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If you want to get someone’s attention, you need to show them something they’ve never seen before, or you need to show them something they’ve seen in a new way (from a new perspective). That’s the only key to good content.

You need to look for the missing subjects; there are holes everywhere in content, and even things that have been said before can be said better, in a new way. Before you write on something, research what’s been done already. Don’t regurgitate; find the new angle. What’s missing? The successful post in filling in the blank. It what happens when you ask “Why?” … “Because!” This is what makes bloggers; find the missing pieces, ask the ‘whys’.

When have you last looked at what you’ve written? Have you looked for the holes in the content? Look at the big picture and find the missing pieces in your content.

The hot word on blogging in 2007: relationship. The difference between a website and a blog is comments. When you write your blog, you write for one person: you write for you. I blog for me because I blog my desires, my passions. You want your readers to be you, you want that personal connection, when people say, “You’re right!”. The first impression for the reader is that “this is the place that has the information I need.” Think about what message, the feeling, the point-of-view, then make your blog fit these things. So it’s obvious that, “This is the content you’re looking for.”

How can you tell when the blogger is faking it?
Too many ads, block quoting with little comments, faking that you know everything, reposting your twitters… these are clues that the blogger is faking it. If you know, your readers know. You want authenticity: make full disclosure, tell the truth.

What you write is preserving this moment in time; you’re preserving what it was to be alive here. Write for the future, a boring blog is ok. It make a difference in what you present.

How do you get the conversation started?
Don’t blog the whole idea; blog the start idea and the readers will fill in the blanks. Don’t do “101 ways to do…”, do “6 ways to do…” and the readers will fill in the blanks. Let the readers fill in the gaps, don’t write the essay complete. You don’t have to respond to every comment, but you need to appear that you do.

Don’t write, “Now what to do you think?”. Be like an old married couple; make the readers end your sentences. Don’t challenge people to blog about something because you want them to.

You can participate in a conversation: link out to others talking about your subject, comment on other blogs (say something intelligent: comments is content, be sure you have a link back to your site). You help others and others help you; it’s a kinder, gentler way to live, with everyone helping everyone else out.

Is current content more important than old content?
You never know what’s gonna be popular. The masses are fickle; you write timeless (it doesn’t matter when you read the content) and it will still be relevant next week/month/year and anyone can visit. This isn’t necessarily true about news sites, but it can be true even with that.

Manage spam with:
1) Akismet (community aggregated tagging)
2) Bad Behavior
3) Spam Karma

BLOGGERS CODE OF ETHICS
1) Comment on other blogs - help another blogger continue the conversation. You fill in one blank; don’t complete the conversation, but move it along.

// CHECK OUT: Successful and Outstanding Bloggers
// CHECK OUT: Circular Communications.com

The WordCamp 07 website has more information about this session!