The Top 5 Most Common Distractions To Bloggers

Distractions. We all have become far too familiar with these time sucking phenomenons. They are events, objects, and people that seem to remove any hope of completing that project which has been planned for weeks now. Most people can handle the occasional distraction, but for some, these events rule their lives. Are you in control?

There is far too much time in life that is wasted, and those that are willing to make sacrifices to work hard will take home the better paycheck (and, potentially, have a more successful life). Hard work will pay off in the end, but some will never see it because of those distractions.

Honestly, we all get distracted, but we all react to it differently. Some of us only live with minor distractions, but others just won’t get anywhere in life with them. Some might say that distractions can equate to laziness.

I just think of them as moments that act as deterrents to reaching your lifelong goals.

Regardless, if we want to fix this, we have to identify what is doing the damage:

Televisions

If it is not House nor NFL football on television, it is something else that is bound to catch your attention. Thankfully (perhaps unfortunately) since the advent of online television services like Hulu, I have not had an issue with passing up on watching the tube, but now I watch it on the computer—that doesn’t help much. Many people that work from home manage to keep the television on all the time, even while working! It is a huge problem. Let’s just say that Sundays are not very productive for me.

Games

Young and old alike have that gaming spirit thanks to the Nintendo Wii. Not good news for many as games can be even more distracting than television. I will admit, I used to get caught up in video games when I was younger, but nowadays, it is rare for me to even pick up a controller. Even though I am, somewhat, cured, others are still obsessed with blasting away their friends on Halo and drifting in Mario Kart Wii. Wii Fit might be an exception.

Mobile Phones

That mobile phone can be a nuisance or an irrelevant thing depending on how social of a person you really are. If you are quite the chatty person though, the cell phone won’t only take away from your productivity while you are actually talking on it, but it could also lead to new and unexpected plans that might also take away from work. I am not saying to toss your phone in the trash—especially any iPhones—but there are some people that could certainly benefit from doing exactly that. Oh, and don’t even get me started on text messaging Twitter updates.

Social Networks

The new way to kill your time is through Twitter, MySpace, FriendFeed, Facebook, YouTube, Seesmic, and pretty much any application or service that has a social vibe to it. Twitter has pretty much been taking a pretty significant chunk of time in my life, but at least it has ties with blogging and marketing. By the way, I am @JMowery on Twitter—do you see how I actually just made Twitter into a personal marketing tool? Joking aside, social networking is the new cool “thing” to do with friends, but it is an involving and time consuming process.

Web Browsers

Web browsers are great for many things like connecting everyone to a web of information, but web browsers, just like those Wii controllers, are also vehicles for distraction. It might be the most distracting thing on this list. We humans, naturally, have the urge to go explore the great things that the internet has to offer us, but people easily get lost as well. For me, thanks to the advent of RSS, this is not much of an issue anymore, but for others, it can just rob you of time which could have been spent being more productive.

Other notables:

• Chat Apps
• Email
• Shopping

Tips to Avoid Distraction

Well, we know what distracts us, but how can we help alleviate this issue? It won’t be easy, but there are a few things you can do, right now, to help keep on track:

• Maintain Cleaner Surroundings—It supposedly makes you more productive!
• Create and Follow A Schedule—Google Calendar helps
• Block Annoying People, At Least, Temporarily—TwitterSnooze puts annoying Twitter friends in timeout
• Block Distracting Websites—Use a tool like LeechBlock
• Surf Productively—Why not visit a site like Wikipedia?
• Focus & Reward—Keep your eye on the prize, and you might end up like this guy.

After identifying your distractions, you can find ways to avoid them. But this is only a tiny piece of the solution though. You have to be motivated to work hard; people can’t afford to be lazy anymore. It is a tough world, and things are bound to get tougher for bloggers. Avoiding distractions is one way to stand out from the rest.

Do you have any distractions which rob you of productive times? I know I do. Please let everyone know in the comments section of any distractions you have trouble with and manage to avoid.

[Image Source: Distractions—Marvin Kuo | CC]

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An email I sent to Digg concerning their policies

After finding that one of my sites was flagged at Digg for “consistently” being a news middleman (despite not being a news site, nor ever submitting news content to Digg), I sent the following email which I feel makes an important point. If I receive a response, I’ll post it here.

