Lyric Fire

Grammar Cheat Sheet For Your Blog, Social Media Sites & Other Cyber Posts

 

 

I'm usually very strict about creating original content for my blog, but when I saw this colorful and informative post about grammar on Build A Better Blog, I knew I had to re-post it for my readers.

I have written about the importance of avoiding typos and using correct punctuation on Lyric Fire before, but this Grammar Goof Guide by Copyblogger is something that every writer should keep handy.

Enjoy and Happy Blogging!

Like this infographic? Get more copywriting tips from Copyblogger.  

Lyric Fire: Remember the NetworkedBlogs Discussion Board?

Hello Bloggers!

I'm sure a lot of you use or are familiar with NetworkedBlogs. It is a user-generated blog directory and syndication tool for publishers and bloggers and is one of the largest news apps on Facebook. Through this service you can promote your blogs on Facebook and discover and connect to other bloggers.

Some of the benefits and features of NetworkedBlogs are:

• Works on both: profiles and Facebook Pages
• Import your blog feed to your profile or public page
• A visual blogroll on your profile to promote your blog and blogs you like
• A directory of blogs organized by topic and geographical locations
• Read news and vote on articles you love
• A community of like minded people to connect with

Sounds great huh? I actually have been using it for a few years now and it is a great resource for promotion and connection. I have met some wonderful bloggers who now are a part of my daily reading. Some of them have even become my friends. The only way I got to meet these people was through the NetworkedBlogs Discussion Board. But it no longer exists! I know, tragic! If you had been wondering what happened to it here is some insight on why it was removed:

The explanation above was given by one of their help analysts after some confused bloggers noticed the forum was gone and complained. You can read the complaints and see the above response on the customer support page here.

Basically what it boils down to is that a lot of users were complaining about the spam and inconsideration of SOME bloggers who chose to use the discussion board as a vehicle to just plaster their links on threads without a true notion of wanting to connect but only promote. So without warning, the board was gone! 

I'm sure some of you were as disappointed as I was because the discussion board when used correctly can help you build readership for your blog and can serve as an avenue to meet other writers and learn new things. 

I actually was using the link to the thread I created to show potential employers my social media community building skills. So I was really sad when I could no longer access the link.

Because there were complaints about the vanishing discussion board... Wait for it... The kind folks over at NetworkedBlogs created a "backdoor" which allows bloggers to access the discussion board! There isn't a search feature so you might spend some time finding your links, but if there was information or links you lost that were meaningful you can access them here for a short period of time. Waleed, the help analyst assigned to this issue said the link will be available for only a few weeks so jump on in and get to searching if you want to view the discussion board again!

SCOOP ALERT!

Waleed also let the cat out of the bag that there will be a few "pretty major changes coming in the next 2 to 3 weeks" to NetworkedBlogs and a new way to promote our blogs might be included in the roll out.

In the meantime if you want to let Waleed know your thoughts about the removal of the discussion board or have other ideas on how NetworkedBlogs can be improved click here to voice your concerns. 

How do you feel about the removal of the NetworkedBlogs Discussion Board? Was it useful to you or did you find it to be a nuisance? Share your thoughts in the comments section!

My Blog Lyric Fire: I'm Not at SXSW, But...

I wasn't able to attend this year's South by Southwest Conferences & Festivals (March 11-20) event this year, but it has been nice to see everyone posting about their takeaways and adventures from Austin, Texas the past few days.

For those of you who aren't familiar with (SXSW), it is a conference that highlights the creators and distributors of music, independent films and emerging technologies. The conference features presentations, panels, music showcases, film screenings and much more. 

If you're like me and couldn't attend but still want to get in on the action, you can keep up with the SXSW happenings on Twitter. Attendees have been tweeting around the clock about the event using the hash-tag #sxsw. 

Also check out the SXSW website and the SXSW YouTube Channel  for video clips, event schedules and behind the scenes information. If you are in Austin and have any news, photos or video from the event to share please do so. 

 

My Blog Lyric Fire: Taking Away The Technology Teat

      

Cell phones can now drive cars, vacuum floors and take dogs for walks. Okay, maybe they can't, but they do keep us occupied with music, movies and games. We can also read the paper, record TV shows remotely and keep track of our daily schedules and appointments all with the click of a button. Most of us feel lost without our cell phones and are starting to become way too dependent on them.

Some may think I'm exaggerating, but when you blame the loss of your job on a faulty iPhone, I think we have gone over the edge. I came across a story on the The Huffington Post this morning which featured an open letter to Apple CEO Steve Jobs from a displaced writer/actor complaining that she lost her job as a restaurant server due to an iPhone which alarm clock feature malfunctioned, therefore making her late to work. In her letter she referred to the iPhone as an alarm clock stating that: "An alarm clock is the only way to ensure that I am up on time to go serve brunch to people much like you, your friends, and your family."

Actually, an iPhone is not an alarm clock. It's a phone. Albeit it is a really cool phone that can do a lot of cool things, but in essence it's major function is to operate as a phone. Is it inconvenient when it malfunctions? Of course. Should there have been an announcement warning iPhone users about the alarm clock glitch? Absolutely! Should you blame the loss of your job on your iPhone or on Steve Jobs? No. As the writer expressed in her letter, a battery operated alarm clock costs $5. Better yet, a corded alarm clock (remember those?) can be found for under $20. These items are a fraction of the cost of an iPhone or it's monthly bill. You should never rely on a iPhone, Blackberry or Android phone to wake you up in the morning. If you do, it's not a crime, but you only have yourself to blame if a malfunction occurs. Alarm clocks are old school, but they are mostly reliable. Sad to say, but technology with all of it's bells and whistles has lulled us into a coma. 

Even highly paid professional athletes have seemingly fallen victim to the seductive charms of the technology teat. The Yahoo! sports blog Ball Don't Lie also featured a timely tale today about three members of the Los Angeles Lakers who may have been affected by the same glitch as the unhappy Huffington Post contributor. To their credit, none of them have taken their complaints about the glitch to Steve Jobs, but even admitting that you didn't wake up on time due to an iPhone malfunction  has to be pretty embarrassing. I am a technology aficionado myself, but some things you can't leave to chance. 

As adults we need to take more responsibility for our actions. Our mothers took us off the bottle or breast when they thought we were ready and we were the better for it. Now, we need to take ourselves off of the technology teat. It's way past time for us to: