30 Blogging Tips, Links and Social Media Resources

by Jan Geronimo on May 1, 2009

Image by churl via Flickr

Here is a list of 30 hot tips, links, blogging and social media resources I’ve found on the web for your reading pleasure.

Best writing tips. The bottom line is that we need to be good writers to be read. I’ve skimmed the cream of the crop in writing and I’ve stumbled into Skellie, Terry and George.

1. How to Write Like a Painter
2. Aesthetic Poets and “To Thine Own Self Be True”
3. Your Writing is Killing Your Writing

What’s hot right now. The sad thing about Philippine blogosphere is that some of us get off on assigning derogatory labels to our fellow bloggers who don’t fit into our pet notions of class and what constitutes accomplished blogging. Here’s Janette and Reyna Elena to give you the lowdown on this pesky issue. To make up for the heavy feeling you might have after checking out these links, I reward you with Holly’s useful and humorous post on blog commenting.

1. Politics of Blogging
2. Are You Serious Carlo Ople?
3. Blog Comments: Conversation or Junk Mail?

Most viewed in this blog. In case you’re slacking off, I’m giving you a recap of what Google Analytics says are the most read posts in this blog in April.

1. The Lost Art of Being Silly
2. CommentLuv Plugin for Blogspot Users
3. The Secret to Earning a Good StumbleUpon Review

Best blogging tips. Skellie, Daniel and Marko all conspire here to help you raise your blog to the next level.

1. 5 Content Strategies That Top Bloggers Use + 3 Things That Set Them Apart
2. Calculus of Blogging: The Whys and Hows of Blogging Success
3. 6 Steps to Make Your Blog Visitors Loyal Commentators

11 SEO power tools and 34 nifty techniques. We can’t avoid being our own handyman in our own blog. We have to if we’re into blogging for the long haul.

1. 33 Foolproof Headline Writing Strategies
2. 11 Tools for Effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO Tools)
3. A Headline Title Trick to Maximize Social and SEO Traffic – the One-Two Punch

Making heads and tails of the social media. Some useful read to help you manage the surfeit of social media sites you’re subscribed to. Plus a valuable post on Friendfeed as the social media aggregator to beat.

1. Eight Forms of Social Media Depression: Are You Suffering?
2. Friendfeed as a Productivity Tool
3. Five Ways To Take Control of Your Personal Brand Today

Twitter: What can I say except that whenever social media is mentioned I snap to attention and burst into melodic tweets. Ahem.

1. The Science of Retweets
2. Twitter is the New Recess
3. How to: Get Twitter Tweets on Your Cell Phone

StumbleUpon. My original Significant Other. I’ve known it long before I joined blogging. Always has a special place in my heart.

1. How to Get the Most Out of StumbleUpon
2. How to Use StumbleUpon: A Step by Step Guide
3. A Comprehensive Guide to StumbleUpon: How to Build Massive Traffic to Your Website

Facebook: It’s currently going after Filipino account users on suspicion that their user names are fake. No mystery there – Filipinos love nicknames with repeating syllables: Tonton, Jayjay, Leklek, and so on. These are not fake names, Mattt. Oh Facebook, you’re so clueless. Never mind, we still love you.

1. How to Create and Promote Your Facebook Fan Page
2. 10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know
3. 10 Facebook Tips for Power Users

Digg: I can’t stand the verbal abuse in Digg. Its comment section is not for the fainthearted. Tread slowly and carry a taser to protect yourself if you can’t help lusting the rewards of Digg anointment.

1. Beginner’s Guide to Digg
2. How to Play the Odds Game and Win with Digg
3. How to Level the Playing Field with Digg

Over to you, guys. Care to share valuable links and blogging resources you’ve stumbled into the last few days?

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/>Related Posts:
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To Tweet or Not Tweet that is the Question
7 Golden Rules of Social Media
How to Stay Sane and Alive If You’re Creative

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TheWeblogZone

Hi Jan,
Testing gravatar. :)
jan

Hi Carlo, Welcome to my little blog. I'm glad you've your way here. ",) You're right there - it's compact. Virtually no reading in fact - because the actual reading is taking place in other blogs. But it's doing well.