I say this with genuine intent on making Digg a better place:

It is in the best interest of Digg long term to have a more agile and intelligent means of determining what constitutes “consistent”

The point of the email? Well, to be blunt, it’s this:

It’s only in a police state-like environment that “consistent” comes to mean “at least once.”

How Much Money Do You Average Per Month From Blogging?

My Daily Blogging Routine—How I Work, Step By Step

We regularly and subconsciously develop daily routines when it comes to work. It doesn’t matter if you are working as a blogger, tech support member, singer, or astronaut because we humans tend to settle into a routine no matter what we are doing in life. This way, things become easier to manage, and it also allows you to be more productive and at ease with your work. Everyone has their own way of doing things.

Some people have their routines planned out to the very minute, but I try to avoid this because it rarely ever works out as planned for me. I don’t know how unique my writing schedule is compared to others, but I do most of my creative writing after midnight and editorial writing in the afternoon. The midnight writing sessions can sometimes keep me up until 6 AM or later, and, as a result, this means I have a somewhat awkward sleeping schedule. But hey, no one should complain as long as the job gets done. Whenever I manage to drag myself out of bed, this is how I get my work done.

News Feeds

The first thing I do when I wake up is open up NetNewsWire. At this point in time, I am usually in awe as the unread count skyrockets to insurmountable levels.

Within less time it took me to stumble towards my laptop, I am presented with hours of work, and, sometimes, it can be quite the eye opener.

I always give a sincere effort to check out every item, and those that I find interesting will be opened in the background for a thorough read later on. While going through each story, those that look interesting, but not required to read at the moment, will be flagged (or a starred if using GReader) so that the story in question will not be lost.

After about an hour or two (depending on the day of the week), I have usually managed to drop the unread count to zero, and I can now focus on the stories I wanted to read about. I am a relatively fast reader, so it is usually no big deal to read the contents. However, if I have opened up some 5,000 or more word articles, it can become quite time consuming as you would imagine. I will bookmark the stories that I find useful, and if there are others that I deem worthy of being blogged about, I will usually be on top of that immediately.

If it has been one of those days where thousands of stories have pilled up on me, I will take a break after. Some people just don’t realize how much effort that can be required to filter out bad content to just find the good stuff.

Eventually, I will have finished with the feeds, and at this point, I will close down NetNewsWire until I decide to take a break later on in the day.

Email

Some people would check their email first thing in the morning, and even I sometimes do that, but I usually wait until after dealing with the news feeds to read my email. On occasion, email can be useful for things other than spam. Unfortunately, computers are not smart enough, yet, to really determine which emails should be of immediate importance, but thanks to Gmail, I don’t usually get that much spam in my inbox.

Thankfully, it only takes a matter of minutes to deal with email, and then I am right back to work.

Develop and Review Article Ideas

I will now open up Google Docs. I did not, however, do this for the purpose of writing. See, there has to be a solid idea to build upon, and I take my time to plan things out. On Google Docs, I have a single document for each blog I write for. For Performancing, I have a document with hundreds of potential story ideas that I have collected since the first day I started working here. Some days, it really feels like it is a safe with money stored in it.

I keep all my idea lists for each blog up-to-date. I will write down any ideas I have come up with over the previous day and current morning, I will strikeout any ideas I have already written about, and I will modify any existing ideas that need changed. Finally, I will usually highlight any article I am currently working on in red so that it is easy to locate in the future.

Finally, after a nice amount of time of brainstorming, I will hopefully have some ideas on what I am going to be writing about. If I can’t come up with any ideas, that idea list I was just talking about will manage to save the day.

After figuring out a title for the article I intend on writing, I will move onto creating a summary and outline.

Create Outlines

Creating a summary and outline is probably one of the most productive things I have ever added to my writing workflow. Without a simple outline, I could easily add up to three times more effort when revising my work. I end up having to re-read everything I write several more times, and I have to edit the location of content to make sure it flows correctly. To put it simply—this is a very important step.

Nowadays, I put a lot of emphasis towards making sure my outlines are done well. I want to know exactly how my article is going to flow, and I want to be able to visualize what the finished piece will look like. An outline gives me the opportunity to do that with relative ease.

The first thing I do is create an introduction (I also refer to it as a summary) for my article. I usually complete the entire introduction, and then I will continue on with my usual outlining process. It might take 10 minutes, it might take an hour, but it is always worth the effort. The longer the article, the more effort I put into making my outline flawless.

