What I Was Happy With, And What I Wanted to Say, At Northern Voice's Blogging 101 Session
There are a few things I would do very differently at Friday's Blogging 101 for Northern Voice:
- define blogging better than just listing its features. That said, everybody has their own definition. I went witha features listing since they're fairly well agreed upon.
- do not give legal advice! We'll have to go to the tape, but I might have told someone to sue someone else who was getting high rank for her name and saying nasty stuff. Not doing that next time.
- do more run-throughs, with a small audience to feed back. Not a big deal in this case, but it'll be important to present well in my future, and I'd like to get into the habit of practicing in front of people instead of in front of my TV screen.
How to Get Comments On Your Blog
As for the content of the presentation, I flubbed an question that I had a good answer to. Someone asked about how to get comments, and my unsatisfactory-to-me answer was to "comment on your own post". I still think it's legitimate, since it's more elegant than typing "Update:" and gives you a timestamp in the database (and with some systems, you get an RSS feed for comments). My other reasoning for doing it is that I tend to click on a link that says "1 comment" more often than one that says "0 comments", so it's a sneaky way to get your view count up. The best way to get comments, though, is to write a full blog post, but afterwards cut out the last paragraph of your post, save it somewhere else for later, and let one of your readers say it. That lets people fill in the blank you left, and if they're mistaken or you need to add something, then you can paste back in your conclusion as a response in the comments. Blogging is not a monologue.
What I Was Happy About
During the run-throughs all by my lonesome at my apartment, it became clear that I needed something to do with my hands. Last year I stuck them in my pocket, but this year, with good presentation software, I realized I could use the cool little remote that came with my MacBook. Not just as something to push slides ahead—a little awkwardly, since my computer was beside me and not in front of me—but it would keep my hands occupied just enough not to distract from the overall performance.
My slides with only one or two words on each. I used them not because I knew it was a best-practice (I either didn't know it, forgot it, or internalized it: Jeffrey Keefer reminded me of Seth Godin's tips after having attended my presentation), but because after reading from the screen during last year's presentation, I wanted reminders to talk about what I knew really well already, not a script. Karen suggested I did it because I liked other, good presentations that did it, and she's absolutely right. I'm glad I didn't go with stunning photos. That would have been too much work.
I took off my sweater and felt okay about wearing a t-shirt from work. It turned into a short conversation piece when one of the audience members asked what was on it, I think believing I was supporting a certain American elected official.
If I hadn't taken my sweater off, I would have over-heated, contributing to a vicious cycle of nervousness. Instead I sacrificed a little class for a little calm, and I'd do the same thing over again.
Comments
Marina (not verified)
Tue, 2008-02-26 16:30
Permalink
I attended your Blogging 101
Richard
Tue, 2008-02-26 22:10
Permalink
Thanks Marina! I showed
Arjun Singh (not verified)
Tue, 2008-02-26 22:31
Permalink
Hey Richard, I also think
Richard
Wed, 2008-02-27 10:09
Permalink
Thanks Arjun. That was my
Jordan (not verified)
Wed, 2008-02-27 10:04
Permalink
You were a hit!
Richard
Wed, 2008-02-27 10:09
Permalink
Jordan: seems that way eh?
Marina (not verified)
Wed, 2008-02-27 14:52
Permalink
I love my DS but I still
Ariane (not verified)
Wed, 2008-02-27 15:14
Permalink
Richard--I would hazard to
Richard
Wed, 2008-02-27 17:13
Permalink
Wasn't too nervous this
Pete Quily (not verified)
Wed, 2008-02-27 23:49
Permalink
one word slides, cool.
isabella mori (not verified)
Tue, 2008-03-04 15:30
Permalink
interesting what you say
Richard
Tue, 2008-03-04 15:53
Permalink
I suspect Darren Barefeoot
Raul (not verified)
Fri, 2008-03-07 15:25
Permalink
I often post half-baked