It may seem as if I have been silent for a few months, but it is not so. All my blogging recently has been on the Museum Buddies (MuBu) site.
But I will be returning my activities here very soon as the period of my digital writer residency is coming to an end.
In the meantime, this is the kind of thing I have been writing about:
Miles Travelled = 649
Museums Visited = 11
Mood = Hungry
I’ve been travelling around heritage locations in the East Midlands for a few months now and to be honest the only places I’ve been really aware of food were the various museum cafes which have sustained me on the journey – a jacket potato, a cup of tea and perhaps a bar of chocolate.
But that must change today. I’m travelling to Lincoln in the company of...
You can find the full article here at my MuBu blog
Showing posts with label Blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blogging. Show all posts
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Monday, September 20, 2010
MuBu Digital Writer in Residence
I've just started working as Digital Writer in Residence for an East Midlands Museums project called 'MuBu'. I've been hinting at this for some time, but haven't been able to be more open about it because we were going through the usual administrative hurdles and getting the project web pages established.
But we are now up and running, so...
Here is a link to the MuBu Digital Writer in Residence project page.
I won't be duplicating all my MuBu blog articles here, so if you'd like to follow the journey, you could subscribe or bookmark that site.
And please give feedback here or there if you feel able. It's all very pleasant seeing web traffic statistics and knowing, in an abstract sense, that a couple of hundred people have visited the site today. But feedback is the lifeblood of the blogger.
But we are now up and running, so...
Here is a link to the MuBu Digital Writer in Residence project page.
I won't be duplicating all my MuBu blog articles here, so if you'd like to follow the journey, you could subscribe or bookmark that site.
And please give feedback here or there if you feel able. It's all very pleasant seeing web traffic statistics and knowing, in an abstract sense, that a couple of hundred people have visited the site today. But feedback is the lifeblood of the blogger.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Giving it away - a business model
Making money by giving things away free seems, on the face of it, to be a contradiction. But I have recently noticed several people who have done just this - and done it with great success.
But first an example of the traditional business model. This morning I found a podcast about a subject I was interested in. Naturally, I started listening to it. I hoped to get some free advice from a person who knows what he is talking about. What I actually heard was a sales pitch for a workshop from person who apparently knows what he is talking about. He hinted at the content of his workshop without actually giving any details. The method was named but not described.
And who could blame him? If I could get the content for free, why would I sign up for the course? This is the traditional business model.
But here are three examples of people who have become successful through giving things away for free.
1) David Blaine the street magician. Think back before the endurance stunts. He made his name by approaching people on the street and giving free magic shows. And not just the casual coin disappearing stuff that your uncle does to amuse the kids. These were sophisticated illusions which must have taken much time and effort to perfect and set up.
Of course, he had someone with a camera there to film it all. And he would later sell the show to TV stations. But at the point of origin, he was apparently giving something away.
2) How about the graffiti artist Banksy? Sneaking out in the night and spray painting works of art onto people's walls. Giving it away. Take a close look at his work and it becomes clear that a huge amount of thought, preparation and skill goes into what he does. People who find a Banksy on something that belongs to them can go and sell it if they want. It could easily be worth tens of thousands of pounds.
The public interest he has generated through this is so huge that money must be pouring in. I bought a copy of his book so I could enjoy the pictures. The very wealthy might buy an original canvas.
3) And if that doesn't convince you, how about the film maker Chris Jones? His blog is like a masterclass in the film industry. There is no sense that he is holding things back so we will be more inclined to buy one of his books or go to one of his workshops. He is open and frank about the projects he is involved with.
I have no idea if this was his idea from the start, but when he needed money to make a short film, he simply asked for £50 from everyone. And such was the respect his readers and other contacts held him in that they gave freely. The money came in and the film Gone Fishing was made. (I'm sure you already know, it reached the final shortlist of 10 films for the Oscars).
The outstanding feature of each of the above examples is that the artists didn't give away their leftovers. They gave away the very best.
But first an example of the traditional business model. This morning I found a podcast about a subject I was interested in. Naturally, I started listening to it. I hoped to get some free advice from a person who knows what he is talking about. What I actually heard was a sales pitch for a workshop from person who apparently knows what he is talking about. He hinted at the content of his workshop without actually giving any details. The method was named but not described.
And who could blame him? If I could get the content for free, why would I sign up for the course? This is the traditional business model.
But here are three examples of people who have become successful through giving things away for free.
1) David Blaine the street magician. Think back before the endurance stunts. He made his name by approaching people on the street and giving free magic shows. And not just the casual coin disappearing stuff that your uncle does to amuse the kids. These were sophisticated illusions which must have taken much time and effort to perfect and set up.
Of course, he had someone with a camera there to film it all. And he would later sell the show to TV stations. But at the point of origin, he was apparently giving something away.
2) How about the graffiti artist Banksy? Sneaking out in the night and spray painting works of art onto people's walls. Giving it away. Take a close look at his work and it becomes clear that a huge amount of thought, preparation and skill goes into what he does. People who find a Banksy on something that belongs to them can go and sell it if they want. It could easily be worth tens of thousands of pounds.
The public interest he has generated through this is so huge that money must be pouring in. I bought a copy of his book so I could enjoy the pictures. The very wealthy might buy an original canvas.
3) And if that doesn't convince you, how about the film maker Chris Jones? His blog is like a masterclass in the film industry. There is no sense that he is holding things back so we will be more inclined to buy one of his books or go to one of his workshops. He is open and frank about the projects he is involved with.
