Find Part 1 of this interview here .

I get a lot of questions about blogging from people who are considering
starting a business and are new to the social media world. 

So does my friend Nathan Bowers , who is a web developer by trade, and also an artist/musician and all-around renaissance guy. 

Nathan
and I connected on Twitter recently and started a whole series of
offline conversations which resulted in this 2-part podcast interview. 
We wanted to reduce anxiety for new bloggers, and also draw the
connection between the importance of good technology crossed with good
content.  As we both noted, there are plenty of popular blogs with
crappy designs, mine included.

Part 2 of this interview covers:

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
2. Creating compelling content

Interview notes:

Wordpress All-in-one SEO plugin
Art and Fear Anecdote from the book Art and Fear

I get a lot of questions about blogging from people who are considering starting a business and are new to the social media world. 

So does my friend Nathan Bowers , who is a web developer by trade, and also an artist/musician and all-around renaissance guy. 

Nathan and I connected on Twitter recently and started a whole series of offline conversations which resulted in this 2-part podcast interview.  We wanted to reduce anxiety for new bloggers, and also draw the connection between the importance of good technology crossed with good content.  As we both noted, there are plenty of popular blogs with crappy designs, mine included.

Part 1 of this interview covers:

1. Defining a goal for your blog
2. Securing an effective domain name
3. Choosing a blogging platform
4. Choosing a blog host
5. Measuring the success of your blog
6. Design basics

Interview notes:

Seth Godin's advice on naming
Neutron LLC naming case studies

As a side note, Nathan walks his talk and recently redesigned Fred Wilson's popular blog avc.com .  He made the connection with Fred by commenting on his blog frequently, and suggesting improvements.  Fred was so intrigued that he hired Nathan, proof that valuable business connections come from social networking done with integrity.

I have a pile of books to read and review next to my bathtub.  The Go-Giver:  A little story about a powerful business idea sat there for awhile, until I finally picked it up the other evening and started reading it.  I was drawn in by the simple story, and got more and more encouraged by the premise as the pages went on.

A review of the book by Science of Mind sets it up well:


In my interview with the co-author, Bob Burg, we discuss five key principles covered in the book:

1. The Law of Value
   Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment
   
2. The Law of Compensation
   Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them
   
3. The Law of Influence
   Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people's interests first
   
4. The Law of Authenticity
   The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself
   
5. The Law of Receptivity
   The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving
   

The book is a nice, easy summer read with a great message.  You may intuitively know these things, but the real question is are you doing them?

Enjoy the conversation.

I was really excited to do this interview with Andy Wibbels of www.andywibbels.com after I heard that he took a "day job" as Marketing Manager at Six Apart.

I have known Andy for a long time and have always admired his candor, sass and brand, as well as his business sense.  Since he has done almost everything right to create an effective business, like:

1. Create a successful blog
2. Define and own a particular niche
3. Develop a huge mailing list of devoted followers
4. Team up with great partners like Darren Rowse and Michael Port
5. Write a successful book (Blogwild)
6. Get mainstream press like the Wall St. Journal and USA Today

I wondered what would make him decide to become an employee.

I think his answers will interest you, if not challenge some of your long-held beliefs about entrepreneurship.

My conclusion at the end of the conversation is that there is no work configuration that is inherently evil.  It is all about what you are looking for, what is important to you, what you are willing to trade off, and how likely you are to be successful on the "outside."

As for me, I think I am, as Jim Collins once said about entrepreneurs, "constitutionally unemployable," but that doesn't mean I don't respect someone's decision to take a day job.

What do you think?