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7 Blogging Ideas For When You’re Stuck, Tired, and Can’t Write a Thing

by Loknath Das April 5, 2024

written by Loknath Das

7 Blogging Ideas For When You’re Stuck, Tired And Can’t Write A Thing

Every year, I greet January with new resolutions. Often, I never end up fulfilling them. But that doesn’t stop me from making new ones every year.

One of the resolutions I made at the start of 2017 – one I thought would be easy to keep – was to write a blog post every week on WordPress.

Easy, right?

But it’s May already and I am way behind schedule.

Not that there isn’t a heap to write about – there’s U.S. politics, the immigration debate, racial justice and healthcare rights. There’s easily enough to have me raring to go every morning. But like I said, I am failing miserably.

What’s the big deal about slacking off from time to time, you ask?

Well, I recently came across a WordPress statistic that says its users produce almost 80.7 million new posts every month. I will admit that made me feel pretty slack!

So a bit of introspection, research and discussion with like-minded bloggers inspired me to come up with this list of ways to motivate yourself to blog when you really don’t feel like it.

Without further ado, here are seven quick ways to generate blogging ideas when you’re seriously stuck, tired or unmotivated.

1. Choose to write on a topic that you know

If you think writing on a trending topic will help you gain followers and industry respect, think again. You won’t provide sound advice or commentary unless you know what you’re talking about, and you may get stuck at the research end of the process to boot.

Try to blog on what naturally interests and engages you – not what you think will get clicks and shares.

For instance, artificial intelligence and cloud software are concepts most marketers and technology buffs are keen to prove they’re super up to date on. But unless they’re industry leaders, they’ll probably have trouble finding anything new, informative or even original to say.

That’s not to say writing on pertinent and current issues isn’t important – but blog on topics that appeal to you as an individual.

If you are a tennis enthusiast then sharing your views on Steffi Graf and Serena Williams’ record would be an ace idea (pardon the pun!).

I am an ardent and passionate reader so both fiction and nonfiction writing appeals to me. This means writing a book review for my blog is much less intimidating than writing about artificial intelligence (and I know which one I’ll do a better job on!).

Unless you are passionate about a topic and know it in great detail, it is unlikely that you’ll have anything ‘extra’ to add to the noise on the internet. You’ll be wasting your time, other people’s time, and the creative energy that could be put to better use elsewhere!

2. Get inspiration from social media

In this article on Social Media Today, it was revealed that the average person has five social media accounts and spends almost 1 hour and 40 minutes a day browsing through their different feeds.

Turning to social media for ideas is like digging in a gold mine. People are constantly sharing, discussing and debating their views as well as enthusing about their interests and passions.

Join a few groups on Facebook that are based on your interests. You’ll not only meet like-minded people, you’ll generate ideas and views through discussion.

If you join a group aimed at writers or bloggers, you’ll also gain a channel for creative inspiration and be able to improve your online presence by actively participating in posts shared by fellow group members

It may surprise you what pops up to dislodge an idea in your brain. I’m a member of ‘Mad Over Marketing (M.O.M)’ on Facebook. They shared an image of a Nike ad a few months ago – and it actually inspired me. Take a look.

image: http://cdn.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/7-Blogging-Ideas-For-When-You%E2%80%99re-Stuck-Tired-and-Can%E2%80%99t-Write-a-Thing-blogging-ideas.png

The quirky intelligence of this ad aside, it generated the gem of an idea for a blog post called ’11 Ads That Will Make You Smile’ that could easily lead into a second blog post titled ‘How Brands Inspire People To Get Fit Via Marketing’.

See? A single ad shared in a Facebook group generated two different ideas in my head for two different blogs. Impressive, but so easy!

3. Use web tools to brainstorm

Web tools exist to help people out – especially when we are stuck.

Let’s pretend you already have a pretty good idea of what you want to write. Say it’s a piece on email marketing or social media marketing. You can start by looking at sites like BuzzSumo, Alltop and SocialAnimal to see what’s trending and what’s being shared by users.

Once you have an idea of what people are clicking on, use a tool like HubSpot’s Blog Topic Generator to help you take your idea to the next level and generate some potential titles.

