Find A New Blog

If there’s one thing we all need to use, it’s a toilet.  No matter where we live in the world, what background we’re from or any other affecting factor, we all need to go to the bathroom regularly.

And whether we know it or not, we all have expectations of what the bathroom should be like.  Even if we’re looking at the wider washroom – such as that at a gym or a swimming pool – as much as we might think “we only need a toilet” or “we only need a shower”, the reality is we need them to be of a high enough standard to meet our needs.

What’s more, if we’re an organisation looking to have bathrooms or washrooms created, they not only have to meet our own expectations, but those of our customers and / or employees, too.

And by looking at the content published on their blog, you can instantly see this is what will happen when working with Atlas Washrooms.

An established, experienced and respected toilet cubicle manufacturer in the UK, Atlas Washrooms have been providing an array of commercial washroom services for many years now, design and implementing everything from toilet cubicles suitable for young children at school through to extensive washrooms with lockers and changing facilities for sports environments.

With their blog providing a whole host of different information on the topic, it’s a fantastic resource if you’re looking to hire a company for such services, as it can give you a great insight into just what you should expect, but also what you should be thinking about.

However, the good news is that even if you only know you need a washroom to cater for 100 students, for example, Atlas Washroom’s knowledge and experience will mean they’ll work with you to ensure you’re able to receive the exact washroom you need, something they aim to get across in their blog posts.

For instance, in a piece from 21st March, they explain that developing the most effective washrooms is a two-way ideas process – even though they have the knowledge base and years of experience, you as the customer need to have a considerable input (even if you don’t know what that will be at first), so to ensure the final product is the one that meets all of your expectations and requirements.

A fantastic company who are continually aiming to satisfy, the blog at Atlas-Washrooms.co.uk does a great deal to give you an insight into just what you should expect at all times.

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt about IT since I left school and entered the world of work, it’s that everyone’s understanding of even the most popular of resources is completely varied.

Having met people who genuinely don’t know how to turn their computer on through to those who seem to have a knowledge of data networks and backup storage way beyond their years, it’s actually something I find really interesting – what other resources can you think of where there’s such a huge gap in its understanding?

Fortunately, Comtek fully understand this and as an established IT support North East company with clients right throughout the UK, they provide a service that is perfectly suited to your organisation whether you need some highly specific advice or simply a little assistance getting up and running with a new laptop.

A company I’ve had the pleasure to work with for several months now, Comtek are a company who genuinely care about their customers. They’re fully aware that everyone’s understanding of IT and their individual requirements can be considerably different and what I love most is that their approach – whether you’re speaking to them face-to-face or reading their blog – is adjusted depending on the topic in question and your prior knowledge.

For instance, if you take a look at their blog, you’ll see it’s full of posts around a variety of different IT related topics and whilst they’re all about different subjects, they combine the right amount of technical information with a straightforward explanation to ensure that everyone can benefit.

What’s more, the company have also got a huge focus on helping small businesses succeed when it comes to IT and you’ll notice that several of the posts on their blog provide information on topics that many small business owners are so often asking.

A great example is a blog post from March titled ‘IT Security – Are You More Wary Of The Phrase Than The Processes?‘. Within it, they discussed the security of an IT environment and how important it is to invest in it today, but also that it really doesn’t have to be as daunting as you may first believe – in many instances, people shy away from even looking at it on a basic level because of what they’ve heard, when the truth is it can be particularly easy to get the level of security you actually need.

Whether you’re looking for complete IT support in Newcastle or just want a bit of help getting started with a piece of software, I’m certain that from looking at the posts being published and knowing Comtek as a company, you won’t be disappointed if you get in touch (and in all honesty, you may find just what it is you’re looking for from reading the blog alone!).

Within the working environment, my focus is on SEO and everything to do with it.  I spend my working hours developing and implementing SEO strategies for clients and also invest regular time to expanding my knowledge and skills to ensure the strategies being implemented really are as beneficial and as successful for the client as they can be.

Outside of work, however, my hobbies and interests are much more varied.  From having a huge interest in classic rock (with Boston being one of my favourite bands of all time!) through to being an avid snooker fan and a very, very, very amateur golfer, one hobby I’ve always had a huge love for is photography.

It’s because of this why when I started working with MH Photography, my eyes lit up instantly!

MH Photography are an experienced and established Hampshire photographers, offering everything from wedding through to corporate event photography.