Odd. Should I come up with blog post consisting of one liners? Ah, the mystery of blogging. Maybe I should buckle down to work to unlock the mystery in that puzzler.

Ei, thanks for this visit. Appreciate it very much. :)
WhatsACoder

wow! very compact and informative i'll read the links from time to time. This will help me to strengthen my foundation in blogging. 30 tips is too much but it's worth the read.. I think I'll balance my time now in programming and reading the links. Hands down to this own great post!

Recent blog post: Swine Flu Virus: A threat?
jan

Good to hear that! Kitam, sabi na nga ba meron eh. ",)
jan

Magdilang anghel ka sana, Bingkee. I've got much to learn. Besides, I take them one at a time. If the brain already hurts, I stop. And have coffee. Then I go back to it.

Some things are really very difficult to learn. Especially SEO. The good thing is that even machines like Google are doing their homework, too. Di ba? They're learning semantics and all that stuff. I intend to meet them halfway para naman makatulong sa sarili ko na rin. If a machine can do it, aba ako rin. Yabang noh? hahaha.

No, I'm doing it at my own pace. Mahirap nang mapatiran ng ugat. Ni pambayad sa community hospital wala pa ngang masasagot ang blogging eh. So I take it in moderation. :)
bingkee

You must be an expert in blogging now. You know more than I do. I don't even care anymore especially Twitter, Stumble Upon and SEO tricks and tools. If I follow them all , I'd probably be nuts. And never had the time to enjoy the world outside of cyberspace. :)
Nakakalito na kasi lahat ng mga tips , tools, tricks and techniques na eto. They take the fun out of blogging. So, I'd rather enjoy writing and just writing ...I think that's a better technique compared to everything else--enjoy blogging.

Recent blog post: L.A.TRIP PHOTOS AND A CONFESSION
fedhz

oh ok. galing talaga. ^^ sabi nga ni boyfriend hahanapan na lang daw nya ko ng ganun para sa WP. hehe. thanks!
jan

Ahahaha. May silbi rin naman pala ang link post ko.

Strange, this post. It has got lots of eyeballs. What have I invested in it? Well - lots of reading around the web, bookmarking this and that. And emailing myself the stuff, if I'm not exactly sure if I'd subscribe to a blog - I'm hard to please. lol.

The hard part is organizing it to make the links make a coherent whole. The hard work involves putting the links in the post.

That's all there is to it. But of course, you know the stuff. You've been there. There's hardly a tinge of my personal stamp in this post and yet it's doing well. Strange, strange blogging world. But - pssst - I can't complain too much and too loud, can I? :)
elmot

got to the link at last for carlo ople's infamous pgb.

and ill be making my own post on this one ehehe
jan

Yes, you can put it in WP. But because you're in WP there are better alternatives to JS-kit. Commentluv first even appeared in WP, JS-kit certainly serves us well blogspot users. But in terms of design and the look of the threaded comments, the ones used in WP are better.

But if you really want it, of course you can. It's designed for both WP and blogspot and other websites, too. :)
fedhz

haha, no not really. do you think I can put js-kit in my wordpress blog? hehe. ^^ so I won't come here bugging you to say that I have replied in your comment here:

http://fedhz.com/archives/1584...

^^ sorry for that. hope you'll read it unless you want me to post my very long response here. haha! :-P
jan

Your exhaustive headline writing tips is a winner. One that I'm very eager to share with my readers. Thanks, Brad. :)
Brad Shorr

Hi Jan, Thanks for the link love - it only took me a week to find it! These posts all look fabulous. Nice of you to take the time to put them together. :-D

Recent blog post: Words that should be banned: Solutions - Guest Post by Clare Lynch
jan

Kaya naman pala high-strung. Hays, poor coping skills. Do you still have nightmares about comma monsters? lol.
fifi

we have this theory that she comes to class as a break from her stressful
work. she enjoys the feeling of being feared. oh well. but she has won a lot

of cases(or so she claims) because of her mastery of the english language. i

just think that she's unhappy so she shares her unhappiness to the world

through her 'terrorizing ways' in class.

