Chiperoni ku Basel

Category: blogging

  • http://bit.ly/1iqpeTY How to motivate yourself

    This article continues some thoughts discussed in a previous entry:
    How To Motivate Yourself Into an Exercise Routine You'll Actually Stick To.

    I like the idea of thinking in systems.

  • Scott Adams on Goals vs. Systems http://bit.ly/1gfOojJ

    Recommended: Scott Adams Blog: Goals vs. Systems

    “Before long your body will be trained, like Pavlov’s dogs, to crave the psychological lift you get from being active every day.”

    Lots of food for thought in this article.

    I particularly like the notes on writing and using blogging as a system to find new opportunities. Also what Scott is talking about here, evolved over several years and took many writing hours. Not some instant magic that some people try to sell us.

  • Writing for the web – assessing my own writing style

    I love reading list articles. This one crossed my paths this week.

    Just for fun, I’ll run thru the list and assess my own writing for the web style on this blog.

    So let’s get started”¦

    Provide a Reader’s Digest or Executive Summary version.
    I don’t write a reader’s digest or summary for posts on this blog. But it’s definitely recommended/good practice.

    Many of my Chiperoni blog posts tend to be short.

    Next tip:

    Key words in every post titles.
    Good tip. Often the post title displays on its own. Key words that clear reflect what the blog post is about will help readers decide to click and read the article. And there’s the SEO aspect.

    Self-assessment: I don’t spend much time on developing post titles for this blog. I often opt for descriptive titles. Copyblogger lists helpful formulas and categories.

    Lead with the conclusion.
    Answer the question “what is my benefit if I commit to read this post?”
    Same applies for presentations. Straightforward advice. Often we tend to forget the reader’s perspective. Some posts may look confusing.

    Chiperoni.ch is a collection of notes. More reviewing would be better.

    Be sure and provide hyper links to your sources.
    This is something I do diligently. It is only fair to provide a backlink to your source of inspiration. And it’s a way to document good online resources and build my own knowledge database.

    Make your content scannable to the eye.
    I try to keep paragraphs short and use bullets and headings. A further improvement would be to define H2s. I like the improved typography in web design.

    Write in an Inverted Pyramid style.
    Yepp. I don’t use this approach on my private blog. Again, the goal is to convey my main message in the top part of my post.

    Use common language.
    My writing style is simple and I tend to use common vocabulary. There are a lot of good reasons to use plain language.

    Why use plain language?

    Plain Language:

    • Shows customer focus
    • Communicates effectively
    • Eliminates barriers
    • Reduces time spent explaining
    • Improves compliance

     

    Get to the point, quickly.
    We’re all busy. Impatient.
    Don’t meander.
    Get to the point, quickly.

    Looking at my own writing style at Chiperoni central, I don’t edit my posts enough. But, I don’t waffle on for pages and pages either

    Make your post visually pleasing.
    Again, very obvious advice. Add graphics. Add photos.

  • Because writing helps

    Sometimes I wish I had developed Chiperoni.ch into a confessional blog. You know the kind where you write about your worries and sorrow and challenges.

    Why? Because writing helps.

    I noticed yesterday that writing helped me to sort through a difficult web navigational problem that I am encountering. It helps me to reflect.

    The benefits of writing daily. Which i don’t manage to do. Yet. Weekly would be a first, reachable goal.

    My head is buzzing with lots of questions and ideas. This is where I can list them and then return at leisure. Still in line with my blog definition of 2004.

    riding a bicycle

    Some articles on web and social media content that I’d like to mention here:

    The first is not new for bloggers. We noticed this long ago. In addition to quality content, frequency matters.

    Here’s an interesting entry on link building and local SEO. In a nutshell: Focus on developing good content and engaging with your community on social media rather than spending $$$ on dubious SEO providers that add links from low-quality sites.

    Writing tip via Seth Godin: Say the opposite. This also works for ideas. Try and think of your worst idea ever. So
    stupid and dumb, nobody would ever use it. Often this helps you to find original ideas.

    I am hearing a lot about Kaizen and I have questions:

    1. Aren’t Kaizen and Scrum related? What are the differences?
    2. And a dumb question – If Kaizen is a way to improve continuously, and Kaizen originated in Japan, why is the Japanese economy stagnating for so many years? Is it not used as much in Japanese business?

    I found a great website that rates the Terms of Service of various web and mobile apps.

    IMG_7580

    This morning I remembered some ancient poetry that we used to sing at school assembly in Blantyre.

    Enjoy the warm weather.