Archive for How-To Posts
Social Networking 101
Posted by: | CommentsFacebook, Twitter, MySpace… you may have heard of them, but you won’t be alone if you confess you don’t know what to DO with them!
In a nutshell, these are “social networking websites”. They are all about relationship, about community, and connecting people together in one form or another.
For today, I’d like to share briefly about two of the more popular social networking websites – Facebook and Twitter.
If you go to facebook.com, you’ll reach a simple landing page that states, “Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life.” The folks there at facebook obviously want to keep it short and sweet (and maybe confusing?), because you really won’t find out much more without joining up.
Once you do join up, you’ll need to start gathering and finding what facebook calls “friends”. Chances are you already know a few people on facebook, so you can do searches for their names and/or email addresses. You have to make a “friend request” and have it approved in order to add someone to your list, or be added to someone’s list.
When using facebook, there are a few key things to understand.
- If you post something on Facebook, don’t assume it will be private. It won’t be! One of the key features of facebook is “networking”, which means everyone is connected – even people you aren’t friends with.For instance, if I post a status update on my Wall, Friend A can come along and write a comment. Now, Friend A might have a Friend B who is NOT one of my friends. BUT, Friend B can see what Friend A wrote, because THEY are friends. How’s that for convaluted?
- So… I repeat – don’t ever write or post anything you wouldn’t want the whole world to know about.
And then there’s Twitter.com. Twitter has been called “micro-blogging”, because just like “regular” blogging, you can write little updates about your day, your kids, your business.
BUT, with twitter, you are limited to 140 characters (that’s letters and spaces) for each little “update” or post. And when you post, twitter displays your updates to all your followers. So it’s more like “one-sentence-maybe-two-live-blogging”.
I mentioned followers. With Twitter, if you don’t have anyone “following” you, no one (but you) will ever read your tweets. (Yes, that’s what they are called). The quickest way to get followers is to follow others.
Here are a couple of informative (and slightly entertaining) articles about Twitter:
- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123638550095558381.html
- http://news.cnet.com/newbies-guide-to-twitter/
- Twitter on Wikipedia
You can follow us on Twitter by clicking HERE
And become a fan of our Facebook Fan page, by clicking HERE
Happy Social Networking!
A Free 2010 Blogging Calendar and Planner For You
Posted by: | CommentsA couple of questions I’m asked regularly are “what can I blog about” and “what SHOULD I blog about”? It’s really something each writer/blogger needs to decide, based on interests, likes, and personal experiences. It’s much easier to write about those things you know and like.
But even if you are passionate about healthy eating… or your grandkids… or your hobby or craft – writer’s block can still set in occasionally. Well, one of the best ways to jump start the creative juices again is to simply look at the calendar. How simple is that?
Every month, week, and day, there are strange, fun and downright funny holidays and observances celebrated everywhere. In fact, you can even make up your own ‘holiday’ to celebrate on your blog with your readers.
But you don’t have to make it ALL up yourself. I found a blogging calendar that features some of these fun, crazy holidays. And it has room to jot down your own ideas! You can use it to literally plan out the year’s content – or just a month or two ahead if you’re not the planning type. This really helps keep your blog going without rushing to write last minute posts.
Download and check it out for yourself. I bet you can find at least a few posts you can write about from the prompts. And you can even write about them right away and schedule them for future dates. (If you need a tutorial on how to schedule a post, click HERE).
Yes, I’m printing out the calendar as I type… you can expect to see at least a few blog posts in 2010 based on the prompts.
What are YOU blogging about today? Feel free to share your blog links in the comments!
Scheduling a Post for the Future
Posted by: | CommentsI’m a planner. An organizer. A “think about things way, WAY too much in advance” kind of person.
But I also have three children under the age of 7. Which means that no matter how often I plan and organize and think ahead, I’m always working around curve-balls thrown at me by the kiddos. Or dodge-balls. Yes, I’ll admit that my children like to play dodge-ball with my plans, schedule and those dreams for a little REST during their naptime.
(No, I’m not a Nana yet, but I can still blog here, right? Thanks!)
Anywho… all of this means that I’m actually not really good at the blogging thing, because if anything gets cut from my schedule during these “games” of dodgeball, it’s the ability to sit and think and put words together in a coherent fashion.
(In case you haven’t noticed, I’m also rather wordy. You’d think this would help me be a prolific blogger. Surprisingly enough, it doesn’t).
