Learn from Lifehacker: Connectivity and Blogging

Marshall K posted an interview with the editor of super-blog Lifehacker over at Net Squared. It's titled “On the care and feeding of a techno-garden: an interview with Lifehacker's Gina Trapani.”

Here are some great quotes I think everyone need to glean from this interview. For a transcript of the whole thing, visit NetSquared. Marshall K is a must-read!

Gina on constant connectivity

• The other lesson that many for-profits haven't learned yet is to avoid drowning your employees in gadgets and tech – like Blackberries, laptops, and weekend email sessions – because constant connectivity and an interrupt-driven existence can really degrade people's morale and productivity levels.
  

Amen! Sometimes it is great to get away. No telephone. No TV. No E-mail. Bloggers who go for years without missing a post any day are missing life! I believe in taking a break!

Gina on building an audience

• On the editorial side, to build an audience, you need to post often. .. definitely update every day, if not twice a day. Your posts don't have to be long and thoughtful – though some should be – just summarize and point to a news item of the moment that's related to your nonprofit's area of interest. You want to establish a constant conversation about particular themes, and show that you're an authority on those themes, able to discuss them intelligently on an ongoing basis.

Gina on freebies

Technically, take advantage of every single free resource out there on the web to reduce costs and technical issues. Use Creative Commons licensed or public domain images (we like http://everystockphoto.com). Host video at YouTube or the Internet Archive to avoid bandwidth costs. Odeo is perfect for podcasts. Use an open source CMS (like WordPress, or ask a hosting company like TypePad or WordPress.com to host your site for free in exchange for an ad.

Marshall K, you've done the blogosphere a favor with this incredible interview! You've simply got to go read the whole thing!