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Perhaps when you read the top, you wonder what I mean by ‘how to blog better lists.’ People love to read the top 5 of something to see if it is relevant – to them if they might be on that list, for information that could be provided, or if their friends might be listed. These type of blog entries are indentified with phrases like ‘top 10′ or even ’5 best.’

There are a lot of lists with wonderful buzzwords attached to them. However, I have noticed when viewing these lists that they are quite long! It gets a bit boring looking through 20 or more things. It is great that you took the time to make such a list, but was it really necessary to include that many? What ever happened to the KISS method (Keep It Simple, Stupid)? It is not about the quantity, but the quality of the post. That is not the first time I have said that, but it does very much pertain to making lists.

Here are ways to improve your blog lists.

• Aim to blog between 200 to 400 words.
• Shorten your lists and break it up. Use the KISS method. For example, you do not have to list (example) ’50 Designers on Twitter to follow. You can break those posts up. A lot of designers specialize in certain areas. Instead of sliding all of them in the same general genre, make several lists. If you have WordPress, your entry might call up those related lists if you have the proper plugins installed (like Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.)
• Make sure your list is honest and thurough. If your friend really is not all that awesome, do not include them. You are providing a list of people you recommend to people. This is important if your blog also ties in with your professional life. If you recommend someone who is not up to your own standards, you are not providing your best list.

These are just a few to consider and they are very basic. What other things do you recommend to bloggers to consider when making their top 10 or similar type lists?

Some sites use Disqus, some sites IntenseDebate, some use static pages with Haloscan, and others use what comes with their WordPress or blog platform.

The first two offer their own plugins so users can log in with it and you can be connected with others users. Apparently it increase visitors and even cuts down on spam. However, I am aware from some users through conversations via Twitter, email and instant messenger, that these two do not always cut down on the spam.

Haloscan, well… it was one of those things I used when I first started blogging – before I got into b2 and eventually WordPress. With Haloscan, you could have your comments hosted with them, but you would have to manually write your blog to your page and then insert the code from Haloscan. It was nifty and I actually liked it until I wanted to have my own, so I coded PixelledComment (I do not offer it for download like I use to. In fact, I took it off in 2006.) Same concept as Haloscan, but I could host all of my comments.

Since then, I have come to WordPress. I have tried Drupal, Joomla, Movable Type, CuteNews, and even GreyMatter. I shudder to think about the last two I mentioned…evil. If you are still using them…do not. In fact, I refuse to link them.

My own opinion is that I really recommend using WordPress and playing with the coding. There are plenty of plugins available just for the commenting system alone. Askimet is not bad, but there are plenty of plugins you can include to prevent bots and spammers.

My suggestion is to try the comment system that WordPress offers if you are comfortable with coding. If not, choose a good system. Other things are to either harden your blog’s security and to make sure to keep your WordPress up-to-date.

What commenting system do you use? Why? If you use WordPress, what plugins do you use for your comments? Do you have any extra suggestions for others who are wondering what they should choose?

This is a guest post.

While Blondish.net helps more with people using WordPress on self-hosted, WordPress also offers a place for bloggers to start. If you are unsure of starting a website for blogging or to add a blog to your current site, try using the free WordPress.com services first.

Note from Nile about Guest Blogger.
Please welcome Amy Ravit Korin (@interactiveAmy on Twitter) as a guest. I met her at WordCamp Chicago. She came to find out more about WordPress and became a new blogger. I have asked her to blog as a new blogger that has used WordPress.com as their startup spot for blogging. Her WordPress.com blog is also interactiveAmy.

Congratulations, you’ve decided to start a blog! Now what?

That was me, less than a week ago. I had the good fortune of attending WordCamp Chicago, a conference that focuses on everything WordPress. Well, everything except for getting started, that is. In a room of 200, I was one of a handful that wasn’t already a blogger. Intimidating? It could have been, rather I seized the opportunity to learn from my peers and decided right then and there that on day two I was coming back with a blog!

I had a website, interactiveAmy.com, but it wasn’t on WordPress and it didn’t have the capabilities to support the type of blog I wanted. So I issued a tweet for help.