Even though I am only near the halfway point in this article, as I glance down, I already know what I am going to be writing about. It is a nice feeling to know that I don’t have to deal with trying to figure out where my article is going; I already know.

Research

People either do research before or after creating an outline, and then again, some do no research at all because they know what they are writing about. Here at Performancing, I do my research after the outline because I am not writing about content that is time sensitive. What I write today could still apply years down the road. However, if you are writing about breaking news or similar, it is probably best to do the research first as your outline will be that much more detailed.

I break research up into three different stages: preliminary research, active research, and post research. Preliminary research will heavily affect how and what I write. This can be knowledge about the topic known from life experience or gained after scouring books, websites, people, and other resources of information. I shouldn’t have to state how important this is.

If I didn’t have a clue about what I was writing about, those that have the experience about what you are discussing will be quick to make me look like a fool in the comments section. It is simple really—the more knowledge a person has about the topic in question, the more potential for the finished product being an easier job and a great read.

Researching while I am writing (active research) is also a very important part of the research process. However, it is also the part that can distract me the most as well. I really try my best to reduce the amount of research that needs to be done after I start writing, but I help myself by having the resources I need at the ready. Some writers, today, thrive off of using Wikipedia (as do I), but whether it is Google or an actual person, I am prepared for these things.

Finally, depending on how serious you take your work, there is the post research stage that is needed for things like fact checking. I could get in serious trouble for stating lies about people and companies. Bloggers are not free to say whatever they want, and giving people false information, in my opinion, should be punished. Just recently, I made the mistake of reviewing an older version of a product for a review, and had I made sure that I was using the correct version, I would not have upset a particular company. It is important to make sure what you have written is factual.

Different people place different amounts of effort into the writing process, but I believe research is one of the most important. Research is what will shine throughout the work, and those that put in the effort will be rewarded for it.

Rough Draft

The rough draft is that time when I am taking all those ideas in my head and getting them out of my system. I have previously heard by some of my teachers that this process is referred to as “throwing up” words on paper. Regardless of what you call it, the concerns over structure and grammar should be set aside in order to maximize creativity. There are certain times when a writer will get in a rhythm, and when that happens, it is time to type away.

My rough drafts can really be rough. After I have filled in the gaps from my outline, things might not make sense after reading it, but as long as I have the ideas written down, I can’t lose them. You would be surprised if you ever had the opportunity to read a few rough drafts by famous authors in our past—authors managed to transform blobs of words into amazing pieces of work.

In other words, it is better to have too much than not enough. I can always trim the fat from an article, but having to go back and add stuff is not as easy. When I have finished my rough draft, it will be time to make things look good.

I prefer waiting until I publish the article to include links and pictures, but some of you might be happy with adding them in by this point. I tend to include notes within square brackets to remind of things that I should do before publishing; like [add a link] to a previous article or insert a relevant image.

Final Draft (Editing)

So, I have these paragraphs full of text, and now it is time to bring it all together with the final draft.

For some—myself included—this is the most time consuming task after doing research. Authors really can spend hours upon hours trying to make things better, but as many of us have realized, there is always a way to make something better no matter how well we have done it.

Grammar, sentence structure, and punctuation will be perfected—at least, I like to think so—by the time I am finished with the final draft.

I also try my best to ensure that the flow of the article is correct. The outline already helped to avoid any issues with the flow of the article, but it can’t hurt to double-check.

By the time I am done with the final draft, only things like spelling errors and punctuation should have to be fixed. If I was needing to re-arrange content or worse, than I probably did something very wrong. Thankfully, that rarely happens to me, but I always keep on the lookout.

Publishing

I am almost done, but there is still the issue of presenting my work. Links, images, and videos are now common additions to content on the web. As even the latest poll on Performancing has revealed, people prefer to, at the very least, have images and links which are relevant to the content.

I must also account for the fact that images and videos might manipulate the way my content looks, and I might need to make small changes to account for this. It can be annoying to have finished all the writing, and then have to change stuff do to layout issues, but so be it.

Finally, right before publishing the content live, I give my content one or two good readings to ensure that everything is done correctly. I have caught many last minute errors just by reading an article one last time. It is important that you do this as well, and hopefully, I will have enjoyed what I managed to come up with.

