Blogger Stories

Blogger Stories: Richard Edelman

When Richard Edelman wrote his first blog post on September 29, 2004, he became a member of a small group of c-level executives who were involved in personally exploring social media. Mr. Edelman quickly learned that communication travels at lightening speed in the blogosphere often resulting in far researching results from mainstream media .. even though "journalists are no longer God."

Blogger Story Teller: Richard Edelman, Speak Up

Toby I have two stories.

First story
I wrote a post on the NY Times and Washington Post discovery of "pay for play" in Iraq, where a so-called PR firm hired by the Pentagon, the Lincoln Group, was paying journalists to write positive stories about the American presence in that country.

Within hours, my post was linked to by Prof. Jay Rosen at NYU (NewsCom) and then Romanesko of Poynter Institute picked up my comments. I got a call from a producer from the CBS Evening News who saw the Romanesko link. That very evening I was on CBS Evening News, with my strongly worded commentary that this was not PR, it was simply bad communications strategy at a time when we are trying to build democracy in Iraq which depends in part on a free media.

Blogger Stories: Christelle Alexandre

Christelle Alexandre is from the South of France. However, she has found another 'home' in the blogosphère where her imagination and creativity can fly free. Christelle calls the blogosphere a butterfly effect’ ..  where even smallest of the bloggers can contribute to improve the blogosphère.

Blogger Story Teller: Christelle Alexandre, Mkgmd - le mag du marketing multidimentionnel

My Blog Story especially for Toby

Hi, I’m a French blogueuse who lives in the South of France, in Aix-en-Provence more exactly, and I’m going to tell you how the magic of blogosphère led me here. 

My story is that of a simple marketing assistant who dreamed to express herself more than what was allowed to her in her job. In that way, I’ve got many common points with Emma, the heroin of ‘Can you keep a secret’, a novel written by Sophie Kinsella. Indeed, I did not yet reach fulfillment in my professional career and I miss a boy friend!!

Whereas I was bemoaning my fate, my sister advised me to create my blog!! One year and three months later, it’s not easy for me to remember how I could live without this strange tool which allows me to give free play to my imagination and creativity. Indeed, my blog is for me an open door to a world where ideas are more important than your age, appearance or social status contrary to the true life. the energy of red and the happiness of yellow, moreover, it symbolizes vitality, independence and creativity!

Blogger Stories: Peggy Payne

Peggy Payne's work reflects the very heart of blogging: connecting with your passion and stepping out of your comfort zone to share your ideas with others who feel the same way.

Blogger Story Teller: Peggy Payne, Peggy Payne's Blodness Blog

One day last year I realized that my two novels (Sister India and Revelation) and two nonfiction books, as well as my consulting services for writers, all have one theme: to encourage us all to act and think boldly on behalf of our particular passions.

The world needs each of our individual voices.  So my message is (to myself as much as anyone): do it your way and do it now.  And I started a blog about bold creativity.

My blogging tale:
Twice -- on occasions six months apart -- I have griped on my blog about a problem I was having with my writing, in my novel-in-progress "Cobalt Blue."  Each gripe was about a different sticky situation. 

Both times, a comment was posted with a good solution.   The novelist who wrote both comments told me the source of her wisdom:  she had learned both things from me at my workshops.   

It seems particularly true in the blogging world that "what goes around comes round."       

Technorati Tags: Peggy_Payne, Blogger_Stories, Sister_India, Revelation, Business_Blog,

Blogger Stories: Des Walsh

As a mentor coach Des Walsh was no stranger to connecting with people and helping people connect with others. However, when Des stepped into the world of blogs he found that his own network of colleagues and friends took on a global focus with more opportunities than he could ever imagine.

Blogger Story Teller: Des Walsh, Thinking Home Business

I’m a business coach and blogging evangelist. I live in Australia, in a beach culture + tourist + hi-tech industry location known as the Gold Coast. In a former life as a senior public sector executive, I was responsible for national and state-level programs in education policy, cultural development and major event planning. For the past eighteen years I’ve been a consultant and mentor coach.

