Social networking can’t be boiled down into neat bullet points. It’s an ever-changing, growing beast that started as cocktail parties and business organizations and has now spread to pretty much take over the Internet. That’s not a bad thing, necessarily (though it can be from a privacy standpoint).
Regardless, there’s one part of social networking that I think many people overlook, and that’s commenting. Sometimes I feel like social networking sites are a bunch of people thrown into a room, all yelling information about themselves…but no one is actually talking to one another. For social networking to work, there has to …read more

Every year, Writing White Papers creates a list of the Top Blogs for Writers. His 2009/2010 has just been announced, and I have to agree that this is definitely a handful of amazing blogs. If you don’t yet ready these blogs, what are you waiting for? Check them out and consider subscribing!
His Top Ten List:

Copyblogger
Men With Pens
Write to Done
Editor Unleashed
Freelance Writing Jobs
Confident Writing
Urban Muse
WordCount
Quips & Tips for Successful Writers
Fuel Your Writing

Of course, there are tons of other great writing blogs out there. With hundreds of nominations, I’m sure it was nearly impossible to narrow town the choices to just ten …read more

For more than a decade, newspapers around the United States have offered their content for free online. Due to profits elsewhere, newspapers didn’t worry about giving away their content. But times are changing.
Nowadays, there aren’t profits elsewhere. As a result, newspapers are starting to rethink their strategy regarding giving away their content for free. In fact, plans are in the works to create a pay-per-view type system for online newspaper content.
However, there is one problem — bloggers and their blogs. Most bloggers are happy to keep their content free. As a result, if readers don’t want to pay to read …read more

Twitter has taken the world by storm and become one of the most popular and versatile social networking sites in the world, allowing users to share bite-sized information with each other quickly and easily. Now, Twitter has taken a step toward becoming a source for rapid news updates by hiring an RSS pioneer.
 
RSS is a popular format to read frequently-updated publications, such as blogs, that can be used with a variety of programs. Twitter has hired Dick Costello, co-founder and CEO of Feedburner, as its Chief Operating Officer, bringing the experience of the man who co-founded one of the most …read more

In July, we covered a lot of information about procrastination, inspiration, and writer’s block, so I started doing “procrastinate for these posts” link lists of my five favorite writing posts for the week from other bloggers. I missed promoting great writers who are posting valuable information and I’ve gotten a few emails asking me if I’ll be doing them again, so I’m bring back these link lists!
If you have to procrastinate, at least spend your time surfin’ on sites that can help you be a better writer. Here are the five best posts for writers from the past week that …read more

For another site I where write, I compile a weekly list of contests that are relevant to that target audience. They’re gamers, so their contests are for things like video games, computer peripherals, snack foods, and the like. Probably not items that really interest you.
But what about things like books and writing tools? It’s time for a vote!
I’m not talking sweepstakes. I mean a collection of contests being run by other bloggers – stuff that’s relevant for your library or for your office. Is this something you’d like to see on the site?
Vote now by clicking here.

When I tell people that I get paid to write for blogs, they’re usually interested to know about how that works, exactly. Writers who’ve been around the block a few times have likely seen this information before, but for those new to the field, I thought I’d share the different ways you can get paid to blog.

Ad Revenue

If you decide to run your own blog, this is typically the way you’ll get paid, unless you have an investor. You can use affiliate ads (where you get paid a percentage of every sale from clicks through to their site), Pay-Per-Click ads …read more

I’m not going to lie – I’ve been known to curse like a sailor from time to time. I work part-time at a day care, so I’m pretty good at watching my mouth when I need to do so, but when I’m just around friends…well, we all curse.
What about your personal blog…or even a professional blog or work for a client? Should you pepper your posts with curse words or does that make you look bad?
Personally, I think sometimes, you can get away with it.

Does your subject cater to an audience that doesn’t mind cursing? For example, the video game …read more

Not all freelance writers are bloggers, but I’m willing to bet that a fair number of you guys and gals know your way around WordPress (or another platform). Blogs are all about driving traffic, and one of the best ways to drive that traffic is to run a contest on your blog.
Unfortunately, though, many bloggers who try to run contests get a total of three entries – and one of the is from Mom. Contests can really fizzle, and that’s not good for you if you shelled out money for a prize. It’s even worse if you found someone to …read more

(www.thegoldenpencil.com)
If you’ve got a blog you may want to consider these basics about making money with it. This video is a good place to start.

Write well and often,

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Abundant Freelance Writing – a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week job postings.
Writing With Vision – for those who want to get a book written.
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