Showing posts with label ProBlogger Site News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ProBlogger Site News. Show all posts

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Come with Me to Tanzania

Blogging has been very good to me.

Over almost nine years, it’s been a daily blessing in more ways that I can count:

  • new friends
  • new skills
  • new knowledge
  • the opportunity to travel
  • the ability to pay off a mortgage
  • business partnerships
  • the chance to do what I love (communicate and build communities) all day, every day—and get paid for it!

Blogging has been very good to me.

Can blogging be used to help others?

index.jpegHowever I’ve always wanted blogging to be more than just good to me. I want it to benefit others, too.

The most obvious people I want it to benefit are those who read the blogs I publish. This is why pretty much everything I do has a “how to” or “advice” spin on it.

One of the most exciting things that happens to me each day is being thanked for achieving that goal—helping people improve in some area of their life.

However, I’ve always wanted blogging to be even more than that. Over the last few years, I’ve often found myself wondering how it could be used to make the world a better place in some bigger way.

With the opportunity to communicate to over 4 million people a month, surely I can find a way to do that.

tanzania.png

The Tanzanian experiment

Next Thursday I’m going to experiment with doing just that—and I’d love you to join me.

On 25 February, I’m jumping on a plane (well, a series of them) for Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, East Africa.

I’ll be in the country for one week, to spend time observing—and reporting back to my social network on—an amazing project called Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania (CCBRT). It’s a project of CBM, an international disability and development organization.

The trip is being organized by CBM Australia (you can read more about it here) with the goal of raising awareness of the issues that are faced every day by people with disabilities in developing countries.

The work that they do is amazing.

Last year alone, they performed over 10,530 surgeries and helped improve the lives of around 120,000 people with disabilities and their carers.

Their work focuses upon many areas, including working with sight-related disabilities, club foot, cleft lip/palate, and maternal health (among others).

ccbrt_portrait.jpeg Having spent time visiting a number of other projects in developing countries over the years, I know that this trip will be confronting. But I’m excited by the opportunity at hand to both be personally impacted by what I see, and to share the journey with you.

Throughout the week in Tanzania, I’ll be sharing what I see via blog posts, videos, and Tweets. We’ll be focusing mainly upon some the hospital’s work with maternal health issues (mainly fistula) and tracking some of the stories of the people that we meet.

This trip is not a money grab. The intent isn’t to create daily calls for you to donate. I’m sure CBM wouldn’t say no to donations (in fact, they’d go a long way to change lives), but my intent with this trip is to share stories, highlight needs, and show what an amazing organization and its people are doing to meet the needs around them.

My hope is that we’ll all come away from the experience with a better awareness of the issues, and the motivation to do something to make the world a better place (whether that be by supporting the work of CBM, or supporting another need you know of).

How can you join this trip?

index-1.jpegThe bulk of the blogging that I’ll be doing while away will be on CBM’s blog (there isn’t much there yet, but we’ll be adding to it and redoing to the template significantly in the coming days). I’ll be adding posts, videos, and images during the week that I’m on the ground, and in the weeks that follow.

I’ll probably do an update or two here on ProBlogger also, but I’m aware that this blog is about blogging and not Tanzania or issues facing Developing Countries, so we’ll keep it largely on CBM’s blog.

If you’d like to get those updates please subscribe to their blog here.

You can also follow the journey on Twitter by following CBM’s Twitter account. I’ll be making updates on that and also, from time to time, on the ProBlogger Twitter account.

Lastly – you can support this project by sharing news of it and the content we produce while in Tanzania. Please consider passing on the links to stories we share and helping word spread further about what we’re up to. Thanks!

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Saturday, November 6, 2010

This Sunday You’re Invited to #Blogchat to Talk Monetizing Blogs

One of my favorite times of the week on Twitter is on Monday mornings, my time (Sunday night for many of you), when Twitter comes alive with #blogchat.

#blogchat is a hashtag on Twitter that ties together hundreds of bloggers all talking about a particular aspect of blogging for an hour or so. It starts at 8pm Central US time, and usually revolves around a specific topic and/or guest host. Bloggers exchange ideas, ask questions, and network. It’s a frenzy of activity, which can seem a little overwhelming, but once you get into the swing of it, it’s a lot of fun.

