Here’s I typically put together a post.  Or at least how I should.

It starts with an idea for a post and those often come while I’m driving for some reason.  To capture the idea, I’ll leave myself a voicemail.  Then when I’m at my desk listening to my voicemails, I’ll stick an item on my to do list in Remember the Milk with the label “Blog post – working title goes here”.

But sometimes it comes while I’m reading something online.  In that case I’ll bookmark it in Firefox in bookmark folder called “Blog post research – working title goes here”

(Hopefully you grasp the fact that I’m replacing the term working title goes here with the actual working title)

Then a couple things have to happen.  Sometimes in a linear order, sometimes in parallel.  I need a quick and dirty rough draft.  I open up Windows Live Writer on my netbook or desktop and crank out a quick outline or super fast draft.  I then do some web surfing to find reference materials, photos I might want to use, links to go into the post, and more and save into that Blog post research folder I created in Firefox.  I use the XMarks synchronization system so if I’m switching from my desktop to my netbook, my reference materials are there.

When I need a photo, I prefer to use some a picture that I’ve taken.  But since 85% of the pictures I take these days are of my children, that’s pretty rare.  So I use the Flickr photos search tool Compfight to find a photo with a usable Creative Commons license.

I then take my second pass at my post, expanding the outline into a decently constructed piece of writing while also adding in my photos, hyperlinks, and more. 

Then I walk away.  Or at least I should.  Two hours at a minimum.  Ideally at least a day.  When I return to the post its time for a last iterative read, while also making sure I have good spelling grammar.  To be honest, I don’t do this part of the cycle enough.  With two kids, I’m always amazed when I get anything done, so when I’m done with that second pass, I like to feel good about myself and hit publish.  That is a misatke.

Finally, it’s time to categorize the post, tag it…then hit publish.

Ideally, I perform the “one to four” routine on the post.  After publishing a single post, go leave 3 or 4 comments on other blogs.  There’s a lot of reasons for this.  If you want to know more about that strategy, you should check in with Dave Peck as he’s the one who shared it with me. 

There you go. My blog post writing workflow.  What’s yours?

The video below provides a quick intro to the new dashboard coming in WordPress 2.7.  The changes to the dashboard are dramatic and will require adjustments from even the most experienced WordPress users.  I will say that the automatic upgrade feature in the beta works smoothly.  Keeping WordPress sites up to date should be easier than ever. 

There’s a number of other items coming with version 2.7 as well, including:

Upgrades and installs over secure FTP
Add media without creating post
Quick Edit inline editing
Shortcuts menu
Comment reply from admin
XMLRPC Comments API
Revised Dashboard
Comment threading and paging
API additions
Navigation expand/collapse in two directions
Bulk editing of posts
HTTPOnly Cookies
Automatic upgrade
Screen Options to hide/show modules/columns on screens
Plugin browser/installer
Inline PHPdoc documentation
QuickPress
New design/layout
Drag and drop on dashboard and post screen
Sticky posts

Holly and I continue to enjoy working together because we have very complementary skillsets and because we have achieved a mutual trust over the years.  But we also enjoy working together because we have similar tastes, senses of humor, and pop culture sensibilities.  Simply put, this makes working together a lot more fun.  We also fully believe that it makes working WITH us a lot more fun.

So when we started working on our own web site, and subsequently our blog, we began exploring what exactly should we be blogging about?  What is the content that would demonstrate a  high degree of knowledge about the type of work we do, but also allow people to truly get to know us.  After all, we’re pretty convinced that solid relationships are what matters most in doing business.  I’ve heard on more than one occasion, "Good business is all about who you drink beer with."  So while we required a platform that would allow you to get our thoughts on various online trends, social media evolutions, and wonderful interface designs, we also desired a platform to allows us to share the items that are inspiring us or just making us laugh until we belly-ache. 

Mixing these goals can be a challenge.  It’s one that I’ve encountered before on my personal blog.  I first started blogging to keep my friends and family up-to-date with what was happening in my life.  When I started including posts about my thoughts regarding the web and technology, I found the blog to be without direction.  Attempting to appease a couple of different audiences in a single blog wasn’t making sense. 

