What happens when you've finished writing a blog post and hit the publish button? Well, for one, your blogging software will publish your article for all the world to see. But there's something that's not as obvious. The moment you hit publish, you now own the copyright to that particular post, unless you explicitly state otherwise.

Most bloggers are unaware of this. Or most of us simply don't care. Until some other site automatically republishes our post in full, that is. It's called scraping, one of the ugly cousins of splogging. Worse, they probably have AdSense, text links and other affiliate links slapped on their sites. Where's the link back to your blog, you ask? In all likelihood, it's not there. Or if there's a link, it probably just adds to the insult.

You become a victim of copyright infringement.

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The new year has come, and among some bloggers' resolutions include being more environment-friendly. Sure, oil prices have plummeted, partly because of the worldwide economic crunch. But this doesn't mean you shouldn't start being more efficient in your energy use. TIME Magazine's latest feature tells us that there is a renewable-energy resource that is perfectly clean, remarkably cheap, surprisingly abundant and immediately available, and it is not some new-technology power plant or biofuel, or whatnot. It's simple: energy efficiency.

I've actually tried to start a blog about becoming more green, but the idea of becoming more eco-friendly seemed a bit trivial to someone like me who spends almost all day in front of the computer (and so the blog has not had much activity for some time now). But then it hit me--being environmentally friendly should start at home, or better yet for a blogger, right at your fingertips.

And so I've thought of a few ways to reduce one's carbon footprint, specifically from blogging. First and foremost, we define carbon footprint as the greenhouse gas emissions caused by your activities, whether directly or indirectly. So with blogging, this is mostly related to your use of energy or electricity.

You can either reduce consumption altogether. For instance, you can limit yourself to just a couple of hours of online activity every day. But that would only result in conservation and not efficiency. That's doing less with less. What we want is to be able to do more with the same amount of energy, or even less.

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Taking the cue from Dee's post at the EatonWeb blog I think this start of the new year is a good time to come up with goals and resolutions for 2009. I know new year's resolutions are usually difficult to keep, so I'm thinking of these as goals that I would like to work on rather than promises that might end up broken.

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The holidays are here, and most of us folks will most likely be taking some time off of blogging to spend a few precious moments with friends and family, whichever religion you belong to. For those of us who don't necessarily observe the holidays out of faith, but out of some secular reason, then you would most probably be vacationing, too. Not in the holiday mood yet? Oh don't be such a grinch. Go have some fun, or spend time with your loved ones.

But then what happens to your blogs during those times when you take a break?

You blog through the holidays. I'll be on break these next couple of days, but I will most probably still be publishing a few blog posts in my free time, or while on the road visiting relatives. That's the power of mobile computing, anyway. I can either use my mobile phone or my netbook (coupled with a 3G modem) to do this. Why? Because I can!

You have posts saved in advance, and to be published at pre-defined dates. A handful of people I know have the habit of future-posting, so they can take a few days off from their blogs without their readership missing them. Some would clearly tell readers that the posts were done in advance, in case some new developments in the online world override the information in that blog post. Some would not be as transparent.

Your blog takes a break, too. This might be frowned upon by folks who believe in consistent and regular updates. But for those of us who are very much concerned about quality and thoughtfulness of posts would rather not post at all, if these are to be done in a hurry while huddled over a miniaturized laptop with a slow, unreliable Internet connection, while waiting to board your plane/train/bus. Good blogging should be done with good timing, too, right?

Which of these three are you?

SplashPress Media has announced the release of BlogHoster version 2.8, a long-awaited update to our very own premium blog hosting software. This release features some reliability fixes, browser compatibility fixes, and six new themes by Design Disease.

As well as this new release, SplashPress has announced the takover of BlogHoster by new management, which includes web ninja Randy Nivales and this particular writer.

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Last Friday I dropped by the post office to pick up my review copy of Stephane Grenier's Blog Blazers: 40 Top Bloggers Share Their Secrets. And I can tell you so far that it's a very interesting read, and I'm glad I didn't postpone my trip to the post until Monday.

