How did you get involved with Blogging and why do you blog?

Ok, great question.  I got involved in blogging about three years ago when I had a couple of clients that were interested in starting a blog and wanted me to help them set it up and show them how to run it.  So, in order to help them out, I began to blog myself and after about a year, it became an everyday way of life for me and my business.

You’ve gone from just being a blogger to a full blown podcaster. Describe the transition from one to the other. Also, what are your thoughts on podcasting as a whole?

Well, like most things, going from blogging to podcasting was an easy transition.  Since blogging is writing down your thoughts for others to read, podcasting is verbalizing those thoughts for people to hear.  Podcasting is still a growing technology.  Even though there are those who feel that podcasting has run it’s course, I strongly disagree.  Podcasting is just beginning to get it’s legs, so to speak, and learning how to go from crawling to walking.  With podcasting having so many facets, such as audio and video podcasting, not to mention translating your blogs to an audio format, just another way of podcasting, the sky is still the limit for this technology.  I believe that we will see even more to come in 2009 than we have already seen in the past 3 to 5 years that podcasting has been actively working for many.

With that said, you have had your ups and downs with various video streaming websites. What can you tell those who are thinking about skipping audio and going straight to video streaming?

Yes, it’s true, I’ve had my share of issues with the video streaming sites.  I think I’ve tried every one that is currently available and they all share the same basic issues along with not having the necessary backbone of hardware to handle the onslaught of users currently on their services.  My advice to any one who wants to go straight video is, make sure that you are prepared to live with the frustration of the video streaming service when they are down, having technical glitches or even losing your recordings.  All this will happen, especially when they are having tremendous server overloads.  Also, be prepared to share your space with LOTS of, sometimes scary and downright silly types of live shows that are representative of these services.  You may not want your videocast to be shown in this light.  Carefully check out what other types of shows that are streaming on the service you choose.

Monetization is a hot topic for many people and for obvious reasons. Which techniques have you used and have you been able to make a living producing content for a living?

I have tried several types including affiliate programs, banner ads, Google Adsense and even offering my own products.  Because I have a small following right now, I cannot produce much if any amount of income from my blog.  I have had no success with the affiliate programs or banner ads.  I have had some reasonable success by offering my own products, such as eBooks and software.  It seems the personal approach works best for the small time blogger that doesn’t have thousands of readers and visitors.

Can you describe to us what the NMP Network is and your goals for it? Also, how difficult has it been to run your own network?

The NMP Network started as New Media Pro about two and a half years ago.  When I started consulting other podcasters, I decided I wanted a brand that would stand the test of time and still convey the message I was trying to instill.  About a year or so ago, The NMP Network (NMP stands for New Media Pro) was born to serve as a portal for the different shows and videos I produce.  Today, it still does that, however, it is now also my main portal for my blogs, several that I write myself, and for the shows and video as well.  It was difficult at first starting the network, just like any new business venture, you have to start from scratch in most cases, and starting this venture was no different.  I had to bring together all of my blogs, most for the shows I produce, and the different blogs I was maintaining, into one place, so that it would be easier to update and maintain.  After doing this, my blogging efforts became almost routine, instead of the giant chore I had prior by having to make sure every site, every blog, was updated when they needed to be, etc.  Today, The NMP Network also has guest bloggers posting as well as different segment hosts from my Friday Night Podcaster Training Show, posting their show notes and making the site more of a hub of information than it ever was before.

I noticed that you now have a premium content section of your site online. What constitutes premium content? What can people expect if they choose one of your premium content packages?

The Premium Content is a mixture of Private label Rights Articles, PLR Videos, PLR Software and eBooks and Master Resell Rights Products, such as eBooks and software.  There are four levels of content and each level gets a specific type of content.  For example, the first level, Bronze, gets PLR Articles and nothing else.  The Silver Level, gets the Bronze content as well as PLR eBooks.  The Gold Level get the levels below and adds PLR Software and the Platinum Level get everything below along with PLR Videos and MRR products.  In this way, the members get not only quality, but quantity too.

Any tips, tricks, or suggestions you can give to bloggers, podcasters, or video streamers?

Well, the main tip I can offer to bloggers is to use a quality platform such as Wordpress Self Hosted from Wordpress.org.  In this way, you can customize and setup your blog any way you like and you won’t have to bend to any restrictions like you do with the hosted services out there currently. For Podcasters and video streamers, make sure you have the proper equipment and test it out BEFORE you try to go live to insure that you are ready to give not only quality content, but a quality performance too!

What do you think is the future of blogging?

I think blogging will be and already is for most, the next web site.  Instead of learning HTML and hiring a web designer, you can easily get a theme you like or want and make simple modifications yourself and you can be online in no time at all and also consider the SEO that your blog brings you, it just can’t be beat!  That being said, a blog will also let you not only showcase your products, services or business, but you can use the same blog site to showcase yourself without selling yourself short or detracting from your main topic of your blog.

First off, how old are you and why do you blog?

I am 14, a few months off of turning 15 and I blog to talk about technology, personal blurbs and things I find interesting everywhere.

So, you’re an up and coming blogger. Have you noticed if many of your peers are also into blogging?

No, not many of my peers are really into blogging. Other than a few of them that make a little blog post here and there (every 3 months) on their profile page on Facebook, that’s it. I’d love to see more of my peers blogging.

You are known as Talkshoes youngest support team member. Could you tell us how you were able to grab that position?

One day I was talking with one of TalkShoe’s team members, Aaron Brauser, who was the Product Manager about maybe getting a job in support at TalkShoe. He said that he would talk with Dave Nelson about it and about a month and a half passed; and I had gotten an skype message from him saying that I had a job at TalkShoe. Of course, we had to make sure all was set legally before going any further; once I had the proper Working papers to work, I began working at TalkShoe. The decision of adding me was based on me helping out users for the less than a year I had been with TalkShoe.

Obviously, you have a good bit of experience with podcasting under your belt. What do you think of the podcasting medium versus blogging?

Well, Podcasting is definitely a different world from Blogging; I do enjoy podcasting, but that sometimes requires a lot more time and resources than Blogging. Blogging has been something I have been doing just about as long as I have been podcasting; but, have been writing for a lot longer than Podcast “Broadcasting” it is easier from the start. Some people have told me that I was born a Podcaster/Broadcaster and others have told me that I was born a writer and blogger.

