Monthly Archives: January 2011

Exciting Trend: Your blog could become a newspaper column!

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It’s something called “Reverse Publishing,” taking content from areavoices blogging and rerunning it in the print edition of the newspaper.

In the past two weeks The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead has selected 7 featured blogs to appear in the newspaper. We always knew areavoices bloggers had something to say and this is further proof!

The posts included everything from how to make gourmet baby food to “10 Ways to Avoid Winter Hibernation” to how to organize your office.

It’s all about great usable information that will help our readers. It doesn’t matter if it starts on a reporter’s notebook or on a blogger’s post.

Stay tuned for more areavoice bloggers in your paper!

Areavoices Digest #16 – January 26, 2011 – A nod to Art Linkletter!

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 Remember, that old Art Linkletter TV show, “Kids say the darndest things?” Well they do. And we love to read about it. That’s why I’m excited to recommend the following new blog by Shane Mercer, followed by 4 others.  Enjoy!
The Crazy Things Kids Say – http://thingskidssay.areavoices.com -   Readers are invited to share their cute kid stories with Shane Mercer. Shane will then review the stories and post them to the blog. I found myself smiling as I read the blog today. It’s a very cute FAMILY blog that I think would work for everyone.
 
Cute Kids Pics Submitted by Our Readers – http://kidpics.areavoices.com  Readers are asked to send photos of their kids. Shane is the author of this blog as well. People love to show off their kids. Why not on our platform? It’s appropriate region wide as well.
 
The Old Nichols Farm – http://oldnicholsfarm.areavoices.com  -
This blog is written by a stay-at-home mom of three living on a hobby farm near Jamestown, ND. She’s also an amateur photographer and former microbiologist.  She says, “mostly I blog about the simple chaos around here, and the way I see the world through my camera.” She’s written this blog on blog spot for a year-and-a-half and has built a nice following. While she lives in ND, she doesn’t talk about the area, so I think it would be appropriate region wide.
Coach Carolyn – Happiness and Success are up to you – http://carolynbaana.areavoices.com Carolyn Baana is pursuing her certification with the International Coaching Federation, a group which trains life coaches.  Carolyn says of her work:
“Ultimately, the simplest explanation is that if you’re looking for someone to help guide you to get to your goals and dreams more quickly – and someone to hold you accountable in the process of moving toward them – then a coach would likely be a benefit to you. When my clients find the actions they need to take based on our conversations, then follow through and see progress which strengthens them to keep progressing toward their final destination, it energizes me. And that is why I coach.”

And finally…congrats to Melissa Schmalenberger. She writes a blog called MS Simplicity – http://mssimplicity.areavoices.com  Melissa Schmalenberger just started her blog on areavoices in the fall and she has quickly become one of the most popular bloggers on the platform. She’s consistently in the top 20 among the 2,600 areavoice bloggers. Way to go Melissa!

New “Golden Rule” Guidelines

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As the mom of two young children, I’ve had those discussions about the golden rule. “Treat other people the way you would like to be treated.”

Unfortunately, reminders about those rules don’t end when we graduate from school. Even adults must remind ourselves frequently to treat others with respect. It’s not always easy. We live in a world where the volume has been turned up. And it’s not just politicians, pundits and radio talk show hosts doing the yelling. It seems, at times, we’ve lost our tolerance for those with differing opinions. I loved a comment I heard on a television show awhile back. It was a suggestion for a sign one might want to carry at a political rally for an opposing candidate, “I disagree with you. But I’m pretty sure, you’re not Hitler.”

Why do I talk about this in this blog – a blog promoting areavoices blogging? Simple. Our areavoices community is growing fast! That’s great news! We love that areavoices has become a place where you can blog about whatever you want. But we also want this to be a place of respect. For that reason we’ve recently posted our Community Guidelines.  Pretty basic, golden rule type stuff. You can find them via the tab at the top of the Topics.AreaVoices blog, or the link at the bottom of the main AreaVoices page. Or you can click right here:  http://areavoices.com/community-guidelines/  

I think my co-worker Lindsey, who was instrumental in writing these guidelines,  said it best, “These guidelines alone don’t really do anything to actively promote respect, kindness, and the feeling of community that we want in the end. But that can come from you. We need your help in making this community the best it can be. Treat others how you want to be treated. Don’t post anything you wouldn’t say in front of your grandmother and 5-year-old niece. Let your behavior be an example for others.”

If you have any questions about the guidelines please let us know by emailing support@areavoices.com.