What's great about Blog Blazers is that instead of outlining blogging success from a single source, the author decided to interview 40 successful bloggers using a fixed set of questions. That way, you have different perspectives on the questions at hand.

For instance, there's a question of how to measure success. For many, it would be from traffic or readership. Yet for some, it's about authority in a given niche. Then there's the question of monetization. Some bloggers gladly inform us that they do directly earn significantly well from their blogs. But others would consider the indirect benefits as a better measure of success from their blogs.

There are a few common grounds, though. For one, most bloggers would advise against having crappy content. And most bloggers would advise having patience when building up your authority and your blog's readership. And most interviewed bloggers think that blogging success depends on what goals you have set in your blogging career, and whether you've reached them.

The book is enjoyable for folks who has a very short attention span like me. The "chapter" divisions are essentially devoted to one blogger apiece, arranged alphabetically. But you don't necessarily have to read the book from cover to cover. You can start with a chapter that perhaps covers a blogger you know, or you often read. You could read about Steve Rubel one minute, and Yaro Starak the next, and then Aaron Wall the next. You get short pieces of insights and revelations from one blogger at a time, and I think this can be good for reflection, especially in those times of blogger's block.

One striking realization I have made when reading Blog Blazers is that perhaps the most difficult thing for one in the blogging industry such as myself could do is unlearn. We do learn every day, from the most mundane of ideas to the most profound of insights. But it's difficult to just forget everything you've been told and keep an open mind, so you could start afresh. And this is exactly what I'm trying to do right now, especially with the Performancing Reboot at hand.

Blog Blazers is a book I'll keep handy when I need blogging inspiration, and I highly recommend it.

Blog Blazers is priced at a very reasonable $16.95 for the paperback version and $12.95 for the ebook version. You can get a copy directly from the Blog Blazers shop.

Many of the blogs I run, manage or write for contain a handy contact form for directly emailing the blog's owner straight from the browser. For those familiar with the difference, you would know that contact forms send email directly to the blog owner or author, while comment forms will leave a message viewable by the public. For instance, you can use this form to email me directly. Or you can leave a public comment at the comment box below.

But apparently, to some, it makes no difference whether you leave a comment or send an email as long as the message goes through. The mixup sometimes results in headaches and annoyances. For instance, a reader could be writing with the intent of replying to an existing comment. But if he uses the contact form, then the messages goes only to you. Are you obliged to re-post the message as a comment?

Or perhaps a reader wants to send you something in private, but instead publishes a comment. It's probably easy enough to just unpublish the comment and respond to the writer via email (WordPress conveniently sends you alerts when there are new comments). But what if that message contained something you'd rather not have everybody read? Even if you hit the "unpublish" link, you can't be sure that a comment would not leave traces (such as in comment RSS feeds).

There's a simple solution, and this involves properly identifying both your email forms and comment forms. On the email form, you can write something like:

We appreciate your feedback. Please use the form below to send a direct message to the author/owner of this blog. Messages are sent directly to the author's email inbox and will not be viewable by the public. If you wish to post a public reply, comment forms are available at the end of each article.

And then for comment forms:

Comments entered in this form are published for public viewing (once approved from moderation, if applicable). If you wish to send the author a private message, please use the contact form.

With luck, this should result in less confusion, and your readers will appreciate being told where their message will go.

At my neighborhood carwash, they hand out cards to first time customers, with boxes they mark with a stamp after every wash. After seven washes, clients get one free. Same with the nearby Thai massage place I go to once a week, when I need to de-stress from hours and hours of work in front of a computer screen. After ten one-hour sessions, you get a one-hour session free. Coca Cola also has a promo in my place--exchange seven bottle caps for a Christmas-themed Luninarc drinking glass.

Near the end of each year, Starbucks also has cards which you can fill up with stickers at every purchase. A few dozen coffees will get you a much-coveted leather-bound planner, which some Twitter contacts of mine collect as prized possessions.

Mobile phone providers usually give free phones to users at the end of their lock-in period, to encourage the user to renew the lock-in for another year or two.

