by Amani Channel
@scribegirl77

I just realized that I’m approaching my 4th anniversary of blogging. Four whopping years! That means I’m not quite out of blogging pre-school yet.

I’m still riding with my blogging training wheels, but I know that some haven’t even jumped on the blogging wagon yet, so I feel comfortable sharing some advice.

For me, blogging had been a great creative outlet, a way to share both personal and professional experiences and information, and it has definitely helped me build my personal brand.

I’m realizing that there are a lot more people out there who may be just learning about or thinking about starting a blog. So, here are a few thoughts that are inspired from a question via Twitter from Jatika Hudson who writes at RootToLife.

1. Link to other content, and blogs. Blogging is about participating in conversations, and there are plenty. If you find yourself writing about a certain topic, search for news or other posts that may provide context, similar, or alternative perspectives. Always link, link, link. When you show a little link love, you’ll generally get some love back, which can help increase your blog traffic.

2. Create a blogroll. A blogroll is a way to suggest to other blogs or sites that your readers. Again, it’s all about links.

3. Make your content shareable. There are different widgets that allow readers to Tweet, Facebook, or bookmark your post. If your readers like your content, they may want to share it with their network. Make it easy for them to do so.

4. Include multimedia content. Photos, video, or audio is a great way to keep visitors engaged.

5. Post regularly. There’s nothing like clicking on a blog only to find that the owner doesn’t maintain it. Your readers are more likely to come back if you post regularly. Everyday is probably best, but once a week at a minimum. Check out Justin Kownacki’s post about his findings related to daily vs. weekly posting – it’s good stuff.

6. Try to find a consistent subject to blog about, or better yet find a niche. You can easily brand yourself as an expert in a certain subject if you focus on one specific subject.

7. Don’t expect to monetize your blog immediately if at all. There are ways to do it, but in nearly four years the money I’ve made off of Google Ads is minimal. I’m not saying that it can’t be done, but it takes work, the right content, and a strategy.

8. Don’t make your posts too lengthy. The shorter the better. People’s attention spans are short, and getting shorter by the tweet. Share a thought or two, get in and out.

9. Share your posts with your FB or Twitter network. You can even automate the process. (Watch my tutorial)

10. Install an analytics tool like Statcounter or Google Analytics. Reviewing your site stats will help you figure out what you’re doing right.

For me blogging is a way to communicate with friends, possible business partners, and the greater social media community. I’ve enjoyed being able to share my experiences, thoughts, and news and info with the greater social media community.

For more information, do a Google search, and you will find an abundance of advice on the subject.

Thanks for the question, and thanks for reading.

…But you’re worried about bloggers.

By Amani Channel

A tale of two cheaters: Alicia Keys vs. Fantasia Barino – The Root

Bad Mothers/Bad Children – The Field Negro

Million Father March Day – Bossip

Daddy’s not speaking to Montana Fishburne – YB&F

Trey Songs & Monica concert (behind the scenes) – C&D

The 9/11 mosque debate – BlackSnob

Muslim girls are new tokens on MTV’s Real World – Racialicious

UK singer in trouble for infecting partners with HIV – GyantUnplugged

Ahmir – The most popular R&B group on YouTube

by Amani Channel
@newmediajim

I’m wresting with this issue: Sure, there is the pro way of producing videos, but does it matter? I try to keep it professional with every video I craft whether it be for a client, or my podcast.

That’s because I’m a professional visual storyteller, and understand both the art and science of using video to communicate.

There are plenty on the Web like me. Take Jim Long. He’s the truth – a network cameraman for NBC, and an effective social media practitioner.

I met Jim IRL (in real life) in 2007 at a video conference in California.

He’s a beast on Twitter, building a strong personal brand, and trying to educate people about the ins and outs of how to create effective videos.

In his latest post, he shares some great advice for any novice.

Quick Tips on Making Better Video

* audio – use external mics – if I have to strain to hear you, you’ve lost me
* framing – I don’t want to look up your nose – watch your headroom
* lighting – windows are light sources not backgrounds (unless you have HMI’s)
* writing – write how you speak not how you type.
* post production – add branding graphics and remove extraneous material
* get it right – do-overs are ok

As much as I agree with Jim, I often question how much does it matter?

I’ve seen plenty of back lit videos, with less than ideal audio, and no editing that get thousands of views.

The Internet seems to have lowered the expectation that a video needs to look 100% professional.

People like authenticity, and content over quality it seems.

However, if your audio, lighting, and the quality of your video interferes with the overall message you’re trying to convey, you’re in BIG trouble.

That being said: if you want to learn from the best, check out Jim Long’s post and think about signing up for his webinar.

I probably need to develop some training materials as well, because video is powerful, and you should at least learn the basics so that your video content will suck-less.

by Amani Channel
from PublicSquareAtlanta

For the past year or so, I have had the pleasure to be involved in one of the most meaningful projects in my professional media career. As you know, communications continue to evolve, and Public Broadcasting Atlanta is now creating a family of websites under the Lens on Atlanta umbrella that are designed to help us communicate and work collaboratively to make metro Atlanta a world-class city.

This project is the vision of PBA’s president Milton Clipper, and I’ve been honored to help Public Square Atlanta develop from an idea to an online community made up of some of the region’s top organizations and leaders.

We recently re-launched Public Square after hearing numerous suggestions about how to make it more user-friendly. Though we’re still fine tuning the site, it is much easier to use and has features that can be utilized to reach out to elected officials, share information and ideas, or organize.