Constantly ensuring they’re offering a first-class service and one that always pleases their customers, their blog is packed full of information related to all things photography – and even if you’re not a huge fan of photography, it still makes for an interesting read!

The reason behind this is that at some point in time, it’s highly likely that we’re all going to consider hiring a professional photographer or at the very least, wonder how we can get the high quality photos we need for a certain occasion.

And on the MH Photography blog, such topics are covered regularly, something that really does ensure the highest levels of customer satisfaction.

Nothing’s ever hidden on the blog or it’s not insinuated that the best photographs are created by some type of hidden talent.  It’s always explained that most people can take good photographs and it’s just that it takes many years of knowledge and experience, along with the right equipment, to take professional photographs.

A great example of this can be seen in the blog post ‘Can You Take Great Wedding Photographs With A Point And Shoot Camera?‘.  It essentially explains that whilst point and shoot cameras can be fantastic and guests should be encouraged to use them at weddings, it’s important they aren’t relied upon to provide your wedding photographs if you’re looking for photos of the highest quality.

No matter how good you think photos from point and shoot cameras will be, they’ll never meet the standard you need if you’re looking for professional-level wedding photos (although they’re undoubtedly fantastic for snapshots!).

With the posts stretching across various different photography topics, we love reading the content on the blog and feel confident that if you’ve got even the slightest interest in photography, you will, too.

At Zine, we offer a range of different digital marketing services, from web design through to SEO and because of this, we work with a vast array of different clients.

Generally speaking, I’ve worked within a client’s industry in some way, shape or form in the past.  It might not have been with a company who offered the exact same services, but I’ve usually got at least a basic understanding of the client’s industry; a little foundation knowledge that can be utilised within a strategy.

Occasionally, I come across a client who works in an industry I have absolutely zero knowledge of – and The Doulton Lady is one of them.

At The Doulton Lady, they offer an extensive range of collectable figurines and specialise in providing those that have been discontinued by Royal Doulton.

Now as many people will have, I’d heard of Royal Doulton and was even certain a couple of family members had some of the company’s figurines, but that was about the extent of my knowledge when we first started working together.  Over the last few months, however, my knowledge of the industry has grown significantly – as has my interest in it! – all thanks to the company blog.

Found here, the blog is packed full of information, advice and news, covering a vast array of different topics, but all coming back to the different ranges of products that the company offer.

With the blog fitting in with the company’s branding perfectly (and the images used within the content so often showcasing the products you can purchase from The Doulton Lady), land on any blog post and whether you know a lot about the industry or not, we’re almost certain you’ll learn something new or discover something of interest.

The blog post from 26th February is a prime example, as it offers seven interesting facts about Royal Doulton.  One of my favourite is that Royal Doulton, a company renowned for their collectable figurines and bone china items originally started out producing the one thing I doubt anyone would ever guess – sewage pipes!

I really do enjoy working alongside every single client and more often than not, learn at least a handful of different things from each client.  With The Doulton Lady, however, I’ve not only learnt a whole host of information about Royal Doulton figurines, but my eyes have been opened to an industry I had no idea was as active and as thriving as it is – and I’m sure by reading The Doulton Lady’s blog, you’ll soon have your eyes opened, too.

If you take a look back through the blogs I’ve talked about over the years, you’ll see that they’re all English speaking.  They’re all from companies whose primary tongue is English and whose audience is made up primarily of English speaking readers.

There was no real reason behind this, other than the fact when I’m searching for blogs myself, I hone in the ones I can actually read!

Sure, I can get by with French and I speak a little conversational Turkish, but when I’m reading blogs, I like to do so with ones I can understand quickly and easily.

Today, however, I want to talk about one I can’t do that with.  Sounds a little strange, I know, but the European College of Business and Management’s blog is an interesting one to read if you’re a German speaker.

For those of you who don’t know about the European College of Business and Management (ECBM), they’re the fully and officially accredited college of London’s German-British Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

Generally speaking, they specialise in providing a range of university courses, from bachelor through to master degree programme (‘masterstudiengänge‘ if my German skills are correct!) level in the UK, Germany and several other countries and have forged fantastic relationships with both UK based universities and organisations and globally recognised brands.

The main reason I wanted to mention them today is that I started working with ECBM as part of my current role at Zine when I joined back in November 2012 and although, as a client, the general processes and procedures are not really any different to other clients’, certain aspects have allowed me to be involved in a way that I haven’t been in the past.

