Reading Roundup: What’s New in Blogging Lately?

Plenty of stuff in here today to get you thinking! I’d love to hear your thoughts – let’s chat in the comments cos I seem to have a lot of opinions today!

11 Authors’ Strategies for Overcoming Writer’s Block // Mashable

Ah, it happens to the best of us. Nothing a few tips from the pros can’t overcome, though!

Why Manual Link Building will Never Be Obsolete // Search Engine Land

I’ve seen so much discussion about manual link building recently, and whether it should be done or not. This was food for thought.

4 Ways to Boost Your Social Media Presence // Entrepreneur.com

I do number one the most – and I find it the most fun! It’s also super-revealing into the hearts and minds of your readers.

How to Create the Right Content at the Right Time: 6 Tips to Get You Started // HubSpot

Awesome basic tips to help you stay in the know if being current and timely and blogging on trends is your thing.

How to Create an Epic Mail Course as an Opt-In // By Regina

Well there’s something different to your standard free report/eBook/printable opt-in! A whole course. If you want to take the plunge, Regina’ll help you!

What I Learned (the Hard Way) About Becoming a Full-Time Writer // Jeff Goins

What happens when you’re always chasing your ‘big break’ (and never finding it!)

How to Use Periscope to Attract Followers // Chalene Johnson

Ok so it’s established itself as the next big thing that everyone’s jumping on – find your new audience there! (and find Darren here).

Twitter Says Hearts are a Success with 6% Increase in Usage over Stars // BBC

Did you even notice? Instead of “starring” a tweet to favourite it, the icon is now a heart. I always wanted something like a Facebook “thumbs up” to show that I liked a tweet, which sadly, I still don’t have. I use the “favourite” function to save favourites I can refer to later, even though I know lots of folk who use that as a virtual “like” button. Maybe this will help me psychologically move beyond the favouriting that’s always held me back and like a tweet for the sake of it! (but then I’ve still got a list of crap I need to wade through to find the thing I want… hm…)

Google’s New “About Me” Tool Lets You Control Personal Information Shown by Gmail, YouTube, Maps, and More // Venture Beat

Google Plus is now no longer a user requirement for anything Google-related, and so from last week, Google rolled out the new tool that allows you to modify how much personal info users see of you online.

Adam Gopnik on Darwin’s Brilliant Strategy for Preempting Criticism and the True Mark of Genius // Brainpickings

Oh if it’s one thing I’m sick of  doing, it’s preempting criticism. It can really strangle you as a writer, entrepreneur, or creative. Thinking of all counterarguments before you’ve even published anything is exhausting. And probably stupid in many blog cases, because you want conversations, not to be the final word on everything. It is difficult when people take issue with what you’ve written (especially if they’ve misinterpreted you), but I wonder about covering off every possible angle to ensure nobody can complain and if it’s necessary. But this article totally made me think… especially because the practice of criticising one’s own ideas is actually a very useful one, and not just to shut down arguments before they happen! What do you think?

Stacey Roberts is the Managing Editor of ProBlogger.net: a writer, blogger, and full-time word nerd balancing it all with being a stay-at-home mum. She writes about all this and more at Veggie Mama. Chat with her on Twitter @veggie_mama or be entertained on Facebook.

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