Personally, I don’t just use one particular site. I look up 3-4 sites until I come up with a topic or title that resonates with me.

Have a look at this topic Portent’s Content Idea Generator suggested for email marketing.

Recommended for YouWebcast, May 29th: 5 Growth Hacks To Double Your Revenue Using Social Data

image: http://cdn.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2-5.png

What a perfect topic! It’s catchy, it talks about something my audience wants to know about (email marketing), it contains my keyword, it cues familiarity because it mentions a celebrity and it gives me ample creative scope!

There’s absolutely no shame in using web tools to brainstorm and generate ideas for blog posts. In fact, they could provide you with just the prompt you need in dire, uninspired times.

4. Format blog posts as lists

The whole reason I’m writing this blog arose from my 2017 New Years’ Resolutions, so it’s fair to say I’m a big fan of lists.

But in this instance I’m not talking about aspirational lists, but listicles.

Listicles are articles or blog posts structured in the form of a list: for example, ‘7 Best Productivity Apps For Android Phones’.

Not only do people love reading listicles, their thematic structure makes the writing process a whole lot easier.

Next time you are stuck over what to write, contemplate whether your content could form a series of items presented as a list.

The internet is filled with listicles so just try not to make them too clickbait-y.

Also, be as specific and positive as possible. Instead of writing ’13 SEO Trends To Watch Out For In 2017′, try ’13 Things Your Business Should Be Doing For SEO In 2017′.

5. Follow people who influence your industry

Duh, right?

But following influencers, industry and thought leaders, as well as daily news sites is a great way to come up with new blog ideas and writing inspiration.

For instance, I follow Virgin Group on LinkedIn and they made the two posts below on their page.

image: http://cdn2.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/3-3-1.png

It inspired me to explore the link between mindfulness and productivity. I knew I could either either use each idea separately or combine them into one, for example, ‘Why The Happy Employee Next To You Is 12% More Productive’ or ’11 Ways To Improve Mindfulness and Productivity At The Same Time’.

And seeing it on Virgin Group’s feed meant I knew there would be research and studies to back it up.

6. Ask questions on message boards

How else will you learn?

Take advantage of the pool of users on sites like Quora and Reddit to explore topics that interest you in depth, and no doubt pick up a few interesting and inspirational facts along the way.

Start by choosing a basic search term or keyword and looking through the conversation threads on it to see what you find.

Your natural interest in particular ideas will help you identify an appropriate topic to write on.

Then ask questions if you have them.

For instance, say you want to write about a trip to Hawaii. You can log into Quora and post a question to get an alternative point of view to your own.

Based on the response you get, you can come up with your new blog topics, such as:

Do’s + Don’ts While In Hawaii
What To Pack For Hawaii
5 Things You Will Learn In Hawaii

7. Look inside yourself

This is the part where you get to be you. You don’t have to look outside but think about your own personal insights and experiences, and how best to share them.

You can share personal insights and experiences in many forms: learning lessons, success stories, failure admissions and more.

Wrapping up

Blogging is not as easy as it is made to sound. It’s easy when you consider that it’s just words – but daunting when you think about what you want those words to mean and the ideas behind them.

My initial problem with writing is always starting.

Fortunately now, using the above steps, I usually find a way.

And I am certain that if you try them too, you will be able to wrestle yourself out of your rut.
[“Source-ndtv”]

April 5, 2024 0 comment

Gadgets News

Gadgets to use if you can’t take your laptop on a plane

by Loknath Das April 5, 2024

written by Loknath Das

Large electronics banned from cabins on some flights

As if tensions weren’t running high enough on flights already, soon you may not be able to carry on your laptop to binge watch your favorite series or catch up on work.

The Department of Homeland Security is considering a plan that would prohibit passengers from bringing large electronics into the cabin on flights from Europe to the U.S.

Here’s a gadget guide so you can keep working even if your laptop is checked into the hull.

Holder

Laptops are great because you don’t have to hold them up to work on them. There are plenty of smartphone or tablet stands on the market, but there are also holders to keep your device closer to eye level. A company called “Lockjaww” makes a clamp that holds onto your phone or tablet and latches onto the tray table in front of you. It costs $20 and has a four-star rating on Amazon.

