A major survey conducted by researchers in Singapore and involving 1,000 participants discovered that both personal and professional bloggers paid a great deal of attention to ethics, accountability and attribution when they published news material to the internet, despite the fact that there is nothing even remotely close to a widely accepted code of conduct for the blogosphere. The vast majority of bloggers, however, understand the importance of providing readers with reliable news content, opinions and analysis underpinned by facts, and not polemics, as well as proper citation and attribution of pieces written by other writers. According to the survey?s findings, bloggers feel that the most important ethical issue they face relates to attribution. As such, there is a widely-held belief that producing original content, and always properly citing material taken from another news source forms the very core of good blogging. The second most important value held by bloggers is producing content based upon reliable, newsworthy information.</p> <p>The international survey suggests that approximately 40 percent of bloggers are university or college students, while 10 percent are professionals employed in the IT sector. These two groups together often produce blogs written in a personal, colloquial-style and place a strong emphasis on developing a relationship with their readers. The other 50 percent of bloggers, however, are generally dominated by professional, university educated males over 30 years of age, who focus on producing less personal, but more newsworthy and journalistic content. When the survey asked bloggers to list the importance of each ethical value from a scale of one to seven, accountability and reliability received a very high score of 5.7. </p> <p>Thank you to John Trimmer of ArsTechnica for the initial report.<br />

When journalist Nikki Finke sold her entertainment news blog, ?Deadline Hollywood,? for a whopping $15 million earlier this week, all eyes in the media business turned to blogging and just how important and valuable this tool has become when it comes to reporting on current events, publishing opinion pieces and influencing consumer practices. Finke, a one-time journalist for major papers such as the Los Angeles Times and Newsweek, first decided to launch her celebrity news blog when a 2007 writers? strike caused havoc in Hollywood. The Guardian and the Financial Times both reported that Finke had successfully sold her blog to the Mail Media Corporation for approximately $15 million.</p> <p>Finke?s success is the latest proof that bloggers are making their voices heard, that the most important leaders in each industry are listening and that readers are tuning in as well. Corporate blogs are becoming increasingly prevalent and useful for similar reasons. Unlike regular websites, most blogs follow a standardized format, which makes reading, browsing and updating much easier. Additionally, blogs are easily searchable by Google and other major engines, as new content is indexed almost immediately, while it may take several days or even weeks for changes to regular web pages to appear in search results. As such, both companies and individuals enjoy unparalleled visibility online. The best blogs are now accepted as some of the most reliable sources of news and many of them offer something that traditional news sources cannot compete with?a fresh, authentic voice, speaking in depth about even the most niche markets.<br />

Content writers are the motors behind the internet, while websites, articles and blogs serve as the driving forces behind the web. Yet writing good internet content is sometimes easier said than done, but following three basic tips can help make articles and blog posts more appealing to internet users who are inundated with online information. </p> <p>First, content writers should identify the style of writing that best suits the type of website that they are working for. In many cases, a mix between a conversational style and a more formal approach is the best route to go. This ensures that the article being produced is not overly sterile and does not read like a legal text or scholarly essay, but that it also maintains credibility by not being too colloquial. In both cases, however, the content writer should write in the third person and thus avoid using ?I,? since the emphasis needs to be on the content, rather than on the writer. The best option is to simply replace ?I? with ?one? or another version of the third person.</p> <p>Writing short and clearly structured paragraphs is another good way to ensure that internet users read, rather than just skim one?s article. As such, content writers need to ensure that each paragraph contains only a single theme or idea and that the very first sentence in that paragraph introduces the topic to follow in a succinct manner. This not only encourages website visitors to read on, because they see a clear flow of ideas, but it also ensures that those who plan to only skim an article can still understand its overall message, by focusing on the first few sentences of each paragraph.</p> <p>Finally, content writers should have a clear idea of the direction in which each article is heading and start their work with a standard thesis statement or introduction, which tells the reader what to expect from the piece. It is a good idea to tweak and modify this introduction after an article has been completed, in order to best reflect the final content.<br />

Web writing has a different style other forms of communication. People who are looking for information online want their information in relatively small chunks. They aren't likely to sit down at their computer for an extended time to read information. Even if they are spending a lot of time surfing the Internet, they are jumping from one site to the next. When it comes to style vs. substance, where do you put most of your efforts?