It’s Not Over

After an article has gone live, there is still the task of submitting it to social networks and responding to comments and criticisms. Some people skip out on these parts. I, however, always make an effort to respond to every single comment.

Social networks are, of course, useful for getting that boost of traffic, and I really enjoy submitting my works to StumbleUpon lately. They help with getting backlinks to your articles, and I can’t complain with that.

The more effort you put into an article, the more effort you should put into doing these final steps. I take it very seriously, and so should you if you plan on being a great blogger.

The Finish

Eventually, it will be time to start the process all over again. After all, that is why it is called a routine. I am used to it by now.

This was a lot to have thrown at you, but my work routine is really involved. However, I don’t put much thought into it as it just happens to work out this way.

I am interested in learning if you have a routine that you follow while writing an article. How similar or different is it to mine? If you have any ideas, please let everyone know in the comments section.

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My Blogging Revelation: Too Focused on the Dollars

[Flickr credit: preciouskhyatt | CC.] The wonderful late Spring weather of the past few days always triggers “revelation” season for me each year – a time when I (re-)discover some truths about myself, particularly in terms of writing career. For example, it pains me to say this but up until very recently, I’ve unwittingly been focused on the financial aspects of blogging. In my defense, it wasn’t intentional – but that mindset was there nevertheless, and inexcusable. I did once blog because I loved writing, but thoughts of “career” intruded along the way and took over.

In fact, this mostly accounts for why I’ve blogged so many, many niches – probably beyond the average freelancer – in the past four calendar years. That is, other than originally being inspired by Darren Rowse/ Problogger, who made multiple niches work for him. But Darren is a rarity in the blogosphere.

The Truth and Fear

For me, there was always the subconscious fear that if I picked one niche and it was “wrong”, my paltry monthly income would disappear completely. Thus I “had to” make sure that I had my blogging fingers in all the niches that I was interested in – mostly from the times I wrote for the print medium. I would decide “later” which niche I should really be in and could focus on. But “later” never came, until I made it happen.

It was a difficult situation for someone whose entire earnings were dependent on blogging. My old career got away from me, and I had no significant other to rely on financially or emotionally. That lead to a panic state that can either be very obvious, or in my case, a mild, ongoing subconscious issue. Unwitting or not, being in a panic state doesn’t make for great writing. You lose track of whom you’re writing for, and probably end up writing “at” readers. Certainly a big turnoff for most people. (Writing “at readers is not the same thing as being authoritative.)

The Consequences

Instead of being unique, I blogged the same thing everyone else was, and did that in almost every niche I was into. Original content was inching out of my mental grasp. Instead of being truly edgy, I said things that got a rise because I thought that’s what I was supposed to do – not necessarily because I actually felt that way. Doing that meant losing any shred of charisma I might have once had, and alienating some top bloggers. Ruining your reputation for literally a few dollars per post isn’t worth it. Trust me on that one. Unless you’re like shock-jock Howard Stern, shock-blogging probably isn’t going to pay off. When I realized how much of an a-hole blogger I’d become, it became that much easier to stop being that way.

The Plan

Since my revelation, I’ve vowed to myself to do two things. First is to get back to writing “for” readers, sharing what knowledge I can. Second is to narrow my focus down to just a very small handful of niches – something I’ve slowly been transitioning to all this year anyway. Now, I have a goal and a plan – to be constructively critical, not just critical – and a much shorter list of niches to monitor.

Having a goal, even for blogging, helps keep you focused. Having focus means having the time to get better in the few areas that you want to focus on, instead of spreading yourself thin. Getting better at what you’re writing about lets you write with streamlined clarity and confidence. This is what will get you the readers you want.

Have you had a blogging revelation? What have you done about it? Care to share that in the comments?

Who Are You Writing For?

[Flickr credit: matsuyuki.] Lorelle spells out, at Blog Herald, the three sources that your web traffic comes from: search engines, links, word of mouth. Which one are you writing for? She offers some of the most convincing reasoning for focusing on “word of mouth” – a powerful form of communication now and throughout history. Write for word of mouth traffic, she says, and traffic from other sources will follow.

Another facet of that question is, “Who are you writing for?” I’d like to pass on some advice about writing that I learned a long time ago, which I’ve just rediscovered scribbled in an old notebook of mine. If you want your writing to be impactful and/or meaningful, write for someone that cares about you and what you have to say.

