1. Robert Tatum

   Can you explain to me what metablogging is? I have not heard of the term before.

   Nov 8th, 2007

2. skellie

   @ Robert: Sorry, I’ve updated the post with a brief definition. Metablogs are blogs written about blogging, like ProBlogger, Daily Blog Tips, and Skelliewag :).

   Nov 8th, 2007

3. Armen

   Yeah, because you’d never be inspired by Skellie!

   Nice round up…again. I just don’t know where you find the time for all this writing. You’re like Leo.

   You’ve got some leads there, which I’ve never tapped into, so thanks again.

   Nov 8th, 2007

4. skellie

   @ Armen: Hehe, well, I do try and be inspiring, and I think the other blogs I’ve mentioned are inspiring too. But I think there’s a whole lot more inspiration out there, if you know where to look :).

   Nov 8th, 2007

5. Mark - ProBloggers Matrix

   Thank you again Skellie for even MORE great ideas for my blogging.

   Whenever I can not think of something great to write in my blog, I just go to my list of 1500 or so blogs that I have listed in a restricted subforum deep within one of my forums and click on Skelliewag.org. I’ve got your A-List blog right at the top of The List.

   It’s become a real ADVENTURE reading your dazzling blog articles, Skellie!!!

   Keep right on with your award-winning blogging!

   You really should sign up for TeachingSells. Once you set up an ILE (Interactive Learning Environment) everyone would simply pay you and attend your ILE. You could have an ILE about how to write those award-winning blog posts of yours! I’d be the FIRST to sign up!

   Have an excellent day!!

   Nov 8th, 2007

6. skellie

   Hey Mark,

   Thanks for your kind words, as always. I’m not sure what an ILE would involve but I am working on an ebook. Then again, who isn’t? :).

   Nov 8th, 2007

7. Ankesh Kothari

   Thanks Skellie.

   I’m of the firm opinion that revolutionary ideas usually come from other industries. (Henry Ford got his from the meat packing industry.)

   But going through 70 different sources of information? My God - I won’t be able to get any work done!

   I like to keep my sources down to 20-30. And some of the sources besides metablogs that make my list are:

   1. Psychology (spring.org.uk, Psychology Today)
   2. History (Military History magazine. Robert Greene books.)
   3. Science (Sciam)
   4. Trending (springwise.com)
   5. Marketing
   6. Design (yankodesign.com)

   Nov 8th, 2007

8. Monika @ The Writers Manifesto

   That’s a very resourceful list Skellie. I already found some goodies! Thank you

   Monika

   Nov 8th, 2007

9. snosen

   I have been reading your blog for only a short time, but I have noticed how metablogs seems to link a lot to each other. You say that your advices should be appliable to all blogs, no matter of the content. Just when I was going to comment on this you come up with this post!
   I have a suggestion though. It would be interesting to read about what makes various blogs outstanding in their niche. What is the difference between a blog focusing on technology and a fashion blog? How should what you write about decide how you design your blog?
   Thanks for a great blog, I have added you to my feed.

   Nov 8th, 2007

10. skellie

    @ Ankesh: Your encyclopedic knowledge of start-ups and great stories in business always impresses me :). Cool sources of information there — I’ll have to check them out myself! (I guess we can make the list 76 now).

    @ Monika: Cool — I hope it inspires you :).

    @ Snosen: That’s a good idea there. One thing that makes it difficult is that there are about a million niches, it’s hard to cover them all. But I’ll see what I can do to address your concern.

    Nov 8th, 2007

11. Bente Lilja Bye

    Hi Skellie, I’d just like to confirm that visiting other niches is worth your while. I am not a metablogger (I do not even think I can call myself a blogger yet :-)), I will try to blogg on a topic that most people not even have heard about.

    I find reading your blog very rewarding and I try to learn from your general ideas - confirming exactly your point in this post.

    My ambition is to build up a big readership on a uncommon topic that on top of it all is hard to communicate as it is very complicated. My strategy is to learn from forums like yours and apply it to an “unknown” science. It will take some time though.

