Featured Site: Ask Metafilter - Someone Somewhere Knows Trivia

Do you know the answers to these questions:

• Can someone help me find the comic strip that featured someone being visited by a genie and offered three wishes? He wishes for a hamster wheel.
• Can anyone locate a picture of Green Boots Cave? The one on Everest.
• Do you remember a show - around the time of the A Team, Knight Rider, Street Hawk etc.. This guy, was an astronaut… The sun’s radiation got through his visor He used to get really angry, could run fast but his head almost exploded and would pulsate?

Or, what about this one:

• What’s the name of certain book about an ancient king who discovers the secret to immortality, lives for hundreds of years, and now owns a fragrance shop in Paris?

Someone does, and the place you’re most likely to find them is Ask Metafilter, affectionately known as AskMeFi.

These people don’t just know the answer, they know the answer quickly. Just take a look at those three questions I asked. It took a mere twenty minutes for someone to answer my search for the hamster wheel - Who Needs Any More Wishes. Someone had pointed me in the direction of Green Boots Cave in just twenty-one minutes.

Name This Short Run TV Flop - It Had An Exploding Head…I Think took a bit longer, but two-and-a-quarter hours is still impressive, and someone had ventured a guess in fifteen minutes!

That last one about the book? ONE MINUTE!

I believe there is a one-off payment - 5 dollars or so - to become a member of the MetaFilter community, and a little bit of time needs to elapse between each question you ask, so it’s best to save it for those really niggly ones. But, the satisfaction of having your questions answered so rapidly is worth it. Not only that, but you will often get additional interesting comments related to your question, thoughtful discussion, or amusing links.

Ask MetaFilter - querying the hive mind indeed.

12 First Rules Of Writing

1. Write About What You Are Passionate About

Dan Cole at Ledger Pad was the first of several entrants who told us to Pick A Subject You’re Passionate About.

Shelly Kneupper Tucker at This Eclectic Life simply stated, Write About Things You Enjoy. In it Shelly says, “If you don’t like your subject matter, it’s a pretty safe bet that you won’t make anyone else like it either.”

Patricia Singleton at Spiritual Journey Of A Lightworker asked the question, “How can I expect my readers to feel passionate about something that I wrote, if I don’t feel that same passion when I am writing the article?” in her post If You Don’t Feel Strongly About It, Don’t Write It.

2. Use A Good Pen

Rudolf Kurt Penner at PoemTree6 sent his first rule of writing in by e-mail. It makes very good sense.

Use a good pen. This will vary with each writer. Use what’s a good pen to you, or one you feel good about using.

Why? I want to feel I’m writing good quality, and the tool I’m using reflects my intention.

Thinking also about how this translates to the digital age, and the writer who may eschew the pen for the keyboard, the tools of your trade can still have a positive or a negative effect on your art. Who has not cursed the time a computer crash has robbed them of freshly written material, or the failure to back-up has proved critical? Who can remain zealously creative on a sticky keyboard? Who doesn’t get frustrated when their wordprocessor does not perform the way they would like?

All of these hassles, and more, amount to one and the same thing: Use A Good Pen!

3. Don’t Wait For Inspiration To Strike

In the entry over at Change Therapy, we are encouraged simply to grab a pen and write! Isabella Mori urges aspiring writers to give in to “the excitement of a blank piece of something, ready, willing and receptive to whatever scribbles appear on it. it’s like the promise of a new morning…”

4. Don’t Play By The Rules

“Not having rules makes me feel good. I like to make each of my days as it comes. Every morning, I look at the bedroom ceiling and I imagine how I want my day/life/blog to look like. Then I get up and make them as I have imagined.” Simonne at All Tips And Tricks turns it on it’s head with her entry The Outcome Of Not Playing By The Rules

5. Deliver The Whole Package

Grab them, glue them, and leave them wanting more. That’s what it comes down to as far as Karen Shanley is concerned, and she makes a compelling case with her essay, My First Rule Of Writing.

6. Never Google What You’re Going To Write About

Someone else may have written about it before, but you haven’t. It won’t have your unique spin on it, and that’s reason enough to write about it. That’s what was proposed right here at Clean Cut Blog.

7. Write How You Talk

“People listen to you because you tell an interesting story. You have a style - don’t fight it.” Eloquently put by archshrk in the article, It’s Not What You Say…

8. Would I Want To Read It?

Vivien at Inspiration Bit asks us to consider this: “Would I be interested in reading this post/article myself later on, or if it was written by someone else and I was the reader? If I’m not absorbed by the topics I pen about, how can I expect anyone else taking their time to read my writing?” Read the rest of it in her post, First Rule Of Writing On Inspiration Bit.

