The term RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication. It is a file format used to deliver information from websites and pages that get updated on a regular basis. An RSS file, most often referred to as a “feed”, can contain either a brief text summary or the entire content generated from a website.

RSS “feeds” are “subscribed” to using a specialized piece of software or website most often referred to as a “reader”. Once subscribed to an RSS feed, your reader will automatically pull updates from the website that publishes the RSS feed, whenever new content is released. Therein lies the real benefit of RSS. This allows people to stay up to date with their favorite content providers without having to actually visit them in a browser and they are easily notified when new content is available.

Here is a video to help explain RSS in “plain english”:

Measuring success. While the old analytics of monitoring website “hits” is hard to apply to the new concepts of Social Media, they can still provide you with important information regarding your agency hub. It’s important to have a reliable service that will accurately measure these important statistics.

Google Analytics

This full service analytics package from Google relies on an inserted Javascript snippet to be placed somewhere in your code. The service offers e-mailable PDF reports, long term statistics tracking, AdSense integration, and a slew of analytic variables. For WordPress blogs there are a number of plugins that will assist you in the code insertion as well as in dashboard tracking.

Service Cost: Free

Sitemeter

This service analytics package also relies on an inserted Javascript snippet to be placed somewhere in your code. The inserted code also inserts a small graphic that will link back to your analytics account so that your statistics are viewable if you leave them open to the public when you sign up.

Service Cost: Free for the Basic limited service, $6.95 per month for a Premium account

Woopra

This service analytics package relies on a Javascript snippet that makes regular server calls to the Woopra servers to allow for live visitor tracking in the downloadable desktop client. A truly live view of your site is valuable during sentinel events. The service has also been experimenting with a Live Chat feature, allowing instant two way communication with visitors. While the free package does not promote long term research, the value of live monitoring (and the possibility of live communication with visitors) can outweigh that slight inconvenience.

Service Cost: Free for up to 30,000 pageviews within a 30 day period, tiered pricing for higher traffic sites starting at $4.95 a month up to $179.95 a month

Related articles by Zemanta

• Web Analytics Showdown: Woopra vs. Google Analytics (businessbloggingtips.com)
• John Poz on Woopra, Blogging and Social Analytics (siliconangle.net)
• Tracking Blog Stats is Fundamental (mt-soft.com.ar)

One of the questions I seem to get quite a bit is how hard is it to write a blog post?

The short answer is that it is not hard at all.

The long answer is that, like a lot of things we do in public safety or public health, it is a process that you can become more proficient at the more you do it. Over the years I’ve refined my process with both major and minor changes that have optimized my work flow.

Here is the checklist style process that I am currently using for your reference with critical actions bolded:

Post Size-Up

• Determine the story that you want to tell in the post
• Title it
• Consider all the elements (photos, videos, etc.) you want to use to tell that story
• Estimate the appearance of the post on the spokes you want to use to spread it

Initial Blogging

• Write the post without regard for anything other than the essentials of your idea
• Once the essentials are down, go back and fill in additional detail where needed

Focused Editing

• Go back to your initial writing and begin editing
• Focus on the paragraph flow
• Read your post out loud. How does it actually sound? Edit the rough spots
• Focus on correct spelling and grammar usage
• Read your post out loud again. Does it sound the way you want your reader to hear it?
• Format and start placing your elements in your post including Strong and Emphasis tags to enhance your search engine optimization
• Read through your post to make sure none of your added elements break your flow
• Double check the proper spelling of names
• Double check links
• Does your title still work with the finished product? If not, re-title it
• Finally either publish or schedule your post for publishing

Published Examination

• Does your post appear the way you thought it would? If not, fix it
• Check all your links to make sure they are working
• Check your RSS Feed in your feed reader to make sure the post a) appears and b) still functions
• Is everything working? If not, fix whatever needs fixing. If everything’s perfect, have a large French Vanilla Ice Coffee light with cream and with four Splendas

While I find this to be the most effective and optimal process for myself, it may not be for you. Don’t be afraid to change something to make it work better from your perspective, but keep in mind the bolded critical actions you should take before, during, and after writing each blog post to assure yourself of high quality, authoritative, and trusted content.

There is a popular saying in the blogosphere, “Content is king.” While in many instances this is very true, what can also be said truthfully is that “Design is queen.”

Having a good set of design elements and creating an aesthetically pleasing experience for the end user is not always the highest priority of content creators. Still, it is not something that should be overlooked because the truth is that the quality of a design is an initial indicator of an the content creator’s credibility as an authority on the subject matter.

Here is a list of some simple tips when designing the look and defining the usability of your Agency Hub:

Design Elements

• Colors
• Content
• Font
• Layout
• Navigation
• Usability

Colors

• Learn the basics of color theory
• In order to determine compatible colors, reference a color wheel
• Your primary content area should have a light color background with a dark color font
• Your hyperlinks should be a different color than the rest of your text
• Blue is considered the best color for links (it is what Google and the vast majority of the web uses)

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Content

• The primary content area should be in the center of the screen
• Subscription methods to dynamic content, either RSS Feeds or E-Mails, should be visible “above the fold”
• Your content should not look like an ad
• Your main content area and sidebar content areas should be clearly defined
• There should be slight style differences between the main content area and the sidebar content area
• Images in content should be aligned and buffered with white space

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Font

• Choose a basic font (ex. Times News Roman, Arial) that is compatible with all browsers and mobile devices for content
• The font size should be a minimum of 12 points to be sure it is readable on all display types
• When using specialized fonts (ex. Igloo, Airwolf) for titles convert the titles into graphics

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Layout

• Main content areas should be the widest container on the page
• Sidebar content should not extend past the main content area
• Sidebar content should have a different background color than the main content area, even if it is just a shade or two different
• Layout should be scaled to a 1024X768 screen resolution, but be mindful that there are both bigger and smaller resolutions being used so centering your site will help maintain the focus on your main content area
• Featured content should be in a clearly marked area above the fold

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Navigation

• Navigation for the entire site should be visible “above the fold”
• Navigation should maintain the same location throughout the site layout
• Navigation should be easily readable as both active and visited links
• Navigation should be clear and concise
• If possible, utilize “breadcrumbs” in your navigation menu so users know exactly where they are on your site

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Usability

• Your site should be “browser friendly” and not coded for one specific browser or another
• It is important to understand that both Javascript and Flash elements may not be viewable by all users
• While Flash based sites are fancy and eye appealing, mobile users, in all likelihood, will not be able to view anything since the majority of mobile platforms currently do not support Flash
• Form labels on your site should be placed above the field
• Blue is considered the best color for links (it is what Google and the vast majority of the web uses)
• White space between elements helps declutter a site and improves viewer understanding of content differences
• The majority of users are “ad blind” and will not only not “see” an ad but also anything that looks like an ad so be sure that your content is not too similar to an ad

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