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Soulati-'TUDE!

Do Blog Comments Inspire Blog Posts?

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Heidi Cohen wrote a thoughtful, tip-oriented post today in honor of Stephen Covey, one of the most incredible business writers of our time with his popular  book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Heidi featured each habit from the late Mr. Covey’s book and then provided an actionable blogging tip alongside.

Here’s Habit 5 along with Heidi’s blogging tip taken exactly from her blog that appears in my mail box:

This Habit 5: Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Start by taking the time to truly listen to others before jumping in to get your point across. Consider what the individual is trying to say, not how your experience relates to the incident at hand. Hear what the person is saying to be respectful and caring. Actionable Blogging Tip: At their heart, many blogs are started to communicate an individual’s perspective on an important issue to him or her. Yet, as its readership increases, the blog’s “ownership” is transferred to its community. This requires bloggers to listen more carefully to the issues upon which their readers are focused and to contribute useful content on those topics. This is best accomplished through the use of blog comments.

This tip got me thinking more than the others she offered – “Yet, as its readership increases, the blogs ‘ownership’ is transferred to its community.”

Has this happened to you as a blogger; does your community control or influence topics you write about based on comments?

Here’s where I’m stuck about this…on a few occasions I’ve been able to glean a follow-up blog post from comments; however, the comments squarely originated in a post I created with my thoughts driving the community to think more provocatively about an issue.

I wish the comment section would drive topics; then, I’d not need to think about what to write on each week. I’m wondering, too, if Heidi gleans topics from her community because she writes such amazing content always relevant and full of teachable tips? This likely works for her type of blog where she is such an expert and knows the content she writes begets questions from her community that thusly drives her to dive a bit deeper into the topic.

So, Soulati-‘TUDE! community, I’d love to hear your thoughts! Do you glean topics from the comment section of your blog? Does your community ask for actual topics for you to cover, or do you take inspiration from a comment and then write about it?

 

 

New Bloggers’ Q & A

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Now that I have three full weeks of straight blogging under my belt, it means nothing. Seriously! There is so much to learn and do, it’s daunting. Along the path, I’d like to bring you with to share in my experience with questions I’m posing and that are being posed to me.

Here we go:

1. Why don’t I have a link to Soulati–‘TUDE! from my home page at ?

Exactly; long story. Simply, I have branding issues. The recent importation of a blog into an antiquatedly built site has created challenges (which are opportunities) to modernize. It’s an evolution and one that requires some IT dinking. There will soon be a link to the blog from the home page of Soulati.com; promise. (I needed to state that in a public forum to be my own leading edge…it carries some weight!)

2. Can I design an entire Web site in WordPress?

Yes, one can. offers the best of DIY for anyone interested in a simple, easy-to-edit content management approach. As I switched from Headway to Thesis, someone made a remark saying my blog resembled the look of others designed in Thesis. I suggested kindly in reply, it wasn’t the look that mattered, it was the content. (I still concur with myself.)

3. Is there a bloggers’ association at which I can review guide rules, etiquette?

What a surprise; nope. I found the , an association in Singapore, and niche bloggers’ associations for outdoor, theater, Iranian Muslim, and Afrosphere. Didn’t find a plain old weblog association on which I want to see copyright rules, etiquette, trademarks, how to link, sources for content, tutorials on SEM, blogging platforms and a social networking site.

4. Do you think question 3 and its answer just gave someone really innovative an idea to launch a business?

Resoundingly, yes, and please put me on the inaugural board of directors as a charter pioneer of a new bloggers’ association.

5. Do you think three-week-old bloggers should be so arrogant?

No, but since there are no guide rules on tonality, etiquette, or braggadocio to be found at a bloggers’ peer group, ignorance is bliss, as they say.

6. What is a blog roll?

A blog roll is just like a roll call in school (why was it called that anyway?). You can add links to blogs you wish to feature in a list as a side widget on your blog. Nice way to gift your peers. (Widgets, incidentally, are pretty important to a blog; they’ve come a long way from “company X that makes widgets” in academic examples found in college text books.”

7. How does one find topics of interest to write about?

There are endless opportunities for topics, and I find them this way:

  • Listening differently. Most conversations provide some topic for consideration. I jot down a buzz word in a rolling topical list in a manual spiral notebook on my desk. I’ve also taken to carrying paper with me to ensure I can capture a thought while driving, or standing in a line somewhere. (I’m sure there’s some fancy mobile app for my i-Pod 3G instead of paper.)
  • Reading newsprint and tearing stories. I pull from periodicals and do the same, keeping these in a manual folder. (Can’t tell you I’m reviewing the folder daily; I need to locate it on my desk.)
  • Watching current events and common themes on Twitter.
  • Asking Twitter friends about a topic they’d like to see or their opinion on what’s resonated thus far on the blog. Inviting experts for interviews, and asking pals to make comments on a blog post which can lead to a new post topic.
  • Reading others’ blogs, and reviewing shared links pertaining to my field of expertise.  When posting comments on others’ blogs, I consider that topic for later.

8. What part of a new blog is a bigger bite than chewable?

IT!! I’ve stated before, having some IT knowledge is hugely beneficial. As things unfold and there’s more to incorporate on the blog, IT expertise is a must. Of course, there are levels of expertise. I’m in the “I’ll-try-anything-eight-times-cry- then-try-again-and-get-it-done” category. If you’re in the “I’m-never-touching-IT-ever-and-I’ll-pay-someone” category, then you’re going to have problems. Try to find a happy medium.

9. Who is the founding father of the blogosphere?

From Dave Winer pioneered the development of weblogs, syndication (RSS), podcasting, outlining, and web content management software; former contributing editor at Wired Magazine, research fellow at Harvard Law School, entrepreneur, and investor in web media companies. A native New Yorker, he received a Master’s in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin, a Bachelor’s in Mathematics from Tulane University and currently lives in Berkeley, California.

10. Does it take time to blog?

Eh? What’d you say? You think thinking, researching, interviewing, writing, editing, writing, posting, tagging, previewing, fact-checking, linking, editing, marketing, responding, engaging and strategizing take time? Why, goodness, no.