Famous Historical Diaries
Diaries have provided historians and people an insight into the past. They have been used by many famous individuals to document what is happening to them throughout history as well as what was happening to their country at the time as well. Numerous diaries have been published and there are several that have hit a historical status and have remained as best sellers on literary lists throughout the world.
One of the most famous diaries is that of Anne Frank. Anne Frank depicted her life in hiding during World War II through her personal diary “Kitty.” The diary described life with her family and four friends in Amsterdam during German occupation. As she and her family were Jewish, they were forced to hide in a hidden apartment.
The diary for which she is famous was given to her on her thirteenth birthday. The diary chronicles the life of her and her family from June 12, 1942 to August 1, 1944. The book was originally published by her father, Otto Frank, who returned to Amsterdam and found the book. The original title was The Backhouse: Diary Notes from 12 June 1942-1 August 1944. The book would later be published as The Diary of a Young Girl. The book has been translated from Dutch into several languages and has also been made into films, television movies, theatrical productions and an opera. Anne Frank accurately described every detail of what it was like to live under Nazi occupation in hiding.
Lewis Carroll, or Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, was a famous author. He is best known for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. He is known for his unique word play, logic and unique fantasy tales. Dodgson kept several diaries, but there is some controversy over several diaries that have disappeared. These diaries are for the years 1858-1862. It appears that these pages of the diaries have been deliberately removed, but by whom nobody knows.
Many scholars believe that these pages were most likely removed by the family interest of hiding personal information that they did not want shared. This period of time seems to be between the ages of 22 and 32. One explanation is that during this time period, Dodgson had proposed marriage to the 11-year-old Alice Liddell. This Alice is believed to be the heroin in his famous children’s story.
The diary of Samuel Pepys is one of the most important diaries in history. The diary is a personal record of his life and the writing indicates that it was never intended for publication. It is also apparent that Pepys took great steps to preserve the diary, as he had the pages bound into six volumes and then catalogued in his personal library.
The diary itself was written in shorthand. This made it a very unique record to transcribed, as it had to be translated from a key that Pepys provided in his personal library. The first to transcribe the diary into English was Reverend John Smith, whom did not know of the key to the shorthand. Pepys recorded ten years of his life. He was very honest in his accounts and documented everything from the women he courted to his friends and business dealings.
The diary also provides an accurate account of life in London in the 1660’s. It was during this time that the city saw many catastrophes including the Great Plague of London in 1665 and the Great London Fire of 1666. The diary itself provides historians great insight to how people lived during the 1600s and how these events shaped the face of such a large and populous city.
Virginia Woolf was another famous diarist. She wrote numerous autobiographical accounts of her life. There have also been several personal diaries and letters published that give us a look at the life Virginia Woolf led. Woolf was an English novelist and writer who grew up in Kensington, England. She lived in a family comprised of children from three different marriages, as her mother and father were both widowed. She married writer Leonard Woolf in 1912 and often referred to him as the “penniless Jew.”
Virginia Woolf’s diary was highly personal and documented each day. She documented days and feelings between her and her husband, who was also a writer. She began keeping a diary around the age of 15, around January of 1897. Her family often called her the “unofficial family historian.” Her diaries provide us with a view of the thought processes of such a provocative writer. You see how she feels and how she develops her characters. You also see that she was severely depressed later in her life and she provides great insight into how depression can affect life.
Most of the presidents kept diaries throughout their life and their term as president. We know this as we have several diaries from presidents including George Washington, John Quincy Adams and Thomas Jefferson. However, one unique diary belonged to President Harry S. Truman.
Truman would write notes and comments throughout the day. These may not have been official diary entries, but they are very poignant and show us how the president felt. According to Mr. President: The First Publication from the Personal Diaries, Private Letters, Papers and Revealing Interviews of Harry S. Truman, Thirty-Second President of the United States of America we are able to gain great insight on his day-to-day life, which is something that many Americans ponder about when they think of how a president lives.
