I check my bloglines a few times per day and trust me, it suggests people are still blogging. Sure, people are still using Wordpress and other blogging tools to update their sites, but are they blogging? I don’t think they are, I think they are writing. I’ve been pretty vocal about not really liking the whole “blogging” label in general because it doesn’t quite convey what we do, and for a long time it wreaked of someones online diary where they told you what they had for breakfast. Technology aside, semantics aside, I think blogging, or at least the blogs I read, have left the blogosphere and entered the realm of magazine quality publications.

More and more of the blogs I visit, and again, this may be a shift in my personal focus, are writing longer, well researched, higher quality articles. Sure, there’s still some opinion pieces, news bits and other odd items, but by and large I’m seeing more content that I would call “featured stories”, things you would lead a magazine or newspaper with. While there are plenty of personal blogs, product blogs, news blogs and every other kind of blog, some seem to be pulling away from the crowed. There have always been blogs like this but most were run by ex-main stream media writers and editors or managed and funded by them. What I’m seeing is a rise in production quality from your every day blogger and I, for one, like this shift. I hope it’s not just me noticing more, but rather the game being stepped up.

My friend Patrick, whom you probably know from phpBBHacks.com, just announced the launch of his latest project, ManagingCommunities.com.

The site targets anyone who runs an online community, though I think anyone who has to manage users would benefit from subscribing. But perhaps the most important part of Patrick’s announcement is the release of his book, Managing Online Forums: Everything You Need to Know to Create and Run Successful Community Discussion Boards. The book is due out in April but I can tell you know it’s well worth reading. I was happy when Patrick asked me to read some early chapters and then eventually a couple of early versions and final drafts. He also asked me to write the Foreword for the book, which I was honored to do.

So help Patrick out, go pre-order the book. It’s listed at $24.95, but amazon has it on sale for $16.32 plus another 5% of you pre-order. Grab it Managing Online Forums now.

Since I’ve relaunched my blog I’ve been focusing on the things that pop up in my day as a freelancer and blogger. I’ve been posting a mixed back of items, everything from my thoughts on freelancing to actual programming tips. I’ve got another domain that would be perfect for tech tips and I’m thinking of leaving those off here and keeping the site purely focused on the business end of things. Observations, tips and other information and anything I learn as I do this full time but leaving all the “geek” technical stuff out. I think it would make more sense to keep the code and stories separate because I doubt the majority of the audience would be interested in both.

So in a few weeks I’ll launch a more technical blog, but in the mean time, this one shall continue on it’s new path.

My friend, MissZoot, whom you may know from her free blog templates and whom I worked with at 451 Press is now doing the full time blogger / freelancer thing. I’d first like to welcome her to this totally new kind of freedom and stress! Though the freedom is well worth the stress. MissZoot’s a local so it’s always fun to know other people who you can meet up with and share ideas on what’s working and what isn’t.

I also wanted to link to her latest projects to help spread the word. The first one is Pregnant And Unemployed. I’ll quote here as she explains what it’s about:

I mean, if you were a blogger (of four years) and you found yourself suddenly unemployed and pregnant, what would you do? Well…launch another blog of course. It’s not going to be as personal as this one is. It is going to be more about products/recipes/lessons - but I would love it if you could come by and help me with some of the issues I’m already having as a Work From Home Mom. I’m hoping to get some good submissions and get some advertising for that site and maybe help make enough money to make ends meet for the next 8-9 months.

The other project is something I know a bit more about, TV. And like her, I’m very upset that The 4400 has been canceled! The nerve. Anyway, make sure to check out TV Bloggin.

I love MissZoot’s writing style and humor and I hope she succeeds at this thing we call “working from home”. Check out her sites, subscribe to the feeds and spread the love!

Looks like I’ll be going to SXSW 2008 again this year. It’ll be my second time. Right now I’m just waiting on my email confirmation and then I’ll book my flight tomorrow. This year should be even better because I’m staying right across from the convention center. No more cabs and shuttles! I still remember the area pretty well and I know what to expect from the event. If anyone else is going to be there and wants to meet up, drop me an email (chrispian[at]gmail.com).

I may try to do some event blogging while I’m there, but mostly I’m looking forward to learning from all the talented folks who’ll be there and meeting new people!

Update: Looks like everything is all set! Woot!

It’s officially 2008 here, so Happy New Year everyone! I’m glad 2007 is over and I’m looking forward to 2008. Hopefully that will involve meeting more of you in person, meeting more people, having fun and making money doing it!

Cheers!

