverage we’ll be supplying our readers.”

Surveys of mainstream media readers suggest that many will be deserting their regular news source in favour of WWN (Wayne’s World News).

An insider at News International reported that Rupert Murdoch was said to be furious, believing Kent’s friendship with Superman would give him the edge when it came to eaves dropped conversations. Less concerned with popular culture than his newspapers would have you believe, it’s unclear whether anyone told Murdoch that Kent and Superman are, in fact, one and the same person.

Ex-colleagues of Rebekah Brooks said she had, allegedly, tried to seduce Kent away from the Daily Planet on numerous occasions, and for the very same reason. Privately, Kent told associates that “he wouldn’t touch it with the Green Lantern’s, let alone his own.”

In a statement written by Steve Lobdell and released via DC Comics, Kent said: “The truth is that somewhere along the way, the business of news became the news. Growing up in Smallville, I believed that journalism was an ideal, as worthy and important as being a cop, a fireman, a teacher or a doctor. I was taught to believe you could use words to change the course of rivers – that even the darkest secrets would fall under the harsh light of the sun. But facts have been replaced by opinions. Information has been replaced by entertainment. Reporters have become stenographers. I can’t be the only one sick of what passes for news today.”

By women, for women: Introducing Rebecca Robertson of Evolution for Women.

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**Sponsored Post**

Rebecca Robertson is on a mission. With a background in financial services spanning thirteen years, her mission is to empower women, in an increasingly difficult economic climate, to take control of their finances. One of her main goals is to increase the amount of women advisers available to other women, thereby reducing the ‘hard sell’ image generally associated with financial advice.

Evolution for Women offers free consultations and advice, dedicated to putting the family first – including evening and weekend opening hours and appointments to fit in between the school run. A philosophy that clients are for life is the driving force behind the company and Rebecca is passionate about delivering a detailed and personal service. From the initial appointment to any follow up enquiries, she takes a great deal of pride in being contactable and responding in a timely fashion.

With women living longer than ever before, managing the purse strings and juggling family with highly paid jobs or managerial roles, their need for advice traditionally given to men has grown. Where previously the focus may have been on male finances, independent female clients, whether married, single or divorced, are seeking a more empathetic financial partnership.  This is where Rebecca can help: Good parent portfolio reviews; Money Maximiser meetings; bespoke insurance policies; guardianship for children; long term family assets protection and Family Income Benefit are all areas of expertise to give families a secure financial footing.

From the humble beginnings of a temporary cashier in the Alliance and Leicester Building Society, the quick learning Rebecca was soon flying high within the company. Other roles in respected institutions such as The Bradford & Bingley Building Society, The Mortgage Times Group and Charcoal Brokers followed, including being head hunted twice.

Having been made redundant when 14 weeks pregnant, the seedlings of Evolution for Women began to sprout in Rebecca’s mind and she finally created the company in February 2011. Refining her operating model ever since, the days of building someone else’s empire are finally over. The Evo Academy is under construction, giving an opportunity to other women, with or without previous financial services experience, to gain qualifications and step onto a rewarding career path, thus expanding the Evolution for Women ethos.

Rebecca’s passion and commitment to providing an effective and personable service is clear. She says: “My business has become my 7th baby after my little girl, dogs, cats and husband. All of which I love and think the world of. I have a very clear path for Evolution for Women and believe we will be the hand bag of financial services for women.”

After a decade working for the pinstripe brigade with their “do now, do quickly” attitude, Rebecca has decided to do things differently: She’s going to put the service back into the financial services industry and a feminine touch to finance!

New bloggers’ platform ‘Bloggabase’ promises less spam

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The founders of the UK’s first product review service for bloggers is inviting bloggers from all backgrounds, with readerships of any size, to sign up – free of charge.

Bloggabase enables them to be contacted to review relevant products, services, events and experiences for their blogs, across all sectors, connecting bloggers with PR, SEO and other marketing  individuals and companies with products, services, events and experiences they wish to promote. Bloggers will, uniquely, have the power to report poorly targeted marketing, which will result in the offenders receiving a short ban from the service.

With the new database service, bloggers are given the opportunity to request information and get free review offers, by making it clear to all what they will write about, what they won’t write about and whether they’re happy to be contacted or not. Each blogger will have a bloggabase.com profile, giving marketers the opportunity to see the blog’s unique visitors, SEO value, recent entries and areas of interest.

As soon as 2,000 bloggers have signed up, the service will launch to allow a limited number of marketers to sign up.

To sign up, bloggers are being asked to visit http://www.bloggabase.com, where they will be asked to select the subject/s they blog about, as well as a number of keywords related to their blog, to ensure they are not contacted by
people with irrelevant products, services, events and/or experiences.