With that experience under your belt, what would you tell people who are thinking about doing this thing called podcasting?

The first thing I would tell them is to ask themself a question, “Are you willing to give the time and resources to producing a podcasting a specific basis, like once a week or once a month.” If you answer yes, I would start researching on how to get started, I recommend checking out a podcast Called Podcaster Training, where there is a great panel of Podcasters.

What is your goals either as a podcaster or a blogger? Thinking about making a career out of this stuff?

As a podcaster, I am trying to produce the best quality content possible and maybe making money off of it in the future, but we all know how hard that is and as a Blogger, I definitely would love to at least have a part time job with it. I’ve still got about half my last year of Middle School left, so the choice of Career can change at anytime; but, as a blogger and podcaster; I would say it’ll be a part time job for me - planning to have a full time job in the media profession.

Like many of the others I have interviewed, you also have chosen to work with WordPress for your personal site. Why WordPress?

WordPress is an awesome platform, updated on a consistent basis with new features and security updates. Main reason is because I had tried out several other platforms, blogger, typepad and others; Wordpress worked the best for me and I will continue to use it for a long time!

Ok last but not least, I ask this to everyone! What do you think is the future of blogging?

The future of Blogging, I believe is that there will be many more types of blogs being created. Blogs have grown so much just in the year I have been blogging and it seems to be getting bigger everyday; not only the types and numbers of blogs that will be created, but the amount of ways to blog from blogging on your mobile phone, to the iPod Touch and maybe even blogging from your IM client some day. I do see the blogging world growing even bigger as the future comes.

Despite being the author of the book, Managing Online Forums, you have branched out to cover more or less, managing online communities. Is their a difference?

Forums are online communities. But, online community can include more than just forums. Simply, an online community is a place where people congregate online. Most large blogs are communities. Chat rooms are communities. Social networking sites are communities. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter… these are all online communities. So, forums are just one type of online community. But, across the community spectrum, there are management principles that can similarly apply to several, many or, perhaps, all.

Blogs are still sort of this new thing while forums and discussing boards have been around since the early days of the web. Do you see forums continuing to play a role well into the future or will forums merge with some other type of publishing method?

To me, blogging is something we’ve been doing since the beginning of time, which is create content. We’ve been creating content since the beginning of humankind. We’ve been creating content online since the advent of the internet. Sure, blogging has a specific format, if you will, but at the end of the day, blogging is creating content.

Forums are looked at, by some, to be old hat. Old hat doesn’t necessarily mean bad. But, when you think about it, forums can, sort of, be considered a precursor to what we see today in the social media space. When you get down to it, when you look real closely at blogs, at a MySpace or a Facebook or even a Twitter, you can see similarities with forums.

As you yourself noted (http://www.jeffro2pt0.com/similarities-between-a-blog-and-forum), forums and blogs have a number of noteworthy similarities. I would say they have just as much in common as they do different. The biggest difference is that, on a blog, the blog author or authors determine what the “new topics” are. Where, on a forum, it is usually open to anyone with a registered account.

According to a study conducted by Forrester Research (http://www.forrester.com/Groundswell/media.html), they are just as used as blogs or social networking sites. In an online survey of over ten thousand consumers in the U.S., they found that 28% “read online forums or discussion groups.” This compares to 25% that “read blogs” and 25% that “visit social networking sites.”

Meanwhile, 18% “contribute to online forums or discussion groups,” while 18% “add comments to someone’s page on a social networking site” and 14% “comment on someone else’s blog.”

I say all of this in a roundabout way to say that forums are here to stay because forums represent something that we won’t be getting rid of anytime soon. That’s text based communication. Forums are essentially text based communication. One person posts a message, the next person replies and it continues. Video and audio will continue to grow online, but at the end of the day, it is hard for me to see a time, in my lifetime, where we won’t want to discuss something in text, without seeing or hearing the other person. As such, forums an important part of the social web.

In your opinion, is their a right time or a wrong time to start a forum? Perhaps their is a “best time”?

I think the right time is when you have an idea you love or you see a need that you think should be filled and then you have the desire and the passion to fill it.

I don’t know if there is a wrong time. But, to last very long at this, you have to have a passion or, at least an interest, in managing an online community. Not everyone is meant to do it and if you don’t have an interest in it, life’s too short. Better to do something you enjoy.

It would seem natural for blogs who have a big audience and a community which always contributes by way of commenting would do well by starting a forum. However, I’ve seen a few examples in which the forums do not become as popular as commenting on a blog and in some cases, adding a forum hurts the blog. Any thoughts as to why this may be?

There could be any number of reasons. Maybe the site’s audience prefers the blog format. Maybe the audience wasn’t big enough to support forums. Maybe the blogger didn’t have enough interest in it and was just doing it because some people said it was a good idea.

In order to avoid this, before you go forward with any plans to start a forum, you should ask your visitors if they’d visit and post and see what they say. Take it with a grain of salt as not everyone who says it is a good idea will actually show up.

Beyond just having the audience, it’s also a commitment for whoever is managing it. Managing forums takes time and you have to be ready for that and committed to the community. You don’t want to get 3 weeks in and then think “oh man, I wish I could be writing an article right now instead of deleting this spam.” Think about it carefully and know what you want to do.

Before you launch, bring some of your users behind the scenes and ask them to start topics and to start talking before you launch. That way, you’ll launch with activity, which can be quite helpful if you are trying to grow and gain some momentum.

Finally, be sure to integrate your forums and your blog. This includes visible links and advertisements and content sharing, as well. Use your blog to start topics on your forums and your forums to start topics on your blog.

You own and operate iFroggy network which is a network of content centered around community and e-commerce sites. What are your goals as they pertain to your blogging network? Are you hoping to become the next B5?

b5media (http://www.b5media.com) was co-founded by Jeremy Wright (http://www.ensight.org), who is an old, very good friend of mine. I’m friendly with a lot of people at the company, as well, including Darren Rowse (http://www.problogger.net), Shai Coggins (http://www.shaicoggins.com), Jeanne Dupuis (http://www.jeannedupuis.com), Jason Bean (http://www.bnpositive.com/blog) and others. So, I love b5media.

