Your Coverage of the Labour Party Conference
- 26 Sep 06, 04:27 PM
Have you been documenting or covering, in your own way, the Labour Party Conference in Manchester? Have you taken photos of the conference and published them on a photosharing website, posted a video to youtube, or put some audio online as a podcast?
If so, you can help us find your stuff by posting a link as a comment here, dropping us an email (manchester.blog at bbc.co.uk) or by tagging it with bbcmanchesterblog.
We can't promise anything, but in the past few weeks the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Manchester blog (this one!) has helped ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Manchester find several local bloggers with interesting stories to tell - first we had on to talk about making a living from blogging and, more recently, to talk about the Political Blogging panel debate she organised at Urbis. Who knows, you might just be the next Nick Robinson...
Why Blog?
- 14 Sep 06, 01:34 PM
"I blog therefore I am" - René Descartes (misquoted)
But why do we blog? I can think of more reasons not to blog than I can think of for committing myself to the daily routine of writing blogs, reading blogs and commenting on blogs. But I still do it.
So why do we blog? How would you convince someone who has never blogged to start? I know people who've said that they don't blog because they've nothing to blog about, a concept that a vast number of bloggers have never really thought about (otherwise there wouldn't be as many as there are!).
Granted there are a lot of blogs out there that don't really serve a purpose other than to be a voice on the internet for the writer, but many more blogs do serve an audience. It could be for the sharing of ideas and opinions, problem solving, reviews, training, news etc. etc. But would we miss them if they were not there?
It would be interesting to know how Manchester bloggers first got into it. How have your blogs evolved. Are they personal online diaries or are they serving an online community in some way? And does being based in Manchester make any difference to what or how you blog?
Let us know why you blog by adding a comment to this post or by sending an e-mail to us. It'll help us understand a little more about what makes Manchester bloggers tick.
Political Blogging Debate @ Urbis
- 11 Sep 06, 12:04 PM
A few weeks ago I fell asleep on my sofa and woke up at half past midnight to find political blogger on , reading through the day's newspaper headlines. It was at that moment that I realised that political blogging, which has been huge in America for a few years with sites like the and getting than , had finally hit the mainstream here in the UK. The ´óÏó´«Ã½'s Alan Connor recently put together a of political blogs if you'd like to have a look at what's out there.
With political blogs getting lots of attention from the media and political strategists alike, and Manchester playing host to the from 24-28 September, the being organised by local blogger is likely to be a popular event.
On the podium at from 4pm on Sunday the 24th of September will be Norman Geras, Professor Emeritus at Manchester University and author of , the Press Gazette's and Bill Jones, a former Manchester University lecturer and author of several books on politics who blogs at .
You can find of this free event on Manchizzle or over on the .
Who is the Sabi Rock guy?
- 4 Sep 06, 02:34 PM
It’s a question that’s taxing the minds of a number of Manchester bloggers who have spotted this mysterious man at various places around the city. So who is he and what is www.sabi rock?
I’m not quite sure who first spotted him, but there’s a posting on the blog on the 18th August that includes a picture of him on Trinity Way and … says that he’s been spotted around Manchester for a while now.
The latest sightings are reported today by who has posted about a number of sightings over the past week, including one yesterday.
So what’s it all about? A personal publicity stunt? The start of some big advertising push?
Going along to doesn’t throw any light on the subject as it’s just a holding page and a quick search of the rest of the internet doesn’t seem to help either. Needless to say we'll be keeping a close eye on that appears on there!
I’m sure the Manchester bloggers will get to the bottom of this one. It’s only a matter of time before someone out there will find out who he is and what he’s up to - and if you’re kind enough to share that information with us we’ll be happy to link to your report!
Manchester Blogger in the News
- 1 Sep 06, 01:05 PM
A Mancunian blogger has been profiled in about making money through blogging. Craig McGinty, who was born and raised in Manchester, worked stints as a journalist at the and the before chucking it in and following that peculiar English dream of moving to France... and starting to document the transition.
Now back safe in sound in Greater Manchester, Craig has a growing family of blogs including one about , another to help the of the Northwest to network and a blog about life in Perth Australia (that's long-distance blogging if we've ever heard of it). Craig told that he spends approximately 10 - 12 hours a day working on his eight blogs - which seems like quite a lot of time until you realise that it's not just a hobby, it's his day job.
How's he do it? Craig, who has monetized his blogs by using affiliate schemes and search advertisements, blogs about topics that genuinely interest him and understands that google and other search engines will continue to bring readers to his content whether it was published today, last week, or last year. Craig told the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Manchester Blog that "the potential to earn a living and also to carry on earning from articles in your archive is something I stress to people."
Of course, not all bloggers are hoping to make a job out of it but, for those who are, Greater Manchester's is a good example of how to succede at it.
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