Keyboards

The other major advantage that laptops have over phones and tablets is the keyboard. If you need to work on a document on a flight, you probably won’t want to have to rely on typing on a touchscreen. There are inexpensive bluetooth keyboards that connect to pretty much any device, like OMOTON’s Ultra-Slim Bluetooth Keyboard, which costs $14 and has a 4.5 star average on Amazon.

gadgets laptop ban lg rollable — LG’s portable keyboard

There are also slimmer, but more expensive, options like LG’s $34 rollable keyboard. The four rows of keys on the keyboard can literally be folded up, which makes it a fourth of the size and is easier to store in your carry-on. It also has a built-in dock, which you can set your smartphone or tablet into.

Cordless Headphones

If you’re setting up a mini work station from your airplane seat, you’ll probably want as few cords as possible. So it might be time to splurge on bluetooth headphones like Apple’s AirPods ($159) or Bragi’s The Headphone ($149). The AirPods’ batteries only last five hours, so if you’re flying across the Atlantic and want to listen continuously, you’ll need a backup pair. Or take a break and stretch while the AirPods charge — Apple (AAPL, Tech30) says 15 minutes should give your battery three hours of listening time.

Adapter

Apple famously got rid of the headphone port on the iPhone 7, and nowhere is this more aggravating than on long-haul lights. It means you can’t charge your phone and have headphones plugged in at the same time. So if you don’t have wireless earbuds and want to turn your phone into your workstation, you need to get a splitter.

There are a lot of options out there, but be careful because many have very poor reviews. Wofalodata makes a dual lightning adapter for iPhone 7/7 Plus, which costs $29 and has a four-star average on Amazon.

Battery

All of this will be useless if your phone or tablet dies. Since many economy seats still don’t have a USB port, consider investing in a solid portable battery charger. “mAh” (milliamp hour) is how most of these label how long the battery should last. A battery with 2000 mAh should power a device using 100 mAh for 20 hours. The Anker brand is consistently among the highest rated on Amazon. They start at $23 and promise to charge an iPhone 6 for 3.8 charges.

[“Source-cnn”]

April 5, 2024 0 comment

Education

Half of young people are so troubled they can’t focus at school, study finds

by Rajdeep April 5, 2024

written by Rajdeep

Teenagers’ levels of happiness and confidence are plummeting, as they worry that their lives will amount to nothing

Almost half of all young people experience so many emotional problems at school that they are unable to focus on their studies, a new poll has found.

Meanwhile, their levels of happiness and confidence are dropping, and more than a quarter feel that they have no control over their lives.

And more than one in six believe that they will never amount to anything, no matter how hard they try.

More than 2,200 young people between the ages of 16 and 25 were surveyed by the Prince’s Trust charity. Nearly half (45 per cent) said that they did not believe in themselves when they were at school. And 48 per cent said that they experienced problems during their school years that prevented them from concentrating on their academic work.

Of these, 46 per cent did not talk to anyone about their problems. Largely, this was because they did not want other people to know that they were struggling. And more than half (58 per cent) did not think that asking for help would solve the problem.

The survey is the eighth such study conducted by the Prince’s Trust. This year, young people’s levels of happiness and confidence were at their lowest level since the first survey was commissioned.

‘Amount to nothing’

Their plummeting confidence is caused by a number of factors. Half of those surveyed felt that the pressures of finding a job were greater than they were a year ago. And 42 per cent believed that traditional financial goals – such as finding a steady job or owning a house – were unrealistic.

In fact, 16 per cent argued that their lives would amount to nothing, no matter how hard they tried. And 18 per cent said that they did not believe that they could change their circumstances, even if they wanted to.

Dame Martina Milburn, chief executive of the Prince’s Trust, said: “This report paints a deeply concerning picture of a generation who feel their ability to shape their own future is slipping away from them.

“It’s shocking how many feel so desperate about their situation, and it is vital that we support them to develop the confidence and coping skills they need to succeed in life.”

[Source:- tes]

April 5, 2024 0 comment

Education

Why Skills Training Can’t Replace Higher Education

by Loknath Das October 11, 2019

written by Loknath Das

Much of the current media-reported posturing by policy makers and pundits about the failure of U.S. colleges and universities to adequately prepare people for the 21^st workplace is either ill informed or misguided, in my opinion.

