blogging 101

Well, I have been blogging since May 12th and have gotten to my 101st post. I have to admit that I was a bit nervous, when I first started blogging. I had secretly wanted to have a blog since Mark started his way back in 2001, but at the time I did not have a clue about web programming and really did not know where to start. Since then blogging has become something that can be done by anyone. You really don't have to have a technical bone in your body.

When I got to the point where I knew what I needed to know to start a blog there were several things about blogging that made me nervous, and subsequently kept me from starting for a good six or more months. I was in some way nervous about actually having a platform to speak my mind and having to defend my thoughts and notions. I was nervous that I would not keep it up, and I was nervous about people reading what I had written.

But, after my first few posts I grew increasingly more confident and comfortable sharing. I will only blog about so much though. There reaches a point in my family life and job life that I would never venture into. Still, for a good reason I might venture into areas that some people would be uncomfortable with. Though, I am not sure that has happened too much as of yet.

All that blabber aside here are a few things that I have found to be helpful regarding blogging. Yea, they are in no particular order.

1. Find blogs of people who think like yourself and add them to your blog roll. Blog Rolls are a must. I am a lot less prone to blog roll someone than most. Some people have a blog roll down to their knees, which is okay, but please just make sure you have your blog roll broken out so that there is some semblance of order.
2. Add two new folders to your FireFox bookmarks. Name the first on "possible blog roll candidate" and name the second "comments". I will talk about the "comment" folder in bullet 5. As for the "possible blog roll" bookmark, any time you visit a blog that interests you then add it to the "possible blog roll" folder. If you find yourself continually going back to that bookmark, then it is time to blog roll them.
3. I found two good links recently on blogging from this post done by TulipGirl. This first link is the one I have had the most fun with. It is The Truth Laid Bear. Click here to sign up. The second link is here. It is a must read. He has done a great job of highlighting the ins and outs of blogging. Again, a must read.
4. Read other peoples blogs and if they have said something that sparks much of any thought on your part, then leave them a comment.
5. After making a comment on someone else's blog make sure you save the link in your comment folder, then at some point in the next day or so go back to see if they have responded. If they have not responded and the blog is not a blog that is worthy of the "possible blog roll" bookmark then delete it.
6. Communities like blogexplosion are a great way to start out. The premise behind blogexplosion is, while logged in and surfing through blog explosion you earn credits for each blog you visit. Then those credits earned can be spent to have fellow bloggers visit your site. I only use blogexplosion when looking for new blogs to add to my "possible blog roll" bookmark; by the way, if you want to go and signup for blogexplosion then use me as a referral.
7. FireFox FireFox FireFox. If you are using Internet Explorer then stop! For the love of all things clean and efficient, stop. You don't want to go blind, do you? Click here to get it.

Well, if anything in this post sparked a thought on your part, then please feel free to leave a comment.