You can learn more about #BlogChat and how to participate here.

This coming Sunday/Monday (depending where in the world you’re located), I’m cohosting #blogchat and we’ll be looking at the topic, “How to Monetize Your Blog.”

I’ve got a little information prepared to share, but the hour (and I’ll probably hang out for longer) will largely be an exchange of ideas. I’m happy to answer as many questions as I can during the hour—so if you have any, do come prepared.

I’ve also promised a few people to give a bit of the backstory behind my upcoming project, @Feelgooder (which I hope to soft launch in the coming week).

Remember: it’s on at 8pm Central US time on Sunday night. So mark it in your calendar, set up a way to follow the #blogchat hashtag, and follow me on Twitter at @ProBlogger!

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Thursday, November 4, 2010

How to Set Up Your First Blog the Right Way the First Time

Are you convinced you need to start a blog, but you’re overwhelmed by the setup process?

getting-started-blogging.pngIf this describes you and you’d like a little hand-holding in setting up your own blog, I’ve been secretly working with Chris Garrett on a free resource that’s designed just for you. It’s called:

Getting Started Blogging

It is a six-part course that will walk you through everything you need to know about setting up your blog the right way, the first time.

Set up your blog with good foundations

In a recent survey of ProBlogger readers, I discovered two fairly large groups of visitors with similar needs:

Group 1. Readers who were yet to start their first blog.

I was a little surprised to find this out at first, but it makes sense. Many people reading this blog are PreBloggers—they’re convinced that they need a blog, and they’re now researching how to do it.

When I drilled down into the needs and challenges of these bloggers, I found that many felt real apprehension and fear about the setup process, and wanted some hand-holding in getting started.

Group 2. Readers who had started their first blog, but had regrets about the way they’d set things up.

This group had taken action on their desire to start a blog, but they’d done it in a way that left them with regrets. Perhaps they’d made poor domain choices, hadn’t thought through platform selection, or hadn’t thought carefully about content and technical issues that hampered them as their blogs grew.

Many of this second group were reading ProBlogger as a way to research setting up their second blog in a way that was better than their first.

Getting Started Blogging

Whether you’re just starting your first blog, or you’re setting up your second, third, or fourth, you may be feeling a little overwhelmed by the options and how to do it right. Chris and I would love to walk you through the process and help you set up a blog with good foundations.

This course will walk you through six lessons:

  1. Preparation. In this lesson, you’ll get tips on naming your blog, keyword research, and domain names.
  2. Platforms. Where will your blog live, and which platform is right for you?
  3. Types of Blogs.  This class is an introduction to some of the different blogging approaches you might consider.
  4. WordPress. Here, we cover how to install and customize WordPress.
  5. Adding Killer Content to Your Blog. This lesson is an introduction to the types of content you’ll want to add to your blog.
  6. Introduction to the Pillars of ProBlogging. Once you’ve got the foundations right, I’ll walk you through four areas you’ll need to work on moving forward to build a successful blog.

Lessons contain a mix of both video content and articles. This course is completely free and is being run over at SitePoint’s courses area. And you’ll get immediate access to it all six lessons when you sign up.

We’ll send you daily reminders over the week to help you keep on track, but you can take the course at your own pace—all in one go, or over a longer period if you choose.

Interested? Sign up for Getting Started Blogging now.

Too Basic for You? Check out the ProBlogger Academy

getting-started-blogging-academyGetting Started Blogging is unashamedly for those at the beginning of their blogging journey—those who are starting their first blog.

If you’re more experienced, you’re still welcome to take the course, but you might also be interested in a new series of short courses that Chris Garrett and I are putting together at the ProBlogger Academy.

These four courses can be completed as a bundle, or you can pick and choose the topics that are most suited to your needs from the following:

  1. Creating Killer Content
  2. Boosting Your Blog Traffic
  3. Building a Community on your Blog
  4. Monetizing Your Blog

Each course will be held over a week, and will have a forum area as well as Q&A sessions with Chris and myself.

These courses are not live yet, but they will be rolled out in the coming months. You can sign up now or leave your email address to be notified of them as they go live.

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