Today was a big day for us here at Scribnia.  Ownership has transferred from Russ and I (the original founders) to Marc Duquette of Tribu Virtual Inc.  We’ve been in touch with Marc over the past few weeks and he seems like a great guy.  We’re confident Scribnia will continue to grow and thrive under his ownership.

Working on this site has been a formative experience.  It’s fun to watch so many people spend time in a community that we built from the ground up.  I’ve been playing around with coding web apps for years, but Scribnia was the first web business that I attacked full-time and full-force.  Little sad to see it go, but we won’t be gone completely–we no longer own the site, but we will still be active users in the community.

Thanks to everyone who has helped make Scribnia a success.  If you get a chance, check out the new web app we’re working on, called SeatGeek.  The landing page is here, and you can follow us on Twitter here.

Jack

Half of Rob.

Welcome to Behind the Blogs where we take a moment to get to know the blogger behind the keyboard.  Today’s interview is with Rob Anderson who writes for the My Only Kidding blog.  Rob is an aspiring writer and sketch comedian…let’s get to know a bit more.

Hi Rob,

1) Why did you start blogging?

I began in August of 2008 as a part of my study abroad trip to Australia.  While many of my friends studied abroad they would send large, bulky emails about what they were up to.  I decided to create a blog so I could easily share my experiences that didn’t strain the eye with ‘unaesthetic email formatting.’  My blog topics began to diversify, and when I left Australia I decided to continue writing (mostly humorous) posts about a range of subjects.

2) How do you continue to find inspiration and ideas for blog posts?

Most of the time things just come to me.  Sometimes they deal with events in my life, like a game night with friends or a class I am taking.  Other times I come across an odd product or sector of the internet that baffles me.  The best topics come naturally.  Once I began to get over 500 hits a day and people would talk about My Only Kidding in actual conversation, I found myself hustling to deliver quality bits. Though this mindset is encouraging, it also made a few posts seem a tad desperate.  Now if I find myself stuck or digging for material, I stop myself from pushing too hard because the humor can become stale.  I try to approach my blog at different angles or attempt a little variety (once I did a satirical flowchart).

3) How has blogging helped you in your life/career?

I am pursuing a career in writing and performing sketch comedy, and my blog has been incredibly helpful.  First, it keeps me sharp in my observations and vocabulary.  I didn’t realize how one dimensional my point of view was until I had to post continuously.  Second, it helps me package myself.  A blog is much more than just writing, its self-branding.  Its a start in creating an image.

4) What do you have in stock for the future of your blog?

I have just moved to Chicago, so living in a new place always brings fresh stories, inspiration, and views. Though I have reoccurring themes and subjects like my family or ‘100 awful things,’ I have wanted to introduce different segments that readers would recognize.  For example, I would like to develop a segment called ‘Bad Film Reviews,’ where I would watch a popular film and illuminate its faults and absurdities.  My thought was that every few weeks I could publish a review, so readers could not only identify, but possibly even look forward to it.

5) Have you ever written anything on your blog and then regret it afterwards?

God yes.  There are always the little things like spelling and grammar errors.  You will notice them even up to a few weeks after and feel embarrassed and unprofessional.  My biggest regret occurred last year when a friend of mine wrote a satirical article about christmas gifts.  Though it was a great article, I told him that I could make it better by re-writing it and sending him the link.  I did not properly link the first article in my blog post, and though my friend knew the situation, many people claimed it was unoriginal and plagiarized material- one even threatening to submit an opinion article to the college paper.  I immediately removed the content, and though it was a misunderstanding, my blog had lost some credibility.  I now carefully preface, link, and give credit to anything I may reference or gather inspiration from.

5) What advice would you provide for people looking to start a blog?

You have to start simple then build on it.  Its common to want to start BIG, but its not the right attitude.  People want immediate followers and subscribers before they even settle into what suits them best.  I would suggest starting with a topic that you enjoy writing about, rather than what you perceive to be popular.  There is nothing more interesting or entertaining when the blogger enjoys themselves.  Some people are better at specific topics like food or sports, and others (like myself) find their strengths in variety.  Also, commitment is key.  Though you shouldn’t take yourself too seriously, its important to stay committed to the blog.  When you care about your blog, readers will reciprocate that.

6) One unique fact that your readers don’t know about you?