    You can be inspired and learn a lot about writing, the design and traffic building from the more experienced part of the blogosphere. (In my opinion the science part of the blogosphere does generally not communicate well to non-scientists - the design is a bit too messy for one, etc.)

    You have recommended using thematic photos that are free on the net. Sometimes pictures from space can illustrate very earthy topics - I can recommend you check out the sources of the space agencies like NASA and European Space Agency (ESA). You get lots of things free from them - and they are inspirational!

    Nov 8th, 2007

12. skellie

    @ Bente Lilja Bye: That’s a great idea — I will do that!

    Nov 8th, 2007

13. Glenn

    That’s it exactly Skellie…

    I think when we start blogging (at least it is true with me) we close up and look for all inspiration from a small set of sources.

    This post shows that we need to open up that source pool (not cess-pool ) and let everyday experiences and events inspire us.

    Sounds rather common sense but it is an attitude change that must be mastered.

    Nov 9th, 2007

14. Patrick

    If you publish an eBook, Skellie, I would pay serious money for it without hesitation. But my guess is that you are planning on making it free? I hope not though. I am willing to pay money for a your eBook, and I bet others are too. And I think you deserve compensation for your efforts.

    What about publishing a traditional book, and then using this blog as a springboard for it (sort of like Tim Ferris and The 4 Hour Work Week?) I would definitely buy your book at a bookstore, too!

    Nov 9th, 2007

15. Mike Panic

    Anything by Seth Godin is a great place to start - I did a review on The Dip a while ago - what a great, short book.

    Nov 9th, 2007

16. Nice from Thailand

    Grest list. I’ll read metablog when I have enough time. Usually I read those bold links.

    Nov 9th, 2007

17. DrSteve

    Very stimulating list - thanks. It’s good, though, to also have some corrective to the over-simplified view of human nature in self-help books, zenhabits, etc. Not that it isn’t good to be up and motivated, etc. - it is. But we are more complex and interesting creatures. Readers might be interested in a site like psyblog -www.spring.rog.uk - which nicely summarises psychological studies. (I do some of it too on my site.)

    Nov 9th, 2007

18. skellie

    @ Glenn: It does require an attitude change more than anything else. You can turn anything into a source of inspiration for your site, but you have to make the transformation yourself and ask: “How could I relate that to what I do?”

    @ Patrick: I’m actually planning to put a price on it at the moment, but a cheap one. Ultimately I’d like to be able to quit my part-time job so that I can spend two extra days a week producing content for this site. To do that I need funds to support myself, but I don’t want to put ads on Skelliewag. I’m also hoping to self publish so those who don’t like reading eBooks can get a hard copy. I do feel a little weird about it, since I’ve been doing free for so long ;).

    @ Mike: I’ve found him to be more inspiring than any other source, actually. I read ‘Small is the New Big’ and it was really inspiring for me… Was going to get some of his other stuff from the bookstore but it was insanely expensive ($25 for Purple Cow, which is tiny).

    @ Nice: They’re pretty cool aren’t they?

    @ Dr. Steve: I think Zen Habits does a good job at suggesting practical solutions for everyday problems, but I’m sure there’s a considerable benefit to being familiar with psychology, too — particularly if you blog about those issues.

    Nov 9th, 2007

19. Ivy

    Hi Skellie, this is interesting as I mentioned in my post just yesterday on “Multi-Channel Marketing” (www.ivytan-online.com) that you should be publishing a book, and how you could develop from there and maybe even go into speaking seminars and events.

    I think people will definitely pay to read your book, and look forward to seeing how that takes off!

    Nov 9th, 2007

20. Mark Dykeman

    Great list, Skellie! I see a number of favorites on that list.

    Nov 10th, 2007

21. Lau @ Digital Photography Tutorials

    Great article Skellie. I definetly agree with the book part!

    Nov 13th, 2007

22. Forrest

    This is a fantastic post! I’ve been thinking along similar lines myself. I’m a photographer with a photo blog, but lately I’ve been reading about evolution and psychology. It’s pretty easy to draw these into my niche; they give one explanation for why some images are more popular than others.

    But I like reading that intelligent people are thinking along the same lines…

    Nov 13th, 2007

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