rileycentral/personal blog

Derek Semmler has a blog on, as he puts it: "money, motorcycles, and cars." This is somewhat of a niche. My brother-in-law would be drawn in immediately since these are three of his passions. Me? Not so much . . . but, there is much more to his blog so thankfully Derek gives a caveat by way of parenthesis stating "and a little bit of everything else." This is wise because then the reader (like me) who might not have high interest in the main thrust of the blog could still wonder what the "everything else" means inside. And there's some great stuff in there! Tech, geek, marketing, blog culture . . . and more.

So, there is a somewhat defined niche with an broad umbrella caveat leaving topics open for Derek to write on a variety of topics. I like this approach. Smart.

The content of Derek's site is well written and personal. It's as if he's talking to a good friend about the virtues of business, MMOL, life or any other sort of motorcycle/car talk. Derek shares regularly with his readers the tricks he has found in the blogging enterprise. His blog is monetized and he appears to be advanced in his ability to put ad code and tweaks on his blog. He's been writing a bit lately about long tail assessment of traffic. I am still beginning to get what this is about, so I keep reading and hoping I'll catch on. I think it has to do with those outlier tags that bring your blog up in new reader's browsers. He also covers well known issues such as whether to set your links to open a new window for your readers or to open new links in the same window. This post recently produced a very lively and interesting comment session on the blog, of which I was a part of. If it's on Derek's blog, you know it must be worthwhile blogger stuff.

Derek engages in "Speedlinking" in which he links some of his favorite blog stories or links and writes a blurb about them. I feel this is a great way to network with the blogs you enjoy and respect. If you get to know him, comment on his posts and write something pretty good, he may just speedlink you! It happened to me!

The aesthetics of Derek's site are somewhat minimal (which I am currently way into!) He has a nice image of a sports car (fitting) and a basic 2 column theme inferring that he is not about showy themes but rather content.

Derek's intended audience appears to be people like himself with similar interests or people in the blogging/MMOL field. He has a healthy community of commenters who interact with his interesting articles. If you share his interests, like his candid writing style, or if you would benefit by reading a blog about MMOL and business, then you visit Derek Semmler dot com! My favorite posts of his are the ones where he talks about what's going on in the everyday scheme of life. It's nice to see how worlds compare! I give his blog 5 out of 5 stars as a great place to spend your online time.

A personal blog is created with personal experiences that are sometimes anonymous and other times non-anonymous. Whether as the primary or secondary theme of the blog, there is a dedication to setting down the events of ones life in posts. Some personal bloggers give care to Technorati ranks and other seo/traffic issues, but most don't concern themselves with that. All at some level are concerned with involving their audience in their online adventures and hopes and dreams . . . like a roller coaster! It's about getting down and getting real about life as we know it. Many times it is about working at the craft of writing through blogging and making online friends in the process. It is often about relating stories and creating writing meme opportunities for your circle of friends. (but many don't concern themselves with memes). Personal blogs, whether directly or indirectly, are about exploring ones own life and involving ones readers in the process! A personal blog CAN be about MMOL or tech and can have ads, though most are not and do not. Personal bloggers let you in on their lives! One personal blog on my blogroll posts art each day. It's humorous and non-commercial. I think of it as a personal blog, even though there is no writing. It is personal expression. Another blog I frequent calls itself a "language" blog, but personal stories are aplenty!

I consider myself an "online diarist." I set down the inner workings of my life in print through a blog. While the "personal blog" genre (in my view) contains the "online diarists" of the blogosphere, it is also a broad umbrella that contains blogs with traits I have listed above. I hope that helps. I started the "Online Diarists Forum" to contribute to this community. Please feel free to register, get involved, and promote your blog. The idea is that personal bloggers will meet each other and help each other out on issues from "Wordpress" to link exchange and peer interviews. Maybe I'll see you at the Online Diarists Forum.

This Cleveland girl really helped me understand blogging back in December of 2006. Everything was new to me, but i knew I had something to say and so I started commenting on her site. Before I knew it she was visiting my blog and I felt as if I'd arrived. She writes great, interesting, witty articles and has one of the best set of avatars on the web ;) Get some hot coffee won't you?

# All Rileyed Up is an amazingly hysterical collection of random posts. The author of this blog is a witty and highly talented author. If your spirits need a lift, go read her blog. You won't be left un-entertained.