Since I was disappointed that there were not enough bloggers on business topics, my post (Business bloggers wanted) drew some interesting (and many) emails to me. I am not sure if it had any thing to do with the fact that the bloggers were in the spotlight at the Boston convention (where not only did they receive press credentials, their reports were highly appreciated for their frankness), but one consistent theme that I heard from those who wrote was that they believe blogs are for the techies and they don't know how to get started. I agree because it took me a while to make iProceed blog happen. I went through several frustrating days of work before I could integrate Blogger and my server.
I remember that even in 1999-2000 I had colleagues who would write down their email content on a yellow pad and then an EA would type it out and email it. When the reply came, she would print it and then my colleague (a very senior level executive) would mark his comments on the printout, and on and on. If you are one of those business executives today, it is time to change. I heard recently that my colleague has since changed somewhat. He still has not learned to type but can read his emails online.
I realize though that blogs can come across as intimidating particularly if you want to host it on your own server. While I know a little bit about manipulating a server, I confess that I am a non-technical person and often struggle. It definitely takes me much longer than it would for a technical person. And I am still trying to figure out how I can automatically ping rather than having to go to ping-o-matic and doing it manually every time I update the blog.
So here is the non-technical business person's guide to blogging. I searched and searched and could not find a single page that has all the information that one needs to get started if one is a totally non-technical person and still wants a professional looking blog. If you have never blogged or have a blog hosted on a free website and want to turn it into a professional looking blog, then this guide will help you get started. It may not look anything like some of the outstanding blogs that exist out there, but I am pretty happy with the feedback that I have received so far on the iProceed blog. What people seek on a business blog is high-quality, useful content and bells and whistles don't really matter. This will get you there. And if you come across new problems and have more ideas, please write to me and I will make sure that this guide becomes more user-friendly.
I remember that even in 1999-2000 I had colleagues who would write down their email content on a yellow pad and then an EA would type it out and email it. When the reply came, she would print it and then my colleague (a very senior level executive) would mark his comments on the printout, and on and on. If you are one of those business executives today, it is time to change. I heard recently that my colleague has since changed somewhat. He still has not learned to type but can read his emails online.
I realize though that blogs can come across as intimidating particularly if you want to host it on your own server. While I know a little bit about manipulating a server, I confess that I am a non-technical person and often struggle. It definitely takes me much longer than it would for a technical person. And I am still trying to figure out how I can automatically ping rather than having to go to ping-o-matic and doing it manually every time I update the blog.
So here is the non-technical business person's guide to blogging. I searched and searched and could not find a single page that has all the information that one needs to get started if one is a totally non-technical person and still wants a professional looking blog. If you have never blogged or have a blog hosted on a free website and want to turn it into a professional looking blog, then this guide will help you get started. It may not look anything like some of the outstanding blogs that exist out there, but I am pretty happy with the feedback that I have received so far on the iProceed blog. What people seek on a business blog is high-quality, useful content and bells and whistles don't really matter. This will get you there. And if you come across new problems and have more ideas, please write to me and I will make sure that this guide becomes more user-friendly.