Posts Tagged ‘Fort Worth blogging’

Seth Godin speaks about my greatest blogging fear when he writes a post called:  You’re boring.

This is something I’ve been worrying about. It’s good to be a fluid writer, but what if I have nothing to say? If there’s no there there, so to speak,  it doesn’t matter if I’m a stylistic genius, there’s still no point in people reading what I’ve written.

In the context of daily blogging, what’s a person to do to keep from being boring and losing readers? Some just have a gift. Others have to work at it. I have found the following to be helpful in considering whether blog posts will resonate and generate hits or not:

1. Posts about activities that people could do, such as attending a concert, are always more attractive.

2. Posts that offer information about a skill or institution that people may be trying to research, such as how to start tomatoes inside or visit the botanic garden, are more likely to be read.

3. Posts that are written in great emotion, whether fear, anger, or love, are more attractive and interesting.

4. Posts that focus on others or offer service to others (profiles, our Fort Worth on the Web posts, reviews) are attention-getters as well. They are helpful particularly  if they save readers legwork. If I check a place out, you  don’t have to take a risk. It all comes down to this: what will the readers take away when they go?

This morning I’m going to preview the annual Fort Worth Hidden Gardens tour organized by Historic Fort Worth. I’ll enjoy the tour, and then I’ll write a review so you’ll know what it’s all about.

Fort Worth DNA seems to have started publishing simultaneously with the demise of West and Clear.  With the tagline “written by the community, for the community” Fort Worth DNA offers an opportunity for local writers to put up their feelings on various topics, and in particular

Yes, I’m serious, you can all write there if you like. You just have to register and post. Getting paid will involve having an Adsense account, entering it in your Fort Worth DNA profile, and getting Adsense clicks to generate revenue. Not quite as easy as rolling off the proverbial log.

I was unable to figure out from my perusal of the site who the publisher is. Some wondered if this was another Panther City Media project.  Possibly.  Nevertheless, I am registering for the site. Not to put up content, necessarily, but to reserve a handle. Just in case. 

Because with the internet, you never know which way things are going to go. You know that, don’t you? 

West and Clear, Fort Worth’s flagship blog, is stopping publication. I can’t help but be in shock about this — after all, they appeared to be doing well, with strong readership and regular advertisements from folks like Fort Worth Opera and the Amon Carter Museum, patrons that any local blogger would feel proud to serve. After their long series on the downsizing at the Star-Telegram, could it be that Westand Clear were  not immune to some of the downward pressure in journalism? And what are the factors that drove their decision?

The only real clue they have left is the following statement from their closing post: “Unfortunately, our real-life demands have have left us with too little time to maintain this site in the style to which we hoped you would become accustomed. As a result, this post is West and Clear’s farewell … ”

I understand. Blogging is a (relatively) thankless job with (relatively) poor renumeration. But I have become an advocate, at this point in my writing career, of setting aside some time for somewhat altruistic writing projects like Fort Worth Renaissance.  I also think it’s too soon to tell when the readership, and advertising, for blogs like this one and others could increase. If my experience of the web holds true, we don’t really know what the future holds. Blogging for money is truly in its infancy. The equity and page ranking that West and Clear is giving up could actually be valuable in the end.

Then again, I suppose regional blogging could be a dry well.

All right, finally, I am just really disappointed. That’s the truth.  But, Panther City Media’s throwing in the towel will not effect Renaissance or it’s business plan. We remain committed to covering lifestyle in Fort Worth to the same degree we have been, indefinitely.

Kevin at Fortworthology has gone on hiatus until May 22 — he will be missed. As for West and Clear, I’m not sure what has fueled their lapse in posting. Fort Worth Weekly headlines this week with a new story about an old problem, disconcerting emergency room conditions at the county hospital.

Julie at SilverSmyth is holding a jewlery party … Casa Mañana Children’s  Playhouse Presents “A Year With Frog and Toad” Through May 17 … Fort Worth Hole in the Wall gets chicken bones in a cassarole at Michaels … Rob at How to Make Coffee talks about what drives him to frequent the coffee shops and no, it’s not just Java, it’s community … Eva-Marie has details on schools reopening after swine flu quarantine at the Extra Credit Blog and Austin at Fort Worth Real Estate blog writes that a recent study suggested as many as 17% of DFW residents may be “upside down” on their mortgages, or owe more than their properties are worth. National average? 30%.

