Free Blog Resources

These resources will be useful to any content creator, site manager, blogger, or writer. This page will expand as I incorporate suggestions from you, the reader.

Google Trends

Google Trends is a tool that is used in the analysis of trending searches and keywords on Google. Google Trends is useful for identifying seasonal, local, and other search trends with a break-down of where these searches are coming from. An important tool in the arsenal of any blogger or content manager.

Blog Ideas Generator

The Blog Ideas Generator helps those who are stuck with creating consistent topics and posts on their blog or website. Enter a few nouns and this site will generate one week of ideas.

Slideshare

A slideshow presentation can do wonders for spreading content across the internet. Slideshare is a great way to import content to LinkedIn and creates a lot more engagement than a typical written post. Visual aids are especially helpful when complex topics are being discussed.

Bubbl

Visual planners will love this free tool. Bubbl is a brainstorming application that is free to use and can even be trialled without registration or sign-up.

As an example, I have made a basic brainstorm for a new blog site.

Google Analytics And Google Search Console

Both of these free web-based applications provide a huge amount of data for any type of writer or content manager of a website. I have paired them because they work very well together as a way to analyze a site, basic SEO, and traffic performance.

Google Analytics provides real-time date for your website or blog, allowing content creators to see where their traffic is coming from and the behaviour of their site visitors. Google Analytics may seem daunting for first time users, but the Google Academy (100% FREE) allows a rookie to become qualified in Google Analytics in a couple of online sessions.

The Google Search Console will help to optimize site performance, crawl your web pages, see who is linking to your content, and much more. According to Google, "Search Console tools and reports help you measure your site's Search traffic and performance, fix issues, and make your site shine in Google Search results".

An example of Google Search Console in Action

Please comment below if you have any useful resources and I will add them to this page

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The Legal, Political, and Economic Marginalization of Maori in New Zealand

Estimated Read Time: 6 Minutes 12 Seconds Maori people living in New Zealand have found themselves in what Laguerre (1999), describes as ‘minoritized spaces’, dislocated from ‘white’, ‘normalized’, majority spaces. This article seeks to explain the legal, economic, political, social and cultural marginalization of the Maori people within New Zealand and how this has affected Maori society. The colonial paradigm for power and control will also be introduced to further understand how systematic marginalization has taken place in New Zealand. What Is Racial Marginalization? Cram, 2004, describes marginalization as; “totally removing the importance and power of someone…..the forcing of peoples out of the mainstream of political, economic or social life…to push to the sidelines or the periphery of a society or dominant group” (pp1-3). Cram then applies marginalization to the New Zealand society; “Marginalization occurs when a group of people a

Propaganda In Hollywood: Case Studies

Estimated Read Time: 4 Minutes 20 Seconds Propaganda originates from the Latin “Congregatiode Propaganda Fide” , meaning to "spread the faith". The contemporary definition of the word has roots as far back as World War One when the term became associated with political messages. Propaganda has been defined in the modern sense by Jowett and O’Donnell as, “the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behaviour to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist” (2006: 163). The seven elements of propaganda contain the ability of propaganda to tap into emotions , source credibility , opinion leaders, using music or other media as a way to trigger an irrational response, group norms, visual symbols and the language used when engaging in propaganda. A modern propagandist can gain access to many sources of mass media, including television, movies, and radio, not to mention social media.

How Do Sources Influence Media Content?

Estimated Read Time: 3 Minutes 36 Seconds “The relationship between journalists and sources has been linked to a tug-of-war where each is trying to manage the other to his or her own advantage” (Tully, 2008: 23). In order to produce a news story, journalists must rely on a source for information and clarity of the story. Otherwise, the news story would become non-objective, unclear and opinionated, which is what journalists try to avoid. Journalists should select sources that will give the most appropriate information to them and therefore provide relevant information to frame a story around. Manning (2001), claims that “news media are usually regarded as a playing an important part in maintaining the flow of ideas and information upon which choices are made” (2001: 133). Manning also claims that “the less powerful are significantly disadvantaged to secure access to the media” (2001: 134). This causes problems due to the elite within society having the majority of the ac

Jihad vs McWorld

Barber, B. R. (1995). ‘Jihad vs. McWorld’ Estimated Read Time: 6 Minutes 14 Seconds This piece of work from Barber is perhaps one of the most interesting to study from the pre-9/11 period. Barber accurately provides reasoning and theoretical logic as to why these two theories of civilization will eventually clash (which they did). Jihad vs McWorld An Introduction Barber writes about two viable political figures which can exist in the modern world, at odds with each other in most points of view. These two political figures are known as ‘Jihad’ and ‘McWorld’. According to Barber, however, these two political characters have one thing in common; Jihad and McWorld are both hindering practical ways for citizens to govern themselves democratically. Jihad and McWorld can exist in the same countries at the same time and can cause many complications, as they can operate in equal strength but contrary objectives. Jihad is motivated by biased detestation towards non

Why Has YouTube Become So Popular?

Estimated Read Time: 3 Minutes 44 Seconds YouTube has become a cultural phenomenon with millions of hours of videos watched and uploaded on a weekly basis. Many YouTube creators have made a career out of producing content for this massive website. This article will use sociological theories to explain the popularity of this video-sharing website. Encoding A YouTube Video For Different Audience Types Hall, claims that “using recognized codes and conventions and by drawing on audience expectations, the producer can position the audience and create a certain amount of agreement on what the code (YouTube video in this case) means” (Hall: 1980: 128). This entails that a producer of a YouTube video can “position” the YouTube videos are open to different interpretations depending on cultural background, preferred reading of the medium and the reader’s individual circumstances. An example of interpreting videos on YouTube would be if a YouTube user were to post a video of hims

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