The last month or so I’ve been working on getting my own projects back on track. After working for other people so long, most of them had withered on the vine. As I go through and clean them up and get them ready for re-launch I’m also thinking about the future. New projects, how to make money, how to save money and make this whole thing work. One of the most simple tricks to making money is by saving it. Spend less than you make. I do that now, but not as well as I could. So as 2007 winds down I’m looking at what I can do in 2008 to not only make money, but save money!

1. I’ll be chopping bills left and right. Anything that I don’t use or need is history, starting with Cable and Phone services. Cable will be cut back just Shotime and HBO and otherwise, basic digital cable package + internet. With the phones, I’ll probably cancel my Vonage account, just don’t use it enough and I’ll be cutting extra features that aren’t used on my cell package as well (4th line, etc.)

2. Paying off Credit Cards. I’ve been working on this for a while. I don’t have a ton of credit card debt, but I’ve been using them to build up my credit rating for a rainy day. Paying these off quickly will save on interest and lower my monthly payments.

3. Refinancing my house and possibly my car. When I bought the house I had to pay insurance and other stuff through an escrow account. It’s been a year and I’m now eligible for a lower rate and won’t have to pay the extra dough each month. I may refinance enough to fix up a few things that desperately need it, but I’ll still end up paying about $400 - $500 a month LESS than I am now. If that still isn’t as low as I want it, I’ll consider selling it and getting a smaller place. I’m going to do whatever it takes to work less for clients and more on my own projects. It’s now or never. If I have enough money left over, I’ll probably put a couple thousand down on my car and refinance to lower that bill by a 100 or so bucks a month too.

4. “Cleaning House” - Getting rid of things that take up space and use up electricity. I’ve already started with my office and once I’m done, I’ll move on to the next room. Part of the plan is just to reduce the clutter in my life. Things that distract me, and waste space and energy. Some of them I can sell and use the money for better things, like paying off bills or buying things we actually need.

The goal is simple: Save as much money as possible. Right now I support more people than I should and I spend more than I should. That ends now. I’ve spent a large part of my adult life helping everyone around me and while I won’t stop being helpful, I’m going to do something I’ve never done before, put myself first. There are things I want and things I want to do and it’s time that I make them happen. If things go as planned then I’ll be in a better position to help people anyway, which is part of my plans. I just need a couple of years or so to get my sites and ideas in place and then I’ll have more time and money with which to help people. So, 2008, look sharp buddy. I’m on my way.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve forgotten to attach a file that I was sending someone via email. In fact, the one of the worst times it ever happened is when I was applying for my first job as a web developer! I still ended up getting the job, thankfully. I covered pretty good “Oh, that’s odd. Let me try again, let me know if you don’t get it this time.” We’ve all done it.

But here’s a little mind hack to help you never forget to attach a file. It’s simple, really, but it works pretty well. Attach the file first! Before you do anything else, before you type who it’s to, the subject or the message, go ahead and attach that file. Once you get to typing your bound to get off on a tangent and forget what your doing. You’ll write that you’ve attached the file and then get to writing your message only to hit send and forget! Attach those files first and you’ll never forget to attach them. Try it, it works!

I would have left my comment here, but they required login. If I’m going to login, I’ll do it on my own blog ;) Kevin says he cut his finger on his ipod headphone jack. That’s nothing, my macbook has edges so sharp they nearly slit my wrists! Apple has got to stop cutting corners (I kill me) and smooth those edges out. I know I can pay an extra $1000 - $1500 for a MacBook Pro with smoother edges. And don’t try and tell me they aren’t sharp. I know some Mac zealots would defend Apple even if they trimmed their low end models with razor blades.

via Little Green Footballs:

But they delete it in a sneaky way; when you visit the page and are logged in to your account, you still see your comment, but everyone else sees either nothing or a message that the comment was deleted.

I love it, honestly. I know it’s underhanded and sneaky and I would never use it on someone criticizing me or with something I didn’t agree with, etc. However, this is the perfect way to deal with a Troll. Anyone who’s ever run a site or especially a forum knows that banning by IP is about as useful as asking the troll to stop in the first place. Same goes for banning their email address. They’ll be back before you can refresh your page. The idea of making it look deleted to one user isn’t new. vBulletin actually has that feature built in. It’s called Tachy goes to Coventry and it works remarkably well. Tachy lets the user continue posting and responding but only Admins and that user sees it.

This would make a great Wordpress plugin. Have it support either Cookies or Logged in users and you’d have a great tool to add to your arsenal to defend against trolls.