One of the dominant narratives in the media is that we need to produce more workers now who can do whatever is needed now, using short-term postsecondary certification programs. The focus is typically on “vocational” skills, contrasted with what too often are characterized as relatively useless liberal education outcomes, including knowledge of world history and cultures and other “indulgences” such as crafting understandable prose and judging the veracity and utility of information.

To make it easier for employers to identify competent workers, a litany of badges, certificates, and the like will purportedly signal proficiency. In some yet-to-be-demonstrated manner, these proxies will then be stacked and sewn together by a trusted entity to warrant conferral of what traditionally has been considered a college degree. Along the way, it’s assumed that learners of any age will independently bring coherence to and cultivate depth of understanding from these various experiences.

Another narrative is framed by a chorus of CEOs and managers who bemoan that too many job applicants with associate and baccalaureate degrees cannot write coherent paragraphs, clearly explain complex problems, or work effectively with people who differ from themselves. And this is after several years of postsecondary study, not the few weeks or months needed to earn a badge. At the same time, many business leaders say that they prefer candidates who not only can do today’s work, but who will be able to continue to learn on their own in real time to do tomorrow’s work — jobs that have not yet been invented. Is there a badge or certificate to certify skills for jobs that haven’t even been invented yet?!

Of course, short-term vocational skills-based programs are critically important and well suited for many people. This has always been true and will continue to be so. But is this an acceptable policy choice for addressing the demands of the 21^st century workplace and fixing the shortcomings of American higher education at this point?

No, and here’s why.

We’ve known for many decades that there are no short cuts to cultivating the habits of the mind and heart that, over time, enable people to deepen their learning, develop resilience, transfer information into action, and creatively juggle and evaluate competing ideas and approaches. These are the kinds of proficiencies and dispositions needed to discover alternative responses to challenges presented by the changing nature of today’s jobs or for work not yet invented. Workplaces, societal institutions, and the world order are only going to get more complicated and challenging to navigate and manage, increasing the need for people with accumulated wisdom, interpersonal and practical competence, and more than a splash of critical thinking, analytical reasoning, and altruism.

Intentionally shortening and fragmenting educational and personal development in the name of bolstering economic productivity now is shortsighted and does a catastrophic disservice to individuals, our national prosperity, and the long-term well-being of a civil, democratic society. What’s also troubling is the likelihood that learners from historically underserved groups — low income and ethnic minorities, for example — will be disproportionately represented among (or maybe even tracked into) short-term training programs. Students from these groups made up the majority of those who were duped by the misleading ROI promises of more than a few costly for-profit institutions, such as Corinthian Colleges, ITT Technical Institutes, and Education Corporation for America.

There is no way to know for sure, but I suspect that many of those vigorously proposing short term vocational education steer their own children toward baccalaureate-granting colleges or universities. Attending such schools increases the odds that students will have to broaden their perspectives, read and write a fair amount, and devote significant effort over an extended period of time pondering difficult questions and generating alternative solutions to complicated problems — the stuff of which the future will be made.

We need business leaders to speak often and consistently with one voice about the perils of trying to do too much too fast on the cheap in education. The discourse about what the country needs from its postsecondary system needs re-balancing and grounding in what clear-minded captains of industry have learned from experience and what the educational research shows matters to preparing people for a self-sufficient, civically responsible, and personally satisfying life.

Granted, there is much room for improvement in American higher education. However, when a college or university intentionally designs and induces students to participate in high-impact learning activities inside and outside the classroom, the outcomes are much better contrasted with students who do not have such experiences. The benefits of participating in high-impact practices such as writing intensive courses, undergraduate research, community service projects and internships are especially promising for historically underserved students who will make up a large fraction of tomorrow’s workers and community leaders. Unfortunately, too few students participate in these activities, a problem that institutions such as California State University Dominguez Hills, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Springfield College and many others are addressing by modifying curricular offerings to require students to do them.

