photo by twilite_dreamz via Flickr (CC)
Quick and clean today. (Hears Kristen Lamb whispering in my thoughts: “It writes the words or it gets the shoe,” *shudder – smile*). Note: I only use WordPress, results may vary with other platforms.
- Copy & Paste: After providing attribution, copy & paste the headline of the desired post, highlight it – click add link, copy and paste the post URL in the pop up box. Tip: Always add a period to the end of the post title before inserting the URL, even if the post ends with a question mark. The reason: The period acts as a stop for the link so that it doesn’t carry on. Example: D.D. Scott: Authors: Why Self-Publish/Indie Epublish?. Remove the period after the full entry is ready to go, if necessary.
- Share only what you read: While you may be sharing another person’s post/work, you are putting your stamp of approval on it by sharing it. This applies to tweets, Facebook shares and all other types of sharing. Read first, then share.
- Excerpt equals Appetizer, not Four-Course Meal. Often the opening sentence or paragraph are best, otherwise find a juicy spot that teases a click-through to see the whole. Never “excerpt” more than a paragraph or two and avoid the heart of the post – the object is to send traffic to the other person. Sharing more then this would be a “repost” and you should communicate with the original author before posting it.
Ethical sharing pays the highest dividends – play nice and others will often reciprocate the kindness.
Writing Resources posts tomorrow morning if you’re interested in a full post example of the above – or just looking for the best of the blogsphere *smile*
Peace.
Gene Lempp ~ Writer 
Another good idea, if you’re linking to a post: there’s a checkbox that says “Open link in new page” that will either launch a new browser window or open a new tab with the page in it. I like to do that, because the person reading your post can come right back to it, helpful if the page you’re linking to has links that the reader might be interested in reading. It’s more convenient for the reader.
Yours and Kristen’s are two blogs I always find time to read because they are always so useful.
I REALLY hate it when people reblog. Why do they do it? So lazy!
John: Right with you on “open link in new page,” I believe mine is set to automatically do that, however, for some it does have to be added. Thanks for bringing that option up 🙂
Karen: Thank you 🙂
Renee: Reblogging isn’t a bad thing, necessarily. I’ve been reblogged, however, it is good form to ask the person being reblogged first and not advisable to share the entirety of the post, instead sending traffic in the direction of the original source. I’d also not suggest having reblogging as the central activity of the blog. I’ve seen a few people that do this and after a week or so I’ll end up subscribing to the ones they reblog that are of interest and dropping the constant reblogger. All the time is “lazy,” on occasion done properly, is not 🙂
So practical, Gene. Thanks for sharing your wisdom!