Blogging For Dummies Giveaway
Are you guys ready for another contest?
Thanks to the folks at Wiley Publishing, we have a copy of “Blogging for Dummies” to give away to one lucky reader!
The contest is simple: Leave a comment with suggestions for articles you’d like to see us cover on FYB! Pretty straightforward, huh?
This contest ends next THURSDAY, November 19th. Winners will be announced and contacted on FRIDAY, November 20th. This is NOT random so be sure to put your thinking caps on! Oh and leave your correct name and email address so we can contact the winner!
*We’re sorry but this contest is open only to those bloggers in the US and Canada.*
You know it would be interesting to have an open discussion post on what people think about lists. I know lots of designers, bloggers, and developers (including myself) who like lists and find them to be useful in finding other sites of interest, as well as being showcases of inspirational subjects. But on the other end, there are quite a few people who are not fond of them and think of them as a waste of time. I think it might make a good blog topic.
It might also be a cool post to talk about grammar in blogs. I recently had a debate with someone about whether or not good grammar was important in blogging online. To quote, “You don’t have to write well or know good English to write a blog.” Yes. Well if you’re blogging on Myspace with a bunch of middle schoolers, that might be true. Otherwise… I’d like to know other viewpoints on this.
Love this blog!
Information about layouts for blogs would be fantastic! Even though I find all the information about content highly valuable, I would also like to see more about the layout of the blog itself: suggested color schemes, colors to stay away from (such as what color font is hard/easy to read on what color background, etc.), how to keep the layout from looking too clutters, organizational tips about where to place a suggested link list, recommended HTML codes/guides, suggested blogging sites that are supportive of customizing blogs in the first place. The content of the blog itself is what should attract people to read it in the first place, but if someone doesn’t have a basic grasp on how to design the layout, the look of the blog could drive people away.
…cluttered*
Have to love proof-reading fail. :|
To sort of elaborate on what Jamie was saying, while simultaneously being more specific, I think a discussion of typography and the presentation of words as a visual would be fantastically interesting. A lot of contemporary writers, especially novelists, in more academic fields have focused on how the way that words are presented affects the way that we understand them. And I think this applies to bloggers as well. To take a very simple example: If you set your blog in Georgia vs. setting it in Comic Sans, even with the exact same content, people are going to read it differently.
I’d love to see more about layouts for blogs and best practices for building an audience with social media!
It’d be nice to see anything on long term communication/marketing strategy, or blogs as marketing tools, creative interactions to bring more subscribers and stuff like that.
Anyways, thanks for posting.
article about blog design trends and how to avoid them without sacrificing best practices. -dp
I’d like to see a blog analyzing the stickiest pieces of content every created. What were those pieces of content, why were they remembered, and why do they live on today? You could reference the greatest pieces of content in history.
I completely understand why this competition is only open to US and Canadian bloggers. I’ll happily chuck in copy of the Oxford English Dictionary for the winner.
That’s so kind of you to offer! That positivity will come back your way too. :D
Seriously though. How’s about FYB’s views on…
1. The use of slang.
2. Using images to spice up a post.
3. The pros and cons of making posts fun.