Blogorama

Why do news websites turn their customers away?

Jul 11, 2016

Why do news websites turn customers away?

Man reading Las Ultimas Notices (photo by Diego Grez)

These days businesses can focus so much on the trees that they forget the forest.

Take the newspaper business, which has been on a death spiral for at least 20 years.

We have 20% fewer journalists working today than we had in 2001 (Saba, Jennifer (March 16, 2009). “Specifics on Newspapers from ‘State of News Media’ Report”. Editor & Publisher. Archived from the original on March 20, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-17).
Many readers no longer seek out newspapers per se; they look for specific writers, journalists, social media and blogs. (Ibid)
In an effort to cut costs, many news publications have cut staff and content, which turns away readers, creating a vicious cycle. (Morton, John (October–November 2007). “Buffeted: Newspapers Are Paying the Price for Shortsighted Thinking”. American Journalism Review.)

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How to avoid buying into spammy blogs?

Jul 7, 2016

Nothing beats great content. A good writer could get 500 words out of this photograph alone!

I was cruising the Twittersphere recently when I discovered a story on a website called DreamGrow entitled “How to Choose a Content Writer.”

Now, choosing (and providing) content writers is something I happen to know a lot about. So I thought I’d compare notes. I’m so glad I did.

“How to Choose a Content Writer” starts off with all the usual gusto — explaining that you need a writer who’s “engaging, educational and entertaining,” and so forth. Stuff no one can disagree with. (Unless one prefers the serial comma, but I digress.) (more…)

Follow and nofollow — the skinny

Jun 9, 2016

Being followed can be a good thing. (With thanks to actor Lloyd Benedict Nolan, who often played private eyes).

Follow and nofollow links have caused a lot of confusion. Which are better?

If you’ve been under the impression that all linking is categorically good, this may be the part where you’re shocked. And I can’t blame you.

Links can be complicated.

The basics of follow and nofollow

Follow (sometimes referred to as “dofollow”) and nofollow are attributes assigned to a link, whether it’s an external link (to another web site) or an internal link (to somewhere on your web site).

As such, follow and nofollow are a way of voting. (more…)

How to avoid buying into spammy blogs?

Follow and nofollow — the skinny

The basics of follow and nofollow

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