Technology can help enhance and serve your community if used properly. Some of the more technological techniques I use when developing my blogs are:
- A nice clean blogging theme is a must. There are lots of free themes that can be customized – but investing in a trusted theme package such as Thesis or Revolution can and will save you headaches later on.
- Make it easy for people to subscribe to your post. Most blogs have a big orange RSS button up in the corner but that’s not enough. Get creative in providing multiple ways and methods for subscribers to sign up.
- Claim your blog in Technorati. You don’t have to like Technorati, you don’t have to be a fan or even think it works well – but time has proven Technorati does provide some functions you need.
- Change the permalinks structure. (In WordPress, this is in Settings/Permalinks.) Change the structure to custom and put /%postname%/. If you click on any post, you’ll see it all written out in plain English without extra junk that is really not needed. (This is a personal preference).
- If you worry that a post might get copied or if you encourage people to repost your work with proper attribution (which is often encouraged), include a few links in the original post that will politely and non-evasively show people where the content came originally from.
- Learn how to make links, how to add photos, how to bold and italicize things, and a few minor tweaks that can make your posts more visually appealing. If you’re unclear on how to accomplish a certain technique, Google or “view source” on blogs that do what you want to accomplish.
- Don’t force people to register in order to post a comment on your blog. Lots of people won’t. Blogger proved that a couple of years ago.
What are some other “technical” suggestions you can think of that may help to enhance your community?
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