One of the major challenges facing traditional advertising and media is the trust factor. Even when commercials or advertisements make us laugh or cry, we still don’t necessarily believe in what we’re hearing. We’re savvy. We’re skeptical. We’re smart.

Blogging is newer. In fact, it’s a part of this abstract thing often referred to as new media, and before it became a marketing medium, it enjoyed a day of innocence. Plenty of blogging “marketers” have seized upon the opportunity and have sold product after product. The FTC has involved itself in the affairs of bloggers, requiring more complete disclosure of monetization tactics. In short, people trust bloggers less.

One of the ideals we espouse here at Fuel is that blogging is a great artform. It’s more than just good writing, it’s writing persuasively and in a way that connects people in a community around a person or brand. But is the artform being tainted by over-commercialization?

This post is not designed to criticize marketing or monetization methods in particular. In fact, a strong blogosphere depends on smart economic practices. Rather, we simply want to raise a question that is far more practical and positive… What should bloggers be doing to keep the trust factor up?

Share with us in the comments your thoughts about what bloggers can do to restore trust to the industry we call home…

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Spill It: Can Bloggers Be Trusted Anymore?

We’re spending a bit of time this week talking about video blogging (or “vlogging,” though I’m not a fan of that word). There are a plethora of tools at our disposal, but a few seem to rise above the crowd and offer the best experience for sharing video content on the web. Aside from self-hosted video, the five most popular platforms, according to Mefeedia’s State of the Vlogosphere, are:

• Youtube (36%)
• Blip.tv (14%)
• Vimeo (9%)
• MySpace (7%)
• Daily Motion (3%)

Many professional vloggers choose to utilize multiple channels to draw more viewers and each platform offers up its own inherent advantages and disadvantages. We wanted to ask you, our readers, which you’ve found to be most useful, powerful, or productive? What’s your favorite and why would you recommend it?

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Spill It: What’s the Best Platform for Vlogging?

I’m Brandon Cox, and I’ll be assuming duties as Editor of Fuel Your Blogging. I wanted to take just a quick second to introduce myself, but also to thank Tim Smith for all of his hard work in growing the site so far. As for me, you can read more about me on the About page, but in short, I’ve been blogging for about five years in various places around the net, and while blogging is a great passion of mine, I have a greater one: connecting with, encouraging, and helping other bloggers.

Blogging, to me, is more than a quick way to make money online. It’s far more, in fact. Blogging is an art form, a communication medium, a community-building tool, and a marketing vehicle (which is still about more than just “making money online”). So, for the Spill It! this week (which I’ll be continuing in honor of Tim’s tradition), how can I help you? Or better, how can we help you?

What can an online magazine dedicated to the art and industry of blogging add to your life that would benefit you most? What kind of articles, news, or tools do you need? What kind of help do you need? Go ahead, spill it in the comments – I’m waiting with baited breath!

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Spill It: We’re At Your Service – How Can We Help You?

Moving right along, today I’d like to talk about brainstorming. Brainstorming is a very important skill for a blogger. Why? As bloggers, we’re constantly trying to think of new content that will be informative and engaging to our readers. When you know how to brainstorm effectively, your articles will fill the needs of your readers and you’ll have a balanced blog.

So now for the question…

What is Your Secret to Brainstorming?

Now it’s your turn. Spill it!

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Spill It: What is Your Secret to Brainstorming?

If you don’t remember, “Spill It!” is a blogger’s discussion. We come up with questions; you answer them. Keep in mind that this is an open forum and we encourage you to express yourself.

This weeks question is very simple. However, it’s something that we should all think about. Kyle Steed, a graphic designer, blogger and family man said this recently,

When I first started out blogging nearly two years ago I wrote about the simple things in life, what my favorite tv show was, the new movie I just saw at the theater or maybe a new band I just started listening to. It was me testing the waters of documenting my life online and how to approach it. There wasn’t really much of a focus on what I was writing about.

Compare that with more than two years later where I have narrowed my writing down to three main topics, and I feel that I’ve somewhat found my voice in the creative community.

I like what he said because that’s what it’s about: finding your voice in your community. So know, here’s the question.

Why Do You Blog?

Go ahead. Spill.

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Spill It: Why Do You Blog?

This week, we start something new here at Fuel Your Blogging. It’s called: “Spill It!”. In short, “Spill It!” is a blogger’s discussion. We’ll be asking your opinion, thoughts, rants, raves, etc. on different topics. This brings us to this week’s “Spill It!”.

Everyone has their way of doing things. Each blogger has their own method of writing. Some people make outlines, others like to warm-up with ten minutes of free writing, and others rock out to AC/DC to write an article. Whatever your method may be, however, you find that it works for you and hopefully that it makes writing enjoyable.

How Do You Write?

Now it’s your turn. Spill.

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Spill It: How Do You Write?