In middle school I wanted to be like Dawson from Dawson’s creek so I parted my hair down the middle and gave myself highlights by putting flour in my hair.  I told my friends it was a new hair product called ‘blizz’

Thanks for sharing your story with us Rob.

If you know of a blogger/author that would be interesting to interview for the Behind the Blogs series, or YOU are that blogger, send me an email at DavidSpinks@Scribnia.com

Photo cred: "kattebelletje"

This is a distinction that isn’t often addressed.  The responsibilities of a community manager are the same for many organizations, but can also differ based on a number of factors.  One of those factors is their stage of development. The responsibilities of a community manager for a start-up will have a lot more focus on community seeking and building.  If you’re an established company, like Pepsi, a community manager’s responsibilities have a lot more to do with tending to the current community and monitoring and less with development.

As community manager for Scribnia, engagement with our community is extremely important, but as a new website, I also have the responsibility to build the community.  That means creating value and encouraging others to join in.  That means constantly seeking people who would find our site to be valuable and engaging.

Much of the community management advice that’s usually given is focused on established brands.  Here are a few tips and points for community managers of communities that, like ours when we first started, don’t exist when you first arrive on the scene.

• Ultimately, you have to have a good product or service.  The best community manager in the world cannot create a loyal, engaged community around a product or service that sucks.  If you’re having trouble building, you may want to look at how you can make your product more valuable.
• Your community members exist, they just haven’t been gathered around your company.  The people that would potentially find your product to be valuable are out there, talking.  Find them.  Join them.
• Sometimes they’re not going to want to gather around your company.  Community management doesn’t always mean creating a community around you…it could also mean joining your potential customers’ communities that already exist, where your community members are already gathered and comfortable.    This can eventually lead to your own community being developed out of the relationships you create elsewhere.
• IT TAKES TIME.  It’s been said many times before, but building a community takes time.  There’s no short-cuts or fast tracks…you have to contribute relevant, interesting content that will resonate well.  You have to interact, respond, and stay consistently active.  Communities are built around passion, and you can’t fake passion.
• People usually won’t partake in your community unless you give them a reason to.  The fact that they checked out your site, and you have some sort of community, isn’t going to make them join.  Give them something to be interested in.

Those are just a few points, I could go on for a while.  Building a community isn’t easy, but it can still be fun.  You should enjoy interacting with your users/customers.  Building relationships is exciting and if you share a common passion, it becomes very easy.  So have fun with it, don’t stress out if you don’t see a community begin to rapidly develop right away.  It’s a very worthwhile commitment.

Here’s a good article from ReadWriteWeb on effective methods for community building for start-ups.

The Adventurer

Welcome to Behind the Blogs where we take a moment to get to know the blogger behind the keyboard.  Today’s interview is with Daniel Massie, a freelance software developer who has recently decided to drop everything and travel…something many of us dream of doing.  He’s recently started a blog to share all his experiences leading up to, and during his trip…let’s learn a bit more.

Hi Dan,

1) Why did you decide to just drop everything and travel? Was it tough to bring yourself to make the commitment?

I had been living in London for the last couple of years working as a freelance software developer. The downturn in the economy led to less business so I started thinking that it could be the ideal opportunity for a career break. The more I thought about it, the better an idea it seemed and the more excited I got. Within the space of a few weeks I had a rough idea where I’d go, knew how I was going to fund it, and had left London, returning to live with my parents in Scotland to save money. A week later, my flights were booked. Everyone that I have spoken to about it has been incredibly encouraging, they all agree that its the perfect time to do it and have been keen to offer advice from their own travel experiences. I plan to continue working on some freelance projects as I travel to keep the funds topped up, but its not going to be a major focus over the next year

2) How did you go about planning everything for your trip?

First of all I went to google maps and plotted lots of destinations that I would like to visit. My lack of geographical knowledge was very obvious at this stage as I was constantly surprised as I discovered where countries actually were. Since I had decided that this would be a year long career break, it was fairly simply to estimate the costs of the trip. Once I booked my round the world flight ticket (the long haul flights between continents) I started to look at each country that I wanted to go to in more detail and came up with some rough plans of where I would like to go in the time available. I’ve really just been counting down the days for the last couple of months!

3) What is the goal of your blog while you’re traveling?

