Commenting - a great way to communicate, proven way to generate traffic and for some, a perfect way to spam, humiliate and degrade others. After reading a post at Problogger few days ago I had to write how I felt when it comes to commenting on blogs. Before going any further, I would like to quick point out the meaning of the word comment according to dictionary.com

Now that we know what exactly comments should do, let’s take a look at why some people shouldn’t comment in regards to blog commenting,

#10. You Are Annoying

You might not realize but the blogger and everybody else does. YOU ARE ANNOYING, plain and simple. Your comments add nothing but may be a link to your own site. This only causes you to be seen once as you have proved yourself a spammer. After that you never get to comment on that particualr blog. Sayonara sucker!

#9. Your Comments Are Irrelevant To The Post

Why even bother commenting on a post if you are not adding value to the post. I myself try to encourage readers to post their views and ideas through comments as I find it intriguing to see how other people view things. It’s always nice to see somebody add value to a post and give the blogger a fresh perspective to look at. It breaks the monotony of the blogger’s own views and opinion and gives him something fresh to think and ponder about. Well, you didn’t add anything relevant so get the heck outta here!

#8. You Have No Respect For Yourself Or For Others

You are rude, disrespectful and you think you are the only one whose views matter. Just cause you don’t agree with the blogger’s or other commenter’s views doesn’t give you the right to target them personally. So beat it and never come back you foul mouthed Son of a ***** ( you didn’t like it so why say it to others )

#7. You Can’t Distinguish Between An Argument and A Discussion

You see couple commenters discussing about something and how they are supporting their own points. You jump in and start sharing your’s but in a rather rude manner. You become aggressive because you want to support one of the commenters ( may be there is a popular blogger among them ). Guess what? It won’t do you any good. They are having a healthy DISCUSSION not an ARGUMENT.

#6. You Think Your Views Are The Only One That Matters

Just because you think something is right doesn’t mean it is. People have their own views and a blog is a medium for people to express their own views as they see it. If you feel you are right and can’t take how others see it, please make use of this .

Let’s take a quick break and see what Elise had to say on her guest post at Problogger,

What has been surprising to me is that even with the comment moderation tools available to bloggers, extremely rude and obnoxious comments are tolerated, allowed to post on many blogs. My guess is that many bloggers feel that in a democracy, everyone should have the right to be heard.

I disagree. I believe that our democracy gives you the right to publish your own blog, not to spit all over mine.

Moving on to more reasons, [Read more →]

Tags: Blogging by Ritu - 57 Comments »

We all need some time to be alone. Especially if you are a blogger stuck in front of the computer for hours, a hideout away from it is much needed. As for me, I hide in the basement. Call me crazy but this is how I get out of the daily stress of blogging. I know it sounds a bit ridiculous and may be a little creepy as well. As bloggers, we all have times when we just want to get away from the DAMN computer and find a place where there is nothing to bother or stress us out. To me it’s my unfinished basement.

A blogger’s life isn’t as easy and relaxed as most people imagine. The stress of having to update a blog regularly alone can cause a person heart attack ( ok, thats an exaggeration ), and besides blogging we all do have other committments like family, job,social life and a little TV time ofcourse. This post reflects as to where my private sanctuary is, where is my heaven or where I find the peace of mind to just not worry about a thing. You guessed it right - My basement.

Lately, I find myself sneaking downstairs to my basement a lot. After I have been stressed out on the computer for hours dealing with the fact that I am not getting where I would like to be and working on different projects, I certainly need some deserved alone time. Not to mention the stress after you have stumbled and dugg couple articles, talked on MySpace for a while, tinkered with Facebook for hours, participated on couple forums and ofcourse checked out ebay’s most wanted items, I need the time to relax and this is where the creepy basement comes in handy. [Read more →]

Tags: Blogging, Ramblings by Ritu - 7 Comments »

So what exactly do you do when you have nothing to write? Some say, write nothing while other’s just try to come up with whatever they can. Well, if you are a blogger, I am pretty sure you are a reader as well. One of the best way to create a post when you have nothing to write is link to posts that you have read and think might be useful for your readers.

Well, I have nothing to write and that’s exactly what I am going to do, write nothing and link to posts that I think might be useful for you. Some of the links I have listed here are quite old but thought I would share them with you anyway, just in case you haven’t had a chance to read them.

Hope you enjoy these links

10 Easy Ways to Improve Internal Linking on Your Blog

Are You Rushing Your Blog?

