This is officially the last blog I have to write for Cases & Campaigns. Looking back to the beginning of the semester and my feelings of blogging, I can honestly say they havn’t changed. I don’t think I enjoy writing something for everyone to read. Thats why, if you haven’t noticed, my bloggs weren’t really about anything too exciting. It was a fun experience, but just not for me.

Since many of us are graduating in a few weeks. I thought I would share a great college quote because pretty soon it will all be over!

You have four years to be irresponsible here. Relax. Work is for people with jobs. You’ll never remember class time, but you’ll remember time you wasted hanging out with your friends. So, stay out late. Go out on a Tuesday with your friends when you have a paper due Wednesday. Spend money you don’t have. Drink ’til sunrise. The work never ends, but college does… - Tom Pretty

So enjoy it while we are still here!

So today I couldn’t think of what to blog about. I googled “what to blog about” I found an interesting blog about blogging that would be helpful to anyone who gets stuck on what to blog about. The website is: http://www.blogherald.com/2005/11/24/starting-a-blog-part-1-what-to-blog-about/

Here’s the article:

Starting a Blog Part 1: What to blog about

November 24, 2005 | By Duncan | Filed Under General

Welcome to part one of my new series on starting a blog, both aimed a people new to blogging and perhaps as a handy refresher to those who are currently writing a blog but who want to start a new blog up. The posts won’t necessarily be daily, but they will be regular as we explore each stage of starting a blog.

Part 1: What to blog about
Often what should be the most simplest of things can often be the hardest as well, and choosing what to blog about can be really easy for some people, and really difficult for others. Take The Blog Herald as an example, I’d been reading blogs for 2 years before I launched The Blog Herald, and I knew from the first time I read a blog that I wanted to write one, but I couldn’t figure out on what, so eventually one day in 2002 it dawned on my that I liked blogs so much I’d write a blog about blogging…but we’ll leave the rest of that story for another day, but it does prove a point, sometimes knowing what to write about doesn’t come easily.

Personal vs Topical
There are essentially two sorts of blogs, one is a personal diary-style of blog that is written in the first person and relates to happenings in your immediate physical world and other thoughts and bits and pieces on things. For my why of thinking this is often the hardest style of blog to write, particularly if you are over the Age of 25. Teens seemingly have little of no inhibitions in relation to this style of writing, but for me it was something I wasn’t comfortable in doing. People who are naturally extroverts will be more comfortable than people who are more introverted.

A topical blog on another hand is a blog that may include opinions, but is focused on a particular subject (or topic). Political blogs where amongst the earliest of this style of blog, but the range of topics now covered go beyond anything I’d care to try and articulate in this post. There is literally a blog for every topic now, but some topics are better catered to than others.

Finding a niche
Marketing yourself under a personal blog to the blogosphere is a lot more difficult than writing a niche topic blog, because unless you are particularly well known, or have exceptional writing skills (and even this isn’t a guarantee), its going to be a lot more harder to gain attention in the blogosphere as opposed to a topical blog.

Before I go on though, I should mention there is a variation to the personal blog rule, and that’s writing under a pseudonym, or with a catchy blog name for your personal blog. Marketing is the key, and names like Dooce are more interesting as compared to say Heather Armstrong (no offence of course Heather), catchier, shorter, easy to remember….easier to market.

For the first time blogger though, unless you are extremely confident, I’d recommend starting with a topical blog. Even if it eventually ends up on the blog graveyard later on, its much better to develop your blogging skills on a topic as opposed to writing about yourself as an individual. Naturally the topic would reflect one of your interests as well, perhaps its a hobby, or a sport you play or watch…something along those lines. General rule of thumb: the more niche the better.

Google it
Google your topic area once you’ve settled on something and see what others are writing about it. Use the keyword(s) and search with “blog” on the end as well, and browse. Take hours if necessary. You’ll figure out pretty quickly whether
1. The topic has a high number of blogs or low number
2. Whether, in your opinion, there is room for your blog, in particular if you have a different point of view from others

These don’t have to prevent your starting a blog in that area, but its important to know your market, and you can also gain inspiration from other blogs.

A few weeks ago in class we watched a small clip of the movie Thank you for Smoking. A few people in class were really excited to watch it because it was such a good movie. Ever since that class I had been wanting to see it, but didn’t have a chance to stop at blockbuster and rent it. I was excited to find Thank you for Smoking on On Demand! My friends and I watched it and we had lots of laughs and my classmates were right, It was a great movie. I would recommend Thank you for Smoking to anyone and everyone! So, if you havn’t seen it, go see it!

The Hills has started again and I am probably one of the happiest people! I know alot of people think its a dumb show and pointless. But I love it! I really like watching it because of the clothes they wear and there lives look so interesting! Lauren always dressed so cute! Incase you missed the premiere of The Hills watch it tonight at 9 on MTV followed by a new episode!

I am a big fan of quotes. I love searching for new quotes and thought you might enjoy a few of my favorites:

 Everything happens for a reason

 Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live

There are no regrets in life, just lessons learned

Don’t be afraid to change.
You may lose something good,
but you may gain something even better

Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets
So love the people who treat you right, forget about those who don’t
& believe that everything happens for a reason
If you get a chance, take it, if it changes your life, let it
No one said it would be easy, they just promised it’d be worth it

Enjoy!!

Spring is coming! Well hopefully. It’s 63 degrees outside right now and the sun is shining! This weather makes me very happy! A day like this makes you want to have a cold beverage from a vending machine and it provides more profits for vending companys, like the one i work for! So, today is a good day!!!

The Tipping Point describes internet campaigns as ones to be attention grabbing. They will be most successful if they are attractive, cause big effects, and contagous. There are many websites that have this effect on people, such as the popular social networking sites as Myspace, Friendster, and Facebook. Also websites like TMZ and Perez Hilton have this effect on people. These websites get people to keep coming back. They have the effects on people that make them so successful.

I found media relations to be quite interesting. I liked that the chapter broke down how to work with the media and what to expect. I think the strategy for the new century was very on point and its a good 5 step strategy to know what you should do when reaching out to someone in this type of environment

I enjoyed reading for class this week. I liked learning about Scott’s history with blogging and how enjoyable it was for him when he first started. I also found that he gave me alot of useful information about blogging that I didn’t know before, especially the three uses of blogging for Marketing and Public Relations.