Clear Blogging: How People Blogging Are Changing the World and How You Can Join Them

I've been blogging in a ho hum way for over a year - but this book has opened up blogging for me in a whole new way. I would recommend this as an intro... middle and advanced book. It has tons of stuff for every level. Of course I'm at the beginning level so maybe I'm not the perfect judge but I can say it has enough stuff for me to follow up with for at least a year! What I really like are the interviews, the links and the detailed information (step by step) to do or check things out. And... besides the book I'm getting just as addicted to his web site... http://clearblogging.com

A vitally important addition to highschool, university, and community library collections, "Clear Blogging: How People blogging Are Changing The World And How You Can Join Them" by software developer and blogging expert Bob Walsh is an ideal introduction for the non-specialist general reader to what blogging is, how it is done, and why ordinary people should engage in it. "Clear Blogging" is an ideal 'do-it-yourself' manual for aspiring bloggers and offers real-life examples of four successful bloggers in the form of interviews with financially successful blogger Darren Rowse, blogg marketing expert Steve Rubel, business-to-business blogging consultant Richard Edelman, and internet marketing guru Seth Godin. "Clear Blogging" is throughly reader friendly and user friendly. If you want to be a part of this latest development in computer-based communication, read Bob Walsh's "Clear Blogging".

At my place of employment, I'm getting more and more questions about blogging. What exactly is it, how do you do it, what do I need to know, and can I blog within the company? If I had my way, I'd buy about 25 copies of Clear Blogging: How People Blogging Are Changing the World and How You Can Join Them by Bob Walsh and start handing them out. This is a perfect mix of details, concepts, and guidelines, all packaged up in a very readable (and enjoyable) format. I even picked up a few gems myself... Content: Part 1 - Revolution in Progress - Please Make Noise!: Why Blog?; Hooking into the Blogosphere; Getting Started Part 2 - Building Your Blog: What Do Good Blogs Share?; Building Your Personal Blog; Professionally Blogging, Blogging Professionally; Building Your Company Blog Part 3 - Secrets of Influential Bloggers: Power Tools for Bloggers; Successful Blogging; The New Fourth Estate; Adding Podcasting to Your Blog; Monetizing Your Blog for Fun and Profit; Building Readership Part 4 - Blogging Towards the Future: Blogging from the New Front Lines; Welcome to Your Future; Index From the technical perspective, he covers how to start a blog in a few of the mainstream offerings... Blogger, Windows Live Spaces, and TypePad. Keeping in mind that these packages can change on a weekly basis, he is clear and concise on how to create the blog and post content. Even if things change, the concepts are pretty much the same, and you can follow along. But fortunately, he doesn't spend a lot of time on the "follow the menus" material. It's the other stuff that is so elusive to explain to newcomers. What makes a good blog? Who's going to read it? What do I write about? And of course, can I make lots of money at this? :) Parts 1 and 2 are the foundations for just about every question I've been asked lately, and Walsh covers it all with a flair. If you could convince rookie bloggers to read and understand things such as voice, audience, and consistency, the long-term success rate of their blogging would rise dramatically. I've made a number of the mistakes that Walsh cautions against, and it would have saved me a few hairs had I known this all three years ago. And if you're not a newbie blogger? Part 3 goes into what I call "power blogger" mode, and discusses more advanced topics like how a blog can generate income, and how you can add podcasts to your blogging repertoire. You don't *have* to do all these things, but they are directions that are worth considering. Again, reading this first before diving in could mean the difference between stepping up to the next level and alienating your audience. There were a few things that drew me to this book. One is the writing style. I enjoy conversational writing that isn't afraid to have fun and be a little edgy. He definitely fits that criteria, and he's not afraid to offer up his own opinions alongside the facts. The second thing involves the interviews. There are a number of question/answer

One of the greatest things about blogging--whether you want to change the world, your life, or just have fun--is that it's totally hardware and software independent. If you can connect to the Internet, you can blog. The "World of Blogging" doesn't care if you have a mainframe, PC, Mac, or mobile device. It doesn't care about your operating system, your browser, or your connection--whether it's by landline, broadband, or wireless. And, best of all, it's FREE! What more could you want? Actually, there is one more thing you'd really want, and it's Bob Walsh's _Clear Blogging: How People Blogging Are Changing the World and How You Can Join Them_. This is a "must read" book. After reading it, I think it's going to become THE authoritative text on blogging. It's NOT technical. It's a "How To" manual about blogging and the "World of Blogging." He answers the questions you may be asking, and shows you the way, the best way, to not only enter the blogosphere, but to become a success. Wondering about blogging is like wondering whether you should buy a computer. The question to ask, in both cases, is "why?". Why would you want to? What do you want to do with it? Walsh starts off by answering that question and then moves on to "what" to blog about, "how" to do it, and how to use your time most effectively researching your topic. Chapter 4: "What Do Good Blogs Share?" is THE most important part of the book philosophically. If you don't understand these fundamentals, all your hard work will be for nothing. Read it, re-read it, digest it, do it. And if you're already blogging, but not as successful as you wish, you'll definitely want to pay especial attention to the 140 pages in Part 3: "Secrets of Influential Blogging." Just to get an idea of how Walsh writes, his publisher (Apress) put a free download of Chapter 9: "Successful Blogging" at their web site: [...]. (Look for the button on the far-right side of the page.) It explains how you can find topics, on a regular basis, for your posts (entries on your blog), plus advice on writing well, turning a good post into a great one, and helping readers find you. As far as the physical layout is concerned, the type-face is easy to read with plenty of leading (white-space) between each line. The screen-shots aren't shrunken-down and thus unreadable--amazing for computer-related books nowadays! The chapter name and number are printed at the top of each page--a useful addition. Finally, the last section in each chapter consists of "Your Action Tasks," things for you to think about or do. Table of Contents for _Clear Blogging : How People Blogging Are Changing the World and How You Can Join Them_, by Bob Walsh Part 1: Revolution in Progress: Please Make Noise * Chapter 1: Why Blog? * Chapter 2: Hooking into the Blogosphere * Chapter 3: Getting Started Part 2: Building Your Blog * Chapter 4: What Do Good Blogs Share * Chapter 5: Building Your Personal Blog * Chapter 6: Professionally

I was involved in the production of this book...and I was not supposed to be reading it while I was doing the layout. But I couldn't help it! It's so well-written and interesting that eventually, I just read the chapters as soon as they were sent to me. Creating a blog wasn't something I ever intended to do, but Bob's writing is so compelling that I just had to give it a whirl. His writing style is clear, pleasant, and entertaining; and his advice about posting and publicising is uncomplicated, but effective. I have to say that this book changed my life. Blogging has introduced me to a wonderful group of people and opened doors I didn't even know were out there. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to enter the world of blogging.