Jason Pelker (@jpelker on Twitter) was the first to respond, and we met up during a break. Jason listened to my dilemma, how to switch my static domain to WordPress, and assured me I could do it! He also told me that he didn’t think I was ready to start a self hosted blog, so he directed me to WordPress.com to get started with a free WordPress hosted account.

Jason could tell that I was a smart cookie, so he pointed me in the direction of the WordPress.com support page, and then said to figure it out on my own. So there I sat, the last one to leave the WordCamp conference room – busy logging in and setting up my interactiveAmy.wordpress.com account.

And that was that! With additional hand holding from Dan Schulz (@danschulz on Twitter), I was determined to go home and figure it out. And I did! Day two of WordCamp I came back with a blog!

Technically Blondish.net turned 3 years old during May. With the layout to be unveiled, it will be the 8th version. If all goes well with this version, I will be retiring the others (Premium Blondish and Mustang), and giving them out as free WordPress layouts. I have already been asked about the Premium Blondish layout and I will strip it of the ‘blondish’ information for the layout. If anyone wants customizations of it, I charge $50 and I allow you to do anything you like, plus you get support for your layouts. (Yeah, sorry, had to slip that in, but I have already done a few customs using this template.)

I am a bit late on a layout change, but the one previewed (It is just the top part), should be up and unveiled by Sunday evening! Some of the things on the site are getting moved to their more comfortable places, like another domain of mine. This is all tied in with the re-focus of the blog that I had mentioned months ago. Some of the pages will have their own templates. I am hoping with WP-PageNavi and Yoast Breadcrumbs to do away with the older navigation to come up with something more clean. From the preview, you can see that it will retain the black, white, pink and golden tones. The guitar is a vector I made. In fact, I will have a vector tutorial on it ready as a wonderful addition.

I have also asked a few people to please write some guest posts. I would not mind if anyone else wanted to. Just give me a shout out at Twitter or here in my comments.

So, what do you think? Does the preview image look promising?

As announced by Matt Mullenweg, WordPress 2.8 became available June 10th. The version is named “Baker” after the jazz trumpeteer and vocalist, Chet Baker. As explained by Matt during WordCamp Chicago, each of the versions of WordPress that have come forth are named after jazz musicians because of his love of music, as well as background in music. Of course, this information had not been just released to those at the convention, but a week before in San Francisco. Nevertheless, most WordPress users I am sure are happy to hear this news as it brings WordPress another step higher since its birth over 6 years ago.

Some of the key features that are noticeable in this version, according to the the WordPress development blog are:

- 2.8 runs faster than its previous versions
- one click installs from the theme repository to your blog, straight from your WP admin panel
- CodePress editor: provides a syntax editor for those who like to edit plugins from the admin panel side
- Redesigned widget interface
- and more than 180 more features added

This is a huge step! There is a great video on the WordPress.org blog on all of the features mentioned above and a little bit more.

What kind of things are you wanting for future WordPress versions?

I had the awesome opportunity to listen to a presentation from Erin Blaskie (@erinblaskie on Twitter) at WordCamp Chicago 2009. Erin ran an interesting social experiment just by doing something she loved, gaming. She made videos and blogs, and even twittered her activities… and became a success in a few months.

Having a successful blog is not easy. It DOES take work. Sometimes it takes a lot longer for some people, than it does for others, but if you are true to yourself and your following, as well as determined to succeed, you will. The tools for bloggers to use are easy and the great thing, easy to find. It is a matter of taking the time and using them. According to Erin, here are some tools that you can use in your methods of blogging and being social:

1. Video : This is great for those really comfortable and if your topic could easily be conveyed with this particular media. I just wanted to mentioned that Erin said that when she put her videos to Youtube, people just watched her play games. Yes, just watched her click the mouse and look at her computer screen while playing!

2. Social Networks (Twitter, Facebook, etc…): Connect with people other than the mundane things in life. Re-tweet information, have meaningful conversations. Hey, this is something I covered months ago in another article!

3. “Blog from different mediums” : If you are on a bunch of different networks, you do know there are blog tools with some of them. Use them and get your message out to the people.