To clarify, while you write, imagine that you are writing directly for this person – in order to tell them a story, relate an experience to them, or teach them about something. Choose anyone that you know will listen to you in person, no matter what you’re talking about. (When I wrote for print, that person was my maternal grandmother. She doesn’t understand much English, but she enjoyed listening to her oldest grandchild. Since becoming a busy blogger, though, I’d forgotten about this technique.)

When you consciously write for someone that “cares”, your writing takes on an intangible quality that other readers will appreciate – whether they realize why or not. You’ll also find yourself taking care about how and what you write.

If you do this – that is, write from the heart, for the heart – then it doesn’t matter how many other bloggers are writing about the same thing. While being unique is preferable, your writing will still stand out. The links will come, and as Lorelle says, the search traffic will follow.

My own best writing in print – at least from my point of view – was produced with this approach. My forgettable writing – not so much. If you’ve never done this before, it’s something you might have to work at. In the bustle of blogging, it’s easy to forget even after you’ve achieved it. So ask yourself every so often, “Who am I writing for?”

Could You Work on a Mobile Phone?

[Flickr credit: Coyotejack.] Around late 2006, there was a report that the number of mobile phones had outstripped landlines in North America – a pattern headed for duplication elsewhere in the world. Then the iPhone, a revolutionary communication device, appeared and those lucky Americans that got one probably rejoiced. The iPhone offers true mobile browser access in a handy package – reportedly with an expensive two-year overall contract cost.

But what about the rest of us? There isn’t another phone that comes close to the size of the iPhone and simultaneously offers true mobile browsing. If there is, after a year of looking, I haven’t found it. (The iPhone still hasn’t come to Canada.) Well okay, there’s the CECT T5 T32 iPhone clone [via RedFerret], though I’m talking about something official, from a known phone manufacturer. (If I’m going to spend over $200 on a phone, it’d better be something I can rely on.)

Here are a few questions for you. Even if you could afford the overall expense of an iPhone – which according to numerous bloggers is pretty high for a two-year contract – would you actually want to do your web work on it? What about one of those UMPC (Ultra-mobile PC) style of “laptop” computers? Do you find these handy? For those of you with iPhones, how do you use them? For browsing or actual work? If you work on your iPhones, how long do you spend at any given time?

If you’ve ever worked for several hours consecutively on a laptop with a touchpad instead of a mouse, you know how much your fingers or hand aches afterwards. Back in 2005, when I first started blogging regularly, I used a large laptop with touchpad, spending 4-8 hours on any given day. Hand cramps were a regular experience. The word ergonomic certainly doesn’t apply to touchpads.

With the iPhone there aren’t even any physical buttons. Could you fathom having to work for long hours on an iPhone or something similar – or worse yet, something smaller? (Especially with no physical buttons or toggles – only touch-sensitive screens?)

Probably not, right? Well software manufacturers must think some of us intend to actually work on small mobile devices, not just browse. I’m assuming this based on the increasing number of complex software apps that are showing up on small screens – for example, video editing. Seriously? Do they think we’ll come around after we try it?

Of course, there’ll always be some hardcore geek that thinks this sort of thing is fantastic  – until eyestrain sets in. For the rest of us, it’s unlikely that we could comfortably work for extended periods on the smaller mobile devices. At least, no amount of cool app for small mobile devices is going to entice me.

Consider an alternative: An affordable heads-up display (HUD) goggles (aka HMD – head-mounted display) and wearable devices to support true ultra-mobile computing. Some of these goggles have virtual screens equivalent to viewing a 60-inch monitor, maybe larger, and they’re projected in front of your retina – supposedly safely – while allowing you to still take in your surroundings. (Think of the helmet displays that Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark has in the Iron Man movie. Except without the clunky helmet.)

Provided that the data input devices are comfortable to use and compact (possibly digital pens with virtual interaction, or gaming-style toggles), then you’ve got me salivating. Instead of the older “brick” style of computer that you’d drop into a large pocket, you might be able to power such a mobile “workstation” with the next generation version of the iPhone. So what if it all looks geeky if it’s comfortable and works well?

What about you? Am I full of it? Could you work on a small mobile device such as the iPhone? Or would you rather have an HUD/ HMD setup possibly driven by a more powerful version of the iPhone?

