Blog Your Trip

When I started this blog in 2008, I had no idea what I was doing. In many cases I opted for whatever the default setting was in Blogger (my CMS at the time), and, as blogging best practices weren't established just yet, I had no idea why some settings were terrible.

This has come back to bite me many times throughout the years.

Having dates in my URLs was one such setting that I was unaware could pose a problem down the road. 

It only took 11 years, but I finally paid my developer to remove dates from my URL slugs, and quite frankly it was something I should've done a long time ago. Today, I wanted to share the results of this change.

Read moreWhat Happened When I Removed Dates from My URL Slugs

It seems like not a week goes by where someone in the new media landscape hits a breaking point. This can either be very public or be behind that scenes such that only friends and peers see what is going on.

In some cases, they are overwhelmed from wearing too many hats day-in and day-out for years. In others, it is based on dismay at the direction the industry is going (lately around the new and absurd Instagram influencer culture). In even more cases, it is simply the result of working hard and seeing no return on the numerous hours invested (which, for any business, can never really be guaranteed).

I'm not immune to these effects either, and to be quite honest I find the blogging industry to be quite exhausting more often than not.

Thankfully, I've found a way to help keep this in check, and it isn't that big of a secret. I simply walk away from the community.

Read moreMy Secret to Mental Health as a Blogger? Get Away From the Community

The topic of User Generated Content is a hot one these days, and many marketers and branding specialists are hailing it as a must for brands looking to put out a digital product.

Unfortunately, we think User Generated Content is a bit of a sham- one that benefits the website owner only and does nothing to actually help the individual responsible for the content creation in the first place (which would be people like us).

So if you're thinking of building a brand on this style of posting, well, you've got another thing coming.

Note: All images in this article are my own. Instagram embeds are horrible beyond the reasons outlined in this article- don't use them. I am only embedding from my sites for example purposes.

Read moreUser Generated Content is Laziness at Best and Theft at Worse

Are you a PR representative or represent a brand in their marketing efforts and are looking to work with bloggers, social media influencers, or other non-traditional media and don't know where to begin? We're here to help!

We will be the first to admit that this field is quite murky as everyone looks at blog sponsorships and advertising differently. But as not all advertising is created equal, and to help you know what you're getting into, this guide was born.

So depending on what you're thinking of for your next campaign, the following outlines many things you need to consider!

Read moreA Blogger's Perspective into Blog Advertising and Sponsorship Values