The Secret to Building a Popular Blog (and Getting Tons of Readers)

Blog Etiquette: The Rules are Quite Simple

Guest Blogging - Does It Rock?

Why You’re Not Making Money Online

Social Media Marketing Roundup

Blog Setup: 40 Practical Tips

There you go, I had nothing to write so I thought I would share these posts from other blogs with you. Hold On! I do have something to write. I have been reading a book lately ” Jump Start Your Brain ” by Doug Hall. It’s an old book but as I was reading it I came across a quote that I could relate to blogging and bloggers in general. So here you go, some more for me to share with you. [Read more →]

Tags: Blogging by Ritu - 7 Comments »

A tree can only hold so many apples, and the same rule applies to Google when it comes to them trying to acquire every thing that seems within their reach. Google has clearly become the undsiputed king ( so far ) in search engine battles. But google’s interest in acquiring services from every market sector might be like swallowing a bone larger than the throat.

This post highlights as to why I think google is heading the wrong way and why Google is trying to monopolize the internet. The views and opinion expressed here are mine and might and might not be similar to yours. I just had the urge to write how I feel, so here I am writing it all out as to how I feel about the Big G. [Read more →]

Tags: Blogging, Google, Internet by Ritu - 17 Comments »

Why do you think a lot of start up companies and web services have started integrating blogs as their major source of marketing? Because their blog becomes their own media, a way for them to personally connect to their targeted customers. I feel that anybody who offers a service, be it a freelancer or somebody who just sells stuff on ebay needs to have a blog. A blog serves a purpose for you as it becomes your own media. Think about it, if Jeremy from Shoemoney wants to offer service or sell something, do you really think he needs to spend a dime to advertise? I don’t think so. His blog alone will bring him enough customers and again most of them being blogger themselves, if they write about it on their blogs, it becomes viral marketing.

So why is your blog your own media? Because,

1. You Have Your Own Audience

With your blog you already have established your audience - your readers. If your blog attracts good traffic and has a lot of subscribers you already have a certain number of people you will be exposing your service or product to. It provides a sense of attachment to the consumers ( readers ) since they know you as a blogger and have been connecting with you personally by means of comments. So, your service or product already has potential customers lined up for you.

2. You Are The Spokesperson

If I have a product to sell , I wouldn’t want anybody but me to speak about it. This is another benefit of having a blog as it is your media and you are the spokesperson. The readers you have been connecting to through your posts and articles will be willing to listen to what you have to offer. They like what you write, how you express. So when you speak about your product or service to them through your blog, it’s most likely that they will get more information about it from you than anybody else.

3. You Already Have A Targeted Market

When you started your very own blog, you probably didn’t think of a targeted market unless your blog has a certain niche it is build upon. But as you keep blogging you will see you have gained readers ( customers ) from a certain demographics. This allows you to instantly have a targeted market ready for your service. But again, if you blog about computers and programming , don’t go selling John Deer tractors, that certainly won’t work. [Read more →]

Tags: Blogging, Business by Ritu - 5 Comments »

I am ready to let it all out. It’s time for me to share with other bloggers and for other bloggers to share it with me. What am I talking about? The burning question that I come across everytime I read a blog is what does the blogger do beside blogging? I am pretty sure you have the same questions arising in your mind as well. Most popular bloggers like Darren, John are pro bloggers and they make enough money to survive off of their blogs but what about us ? We are the “underdogs” and we do have to do something else besides blogging to keep our means rolling.

My life as a blogger isn’t easy for one. I have to constantly think about when I am going to have enough time to dedicate myself for a good post ( and if you haven’t found any good post on this blog, that’s why ). I wish I could say I blog fulltime and make enough to make a living but then again you know it, I don’t. My other job besides blogging ( I consider this blog my passion as well as a job ) - a labor worker at a printing company in the production department. That’s right. I don’t have a job where I could say I am a computer anlayst or consultant but I hope you still find my blog and my content good enough for your elite types.

A lot of times when we read a blog we automatically think the person must be a developer or a consultant and what not, but this certainly is not true in my case. I work four days a week, 12 hours and a typical day at work starts at 6 AM ( Yawwwwn ) and ends at 6 PM. So I am in there testing my physical abilities to its core trying to get the job done, 12 hours for four days every week. During that time I constantly have something in my mind, what am I going to write today? How am I going to turn visitors into subscribers, what can I do to make my blog more appealing? These are the questions that hits me for 12 hours at work. [Read more →]

Tags: Blogging, Ramblings by Ritu - 19 Comments »