I Am In The Zone—I Can Only Hope It Will Last

So, I have just realized that I’ve been “in the zone” with my blogging lately.  It is a feeling where I just can’t stop writing about stuff.  The ideas are never ending, and the fingers are typing non-stop.  It is truly a great feeling to have. I only wish I could trigger this euphoric moment of blogging goodness more often, but alas, I have no idea how.

Motivation

A big part of it is motivation. After all, if you are not motivated to do something, then chances are you will not put in 100% to complete it. I know that even the best bloggers/writers in the world have to go through the same things I go through. I just sometimes feel like I need a break from it all. However, when I take a break, it is also the time when I come up with my best ideas.

Consistency

While I wish this applied to my personal blogging habits, I must say that consistency can really pay off while trying to write. When you get into a rhythm, the words just seem to come easier, but when I take a day or two off, it is just difficult for me to sit down and write. This is why I think it is important for me to keep on writing, regardless of whether or not I am “in the zone.”

The Zone

What is this zone?  I have no idea, and I really don’t know how I ever get here.  I seriously wished that I knew how to at least trick myself to feel like this at all times, but I have yet to find a way.

Perhaps, with time, I will train myself to better understand my blogging habits. Right now though, I still find myself learning new things about myself, but that is just a part of life.

Yesterday is irrelevant, and tomorrow is insignificant—but the present is nothing less than extravagant.

An Obsession So Great—Twitter

Okay, so it is almost an understatement to say that Twitter has become my new obsession. It has simply changed my way of thinking when it comes to the social web. Twitter is a glimpse into the future, and while it isn’t perfect (information overload comes to mind), it is fascinating to be in touch with others.

My Twitter account has quickly grown, and I think I am going to end up having over 100 followers by the end of the month, but it is even more fascinating how I can get answers, ideas, and feedback in an instant from people.  I just absolutely love knowing what my friends are up to at this very moment.  Sure there are those people that can abuse Twitter, but beyond those few that abuse it, I just absolutely love it.

If you want to be my friend on Twitter, please feel free to follow me.  If you seem like an interesting person, I will surely follow you back (especially if your a tech geek like me).  I try to post links to interesting stories that relate to web 2.0, technology, and blogging.  I might just turn out to be a valuable resource!

Oh, and I just wanted to appologize for not posting all that much recently.  My new obsession has taken away from personal blogging time, but I think things have calmed down.  I am back!

WordPress.com Version 2.5 Upgrade Completed

Following the release of the official WordPress v2.5 standalone version recently, WordPress.com has followed suit by upgrading their users to the new version as well. The interface has been completely redesigned, and the back-end has received a myriad of improvements. This release of WordPress is said to be the largest release in quite awhile.

It was only a few hours ago when I opened up my blog’s administrator interface and was greeted by the new 2.5 version of WordPress. First thoughts? I was shocked they upgraded WordPress.com so quickly after the release. I figured that the WordPress.com team would wait until the public played with the 2.5 version of WordPress for a few weeks just incase someone could find any serious issues.

Matt Mullenweg, the creator of WordPress, stated on GeekBrief.tv that this release of WordPress is “probably the largest release of WordPress in about two years.” He continued by making everyone aware of several other improvements to the WordPress content management system:

• A redesigned back-end
• Richer media features
• Built-in image galleries
• One-click plugin upgrades

Regardless, everything seems to be going smoothly so far, and while it might require a few people to get adjusted, these improvements appear to be for the better.

Unfortunately, it appears that there are still some issues with Mac operating systems not being able to properly resize images, but perhaps this issue is going to be fixed soon.

Overall, I’d say that the community and developers are pleased with the results. WordPress continues to grow.

Why I Consider Myself A Technology Guru

So, the past few weeks while looking up information on some mobile devices, laptops, and other technology products on YouTube, I saw many people on the site giving reviews on things.  I saw 12 year olds declaring themselves a “technology master” and “computer genius.”  I just wonder how bad it is really getting with other bloggers.