I discovered blogging, courtesy of project management expert Hal Macomber - at a coaching conference in San Mateo, California. Hal’s topic was, as I recall ‘become an e-celebrity with a blog’ or close enough to that. Which sounded good to me, particularly as I was very keen to promote my coaching capabilities internationally. Anyway, I futzed around for several months, trying in my non-techie way to figure out what blogging tools to use, what to write etc. You name the blogging platform, I probably used it or tried to.

Blogger Stories: Meryl K. Evans

Meryl Evans writes blogs that share her personal stories and a blog that supports and promotes her business. For Meryl blogs go further. Social media allows her to reveal her worlds without constraints by side-stepping prejudices and participating fully in conversations. Readers hear Meryl exactly as she intends .. and she in turn can listen without the distruption of lack of hearing.

Blogger Story Teller: Meryl K. Evans, Meryl's Notes Blog; Bionic Ear

It all started before any of us heard of "Internet." A family friend installed a modem into the Apple ][+ (no lower case -- imagine being yelled at full-time). I connected to a couple of Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) and what got me was I could communicate with other people without any help. A parent helping a teen on the phone just wasn't cool. But email was.

Fast forward through a decade and a half of geek history. June 1, 2000. Blog entry #1 of Meryl's Notes Blog. It was a dumb entry that's still up for all to see. I never take down an entry because once it's up -- it's impossible to erase from the Internet.

Atlas Blogging: Going from a 99-lb Bloggling to Strong Blog

The blog had no direction. I did what everyone else did... wrote about personal observations. No gossip. Straight-laced as can be -- thank goodness. This was before Dooced came to mean getting fired for blogging and I hadn't written anything that would embarrass me should I run for office or if a prospective client runs an Internet search on me.

About the time I started blogging, I also started freelancing on the side. The blog morphed from dorky "Rooting for my favorite team" and "Wow, that was some Survivor finale"-like entries to "Dealing with lousy customer service" and "The challenges of being a reporter when you can't use the phone like most everyone else." Plus, I added a features section for longer entries that aren't old news within a week.

A little background: I've been writing in a journal since 1989. With a *pen* not a keyboard. I've filled up almost nine journals. The books document getting married, moving, having three kids, and the little and big things that happen in life.

Blogger Stories: Allison Gower

Allison Gower launched her blog to support her new social media business; she soon discovered that readers were tapping into her blog for more than just tidbits about the industry. Allison learned that her blog helped build credibility for her innovative concepts about mobile marketing.

Blogger Story Teller: Allison Gower, All About Qtags; The Platform

I got started blogging when I launched Qtags in Spring 2005, on the advice of PR specialist John Wagner of Wagner Communications. He had been blogging for about a year and was convinced that the blog would be a good forum for qtags to make connections with a community of advertisers, agencies, media channels who were interested in and actively searching out alternative communication strategies. I was game and started All About Qtags, as a corporate blog for Qtags text in April 2006, with much guidance from John on the etiquette and blogosphere do's and don't's.

At first I was uncomfortable with the medium, worrying about offending and being too self promoting (a vice John really warned me about!). Over time though I started hitting my stride and discovered that the beauty of blogs is that they can be a support for each author's objectives, as varied as those may be.

Blogger Stories: Monica Ricci

Bloggers are the nicest people. Just ask Monica Ricci. Monica's instincts told her that that a blog could add an extra diminsion to her business strategy. Not quite sure how to begin, with a little help from a friend, Monica quickly got it.

Blogger Story Teller: Monica Ricci, Your Life. Organized
My blog's title is Your Life. Organized.

I had originally heard of blogging about two years ago and I really thought blogs were just online diaries where people would post what they did on Tuesday, random thoughts on world peace, little Susie's potty-training and things of that nature. It blew my mind that people were reading these things. Why on earth would I want to spend my valuable time that way??

Not only was I not interested in reading them, but I certainly wasn't about to write things like that for the whole world to see. I really dismissed blogging as pretty much the dumbest thing going. (because I AM a genius, apparently)

Fast forward to June 2005... I discovered that people were blogging for business. Now that, I  found intriguing. I may not be interested in what random netizens were listening to at the moment or having for lunch, but if I could learn about business through blogs, and more importantly, if I could use a blog to market my own business, I was game to try it. So I signed up with one of the big free blogging sites which shall remain nameless. I soon realized that my challenge was that I had a blog set up but I didn't know how to blog.