Dan’s Adventure will be documenting my travels, acting as a diary for myself and a means of keeping in touch with friends and family back home. My family is excited to be a part of it and are looking forward to reading about where I’ve been and seeing the pictures as I go.  Keeping a blog is more accessible than group emails and certainly a better idea than waiting to tell them all about it when I return home.  I’ve also found that there is a vibrant community of travel bloggers out there who I am enjoying talking to about my travels and getting their opinions/advice on the places I’m going.

4) What do you plan to do when you return? (If you are planning on returning) Will you still blog?

I’ve already got a long list of places to visit “next time”, so more travelling may be on the cards at some point in the future. I know I will need to come back after this trip to earn some money, but its far too early to tell what I’ll be doing. Traveling may completely change my outlook on life so I guess I’ll just need to wait and see.

I think blogging will be a very difficult thing to give up, so as long as I’m having adventures, Dan’s Adventure will be going.

5) What do you hope to learn/gain from your travels?

I don’t want to just go from city to city and sight to sight, I want to experience the different cultures and learn about how people live across the world. I hope I will also improve valuable skills whilst travelling, skills such as planning, budgeting, negotiating and perhaps most importantly communication. These may not be the most obvious things, but when you consider bargaining in markets in Asia, communicating with people that don’t speak English and the fact that I will be travelling on a limited budget, it soon becomes clear why these skills are essential.

6) One thing about you that your readers would never find out about (except here)?

I’ll be travelling alone and therefore hope to meet people along the way. I am however a fairly quiet and reserved person so thats going to be a real challenge for me, but its a challenge that I’m looking forward to and one which I know will get easier with time.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Dan.

If you know of a blogger/author that would be interesting to interview for the Behind the Blogs series, or YOU are that blogger, send me an email at DavidSpinks@Scribnia.com

Photo cred: Vipul ㏄ Mathur

I know you didn’t think we were done adding features!  You may have noticed our newest addition, the Amazon widget on the bottom of the right column on every author page.  For example, view Sean Percival’s page.

What this widget does is automatically search for an author’s name across Amazon to find any published material that’s available for purchase.

Why does this matter?  If you read bloggers regularly, you may find a book that you’d like to check out from those bloggers.

If you are a published blogger…

• It will drive more readers from inside and outside of your community to check out your book.
• It can positively affect a reader’s view of you as a legitimate author when reviewing your blog.
• Users will view your reviews and your book right there in one location.  If your readers have rated you highly as an online author, they may be more inclined to purchase your book, and vice versa.
• It will serve as the only database (correct me if I’m wrong) to find published bloggers in one location.

It’s a  new addition that we’re very interested to see how users utilize, and how it can be developed into a more valuable tool over time.  If you have any feedback, as always, we’re interested to hear your thoughts…

Photo cred: Pieter Musterd

Online content is amazing because it’s so much more than just the content.  It’s also about who’s reading it, how they feel about what they’re reading, who else is writing about the same topic, why you’re writing it…in essence, it’s about the community surrounding it.

A newspaper has readers.  A tv show has viewers.  Online content producers have a community.

The extent to which writes can connect with their readers online is limitless.  New tools are coming out every day to create new ways for readers and writers to interact.  One of our goals for Scribnia is to break down the writer/reader barrier even more, and allow for even more interaction within your community.

If columnists for “mainstream” media are going to find success in the future, they’ll have to embrace the community aspect of online content, the same way bloggers do.

We hope that Scribnia will serve as a valuable tool that allows authors and readers build a stronger community.  We hope it will connect readers to bloggers that otherwise never would have found each other.

We’ve created a few ways to make Scribnia more social, allowing for authors to create more engagement within their community.

• Invite Friends: To invite your community to come join Scribnia, and write or receive reviews.
• Search Scribnia: Find and follow friends that are already on Scribnia.
• ScribUp: Promote your favorite authors on twitter.
• Tweet This: Under each review, you can click the “tweet this” link to share your review on twitter.

If you have any other ideas for how we can make Scribnia a more social tool, that owuld help you to build your community, let us know.

Cecily Kellogg

Welcome to Behind the Blogs, where we take a moment to get to know the blogger behind the keyboard.  Today’s interview is with Cecily Kellogg, who’s also the author behind Uppercase Woman.  Cecily is a unique blogger who has faced many issues in her life, but has fought to become the successful writer, professional, and person that she is today.  It’s been an honor connecting with Cecily, and bloggers should take note of her commitment to personality and transparency.  Let’s get to know her a bit better…

Hi Cecily,

1) What inspired you to start blogging?