These promotions encourage consumption, while giving the consumer a sense of excitement and anticipation for their next visit, which would eventually lead to freebies. But in effect, the actual value of the freebie would be about 10% to 20% of the total value or amount spent on the products or services.

Still, these kinds of promotions are one way by which you could encourage customer loyalty. This keeps 'em coming back for more.

How about blogs? What are your ways of encouraging loyalty among your readers?

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Back when writing was my sole blogging-related job, I often spent countless hours in front of my laptop writing feature-length posts. Sometimes I spent this time at cafes waiting for my daughter to finish her preschool class (about three hours). Sometimes even more--when I'm just not satisfied with an article, I save it as draft for later editing and publishing. This lets me have more time to

On a recent Blog Herald article, Thord Hedengren wonders why some folks from traditional media often relate blogging to rapid-fire writing akin to being a shoot now, aim later approach. And so when a blogger takes time to write, edit and publish a post, it's called slow blogging.

Sure, blogging does have the benefit of skipping a few editorial steps, and so bloggers often get to post news earlier than most mainstream media outfits. You can catch wind of some news or nasty rumor and post about it in the next two minutes. That can be good blogging, if it's your intent to spread the news as fast as possible. But then good blogging also entails research, painstaking editing, and even thinking twice or thrice whether to publish an article or not.

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Blogging has seen the rise from the obscure to the mainstream and popular probably because of one thing--the ability of just about anyone to get published online without the need for expensive and restrictive mediums. And we've also seen some evolution here. What used to be a popular platform for online diaries has now become a tool for marketing, a means of idea exchange, a social medium.

While a number of blogs today deal with matters that may be considered not too personal (business, marketing, money and the like), much of the blogging world still involves writings on personal matters. After all, this is what makes blogging click. Content is not some web copy that the PR agency wrote for your company. Even if a blog were about business or other such matters, there's always that personal voice. Seasoned blog readers would know what's real and what's not.

But in this sense, there are also lines that can be crossed--more particularly privacy lines, whether one's own or others'. My question here is this: how far do you go, in terms of crossing that privacy line?

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For our first Ask Performancing feature, we have a few opinions on the Personal vs. Authoritative voice issue, which has been discussed over at the Hive.

The question is whether to use a personal voice or an authoritative voice, and in this particular case, the site in question is a community resource site that caters to higher education: College Crunch.

And so, the following were compared:

I have tried to come up with a wide range of career options that nearly anyone with any interest can take a look at.

vs.

We have selected a wide range of career options that nearly anyone with any interest can take a look at.

and:

What are your thoughts on how the economic shift will effect higher learning? Let me know in the comments below, especially if you’ve seen other reports regarding this issue.

vs.

What are your thoughts on how the economic shift will effect higher learning? Let us know in the comments below, especially if you’ve seen other reports regarding this issue.

You may notice that the first statements come across as more conversational and informal, particularly with the use of "I" and "me," which pertains to the author of the statement. The latter ones are more of collective, by using "We" and "us."

While the authoritative voice does not necessarily only entail using "we" instead of "I" this is perhaps the easiest difference to spot--that is, talking as if directly conversing with your reader. This is definitely the best approach when emailing a relative, friend or colleague. When emailing on behalf of your business or company, then perhaps it's better to write with a more formal tone, as may be required.

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When I was a kid I made friends from school and around the neighborhood and this mostly entailed face-to-face encounters. Most of my classmates knew each other's telephone numbers. And so did the neighborhood guys, but we rarely needed to phone each other because we just lived houses apart.

Those days, kids didn't have mobile phones. You'd be lucky if you had your own telephone line in your room. Social networking meant spending Friday evenings with your pals playing Nintendo. That was just 15 to 20 years ago. Imagine how it was in the time before my childhood years.

These days playing Nintendo with friends means everyone stayed at their own place, playing multi-player games with each other over the Internet. Phone calls have given way to text messaging and instant messaging. Sure we have video conferencing, but does anyone bother?

In this age of social networking, many of us have become lazy connectors and shy communicators.

