16 Tuesday Apr 2013
Posted in Social media, Work
Tags
You know how some people can work in any environment? Those people who can just zone out on a train and focus on their laptop, or the ones who can sit in a busy cafe and tap away at their iPad without noticing anyone around them?
That’s so not me.
When I’m writing, I need the following:
This is my (tiny) home work space. It’s where I write this blog, write features for magazines and websites, blog for companies, send emails, edit websites and take my client phone calls. Continue reading »
12 Tuesday Mar 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
Do you ever feel like you want to take a break from the internet? Ever feel the need to hole yourself away in some kind of peaceful commune, living 1980s style in a land without Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest and Google+, Instagram and blogs?
Because I do.
I’ve been feeling it a lot more recently. Maybe it’s because it seems the entire world is online these days, or maybe it’s because my own particular community of bloggers feels really busy right now. Or maybe it’s because – and this isn’t entirely my fault – I’m simply spending too much time on the internet. Continue reading »
26 Tuesday Feb 2013
Posted in Social media, Work
Tags
Sometimes (occasionally) cake and tea isn’t enough
Sorry Mum, it’s a post about blogging. It does happen on rare occasion, and this is one of those times.
Now Mum’s gone, I’d like to talk about bloggers and brands. Specifically, whether the relationship between bloggers and brands has changed after a certain major brand was wiped off the face of Google recently.
Before I begin, let me assure you I am no SEO guru. I know the difference between a follow and a no-follow post. I am au fait with the Google rules regarding paid for links. I’m aware that a PR isn’t the same as an SEO bod. These are all things that are clear to me and don’t need explaining.
What I’m also clear about, though, is the value I place on my time. And this is where this post is coming from. Continue reading »
06 Wednesday Feb 2013
Posted in Social media, Work
On this day two years ago (or maybe yesterday, or maybe tomorrow, I can’t actually remember) I sat down in front my computer and published my first ever blog post.
The post was about whether it’s ever OK to have a phone conversation with someone on the toilet. I know – a burning question I’m sure you ask yourself daily. Yeah, well. In two years of blogging my life has changed pretty drastically. I know stuff I didn’t know before. I know people I didn’t know before. I know how to DO things I didn’t know before.
Blogging has taken me to new places, given me new experiences and opened new doors in a career I didn’t even really know existed before I crept into the vast world that is the internet. Continue reading »
29 Tuesday Jan 2013
Posted in Social media, Work
Tags
If you’re a blogger, the chances are you’ll be aware of a certain annual event called The MAD Blog Awards. If you’re not a blogger, you may already be scratching your head.
These awards come around every year and are – in the most part – received with a great sense of excitement in the UK parent blogging community.
For some, the idea of an awards ceremony for bloggers isn’t that appealing, as the idea of pitting bloggers “against each other” and creating a sense of competition isn’t what blogging is about for them. For others though, they see the awards as a great way to showcase their blog and find new blogs they’ve never come across before. It’s a celebration of the diverse talent around, even though it’s clear we can’t ALL win. Continue reading »
09 Wednesday Jan 2013
Posted in Books, Social media
Tags
Many moons ago (about ten years) when I did my English Literature degree, I was in a seminar discussing ownership of words and ideas. The basis of my lecturer’s theory was that once words have been written you can’t control them. It doesn’t matter how clear you are during the writing process, once your words are being “consumed” they’re no longer yours to shape.
I like to imagine it as a little scene inside a dusty old attic.
The writer is hard at work, bent over a creaky table writing in longhand. The words come alive, dancing on the page. He has a choice to let the words be free, or to shut them in a box. He chooses freedom, knowing that is also the end of his control. Standing at an open window, the writer watches his words flutter out into the world, ready to climb inside the head of anyone who reads them. The writer can’t follow the words inside every head. He can only stand at the window and wave his words goodbye.
It’s not a new idea, but it’s one I think is still incredibly current – especially in the 140 character Twitter world in which we live.
Let me explain. Continue reading »
16 Sunday Dec 2012
Posted in Social media
Tags
Blogging
I read loads of blogs. Loads and loads and loads. The ones I really love, I subscribe to via email. This means I never have to miss anything posted and can often read as I quickly scan my inbox on my phone.
Blogging can sometimes be a bit like standing in a room full of people, shouting. Often it’s the ones who shout the loudest who get heard the most, meaning it can feel like you need to be constantly sharing your content over a gazillion different social media platforms for anyone to read you. This can all get a bit tiring after a while and can become a turn-off, which is why I try not to get too stressed by the shouty side of blogging. Continue reading »
21 Sunday Oct 2012
Posted in Social media
I blogged about blogging last week. Actually, I wrote about blogging but decided not to publish. It wasn’t that I was ashamed of what I’d written – I stand by every word – but I didn’t want to max out my self-imposed blog naval-gazing limit.
I’m still really interested to know what people think about the subject though. If you’re a blogger or a PR or an SEO representative, please head over to my guest post at Geekalicious: How do you decide what your blog is worth? Continue reading »
03 Wednesday Oct 2012
Posted in Charity
Have you ever read about someone, or watched someone on TV, or listened to someone on the radio and thought, “Blimey, I like you,” without actually having met them?
Of course you have. We do it all the time. Every single day. Whether it’s a TV personality, a blogger, a newspaper columnist or someone you follow on Twitter, we all have connections with people we’ve never met in real life.
Tamsyn is one of those people for me. Continue reading »
01 Monday Oct 2012
Posted in Social media
Tags
Blogging, inspiration, Reading, sharing, Social Media, writing
To be a good blog writer, must you be a good blog reader?
This is something I’ve been pondering about on and off for the last few months. I’m always really hesitant to blog about blogging here as, mainly, I think it’s desperately dull for the people who read this blog and don’t blog themselves. So if that’s you, feel free to look away now.
For the rest of you, I’d like to know your opinion. Which is why I’ve decided to publish a completely self-indulgent, blog-naval-gazing post.
So, blogging. Is it enough just to have great content? To be a good blog WRITER (if that is your thing), do you need to also be a good blog READER? Continue reading »