Retro MacOS Wordpress Theme

In full 1-bit glory

I thought I'd try my hands at WordPress tweakery, and so I thought I'd mark up my first custom theme. For whatever reason, I decided that a rendition of the monochrome MacOS from circa System 6 would be cool - with a few liberties taken for the sake of the web, of course. [read more...]

Six of the best: Recommended Reads

Six sites to make your feedreader happy

Summer has always been somewhat of a quiet time on the blogging front, with folk jetting off on holiday and enjoying the sunshine - anything other than being cooped up indoors writing. [read more...]

How Long is the Ideal Blog Post?

On word counts and writing for entertainment

The internet is changing the way we read information. No longer are we constrained by a physical medium - we don't have a fixed number of pages to fill, nor a certain column inch quotient to meet. [read more...]

Balancing AdSense with User Experience

Happy users + effective monetisation?

I've been spending some time recently optimising the advertising here on Modern Life, and I've been trying a number of approaches to increase earnings while maximising user experience. It's a tricky balancing act, as effective ads are generally more obtrusive ones. Is there an effective way to keep both effective adverts and happy users? [read more...]

'What's Wrong With My Blog?'

A guide to common pitfalls, mistakes & faux pas in blogging

Creating a blog is easy - but alas, building a readership is somewhat more difficult. So where do nascent bloggers most commonly go wrong? [read more...]

The 7 Qs of Great Viral Content

‘Viral content’ is an awful phrase. It’s used by marketers – and generally means material designed to propagate a message or meme, usually with an eye to some commercial gain. But the content itself needn’t be a bad thing – and the qualities of great viral content can be used on their own merits. Here are 7 such features of great viral content – and they all begin with Q. [read more...]

How To Get A Six Figure Blogging Income

In just a few simple & logical steps...

Blogging is easy; it’s the getting rich whilst doing it that’s difficult. Fear not, though, as here’s everything you need to know in one simple (and logical) diagram. [read more...]

UK Blogosphere: Top 10 British Blogs

Underepresented, undersubscribed and dominated by the US?

You may be able to guess by the .co.uk domain name and the Anglo-centrism of Modern Life, but to clarify, I hail from England in the United Kingdom. With all the buzz about blogs in the UK media (notably the BBC, Guardian and the Times Online, amongst other forward-thinking publications), one would have thought the UK blogosphere would be a shining example of how to embrace new media. Right? [read more...]

How to get RSS right

5 tips to help get subscribers, keep subscribers

RSS is an essential part of growing a blog’s audience, and most get the fundamentals right. Some, however, don’t exactly embrace RSS as a medium – and occasionally those who do offer some limited, broken feed that simply isn’t worth subscribing to. Here are some pointers to keep your syndication on track. [read more...]

Ethical Blogging 101

On what can be deemed acceptable, and otherwise.

Blogging is an area that can be fraught with legal and ethic issues - in many ways these reflect the way journalism is affected by ethics and the law, but with blogging there's one significant difference - anybody may start a blog on just about any topic. The barriers to entry normally associated with the press are effectively gone - and passionate folk now have near absolute free reign to write whatever and however they please. [read more...]