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Some bloggers probably have no qualms about just typing away at any computer and publishing blog posts at any time of the day. But there are some of us who have some habits or practices that we just can't do without. Perhaps most would at least need to be using a certain piece of equipment or software in order to be productive when writing. Perhaps you need a big LCD screen? Or how about a netbook for portability and the ability to blog anywhere?

Ryan showed us his blogging rig a year back. Much like Ryan, I'm fond of a multi-computer setup. I like it how I can write an article on one computer, and then do research and reading (or chatting with colleagues) on another.

On my desk, my main work machine is my laptop, and in the periphery are my two netbooks.

My laptop and netbooks

I usually carry one netbook in my bag for those times when I need to get work done while out of my home office. As backup connectivity, and for away-from-office connectivity when outside of WiFi hotspots, I use my 3G/HSDPA modem. This runs on a prepaid account, so I don't have to worry about needlessly paying for an unlimited account that I don't usually get to use anyway (and sometimes the faster 3G/HSDPA signal is spotty so one has to settle down for slow GPRS).

HSDPA modem

When I need to get some graphics-related work done, I use my Mac Mini, which is attached to a reasonably-sized (19-inch) LCD screen.

My Mac Mini

And then there's for those cases where I really need to get connected while mobile. I used to use my Nokia E51 exclusively, but when I got a SonyEricsson Xperia X1 for review, I'm finding myself using that one more often for writing emails, moderating comments, and even writing short posts while on the go.

Show us your blogging rig!

Now it's time for you to share with us what your blogging rig looks like. Do share a bit why you like your blogging setup that way, and how it helps you be productive. Or perhaps, if you don't feel your blogging rig is good enough, tell us how you'd like to change your blogging setup to help you blog better.

To help you in blogging productivity, we're giving away Pro pMetrics accounts to four lucky folks who post their blogging rig photos on the comment threads. Accounts are good for one year, and valued at $59.99. With the premium Pro account you get detailed tracking, such as per-visitor tracking, conversion tracking, data export and the like. The Pro account also supports up to 10 sites instead of three for the free account.

I'll select one submission in random each Friday of the next four weeks. I will announce the winners, and get in touch with the comment author. So please register for an account so I can directly contact you through your Performancing account (and the email registered therein).

I used to live blog. Whenever I attended events, I would bring out my laptop, connect via the provided WiFi or through my mobile phone, and then post photos and updates as they happen. It's either I have one long post, which I add to every so often. Or I break it down into different posts, depending on the importance of what I had to say.

I see many people doing this, too. Post-event updates usually include a ton of links to bloggers who have posted about events live. This is made even easier today, with netbooks (ultraportable laptops), smartphones, the iPhone, in conjunction with other software that make quick updates easier, such as QIK for video, Shozu for photos, and the like.

But after a while it got tiring. Rather than sit back and enjoy the speaker presentations, I found myself having to jot down notes, or at least try to remember the gist or main points. Instead of getting to meet people face to face, I found myself communicating with the guy next to me via instant messenger.

I've come to realize that the point of these events is not only to share knowledge (and probably promote stuff), but rather for people to actually get to meet each other physically. We are a connected world. Bloggers get to converse and "meet" each other even when continents apart. But we seem to have lost the ability to converse face-to-face.

I have previously agreed to the idea that your blog is your business card, and that blogs are the new "digital handshake," which means people can usually search for you and get in touch with you through your blog. This underscores the importance of having something tangible. At the end of the day, when you return to your country, town, office or home, the folks you would remember are those whom you've had meaningful conversations with--perhaps those you've exchanged an actual, physical handshake with. And for me I make it a point to exchange business cards, or to at least write down names and contact details. Having something tangible helps me remember people better.

These days, whenever I feel I need to post live updates, I just do so via Twitter. It's quick, it's easy, and it doesn't take much of my time. And then I can later on reconstruct or summarize the updates I tweted into a full-fledged blog post.

Perhaps live blogging is best if it's part of your job, or your publication's mission to really tell the online world what's happening in real time. For some, it's important to have first dibs on the latest WWDC or MacWorld announcements, for instance. But this might not always be the case for every blogger.

Do you live-blog? I'd love to know how you do it, and why.