WordPress Online

Do yourself a favor: don’t judge this book by its (awful) cover. I’ve had this book by my side every step of the way while setting up my very first blog, and I have to say it has been a huge help. Stauffer’s style is direct and engaging, not cutesy. He tells you what you need to know to get started, without a lot of fluff.

I wanted to write a review here because I think this books deserves a big audience, and because the Amazon listing tells you little about what’s covered. So here’s what’s inside:

“Web 2.0 Blog” covers four different blogging platforms: Blogger, TypePad, WordPress, and Expression Engine. So if you’re interested in one of these four, you’ll find the book very helpful. If you are trying to decide which of the four to go with, the book is even more helpful, as you can compare them feature by feature. For instance, you’ll see that while Expression Engine seems quite powerful and flexible, it’s obviously more complicated than the other three. Stauffer does a good job of helping you weigh the pros and cons of each.

The book covers quite a lot in a 450 pages, and it does it very well. There’s even a basic introduction to XHTML and CSS, giving you a peak at how each blogging platform works under the hood. Other topics covered in depth are:

– RSS feeds

– Photoblogs, podcasting, audioblogging, and adding video

– Working with social bookmarking sites such as Digg and Technorati

– using wikis to collaborate with readers

– adding a forum to open the discussion beyond comments

– community and group blogs

– sending e-newsletters to your subscribers

– getting traffic and monetizing your blog

Highly recommended.

Rating: 5 / 5

I have several blogs already and was looking for some ways to tweak and improve them.

I did find some useful information in this book.

However, alot of the info contained herein was stuff I already knew well.

The author goes in-depth on how to choose a specific blogging tool, the various options out there and how to optimize it once you’re up-and-running.

Since I’d already chosen my subjects, my tools and such, the info that really interested me was how to optimize my blogs.

In fact, there’s good info on that including how to promote your blog, how to monetize your blog and more.

If you’re just getting into blogging, this is the book for you. It will be an invaluable asset to your reference shelf.

If you’re a vet blogger, check it out at the library. There’s some good stuff here for you as well.

Cheers! I’ll see you in the blogosphere.
Rating: 4 / 5

I’ve read five how-to books on blogging. How to Do Everything with Your Web 2.0 Blog is the best by far.

(The four others are listed below.)

Most blogging books tend to be self-referential. The authors talk about their own experiences and use their own blogs as examples. That gives you a narrow view of blogging, because their own experiences are narrow, even if they are successful–and not all the authors are successful bloggers. What works in their niche won’t necessarily work in yours.

Stauffer’s book eschews that lazy approach. He uses examples from all over the blogosphere. His book is based on wide-ranging research, not just his own experiences.

Not only is Stauffer broad in his use of examples, he is comprehensive in his treatment of the topics he covers (with two exceptions, which I’ll talk about below). Those topics include strategic planning (very excellent), choosing a platform (including hosted vs. server-side options), choosing CMS software (TypePad, WordPress, Blogger, etc.), designing with templates and CSS, Atom and RSS feeds (including FeedBurner), using multi-media content, tagging and promoting your blog (don’t rely solely on SEO!), collaborating with coauthors and users with wikis and forums, traffic stats and analytics, monetizing (AdSense, affiliate programs, tip jar, PayPal donations, etc.), and more.

Another thing Stauffer eschews (refreshingly) is evangelical hype.

The two topics that Stauffer does not cover adequately (a) the substance of a blog, i.e., what you write about and how you write it, and (b) monetizing.

The other four I read:

ProBlogger (the best on monetizing)

Clear Blogging

How to Make Money with Your Blog

The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging (the fluffiest)
Rating: 5 / 5

I thought this was a wonderful book about blogging. It is not a thin and light book. But, instead, is packed with lots of information and well worth its cover price. It is well written and well organized. And to see specifically what is covered I recommend you examine the Search Inside material provided by Amazon for this book. There you can find a basic Table of Contents and a very detailed one, too.

There were four topics I especially liked the coverage of in this book: (1) blogging tools, (2) blog styles, (3) blog theory, & (4) how to start a blog.

The blogging tools covered were Blogger, WordPress, Typepad, and Expression Engine. I have created blogs at both Blogger and WordPress. And I think the discussion of both in this book was very fair and representative. I have heard Typepad is a really great service, and it is very reasonably priced. But I have opted to do my blogging on the freebie side so far. I have no experience with Expression Engine. But this book has me thinking of doing some investigation into that service.

The blogging styles mentioned were:

>> Personal diary

>> Views & reviews

>> From the desk of…

>> Organizational outreach

>> Internal organizational

>> Community

I was surprised the style I use for my current blogs was not mentioned: Question & answer. But there really are an unlimited number of blogging styles. That’s the beauty of blogs – you can make them what you want them to be and to do.

Throughout the book the author covers blog theory. And he gives us his take on how to actually start a blog. He includes notes, tips and sidebars to help the reader better grasp the material in the book. If you follow the pointers in this book you will probably create a real winner of a blog. You might even include images, video, audio, forums, tags, wikis, and some moneymaking features. But you don’t have to. Hopefully you’ll get more hits, more fans, more friends, and even more customers. 5 stars!
Rating: 5 / 5

Since my main activity is not in creating websites and does not possess great experience, reading this book I was pleasantly surprised. As I am author of technical books, I know the difficulty of structuring and developing the themes with the clarity and depth appropriate for anyone to understand explanations.

I like the style used, easy to follow and can jump with a chapter that not interests you, although the book is interesting in its entirety. I recommend this book to people who are interested in creating your own blog with any of the options currently available: WordPress, Blogger, etc.

Rating: 5 / 5