The usefulness of a blog does not depend on the number of visitors

Most advice about blogging reads like a How-to-Make-Friends-and-Influence-People manual. In fact it’s not because a web page is public and anyone can visit it that they will. It’s like going into town! You might bump into someone you know, but if you really need something from the shops, you’re not going to not go because you haven’t put your makeup on/your roots are showing/your trousers need a wash (delete as appropriate). You just get on with it. Ok, there is nothing permanent about rushing into town looking a mess, as there is with the words online. If someone wants to find it online, they can. But as long as there is nothing you would not wish your mother to see – making a fool of yourself is very relative. (Only them that do nowt do nowt wrong).

Get organised: tags and passwords

tags (keywords) to be attached all over the place to everything to be able to find it again. Yeah man, they need thinking about – or not thinking about but just used in profusion. How many times do I know that I have bookmarked the site (diigo) but just can’t find it again. I think this is a personal thing – but it’s definitely worth thinking about.

Passwords are a pain! I know that the “openID” is supposed to be secure, as Evernote is supposed to be secure etc.etc. but I just can’t go there. At the same time, I can’t keep my passwords in a notebook, since it’s definitely on the computer that one needs them. So as a happy? compromise, I do keep them in an excel file, which is not called “passwords” and in which each .com, .fr or other URL is written DOTcom, DOT fr etc. I still believe that writing an address eannegenobleATgmailDOTcom which certainly avoids an automatic link, keeps my password file out of the hands of any bot which might infect my computer. Maybe I’m just optimistic, but in anycase, like locking the door, I keep my antivirus up to date, and in 6 years of fairly intensive online presence, I’ve just once had my twitter account misused – at which occasion, I immediately looked up what to do on the twitter help page, and did it… yes that needs time, but so does everything (but that’s another subject)