My Blog = My Life: the reality of blogging

The question for almost every blogger is which blogging platform is best? Blogger, WordPress, or TypePad? Today I want to have a "different" kind of discussion about it.

Many people are very passionate about which platform "real bloggers" use. I have been told by many bloggers that I am crazy to use Blogger (which I use for all of my blogs). I have told many other bloggers that they are crazy to use WordPress or TypePad. The debate rages on amongst bloggers young and old alike. I figured I better have this discussion early on since a lot of people will want to start a blog of their own and follow along.

For the sake of this discussion, I am going to focus mainly on WordPress and Blogger. TypePad is its own little beast and to be honest I don't know much about it. Some people love it. Some people hate it.
Read & Comment >>

A free trip to Universal Studios. Another awesome perk of big blogging. When I started Single Dad Laughing, I didn't have any plans to be a big blogger. I was working a highly salaried job as a business executive and the thought of making money through blogging never even crossed my mind. Within weeks of starting the blog, I realized that I could probably make a few bucks here and there. Two months after that, I quit my job and decided to chase my writing dreams.

At that point, I wasn't making much of anything blogging. In fact, I had decided to keep ads off of my site while I grew my blog. I felt that I'd do much better advertising myself and my blog (with my best webpage real estate) than I would making pennies advertising for others. It was all one giant leap of faith, especially considering the traffic I was getting.
Read & Comment >>

Welcome to my new blog, Will Work 4 Followers. It's my blog about... well... blogging. For those of you who don't know much about me or my "other blog," my name is Dan Pearce, and I started Single Dad Laughing back in July of 2010. Within four months, it was among the biggest blogs in the world, and at the peak of its introductory mayhem, it was pulling in nearly a quarter million hits per day. Currently, I receive between 25,000 and 100,000 page views each day.

I don't share those numbers to brag. I share them as evidence that building a big blog is possible, and also to give you a glimpse of what you could be seeing on your own blog if you put in some hard work and consistent hours.

I didn't use tricks or gimmicks to make Single Dad Laughing big in a hurry. It took a lot of elbow grease and a lot of help from my followers. It took determination and a lot of trial and error. It took a lot of writing. It took a lot of time. And... as tricky and tough as some of it has been, it has all been worth it.
Read & Comment >>

Today let's talk about Internet Trolls. Specifically, those people who, while hiding behind their magical curtains of anonymity, are _____________ (fill in the blank... jerks, bullies, douche bags). You know who I'm talking about. If you don't, buckle up because you will.

For some reason, the Internet makes a few people feel completely comfortable being colossal jerks to those around them. People take "courage" behind a keyboard where in real life they might be somebody else altogether.

To me, it's a lot like road rage. For some reason on the road, some people think it's okay to be rude, offer less than friendly gestures, or scream at others. Some go absolutely ballistic.

The other day I was driving a few miles from my home. Another car and I pulled up to the intersection simultaneously, and both of us started pulling into the intersection at the same time (it was my fault). The driver of the other car laid on the horn, started smashing his fists against the wheel, and flipped me off. It all happened in less than three seconds.

Then... we both realized it at the same time... We were friends. Neighbors. We talk to each other often. We... liked each other. He immediately melted into his seat, horrified. I shot him a friendly wave and a big smile. He melted even further and gave me a half-wave, half-smile in return. I could tell he was feeling really stupid about his outburst. I ushered him through, waved again, and that was that. I laughed for the next two minutes.
Read & Comment >>