Truman would write notes about each appointment he had during the day. After visiting with a public figure, he jotted down a comment stating, “This man not only wants to run the country, but the universe and the entire Milky Way.” Another note after an appointment read, “Baloney Peddler.” After having dinner at the Mayflower Hotel for Jackson Day Dinner, he wrote, “An enthusiastic meeting. My first political speech as President. Rang the bell, I believe.”
These quirky comments provide us with an insight on the daily life of a president, but they also show that they too are human and like to be recognized for their achievements as well. Truman was also known to write memorandum notes on a daily basis. He said that they helped to clarify his thinking and serve as notes for his studies and decision.
These unique accounts of historical diaries are yet another reason to keep a diary or journal. Although you may not be a famous writer, nor do you aspire to be one, but your journal may be an insight into life later on in history. Pepys’ diary is an excellent example. He played no major role in history and was a simple businessman in the 1600s, yet his diary documented numerous events that changed London forever. His diary was one of the first diaries ever discovered. Truman’s personal notes and comments give us a glimpse at the life of a president.
You may never aspire to be a famous writer, political figure or famous person of the sort, but it is possible that your personal journal could provide an insight on life one hundred years from now. Many people are not aware that historians seek the personal journals of individuals from the past. Journals provide us with a view of what a person felt and saw during this time period.
Javier Colayco is the founder of InboxJournal.com (http://www.inboxjournal.com), a journaling site for keeping a private or public diary. Users can post entries directly in daily journal reminders, set reminders according to their schedule or post directly through the site.
The Biggest Mistake Bloggers Make
There have been various types of companies started in the past few years and even more so with the creation and startup of the Internet. The world of online businesses has sky rocketed with the startup and design of millions of web sites. Customers search the Internet several times a day, which is beneficial for many businesses who want to increase the amount of clients that they are able to cater to with their products and services.
In today’s society of online businesses, there exist several different kinds of businesses that have designed several attractive web pages. They use different strategies to increase the amount of money that they can acquire and that help their business to improve and grow. Some examples of these online businesses include search engines, trade product sites, and entertainment sites.
Other examples of online business methods that have gained a great reputation the last couple of years are the new web sites called blogs. Blogs have only been around for a few years and help people to display thoughts, ideas, and opinions through the creation of an online web site. These blogs also help people to share different ideas, similar likes and dislikes, pictures, videos, and basically just maintain simple communication through the use of the Internet.
These types of web sites have become very reputable throughout the last decade and have also just recently become a way for people to earn a little bit of money. Once again, they provide for the needs of the enormous amount of Internet traffic and they try to attract a large portion of this traffic to their own blogs. The more traffic flow through their blogs, the more popular and financially valuable the web sites will become.
Many blogs maintain several positive aspects but also have several bad points. First of all, blogs are fairly simple to design and create and do not require a lot of training or experience in order to publish. Anyone who knows how to use a computer and search through the Internet is capable of designing and publishing a successful blog web site.
Blogs are also pretty cheap to design, create, and set up as an online web page . They require little to no money at all and can be published online with the simple click of a mouse. Blogs also provide a great way for people to communicate with each other and to express their opinions freely.
The startup of a web site that includes a blog is also wonderful because they are highly ranked by search engines. Search engines absolutely love blogs because they are full of text and keywords that come up when people are searching for certain kinds of things. Search engines also love blogs because they are a nest for all kinds of links.
Some big pitfalls of online blogs are that many people have gotten the same idea of starting a blog. Many years ago there were only a few blogs that were published on the Internet, which made them very popular and rich. People were able to obtain a great income because there were rare and people wanted to become a part of them.
In today’s world, blogs have gained a great reputation and there are literally thousands and thousands of them on the Internet. You have to compete strongly with all of them if you want to be successful and effective, which makes having a blog much more complicated.
Court helps people find the best internet marketing strategies. You can read more of his work by visiting: http://whalehook.com.