With that said, though, the iFroggy Network was started long before b5media. They are very successful and it’d be cool to be doing some of the numbers they are doing. But, we’re a network with blogs more than a blog network and we have a little different strategy. I’m interested in managing sites that are fun for me to manage and growing in that area. So, there isn’t necessarily anyone I want to be like, I just want to have fun, help people and make money.

Obviously, running one blog is hard enough but you are running a network of them. Can you share with us what you have learned thus far from operating a content network?

I’ve learned that it’s important to not just like what you are writing about, but enjoy writing about it. Otherwise, it can be a real drag.

I’ve learned that you will post something on one blog that was meant for another, that is in no way related to the blog it was accidentally posted on. It’ll happen eventually. You can’t avoid it forever. And it’s not a big deal.

I’ve learned (or, really, I pretty much knew this to be honest) that it’s hard to make a bunch of money! And the people who do have the money have tapped into something special, borne out of a little bit of luck, some good choices and a lot of hard work.

What is the future of blogging?

This is not a question that is easy to answer. But, I was asked it at a conference I spoke at recently and I’ll say what I said then. I don’t know where blogging is going. Blogging is writing. Where is writing going? I have no idea.

But, I will say that one trend I’d like to see or, at least, one area of blogging I hope receives more attention, is responsible blogging. When people ask me what to tell new bloggers, one of the things I often say is that you should never forget that it is a responsibility. You have a responsibility to yourself and everyone who is associated with you, your readers and whoever or whatever you are writing about. You have a responsibility to treat them all fairly and with respect. We’re all people. Bloggers, celebrities, companies - we’re all just human beings.

Gossip blogs can get a ton of traffic. Blogs that simply make things up can get a ton of traffic. At Bad Boy Blog (http://www.badboyblog.com), I make it part of our job to shoot down the random, nonsensical rumors that people make up about Sean “Diddy” Combs, the company or acts signed to the label. Someone makes it up and then gossip lovers eat it up.

But, do I write a gossip blog? No. Would I want to? No. I wouldn’t want that to be my living. I wouldn’t want to be known for that. At Bad Boy Blog, I have built up a network of sources in and around the company that allows me to break news and confirm the accuracy of various stories. I love that I have the access to get the truth and then share it with fans of Bad Boy and it’s related artists and ventures. I enjoy being responsible, I enjoy having my words hold some sort of meaning.

I tire of seeing people talk about “attack blogs” or “the blogs” (cue the theme from “Jaws”). Blogging is a medium, not a style. There are responsible bloggers out there. It is my hope that the attention they get will grow and, with that happening, the understanding of blogging will grow. Blogging doesn’t equal gossip or irresponsibility. Gossips or irresponsible people blogging equals gossip or irresponsibility.

How long have you been blogging?

Feb 1 2006 is when I started my first blog actually. Before then I had just been helping others setup and run blogs.

You operate an online business called LGR Internet solutions. How has blogging enabled you to engage your audience who in turn, may be potential customers?

It has opened up conversations with a lot of people that I might not have had contact with. I have had several readers become long term clients because of the conversations that started on my blog. The blog has also become essential in communicating with my current clients and allows me to keep in touch with them and with what is happening.

One of the services you offer is Website and Blog Management. Is there a difference between a website and a blog?

A blog is really just a website, but a lot of people still think of them a seperate things. Many people when they hear the word blog still think of a personal online journal, and don’t realize that blogging software, like WordPress, can be used to run the rest of the website as well. A lot of small businesses out there have websites that they just need a hand with to update. Often what happens is I will do some small updates for them and after we talk awhile we will move the site into WordPress or another CMS and they eventually start to do the updates themselves. Mostly just an educational process.

Some of my SEO friends have claimed that Google and other search engines love blogs. What do blogs have over regular websites that makes them so yummy to the SEO spiders?

I would agree, but I would say that Google and the other search engines have a real love affair with WordPress blogs more than any other. I have seen posts from WordPress blogs get indexed within 15 or 20 minutes on occasion, while posts from other blogs run on other blogging software can still take days. Even Blogger blogs tend to not get indexed as quickly. I think there are several reasons for that. The permalink structure plays a part, the posting frequency, and pinging the blog search engines like Google blog search when a post goes up. Google loves fresh, good content and the more you can give it the better.

Going back to the topic of blog or site management, can you describe what it takes to successfully manage a blog?

I think people need a willingness to learn to successfully manage their blog. I come from a more technical background and many of the things people need help with managing their blog are the technical aspects. How to FTP, how to crop a photo, things that anyone can learn. Of course there is more to managing a blog than the technical aspects, but that is where I see a lot of people getting hung up.

Based on that, which publishing software do you recommend to your clients the most and why?

In the last year I would say I am recommending WordPress 85% of the time. It depends on what the client ultimately wants to accomplish but the majority of the time I know that WordPress will be able to provide them with what they feel they need at the time and will be able to grow with them as they learn more and want to expand what they do on the web. Often what I hear from clients is they want a basic website and they want to be able to update it themselves. WordPress fits the bill perfectly, then when they are ready to add to the site, perhaps by adding a blog or regular updates, then their site grows and no huge changes are needed.

Have you noticed any positive or negative trends over the past few years as they relate to blogging or self publishing?

Ok the good. People are more interested in expressing themselves and sharing what they know. That is great! The more people share the better. Not only does it help others, it helps to create relationships. When I was a kid I had a penpal in another country it took months to write back and forth. Now we can do it in seconds. That helps builds communities and that is good.

The bad….people all want to make money online. I can’t blame them, we all have bills to pay but people will occasionally place making money online ahead of creating the relationships and community. Ultimately then they fail at making money as well.

What do you think is the future of blogging?
The future of blogging is to help in creating community. To connect with those around us, whether they live across town or across the world. Blogging is about telling stories, whether the stories are for your business, your hobby or your family. Blogging makes it easy to tell those stories and connect with the people that want to hear them. I might be a bit of an idealist that sharing information can help us actually get to know each other and understand each other better. I have to wonder if the future for blogging is perhaps to take a step back from the professional blogging that we are seeing so much of and becoming a little more personal again.

You can catch LGR at his company blog where he publishes content related to his business.

