Your New Baby, Blogging, and Modern Motherhood

Your New Baby, Blogging, and Modern Motherhood

For the mother of a new baby, blogging is likely to be
the last thing on her mind. Taking care of an infant is an
almost incredible amount of work, and between
changing diapers and putting the final touches on the
nursery, it seems unrealistic to imagine that there would
be time left over for any mother to blog. However, a
growing number of new moms are joining the
blogosphere to share their experiences during this
exciting time of life. There is a whole range of benefits
that new mothers can reap from blogging, and the
spectrum covers everything from getting through the
night to helping distant relatives feel closer.

Among the reasons why, for a mom dealing with the
hassles and triumphs of a baby, blogging is a great idea,
is that having a blog about motherhood is a great way to
blow off some steam. Babies often have very erratic
sleep patterns that leave parents up at odd hours of the
night, and sometimes the best way to fill those hours is
on the internet. Many new moms turn to television to
help them weather these dawn vigils, but by blogging
through the night moms can turn what feels like a
somewhat depressing situation into an actively positive
and productive one.

Another reason why new moms often find blogging
very satisfying is that it helps them to be a part of a
community. For moms who are not able to successfully
juggle a full social life with the very tough demands of
taking care of a new baby, blogging can be a great way
to stave off the isolation that sometimes comes with this
stage of life. A baby requires constant attention, and it
can be difficult to attend social gatherings or events
when you are responsible for an infant. Luckily, the
blogosphere is full of other moms in the same situation,
and by chatting with them it is possible to overcome
some of the loneliness that many new mothers are
surprised to encounter.

Of course, for a mom with an adorable new baby,
blogging can be as much about celebration as it is about
necessity. Having a blog about living with a new child
can give mothers the chance to reflect on how powerful
and warm the sensation of motherhood is, and
sometimes sharing the triumphs of this unique time can
make them even sweeter. A blog is a great way to keep
friends and family updated with news about your baby's
first words or first steps, and with new technology it is
easier than ever to make photos and video clips a part of
your blog, so you can give far-away relatives the chance
to feel much more involved in your child's life.

What Is a Blogging Tory?

What Is a Blogging Tory?

The term Blogging Tory refers to any one of the many
authors affiliated with the conservative Canadian
community known as The Blogging Tories. Today,
there are over a hundred and fifty text-based blogs
associated with the group, and there are new Blogging
Tories every day. The Tories stand as an inspiring
example of a successful online community where the
ever-increasing numbers of affiliated members enjoy a
fertile environment for discussion and debate about the
ideas that shape the face of Canada.

The majority of Tory bloggers do make political events
and topics the focus of their blogs, but not all of the
content that a Blogging Tory creates and publishes is
overtly related to the movements of the Canadian
parliament or the prime minister. Although the
community members were brought together by a shared
conservative viewpoint, the fact that not all of the
postings on all of the member's blogs focus on political
topics is one of the most exciting things about the
Blogging Tories. On any given day, the main website's
blogroll may feature postings about Olympic medalists,
a James Bond film festival in Quebec, or a comical
personal experience with a telemarketer. The idea that
having a political affiliation in common makes it
possible to have a fruitful discussion about other kinds
of topics has interesting implications for how online
communities are established and how they grow.

To Join a Blogging Site or Not to Join

To Join a Blogging Site or Not to Join

Joining an established blogging site like live journal or
blogger has plenty of advantages, especially for the blog
novice. Sites that host a lot of different blogs often have
very useful tutorials about building and updating your
blog, and you are likely to encounter a very user-
friendly software interface at an established blogging
site. In addition, these sites provide a kind of instant
community of fellow bloggers who can provide advice,
insight, and feedback. These established sites often
keep directories of their members, which can be great
news for your traffic logs because it means that other
bloggers on the site will find out about your pages.

However, there are also some downsides to linking up
with a large blogging site. By posting within the
established templates of a site like blogger, you run the
risk of having your blog look and feel like everybody
else's. The blogging movement is very much about the
creation of distinctive sites and the development of
individual voices, so it makes plenty of sense that many
bloggers would shy away from the cookie-cutter look
and feel that these blogging sites often promote. Many
bloggers feel that the content of a blog is what makes it
distinctive, not the look of the blog, but many members
of the blogging community feel that the visual impact
of a blog should match the originality of the writing.

The Right Blogging Platform For Your Needs

The Right Blogging Platform For Your Needs

Choosing which blogging platform to use is one of the
most important decisions that you can make as a
blogger. The right platform can make blogging a
breeze, and the wrong platform can make blogging a
chore. Because the program that you use to blog with is
such a powerful part of your blogging experience, it is
well worth putting in the time to find a platform that
provides your ideal balance between a user-friendly
interface and a flexible framework that allows you to
make your blog look and feel unique. Finding the right
platform isn't always easy, but with a little bit of
contemplation and a little bit of research, you will be on
your way to finding the perfect blogging platform.

Deciding what your priorities are in terms of ease of use
versus customization. Most highly customizable
blogging platforms, like moveable type, are a bit more
difficult to use than very automated platforms like
wordpress. If you are new to blogs and to internet
technology, you might want to sacrifice the ability to
create a custom background design or to integrate a
unique font into your template in order to find a
program that will be easy for you to use. On the other
hand, if you are a veteran web designer with knowledge
of html or javascript, you will probably find the
limitations of a user-friendly platform to be frustrating.