Areavoices Digest #15 – January 19, 2011 – Welcome COBBERS and more!!!!

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Here is this week’s list of recommended blogs.
 
@Concordia – http://atconcordia.areavoices.com – We’re excited to get Concordia College up and running on areavoices. The communications just started blogging last week, but already the blog has delivered interesting content about the happenings at this liberal arts college in Moorhead, MN. It’s also a visually appealing blog. They’ve done a nice job with graphics, photo and video. 

 
Travel Leaders/Travel Now, Inc. – http://travelnow.areavoices.com – I’m so glad to see more travel blogs starting on areavoices and this is a good one! It’s full of travel advice and tips for more efficient and economical traveling.
 
The Life of a MN Resort Owner – http://lifeinnorthernminnesota.areavoices.com -  I thought this was a nice slice of life blog. It gives us a peek behind the scenes into what it takes to run a resort in lakes country. This blogger runs the White Birch Resort near Park Rapids and I’ve enjoyed reading about the goings on there. 
 
Slightly Chilled – where we let the puck and the beat drop – http://slightlychilled.areavoices.com  This is a blog written by reporter Ryan Clark about the Fargo Force and USHL. I’m not a huge hockey fan, but I found the blog interested and slickly produced. 

 
WindSports by Kotikites – http://kotikites.areavoices.com – Okay, this one is a little off the beaten path, but I figured why not? It’s fun. This is a blog about wind sports. We have enough of that around here, right? The bloggers run a business that sells power kites that are targeted for sports like kitesurfing, kiteboarding and kiteskiing. Gets our minds off snowblowing and floods, right?

Areavoices Digest #14 – Traveling the World with Tator Tots and Barry ZeVan the Weatherman!

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I’m resuming my weekly look at areavoices blogs you might want to consider. This is an eccletic group of topics. But I think a mix you’ll find informative and entertaining!
 
UND Sports -http://undsports.areavoices.com/ Senior Associate Athletic Director Sean Johnson just started this blog last week. He’s hoping to use the blog platform to talk about things he wouldn’t normally get talked about in the paper or on the University of North Dakota Sioux website. He wants to use it to promote Sioux Booster clubs in the region, share game promotions and other information regarding UND sports.
 
Since I have arrived – a collection of traveling tales by a mother and daughter – http://travelnotebook.areavoices.com/    Since I Have Arrived is a collection of travelling tales by Merrie Sue Holtan and her daughter Johanna. Merrie Sue is a talented freelance writer who has lived throughout Minnesota. Her daughter, Johanna is currently living in Scotland. I’m excited about this one. Merrie Sue is a great writer and I think she’ll bring us some entertaining stories as she travels the globe with her daughter. One of her last posts was the appeal and confusion about tator tot hotdish in Europe. (Oh, they have so much to learn!)
 
A Senior Moment with Barry ZeVan – http://seniormoment.areavoices.com
Formerly known as Barry ZeVan the Weatherman on Channel 5 in the Twin Cities and Channel 7 in Washington, D.C. in the 1970s, and later on Channel 11 in Minneapolis during the 1980s, Barry ZeVan is a colorful character. He was even featured on The Daily Show with Craig Kilborn.  Barry wants his blog to reflect his thoughts about life as a senior citizen, as well as great memories. He currently lives in the Twin Cities area.

And finally as the New Year starts with people trying to pay off Christmas, a couple of interesting MONEY blogs:

Forum’s Financial Fix-up – Helping readers fine tune their finances – http://financialfixup.areavoices.com A very practical blog which examines how three families work through their finances with the help of the Village Family Service Center. They’ll learn about investing, saving and paying off debt. Great user friendly content for the entire region. GREAT MONEY BLOG.
 
In the Black – http://intheblack.areavoices.com/ - Blogger and financial counselor Nancy Kvamme looks at practical ways to save money such as cooking all of your week’s meals in one day and the high cost of clutter. Another good money blog.
Happy reading!

Welcome UND Sports!

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I’m excited to announce today that the UND Athletic’s Department has now started on blog on areavoices. http://undsports.areavoices.com. It’s pretty clear many areavoices readers are craving UND sports info. We have several bloggers including sports reporters and fans writing about UND sports and the athletic department has assisted in providing content for those blogs. But now, you’ll get UND sports info right from horse’s mouth  or should we say right from Senior Associate Athletic Director Sean Johnson’s mouth? Johnson says this blog will provide content you  might not otherwise find in the newspaper or on their website. He says he’s going to focus on media appearances, luncheons, tv and radio shows. You’ll also learn about game promotions and events.