What is it about Plagiarism that has driven you to create an entire blog focused around the subject?

It started out as a deeply personal battle, people plagiarizing and misusing my own work. When I first started thinking about blogging in this field, I wasn’t trying to create my own, but find someone else who had one so that I could follow it and keep up with changes in the area. Sadly, no such blog existed, so I decided to create it.

Since then the thank you letters an the questions I’ve gotten have really made it worthwhile, when I talk with writers and artists that have been plagiarized, I always see myself as I was when I first discovered it and am glad that I can be there to help them, even if it is just in a small way.

Plagiarism seems to be one of those aspects of blogging that just seems part of the process. Can the war against Plagiarism be won or do you think bloggers will always have to contend with the issue?

I don’t think the “war against plagiarism” can be won any more than the war against crime. That doesn’t mean it is a futile effort, hundreds of thousands of men and women every day put on blue uniforms to fight crime knowing that there will always be criminals.

The point of dealing with plagiarism is not to eliminate the problem altogether, but mitigate its impact and deal with the cases that put the blogger, artist, etc. most at risk. We won’t be able to stop every plagiarist, but we can limit the damage it causes and we can harm the economics of plagiarism by increasing the risk. These are small, but important victories.

Well, considering I have your brain to pick, what are some tips, tricks or suggestions to mitigate content theft.

The first tip is to simply be aware of the probability that it will happen. Though it sounds silly, the most common response I get is people telling me that they can’t believe anyone would plagiarize their work.

Second, actively search for and look for your work. If you are a blogger, use digital fingerprints to track how your RSS feed is used, if you create more static content, use Google Alerts or other tools to track where your work appears. Even if you have no interest in fighting plagiarism, this can help you track your audience.

Beyond that, learn the laws that are applicable here, including the fundamentals of copyright law and the DMCA. Obtain a good DMCA stock letter and learn how to use it well. It only take a little bit of time to understand the important parts of the law but can save headaches.

Finally, learn to pick your battles. License your work fairly, I tend to favor Creative Commons, and target only the true bad guys, it saves you time and lets you keep that important moral high ground.

Based on you being a co-host for the popular WordPress podcast hosted by Charles Stricklin, you are obviously a big fan of WordPress. Why have you chosen to stick with WordPress vs the myriad of publishing platforms that exist on the web today?

A big part of it is familiarity. I admit that. I know WordPress well, I know the plugins and I know the tools. Simple questions such as “How do I defend against a Digg effect?” are already answered for me.

However, the more important reason is that WordPress has the features I need and seems to be constantly improving, despite a few minor gripes with it, it is by far the most feature-complete publishing platform for what I want to do and is also the easiest to use and maintain. It’s the combination of simplicity, power and extensibility that keep me coming back to it time and again.

Bloggers come from all walks of life. They are big, small, and everywhere in between. Has their ever been a ‘fascinating’ moment for you with regards to blogging?

I suppose one of the strangest moments for me was shortly after I started consulting. I took a trip out to San Francisco to meet with a then-new client. When I showed up at their offices for the big presentation, I noticed that everyone was interested in and eager to talk with me. I was a bit confused but I found out that my blog had been required reading for almost everyone there and that my writing had had a huge influence on what they were doing.

It made me take a step back and realize exactly how far we can sometimes reach out without even realizing it.

Can you describe for us what it’s like to write for a site such as the BlogHerald? I like to think of the site as the all stars of blogging under one roof.

Being asked to write for it was definitely one of the greatest honors I’ve received since I started blogging, it was one of those moments where you realize that you’ve achieved something of importance while blogging.

As far as what it is like to write for them, it is hard to say. I decided that they brought me on because they liked what I did on PT and elsewhere so I try hard to not change it too much, just add broader topics and shift the focus to make it a bit more broad.

Even though it can be intimidating to try and speak to such a large audience, I try to put that out of my mind as much as possible (other than when deciding on topics) and do what I’ve always done.

Can you describe some of the opportunities that have opened up for you that can be directly or indirectly attributed to blogging?

I now work full time as a copyright/plagiarism consultant. I never expected that to happen when I started the site but I learned over time that there were people that had use for someone like me and were willing to pay. I was as stunned as anyone.

So the greatest opportunity I suppose is the chance to make a living at it, which I’ve been doing now for well over a year (after another year of being part-time).

Other than that, I would say that the travel has been the best. I just got back from the Netherlands and before that was in England. I’ve also been all over the U.S. for this job and these are all opportunities I don’t think I’d have had without blogging.

I would say that, overall, it has been a very enriching force in my life and I am very glad that I decided to give it a try.

Ok Jonathan, time for the flagship question! What do you think is the future of blogging?

I definitely see the future of blogging as being more multi-media. I know I personally have been dipping my toes more in audio and video over the past year and plan to increase those efforts after the beginning of the year in a major way. This is partly due to the YouTube revolution but, more importantly, due to the declining barriers of entry into these media, especially in terms of skill required.

Other than that, the future of blogging is going to be about growth in all directions. We’re going to see more of the ridiculous and silly, but also more of the serious. More and more great minds are going to get involved with blogging and more and more of the dialog about our society is going to take place on the Web, away from TV and newspapers.

I’m not one that thinks mainstream media is doomed, it will always have a place, but its role as an influencer of policy and of people will wane some as it moves more toward being a straightforward news source.

The real question though is will this idea of blogging as a profession become more common and that is a tough one. Most pro bloggers, like myself, do so indirectly from their activities, the advertising revenue simply is not there for 99% of bloggers unless you do something unethical.

I see nothing wrong with blogging as an amateur activity and most great bloggers are amateurs, but as with anything the more time and energy one can afford to put into their work, the better the product and, at some point, that is going to require funding.

If blogger business models can be hammered out, the sky is literally the limit for what blogging can do.

John Kolbert is a blogger who writes about many topics such as technology, WordPress, software, blogging and more. He doesn’t consider himself to be anyone special but more along the lines of being an average Joe. John is also a self taught PHP programmer with a few WordPress plugins under his belt. In this interview, I ask John to describe why he blogs, the basis behind his new project Techlyzer.com and more.

How did you become involved with blogging? Is it something you’ve always wanted to do?

