WordPressers in the Press

Last week, Ben offered a snapshot of another great month on WordPress.com. Our bloggers continue to bask in the spotlight, with viral hits and cross-platform success. Here’s a glimpse at what your fellow WordPressers are doing on the web.

Parenting blogger hits the New York Times 

kristen hansen brakemanParenting blogger and writer Kristen Hansen Brakeman is busy these days. We’re happy to see one of her pieces (“When Do ‘Family Rules’ Change For Teenagers?”) on Motherlode, the parenting blog of the New York Times.

She was also named a finalist in Blogger Idol, a contest where bloggers respond to writing prompts and are eliminated weekly. One of the posts for the contest, “Don’t Hate Me Because I Can’t Hear You,” made it to the Huffington Post.

Awards and mentions

Oliver BoothOliver Booth and the Evil Socialite, the book by The Rich Life blogger David Desmond, was selected as a finalist in the contemporary fiction category of the Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition‘s 2014 awards. (Winners will be announced in March — good luck, David!)

The folks over at Disney’s Babble named ML Philpott, the blogger at I Miss You When I Blink, one of the top ten undiscovered bloggers you should know about.

ML is a professional editor, writer, and book reviewer, and has penned a book of poems about lawyers called Poetic Justice. (The evidence is on WordPress.com, naturally.) Known for her humor and thoughtfulness, she’s a community favorite — be sure to follow.

Expert sound bites and recognition

Our users are experts in their fields, too. You’ll see psychology lecturer and therapist Meg Barker at Rewriting the Rules contributing to various outlets, like a Telegraph article on gender in the workplace.

Barker, who writes about relationships and sex, was also featured in the #36 slot of the Independent‘s 2013 Pink List, which compiled 101 influential people in the LGBT community making a difference in the world. She also recently gave a talk at TEDxBrighton 2013, in which she summarized her book in ten minutes.

Storytelling in science: the seahorse has its moment

We were thrilled to see the success of Ink Chromatography blogger Steph Yin’s stop motion animation on how the seahorse got its shape and her guest post at Scientific American. Using multimedia storytelling to bring science to life, Steph has a fresh approach to science writing, which you can see on her blog — and in this video:

Your writing, across the internet

It’s nice to see the work of our bloggers — and the conversations they spark — in a variety of publications. Consider this thoughtful post on the modernity of a Civil War portrait on The Frailest Thing, later published on The New Inquiry — a blog for ideas, critical analysis, and cultural commentary.

Or how about the astonishing popularity of Seth Adam Smith‘s “Marriage Isn’t For You”? In less than a week, Seth’s post racked up over 24 million views, over 4,000 comments, and a whole lot of discussion across the web, from Yahoo to BuzzFeed and hundreds of other sites.

We know so many of you are out there blogging and doing amazing things. Know of other WordPressers in the press? Are you proud of a publishing accomplishment? We’d love to hear your story — let us know in the comments.

If you’re interested in keeping up with what’s abuzz in the community — from a collection of top reads to publishing news and bloggers in the spotlight — subscribe to WordPress.com Weekend Reads, which we’ll deliver right to your inbox.


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35 Comments

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  1. blvboutique

    Way to go WordPress. I love being part of this community.

    Like

  2. Marc Latham

    Thanks, nice post, and inspiring news and bloggers.

    With regard to publishing achievements, I wrote my Werewolf of Oz: Fantasy Travel by Google Maps on WordPress.com, virtually traveling across Australia a couple of times a week over a year or two. Then I edited it, published it, and have been serialising the finished book this year on the WordPress.org blog of my website.

    The poems of my second poetry collection, 242 Mirror Poems and Reflections, were also first posted on WordPress.com before publishing.

    Like

  3. virtuallysublime

    So cool!

    Like

  4. kimparkje

    How do you get Vimeo on a blog?

    Like

  5. theworldoutsidethewindow

    So many fantastic and talented people in the world of WordPress. Blogging here and getting the feedback from my peers has really helped me to develop some ideas I wouldn’t have taken the leap with, without their encouragement. It has also helped me hone my writing and continue to get my articles published in magazines like Star Trek Magazine.

    Like

  6. Matt

    That’s awesome — thanks for the motivation!

    Like

  7. Dennis

    One of my articles has been mentioned on the CNN website and since then I know things are possible. The link did skyrocket one of my articles on Google. I suggest any blogger not to give up. If you love blogging, then you will see results someday. It´s just not something that will be done in a few days. I think blogging is a longtime hobby and recognition will only be there if you do it for fun and if you do not give up. You must believe in the things you do.