Anyone can create a website and claim they are an “expert” on any subject.  People—I must make a reference to my general theory of almost everyone being a stupid consumer—will accept anyone as an expert as long as they act as such.  If I went on my technology blog and started asking people what a URL was, I would instantly lose credibility (by the way, the answer is universal resource locator).

Why I consider myself a technology guru in particular, is because I spend many hours of the day researching topics on technology.  The technology sections on Wikipedia read like the Bible to me.  It just fills my thirst to know more about everything.  I love doing this stuff.  I dedicate myself to it.

It all raises a question of what an “expert” or “guru” is.  It just seems odd how people will give anyone authority on any subject without doing the proper research on them.  Whenever I read an article from someone I like, I want to know if they really have the experience and dedication to have their opinion be worthwhile.

After all, when I could write an article about how I think the moon is going to collide with the earth one day, and it makes it on the front page of Digg or Reddit, I think those people should understand that I have almost no knowledge on the subject.  Yet, many people might respect my opinion as if I am a rocket scientist.  It would be stupid of those people to accept my theory!

What is the point of this post?  Well, it is to inform you that all these “experts” and “gurus” are just people.  Anyone can claim to be an expert, but how do you actually qualify someone as one?  You should get to know authors you read constantly, and while every opinion matters, if someone represents himself or herself as an authority, it should be up to the readers to scrutinize them heavily as such.

Bloggers are starting to get messy, and if you are a blogger, I must urge you to check your facts.  Voice your opinion, but back them up with facts as well.  Learn what a journalist is, and try to make strides in telling the truth.  I hate nothing more than seeing someone straight up lie on a blog post.  It makes me feel like my credibility is being shot as a fellow blogger.

I love the topics I talk about.  I love writing.  I love technology.  However, it is not up to me to decide if I am an authority, but it is up to you.  Keep bloggers honest, and keep the industry alive.

My Journalistic Desires

After talking to Eric Hagerman, a writer for Wired and Popular Science, I have been motivated to study journalism.  It is a topic that I have never formally studied.  It is, however, a good topic to have knowledge about.  I really want to contribute to a popular magazine, but I would possibly need to demonstrate an ability to write journalistic content.  So, that is exactly what I intend on doing with Tech In Demand.

I am planning on heading out to Barnes & Noble later on today (if the weather agrees) to find some good books on the subject of journalism.  After a quick search online, I have found many books on the topic.  I know of three that I am going to be checking out:

• Associated Press Guide to Newswriting: The Resource for Professional Journalists—Rene J.J. Capone
• How to Write Articles for Magazines and Newspapers—Dawn B. Sova
• Writing for Magazines: A Beginners Guide—Chryl Sloan Wray

I’m sure there are others, but I will be on the hunt for those in particular.  However, if anyone else has any suggestions, please let me know of them.  I will be glad to check them out.

Once I learn the concepts of journalism, I will try my best to demonstrate them on Tech In Demand.  The “blogs” section will be reserved for personal opinion, but the actual zones of the site will be for journalistic content.

Assuming all goes well, I will then attempt to get an article published in a small or large magazine—it depends on how confident I am feeling.

Again, if you have any advice on books or resources for studying journalism, please let me know in the comments section.  It would be greatly appreciated!

Guide for New and Amatuer Bloggers: The Art of Professional Blogging [Part 1]

The Art of Professional Blogging Series:

1. Mentally Blogging Like A Pro
2. Technically Blogging Like A Pro

First, let me get the credentials out of the way so you understand where I am coming from.

I am James Mowery, and I was formally a contributing writer and social media analyst for Mashable.com—it is currently the #1 ranked social media blog on the internet today. I left Mashable last year to pursue my own technology blog appropriately named Tech In Demand. It covers topics including technology, gadgets, web 2.0, and games. It is where I often express my insights and provide analysis about tech industry.

Before getting into blogging I worked as a proprietary financial trader.  I primarily traded stocks and futures.  It is during this time when I really got a sense for managing risk, as having millions of dollars under my control (without even having that much money to lose) could shake even the most mentally stable men and women on this planet.