I like creating tutorials. Plain and simple. The whole reason I started blogging was because I wanted to share ideas I had discovered. For example, as I was teaching myself some programming languages, I would spend hours figuring scripts out. One day I started thinking, “I can’t be the only one figuring out this problem right now.” I decided to start a blog and share the things I had been discovering.  Of course, it’s become more then that now, but that’s how I started.

Your personal tech blog, Simply-Basic.com runs on WordPress. What made you decide to use WordPress versus the other publishing platforms that exist?

When I first created by personal blog I was quite unaware of the different blogging platforms. A simple google search of blogging software quickly led me to WordPress, and I’m glad it did! WordPress has given me the flexability I need, the control that I wanted, and even a good number of paying jobs! As far as the other platforms go, I never found any as easy and enjoyable to use.

Speaking of WordPress, you have a few plugins under your belt that you have developed. How does it feel to be able to create something from nothing to solve a particular problem?

It’s a great feeling! Plugin development is one of my most enjoyable hobbies. My first plugin, Admin Favicon, was an extremely simple plugin. But honestly, it took me a few hours to create because I had to learn how WordPress worked. But once it was completed I was quite proud. The real test, though, is releasing it into the wild and getting feedback, support requests, and keeping up with comments. It adds a whole different aspect into blogging.

Do you currently earn any income through blogging? If not, is that a route that you’d like to pursue?

I’ve tried to monetize my sites with things like Adsense. I even tried text links for two months before I realized my mistake. I haven’t maximized the income yet because it hasn’t been a priority for me. The thing about blogging is you can monetize your site using various techniques. For example, during the summers when I have plenty of time I monetize my blog in a different way. I use it to advertise myself as a freelancer, even putting up a banner advertisement for my contact form. During the fall and winter months I remove those ads because I just get too busy.

It looks like you have launched a new project recently called Techlyzer.com. Can you give us a brief summary as to what this project is all about.

Techlyzer is my new venture into an aspect of blogging that I feel gets overlooked: video blogging. Techlyzer is (nearly) all screencasts of tutorials and reviews. I mentioned earlier that I really enjoy discovering things and then teaching others. However, I started to tire of the lengthy write-ups that came with typing out instructions and including a large number of screenshots. Plus, I’m a visual learner. It’s only been barely a week but I’ve been happy with the response I’ve gotten.

What software do you use for the screencasts on Techlyzer.com? What pointers can you give to those who are looking to do their own screencasts.

I use a really simple-to-use program called “Screenflow“. I believe it’s only for Mac OS, but it’s been a great program to use. It’s not as powerful as say Camtasia Studio, but you can’t beat it’s simplicity and how the final product renders. Along with that I use a simple $20 desktop Logitech microphone, nothing fancy. The trick to making a quality screencast is to not be afraid to fumble during it. If you make a mistake, pause, and start again from that same point. Screenflow makes the editing process very easy. My final product is not a seamless video, it’s all the good parts edited together

Before we let you go, there is one last question that must be answered. What is the future of blogging?

The future of blogging looks very bright. I believe that blogging to going to play a significantly bigger and better role in how the average person gets their daily information. Even major news sources understand the necessity of blogging (just look at CNN’s news blogs) and people reported news (iReport.com, anyone?). It is important to remember, though, that not everyone will be a big time, money making blogger. Blogging has basically no barriers to entry, economically meaning that there are lots of bloggers and low profit margins overall. But it’s not, and shouldn’t be, all about the money. Blogging is a healthy, enjoyable, lifestyle or hobby that’s here to stay.

You can catch John’s work at Simply-Basic.com and you can view his technical screencasts at Techlyzer.com. Also, be sure to check out his list of WordPress plugins he has developed thus far.

How did you get involved with blogging?

I was writing about my personal life for quite some time, using blogging as more of a diary.

At the time, I am not sure it was even really called blogging, though my lack of knowledge regarding the industry at that time, sometimes comes across as sounding like that it wasn’t really blogging until I started doing it.

I started learning about all things blogging when I found out about WordPress from Michael Heilemann of BinaryBonsai. I then started watching the industry closely, and secured an interview with Jacob Gower who was buying a variety of well known blogs. At the same time, I was able to secure a temporary gig as the guest blogger on Darren Rowse’s Laptop blog, where I did well. Various things came into play, and Jacob Gower hired me full time.

Your career path has lead you to write for some interesting sites. Care to share a list of the sites you have written for?

That would be a fairly long list. Suffice to say, I’ve written on over thirty sites by now.

Some of the better known would be BloggingPro.com, ForeverGeek.com, CSSVault.com, BlogHerald.com, Performancing.com, LifeSpy.com, AppleGazette.com, and Devlounge.net.

Of course then there are blogs that are no longer active that I’ve worked on, and my own blogs and sites. It has been a crazy career with many topics and niches I needed to get familiar with. I had even written a bit on a few celebrity sites, but really didn’t enjoy it.

You’ve worked for many blogs and blog networks. What advice can you give someone if they are thinking about the question of whether to blog for themselves or to be part of a network?

The question about blog networks is a simple one, do I need to get paid today, or can I wait a year? Blog Networks will pay you for your work as you complete it, where blogging for yourself can mean little to no income for a year, or sacrificing any income to help develop the blog and grow it larger. Either way, most of the decision comes down to money and your personal needs.

You appear to be going from being the jack of all trades to a more focused approach with BrandingDavid.com. What is it you hope to accomplish with your new home?

Well, BrandingDavid.com is all about figuring out what I want to be when I grow up. I have been working in the blogging world for three years now, and I really want to build up my career in consulting, speaking and helping others reach their goals and dreams with regards to blogging. From helping corporations understand the wild west that is blogging and social media to helping a single blogger understand what path he or she needs to take to get to their goal.

It seems as though everyone is developing a personal brand. Are you one of them?

I have to admit, I am getting sick of hearing of “personal brand“, but it is the new currency of the web. I think I have developed my personal brand over the last four years without even trying. I think most bloggers develop their brand without ever putting any effort into it. I think placing emphasis on building a personal branding is a little silly since the brand is “you”. Focus on doing the best you can, and putting out as much content as possible, and your brand will shine through.

The business of personal branding is about being able to focus that brand though, as you might think you are putting out one message, and instead be putting out a completely different one that you aren’t happy with. I’d love to help people fine-tune their personal brand, and yes, I am still focusing in on mine.

