No time to blog

January 30, 2008 | By Marie In A Mom's Life, Business Tips, Recommendations |

No time to blog? Here’s a solution for you.

Microblogging has been the “hottest” thing these days in cyberworld. What is it exactly? Well, the shortest and simplest definition I can think of is that microblogging is like text messaging except - instead of sending your text to just one person, you are sending it for cyber-world to see. Note though that you have an option of having your microblog posts available to everyone on the web or a selected private group.

So … how do you microblog?

While a traditional blog requires you to log-in and post your entries online, you can “microblog” using both your cell phone or your computer - thus microblogging presents that benefit of portability. One thing to remember though - microblogging only allows you to blog brief posts (usually limited to 140 to 200 characters) at a time. So before you start typing your post, you need to really think about how you can make the most out of your words. You can microblog as often as you want as long as you do not post spam. You can even build a following or your own microblogging community. You can connect with other microbloggers and get quick replies to your microblog posts. The fun thing about microblogging is that you can send your messages in text, audio or even video.

Below are some advantages of microblogging:
- It is very easy to post your thoughts in cyberspace using microblogging. Microblog to share your events, promote your business or just to share links worth checking out.
- You can build your own community by microblogging and have others subscribe to your feed - a great way to promote yourself. You can then make a connection with others.
- Microblogging is portable. You can use your cell phone and still be connected to your community even if you are on the go.
- You can microblog using text, audio or even video so there are a lot of possibilities here - you can let your creativity come out!
- The fact that there is a 140-200 character limit in microblogging, you do not have to worry about providing lots of content in your microblog post.

There are some disadvantages too and they are listed below:
- It can be really addicting and if you do not use it properly, it could be a great time waster.
- If you are not careful about what your post on your microblog - for example posting about your “ideas”, your subscribers can easily “adopt one of your ideas and pass it as their own”.
- If you work online and are microblogging for the most part of the day, it can be really distracting and it can take away your focus on projects that you need to complete.

Two microblogging tools that I have been really enjoying lately are Twitter and Utterz. You can follow my twittering here and hear my uttering here. If you want to learn a bit more about Twitter, I have a short video tutorial you can watch by clicking here. Feel free to subscribe to my tweets and utterz.

12 Comments so far

Kristine (1 comments.) on February 16th, 2008

Great post, Marie. I “micro-blog” a lot, but don’t “blog” nearly enough. And while I love twitter, it’s not nearly as productive or as profitable as posting good content to my blog.

Kristine’s last blog post..Save Money By Cooking with Crock Pots
Diana Walker (2 comments.) on February 16th, 2008

Great information, Marie. I actually hadn’t heard the term “micro-blog” before — and I like your explanation.
I do use Twitter (and find it addicting - so try to limit myself!) - and it is definitely easier to post a few words or sentences, rather than longer blog posts.
But, like Kristine says, posting good content to our blogs is probably a better use of our time, if we have to make a choice between the two!
Diana

Diana Walker’s last blog post..Natural Antibiotic Foods - Garlic, Honey, Lemons
Lynette (1 comments.) on February 16th, 2008

Good work Marie. Hey you know there are several WordPress plugins that will allow you to micro blog and literally turn a blog into your own Twitter. My laptop is gonna shut down real soon from low batts but if you’d tweet me or something next week, I’ll dig them out for you.

Lynette’s last blog post..How’d You Do That?
LaTara Ham-Ying (1 comments.) on February 16th, 2008

So true Marie. I have found that I need to remove myself from Twitter or else I waste so much time trying to see what is going on, who is doing what, and why.

LaTara Ham-Ying’s last blog post..And the Winner Is?.
Annette (1 comments.) on February 16th, 2008

I’d love those wordpress plugins that lynette mentions above. This is a great post Marie!

Annette’s last blog post..A critter for Haylee
Crystal (1 comments.) on February 16th, 2008

Great post:) I love Twitter:) I never thought of it as microblogging before, but it really is.

Crystal’s last blog post..COMING SOON
jenn (2 comments.) on February 18th, 2008

Wow, that IS an amazing post. Thank you for sharing. I have to bookmark this one so I can refer to it! Great job!
Melissa Ingold (1 comments.) on February 23rd, 2008

Thanks for the great post Marie! I’ve never heard of the term “micro blogging” before
Melissa Ingold’s last blog post..How Befriending the Media Can Increase Your Business
nell taliercio (4 comments.) on February 25th, 2008

Very informative post!

nell taliercio’s last blog post..ScratchBack Results
Arika (3 comments.) on February 26th, 2008

Great post. Twitter is my micro-blogging addiction…lol

Arika’s last blog post..Spiritual Sunday - Keeping it Real with God
Tsoniki (5 comments.) on February 28th, 2008

Great post Marie. I love Twitter and though I signed up with Utterz, I have yet to Utter anything. I know I’ve let at least a dozen utterz pass me by, ideas I’ve had that just didn’t follow up on, so no more letting them pass by!

Tsoniki’s last blog post..Six Things
Elizabeth Ashe (1 comments.) on March 16th, 2008

This was all new info, to me. Thanks for the information I am going to do some more research into this.

Elizabeth Ashe’s last blog post..Computer Graphics?.Why?