After that, I took some time to join a gamer site called Total Gamer Zone. It was there where I finally understood what I wanted to do with my life. My ability to write amazing articles that people appreciated motivated me to write, and write I did.

I wrote articles that probably would have taken the average person days to write, and I did it in a matter of a few hours.  The words simply came to me, and having fast fingers helped as well.

All that was my into Mashable, which solidified my status as an authority on the topics I am so determined to write about. I hope this article proves useful and inspirational to all aspiring professional bloggers everywhere.

Part 1: Mentally Blogging Like A Pro

Let’s Get Busy

Consistent Blogging Is A Good Thing

Tech In Demand still has a long way to go before it makes the big time, but I have noticed that the more consistent I am with writing, the better. I used to just blog when I felt like it, but I feel more productive when I set a reasonable goal. Posting a daily goal is one way, but I feel better posting a weekly goal.

Right now, I want to write 20 – 25 articles per week. I want at least three featured articles, and the rest can be analysis, reviews, previews, news, and whatever else I come up with. I will try my best to pull that off.

I am still waiting on purchasing my new domain name for my actual name, James Mowery. Some kid from Texas already took http://www.jmowery.com/, so I have to go with something else. I already have it in mind.

That site will serve as my personal blog and general self whoring all around type thingamabob. The entries here might be moved to that.

I have also been considering creating a few new blogs that covers web 2.0 products and services, blogging, and the game industry. I would obviously do some research to find which blog could earn the most amount of advertising revenue.

Before all that though, I still want to finish the new site design for Tech In Demand. It relies on Drupal 6 being released, but I would prefer them to have a stable release–instead of being rushed out. It will be released soon though as development on Drupal 7 is already being discussed as I speak.

The Future Of Website Hosting

I am fairly disappointed with the service I have received from CirtexHosting. There is only so much you can expect for around $60 a year, but the inconsistency of the service is beyond reasonable.

Web hosts often overload their servers by stuffing many accounts on one single server. Some servers have over 250 – 350 accounts on them. Imagine 350 people trying to use one computer in a store at the same time. It is nearly impossible, right? This is the basic concept that shared website hosting companies apply today. Things are going to go wrong.

You get what you pay for. That is true in so many ways in life. This is true with website hosting. The point is that if anyone is going to be creating a website that is intended on making money, please make a decent investment on a reliable webhost. Do your research. Check out HostJury, which I believe to be an honest resource for hosting reviews. A webhost offering 5GB of storage for $50 a month will in all likelihood be substantially more reliable than a webhost that offers 500GB for the same price.

I will be switching away from CirtexHosting to something more reliable for Tech In Demand. I’m considering Site5, Steadfast Networks, A Small Orange, and SYN Hosting. If anyone has any suggestions or personal experiences with web hosts, I will be glad to hear/read them. Please leave a comment about your experiences with web hosts.

My Thoughts On WordPress 2.3 and WordPress.com

In the past, I had signed up for a WordPress.com account, but never took advantage of it. I don’t understand why I did not, but I felt the need to sign up again. So here I am. I decided that I would quickly write some of my thoughts on WordPress 2.3 and WordPress.com.

WordPress 2.3

WordPress 2.3 is quite a step forward. On my technology blog, Tech In Demand, I just upgraded this past week. The upgrade went smoothly. I have no complaints really.

I do enjoy the integrated tagging support, the improvements to the editor, and all the other improvements. So in the end, I am glad that I upgraded.

WordPress.com

WordPress.com is a great site. This is one of the best and easiest ways to get a professional looking blog of your own for free. There are still some improvements that are needed to be made, but for right now, the service is doing well. I would be interested in trying out TypePad to see how that service compares to WordPress.com.

There are some caveats: space is limited, customization options are lacking (unless your willing to pay), and generating money from your blog can be difficult. These are only minor issues though. WordPress.com also has another great benefit: if in the future you decide to get your own site you can easily export all your posts to your new blog.