9. Find Your Own Voice

Robin at Around The Island makes a most reassuring point: “Sure, there are a whole lot of great writers out there, crafting beautiful turns of phrase that are a pleasure to read. I love reading a great novel, or a fascinating blog, or heck, even the back of a cereal box, and can take inspiration from all of them, but my own writing, such as it is, wouldn’t ring true if it weren’t written with my own voice.” Robin’s first rule of writing is Find Your Own Voice.

10. Know Your Audience

Jacob at JobMob couldn’t put it more simply. “If I’m writing something that I hope you’ll enjoy and remember, it’s critical to know what kinds of things you like and dislike — what interests you or bores you — in order to understand what you’ll read and what you won’t even bother to open.”

11. Speak The Truth

Em Dy at Pulse reminds us of the need to be honest: “Whether writing a news piece or a feature article, it’s important to be honest to your readers.” The First Rule of Writing Lies in Your Heart.

12. Write About What’s Interesting To You

Derek Wong over at Going The Wong Way gently exhorts writers to appreciate the power of the blog. In First And Foremost When I Blog he says, “A large attraction for me is to be able to freely express myself in whatever way I want. I can say something and not be graded or judged based on it. I am able to say what I want when I want.”

I just want to add a huge THANK YOU to everyone that took part in the Group Writing Project, as well as all those that have taken an interest in it by commenting on the various entries. Thank you, one and all.

Powerful Dictionary For Windows

I have very few programs that start up with Windows, but WordWeb is one of them. This dictionary and synonym finder is something I know I’m going to use at least once a day.

In the words of WordWeb itself:

WordWeb is a quick and powerful international English thesaurus and dictionary for Windows. It can be used to look up words from almost any program, showing definitions, synonyms and related words. It includes pronunciations and usage examples, and has helpful spelling and sounds-like links.

Highlight a word in your text editor - or on any website you might be visiting - click on the little “W” icon in the taskbar, and up pops WordWeb with the word defined, and several tabs offering various related features: Nearest words, synonyms, antonyms, what the word is a type of, and so on.

I use it all the time when I am writing - checking definitions, cutting and pasting accented words, checking spellings. Most of all, I use the synonym finder, typing in a word I want to use and letting WordWeb come up with a selection of alternative suggestions. It is extremely useful.

The free version of WordWeb is packed full of features, and has so far proved ample enough for my needs.

Why Do You Blog?

My good friend and blogging confidante recently posed me the “So, why do you blog?” question, and in a moment of indignant irritation I tossed off a facetious, “because I want to make money and eventually never have to work again,” type answer - only to find it was an epiphany moment!

Something about my answer rankled me, it gnawed at me. “Because I want to make money and eventually never have to work again,” wasn’t really it. There was a grain of truth in it, but it wasn’t the real reason. And then it dawned on me: I am worried about money. I am worried about making ends meet, forever chasing bills, drowning in the deep end of the overdraft. I don’t mind splashing around the zero mark, it’s the constantly pulling back from the brink that gets tiring - especially when there’s this overwhelming feeling that things don’t need to be this way.

That was it, I’m not afraid to say. Whoosh! Up went the old jalopy. Clean Cut Blog proceeds directly to Stage 5 on the Kent Newsome Blogging Scale.

Eh? What About Hamelife?

For a moment I thought the same would apply to Hamelife, but I’m happy to say that I took another look at it and felt a genuine affection for the site. I’m pleased with the way it is laid out - I like the look of it. I like the ease with which I will be able change the header image and alter the two-colour combination. I like the sidebar. But most of all I love the content, and I believe in it whole-heartedly.

I know that I won’t be updating Hamelife regularly any more, but I’ll certainly keep adding to it and maintaining it as a much-needed online resource for parents (and non-parents) who want to be different.

So, when it comes to blogging and why we do it, I believe it’s the reason behind the reason that you honestly want to nail. It might not put a match to your blogging - though that’s always a possibility - but it will almost certainly put it into perspective, and finally stop it from being the most important thing in your life.

Digging Below The Surface Of Zen Habits

10,000 subscribers in 120 days is a vertical take-off in the blogging world. The rise to fame of Leo Babauta’s Zen Habits is extraordinary. Writing for Lifehack, guesting on Copyblogger - how does someone manage a meteoric rise like that?

A recent post for Copyblogger suggested it is all about going bold - and a reply in the comments section reiterated that it is only to do with writing quality articles. Of course, it’s not just that - it’s about boldness of a different sort.