Chris Brogan is among the world?s veteran bloggers, having started his blog back in 1998, when blogging was an entirely new phenomenon and the occasional hobby of an elite group of technologically savvy internet users. At first, Brogan tried to write about any and every topic that happened to come across his mind, but as the world of blogging expanded and developed, the author realized that it was time to zero in on issues that most interested his readers and turn into a credible voice on these subjects. Brogan advises all those who establish blogs for business purposes to conduct research into which topics fascinate readers the most, rather than trying to cover absolutely everything. A blogger or a corporate blog seen as a specialist in a given field will be able to build a loyal readership much faster than a site that aims to be all things to all people. Brogan believes that lacking a clear focus will ultimately distract and turn away readers.</p> <p>A good way to see which posts and topics attract the most readers is to review the statistics data collected by all major blogging programs and platforms. For example, WordPress provides bloggers with detailed data on what words internet users typed in to Google to find a given article or the site, as well as viewership figures for each page and post. WordPress even offers information on the precise time of day that people visited each page, and this allows bloggers to determine in which time zones and regions the site is most popular. These statistics are especially important in the case of corporate blogs, as it provides hints to companies on who potential clients may be.</p> <p>Thank you to Alexandra Levit of the Wall Street Journal for the initial report.<br />

Starbucks is a name widely recognized through much of the world as the trendy Seattle-based coffee shop chain. Yet over the years, Starbucks has realized that its sales were stagnating and that competition in this lucrative industry was becoming fierce. In order to solidify and expand its market share, as well as to solicit candid opinions from regular clients, Starbucks launched the interactive MyStarbucksIdea website and corporate blog earlier this Spring. While some industry specialists were doubtful about whether Starbuck?s site would catch on, well over 100,000 internet users had visited the site by the end of its first week online. </p> <p>The Starbucks blog has multiple facilities and each seems to have contributed to its success with readers. Perhaps most importantly, there is a strong emphasis on encouraging readers to vote and to comment on specific issues related to the company?s products and services. In fact, reading through the blog?s comments, it becomes clear that users often enter into discussions with each other, as they respond to suggestions posted by other visitors. A number of readers have called on Starbucks to offer loyalty punch cards, to provide regular clients a gift on their birthday, as well as reduce coffee prices if clients decide to bring their own mug, rather than ask for a paper cup. The blog was so successful, that readers uploaded approximately 300 comments within a single hour of the website going live.</p> <p>In addition to comments and voting options, Starbucks also uses its corporate blog to communicate news and business developments with its readers and to let them know which suggestions the company has really taken to heart. In fact, a special tab is featured on the site which details whenever the company has decided to implement one of the thousands of suggested changes posted on the site by readers.<br />

David Meerman Scott has spent years in the field of social marketing and as blogs become an increasingly important part of the promotional strategies developed by companies, this specialist offers three tips on successful corporate blogging. The first, and perhaps most important, step is to be very familiar with the latest trends in a given industry. Each corporate blog will be industry-specific, which means that the blogger or content writer must identify those topics and issues that are most likely to attract readers. </p> <p>For example, airline mergers, fuel surcharges and the fate of low-cost carriers in recessionary times have all been newsworthy topics in the travel industry over the past 12 months, and this is what a company in the sector would have focused on to attract readers.<br /> On the other hand, it is advisable for companies in the real estate sector to use their blog as an opportunity to offer tips on how to overcome challenges such as falling property prices, or how to take advantage of historically low interest rates when applying for mortgages. These are useful tips that go far beyond simply advertising a product and can help companies build a loyal client base, as they offer valuable information to readers free of charge.</p> <p>Scott also suggests as his second tip that corporate bloggers post comments on other blogs in related fields. In most cases, blogs will allow for those who post comments to include their own site?s name or a direct link. This can help generate traffic to a newly established corporate blog from readers interested in a specific market. Finally, Scott also recommends that companies avoid setting up blogs that cover very broad topics, as these will be unlikely to attract core readers interested only in specific fields. A happy intermediate position is best, which is somewhere between a very small niche market and a much too broad, open-ended field.<br />