I have no idea if this was his idea from the start, but when he needed money to make a short film, he simply asked for £50 from everyone. And such was the respect his readers and other contacts held him in that they gave freely. The money came in and the film Gone Fishing was made. (I'm sure you already know, it reached the final shortlist of 10 films for the Oscars).
The outstanding feature of each of the above examples is that the artists didn't give away their leftovers. They gave away the very best.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Search Engine Optimization and new Blogger
Much is talked about the dark art of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). But the actual substance of it is usually kept behind locked doors. Pay me a shed-load of cash and I will work my magic on your website, making it appear nearer the top in Google searches.
But (as always) the advice on this blog comes to you free!
There are people who believe SEO is just a sprinkling of common sense dressed up with the smoke and mirrors of a conjurer and the hype of a good marketing machine. There are also people who believe that a good SEO consultant will boost the volume of traffic attracted to a website by one or two orders of magnitude. As with most things, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.
So here is one little observation to add to the mix. Having just reformatted from the old Blogspot templates to the newer system, I notice this blog coming out lower in Google searches than it was doing last week. I don't know whether this change happening at this time is coincidence or not. But I thought I'd share it with you anyway.
The common list of other things to do in order to boost the number of people finding your site from Google, Yahoo and others includes:
Research commonly searched for phrases. (Google, YouTube and others have helpful predictive text which flashes up lists of the phrases people most commonly type in as soon as you start to type.)
Use key phrases in the title of the site, the title of the page, the title of the article and the first line of the article.
Include captioned photographs.
And most importantly - get other sites to link to yours.
Do please add suggestions to this list. Especially if you are an SEO consultant or have had an SEO consultant work on your site. :-)
But (as always) the advice on this blog comes to you free!
There are people who believe SEO is just a sprinkling of common sense dressed up with the smoke and mirrors of a conjurer and the hype of a good marketing machine. There are also people who believe that a good SEO consultant will boost the volume of traffic attracted to a website by one or two orders of magnitude. As with most things, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.
So here is one little observation to add to the mix. Having just reformatted from the old Blogspot templates to the newer system, I notice this blog coming out lower in Google searches than it was doing last week. I don't know whether this change happening at this time is coincidence or not. But I thought I'd share it with you anyway.
The common list of other things to do in order to boost the number of people finding your site from Google, Yahoo and others includes:
Research commonly searched for phrases. (Google, YouTube and others have helpful predictive text which flashes up lists of the phrases people most commonly type in as soon as you start to type.)
Use key phrases in the title of the site, the title of the page, the title of the article and the first line of the article.
Include captioned photographs.
And most importantly - get other sites to link to yours.
Do please add suggestions to this list. Especially if you are an SEO consultant or have had an SEO consultant work on your site. :-)
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Blog Visitors
Having moved over to the new blogger platform the other day, I was having a look at my visitor statistics and was shocked to see they had dropped to zero. No visitors at all?
Duh. Slap palm to forehead. I'd not moved the counter software into the new blog page template!
The glitch is now amended and thankfully people are still looking in from time to time.
Duh. Slap palm to forehead. I'd not moved the counter software into the new blog page template!
The glitch is now amended and thankfully people are still looking in from time to time.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Moving to New Blogger
When I started keeping this blog, four and a bit years ago, the system offered by Blogger had fewer bells and whistles than it does today. A new, improved platform came online some time ago, but since my blog was already up and running, I held off from switching over.
Today I gave in and switched to new blogger.
I must admit to being rather nervous. I've done much tinkering with the basic template over the years and was afraid of losing all that work. As things turned out, the switchover has been fairly straightforward. I still haven't got everything sorted. I'll still want to tinker with the fonts and colours. The information in the side-bar will be shuffled to some extent. The links list will be expanded.
If you have any problems with the new layout, please let me know.
Today I gave in and switched to new blogger.
I must admit to being rather nervous. I've done much tinkering with the basic template over the years and was afraid of losing all that work. As things turned out, the switchover has been fairly straightforward. I still haven't got everything sorted. I'll still want to tinker with the fonts and colours. The information in the side-bar will be shuffled to some extent. The links list will be expanded.
If you have any problems with the new layout, please let me know.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
How to set up a blog
Next February this blog will be 5 years old. Perhaps a day for a small celebration? Hmmm - I'll think about that. No promises, but would anyone be interested in coming to a small party in Leicester? The blog equivalent to a book launch - a celebration of survival.
However, the downside of this long evolution is that I can now not remember all the technical steps I went through to set it up. Also - in retrospect, would I have done it this way?
To help me answer these questions, I am going through the process of setting up another blog, and recording all the tehnical steps. Where to record them? On the blog, of course. This project is really for my own benefit, rather than being intended as a public showcase. But you're welcome to look in in if it interests you. But be warned, I am really very ignorant in these things, so if you do look in you will see me making lots of mistakes.
The blog is called Blog Steps.
My intention is to incorporate successful discoveries into my handling of this blog. It may also help me make the decision of whether I want to migrate this blog onto another platform - something I have been thinking about for a few months.
However, the downside of this long evolution is that I can now not remember all the technical steps I went through to set it up. Also - in retrospect, would I have done it this way?
To help me answer these questions, I am going through the process of setting up another blog, and recording all the tehnical steps. Where to record them? On the blog, of course. This project is really for my own benefit, rather than being intended as a public showcase. But you're welcome to look in in if it interests you. But be warned, I am really very ignorant in these things, so if you do look in you will see me making lots of mistakes.
The blog is called Blog Steps.
My intention is to incorporate successful discoveries into my handling of this blog. It may also help me make the decision of whether I want to migrate this blog onto another platform - something I have been thinking about for a few months.
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