Wednesday, February 27, 2013

New website - New Information

As I've mentioned before, I'm getting ready to create a new website for The Deadly Bloggers. We'll be moving to WordPress soon. However there is one big difference between what we have now and what I'd like to have in the future.

The "directory" is actually (on this website) a LinkList. Whenever I find a new blogger to add, I go into the list, edit and add new URL.

What I want for the new site is to have individual bloggers list their blogs by completing a form. Each blogger would have their own listing (in an individual post). And I'd like to feature more information than simply the link, with a thumbnail of their latest post.

The type of information I'm thinking about including -

  • Name of Blog
  • URL of Blog
  • Blog logo (if relevant)
  • Category: Education, Personal, Literature, Art, Professional, Sport, Fashion, Health, Technology, Politics, Adult, Craft, Entertainment, Organisation, Business ... (more)
  • Summary of blog (146 characters perhaps)
  • Social Media links - G+, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc
  • Blogging platform: Blogger, WordPress, TypePad, Tumblr, Posterous, other
  • Contact name
I know that I may end up losing a few blogs from the list - getting everyone to complete their information will be time-consuming. We will also lose a few of the bloggers who frequent the "bottom" of the list (ie. those folks who start a blog but don't really keep it up-to-date). However I think it will be okay. I think that it will make the directory more relevant and accurate. I'm hoping that we will gain a few more listings that we haven't seen before too.

Remember: the goal of the Directory is about increasing your audience, capturing a new audience, and supporting each other and inspiring other folks to get into the online media sphere.

With that in mind:

1) Can you think of any other information that should be included? I want to try to catch as much information as possible at the outset, rather than try to go back and add it in.

2) What category or categories does your blog fit into? What is missing from my list?


6 comments:

  1. All sounds great to me.

    I'd welcome one site because I am flat out finding other blogs, and after days of googling and whining to Twitter, it seems I am in a small group of poor mongrels who's twitter doesnt work either. I have no idea where the tweets went ... though it might explain why I have a blog 'audience' that extends to Sth Korea, Germany, Malaysia and Brazil - or maybe they are just other computers fishing for credit card details ... I may never know.

    I am keen but limited by lack of skills. For example, I searched my blog for 'what is my url?' (i kind of suspected what it was but I had to be sure) and managed to change the template for my blog. How is that possible? And then I couldnt change it back and I liked my old one, slight as it was.

    So far #db13 has been great - I have created a blog, (kind of) got twitter, uploaded a vid from my iphone to youtube (couldnt believe how easy that was). Having a category works for me because it helps to focus me. I am interested in a lot of things but only some of it would fit within the blog I aspire to.
    I reckon I will continue to read most of the blogs: because I am still getting my head around 'blogging' I get ideas from other people's work, and because I am very interested in deadly voices and writing in general.
    Thanks for making all this possible Leesa - the potential is really exciting.



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    1. Oh Siv. I remember when I first started and I had no idea about any of it at all - what was a post, what's a gadget and a dashboard... It was crazy. I think I'd change my template every couple of days, sometimes accidentally and sometimes on purpose. You're very deadly for being persistent. And one day it will all become second nature - like using that deadly camera of course or answering and sending emails. (lol). By the way your URL is http://ondusk.blogspot.com.au. And I think the template you originally used was Dynamic Views.

      Keep up the deadliness...

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  2. ahh, dynamic sounds familiar. And yes, I don't know my gadgets from my google+s but I am getting there. And it will be worth it. When I get a chance I do mean to fix my blog up a bit, though it will always be on the minimal side.
    Had 2 light bulbs go off yesterday - Mia Freedman was on TheDrum talking about blogging, and there a really interesting Lateline interview with a very clever and charming Italian named Beppe re the Italian election, and how online media has worked with them mob. I can happily spend hours getting into the impact & the potential of social media, but the nuts and bolts of it are slow going. But I'll keep at it and be a little part of building an online presence.

    Thanks for the inspiration!

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    1. At a professional level, you might consider that there are three types of media - paid, earned, and owned. As a published author your Publishing House will BUY media (ads etc), they will also EARN media coverage with PR campaigns. But importantly you, as an individual author, can be in control (to a degree) of the online media. It's the media that you yourself OWNS. Your blog/website (and Facebook & Twitter etc) gives you an opportunity to develop your brand - who is Siv and what is her writing about. Use your blog to experiment (you can even start up satellite blogs for experiments), make announcements, talk about authors you like, etc. It's the starting point for your to be a little in control of the message. And Freedman has used her online presence very well.

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  3. Ding - major lightbulb went off. Wow. Thanks Leesa, that's drawn together a lot of the random stuff I had kicking around in my head.

    Yes, used it very well, all round. There's a few blogs/sites that have taken hold, both here and o/s. And there is also a fairly large void I can see. I learn from anyone who has made it work well for them, and beyond the professional aspects, being able to speak for ourselves, nothing else compares. Everything about that bit is free.
    My book wont be.

    laughing.













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