But back to how Holly and I tackled this problem.  Like many others involved in technology, we’re big fans of the movie The Matrix.  As we were brainstorming Shiny New Toy’s online presence, the Red Pill vs Blue Pill dichotomy became a  metaphor we often referenced.  So we decided to play with that overall theme and apply it to ourselves.  In the end, what we offer you is choice.

You have to see it for yourself. This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back.

You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.

Remember — all I am offering is the truth.

 

Take the Red Pill

You’re here, so you’ve already taken the Red Pill.  The Red Pill represents a careful (and sometimes painful) examination of the truth.  That may sound dramatic, but it is our goal with the blog we call Red Pill.  This is the blog where we will post our technology related thoughts. It is where we will inform you of our professional activities.  It is where we will share, listen, and learn along with you. 

Opt for the Blue Pill

If you prefer to find out the bliss of finding out about us via the things we are spotting around the web that are inspiring and/or amusing us, you should take the Blue Pill.  It’s our tumblelog – basically a scrapbook of items and snippets we encounter as we cruise around the web.  It’s equally important to finding out all about Shiny New Toy.  Perhaps  you aren’t ready to dive in and absorb the entire truth.  Perhaps easing in slow in what’s right for you.  If you are aren’t seeking answers, but would prefer to lean back in your chair and relax, then opt for the Blue Pill.

To find out more about us

Blue Pill or Red Pill.  You’re invited to utilize either method or both.  But the choice is yours.

Would I want my mother to know that I did this?

It’s an excellent question to ask and, as a rule of thumb, I do think it works.  But the minor flaw it in is that our mothers have the full, complete context of who we are.  I can drop an F-bomb at the dinner table with my mother sitting across from me with little repercussion other than a quick, disapproving sneer.  But drop an F-bomb at a new business pitch with people who you’ve known for less than 30 minutes and it could mean the loss of a new client. 

It doesn’t stop with the language we use.  With Social Media tools, the content that we choose to publish and share represents who we are.  If you visited my Flickr stream and saw that my photostream was full of amputee dogs trapped in fishing nets, you’d probably have some serious character questions about me.  (And rightfully so, by the way.)

In the many years that I’ve been maintaining a blog and publishing photos, I’ve realized that there’s a challenging to representing your professional self in addition to the true “social you.”  The “professional you” is the you that leaves the baseball cap sitting at home, tucks in his shirt, and generally presents an image of professionalism so that people want to work with you, to trust you, and to look to you as a subject matter expert.  But does this help people really KNOW you? 

The “social you” are things like the movies you’ve seen 20 times, your favorite beer, and the music you can’t live without.  Not to mention the subtle little nuances of everyday life that you, and perhaps only you, truly appreciate.  But you continue to share with others if only for that remote chance that you will connect with someone around it.  Like the time you found the free parking downtown.  You share these things because they complete you.  Without them you are only a shallow representation of who you are.

The key to truly participating online is to figure out the correct mix of all aspects of you.  In a manner that achieve your goals and, most importantly, allows you to be yourself.

A closing thought from the film High Fidelity:

What really matters is what you like, not what you are like… Books, records, films — these things matter. Call me shallow but it’s the f—-n’ truth,

Robert points out how he lost sight of what he really enjoyed about Tech blogging (in short: being a geek) and slowly, but surely gravitated to the business side of Tech.  And to some degree, tech blogging is now controlled by PR agents.  The conversations ends as quickly as it starts as the PR machine moves onto the next big thing.

Here’s why the ensuing conversation is so important

Blogging continues to be adopted.  Related social media and online communications tools are popping in places other than technology niches.  People like Holly and I; all the great people involved with Social Media Club; and even Scoble himself are helping to  lead this charge into new industries and verticals by sharing our knowledge of the strategies, techniques, practices, and toolkits involved.

So as we move forward, we should not forget what happened when Tech blogging matured.  Or is it regressed?  Scoble has pointed them out. Bookmark the discussion and return to it often so it is not forgotten.