You have been co-host on a number of different podcasts. What has podcasting done to help you build your brand?

Podcasting is just fun for me. I would love to take it more seriously, but I haven’t really had the time. If it were up to me, I would be co-hosting a podcast each week day. My brand has long since been about text, and adding audio into the mix gives people a new way to connect to me and understand me, as text can sometimes be interpreted in different ways, where the inflections in my voice can make how I feel much more clear. Podcasting is a great medium that I hope to utilize more going forward.

At one point, you became a community manager for PicApp, an online service. What exactly does a community manager do?

A community manager is supposed to be the gateway between the company and their corporate ideals, and the community of people that they hope to serve. They are passionate people that are able to connect with potential customers or users in a way that normal marketing people cannot.

Every community needs some spark or catalyst to get it running and once running keep it organized and effective, and that is the job of the Community Manager.

Do you think it is better to be a jack of all trades or a master of a specific skill?

I have always marketed myself as a jack of all trades, and have started to realize that there is a ceiling related to branding and building yourself up as one. Say there are ten levels in the game of business, generalists can only get to level seven, while specialists can get to level ten. I know it is a bad analogy, but it is something I truly believe.

The funny thing in my mind though is how difficult it is to remain a jack of all trades over choosing a specialty. You would think it would be the other way around, but as companies grow, they want specialists and smaller companies can’t always afford higher wages, and so they hire generalists at a rate far below what some specialists would normally receive. I would love if people would correct me here if I am wrong.

What have been the highlights of your career thus far? Do you see yourself continuing down this path or will you eventually get an office job?

The highlights of my career have been speaking at conferences like Blog World Expo and WordCamp Toronto. Those experiences were absolutely amazing, and makes me want to speak at more conferences. Other highlights are really just in participating in this space, and interacting with people like you, Deb Ng, Jeremy Wright, Chris Garrett, Ryan Caldwell, and many, many others. I could list names all day. There are just so many amazing people that I’ve been able to talk to, meet and have relationships with.

As for getting an office job. I can definitely see that in my future if my other goals don’t work out. I am one of those people that consider all possibilities. The idea of sitting in an office has its draw, but I have also become accustomed to the life I lead, and so I am inspired to keep working hard so that I don’t “have” to work in an office.

What sort of career opportunities are available for bloggers these days?

I have become a pessimist regarding blogging jobs as of late. I think there is going to be a squeeze coming where we will see the number of full time blogging jobs quickly being reduced or downgraded in pay in a steep way.

On the flip side though, I still believe that anyone that wants to make blogging their full time job can do it through hard work and perseverance and that no niche is so saturated that it can’t be conquered by a newcomer with bright ideas and passion.

Last but not least, please tell me what you think the future of blogging will be.

I am not sure. Any guess would be pulling at straws. I see it continuing to take over more attention from mainstream media, enough so that those businesses continue to dump more money into the space to drag people back to their brands, but other than that, it really depends on the advancement of technology, and the sociological issues and changes.

You can still catch David’s work at Xfep.com as well as CollegeCrunch.org and BrandingDavid.com. David also co-hosts a podcast called Perfcast that airs live on Talkshoe.com every Thursday night at 7 P.M. EST.

BloggingTips.com has been around since March of 2007 yet it is already one of the top spots to go to for tips on blogging. How did you manage to take a brand new domain and turn it into a powerhouse within such a short period of time?

I am extremely pleased with the progress the site has made and I don’t want to downplay the sites success however I actually think that the growth of the site has been very slow. BloggingTips currently has 3,000 subscribers but since starting there has been around 1,450 posts, quite a lot more than similar blogs who have more subscribers. Also, there are many blogs which started around the same time who have a bigger following.

Although growth has been slow, the site is still growing every month and as long as that continues, I’ll be a happy man.

BloggingTips is a multi-authored blog. What are some of the challenges of managing a multi authored site versus managing only yourself.

When you are only blogging for yourself you only have to manage your own schedule but with many authors you have to make sure that everyone is singing from the same hymn book. If you set things up right from the start then this is actually quite easy to do however I have made some mistakes along the way.

All authors of BloggingTips post on set days so that posts are evenly distributed ie. so there isn’t 10 posts one day and 2 the next. I work my posting schedule around the schedule of the sites authors which is great because it allows me to work on other things when I know there are 2 or 3 posts already scheduled.

When I first started the site I gave authors the freedom to write about any blogging related topic they wanted but this was a huge mistake as many authors were writing about very similar topics, a classic case of too many cooks spoiling the broth. Due to this I parted ways with several authors and from then on in I asked authors to cover specific subjects.

I have to say I have been very lucky so far. 95% of the writers I have worked for have been great but unfortunately I have had a few problems. When I first launched the site I paid writers in advance on a monthly basis as I knew some writers had some problems getting paid in the past so I wanted to build a good solid relationship with them. This was a terrible mistake.

When a few writers left I had to chase them for monies owed. Normally this was ok but 2 or 3 writers were very unprofessional about this. A few months ago I parted ways with a writer who had been paid for the month ahead but when I emailed him about it and explained my reasons he never replied. A few emails later and still no reply so I had to start a paypal claim which unfortunately, never went my way (as usual Paypal stay out of these kind of transactions).

Due to these problems I now pay in arrears. Most bloggers are happy with this anyways though it is a shame that a few unprofessional bloggers act in this way as the majority of bloggers I have worked with have been great.

I know that other blog owners have had similar problems too but looking back I have been very fortunate. The current writing team is great and I speak with most of them on a regular basis. Whenever they can’t make a post for any reason, they always email in advance and let me know and then catch up with the post later.

Some people think that blogging about blogging now a days is like beating a dead horse. Do you agree with that sentiment or is there still a lot that can be discussed?

As long as blogs are popular there will be things to discuss. As long as new blog services are launching there will be websites who review and rate them. Many of the topics which blogging blogs cover are applicable to all webmasters (eg. search engine optimization, promotion, domain names, hosting, programming, social media etc) though I would say a larger percentage of bloggers need this type of help because they have less experience in web development.