1. Have An Edge
Sorry to start with this one - it’s a botheration, but it has to be acknowledged.

Leo Babauta’s got an edge and, according to Freelance Switch, it goes something like this:

Leo Babauta has been a reporter, editor, speech writer and freelance writer for the last 17 years.

The man writes, and he writes well. He has 17 years of experience to draw on, and it shows. The good news is that he is extremely generous with his copywriting tips.

His edge is one of those secrets Leo likes to keep under wraps, and it is a great kindness that he does so, because the message he wants to present is: “Anyone can do this!”

It could be argued that it has taken him 17 years to attain his 10,000 subscribers.

2. Join The Right Niche
GTD/Productivity is a well-loved niche. It is broad and spacious, and peopled by generous-hearted individuals who are more than happy to share their webspace. Absolutely any subject can be tackled, from blogging to parenting to efficiency of any kind - a total field day for Blog Carnival choices. It takes chutzpah to dive into the Productivity niche because it is so popular - but it is this very popularity that has carried Zen Habits aloft. Internet users simply can’t get enough of Productivity and Positivity. But you would disappear under a blizzard of whitespace if your writing didn’t give you an edge.

And, don’t just join any five-and-dime blog circle - join one with a touch of the elite about it.

3. Be Prolific
Leo spent the first sixty days cramming Zen Habits with pillar articles, so that anybody who came upon his site would be faced with an embarrassment of readable articles. An article is produced every day - an average of two per day, to begin with - and not just a scattering of words, either, many of these are absolute humdingers. Additionally, there is barely an ounce of fluff - a glance through the Archives proves it to be wall-to-wall resourceful.

As well as his own website, Leo writes lengthy articles on several other high-subscriber sites: Dumb Little Man, Freelance Switch, LifeHack, Web Worker Daily - and again, these are not short, throwaway items - which brings us to the next point:

4. You’ve Got To Give Away To Get Back
It takes a great deal of boldness to give away your best stuff. A move that pushed Leo Babauta into the spotlight was writing Firefox OS - Why My Hard Drive And Software Are Obsolete for LifeHack. It netted 2011 diggs, and contributed to doubling Zen Habits subscribers from 2500 to 5000 - it was like turning on the rocket-boosters. Any posting done on neighbouring sites is going to get your own blog noticed, and Leo does not short-change any site he writes for.

Dumb Little Man is open to anyone to contribute - but you have to release your material to them. It takes boldness to do that - but with 70,000 subscribers, you would be a fool not to give it a go. (See Jay’s comment)

5. Push Yourself Forward
Leo states: “I wrote to other bloggers (like Brian Clark) and suggested that we collaborate.” It’s the like Brian Clark that catches the eye. When a blog already has 15,000 subscribers, they are barely going to notice a request to collaborate - not unless the email is compelling, and the writer has an edge: There are not many people who are going to ignore the experience of 17 years of freelancing. Add to that the growing list of accolades already achieved and it’s “welcome to the fast-track”. All the same, it takes a certain boldness to throw caution to the wind and compose an email to the big hitters, offering your services.

Along with pushing yourself forward is the notion of calling out the failings of a much-loved productivity genre and setting up your own brand - now there’s boldness for you!

Push yourself forward by getting noticed early - but that has more to do with this next point.

6. Lay The Groundwork
“Patience, Luke.” (Did Obi Wan ever say that?)

Leo has been a commenter on Lifehacker since June 2006. He regularly commented on a variety of subjects - and by January 2007, when he launched Zen Habits he began boldly to link to articles on his own site. By March 20, 2007 - just 60 days after Zen Habits was launched, Leo’s Productivity Interviews Series gets highlighted. Lifehacker makes it easy to trace someone’s commenting, it is highly likely that Leo has been doing the same thing throughout the Productivity niche.

7. Be Humble, Genial, Affable, and Amiable.
Leo is a wonderful example of an interactive blogger. He’s a community man. Many of the major players knock off a one or two word reply to a handful of their commenters. Not Leo - he makes personal replies, pouring out his appreciation, requesting further details, thanking them for adding to the conversation. Even when commenters are anonymous and gruff, Leo finds something to compliment, a positive message to glean.

He is also remarkably inclusive - some of his most popular posts are the Let’s-Do-This-Together type challenges, like How To Make Exercise A Daily Habit (With A May Challenge).

Oh, and Link BIG!

Thankfully, stratospheric websites are few and far between - it saves the vast majority of us from getting disheartened. In truth, anyone could rise like a rocket in the Zen Habits way, but as can be seen, it takes boldness, hard work in the writing department, and a healthy edge.