SO, the point of this post is to tell you how to PLAN in advance for those times when YOU may be dodging balls too.
The next time you are in your admin panel, writing a post, take a look to the right of the “add a new post” box. You should see a Publish box, with a few options inside it. One of those options is Publish immediately. There is an “Edit” link right next to the words “Publish immediately”. See that?
If you write a post, but want to publish it tomorrow (or next week), simply click the Edit link (BEFORE hitting the Publish button), and click on the date and time you’d like your post to appear. This changes your Publish button to a Schedule button. When you are ready to schedule/publish the post, just click that button.
You CAN also change the date/time of a post that has already been posted, so if you accidentally publish too soon, no worries.
And just like that, you can control the date and timing of your blog posts.
Now, if only I could figure out how to control the date and timing of my children’s naps – I’d be in great shape!
Do you Twitter? Do you Facebook?
Posted by: | CommentsIf so, we’d love to have you join us at both locations.
You can follow us on Twitter by clicking HERE
And become a fan of our Facebook Fan page, by clicking HERE
A Few Ideas for Getting More Traffic
Posted by: | CommentsHere at theNanaBlogs.com, you can build a blog for free and begin posting content right away about your life, your family, your grandkids. And while it can be fun to write for your friends and family, you might just be interested in getting a larger following! (And maybe even figuring out a way to make a little pocket change with your blog)!
Here are a few ideas to bring extra traffic to your blog:
1. Fresh Content – no one wants to visit a blog day after day and see the same posts. We recommend that you update your blog content at least twice a week. One easy way to do this is to write several posts ahead of time and upload them at the appropriate times.
2. Social Networking – these sites are everywhere. Join Facebook, MySpace, Squidoo, Twitter or a dozen others and make connections. You can join groups of like-minded people who are also bloggers, nanas, or even entrepreneurs. (We’ll write in more detail about this topic in another post!)
3. Viral Marketing – this is where you spread the word about your blog. Talk to friends, family and even strangers. You might even consider giving out business cards (or calling cards) that have your blog address on them.
4. Use RSS Feeds – RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication.” Readers can subscribe to your feed and get email updates when new content is posted. It is an easy way for them to keep up with your blog without spending all day online.
4. Submit Blog to Search Engines – doing this allows your blog to be ranked. Google and Yahoo! are two of the most popular search engines you want to crawl your blog pages.
5. Visit other blogs – show your appreciation to those who visit you by also posting comments on their blogs. It is a kindness that shows others you are not just out to advertise your blog alone.
6. Social Bookmarking – submitting posts to social bookmarking sites allows others who are members of those sites to track you back to your blog.
Using any of these ideas will start the traffic moving in your direction. It takes time but you CAN build the readership you want.
And as always, we are here to help! If you need assistance with any of the suggetions above, feel free to use the Contact Form and ask your question(s).
What is this “blogging” thing anyway?
Posted by: | CommentsIf you are brand new to the world of blogging, this post is for you. We want you to be caught up and “in the know” after all!
According to wikipedia.com, “a blog (a contraction of the term “web log“) is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.”
Wow, was that clear as mud?
How about this? A blog is a personal website… an online journal… your own space on the world wide web.
You can use your blog to write journal entries, articles, devotionals, fashion tips, and brag about your kids and grandkids.
You can post pictures.
You can share with the world all your deepest thoughts… or you can keep it simple.
It’s YOUR choice, because it’s YOUR blog.
(Do you want one? You can have one… HERE)
In the “old” days of website design, you had to pay someone (like me) money to design an entire website, page by page, for you. You had to then pay that same someone (or a different someone, in some cases) to update and change your page content.
But no more… in that last five-six years, the blog world has virtually (pun intended) exploded, making it possible for anyone with Internet access to have a personal or even business website. Now changing the design on your site is fairly easy and inexpensive (often free)… and you can have total control over the content of the pages on your website.
Here at theNanaBlogs.com, we make it as easy as possible. We use WORDPRESS, a blogging “software” program that is web-based. (That means you can log in to your site wherever you have internet access).
We provide a variety of different design/themes for the free blogs, so you can have a pretty look with one click (or two) of a button.
And we are here to answer questions as they come up. To help you get started. And to encourage you as you go!
So, if you haven’t yet joined the NanaHood Neighborhood… won’t you click on over and do it now?