There is no such thing as a blogging platform that is
objectively the best platform, because every blogger has
unique needs. The blogging movement is very much
about individuality, so it makes plenty of sense that
there would be many different platforms available that
are designed to meet the needs of different kinds of
individuals undertaking different kinds of projects. This
diversity is a good thing, because it means that you will
almost certainly be able to find a program that suits
your level of technical aptitude.

However, the fact that no two bloggers need the same
thing from a blogging platform can make your search
for the right platform a bit tricky. When you are reading
reviews of different platforms, try to keep your
priorities in mind and do your best to take into account
the position that the reviewer is coming from. For
example, a negative review written by an accomplished
software designer who complains that a popular
platform is too limited may tell you that the platform in
question is ideal for a beginning blogger. There is no
such thing as the perfect platform for everybody, so
instead of looking for the "best" platform, look for the
best platform for your specific criteria.

The Pros and Cons of Video Blogging

The Pros and Cons of Video Blogging

Video blogging has a lot of advantages over text-based
blogging, and it is little wonder that this new
technology is catching on all over the globe. Video
blogs very effectively grab the attention of web surfers,
and people are much more likely to become excited
about the dynamic content of a video blog than they are
likely to find a written posting very thrilling. The more
enthusiastic viewers are about a site, the quicker the
word of mouth spreads, and the more traffic the site will
get.

Of course, there are plenty of disadvantages to video
blogging as well. Hosting a v-blog requires quite a bit
of server space, which can make it difficult to get
started. It takes more time to process and upload a video
file than it does to dash off a quick bit of text, which
means that running and updating a video blog can be
quite a bit of work. In addition, web surfers sometimes
grow frustrated with the slow loading times of the files
on many video blogs. Whether you opt for a video blog
or not depends on what kind of subject matter you want
to cover, and how much time you can devote to video
blogging. Before you decide to pursue a video blog,
consider if there is an easier way for you to get your
message across.

The Exciting New Frontier Of Professional Blogging

The Exciting New Frontier Of Professional Blogging

Professional blogging is a very new idea with a lot of
potential for entrepreneurs who have insight, drive, and
a basic understanding of today's innovative web
technology. The ranks of so-called pro bloggers are still
quite small, and there are very few people who make
their living entirely off of their blogs. However, every
day there are more and more people who have managed
to turn their weblogs into cash cows that supplement
their income. The number of pro bloggers is growing by
leaps and bounds, but it is difficult to say whether this
trend will continue.

Many bloggers dream of entering the sphere of
professional blogging. There are very few people who
happily devote an hour or more each day to their blog
without at least occasionally wishing that they could
earn some kind of financial reward for all of their work.
Several models exist for making money with a blog, the
most popular being to sell advertising space through
Google's AdSense program or directly to a company
that wishes to reach the demographic that your blog
appeals to. However, there are very few people indeed
who can make a comfortable living just by selling space
on their blog sidebars.

A lot of the people who read weblogs are bloggers
themselves, in part because of the fact that the people
who use blogging technology on a daily basis are most
likely to be interested in what other writers are doing
with the medium. This fact begins to explain why the
people who succeed in the world of professional
blogging are mostly people who have devoted
themselves almost entirely to learning about, talking
about, and writing about blogging. More than any other
topic, pro bloggers turn their attention to the
phenomenon of blogging itself. A lot of pro bloggers
make the topic of blogging the stunningly self-reflexive
ongoing focus of their blogs.

Of course, professional blogging is destined to become
much more complicated in the future than it is today. In
the current moment, pro bloggers who attract the largest
audiences and make the most money are mostly
concerned with investigating the blogging movement
and with offering advice to amateur bloggers. However,
as the kinds of people who regularly read blogs
changes, and the demographics of bloggers expand and
diversify as blogging software becomes more user
friendly, it is very likely indeed that the world of pro
blogging will begin to reflect these changes. Indeed, it
is very difficult to predict exactly what kinds of blogs
will be reaping the greatest financial rewards five or ten
years down the road. The world of pro blogging is one
of constant change and flux, which is part of what
makes it so exciting.

The Definition of Blogging

The Definition of Blogging

The definition of blogging is something that is very
much in flux, as the new technologies that appear every
day redefine what a blog is, what a blog can be, and
what a blog should do. For many years, blogs were
defined as text-based websites that kept records of days,
similar to a captain's log on a sailing ship. However,
this started to change as the group of people who kept
blogs became more diverse. The more bloggers began
to explore the limits of the medium and of the
technology that made it possible, the more the
boundaries of what could be called a "blog" expanded.

Today, there are an abundance of photo blogs, and there
are even video blogs as well. Mobile blogging devices
may well change the definition of blogging entirely by
making it possible for bloggers to create new kinds of
posts. Another element of the blogosphere that is
starting to redefine blogging is the corporate blog. As
more companies hire writers to keep blogs with the sole
purpose of creating positive buzz about their brand,
bloggers across the globe are arguing about whether
these manufactured blogs are really worthy of the name.
Between all of these different forces that are constantly
expanding and reshaping the blogosphere, it is difficult
to imagine that the definition of what is and is not a
blog will ever remain fixed for very long.