7 Things You Can Do to Write a Blog That Readers Will Read
When you first start writing you blog, it will be a work in progress. You may feel that you know your topic right away and that your content will follow a certain theme for months to come, but most people start to change their topics and adjust their perspectives as they receive reader feedback and see what is most effective in drawing in new readers.
After all, your primary goal, no matter what you decide to write about, is to draw in new readers. That is why it is important that you do everything in your power to grow the number of readers you can attract on a daily basis.
Use Humor
Unless the topic you decide to write about relates to third world poverty or AIDs relief, try to spice up your blog posts with a little bit of comedy. If you have read a successful blog, you will see the power that a truly humorous writer has over his or her readers. It can be astounding.
Moreover, even if you write a powerful, rhetorically amazing blog post, it may not entice your readers to pass it on to a friend or leave a comment. They may just quietly agree with you, happy that someone was able to put their own thoughts into words. However, if you do it humorously, they will remember your words and repeat them to a friend. Humor creates repeat visitors and word of mouth conversation, two things any successful blogger wants to have on their side.
Make it Visually Appealing
Many blog writers get so carried away with the text on their site they forget to break it up and add a few images and some lists. White space is an online writer’s best friend. It makes the blog post look less intimidating; it gives a sense of freedom to the reader and with a few pictures involved, can be that much more entertaining. Use images, an eye-friendly color scheme, and try not to over use text in clunky paragraphs.
Focus on a Specific Topic
Many people start their first blog with a single thought in mind and write about anything that pertains to their lives. This online diary format is perfectly well suited for anyone interested in sharing their lives with the world. However, if you want to grow readership and keep that readership, you need to focus on one or two topics.
You need a niche that you can excel in. Writing five articles a week on five different topics will only attract five new visitors looking for different content. Three articles a week from a unique perspective written about a single topic will attract countless readers who will continually return to your site for more articles about the same topic.
Contact Other Writers Within Your Topic
Bloggers have their own community and most writers will help you out in getting started. If you find that you have a particularly entertaining blog that you read often that pertains to your own, contact the owner and ask them how they interact with their readers. Comment on their blog and see what topics they write about. Learn from those that come before you, they have already found success.
Use Reader Feedback to Improve Your Blog
Ask your readers what they think and take their opinions into consideration as much as possible. Read and respond to comments, talk to them through the context of your posts and find out what worked or did not work for a given post. Google Blogger is one of the largest reader communities in the world. Take advantage of those readers and get to know their thoughts.
Create Themes and Columns
Weekly columns on an ongoing topic can be very popular if well written. Series of articles or blog posts or thematic content can also draw in readers. Some of the most successful blogs on the Internet started with a thematic gimmick such as a list or series of opinions and sprouted outward. Just because you start your blog with a series of articles entitled “101 Things to Read on a Desert Island” does not mean you cannot write about other literature or desert island related topics.
Be Provocative
The more provocative and controversial your content is, the more people will read and comment on it. The unfortunate down side to this advice is that many of your new readers will not return, especially if they are angered by your opinions. However, the readers who agree with you will become vehement defenders of your blog. Try visiting a popular political blog. The devoted readers often defend the writer automatically, reading every post and responding to any negative comments. Be careful with how you approach this method though. You do not want to be rude or angry just for the sake of being rude and angry.
To gain readership for your blog, you need to be unique. You need to stand out and show that your content is unlike anything else on the Internet. If you write with a humorous voice, say something that no one else is saying, and remain loyal to your readership, your blog can become extremely popular.
Learn to blog with Google Blogger Tutorials. http://www.takeonthenet.com Over 100 videos available on the Internet to show you how to create and promote your blog. Add audio, video, slide shows, text, photos, credit cards and more.