On 5/2/09, JS-Kit.com Comments <

js-kit-m2c-tuaf1rDDs2z-OPlFifIO4n77f21cA-5S3Z67AUN-dOY@reply.js-kit.com>

wrote:
jan

That's funny - here I am giving you tips when all along you know these things already. Yikees! :-[
fedhz

LOL.. no prob. ^^v so happy you're replying too. yeah, I first experienced JS-kit from Lainy's blog. ^^v
jan

Yeah - Mark Twain it is. I have dropped the ball and you caught it in midair. How cool is that! ",)
Lucrecio Emerito

You are right, Jan. Teachers will like that because they will just sit and ask. :-D

Yes Mark Twain is right when he said that.
jan

I'm so hopeless, Fedhz. I've suddenly become an export now - can you believe it! hahaha. That's the danger of staying up right into the wee hours in the morning. Export my foot. :)

Well, Fedhz, thank you for perking me up in those hours when a part of the globe is fast asleep.

One tip: If you're reading this in your inbox. You need not come over to reply. You only have to reply right in the notification email JS-Kit has sent you. And if you choose to reply through that email you've received, that will appear below my comment. Cool huh? Saves a lot of going to and fro. ;)
jan

Interesting story, Luke. Look at that - this is still happening even in the best universities.

This perhaps explains why this particular saying appeals to us? - I don't let schools interfere with my education. Or something to that effect.
Lucrecio Emerito

Her classmates won't laugh. There are two things on their minds. Who will be called next and what will be the next question?

Very true, Jan. The Socratic Method is somewhat ancient. Just like the profession fifi wants to be in. But they still use it now in every major night school in here and US.

There is almost no lectures. Just recitations. Someone from ADM law once told me. He said no lectures and for the whole period only two students are called. Each for 20 min. Maybe not in every subject, but... They should also read around 15 cases a day. My, my, I rather read blogs...

The problem with that method is: 1. Some teachers don't know how to use it properly or effectively. They just ask a series of pointless questions. Most are unconnected. 2. Some use it to terrorize students and gain reputation. 3. Some use it as an excuse not to prepare because they won't be lecturing anyway.

But for commas, that may seem to be overkill.

Just keep on, ma'am Fifi. And for your legal writing commas, you are in the right place here in Jan's blog.
fedhz

yeah, you are definitely right. actually I cleaned up our room a bit.. waxed the floor.. the funny thing is I wanna blog about it right away. haha! of course you're my guru. no problem with unsolicited advice. lol.. no kidding. i really need some that's why I'm here. hehe.
jan

Give it a rest for a while. Do something different. Permit yourself to goof off for a while. Then get back to it. You might have gotten new ways of doing things - you never know.

Gosh. What's this! I have become an adviser. Yay! As if I've suddenly become an export. :)
fedhz

Yeah, Jan.. I have a lot of reading to do. I am not in the mood to write right now. I am getting bored with my usual entries.
jan

Hey, thanks a lot. I hope you find something that will be useful for your blog. :)
fedhz

Wow, jan... these lists are very interesting. I'll be reading them one at a time. thanks!
jan

When the brain refuses to budge? Don't panic. Sit down and write a grocery list. Works every time. ;)
Dee

Quite a list you've got there! Thanks, Jan. :)
jan

Ah so that explains it. Hey, that's news to me - using MyBlogLog to see what's happening out there. But the hows of it eludes me. Can you briefly explain it? I use my bloglog for decoration only. :)

Oh - thanks Roy. That only means I have to be more serious now with my blogging. I have no escape goats now to blame if I screw up. hahaha. I love to snarl pa naman at blogger every now and then for its shortcomings. I really have to work my butt off now, Roy. *DONT_KNOW*
jan

Medieval teaching method, that one. She had no imagination. Didn't she even consider a student's poor showing in her class reflects badly on her teaching methods? I bet her tactics and the little scenes of terror she created in her classroom has been fodder for her stories in cocktail parties.