Abbreviating postsecondary preparation programs may well reduce short-term costs for students, institutions, and many employers. However, privileging short-term job training over demanding educational experiences associated with high-levels of intellectual, personal, and social development — a foundation for continuous life-long learning — is a bad idea for individuals, for the long-term vitality of the American economy, and for our democracy.

[“source=hbr”]

October 11, 2019 0 comment

Internet

Why Social Media Companies Can’t Stop ‘Fake News’

by Loknath Das December 29, 2017

written by Loknath Das

Image result for Why Social Media Companies Can’t Stop ‘Fake News’

Why Social Media Companies Can’t Stop ‘Fake News’
Right before the holiday, Guy Benson noted that two widely-spread viral tweets about the tax reform bill were flat-out false. The first, from actress Jenna Fischer, contended that because of the GOP-supported tax reform, “school teachers can no longer deduct the cost of their classroom supplies on their taxes.”
Cut Fischer a little bit of slack; she eventually corrected her assertion and offered a lengthy apology. Her information was outdated; the House version of the bill would indeed have eliminated the $250 deductions that teachers could take for purchasing school supplies for their students. A short time earlier, it was a fair complaint; the final version of the bill kept the deduction intact. Still, her original complaining Tweet was retweeted at least 46,000 times; her apology was retweeted 3,600 times.
The second, from a now-deleted Twitter account called “@Sykotik_Dreams” – declared, “My wife’s friend just received a letter from Medicaid and Social Security saying her severely disabled autistic 7 year old son just lost his healthcare and benefits. The letter states that it’s due to your #TaxScamBill. It’s 3 days before Christmas you [bad word] [bad word]!!” This, too, was retweeted more than 46,000 times before it was deleted.
Everyone should have smelled “lie” coming off this one. Nothing in the tax bill affected Medicaid and Social Security benefits decisions. The Tweet was written on December 22^nd and the final version of the bill passed the House of Representatives on December 20^th. A decision like that almost certainly would have had to have been reached, and the letter would have had to have been drafted, before passage of the final legislation. The individual sharing the story offered no further illuminating details – which agency wrote the letter, any justification, or anyone who could be reached to verify the claim.
“Fake news” doesn’t just come from Moscow or Lithuanian server farms. It comes anytime someone offers something false, inaccurate, or deeply misleading, and people choose to believe it and spread it to their friends. In many cases, those who spread it and amplify it want it to be true, because it confirms part of their previous worldview. If you hate Republicans, you want to believe that their tax bill is doing nothing but terrible things to good people, that it’s living up to Nancy Pelosi’s label of “Armageddon,” and that it’s taking away health care from innocent 7-year-old autistic boys. If this dire scenario is true, it means you, the good outspoken liberal who keeps berating your relatives for their intolerably retrograde political views at Thanksgiving, is a hero, and your relatives are monsters for disagreeing with you.

Who’s to blame for fake news, the creators or those segments of the public who choose to believe it?
Facebook just learned the hard way that labeling something “fake news” does not erode the audience or appetite for that information.
Today, we’re announcing two changes which we believe will help in our fight against false news. First, we will no longer use Disputed Flags to identify false news. Instead we’ll use Related Articles to help give people more context about the story. Here’s why.
Academic research on correcting misinformation has shown that putting a strong image, like a red flag, next to an article may actually entrench deeply held beliefs – the opposite effect to what we intended. Related Articles, by contrast, are simply designed to give more context, which our research has shown is a more effective way to help people get to the facts. Indeed, we’ve found that when we show Related Articles next to a false news story, it leads to fewer shares than when the Disputed Flag is shown.
Second, we are starting a new initiative to better understand how people decide whether information is accurate or not based on the news sources they depend upon. This will not directly impact News Feed in the near term. However, it may help us better measure our success in improving the quality of information on Facebook over time.
Let me help you understand how people decide whether information is accurate or not, Facebook. A great many people have strong belief systems, and at the core of those strong belief systems is the idea that they are good and people who disagree are bad; alternately, my tribe is good and the other tribes are bad. If new information comes along and appears to confirm that they and their tribe are good, or that the other tribes are bad, then they choose to believe it. If new information comes along and appears to confirm that they and their tribe are bad, or that the other tribes are good, they will declare the information false.
[“Source-nationalreview”]

December 29, 2017 0 comment