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember, but I was primarily a poet before blogging. Back in 2004 I was just starting down the road of infertility treatments, and I was updating my circle of friends with these funny (and bitter) long-winded emails. Then, in a separate forum, I was introduced to blogs and it was like chocolate and peanut butter — a perfect match. I had no idea, then, of course, that it would become such a huge part of both my life and my identity as a writer.

2) You’ve shared some of the obstacles that you have faced in your life dealing with alcohol.  Has blogging helped you overcome these issues?

Blogging has been a great place to think out loud about many of the subjects surrounding my sobriety, yes. But I’d been sober already about eight years by the time I started blogging so the early crisis days of my recovery were long past. While I can see how blogging through sobriety could be really helpful, I’d seriously hate to see what I’d have written those first couple of years. I was pretty much a self-centered asshole back then 90% of the time (now it’s down to maybe 20%).

3) Do you find that your blogging voice is different when writing as a professional vs. on your personal blog?

Well, it really depends. I have made the decision to consistently be me across the board, no matter what. But obviously, in most of my professional writing I do NOT swear as much as I do on my personal blog. Some of the pro blogging gigs I’ve had actually had obscenity clauses in the contract (anti, not pro) so I have to watch it and try hard to say motherfucker a lot less often. But I’m still me, even if some folks believe I don’t know how to write without swearing. I really can. And by the way, yes, I do talk like this in real life.

4) How do you continue to find inspiration and ideas for blog posts?

It’s funny, but I actually think in blog posts now. I might be talking about something with my husband and realize it would make a great post. I often hear things at my recovery meetings that inspire some of my most thoughtful posts. My daughter is an amazing bit of inspiration, every day. Then of course the world is full of stupid people doing stupid things and that makes for great blog fodder. And that doesn’t even count politics.

5) What advice would you provide for people looking to start a blog, whether it be to share their personal lives, or fuel their professional career?

Well, if it’s to fuel their professional career I’d say don’t bother. Blogging should be for you and you first, and for most writers I think it can be a great way to keep “limber” so to speak, but I don’t know that blogging will help anyone professionally (unless you a niche blogger, not a personal blogger, or are blogging about your profession). But otherwise I’d say be prepared: eventually, everyone you know WILL find the blog. Make sure you are comfortable with your bosses, your spouse, your mother, and your potential employers reading it. At this point, my whole life is on the net and I know that it often costs me advertisers and quite possibly clients (I write corporate web content for a living). But I wouldn’t ever want to go back to being two different people. I have never felt more like “me” in my life than I do right now.

6) One unique fact that your readers don’t know about you?

Dude, there’s nothing my readers don’t know. They know when I lost my virginity. They’ve seen pictures of my uterus. They know how often my husband and I have sex, what I eat, where I go on vacation, and how tall I am. Wait! Oh! I know! They know I’m fat but they don’t know the actual number on the scale. And I am SO not telling you either. Heh.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Cecily.

If you know of a blogger/author that would be interesting to interview for the Behind the Blogs series, or YOU are that blogger, send me an email at DavidSpinks@Scribnia.com

Photo cred: Andrew*

There have been a lot of discussions about whether or not blogging is dead.  Some great posts to check out on this topic include but are far from limited to Brian Clark, Steve Rubel, and Chris Brogan…

I don’t think blogging is dead, I think that there is less focus on the actual blog content and more focus on the blogger.  Hearing the blogger’s voice is no longer enough.  We now want to read, see, and understand the blogger.  Many are turning to the new upcoming trend in “lifestreaming” where in concept, you are sharing your life, “streaming” your experiences and thoughts online.

Blogging is still an integral aspect of content sharing on the internet…it’s just being tied in with other content forms.

There are a number of ways for one to express themselves online.  Some will choose to stick to blogging, some to video, some to microblogging, some to photo, etc… Blogging seemed to be the most popular in the past.  Now it’s just sharing the spotlight.

The value of a blogger or author transcends that of their blog or book.  This is one of the main reasons for the creation of Scribnia.  Taking a look at the author, rather than the content.  Of course the perception of a blogger is often focused on the content that they produce, but in my experience here I’ve found something very interesting…

When users rate authors on Scribnia, they often rate them on a lot more than their content.  Reviews often mention how well the blogger engages with their community, their value on twitter and other tools, their personal experiences with the author…their content, actions, personality, and more are all taken into account.