For example, the posts on the ECBM blog cover a vast array of different topics.  From company news through to how you can be the most successful student you possibly can be by correctly managing your time, they all make for very interesting reads – and the way I know this is the content is produced in English first and then translated to German by a native speaker, ensuring it’s of the highest quality possible.

Looking at the blog itself, the whole aim has been to keep it as simple as it could be.  The focus is to be purely on the content and so you’ll see the blog has, generally speaking, stayed away from images and even bright colours.  Everything’s clean, crisp and clear.

The idea behind this is to make the blog as simple to read as possible.  Understanding that people whose native tongue isn’t German may be reading the blog posts and that even if it is, some of the content may take a little time to ‘sink in’, the blog doesn’t want to offer any type of distraction.  As the blog grows, it’s highly likely it’s design will develop, but at the present moment in time, we enjoy the way it looks and feels, believing it meets reader requirements perfectly.

Working with ECBM, I’ve learnt a lot about the education opportunities available if you just take the time to look for them (as well as being able to brush up on my German a little – I’m now fully aware that ‘berufsbegleitend studieren‘ means ‘part time study’…I think!) and really do feel that if you’re interested in what ECBM offer, stopping by their blog and reading through the content could do a lot to help answer a variety of different questions you may have.

I first started FindANewBlog.com in January 2010, after I realised just how many fantastic blogs were out there.

The aim was to provide regular updates giving you an insight into just a fraction of the blogs I came across on my online travels.

Interesting blogs.  Unique blogs.  Strange blogs.  Weird blogs.  Funny blogs.  I’ve always been a huge fan of learning new information and so when I began to discover just how many unbelievably great blogs there were out there, I wanted to do my bit to share them.

As time passed and I got caught up in everything from a career in writing and SEO that was moving quicker than I ever anticipated through to a personal life that seemed to be travelling at the same speed, FindANewBlog.com fell by the wayside.

I did try to get back into it a few times as I once again started to rekindle my love for blogs, but as I’m sure we all know, things happen and no matter how well-laid out plans are, they don’t always go as expected.

But now I’m determined to get up and running again, as the simple fact is, I’m coming across more new blogs than I ever have done before and want to showcase as many of them as I possibly can.

A lot of this is due to my role as SEO Specialist at Zine, a digital agency offering SEO and web design North East services.  A huge part of the SEO strategies we implement is related to blogging and so whenever we begin working with a new client, I’m introduced to not only a new company, but a new blog!

Throw into the mix the vast amount of social media work we do and the blogs we come across there and you begin to realise just how much I’ve got to share.

Whilst I’ll be doing my utmost to provide information on blogs regularly, as ever, I’m always open to suggestions for blogs to review.  Whether it’s new or old, something completely different or a blog that simply blends into the crowd, if you’d like it to be featured on FindANewBlog.com, you simply have to get in touch.

I really do love content and learning new information and believe there are thousands of blogs out there all worthy of being put in front of bigger audiences – and whilst I’m not saying I’ll be able to single-handedly drive vast amounts of traffic to the blogs discussed, every little helps, right?

I see a lot of blogs on a regular basis.  Some of them are due to my work with The Blogshop, others are based around my writing work, some are referred to me on a personal basis and there are some I get asked to review here on FindANewBlog.com.

Falling into the first three categories is Quick Sprout, the blog by famed entrepreneur Neil Patel.

I won’t talk about Neil too much here, as I want to focus on his blog, but you need to know that although his strap line is ‘I’m Kind Of A Big Deal’, the simple fact is he’s definitely a big deal – his knowledge and experience has led him to help brand such as Amazon, General Motors and Hewlett Packard.  Oh and the Wall Street Journal named him one of the internet’s top influencers when he was just 21 years old.

Neil’s blog, Quick Sprout, is home to a wealth of information on an array of internet marketing topics.  Updated regularly, Neil’s aim is to provide his readers with both an insight into how some of the internet’s available resources and platforms work (and therefore how you can utilise them properly), but also, in a much more direct way, how you can go about developing your online business by increasing traffic.

When I first decided to write about Quick Sprout, I was planning on focusing around one specific point that I loved about the blog – but I couldn’t think of just one.  I’m not saying Neil’s blog is perfect (although I’m not sure you’ll find many of his competitors and colleagues delivering to a higher standard on every level), but it provides the ultimate blogging experience – a great design, interesting content and fantastic reader discussions.