Although I see the value of mastering the language - court room battles can be lost indeed on poorly constructed briefs and what-nots. A counselor who has a poor command of language will be handicapped, I consider this too.

But her methods? Naah. Do you remember her with fondness, Fifi?

We only pass this way once. And she - no matter how brilliant she has been - bungled it. >:o
Roy

well, I'm not seeing you in Twitter all morning, so I checked mybloglog and voila! saw your comment there and immediately run! :-D

Yes, I really find that commentluv link puzzling

and that comment on link, I meant it ;)

Congratulations again! looking forward to your new blog!

Recent blog post: Stop reading and start doing!
fifi

hmmm... well, my classmates didn't exactly laugh because they know it could happen to anyone. who would have thought that the use of comma could be used as a lawyer/professor's arsenal to terrorize a hapless student like me?

about that writer you talk about, i wonder what he did to all the other punctuation marks. ngek! impertinent.

Recent blog post: breastfeeding in public
jan

Poor Fifi. That's horrible. Did your classmates make funny faces at you while the teacher was not looking? That struck a chord in me - being made to stand in front of the class.

But look at you now - even without mastering the the proper use of comma - you still rock as a writer.

There's a good quotation about a writer keeping his nose to the grindstone and it involves the use of comma. Darn! I forgot which author it was.

It's about a writer who labors at his writing in the morning, practically doing nothing except putting a comma in his work. Then he went away. If he's like me - maybe he went for coffee? :-D In the afternoon, this writer went back - putting the comma right back in.

Isn't that a hoot. I find it wonderful! Just too bad I suck, you know for not taking notes.
fifi

hey jan. thanks for the links. i had a teacher in legal writing who was too into grammar that she made me stand up in class for the longest five minutes of my 1st semester in law school because i didn't know what the purpose of a comma is. i still don't know until now. but i checked some of your links, a good review of the basics. :-D

Recent blog post: breastfeeding in public
jan

Yeah, you're right on the money there. I would love to have that comment framed and hanged near my desktop. A desiderata of sorts. On second thought, we should not be too surprised. Pssst - Holly, is a published author. Take it from there. :)

You're welcome, Francisco. Perhaps that means I can raid your treasure chest for some more? :-D
jan

My blogging is made on the back of generous friends and online buddies. So I always make it a point to give something back. This is my way of paying it forward. Hahaha. Very serious noh? =-O

Ah, Roy that remark on Twitter is so lovely. Well, you know what, you need not win me over. I'm a hopeless Roy convert already. Must be because of the lots of goodies I've munched in the House of Puroy. ;)

You're fast on the draw, Roy. Good thing, I checked that post. If not you'd have beaten me to it. Again. Hey, that commentluv link to one of the comments in your blog was hilarious. What's with commentluv huh? It's got sense of humor now? :)

Thanks, Roy. Winning that contest still makes my head reel. Baka naman vertigo? I'm typing my reply in auto-pilot. hehehe.
diTesco

I will have to make Holly's words, mine too. Ditto on everything she said.

In addition, I really want to say that this is an incredible way of sharing knowledge to others. Now, I will have to find a place on my "ARSENAL", lol, to make this fit, or, I will just have to come back here at least 29 more times:) to read them all.

Thank you for featuring one of my articles. I hope your readers find it as worthy as you have.

Recent blog post: 11 Tools For Effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO Tools)
Roy

Some useful links you got here... that's Jan, always sharing his finds, one of (very) few reasons I check my twitter.

That's why you deserve to win a wordppress blog.

Congratulations Jan!

Recent blog post: Gig Book Story Writing Contest
jan

They had better be awesome - your delicious post is in it. ;) Thanks, Sean.
jan

I always have this irresistible urge to rummage in a fellow blog writer's drawers. What does that say about me I care not to ask. :) My readers need feeding and a lot of your posts fit the nutritional requirements.

