Blogger Stories

Blogger Stories: Ted Demopoulos

Although Ted Demopoulos didn't really like to write, he thought blogging might be a way to help his one-guy consulting shop. That was an understatment. Within weeks of launching his blog he secured a keynote speaking engagement. Why? Because the client got to know him and liked him through his posts. Oh and the guy who didn't like to write? He's written two books on social media!

Blogger Story Teller: Ted Demopoulos, Blogging For Business

Although I've been using email and the Internet forever –my freshman math professor was sending me homework assignments via email in '79, I missed all the big Internet moves. In the very early 1990s, most of my consulting and speaking gigs were booked online, but I never imagined the world as a whole using the Internet. I missed the commercialization of the Internet – until after it was already happening.

I didn't even get my first lame Web site for my business up until 2004. I feel like I just didn't get anything until after it was already happening, and since I'd been involved forever I should have!

Blogging was different. Although I'd been reading blogs since 1999, I didn't try blogging until late 2004. I thought blogging might be something that would help my one-person business. Even though I didn't particularly enjoy writing or write well, I've found I love blogging. I've always had lots of opinions, and now I have somehow to express them.

Blogger Stories: Connie Reece

The first thing you must know about Connie Reece is that her blogging story is a tribute to her dad who never blogged. However, his legacy to his daughter was to embrace the new and take a chance on innovation. Writing blogs that range from business topics to southern humor, Connie went from content to connections, then conversations as she explored the possibilites of social media. Bet her pop is smiling as he dances with the Little People .

Blogger Story Teller: Connie Reece, Blog@bilities, CONnieVERSATIONS, Blogabillies

Seems I must have inherited the early-adopter gene from my dad. He always loved being the first to own some new gadget or appliance. Long before microwaves were available for home use, we had a huge restaurant-model "electronic oven" installed in our kitchen. That was in 1964. A few years later Dad shelled out $99 when Texas Instruments debuted their first pocket calculator.

Like father, like daughter. When I became a freelance writer, in the early 1980s, personal computers had just hit the market, and I could hardly wait to ditch my IBM Selectric. I saved for a year to be able to buy a computer, and quickly fell in love with my shiny blue-and-silver Kaypro II, a boxy aluminum suitcase-style computer with a detachable keyboard and a whopping 9-inch monitor. I lugged that 30-pounder around to clients' offices, and made quite the impression. Or at least I thought so.

Before long I had added a Hayes Smartmodem and was dialing up the early BBS providers and doing research online. With the advent of the Internet, my trips to the library dwindled to nothing; content was available at my fingertips.

Blogger Stories: Lewis Green

What happens when you launch a blog and no one comes to your party? That was one of the concerns that Lewis Green had when he launched Business Solutions. For after all, is not the success of a business tool/blog is if people 'buy it?" (Note: my words not Lewis'). After reaching out to bloggers Lewis found the magic secret of blogging .. sharing. And that leads to community which leads to friendships .. which leads to many amazing parties!

Blogger Story Teller: Lewis Green, Business Solutions

Another writer once told me "Never let the facts get in the way of a good story." He was right, well, sort of.

When I started my blog, I did so for business reasons. My website includes lots of content offering original articles about brand, sales, marketing, PR, and so on. Each month it draws hundreds of readers. But the writing just sits there. It isn't interactive, and I felt that made the content one-dimensional and not nearly as engaging as it could be.

So in July 2006 I launched my blog to spread my ideas and perhaps garner a few clients. Although I am extremely outgoing, confident and extroverted, the new blog scared the hell out of me. What if I built it and nobody came? And what if they came but never left any trace of themselves--not a comment, not a trackback? In some circles, a lack of response means the show sucks.

Weeks passed, then a few months. And to my relief, a few comments were being left. Meanwhile, I began reading other blogs. At first for ideas, but before long I found myself dropping comments all over the place. And then something magical happened. Through blogging I met other professionals and practitioners, and we were becoming blog buddies.