Importantly, a unique ‘report a user’ feature will enable bloggers to quickly and easily identify and report individuals that have contacted them inappropriately with products, services or experiences that are irrelevant to their area/s of interest. If more than three separate bloggers identify one marketer as targeting them irrelevantly, that person’s account will be frozen and they will be unable to access the blog database for a period of time, giving the bloggabase.com team the chance to contact them to get to the bottom of the issue.

The service can be followed on Twitter @bloggabase

bloggabase.com has been set up by public relations professionals Andy Barr and Rich Leigh, who are both bloggers who have been on the receiving end of poorly targeted marketing. Rich says: “This is a war on poor blogger outreach campaigns, with an emphasis on ensuring people with products and experiences to promote are only targeting
bloggers that are happy to be contacted. The thing most marketers forget is that many bloggers do it for the love of
blogging about their passion. My hope is that with bloggabase.com, the carpet bombing PR tactics marketers have so far employed when contacting bloggers will be replaced with something that benefits both parties – and more importantly, is consensual and targeted.”

Andy added: “Having talked to hundreds of bloggers in the process of building the service, we’ve found that many bloggers would welcome the opportunity to test products and services – but only if they are appropriately and
relevantly contacted. As a blogger myself, you can’t deny that having been sat there with a blank page but all the intentions of delivering quality blog content, you sometimes wish you had a great, relevant product, service or experience to blog about. We hope our request service, where bloggers can contact marketers in certain sectors, will also help with this.”

For more information, please visit bloggabase.com or contact Andy Barr or Rich Leigh by emailing andy@bloggabase.com or rich@bloggabase.com

CYBHER – The first UK all inclusive event for women who blog

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On Saturday 12th May 2012, central London will be alive with 300 British women bloggers!

Cybher is the first all-inclusive female blogger event of its kind in the UK. This one-day event will bring together the most influential bloggers and speakers from all corners of the blogosphere to network, inspire, share and learn.

Cybher is the brainchild of Siân To who after 15 years PR experience went social when she started blogging in 2009. In January 2010 she founded CyberMummy and in August that year she embarked on a life changing journey as an ambassador for Save the Children, that took her from the slums of Bangladesh to the UN summit in New York and tea at Downing Street.

This vast experience of how to use social media, and how to use it for social good is the foundation of Cybher.

Siân To, said: “We are so proud that Cybher can offer such a variety of workshops and activities for our bloggers to enjoy. Cybher has attracted woman from all blogging genres from beauty and fashion to parenting, travel,politics and more. Not only do these social savvy woman want to learn and develop the core content of their blogs, they also want to connect with brands that reflect their own key values as women.”

Cybher is poised to become the shared platform for bloggers from all walks of life. If you’re a woman and you blog then Cybher is the SOLD OUT event to be seen at.

Speakers include;
Zoe Margolis (Girl with a one track mind), Mario Cacciottolo (Someone Once Told Me), Poppy Disney What I wore Today), Liz Scarff (Blogladesh, World Vision), Daryl Willcox (DWPub Media), Mark Solomon (Tales from a black cab),
Cate Sevilla (BitchBuzz) and our youngest speaker, the 10 year old Biba (bibasphotos.com).

The Facts. The Stats. The Attendees.

–    70% of all bloggers use their blog to share their expertise and experience with others.

–    36% of all bloggers have been quoted in the traditional media for something they posted on a blog.

–    82% of bloggers surveyed are using Twitter.

–    Those who use Twitter say they do so to promote their blog (77%) and bring interesting links/content to light (59%).

–    96% of bloggers have an independent blog. This means they choose who they work with. It could be you.

–    The blogosphere is influencing itself – the number one influencer for bloggers is the blogs that they read.

–    Almost one third of bloggers have worked for the traditional media. They know how to write and how to engage their audience.

–    Compared with other media, blogs continue to lead in terms of trust and generation of consumer recommendations and purchases.

Source: Technorati State of the Blogosphere 2011

Blogging Blast!

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If you don’t ask, you don’t get!

I noticed a fellow blogger on Twitter guest blogging for the MSN Strictly Come Dancing blog and thought, why not? So I asked Matt Ball, MSN Strictly Blogger-in-Residence, if I could have a go – and he said “Yes!” Just like that! So away I went, from Monday through Friday, writing the MSN It Takes Two blog “XX things we learned on It Takes Two tonight”! It was thoroughly enjoyable and if you’re into Strictly (or even if you’re not) you can read the posts here:

Monday: Men should do their own hair.

Tuesday: Hats are a dancer’s nemesis.

Wednesday: Chelsee has found her shoes!

Thursday: Harry will not be wearing tights!

