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Wikipedia: Fact or Opinion?

I’ve just concluded a writing assignment of a deeply technical nature. The assignment was in two parts, first of all dealing with the need for Solvency II in the context of life insurance companies and secondly, the factors that persuaded the Massachusetts legislature to implement a mandatory universal healthcare system, the first US State to do so.

By now, you are probably thinking “What?” or yawning. For the curious, click on the links above and they will take you to Wikipedia for a brief overview.

This assignment is not totally uncharted territory for me; I hold UK life insurance professional qualifications so grasping the general view and identifying the issues did not mean I was stumbling around in the dark.

My research took me first of all to Google – inputting search terms that related to the topics produced the usual, incredibly long list of results and in both cases, Wikipedia was featured on the top page of my queries.

Now this is one time when you really need to question the value of an online resource such as Wikipedia. Equally, you could be using some other voluntarily compiled reference work such as DMOZ, but my point is, you must question what you are being told by your source no matter who is providing it.
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Irenooshka to the Rescue

After a mixed week which has seen England fall to the Springboks (and that was a TRY you blind Aussie ‘erbert) as well as my own romantic escapades, I’m sitting here in my living room working on a numb bum while contemplating the week ahead.

Last week has seen the first draft on a companion guide to seduction churned out and it has been a labour of boredom. Honestly, I have been surprised at the sheer volume of material that appears to be available for the typically American male prepared to part with $9.99. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t give any of this a second glance and would be surprised it was getting a first, nevertheless I’ve had a stack of reference materials thrown at me by my client who wants it noted in the text I’ve prepared. My client has reminded me that I am in no way allowed to claim any credit for the eBook I’ve drafted and he is the only one whose name will be allowed to be associated with the “work” – I feel like I should pay him to ensure my name is not associated with it.
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Stopping readers in their tracks! Advice for internet writing

Internet writing is not as easy as it first appears. Writers who write articles for the internet have to keep some things in mind. It is essential for you to realize that you have 5-7 seconds to capture the attention of readers, otherwise they will move on. The internet, being the way it is, enables readers to go on and look for other articles and information from other sites. In this article I will be discussing some of the key areas that one has to look into when writing for the web.

Similar to all other forms of writing, the headline of a page or blog post is the most important. It either makes or breaks a reader’s interest – if readers like the headline they will carry on reading, otherwise they will just click onto something else. Don’t try to be cute when it comes to headlines and never use funny phrases, especially if they are confusing. You should write a headline that people can associate with, something that fits the topic you are writing in. Use key words such as love, anger, mistakes and truth. These words, when used properly, can actually be effective in grabbing the attention of prospective readers.
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Blogs! Can they form a career option?

Today internet writing is a reality. Even a few years ago, internet writers, especially bloggers were not deemed as writers who could make a difference, but today, with the explosion of information that the internet has created, online writing has finally come of age. Bloggers today can make a living out of writing and blogging. Although this concept is still very new to the people in many countries, I believe that everything takes a while to start off, and after a certain point in time when people see that it is effective, it becomes popular.

If individuals concentrate on what they intend to do with their lives and the difference they can make if they think a little differently, then they have a certain urge to work harder. Blogging is this volatile domain that is getting ready to erupt. Although the eruption has started, until and unless more people see the difference it can have on the lives of bloggers, they will not give it a try. Today, people who are into blogging can see a future in writing, and there are cases where people have already started to make a living out of blogging and online writing. As I would put it, “blogs don’t just know or imagine the future, they make it happen”.
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The Internet: Biggest Resource on the Planet?

Today, the Internet stands as the single most useful place for resources. If you are in front of the computer and logged onto the Internet, then you have access to the biggest library, providing you with information about everything. This is the reason why online dictionaries have marched ahead of traditional paper-based ones. Online libraries are predominantly taking the place of libraries in town and city centers, simply because they are easily accessible.

Online books and articles are at par with books and printed texts; in a few years time, these will be more accessible than any paper-based material. Daily newspapers and articles are being produced and published online every day. You can pick up grammar and editing techniques, and can even read your favorite books online – everything is just one click away.

Creating a Good Business Blog

screenshot of blogger website Blogs are a great tool for building communities, interacting through them and even marketing the services you provide – they often produce both good and bad results. If you want to gain readership from your blog, you’ll have to be a bit more adventurous in the content you produce, have an easy design and market your blog.

What will kill readership?

What kills a good blog writer is their inability to address their target audience, this means that you have to be clear about the content. If you are not focused, you’ll confuse and lose readers. Grammar is the key in making your blog look professional and typos are another concern for bloggers. Even the most cautious writers have a slip here and there, and this really murders the entire blog.

Professional or Amateur?

What separates the professional from the amateur is the length of blog post, which should be ideally not too long, but just right. The attention span of most people won’t be for long, so keeping the posts short gets you a greater reader base. You also have to keep in mind that you are not just writing for a search engine, so emphasize those keywords, but keep the writing interesting as well. The mantra of getting results from your blog is to keep posting new content. Where most people fail is that they lose interest because it takes time and energy to keep a good blog going. So, keep posting and you will eventually get readers commenting the information you post.

The Design of the Blog

Another important feature of posting is to keep in mind the design of the blog. It is a crime not to have the name of the author in the tag line or somewhere in the blog, especially if it’s a business blog. Blogs without photographs are less visual because they do not enhance your credibility and a very important feature of blogging is the post title. Readers must be able to grasp the gist of an article by reading its headline. In fact, they should be allured by it. Avoid humorous headlines that make no sense and are non descriptive in nature. When you write you should also keep in mind that blog updates through RSS or email is very essential, so a subscription is important especially if it is a business blog. There should be a certain structure in the approach.

Use your full name

Using first names often confuses new readers, so it’s important for bloggers to keep in mind that there are new readers reading your blog, as well as people who have been reading your blog since you started writing it. A very essential feature of the web blog is to introduce a timeline – a calendar that reviews your posts in chronological order, this provides references to earlier blogs that readers have a choice to go and read. Remember, you can refer to a post you made two years ago, if you think it is relevant.

How to market your business blog

The marketing of a blog is a must for business bloggers, otherwise your blog may suffer the fate of hundreds of other blogs that are abandoned after several months, due to the lack of communication between the blogger and readers. What you’ll need to do is to submit the blog to blog directories and ping each time a new post is published.

This helps in maintaining communication with readers on a regular basis. Web blogs should also have a list of their favorite blogs or websites because this helps the readers in identifying with the blogger and the types of material he or she is interested in reading. This establishes in creating a one-to-one relationship between bloggers and each of its readers. So get started….and… blog….blog….blog… till you drop.