Take a look at this blog post from April as an example – ‘7 Link Building Mistakes You Ought To Avoid‘.

For anyone looking to read a blog post who doesn’t have an online business of some form, it might not be that appealing.  But if, like me, you’re in Neil’s target audience, it’s a master class in blogging – a catchy, direct title, content that’s not only massively useful, but which is laid out in an easy-to-digest way and an active discussion at the bottom which, at present, consists of 190 comments.

I love Quick Sprout.  The design.  The content.  The community feel.  Everything about it.  And if you’ve got any type of interest in internet marketing, I strongly suggest you check it out.

Just make sure you have a few hours to spare the first time you do.  And a notepad.  A big one.

My name’s Dan Smith and I’m the owner of FindANewBlog.com.

I started the blog over two years ago now as a way for me to share some of the blogs that I come across (and also which I’m fortunate enough to be sent) and almost immediately upon launching, we started to get some great comments and discussions taking place.

As is so often the case, I got tied up in various other projects and FindANewBlog.com unfortunately got put on the back burner.

But starting soon, it’s coming back!

Over the last few years, I’ve become more and more involved in the blogging world and currently worked for The Blogshop, a specialist digital agency that offer business blogging services.  As part of my work here, I’ve realised again just how many fantastic blogs there are out there.

And so, I’m going to once again start putting the spotlight on blogs.  New blogs.  Established blogs.  Traditional blogs.  Modern blogs.  Blogs with a twist.  Classic blogs.  It’s all about the blog and offering up new blogs for you to look at on a regular basis.

Whilst I’ll be searching the internet for blogs to mention, if you’ve got a blog and you’d like to have it included, drop me a line.

I hope you enjoy reading the blogs as much as I do.

Dan

I thought it was about time I put out an update on Find A New Blog – it’s been ( just over) three full months since I last updated the blog.

The idea was to post every day and whilst it started it out well, things just got a little hectic to say the least.

I finally got round to launching my own portfolio / business-blog at ItsDanSmith.com and alongside that and working for several new clients, I’ve barely had time to shower over the past few months.

I’m planning on restarting the regular posts again here soon, so check back soon – and don’t forget to contact me if you would like your blog reviewing.

Name of blog: Directory Journal’s Internet Marketing, Social Media and SEO Blog
URL: http://www.dirjournal.com/articles/
Owner: Hasan Saleem

The way I came across the articles section of the Directory Journal blog is one that is a little long winded and wasn’t simply me stumbling on it accidentally or randomly(but directly) through a search engine or being provided with the direct link.

When are things ever that straightforward?

A few months back I was recommended to take a look at the photo blog section of Directory Journal (http://www.dirjournal.com/info) which features some extremely interesting photos and information on topics of all varieties. This, as those who have read previous posts on Find A New Blog will realise, is something that I particularly love – there’s not many things better than reading up on all things, well, weird.

Clicking around the blog to discover more, I came to the main website, which is a directory of some very interesting and useful websites and from here I realised that the website had a range of other useful sub-sections.

Enter http://www.dirjournal.com/articles.

It’s difficult to summarise the blog into one section, as it is more of an amalgamation of everything related to internet marketing, social media and Search Engine Optimisation. The topics may be relatively broad, but the information is extremely useful, particularly for those who are new to the entire industry.

The blog started on 5 June 2007 with a post on ‘What is a feature?’ (in relation to PR writing) and over the last 3 years (almost), has featured posts on everything from whether or not you should offer a mobile version of your website to how to spot problems with your website by using Google Analytics.

Speaking to Hasan Saleem, the owner of the entire network, he explained that “Our visitors love the posts and our subscribers are rising every month”, the first part being something which is obvious by simply reading through the comments made by the community.

Largely due to the writers and experts that the blog utilizes, the blog has featured in many credible websites lately, including http://www.toprankblog.com and the more specific http://www.toprankblog.com/search-marketing-blogs/.

http://www.dirjournal.com/articles is a blog dedicated to providing the latest social media news, search engine optimisation tips, design trends and internet marketing, as well as throwing into the mix a whole host of other subjects and topics under its internet marketing / social media / SEO umbrella. For the vast majority of people online, whether they work in the SEO field or simply have their own website, a visit to this blog will almost always be of substantial benefit.