I do think that there is still enough interest in blogging for their to be more high profile blogging blogs too. When I think high profile I think ProBlogger, DailyBlogTips, Performancing and The Blog Herald : blogs which all have a history of posting good posts consistently on a regular basis. I think BloggingTips is approaching that kind of status but it’s not quite there yet.

Hopefully within the next year or so BloggingTips will be around the 10k subscriber mark but by that time there will be several more blogging type blogs at the stage where BloggingTips is at just now. That’s the beauty of the internet!

How do you come up with ideas for content for BloggingTips?

When the site started many of my posts were tutorials explaining how I resolved problems which I had. As the site started to grow I got more emails asking for help so I rarely struggled for post ideas as I could answer those questions in my posts. I still get questions from visitors asking for help though most emails are from companies telling me about the launch of a new service or website and if they are relevant to blogging I usually post about them.

I also subscribe to a few dozen blogging related blogs, particularly those which are known to break news.

Last but not least, I look at common questions which crop up on blogging related forums. If I see a lot of people with the same problem I sometimes spend some time researching it so that I can write a tutorial which resolves the issue.

How long did it take before the BloggingTips forum ended up with a life of its own?

I launched the forums just a few months after BloggingTips was launched. Though there have been times with some activity, it’s only been the last few months that a loyal bunch of members have started hanging out there every day and chatting about blogging. Forums are notoriously difficult to get going but I’m really starting to see a sense of community developing there and it’s very encouraging.

Is there anything special you did with BloggingTips in terms of SEO?

Not as such. The sites design is optimized with the post title using a H1 on post pages etc and I’ve tried not to have too many characters on the home page too.

I do monitor keywords through Analytics semi regularly though I haven’t tried to target certain keywords extensively or written posts specifically for the search engines.

In general I’ve found that the more technical type posts get less comments however over time they generate more traffic through the search engines.

How important has the community been in terms of helping to make BloggingTips.com a success?

They have been vital. Right from the start they have been open and supportive of me and the blog. I have came across lots of subscribers who have recommended the site to other bloggers on other blogs and forums and help promote the site. Many also vote for articles via digg, stumbleupon and other social sites.

You appear to be someone who is continuously on the hunt for good domains or forums to purchase to add to your collection. Will you be doing your own blogging network some day?

It’s not something I have planned in the near future but I wouldn’t rule anything out. If I was in a good position to pick up a good blog and develop it more then I probably would a chance on it. BloggingTips remains my priority though and in the next year I will be looking at more ways to generate income from the site.

Any tips or tricks you can give our readers for building up an audience sooner rather than later?

The first thing you need to do is take the time to write good posts. Without good content, a blog is worthless. After that you need to generate some buzz for those posts and get your blog noticed.

To get traffic quickly to your blog you need to be active. Leave good comments on blogs and forums and become proactive on a social site like dig, stumbleupon or mixx. This can be timeconsuming though so a healthy advertising budget would certainly help, particularly in the first few months of a blogs life.

Last but not least, what is the future of blogging?

I think blogging will be here with us in some shape or form for a long time. Over the next few years I believe the major growth will be in mobile blogging. Most smartphones are now coming with blogging type software preinstalled (eg. lifeblog) and most can use Twitter and other microblogging software too. Just a few months ago Wordpress released a version for the iphone so that people could blog on the move.

Over the next few years I’m sure that we will see more and more blogs being launched as there are still many countries where internet usage is increasing by a large amount every year.

You can catch Kevin sharing his knowledge of blogging at BloggingTips.com and be sure to join his BloggingTips forums to participate in his community. Lots of great people over there.

First off Steve, tell us how your blog ended up with the name WinExtra.

WinExtra as a name predates the blog. It actually goes back to when it was just a set of nntp newsgroups that I setup after Lockergnome had closed down his newsgroups. It was intended as a way for people who had gotten to know each other on the LG newsgroups to keep on helping people with computer and software problems. It was also a static site for any development work I was doing at the time.

About three years ago is when I first started toying with the idea of setting up the site as a blog and moving the newsgroups over to a web forums setup. It wasn’t until 2 years ago that I actually started to blog seriously though after a few false starts.

What has it been like for you in your blogging venture to write about technology?

It’s actually been a lot of fun. Sure there are the typical frustrations and doubts that any new blogger will go through but I like being able to use my years of experience right across the computer field to try and keep things a little on the real side. I also tend to look at technology from the regular users point of view so that I can bring a different perspective to what is happening.

The technology niche is filled with rumors, drama, and egomaniacs. How have you managed to keep yourself and the blog away from that material?

I think my age and experience help there. I don’t have patience for people who are full of themselves or think they are better or more knowledgeable than others. We are all in a constant state of learning - or at least we should be.

What are your thoughts on the supposed A-list of tech bloggers?

Personally I think they are needed. They give those of us working our way up the ranks something to shoot for. Sure I make fun of them a lot of the time but it is stupid to suggest that such a thing doesn’t exist. It is part of human nature to rank things/people. We do it all the time whether it be celebrities, sports stars and even scientists - after all the Nobel Prizes area a form of ranking aren’t they? They tell us who some of the brightest and best are. So ya they are good to have around.

Is their a person or a style of writing that inspires your own writing style?

Hmm .. this is a hard one really because my tastes vary. I like everything from the snappy sarcastic posts of Valleywag to the long thoughtful post from people like Kevin Kelly to Alexander van Elsas.

How long did it take for you to make your first $100 from Google?

If I recall correctly I believe it took over a year for that first check but since then I’ve almost been able to cut the time between checks in half each cycle. Right now I’m approaching a check once every three to four months.

You have podcasting experience under your belt to go alongside of blogging. Where do you see mediums such as blogging, audio and video heading in the future?

Blogging will always be a mix of professional and purely personal but the personal will probably decline to a certain extent as things like Twitter and FriendFeed gain larger footholds. Professional blogging will probably consolidate around major brands and good solid individual pro news/opinion bloggers.

Podcasting I think will grow within the professional news and opinion arena but I don’t think it will grow much within the hobby/personal area. Videocasting though I think will grow in both areas but for the professionals they are going to have to make it a part of the mix as I don’t think that pure video ‘blogging’ is something that “right now” will be something that people will make time for. that might change as technology changes, peoples tastes change and we see more professional quality video; both short and long, come onstream.