10 Things You Can Do to Get People to Comment on Your Blog
For the blogging community, a comment is a badge of sorts. Every comment you receive represents one person that, regardless of whether they agree with your ideas or not, read your post and felt strongly enough to respond to them. Comments can make even the most jaded of bloggers feel fuzzy inside. So, how does a new blogger start turning those dozens of posts into a field of comments and discussion? It can seem hard at first, but there are a few steps you can take right away that will increase your readers’ willingness to speak up.
Invite Comments
For whatever reason, if you ask your readers to leave a comment on your post, they will be immediately more willing to do so. This is just a natural response that the human brain tends to have. People are often in a hurry, or have multiple things on their mind. They might fully enjoy your post, but as soon as they are done, click to something else. If you ask them to comment, it serves as a subtle reminder that they should join in the conversation.
Open Ended Posts
Even if you are an expert on a topic, don’t try to share every possible detail in one post. Be as open ended as possible and leave a few points for your readers to share. This takes a little bit of the humility mentioned below. If you can keep from throwing every fact you’ve ever read about a specific topic into one post, your readers will not have to think about something to say in response.
Ask Lots of Questions
The obvious way to get responses is to ask a question. If you ask your readers what they think about a topic, or for specific people to give their opinion on a lifestyle, you will get more responses. For example, if your blog is about TV shows and you ask a question such as “What shows did you enjoy in the past that are similar to The Simpsons”, you will get many more comments than if you said “I enjoy old shows like All in the Family, because it is like The Simpsons”. Engage your readers by addressing them directly.
Respond to Existing Comments
If someone comments, respond to it. Even if the comment is short and not particularly deep, a quick response can show that you are always paying attention and willing to engage in conversation with your readers. That commenter is now much more likely to comment again.
Setting Rules
Most blogging platforms such as Blogger do not have a built in set of rules for comments. The comments section is left open by default and you can make changes to it if you desire. Try creating a commenting policy and posting it on your page somewhere. This may seem like it would lower comments, but by describing what is allowed, readers with potential comments they might not have been willing to share initially are more likely to comment.
Show Some Humility
Don’t try to know everything all the time. Be humble and show that you are aware of your own shortcomings, failings and holes in your knowledge. Don’t be self-defacing, but be willing to say “I don’t really know much about this, but I had a thought”. The best part about blogging is that it gives readers and writers a chance to interact on an equal, real time level. If visitors want to read the opinions of those who feel they are always right, they could buy a book or pick up a newspaper.
Controversy
It’s a gamble, and you can go too far, but if you want to breed new comments on your page quickly, pick a controversial topic and make a statement. This does mean you need to become political or religious. You could simply say that you disliked a popular movie. Anytime a blogger disagrees with popular opinion, comments skyrocket. Just be prepared to stand up for your opinion and to do it gracefully.
Graciousness, Admit When You Are Wrong
If you make a mistake and someone writes a comment pointing out that mistake, try to accept their comment and admit your mistake. It is very easy to become defensive and angry on the Internet where you have no personal contact with your readers. However, by showing that you graciously accept someone else’s comments and opinions, you show humility and increase the likeliness of return visitors and readers.
Don’t Make it Hard to Comment
Blogger has an option that allows you to require a login for the posting of comments. This is too much work. If you require a login, many people will decide against commenting altogether, especially if they need to sign up for a new account to do so. Instead of requiring login information, you can set your comments for approval before they post. This allows you to sort out comments and delete spam if necessary.
Make It Worth Their While
If you offer a reward for a good comment, you not only encourage repeat comments, you encourage better comments. Mark especially good comments with a comment of your own, or reference them in a new post. This draws attention to your readers and shows you are reading what they say.
If you want to grow your readership and comments section, the best thing you can do is to be involved and pay attention to what your readers have to say. Do these things and you will start to see your comment spaces fill up in no time.
Learn to blog with Google Blogger Tutorials. http://www.takeonthenet.com Over 100 videos available on the Internet to show you how to create and promote your blog. Add audio, video, slide shows, text, photos, credit cards and more.