On the Web with Kim Vallee

BLOGGING, Blogging TIPS | May 7, 2009

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Every Blogger Needs A Blog Bible

The same way as every TV show has a show bible describing the story’s characters, settings and culture, I believe every blogger needs to keep close his/her blog bible. Writing your blog bible enables you to stay focus on what your blog is all about. In a corporate language, this would be called the Editorial [...]

SOCIAL MEDIA | May 2, 2009

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How to Use Twitter to Raise your Personal Brand

Roberto Rocca wrote for the Gazette that the tech-savvy crowd now exchanges Twitter accounts instead of paper cards. Roberto is wondering if Twitter is becoming the new business card. This was certainly the case at PodCamp Toronto last February when many wrote their Twitter account name with the @ sign on their name tag. I [...]

BLOGGING, Blogging TIPS | March 29, 2009

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My Top Tips To New Bloggers

I meet many people who are asking me advices on the art of blogging. To start answering that question I compiled a to-do-list to ease up the launching of a new blog. Set up a self-hosted WordPress The blogging platform of choice these days are a self-hosted WordPress infrastructure. It unites flexibility and a vast [...]

HOW to use, SOCIAL MEDIA | March 20, 2009

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The Ideas Campaign Uses Crowdsourcing the Old Fashioned Way: behind closed doors

When I first read about The Ideas Campaign I was excited. An Irish businesswoman launched the campaign two weeks ago. The goal is to ask Irish citizens what can be done to stimulate the economy. My deception comes from the lack of proper social networking skills. As I researched the story, this post transformed into [...]

SOCIAL MEDIA | March 16, 2009

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WeFollow is the latest attempt at user powered Twitter directory

Following Tweeple with similar interests is my goal. After all this is how you engage in valuable conversations. Kevin Rose, the founder of Digg, officially launched yesterday a service called WeFollow. The idea is that you fill 3, only 3 hash tags to describe your interests. The idea is to find people with similar interests. [...]

SOCIAL MEDIA | February 23, 2009

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More Twitter 101 tips and meeting Sean Power on the train back from PodCamp Toronto

I had a wonderful time at PodCamp Toronto. I need a few days to digest all the knowledge and ideas I gathered from this unconference. I will keep you posted on my findings. On my way back to Montreal, we were sitting next to Sean Power, Community manager at Akoha and an O’Reilly author. Sean [...]

BLOGGING, Blogging TIPS | February 7, 2009

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How do you censor your blog?

A recurring question from people who asked me about blogging is “How do you separate your private life from your public life (i.e., my blog)?”. Any blogger should reflect on the matter. Your answer does not simply depend about how you feel comfortable about exposing details from your private life. You must take into account [...]

BLOGGING, Blogging TIPS | February 3, 2009

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How to Write Great Blog Content

Everybody is talking about the importance of writing unique and useful content. The key to success also lies on how you say it. Two years of intensive blogging revealed 5 important factors to write great blog content. 1. Be Concise I strongly believe that posts of 750 to 1500 words are too long. People are [...]

SOCIAL MEDIA | January 29, 2009

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Twitter 101 | Basic Commands

A friend who just joined Twitter asked me for clarifications on standard Twitter functions. She wishes to grasp the subtleties between the commands. Note that a Twitter user is called a Tweeter or a Twitterer. Tweeple refers to Twitter people, Twitter members or the Twitter users viewed as a group. Reply @ You reply to [...]

BLOGGING, Blogging TIPS | January 27, 2009

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Hosting a Giveaway As a Blog Marketing Tool

Hosting a giveaway can build awareness about your blog. The motivation is to gain new readers while rewarding your actual fans. If you are clever about it, the biggest gain may be the splurge in media attention. Bloggers are often approached by a brand to reach their audience with a giveaway. If the prizes are [...]

SOCIAL MEDIA | January 22, 2009

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Mr. Tweet may be useful after all. We will see

I tried Mr. Tweet twice when they launched. My original feeling was disappointment. Where Mr. Tweet and similar tools felt short is that their suggestions ignore my scope of interests. I am aware this is not an easy thing to do but a girl can dream. Since my goal is follow people who say things [...]

BLOGGING, Blogging TIPS | January 13, 2009

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5 simple and free ways to grow your traffic when you are launching a blog

Blog traffic does not grow overnight or by magic. It takes times. With so many great blogs out there, you need to be patient and invest time in promoting your blog. My tricks will work for any blog that wishes to grow their traffic, not simply for when you are launching it. These are the [...]