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Who would have thought it, way back in the middle of last decade, that little Orble, the newcomer on the blogging block, would grow into such a strapping internet presence?

Today Orble has cruised past the 10,000 blog milestone. We are growing fast. We are a growing voice. We are a growing community of writers and commentators and critics and comedians and poets and artists.

Not to mention Norm, who fits into no known category. Or all of them.

Orble is a healthy outlet for the creative minds of many people, and the number of people is growing.

Ten thousand and counting aboard the Good Ship Orble. Congratulations to those who built her, and Happy Milestone to all who sail in her.

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Blogging

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A tip for blogging newcomers

March 20th 2010 06:17

As Orble races toward the 10,000 member blog landmark, we are seeing some interesting new blogs. It's an exciting thing to create a blog, especially if it's your first blog. Your first reader, your first vote, your first comment and your first interaction — it's a brave new world.

There are many tips for new bloggers, and they have been listed and discussed in various posts in this blog among many others. A lot of those tips are common sense: choose a topic and stick to it; write clearly and well; use a spell checker; do some research on key words and search engine visibility etc.

But there is one important aspect of blogging that many writers new to the medium may not be aware of and that is the importance of responding to comments.

There are two aspects to this.

The first aspect is that, in the greater blogging world, comments on your blog posts are gold. If the comments are positive and favourable, it is an opportunity to engage with a like-minded individual and, at the very least, encourage them to return to your blog another day. If the comment is negative, it is an opportunity to engage in debate, something which can quickly attract the interest and participation of others.

Negative comments are big growth opportunities for your blog.

The second aspect is peculiar to a community platform like Orble, which is a world within the blogging world. Orble bloggers like to help each other out, and Orble is set up to facilitate this. In the early days of your blog, any comments received are most likely to come from other Orble bloggers. To ignore those comments is to lose the chance to make a friend.

There are some experienced bloggers on Orble and elsewhere who do not understand, or do not care, about building blog hit numbers through reader engagement. For people who blog simply for the personal pleasure of writing, that's fine.

For everyone else, comments are a crucial part of blogging culture. To ignore them is to limit your blog's growth.

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: A writer's tool kit, Blogging, Writing

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Blogging as the future of global opinion-shaping

March 13th 2010 23:56

The assertions being seen regularly in Bloggercises posts that blogging will take over the world are yet to elicit a response from MI5, the CIA, Mossad or the Taliban, which surprises us because they could all do with a bit of an image massage.

In furthering our case, we ask today, what else is likely to take over the mantle as the world's most powerful shaper of opinion?

The world is currently at a crossroads of information dissemination. The age of newspapers, for so long the credible face of public scrutiny and arbiter of government accountability, is passing. The best newspapers remain mighty thunderers in the public interest, but their time has come.

But to whom is the mantle passing?

The two heavyweight candidates are television and the internet.

The television argument is compelling. It's accessible, it's cheap, it's everywhere. It is the first option for serious advertising and brand promotion. It is the world's favourite relaxation, and as such it is the best way in the world to promote your product, your news, your art or your political aspirations.

Today, television is at the forefront of public consciousness when it comes to information. For politicians looking to gain voter brownie points, for CEOs looking to improve public awareness and for celebrities looking to monetise their latest excess, television is now the go-to medium.

Those arguing for the internet say it is inevitable that it will take over. In the economically advanced world, it is now more ubiquitous than television. Add in the growth that will happen in the next few years in the emerging massive population markets such as China, India, Indonesia and Brazil, and the influence grows exponentially.

More importantly, perhaps, is the argument which we are hearing more often that television will prove no competition for the internet of the future because the internet will simply envelop it. Television progamming is already available via the internet, and this trend will grow. Television content creators are already targeting internet rather than network distribution channels. That giant HD screen in your living room will soon become your internet hub, and television channels will be just one of the options.

The internet is set to become the most powerful medium for entertainment, personal interaction and information, and blogging is set to become the most powerful medium within the internet for opinion-shaping.

The Huffington Post has shown the way, offering high-profile, issue-defining blogs right there on the front page with the breaking news. It is our prediction that, in five years, every news disseminator, be the name Murdoch or Bloggs, will have blogs in its front line of news coverage, and the top bloggers on those sites will be the world's most important shapers of opinion.

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Blogging

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The power of blogging

March 9th 2010 18:42

Some time ago I developed a theory, which has so far built a dedicated following of one, that blogging will take over the world.

Now, it seems, the legal system of Australia is recognising the growing power of the medium

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Blogging

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What I got for Christmas was a blog stat spike

December 25th 2009 23:02

A year ago, I wrote a post over at NewlyOld entitled "Christmas and the finer points of Cockney".

It was inspired by my 80-something father in law, to whose generation this fun and quirky alphabet of rhyming slang is well-known. The post (which you can see here if interested) proved a comparatively big hit on a small and sparsely populated blog

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Blogging

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Consumption Malfunction reaching for the stars

September 23rd 2009 00:28

The blogosphere has been abuzz for some time now watching the rise and rise of the Consumption Malfunction blog.

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Blogging

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Do's and don'ts for young bloggers

July 8th 2009 20:14

Here are some simple rules for new bloggers.

Don't start unless you mean to go on. Blogging is a brave new publishing world but the internet is littered with abandoned blogs. It's a lot of fun until the novelty wears off and then it becomes serious work. Blogs are hungry pets; good blogs are voracious creatures. A blog is a long-term commitment

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Blogging, Writing

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The exhausted blogger

June 5th 2009 05:58

My huge following of fans, and I'd like to thank both of you, constantly asks me to write more in the way of advice for people in small business.

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Blogging, Corporate blogs, Making money by blogging, Salient Point

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Blog writer wanted

June 3rd 2009 01:09

Candidates should be female, aged 29-39, and resident of Melbourne, Australia.

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Blogging, Salient Point

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Is blogging the future of everything?

May 28th 2009 08:10

A few weeks ago I wrote a post here entitled "Will blogging rule the world?" It evoked a lot of discussion, and I have found myself thinking about the question ever since. This opinion piece is the result, looking at changes that the digital age and, in particular, blogging, may bring to many things that we now take for granted. It is the first of a two-part series, with the second instalment to cover media, publishing and opinion leadership.

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Blogging, Making money by blogging, Social media, Writing

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Will blogging rule the world?

April 15th 2009 04:34

the future of journalism - big call! although maybe thats what people are crying out for, more conversational, interactive news . . . something that a telecaster in a box cant provide maybe thats what people are crying out for, more conversational, interactive news. something that a telecaster in a box cant provide

Morgan Bell wrote the above comment in response to a quote on an earlier Bloggercises post by Mary Jo Foley, the widely known and read author of the All About Microsoft blog. Foley said, "For me, the future of journalism is blogging

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Blogging, Corporate blogs, Making money by blogging, Salient Point

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Quote: blogging is ...

April 14th 2009 22:52

Blogging is the new poetry

Unknown

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Blogging

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Dear Mr Google, please explain

March 23rd 2009 23:02

Just when I thought I was coming to terms with the slippery slope of AdSense methodology, I uncover evidence that everything I thought I knew may have to be discarded.

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: AdSense, Blogging, Making money by blogging

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AdSense and other questions

March 21st 2009 07:48

AdSense can be confusing, and after a reasonable amount of research there is still much I don't know. However, I can offer the following. It's not the full story, but I'll aim to answer some common questions.

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: AdSense, Blogging, Making money by blogging

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