It seems…we care more about who’s behind the blog than the blog itself (A big inspiration for the “behind the blog” series we recently started).

The blog is the content.  We used to focus on the content.  Now we are more concerned with the content-creator…and you can’t have a content-creator without content.

There will be a place for blogging for years to come.

Keith Burtis

Welcome to Behind the Blogs, where we take a moment to get to know the blogger behind the keyboard.  Today’s interview is with Keith Burtis, who’s most recently known for his work as Community Manager for Best Buy Remix, but has been sharing his passions and work through his popular personal blog and Magicwoodworks for a long time.  If you haven’t read Keith’s blog before this interview, I hope it inspires you to check it out.  His passion is contagious and his blog is his way of sharing that.  Well worth subscribing to.  Here we go…

Hi Keith,

1) How did you first get into woodturning?  Why do you enjoy it so much?

I began woodturning about ten years ago. I work mainly on the web and I really enjoy going out and doing something of a physical nature. This being said, I have always been very creative and artistic. This summer I am actually putting the lathe tools down and rebuilding my shop so that I can better do my live streaming online. The feeling you get from taking a block of wood in rough form to bringing it to something beautiful is very fulfilling and I love to share that with people.

2) What inspired you to start blogging?

I began blogging because I wanted an outlet to share the things I was doing with my woodturning. I have always been very entrepreneurial and business minded so the blog seemed like a cool place to educate people on the things I was doing. One of the interesting things about woodturning is your left with a lot of time to yourself. I would listen to podcasts and audio book about business, social media, fiction and just about any creative genre I could find. This really helped me to better understand the interactive nature of new media. Not long after that I bought a Mac Book Pro and started live-streaming sessions of my artistic process.

Not to get off tangent, but if businesses focused more on sharing their process rather than shouting about their widgets they would be much more successful in the online space. It is important to be passionate about what you do and people will see that and want to get involved in your community as well as support you. This support may not always result in them purchasing your product but they may reach out to thousands of others with your story growing your reach exponentially.

3) How do you continue to find inspiration and ideas for blog posts?

This answer might be a bit spiritual but I feel like if I ask my subconscious to think about a certain topic and it will deliver me the ideas. My brain has always been a creative idea factory. There has been very few times in my life when I stood next to my lathe or sat down at my keyboard and didn’t have a fresh Idea. This being said, Ideas come as they will. I think a lot of pro and amateur bloggers try to force it. They push themselves to make a deadline or a specific number of posts per week or month. This to me is wasteful and really provides no value to the reader. I tend to write when the inspiration hits me. This could be three times a day or three times a week I don’t schedule my ideas.

4) How has blogging helped you in your life/career?

Blogging has brought me more opportunity in life and career than any other activity I have ever done. This is not to say that everyone reading this should run out and start blogging. I think the reason for the opportunities that I get are because I am outwardly passionate about what I write. I like to try and educate and inform people on Social Media, Business, and Emerging technologies. However, I do not limit myself to these things. When the inspiration strikes and I need to help promote a friend, write about photography, or saving the planet, I’ll write about that too. Part of being a blogger in my opinion is to be yourself and try to provide value while aligning with your values and goals.

5) What advice would you provide for people looking to start a blog about a craft that they’re passionate about?

The easiest way to start a blog is to talk to someone who you admire that has already done it. The second thing to remember is not to over-think it. I am revamping my art blog as we speak here, but I started with a simple Wordpress install that my friend Marina Martin set up for me.That served me well for over two years. People are attracted to you, your sharing, and your creativity. Keep your blog simple and don’t clutter it with crap that no one cares about. Make your content the center of the show and try to take the best quality photos you can of your work.

6) One unique fact that your readers don’t know about you?

I owned a gym and wellness center in 1999 and 2000. I was a personal trainer and natural bodybuilder. It’s funny you ask because I find it fascinating how people land where they are and there is always a story to be told. One thing I can say for sure is that every experience I have ever had in my life I have learned from. I am grateful  for all of my up’s and downs. I am getting back on the road to fitness again and I am starting a new project called Blog Walks where I discuss issues that people bring to me all the time. It’s a video show and #1 is on my keithburtis.com blog right now. I purchased blogwalks.com and I am planning to do my daily video walks there.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Keith.

If you know of a blogger/author that would be interesting to interview for the Behind the Blogs series, or YOU are that blogger, send me an email at DavidSpinks@Scribnia.com