We are now working on several specific initiatives to help the community learn about and use the tools on Public Square. That being said, I want you to be among the first to know that I am leaving Public Broadcasting Atlanta to pursue an outside opportunity. It has been a difficult decision, and I feel there is so much work to be done here; however, this is the best thing for my family right now. My last day working at PBA is Friday August 20th.

I’m hoping to continue to work on the project on an interim basis, and I believe that Public Square Atlanta is on its way to becoming a vibrant community made up of diverse discussions and interests. For that to happen, Public Square needs your help and participation. Nicole Jones, the Assistant Director of Digital Services at PBA, will continue to work on developing the community. I encourage you to reach out to her if you have any ideas or suggestions for the site.

I will miss working on this project.

If you want to stay in touch, please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, or just Google me. I’m not hard to find.

Warm Regards,

Amani Channel

by Amani Channel

Thanks to TheBlackSnob for sharing the info. I had heard some rumblings about Dr. Laura Schlessinger’s rant where she used the n-word a bunch of times.

So I just heard it, and have to say she’s ignorant. If you have to ask why, you’re ignorant too. I hope she loses some advertisers. That’s all.

The audio transcript below is courtesy MediaMatters.

by Amani Channel
@fmanjoo #blacktag

I started using Twitter on April 20, 2007. At the time, Twitter was hardly mainstream. There were a few media professionals on the site, but its popularity was reserved for mostly techies and early adopters.

When I started using it, I posted infrequently and didn’t give much rhyme or reason to my Tweets. A few months later I found myself freelancing for a network called HDNews. The 2008 Hurricane season proved to be a valuable lesson in the power of Twitter.

As I covered Hurricane Ike, TS Faye, Hurricane Gustav, and TS Hanna, I often tweeted from the field using hashtags. It kind of happened by accident. I noticed that others were using #Ike for example, and followed suit. Honestly, I didn’t even know Twitter would aggregate tweets based on the #sign, but what I did notice was that people by the dozens would follow me when I used a hashtag with my storm tweets. By the end of the storm season, I had amassed an additional 2000 followers or so.

Though I no longer work in news, I’ve continued to tweet, and enjoy being able to share a variety of content including mobile videos, photos, and of course text and links. I try to share content that relates to technology, news, and multimedia. It’s no secret that one of the benefits of Twitter is being able to develop your personal brand, and it holds a strong place in my social media strategy.

Sure, I’m on Twitter regularly, but I’ve also automated some of my tweets through www.twitterfeed.com. Whenever I update this blog, twitterfeed will send out a tweet. The same goes for when I upload a new video to my blip.tv account. I’ve also added a few outside sites like BlackWeb2.0 because I generally like the content, and find that the posts are often re-tweeted.

You may wonder why I’m sharing all of this? Several online discussions have centered on how Black people use Twitter. More specifically, an article on the Slate written by Farhad Manjoo that focuses on the hashtags used by (some) Black Twitter users.

The prevalence of these tags has long puzzled nonblack observers and sparked lots of sometimes uncomfortable questions about “how black people use Twitter.”

Why would anyone be uncomfortable with how someone else uses Twitter, or any other social network for that matter?

People use social media to communicate. Some people use it for general conversation, others use it to market and promote, while others use it to have entertaining conversations around hashtags.

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t pay attention to some of the trending topics that center on silly conversations or situations, but I’m not going to hate either.

Perhaps some nonblacks are upset or confused because their topics aren’t trending. Is that what makes some uncomfortable?

Wayne Sutton ends his post on the topic with the following thought:

…just because you see a few African-Americans creating various trending hashtags on Twitter don’t assume that’s how all “black” people use twitter.”

Anjuan at BlackWeb2.0 was also moved to write about the issue:

These articles also give young black people the impression that they have to adhere to stereotypes in order for their tweets to be interesting. This reinforces the posting of tweets that are written in order to get attention instead of to provide substance.

The Slate article does a great job of presenting the, “Why do they talk, walk, or dress like that?” perspective, but that is shallow and narrow minded.

It hardly tells the full story of how Blacks use Twitter. I know there are plenty of intelligent and thoughtful conversations going on in the Black Digirati.

Look at my Twitter stream and Web content Farhad, and perhaps you’ll see that your “angle” is a very short sighted perspective.

At least try to give more than one view… Of course we know there’s no objectivity in blogging, journalism, or whatever you call what you do.

by Amani Channel

I unknowingly hit a milestone of sorts. I have produced 200 video podcast episodes of My Urban Report since I launched my YouTube channel in 2006.

I could write a post about what I’ve learned, and share some tips for other vloggers/producers. Later for that.

For the sake of walking down memory lane. Here are some of my favorite episodes (in no particular order, other than the first and last).

My first My Urban Report:
Words about citizen journalism:

My favorite news adventure:
Hurricane Ike: The Move

My favorite interview:
CNN’s TJ Holmes

My most heartfelt story
My Boys (the story of the Channel twins)

My favorite political video:
Barack Obama in Atlanta

My favorite video from home (East Palo Alto, California):
The Drive

My favorite Florida video:
Swamp Ride

My favorite entertainment video:
Keri Hilson’s record release party

My favorite rogue video.
Stolen 5.0

My 200th video podcast
AEJMC 2010 Denver Co. The Movie

I’ve been able to travel the country, and meet so many interesting people. I’m thankful to be able to share my adventures with you.

Thanks for tuning in!

PEACE!!

Amani Channel