Last night, I attended the Times Union’s “Media 2010: How Blogs Shape The New Conversation” at the St. Rose campus in Albany. This was the first time the Times Union had held this type of event, and I think it went very well. A few of their top bloggers were tapped to explain how blogging works, how to build a following, and the influence it has on the public.
A few points that I remember off the top of my head are the following;
- 1/3 of readers only read the paper
- 1/3 of readers only read online
- 1/3 of readers read blogs and the paper
- The TU blogs have an average of about 1,300 comments day
- There are currently 155 blogs on the TU site
There were few more points, but I did not write them down. One thing that really bothered me that they touched on was anonymity. Someone spoke about allowing anonymous commenters to say whatever they want. I think this is a horrible idea. Anyone can talk trash hiding behind their keyboard and not have to suffer and consequences. I think it is a cowardly way to act. They should require every commenter to use a name. Granted, people could still make up a fake name, but they can do an IP trace and figure out if it is the same person using a different name each time. Think about it.
Another key point they touched on at the event was to make sure you drive traffic to your site using Twitter and Facebook. Commenting on other blogs is also another way to get people to your blog. Networking at events is a good way to get people to your blog as well. Keep a business card with your name, email, Twitter handle and blog address on it and give it to people you meet. It can be a valuable tool, not only for driving people to your blog, but also for making a possible future business or personal contact.
I would like to thank Michael Huber and the Times Union for hosting this event last night. I feel that it was very informative, as well an excellent networking event. While I was there, I met a few new people and some people I knew from Twitter, but hadn’t met in person yet. There are a few that were there that I didn’t get to meet and wish I had. Here are a few people that I met and their name and the name of the blog they write;
- Michael Huber – @mhuberTU
- Rob Madeo – @rmadeo – Man of a Certain Age
- Daniel Berman – @my50cheeses – Fussy Little Blog
- Naomi Seldin – @SimplerLiving – Simpler Living
- Jennifer Hernandez – – Sweetly Tart
- Steve Barnes – Table Hopping
- Kristi Gustafson – On The Edge – @kristigustafson
- Greg Dahlmann – All Over Albany – @alloveralbany
Please be sure to check out their blogs and leave them some comments. There are some really great blogs on the Times Union web site. Before I wrap this up, I wanted to ask you a question. If you were to start a blog, what would you write about? If you do have a blog, what is it about?
*Edit – I wanted to add that we got to spend some time with Kevin Marshall last night. Not only is he extremely straightforward and blunt, he is also a writer, actor and self-proclaimed ‘sex symbol’ in the Albany area. I have also heard that he is the Lt. Governor. I can neither confirm nor deny that last statement.
**My Twitter handle is @tcrpmg***
I had a good time and learned a lot myself. I’m going to blog about it here in a minute. BTW, Greg Dahlmann from AOA.
It was good chatting with you guys!!
Kari Vanalstine
Twitter: @marilyth
http://discontentwinter.wordpress.com
Thanks Kari! Noted and updated. It was great to see you last night. I look forward to more motorcycle stories!
Interesting points. Indeed, I’ve found that leaving a quick “This week’s photo has been posted” on facebook does indeed help traffic to my blog.
I too don’t allow anonymous comments on my blog, but I no longer require people to register and that has helped commenting traffic. Over all I think that there’s a trade off with anon posting. Yes, you will garner a wider variety of opinions and more postings, but you’ll also need spend MUCH more time patroling and policing all the comments. Personally, I want blogging to stay fun and not turn into a full time moderator position.
Same here, Dan. People weren’t commenting much and I finally found out how to let them comment without having to have a WordPress account. It’s been much better since them.
It was nice meeting you and Rose last night, I’m looking forward to making it to one of your photography meet ups.
I agree with you Re: anonymity. I think they should do away with it but as I was reminded last night, numbers are important and they get more numbers that way.
BTW, my blog address is http://sweetlytart.blogspot.com
I write about food, mostly my own but I am going to start talking about the food I eat around the greater capital region.
Thanks for the great follow recs! I didn’t know about the event last night – I had a meeting on the redevelopment of the Troy waterfront. Sounds like it was a great time.
You would have had a great time! I wish you were there!
Not problem. Glad I could help. I learned quite a bit and thought it was definitely stuff that needed to be passed along. I hope they have more of these in the near future.
It was a great time last night getting to meet everyone!
In case someone reads your comments and doesn’t know my blog I write about anything and everything. I interview people, talk about movie & art… Anything that comes to mind….
Rose’s blog can be found at http://dozenroses13.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on her avatar. Check it out!
It was nice to put a face to your avatar. I wish I could have met more of the people I’ve communicated with via Twitter; maybe next time. Thanks for attending and writing up your view of the evening!
Naomi @ Simpler Living
Naomi, it was a pleasure meeting you as well. See you soon!
I will be attending something similar that a friend of mine is planning for the summer…details still pending. He’s thinking of doing it at a State Park in KY that has meeting facilities, camping, and cabin rental. He’s a biker, and he’s wanting to get a few fellow blogger/riders together for a “round table” event. Bloggers helping Bloggers.
I will tell you, that getting your blog noticed by Twitter friends is one of the best ways to expand the readership. I also use facebook, but I’ve found most of my traffic comes from Twitter posts!
Good posting…
That sounds awesome! I was talking tot he gentleman last night about possibly starting a motorcycle awareness blog. I hope he is interested.
Good to meet you, especially with the beers, which always seems to make things friendlier.
re: anonymous comments on our blogs at http://timesunion.com/blogs . We allow anonymous commenters, but each comment is moderated by the blog’s author. Kinda complicated by the fact that with about 400 people doing the moderating, there’s a pretty wide and wavy line of what gets approved.
And requiring names hasn’t worked out too well. We’ve had commenters hijack names of others, and then we hear about it when the ‘real’ person gets wind of it and calls me screaming bloody murder.
Registration? Tends to drive away ‘good’ commenters who can’t register from work, and most of our traffic is 9 to 5.
What’s the solution? It’s all evolving, and whatever you see on our site today will change in a month or two. Makes things kinda fun.
Mike
Thanks Mike. That makes a lot of sense. I can’t wait until you have another event. See you soon!
well then, My friend asked me to keep my ear out for other bloggers like us (you) and keep them in the loop about the round table. If your interested, I’ll keep you up to date on things….
Interested, but money is a little tight to make a trip. Maybe in the future….
It was nice meeting you and Rose, I hope to make it to one of the photography meet ups. Most likely the getting to know your camera for dummies one 🙂
BTW, the link to my blog is http://sweetlytart.blogspot.com
Nice write up, thanks for the mention.
Sorry I didn’t get to meet you, and even sorrier that I had to walk by you because of those damned phone calls. Last time I do a favor for someone!
I will stay longer at the next one even if a tsunami races up the bloody Hudson!
Twitter: @CrabbyOldRoz
We will definitely meet at the next one. I am now following you on Twitter.
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