Blogging Advanced
Tools
WordPress.org – An open-source content management system geared to those looking to self-host their blogs and pay for greater control over design as well as access to a variety of powerful multimedia plugins.
Disqus – An online discussion-hosting service designed to improve online commenting by rewarding users’ valuable input and good behavior. (CrunchBase profile)
Google AdSense – An online advertisement system that allows websites to enable text, image and video ads on their pages. Revenue can be generated on a per-click or per-impression basis. (AdSense product tour)
Tutorials
WordPress.org Support – Official WordPress user forums on topics ranging from installation and troubleshooting to hacking tips and criticism.
Disqus Tutorial (Savannah Packard) – Short video walk-through of the Disqus comment system, including how to start an account, manage and moderate comments, share administrative duties with a group, and connect Disqus with your other blogs and social networking accounts.
Google AdSense Demos and Guides – Multimedia demos show the steps needed to display and earn money from Google’s online advertising program. Read some of the success stories.
Articles & Resources
Writing for the Web (Yahoo! Style Guide) – An in-depth resource filled with articles on eye-tracking studies; how to grab and keep readers’ attention; identifying your audience and defining your voice; making your site accessible to everyone; and streamlining text for mobile devices.
10,000 Words – Geared to working online journalists, this site covers the intersection between journalism and technology by regularly highlighting new blogging, multimedia and social networking tools. (Follow @10000Words on Twitter.)
SacBee’s Ortiz takes blog to top by engaging his users (Patrick Thornton) – Done right, blogging is two-way interaction between writers and readers. Jon Ortiz’s blog about state workers has succeeded in large part because he engages his readers in the comments section, where he finds “tips, corrections, story ideas and more, all of which can make a journalists job much easier.”
Online Journalism Blog’s posts about blogging – Recent entries include a case study on how two posts on political blogs went viral. It’s also worth checking out the Online Journalism Blog’s other content categories, for example radio, television, mobile journalism, SEO, and Social Media. Be sure to subscribe to the blog’s RSS feed.