What is it about technology that fascinates you?

Hmm … I think it fascinates me because of the potential it has both good and bad. And it never stops advancing. It continually gives us the opportunity to learn and grow.

Is there anything on the horizon as it relates to technology, software or blogging that really excites you?

If there is anything that really excites me at this point it would have to be cloud computing as I believe it will be trans formative. Not just of technology but also our society. But it also worries me so I guess that also adds to the interest and excitement.

At the end of each interview, I have a hall mark question that is asked and that is, what is the future of blogging?

I think blogging is definitely here to stay. Hell it hasn’t even really hit the mainstream yet as far as readership so the marketplace is still to be developed. I also think that over the next few years we will see a real amalgamation of heritage media and new media - we can learn so much from each other if we’d just stop being so territorial. Ya I think the future for blogging is still very bright and I hopefully will still be doing for a very long time to come. I look forward to growing with it.

Special thanks to Steven Hodson for taking some time to answer my questions. You can check out his work at WinExtra.com

How long have you been a blogger?

I guess I started doing what we now define as “blogging” in April of 2001. I saw “Bridget Jones’s Diary” and decided to try my hand (again) at keeping a journal. I opted to do it online, and for the next six years or so, recorded my thoughts and opinions online. Over time, it evolved from a personal diary (that happened to be semi-public) to more of a traditional personal blog.

I got my first paying “blogging” job in February of 2007. I was a frequent commenter on some of the USA Today music blogs and USA Today’s music editor contacted me about contributing to USA Today’s American Idol blog and a corresponding weekly column that ran in the print edition of USA Today. I got the job — my first professional writing job — because I was a frequent and articulate commenter on the USA Today blog.

When did you realize that you could turn blogging into a full time job?

I’m still actually trying to figure out if I can make writing — whether it is through blogging or blogging and mixed media — my full-time job. It is the bulk of my job right now, but I also do freelance design work, tech support and I consult with businesses about social media presence and social marketing. Really, it wasn’t until I went to SXSW in 2008 that I saw and met people who do make their living off of blogging that I actually started to consider this as a viable career path.

Is their a difference between a blogger and a freelance writer?

There is and there is not. I approach any of my commercial writing, whether it is for a “blog” or a traditional publication the same way. As more and more newspapers and magazines start to expand their online divisions and coverage, the line between “blogger” and “freelance writer” can all but disappear. The difference, I think, is when you write for non-commercial publications. If you can monetize your own personal content, I don’t see that as exactly the same thing as freelance writing.

Have you been able to use your blog as an online resume for job positions?

Absolutely. I see my website as my visual face to the world. I’m actually designing a more professional site to highlight the different things that I do, but I always look at my personal site as a way to promote myself and my skills.

Why do you prefer to write from a Mac rather than a PC?

I was a long time PC user (and in college I worked as a PC and a Mac tech), but more and more, I found the transition of working on Macs for creative work at school, to my PC at home to be bothersome. For me, I write faster and can do more with my Mac than I could with my PC. Being a Mac user was also integral to me getting a job writing for TUAW (The Unofficial Apple Weblog).

Between college, your writing gigs and Twitter, how do you end up managing your time?

I’ve actually finished school (I need to update my “About” page) — but I manage my time by trying to set goals for myself with my writing and also scheduling blocks for any other work that I have. I need to have a schedule, even if it is arbitrary, to get things done effectively. I’m not a huge GTD (Getting Things Done) follower, but I do use OmniFocus and does help me visualize and keep track of my schedules. When I was blogging a lot and still in school, I often wrote entries late at night or in-between classes.

I noticed you participated in BlogActionDay. What is your take on the goal of this organization?

I think any time technology can be used to galvanize individuals to help educate the public, it is positive. How ultimately successful campaigns like BlogActionDay will be is debatable, but I appreciate the idealism and am glad I participated.

What is it about pop-culture that has made you decide that it’s your passion?

In July of August of 1985, I saw my very first movie in the movie theater. I was about 2 and a half and it changed my life. Movies, television, books, music, magazines, technology — this is all our culture, both in the sense that it reflects our cultural and ideological trends, and it creates new trends. I love popular culture, both from the perspective of a viewer or voyeur and from the perspective of a critic. The meta level of popular culture discussions is one of my favorite areas of discussion.

You’ve obviously been through the rungs of writing for other people on their sites. Are their any annoyances you have come across?

With each site or publication, I have to adhere to their writing standards and practices, and sometimes that means editorial decisions that I might not make myself. If someone else is editing my work down for publication, I might not always be happy with the changes (but oftentimes, the changes are for the better). Some CMS systems are better than others. I have to say, I have been extremely fortunate to have supportive editors in all of my writing jobs; I have never felt compromised creatively.

I’ve notice you pop into various WordPress related conversations, what is it about WordPress that convinces you to use it for your own blog?

I remember when WordPress was first released, what, 5 years ago? I checked it out — but wasn’t overly impressed. I was still using a server-side journal service, but preferred stuff like MovableType for a hosted solution. In five years, WordPress has transformed itself into the defacto blogging platform. That’s pretty incredible. It is the easiest to get up and running and there is so much content, both in the information sense and in the plugin/theme sense, that it was the best choice for me when I decided to start my “pseudo-professional web space.” I do front-end design work and some back-end development work, and WordPress is popular there too. A designer friend and I were discussing the state of CMSs and web frameworks in general (we both like Expression Engine and are intrigued by Django), and we both agreed that even if WordPress doesn’t completely meet our needs for our personal sites, it is something that is extremely important and will continue to be important in the future of the web.

Last but not least, what is the future of blogging?

Microblogging (Twitter, Friendfeed, Tumbler, et. al.) is already changing personal sites and blogs — I think that will continue. I also think that blogs will continue to become more interactive, more immediate and that video will continue to grow in importance. I think the hard part about video is that for anyone wanting to do anything other than the stare at the webcam in bad lighting YouTube confessional, there are skills and techniques that are necessary to its success.

Mobile blogging and mobile communication is also certainly going to continue to take off. The iPhone has played a huge role in that and Google’s Android platform will help push that as well.

Special thanks to Christina for taking some time out of her busy schedule to answer my questions. You can check out her personal blog at ChristinaWarren.com