Thanks, George.
jan

Good to hear you liked them. There a lot more where they came from. It's a lure to keep you coming back. Hah! Am I devious or what. :) Thanks for sharing us your thoughts, Salwa.
Writer Dad

Dude, Jan, that's a list and a half. AWESOME. I'll check it out this weekend. Thanks.

Recent blog post: My Daughter Danced For Me
jan

Ah, I always dance to the beat of the drummer in my own head as you beautifully put it, Holly.

I'm reading the experts only because I need to dance better. I have to own it. :) Yeah, I think that humility distinguishes Darren from the A-listers. Very unassuming fellow. It's fascinating to watch how he operates.

That's one great advice, Holly. Don't learn too much from the experts. Wooo. Don't worry, I enjoy the street level view the most. And I'm sure lots of my friends including you will have a hand in keeping me grounded.

Ah, well, you're welcome. I enjoyed these 2 posts I've linked to very much. Worth sharing here. :)
Tumblemoose

Jan,

I just love this. What a great and inventive to share the wealth of knowledge out there. There is an entire weekend's worth of reading here! I think it will be fun.

Cheers

George

Recent blog post: Flash us your fiction
Salwa

Awesome list. This will sure come in handy!

Thanks for sharing.
Holly

Pssssst! That whole business of being an "accomplished blogger"? Reminds me of middle school. There are the popular kids, the sycophants, the totally clueless, the nerds (but who doesn't run to the nerds when there's math homework to be done?), the outcasts, the cliquish, and the ones who really couldn't give a pig's curly tail where they fit in, because they dance to the beat of the drummers in their own heads.

The only worthwhile advice I can give anyone? Be yourself. Because that's all that's ever going to work for you - win, lose, or draw. And don't worry about everyone liking you or approving of you, because they won't. And if they did, it would only mean you're as bland, as inoffensive, and as uninteresting as sliced white sandwich bread.

Jan, your writing, coupled with your kindness towards others, is what brought me here and keeps me coming back. Please don't learn TOO MUCH from the "experts." Darren's great, because he's real and not at all arrogant. But most of the folks who have garnered an almost cult-like following or fan base seem to have forgotten what it's like to breathe at street level. It grows old.

And thank you, again, for considering my post worthy to include here. I enjoyed writing it, and I hope your readers enjoy reading it.

Recent blog post: Learn Something New Every Day (April 30, 2009)
jan

Toink! Ganun?!

Hays mapurol pa nga ako. I'm nominating joji to speak on my behalf. Let's see if they can get past joji and her sullen carabao. :)
Lucrecio Emerito

Honestly, I don't think it matters if you appear in their radar. They can't give you a ticket for anything here because everything is in order. But in case someone does come and bluffs you, just give them a barrage of choice words. They'll be busy with their dictionary that they'll forget about the ticket. ;)

As to Reynz's comment section, "wow" is all I can say. It is really like a message board.
jan

Maybe I over reacted in my last reply to you. In retrospect, they can very well dismiss the struggling wannabe bloggers. But that doesn't necessarily follow they read us. So far, they have developed an acquired taste for high-trafficked blogs but are decidedly "jologs." You know those blogs that blog readers flocked to in droves?

Roy of House of Puroy referred to Reyna Elena's comment section as web forum. I couldn't agree more.

If you're a multi-titled professional but does not swagger into the blogosphere like a demi-god, and you choose to be unassuming and extremely readable by catering to the masses you're fair game.

Well, I am a relative unknown. I have no staggering stats to get their attention. I'm still relatively safe from their eyes, I guess. Hurray for me. :-D
Lucrecio Emerito

So that's the name label thing. So it's scary to be a newbie blogger. You have no readers, no ideas, no dough, and will be put down by high-octane bloggers. So it's a jungle out there.

On the lighter side, you gave quite a lot of useful links, Jan. Thanks. That will keep me busy.

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