    Like

  8. marcy westerling

    I am a small potato blogger still trying to learn the ropes (and thank you WordPress for making that so easy). Saying that, I am proud that in five months of blogging people from 58 countries have checked in! My blog is for those determined to live well when told we are terminally ill, so a specific niche. Thank you for all the support!

    Like

  9. Ebonstorm

    WordPress has been a great asset in my publishing adventures. My science fiction and fantasy blog Hub City Blues (http://hubcityblues.com) has helped me published two books in the last two years with two more on the way. One was a collection of short stories I started on my blog and the other was a web-serial I have now put into a book format.

    My short stories have appeared on the Good Men Project as well, expanding my readership and exposing people to unusual SF stories, many of which revolve around environmental or social themes. There’s no law that says you can’t entertain and still educate people to scientific and social realities. I have begun to mix various media into my blog, enhancing its variability and content. WordPress.com for the Win!

    Like

  10. Sheldon Dean

    I am not sure if you knew this, but Christina Rivers is a blogger for our site at http://thebeaminpittsburgh.com – Christina Rivers is credentialed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL and currently provides content for us as well as CBS Sports, CBS Sports Local in Pittsburgh and several NFL-related blogs. She has been an incredible asset to our own blog. I believe she also has a personal wordpress site as well. Thanks.

    Like

  11. Daniel Brownstein
  12. osmanaz

    The power of blogging! Congratulations all the published bloggers!

    Like

  13. Brian Brown

    So encouraging to read this. I really enjoy stories like this one. I wish you’d check out my WordPress blog, Vanishing South Georgia. I have built a good following just through word of mouth over five year and I’ve even been featured on Garden & Gun’s blog and in numerous other publications throughout the South. I’m very grateful to be able to do this via WordPress!

    Like

  14. Raj

    Hey cheri,

    you have to do more highlighting of the greats on WP community. It would make things much easier for people like me to know them and their precious content. Thank you for the post.

    Like

  15. Dating Ann

    I love this! Very inspiring for a new blogger to see.

    Like

  16. Rewired and Retired in Nicaragua

    So many inspiring blogs. Because of my blog, House Hunters International contacted me and filmed us for five days on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua. It was a fantastic experience. http://retirenicaragua.wordpress.com/2013/10/10/we-do-house-hunters-international/

    Like

  17. vinitadhondiyal

    Wow. I am just two weeks old in blogging but WordPress.com makes things very easy. I especially like stats and check it compulsively.

    Like

  18. thefitcycle

    Thank you for this post Cheri! So inspiring to read about everyone’s craft(s). Our WP blog (www.TheFitCycle.com) was featured by Forbes, Upworthy, SXSW and the American Heart Association this year because of a series of viral workout movies that we made. Forbes went so far to call them “The smartest, sexiest workout videos ever.” Would love for you to check them out! “Movies” tab: En Route (Subway) Workout and Laundromat Workout. Thanks again, Andia Winslow

    Like

  19. Every Record Tells A Story

    That’s great to hear about. After nearly two years of blogging, I had my first paid commission last week from Classic Rock Magazine. The editor got in touch via Twitter (which I use to link my blog posts to) to ask if he could run a post I wrote about sexism in rock music. This is the post, which also appears on their website: http://everyrecordtellsastory.com/2013/10/16/could-heavy-rock-be-just-a-teeny-weeny-bit-sexist/
    Exciting times…

    Like

  20. Real. Life. Parenting.

    I’m another Blogger Idol contestant, like Kristen Brakeman, and I have a piece featured in an anthology coming out next month: The HerStories Project: Women Explore the Joy, Pain, and Power of Female Friendship. Woohoo!!

    Like

  21. frankramer

    On occasion I dream of seahorses, and the symbol usually is associated with joy.

    Like

  22. grapefriend

    Awesome! I’ve gotten some press as well, happy to share: http://grapefriend.com/press/

    Like

  23. deviedo

    that’s really cool! I’ve always wondered about that, and now i know! 🙂 and i love how the whole video had the patterned paper and origami as the fish! Very creative! I loved it! 🙂

    Like

  24. bigjudge90210

    This is amazing. Seeing that a regular blogger can make themselves famous really motivates me to express my thoughts through blogs. As well as others too I’m sure!

    Like

  25. SunStarAngels

    This is one of the best articles Ive read in a long while. Thanks for this wonderful post!

    Like

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