Slowly, but surely, I am learning the tricks of the trade. I can tell it’s going to take some time since there is so much to know, but I found a hugely helpful resource on Cool Cat Teacher’s blog . She lists the “10 Habits of Bloggers that Win” all in one place , which is fantastic! I followed several of her tips already:

First, I claimed my blog on Technorati . (Now I’m going to have to figure out how to get that “1 link from 1 blog” rating to go up a little higher!)

Then, I set up Ping-o-Matic so I can ping Technorati as soon as I post. Now, that was really easy. I love when online tools are so easy to use! My understanding of Ping-o-Matic is that it tells Technorati when I’ve updated. I’m not really sure what that does to increase my readership, but if Cool Cat Teacher recommends it, I’m willing to try!

Now, I’m trying to figure out how to add tags, and for the life of me, I just can’t seem to figure it out. I’m not sure if it’s because I use Word Press and most other people use Blogger , but it’s really making me frustrated. Of course I also have the additional problem of using Safari as my internet browser, even though I know life would be easier with Firefox (well, posting would be a lot easier since the Rich Text Editor on Word Press doesn’t work with Safari. But, hey, at least I’m remembering some basic HTML!)

And what I really have to start doing is commenting on other people’s blogs. I just feel so nervous about that. The other blogs I read are so informative, professional and it’s so obvious that the authors know so much! Why would they want to hear what I have to say? But, really, I guess that’s the point of this whole medium. We all have something to say, and someone somewhere will even find what I have to say useful at some point! A pretty powerful thought if I stop to think about it. What’s really scary, is that the students seem to understand that even faster than I can. Ah, the “next generation,” I can remember when my teachers were saying that about me!