Randy Jernigan knows most of the ins and outs when it comes to the world of freelancing and content writing, after more than two decades worth of experience in the field. Recently, Jernigan decided to share tips and pointers on what factors can make for a successful content writer. One of the most important qualities that all freelance writers must have is an interest in reading and a willingness to remain informed on sectors or industries that one specializes in. This means that a content writer who focuses primarily on travel-related articles should be keenly aware of developments in the commercial airline industry and the hospitality sector. Knowledge of these sectors will ensure that the content writer is able to weed through the tens of thousands of online publications available in even the smallest niche markets, and be able to identify the most newsworthy stories, published by the most reliable sources. Moreover, extensive reading helps to ensure that a content writer develops his/her ability to explain complicated stories or developments in a clear, succinct fashion.</p> <p>Jernigan also identified tenacity as a quality that freelancers and content writers must have in order to succeed. This often means that content writers need a certain level of flexibility and ability to take on a diverse range of writing projects and to produce quality, original articles within deadlines. Writing the story is only part of the job. Content writers must first track down the most fascinating news events, verify the source?s reliability and then explain the given development in a way that appeals to the widest possible audience.<br />

You know that you need to include keywords in your copy so that it can be indexed by search engines. You want to drive traffic to your site by using this strategy effective. Here are five ways that you can include keywords in your copy:</p> <p>1. Headlines</p> <p>When you are preparing your web copy, make sure that your headlines include keywords that are relevant to your site. Headlines give the Internet user a preview of that kind of information they are going to get by visiting the page, and they give search engine crawlers something new to index.</p> <p>2. First Paragraph</p> <p>Your keyword or keyword phrase should also appear in the first paragraph of your web page. This is a good strategy for SEO purposes, as well as catches the interest of the Web surfer who visits your site.</p> <p>3. Sub Headings</p> <p>Since you know that you need to break up your web page with sub headings as appropriate, make sure that you include your keywords in this part of your web page as well. Use variations of your main key words to give the piece some variety.</p> <p>4. Bullet Lists</p> <p>Another way to break up your copy and give your site visitors their content in easily-digestible chunks is to include bullet lists. This is another place where you should be including your keywords in your copy.</p> <p>5. Last Paragraph</p> <p>The final paragraph of your web copy is where you summarize the information you have presented on the page. Use your keyword phrase here to wrap things up effectively for the reader. Do include a call to action that tells them what you want them to do next.

Over the years, blogs have become such a vital part of our online experience and a term so commonly used in print, digital and electronic media, that it is often easy to forget that blogging is celebrating its first decade of existence this year. While the term ?weblog? was first used by Jorn Barger?America?s very first blogger?in 1997, the more common contraction used today first appeared in spring 1999, when blogging truly took off among those with a keen interest in online communication. Unlike today, however, blogging was a much more technologically strenuous activity in its early days, than it is now. While many corporate and personal blogs use Wordpress technology to ensure quick, automatic updates, as well as an effective platform for reader feedback, all changes and uploads had to be done manually ten years ago. </p> <p>Veteran blogger Brad Fitzgerald established LiveJournal in 1999, and it was this move that really propelled blogging from a hobby among a small minority of technologically savvy internet users, to a popular activity among people of all ages and backgrounds. Corporate blogs, on the other hand, began to appear five years ago, when companies, political parties and even governments started setting up their first blogs in 2004. Some of the world?s largest companies realized that the benefits of personal blogging could be transplanted into the corporate world, where retaining a loyal clientele, soliciting their feedback on products and services, as well as disseminating industry-specific news are all components of a successful twenty-first century business.<br />