Enabling the Do-It-Yourself Blogger

There was a time on the Web when sites were built by a select few people who understood HTML and JavaScript. Then came graphics programs that would generate some of the code for you web page design for you – but you still needed to know how to design. Then came WordPress and other open source blog platforms – arguably as important a technological innovation as Gutenberg’s press, because these platforms have enabled the “masses” to communicate.

More recently, there’ve been a number of JavaScript code libraries – such as Script.aculo.us or jQuery – that have enabled many non-programmers to add advanced user interfaces to their sites. In a similar vein, CSS grid frameworks are enabling non-designers to jazz up their sites with quickly-prototyped, slicker layouts.

To wit, here’s a snapshot, below, of a homepage template I’m working on, designed for freelancers to promote themselves. There’s a “gallery” of projects, and a sidebar that uses an “accordion” menu. Of course, since I’m not a trained designer, this template is very minimalist and lacks much “style”, but for me it’s sufficient. What’s more, I put it together in relatively little time using a Blueprint CSS grid and jQuery interactions.

True, there are few presentation glitches to be ironed out, but had I coded the necessary HTML and CSS from scratch, it would have taken far too long and not been worth my time – especially due to cross-browser technical problems that have already been resolved with these libraries and frameworks.

Granted, the average non-coding, non-designing blogger will not be embracing JavaScript code libraries or CSS grid frameworks any time soon. However, these options are there for you if you need/ want them.

Be First, Be Unique, but—Please—Do Not Repeat!

Today—just as I was going through my content feeds—I noticed the same story posted on over 20 of my feeds. Words like “excessive” instantly came to mind, but that is being nice about it. Come on already—it is really becoming an issue! I saw this story about a GPS drawing more than enough to get the idea that it was cool, and the entire situation was becoming pathetic. If it is not about GPS drawings, it is the same old stories about Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft. It is far too repetitive.

I am, somewhat, over exaggerating, but these problems are becoming apparent now as the overcrowded blogosphere continues taking in more repeated information. It is now like big news organizations trying to be the first to get an exclusive interview with Paris Hilton instead of a dedicated journalist doing research for an insightful piece about the world’s fuel consumption. I am most likely to appreciate the latter.

Even popular blogs seem to write about the same things that other blogs—even serious competition—have written about. Is it really this bad? Are bloggers becoming lazy? I mean, this is only the beginning! Things are bound to get worse as information overload continues to annoy us all.

Further more, I am expecting new tools and services to be developed that will filter though all the rehashing of content in an attempt to show readers the initial sources of content. Most blogs about blogging—like Performancing—within the blogosphere will tell you it is important to create original content, and right now, that sentiment is right on the money.

If your blog relies on posting content from other blogs without adding anything to the story (e.g. reactions or criticisms), the future might be grim for that particular blog—in other words, you should try making serious efforts to becoming more unique and original. Failure to do so might result in your blog being less valuable to your readers.

However, all this excessive reposting by popular bloggers provide opportunities for smaller bloggers to get noticed from creativity and hard work. If a smaller blogger has even one amazing article go mainstream, it could be the key to unlocking that door towards success.

So, please, turn off your feed reader right now, and try to think of some original articles you could write about which relate to topics that you have experience with. After all, you should be blogging about things you have experience with and are passionate about, and if so, then this should be no problem. When you are done, you should be writing about these ideas which you have come up with. If the finished product is well written and of value to the blogosphere, the views will come—people will link to your content.

In other words, if your blog is going to be great, one of the easier ways to start working towards that is by writing great original content! Not only will you be doing yourself a favor, but you won’t add to this excessive replication issue that is plaguing the blogosphere. Do your part, and the hard work will pay off.

Do You Get Negative Comments on Your Blog?

The common wisdom online seems to be that if you’re getting critical comments on your blog – even the kind that say “you suck” – then you’re definitely starting to be noticed. Of course, that’s a type of notice most people can do without. (Note that this does not necessarily mean you are not being noticed if you are not getting negative comments.)

Some bloggers moderate comments and remove anything rude or insulting. Others leave all but the most offensive. But if you do leave them up, should you respond to negative comments? Ignore them? If you respond, how should you do so? Chris Garrett offers some great advice on when to answer critics. If you visit, read the comments as well, which provide even more insight and advice. Also check out Deb Ng’s advice on handling negative comments, published here on Perf last year.

So, do you get negative comments on your blog? How have you handled these?