Take the leap!

On Monday, September 21st at 1 pm apcific, YoYoBlogBlog and its callers are going to take the big leap!

Our calls have always featured WordPress as we walked through the step by step, with Q & A related to all blogging platforms. But you asked and we listened, so this month’s call will focus on publishing a blog with Blogger.

Things You’ll Need:
* Web access and free blog account at Blogger or WordPress
* Dial in access to the call – if you are a BNI member, Director or Referral Institute Franchise Owner, this call is open to you for free. Contact Cys.Bronner@BNI4Success.com to added to the telebridge list.

Blogging Tips for Beginners

The Blogosphere has its own A-list of celebs, folks who when they text, we listen. Darren Rowse of ProBlogger is just one of those. His Blogging Tips for Beginners Guide lists some great introductory posts:

* What is a Blog?
* 23 Questions for Prospective Bloggers – Is a Blog Right for You?
* How to Choose a Niche Topic for Your Blog
* Choosing a Blog Platform
* Choosing a Domain Name for your Blog
* Blog Tools

YoYo, Should I BlogBlog?

A Blog (originally known as Web Log) is an information-sharing tool with many possibilities, both personal and professional. They offer communication on a variety of topics with links to Web sites or other online resources. Low operating costs make blogging a great marketing and knowledge management option.

What we’re trying to accomplish here, at YoYoBlogBlog:

• The ins and outs of setting up your own blog.
• Overcome your blogging fears,
• Find low or no cost solutions to your challenges.

You should join the monthly call if:

• You are a Referral Institute Franchise Owner, BNI Director or Member.
• You wish to start blogging or have “how to” related questions.
• You value sharing information and ideas.
• You would like to publish something that helps someone.
• You are looking to create or increase your VCP
• You would like to be invited to guest blog, speak, publish, talk, and write for others as an expert. (oh, we’re back to VCP!)
  

In networking: The more memorable (positive and helpful) you are, the better the results. Questions? Feel free to call BNI Executive Director Cys Bronner 866 889-3466 or email her at Cys.Bronner@BNI4success.com
Her motto: BNI, Making word of mouth marketing work for you.

Next Blogging 101, How to Succeed in Blogging – April 20th

Our very next call is scheduled for Monday, April 20, 2009 1:00 PM (pacific time)

This call will deal with the ins and outs of setting up your own blog. Over coming your fears, as well as no cost solutions. Topics will include:
* Blog roll
* Adding videos
* Differences between posts and pages

The monthly telebridge will NOT discuss writing skills or content and is not meant to replace the Author Mentee/Mentor program. Open to anyone who wishes to start blogging or has how to related questions. It will occur on the 3rd Monday of every month after this date. If possible: prior to this call participants should sign up for a FREE account at: http://wordpress.com.

Any members of your BNI chapter, BNI Directors or Referral Instittute Franchise Owners who might be interested, please email Cys.Bronner@BNI4Success.com to be added to the call. I Look forward to blogging with you!

Smiley on Your Blog?

I have been a WordPress blogger for… I fergit, maybe two years. At first I noticed that smiley on the right side of my blog and thought it was a little touch added by the author of the theme I chose, then I noticed it on the next blog I created and later another. Whoa… what’s up with that?

Today, in the support area of WordPress, I found a very simple (and what should have been oh, so, obvious to me) answer:

“So we can tell you how many visits you have had and which posts are the most views, and how people got to your site and all the other stats stuff you have in the Dashboard, we need a way to track things. We do this by loading a small image to your page when someone looks at it and then we can get all the other information.

And we chose a small smiley

“

Akismet – Kills Spam Dead

Did you know you have built in spam protection? WordPress.com uses Akismet, the world’s best comment and trackback spam technology. It blocks spammers from leaving comments on your blog. They also shut down spam blogs that try to sneak onto WordPress.com (so your blog won’t be in the same community as some Viagra-touting site).

Akismet checks your comments against the Akismet web service to see if they look like spam or not and lets you review the spam it catches under your blog’s “Comments” admin screen. These comments from others, sit in your queue waiting for you to edit, approve or delete them. After a while, if you do nothing, they will just drop off since Akismet already identified them as spam. Pretty cool, huh?

Next Blogging 101, How to Succeed in Blogging – March 16th

Our very next call is scheduled for Monday, March 16, 2009 1:00 PM (pacific time)

This call will deal with the ins and outs of setting up your own blog. Over coming your fears, as well as no cost solutions. Topics will include:
* “widgets”
* adding photos
* moderating your comments

The monthly telebridge will NOT discuss writing skills or content and is not meant to replace the Author Mentee/Mentor program. Open to anyone who wishes to start blogging or has how to related questions. It will occur on the 3rd Monday of every month after this date. If possible: prior to this call participants should sign up for a FREE account at: http://wordpress.com.

Any members of your BNI chapter, BNI Directors or Referral Instittute Franchise Owners who might be interested, please email Cys.Bronner@BNI4Success.com to be added to the call. I Look forward to blogging with you!

Video – A short introduction to blogs

While at WordPress, I recently found the creators of the not to be missed video below, Common Craft. In their own words, they’ve “been serving up fresh content here since 2003″.

Click here for a short introduction to blogs – how they work and why they matter.

A rose by any other name…

Today marked the debut of our first Blogging 101 call and using YoYoBlogBlog to create your very own blog.

It was great fn for me and I had a blast when I did a little follow up to see who actually used the “Cys is awesome” concept for your first post (btw, those that I found in my search are now in my blogroll to the right as promised).

One new blogger, MargieSHarris, reminded me of an excellent point that Dr. Ivan Misner made during the author call. Margie added her middle intitial and is using it in all her writting. This allows her to get a true “google number” and differenciates herself from any other Margie Harris out there. Its a small point but an important one. We can’t all be named Cys, now can we?

So you wanna blog?

You can get a blog started in less time than it takes you to read this sentence. All you need is an email address. You’ll get your own WordPress.com address (like you.wordpress.com), a selection  of great free and customizable designs for your blog (we call them themes),

You’ll also get 3 gigabytes of file storage (that’s about 2,500 pictures!). You can blog as much as you want for free, your blog can be public to the world or private for just your friends, and their premium features are completely optional.