4. “Interweave Your Efforts” : If you blog, then tweet about it or put it in your Friendfeed or Facebook. Post a bulletin in MySpace… just do something. No one will know about what you want to say if you do not share it with them first.

5. “Live streaming video” : You can do webcam sessions and allow your visitors to ask your things. Sometimes a face and voice is a great addition to those words you have been writing for months.

6. Guest Bloggers : These people are great in helping to convey your message. They are not you, but they are experts in their own right because you chose them to write on your site.

7. “Interaction & Interactivity” : Activities are great. Freebies and giveaways are awesome too. In the case of web design sites, freebies are awesome attractions.

8. “Get out of your bubble.” : It is pretty self-explanatory. As I already said, you cannot attract people to your site if you do nothing. It is awesome that you have written content, but if you have no drive to work at convincing others why they should read what you have written, then why bother? Go out there and mingle!

Sound simple? What tools to you for your blog?

Liz Strauss (@lizstrauss on Twitter) had been at WordCamp Chicago (June 6-7, 2009) and talked about many basics behind blogging. However, it was one thing that I could not pass up to blog about and share.

When you blog, you need to be authentic- be yourself. I found myself nodding while listening to Liz. I can remember all the wank through the years from bloggers not being who they were. I even remember people trying to call me out, and guess what… I have always been myself.

How can people visit another’s blog and comment when they do not believe you? Are you consistent about yourself? Are you blogging from experience or are you there to just be another person handing out the same information as other websites?

I can agree with Liz when she said, “I can find information anywhere, blog your experience with your information.”

When your blog might have a similar subject like so many other blogs, I choose to come to read and comment because I am reading about your experience. Especially with blogs about WordPress, I am fairly picky. I want more layman’s terms and a little bit of personality. I want to know why I should use one particular code string, versus another, especially since I tend to read blogs late at night when I am slightly tired and blurry-eyed. If I want WordPress information, cut, dry and straight, I will go to the Codex, but if you are going to pass a catchy-phrased tutorial link through my Twitter stream, it better be as catchy as it sounds.

Remember this, your blog may be visited by many people, or very few, but each are different. The only thing in common is that they choose to visit your site because they find you authentic.

Are your authentic? Do you blog from experience? Have you had experiences with people who were not who they said they were?

(Note: Photo is compliments of @LisaSabinWilson.)

For well over 5 years, I have been in the webhosting industry. I do not press it. In fact, some people think I do, but truthfully, I am the type of person that just leaves a link or banner out. If someone clicks on it, great! If not, oh well.

For hosting, I have purchased well over 8 years, as long as I have been designing professionally (for pay.) Yep, for those haters, I have been designing that long, and my resume (forgive the lack of accents and correct spelling on that word) contains almost 100 sites I have played part in the design. Not only that, my free graphics have been used on numerous sites. Personally, I enjoy more that people love the free graphics I give out. In fact, I encourage people to make suggestions on what they would like to see. It is practice for me and something else that is free for anyone.

People often forget the simple and honest things, especially in hosting, hence why I began a bit awkwardly in this post. It is to prove my honesty. With over 400 pages, I better be honest about what I do!

So, here is a guide to how to select a webhost:

1. Choose several webhosts before you begin. There are so many, that you should choose at least a dozen and go from there.

2. Look up the host in search engines. As much as some people like to be positive, you need to be careful. No matter if a webhost has a thousand or ten thousand clients… as they say, you need to look up their company name and words like “scam”, “bad webhost”, “reported to Better Business Bureau.” Trust me, after a personal learning experience, I can attest that you really should.

3. Look up the company you want to webhost with in the Better Business Bureau.

4. Read the forums, that is, if that webhosting company has a forum. Even if you have to sign up, it is better in the long run.

5. Check out what kind of services it offers. If the company offers a special admin panel other than cPanel or Plesk, you may run into the fact that you are limited on creating databases or other features. You could even have troubles moving to a different host later on if you choose a host with a different control panel platform (like Powweb… sorry, I do not even link them because I do not like their services.)

These are just general considerations when you select a webhost. Although price may seem great, in the end, you could get screwed. Do your research first before choosing.