Friday: Harry did a rumba move and bumped into a radiator!

Thanks to Matt for the opportunity!

Work is the curse of the creative classes …

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Why do I want to write? A) Because I enjoy it and B) earning a living doing something I enjoy is preferable to a boring office job, isn’t it? But how much do I want it? Am I prepared to compromise on my own voice, my own style, to make a living?

Working with the Restore Rochester Castle committee means I’m going to be sending press releases to various media outlets – I’ve already done one – and I wrote a basic but informative piece, not overlong, which gave them all the relevant information they needed because I know how it works: they’ll re-write it, unless they’re lazy journalists – which isn’t my problem because if they print it as it is I know it’s professionally written, at least in respect of grammar, spelling etc.

However, I’ve resisted the temptation to look at any ‘How-to-write-a-press-release’ gumph, because do I want the Restore campaign to have the same voice as every other campaign out there or do I want them to sound human and individual? But should I be writing to a formula, a pre-ordained format? Isn’t it unprofessional of me not to?

I love writing for Rochester People – the guideline to the publisher role was very much to make it my own, to write however and whatever I feel the local community would want to read. Indeed, what they were looking for was a blogger rather than a trained journalist, for exactly those reasons stated above – a human voice, not a machine churning out the same as everyone else.

Had I managed to land the local reporter role I went for recently, would I have had to adhere to certain rules – rules I imagine that trained journalists learn at college, of which I have no knowledge? Rules that would have ruled out* the digressions I make in the middle of articles sometimes (*did you see what I did there, eh? Did you?) or the *addition of a little aside in asterisks* or #twitterhashtags references – and therefore made my job of writing said article much less fun for me? The media chief who asked for the applications via Twitter made my day by leaving a comment on The Scatter – only for me to find out during the resultant conversation that I’m “a star” but to “carry on what I’m doing” – because “that’s where your talents lie” i.e. not in the reporting of a local court case with little scope for creativity.

To say I was gutted would be true, totally. I am going to check out the ‘how-to-write-a-press-release’ gumph, because writing, any sort of writing, is what I want to do. I want to be challenged by writing about subjects I’m unfamiliar with. I want potential clients to see my complete portfolio and know that I’m someone who can write whatever they want me to write, in any style or form. Simply because, I love writing and I want the freedom to pursue it at a creative level. If formulaic press releases are where I begin, that’s fine with me.

It’s all go!

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And because it’s all go, I’m not going to make the deadline for the 2 Days Later competition this time around. But, I have all the pieces in place, I now know how my digital camera works and will be filming the indoor scenes over the next couple of months, while I knock together a script for 2 Days Laughter! Then come Spring, I’ll get the outside shots done and hold fire for the next one!

Restore Rochester Castle have gone crazy with events – see here if you wish to take part/donate or attend in a sponsored walk around the Castle grounds or a Fancy Dress Halloween special at local wine bar/club, Olivers. There’s also a very straightforward ‘Donate’ button, if you could be so kind as to spare just a £1 – every little makes a difference, thank you! Long term project wise, we’re putting together a book about the castle, made up of pictures, photos, paintings, poetry, anecdotes and more, from whoever wants to contribute, so watch out for details on that, coming soon!

The LitFest blog is finding more events and news to share and Strictly Come Dancing is starting this week, so The Rhythm of Life will be updating regularly. And I thought I’d finally, finally, cracked it with a chance of landing a new, part time writing job last week, only to find it wasn’t part-time and I did actually need journalism qualifications! But I received some superb feedback which has boosted me, especially in respect of The Scatter blog, so you may see more activity on there – and, if all plans come to fruition, a book!

Until then, I’m off to Upnor on Tuesday to hang around the Magwitch film shoot, courtesy of Viola Films! Pics and quotes will be posted on Rochester People and Rochester LitFest – I’m very much looking forward to seeing the action!

 

The making of … and blog updates!

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I’ve dabbled in a bit of scriptwriting but never made a film before. That’s all about to change, as I’ve got friends Carole and Marilyn on board and I’ve spent £6 on props – all I need is to find my camcorder and away we go! It’s a short horror piece for the 2 Days Later Short Film Competition, see more details here.

The Rhythm of Life has two updates recently, the main one I wanted to share is about The Swim, a new fund raising initiative by Cancer Research UK and features a team of celebrities swimming across the Irish Sea. They are Pamela Stephenson, Ronan Keating, Richard Branson, Jenny Frost and Jason Bradbury, check it out here.

And wonder of wonders, an opportunity to take the Michael, just a teensy bit, out of Dancing on Ice Mr.Nasty, Jason Gardiner, on The Scatter. It fair leapt out at me from Yahoo news and I just couldn’t resist!