Problogger Darren Rowse offers advice on what to do with your blog when you take a break:

1. Give your Blog and Readers a Vacation
2. Advance Posts
3. Retrospective Series
4. Guest Blogger/s
5. Guest Posts/Series
6. Blog from the Road
7. Open Mike posts

Although I’ve had guest bloggers at my personal blog, I may experiment with advance posts. Some blog platforms allow you to draft and post-date entries to appear sometime in the future. If you’re planning a week-long vacation, for example, prepare 7-10 posts to automatically publish while you’re gone.

I really like the idea of author blogs on Amazon, but I don’t like that comments and trackbacks are disabled. No comments allowed, I understand, but trackbacks are important for “hooking” one blog to another. If the point is to generate discussion throughout the blogosphere and make authors and bloggers aware of each other, blogs with no trackbacks are not conducive to the goals. If the point is to simply allow authors to respond to negative reviews posted on Amazon, the current set up works.

(Source)

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn….

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2)

Merry Christmas!

Attention bloggers and wanna-be bloggers in the D.C. area!

There are still slots available for a seminar I’m leading with fellow consultant Ken Yarmosh. Crash Course on Blogging is geared toward non-profit organizations but contains useful information for anyone who is blogging or thinking of starting a blog.

I will explain the benefits of blogging, what a blog can do for your organization, and how to build an audience, and Ken will demystify the technical jargon and show you how to set up a blog.

The seminar will be held at the Leadership Institute on 1101 North Highland Street, Arlington, VA 22201, on Monday, December 19, from 7:00-9:30 p.m.. The cost is only $35.

For more information, you may contact me or Ken Yarmosh.