Hey BlogBurst bloggers!
We have some special and timely topics that we’re going to actively promote to publishers in the coming weeks, and we need your help.
Here’s what we’re looking for:
- Stanley Cup - Any hockey fans out there? We’d love to see more coverage of the Stanley Cup finals.
- Summer Blockbusters - It’s already being called the summer of sequels. From Spiderman 3 to Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, everyone’s at the movies - and we’ve still got the latest Harry Potter flick to go. If you’re into film, we’d like to hear about it.
- Father’s Day - What makes your dad special? Or, what makes you (the dad) special? Tell us how your family celebrates the holiday. What are the best gifts? Got some grilling tips?
- Children’s Activities - Tell us how you keep your kids busy (and how you keep yourself from going crazy) during the summer months. We’re looking for posts about summer camps, family road trips, special projects and safety tips.
We’ve received great feedback from publishers on this type of packaged content in the past, as well as from bloggers. Thanks for helping us out!
The BlogBurst editorial team is excited to announce the expansion of BlogBurst blogs in new Cox publications, including the sites for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Dayton Daily News and the Palm Beach Post. There have been over five million content views in the first 30 days.
Here are just some examples of the use of BlogBurst content on Cox sites:
The blogosphere has been buzzing this week about Google’s new search tool, Hot Trends. Hot Trends reflects what users are searching for on Google by displaying the 100 most buzz-worthy queries for that day. It also allows you to compare trends for different terms, practically in real time.
A number of BlogBurst members posted about Google Trends and Hot Trends. Here are just a few examples:
Recently, the U.S. military announced that they will block certain popular websites such as YouTube, MySpace and Photobucket to troops in Iraq and elsewhere. The military uses the Defense Department’s network, and the Pentagon has restricted Internet access due to security concerns.
While the ban doesn’t include e-mail, it will limit troops from posting videos and writing live journals to keep in touch with family and friends. However, members of the military will still be able to access sites like MySpace at Internet cafes.
Other blocked sites include Metacafe; IFilm; StupidVideos; FileCabi; BlackPlanet; Hi5; Pandora; MTV; 1.fm; and live365. [CNN]
Here’s what some BlogBurst bloggers had to say:
“Content is king” has long been attributed to Bill Gates. I’m not sure if he said it but I’m convinced that it’s true. We all have our own ideas about what the best blogs are but it seems they all share some of the same characteristics:
Passion - It seems simple enough but it’s so crucial. It’s evident to a reader when you are excited about the topic. It comes across clearly in the tone of your writing. This became so apparent to me during March Madness in the blogosphere. BlogBurst is lucky to have an abundance of good sports blogs. But, the ones from the “hometown” guy, who labored through the tournament seed process, analyzed the match-ups in excruciating detail, refuting ref’s calls and lamenting the missed layups, kept me spellbound for a month. Why? Because they cared and it came across in their writing. Because they cared¦ so did I.
Credibility - You better know your stuff. I know you’ve got an opinion (don’t we all?) but do you have the knowledge to back it up? You should have experience with, and knowledge about, the topic you’re blogging on. With so many good blogs competing for readers’ time and attention, make sure that you’ve provided original content and unique insight and opinion.
Consistency - If you want a regular readership, you’ve got to deliver well-written, topical posts on a frequent basis. It may not be fair but I consider bloggers experts in certain fields and if they go hop-scotching into another one, I’m turned off. It’s not want I want from you but rather what I expect from you. It’s like going to Martha Stewart for tips on whipping up a souffe and seeing a long-winded rant about military spending.
In a recent Forbes article (‘If They Write It, Will They Come?’), Lincoln Millstein, a former Boston Globe features editor, proposed that user-generated content be leveraged for feature stories on news sites, even replacing stories by staff writers. In other words, the line between blogger and journalist continues to blur.
“You don’t need professional journalists to put out a travel section,’’ Millstein said. “You don’t need professional journalists to put out a food section, in my opinion. I had a hundred journalists reporting to me. I don’t believe that model works, I don’t believe it needs to work. I believe the user is actually better served by having user-generated, high-quality content in all those ‘back of the book’ sections.â€
Millstein cites Gannett as an example of a newspaper company which has done the best job integrating user content and feature sections. BlogBurst bloggers appear on many different pages of USA Today, including the Home page and the following sections:
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