Not a great balance of good news to bad news overall.  But, as they say, life goes on, in Fort Worth as elsewhere, and I can’t complain, though sometimes I still do.

Ellie at Chronotopia has added a post on blogs in Spanish directed at Spanish teachers – one on literature, one on art, and one on movies. If you like to read in Spanish, this is the place to go.

Richie Escovedo’s got a good post regarding using images from Twitpic and other online sharing sources, both the good and the bad. Rob Angeles at How to Make Coffee’s got a really cool post on the Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony. Pete Wann is offering his photographs for sale at SmugMug.

Tha reminds me of my old friend Wendy Pandolfo. She’s a great freelance photog for journalistic purposes,  portraits and weddings.

And as long as we’re talking photos, we can’t forget David at Dallas Photoworks — thanks again for the masthead pic for this site. Last reported on a  road trip, passing through Las Vegas. Some people have all the fun.

We have been noted at www.eightoneseven.com — our first discussion in that forum was generated by TCU College Girl’s complaint about priority parking for hybrids at TCU — see the thread at eight one seven.

At West and Clear, Pete Wann takes down a hand-wringing piece at the Chicago Sun Times, reprinted at the Star-Telegram, which dares to declare “It’s not that easy being green.” Pete comes back strong and strikes a blog-blow for environmentalism when he says, “yes it is!”  And he tells you why.

Meanwhile Kevin at Fortworthology has an interesting post on the Heritage Park/Halperin archives, in which the landscape architect’s sketches are loaded online for you to see what he was thinking when he planned the site. This could be very relevant especially since the public workshop on repairing the site will be held this weekend, May 8th and 9th.Call the City if you want to attend.

If you’re interested in how Swine Flu shutdowns are happening in the region, check out the Extra Credit Blog where Eva-Marie has been hard at work, documenting cases and closings.

Austin at Fort Worth Real Estate scans a recent article which says, in effect, don’t expect your house values to come booming back tomorrow. And even though Fort Worth is less affected than most parts of the country, over the long run, we could lose housing value, especially in the remote suburbs.

Finally, Julie at Silversmyth is working on some new designs for Mother’s Day.

With all the talk about the threatened closing of the Star-Telegram, I began to consider what bloggers could do to support the city if we no longer have a city paper. I think there’s  lot of speculation about this, and some have had great hopes that the revenue stream that newspapers have historically enjoyed will switch over to the blogosphere. I don’t see that happening, because the replacement for large display ads in newspapers is not clickable logo boxes on blogs, but webpages that interested readers find by searcihng Google when they want to go to the store. There should be some growth in blog ad revenue, but I doubt blogging will become a good way to get rich.

If that doesn’t scare you off, you are probably interested to read my “steps to become a citizen journalist.”

1) Chose a specific, discrete focus for your blog. Regional blogs are just beginning to appear and tend to focus on lifestyle, even more specifically on music, art, or restaurants. People with connections in other areas might consider sports, hard news, or business. National blogs probably need to keep to a carefully and narrowly selected niche.

2) Check the keywords you’re focusing on and see if there are other blogs on the subject. Decide where you will fit into the market.

3) Chose your blog’s name and make sure it is available as a URL Buy your own domain and use a blogging platform such as WordPress to set it up. You do not have to be a programmer to do this, you just need to follow the steps that are available at the WordPress site and others.

4) Make a plan as to how often you will post. Daily or more is the gold standard; weekly is the minimum.

5) Write your posts, keeping to the schedule you decided on. Find new information about your community and share it, on your blog, along with your personal responses and ideas. Best practice is to keep posts to 500 words or less, though sometimes we all find that difficult.

6) Form a network with other bloggers in your subject area, commenting meaningfully on their blogs.

7) Do social media if you can, if you can’t, make sure you still blog regularly and comment regularly.

8 ) Keep your day job. The financial outlook for the average citizen journalists is not a living wage. Maybe someday, but in the meantime, you should write because you want to, not because you hope to get rich.  Think of the service you provide to your readers, and pay it forward. I’m not sure what it will lead to, but as they say no good act is ever wasted.

9) Yes, you will learn as you go.