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May 8, 2014

Blogging 101, Day Twenty-Four: Publish a Roundup

Today’s challenge: publish a roundup post that links to posts on at least three other blogs, and tell us why we should read your recommendations.

Welcome to Blogging U! This course isn't currently active, but you can learn more about what we offer and register for upcoming courses on the BU home page.

Maria Popova, Dave Pell, and Jason Kottke make a living by scouring the internet and blogging about their finds. They’re masters at rounding up great discoveries and sharing both the links and why they love them.

Today’s challenge: publish a roundup post that links to posts on at least three other blogs, and tell us why we should read your recommendations.

Why do this?

  • Because when you’ve truly enjoyed something, it’s nice to tell your readers — and the original blogger — what touched you.
  • Because roundup posts are a good addition to your blogger’s toolbox, and they’re low stress and easily shared.

Roundup posts — collections of links to things you love — shouldn’t be the basis of your blogging, but they can be great add-ons. They’re less stressful and time intensive than generating an original post. They open new avenues of conversation. They attract new readers, and are highly share-able.

Maybe, just maybe, a weekly or monthly roundup post to the best you’ve read/seen will become a fixture in your editorial calendar… an idea which just might help you on Day Twenty-Nine.

Roundups, when done well, are about a lot more than just a list of links. As with your blogroll, what you choose to recommend (and how you describe it) tells readers a lot about you and your point of view. It also positions you as a source of good things.

Today, publish one. Make sure you link to at least three other sites, but feel free to link to more. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

  • Everyone loves a good rant. Share three favorite opinionated pieces.
  • Bloggers have amazing content lurking in their archives. Share posts that are more than one year old.
  • Go topical. Into baking? Judo? Gaming? Books? Share your favorite posts on a beloved subject.
  • Teach us something. What’s the easiest way to clean oven racks? What’s the best recipe for pulled pork tacos? Share how-tos that made your life easier.

We love roundup posts, too — over on The WordPress.com Blog, we publish them all the time.

If you’re feeling sassy (and I hope you are), use a few criteria to shape the roundup to fit the focus of your blog — only poetry posts. Only posts about travel from the perspective of a single mom. Only posts about dog training by people who own Cocker Spaniels.

Remember, these are only ideas to get you thinking. Modify them to suit your needs, or go your own way. Post a bulleted list, or work the links into a narrative-style post.

Remember to add the “zerotohero” tag to your post. If you want to chat more about how to interpret this assignment to fit your blog, get yourself over to The Commons.

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  4. KEEP YOUR HEAD UP

    When you hold your head up high
    You can smell fresh air with a sigh
    It shows everyone that you’re positive
    Downing your head makes you negative

    Maybe your parents had a slouch
    And they think you are a grouch
    But you can change that posture
    Which can ebb away your anger

    Everytime you twist and turn around
    Like being trampled into the ground
    Rebuking you’re dumb and a loser
    With head high you can do better

    At school they say you have dyselexia
    Kids look at you as if you’re in a coma
    This’s crushed your spirit even in a crowd
    So you keep your lowered and head bowed

    Maybe bullies picked on you at school
    Looking at you like a perpetal blue fool
    Oh! how you’d like to wring their necks
    Calling you four eyes with your specs

    Maybe you were not bright in school
    Then they called you a dunce or a fool
    You hold your head up high a good effect
    Today that is no longer politically correct

    You hold your head up high you should
    Walking down your street you feel good
    But you’ve paid a price to reach this stage
    And you should cherish it in your old age

    Your feedback is welcomed

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  5. Wow, 1400 entries and we’ll have to do a round-up of some of the best. Gonna be a really tall order. Here’s my blog if anyone wants to check it out: http://LhuWenKai.com. I think instead of dedicating a post for this sharing thing (it’ll disrupt the flow and style of my blog, I’ll do some free advertising at the end of my future posts to link to one of my favorite blogs. It’s less tiring, and more people will click on their links as well since it’s “dedicated” instead of a “feature of everybody”. More impact I feel.

    Happy blogging!

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  6. I never would have thought of this.. what a great idea! I’m looking so forward to this, but already having trouble deciphering who to put, how I should categorize it, etc. May take a while…

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    2. Oops I rounded up blogs instead of posts.. sorry – (there goes that lack of sleep again!)
      I don’t think that I’m going to edit it to be “post-specific” at this point as it took a long time to write this as it was. Maybe at a later date. (sorry)

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      1. Don’t worry I’ve done it too and that was after reading your Oops, and still did it… no excuse for me.. and I’m the same, I am happy with putting blogs instead of posts. So adult of us 🙂

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  11. I do this quite a bit actually. As a writer and book blogger, I sometimes get stuck for inspiration so I use the books section of major national newspapers. Usually helps me to come up with something 🙂

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  20. Ok, I’ve done some linking to some good blogs in a previous post. So I’m at least not entirely bailing on this assignment. I just got back into town from some remote work. Posted some really awesome pictures of it, got to fly a plane, obtained an entourage of children, you know the usual. (Hey at least I have a pretty good excuse for copping out a bit)

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    1. Yep good excuse! 🙂 I had linked blogs before so this time looked at blogs in photography. I didn’t read it properly and thought it was blogs not posts but no matter. Would rather had flown to Fairbanks in a plane though 🙂

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  21. What a great way to show readers different aspects of yourself and not only your blogger persona. My friends do not recognize my voice in my blog at all, because I’m basically spewing out rants like an angry stand up comedian. Just a bit different from my everyday quiet Asian girl. Anyways, awesome way to share interests with others and show appreciation to other sites.

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  23. I have a confession…I have been slacking!!! I feel like a bad student…but I’m making a promise to myself and anyone who is listening, that I will catch up on all five or six assignments by Monday…Im posting this so I can feel better about this..;( oh please don’t like this comment but if you do, I will follow you:) lol have a good day everyone xoxo…

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  24. What I realize about word press…their titles sound so intimidating…Example…”Publish a round up”. I tend to get overwhelmed lol but then I realize that the way it’s explained for us makes it easier than we think. I have people tell me, “Wow, how do you this?” (meaning the way I set up my blog)…word press makes me look like a professional…I love it..if you like this comment I will link back to your page on my blog….and I will make a post about this…Sorry word press..am I being a bad student? I figure why not we all deserve some love…DONT BE AFRAID to like:))))

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      1. I wrote a story about Mariel Hemingway (Ernest Heminway’s granddaughter) and added links so you can see a trailer of her documentary.and her books! .so todays assignment is done..:) check it out!!

        http://wp.me/4gwRh

        Why I’m here..to awaken everyone to their own truth..the way she does!

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  27. Phew finished. What pressure. I wanted to write about some blogs I follow here at WordPress but was worried that I would miss someone… so I opted to write about three photography blogs that have inspired me instead. Crisis averted?? Funny I have no idea what I am going to write about and as soon as my fingers start typing I take off and sometimes go down a totally different path than I had in mind.

    http://daysandmonths.com/2014/05/09/blogging-101-day-24-assignment-publish-a-round-up/

    Hope everyone else went okay. I cant wait to check out what everyone else has done.

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    1. It’s strange how just getting started can be the key to a successful post, isn’t it! If I struggle to think what to write these days, I just start typing and see what happens. I love your pictures of Provincial France 🙂

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  28. I have started doing just this (although a couple of my links are to other social media as that’s where I found the pics). Since I blog about furniture painting, I’ve decided to start a series called ‘Inspiration for the Weekend’ which I post on Fridays. I really enjoy putting these together. Please see what you think! http://www.lavendertimes.co.uk/

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