{"id":1870,"date":"2013-09-11T14:13:45","date_gmt":"2013-09-11T12:13:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickzullo.com\/?p=1870"},"modified":"2016-04-07T14:22:13","modified_gmt":"2016-04-07T12:22:13","slug":"ricks-rome-blog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/ricks-rome-blog\/","title":{"rendered":"Rick\u2019s Rome Blog"},"content":{"rendered":"

My New and Improved Rome Blog<\/strong><\/h2>\n

(Now even tastier, with extra fat and more calories added for your enjoyment.)<\/p>\n

\"Rome<\/a>
Roma<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today\u2019s post will be a mixed bag of info and updates.\u00a0 First off, you may have noticed that I\u2019m redesigning my Rome blog, so I\u2019ll ask that you have a little patience while I undergo this overhaul.\u00a0 The new design is still a work in progress and I would appreciate any feedback<\/a> you can give me.<\/p>\n

I started this Rome blog almost 11 months ago and I\u2019m quite pleased (and surprised) with how it has progressed to this point.\u00a0 What originally began merely as an outlet for sharing my thoughts and experiences on Italy has grown into a fun little headache<\/span>\u2026I mean hobby.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s interesting about this sort of endeavor, and I suppose it applies to any type of writing project, is that the through the process of writing about a subject, you slowly \u201cdiscover\u201d things that you sort of knew, but have never thought to explain to yourself.\u00a0 I\u2019m certainly not the final authority on Italy\u2014or on anything, for that matter.\u00a0 But the writing process has helped me digest and clarify my thoughts and views. \u00a0So at least now I sound<\/i> like I know what I\u2019m talking about (even if it isn\u2019t often the case). \u00a0To wit\u2026<\/p>\n

I read it on the Internet, so it must be true!<\/h2>\n

Something else I\u2019ve learned about: the true power of the Internet, search engines, and social media.\u00a0 It turns out that in this day and age, \u201cAuthority\u201d comes mostly from your ability to promote<\/i> your ideas and opinions; and it has very little to do with their relevance or fidelity to the truth.\u00a0 I saw a similar phenomenon during my time at Pfizer Italia<\/i>, where important global meetings were dominated by the people in the room whose English was the best<\/a> and NOT by the people who knew the most about the subject at hand (whether it was pharmacology or marketing).\u00a0 Similarly, this is how we get our information via the Internet.\u00a0 Generally speaking, people who have mastered \u201cthe language\u201d of cyberspace have a much larger audience than the folks with actual real-world credentials.<\/p>\n

And notice where you find these \u201cauthorities.\u201d\u00a0 Most often they\u2019re addressing a fear (diet\/nutrition\/weight loss) or a problem (credit score\/foreclosure\/English proficiency).\u00a0 They prey on people\u2019s desires and at the same time protect themselves with anonymity.\u00a0 But sometimes the subject is merely something banal, like Italian Superstitions<\/a>.\u00a0 I knew nothing about the malocchio<\/i> until I started researching it six months ago for a post I was writing.\u00a0 That post went semi-viral and voila! Google now says that I\u2019m the English-speaking expert on the matter.\u00a0 If you need any more proof than that regarding the dangers of placing your trust in self-proclaimed Internet experts, then I can\u2019t help you.\u00a0 I wish you the best of luck in your misguided dieting, poor credit score, and bad grammar.<\/p>\n

So, given that, here are my top four categories of \u201cauthority.\u201d\u00a0 Every day, many lost souls find their way to my Rome blog in search of information on the following subjects (in order):<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Italian superstitions<\/a><\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Permesso di Soggiorno<\/a><\/p>\n

3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Dating in Italy<\/a><\/p>\n

4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How to Dress Like an Italian<\/a><\/p>\n

Of these, the \u201cPermesso\u201d is really the only topic on which I actually know a thing or two, mostly based on my eight month battle against the forces of evil<\/a> (a.k.a. Italian bureaucracy).\u00a0 But I\u2019ve also done additional research, I\u2019ve listened to many other tragic tales, and I\u2019ve engaged in heated conversations with government employees who, incredibly, all seem to be in agreement as to where I should place my Permesso application form (although I\u2019m quite sure I\u2019d need\u00a0the help of a physician<\/a> to comply with their request).<\/p>\n

Expats Blogging in Rome<\/h2>\n

So you want to start your own Rome blog (or any blog)?\u00a0 Great, I hope you have lots of free time to devote to the learning curve.\u00a0 Because it\u2019s not just writing; you have to figure out how to use WordPress, how to optimize photos, how to interact on social media platforms, and loads of other time-sucking activities that have nothing to do with writing.<\/p>\n

\"roman<\/a>
I soliti sospetti<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But if you\u2019re like me and your stubbornness usually trumps your common sense, then I can offer a couple of small tips to get you started.\u00a0 1) As far as the writing, probably the most important thing is consistency.\u00a0 Some bloggers post once a day, some post once a month; I post once a week.\u00a0 But I post EVERY week and almost always on Tuesday or Wednesday.\u00a0 2) Word count: the posts should neither be too short nor too long.\u00a0 Most sources agree that somewhere between 700-1200 words per post.\u00a0 When in doubt, write longer articles and post them less frequently.\u00a0 But again, consistently.\u00a0 3) Get your own self-hosted platform.\u00a0 There are lots of free platforms out there, which are OK if you merely want to keep an online journal.\u00a0 But if you\u2019re going to be at all serious about blogging, spend $10 on a domain name and $8 a month of hosting service. \u00a04) Keep your pages visually simple–a lesson that I’ve eventually learned.<\/p>\n

Those are the basics to get started, but of course there\u2019s a lot more to know.\u00a0 For example\u2026<\/p>\n

Choose your topics carefully<\/h2>\n

One of the trickiest things to accomplish is finding a balance with the potential readers.\u00a0 What I mean is that some people who find my Rome blog are \u201cnew to Italy,\u201d and any in-depth discussions on Italian politics, the bureaucratic mess, the economic crisis, the subtleties of campanilismo<\/a><\/i>, etc. would simply be lost on them.\u00a0 At the same time, Italians, expats living in Italy, or other folks well acquainted with the landscape don\u2019t care to read yet another article about the best gelato in Rome.\u00a0 So that balance is hard to find.<\/p>\n

Also, strong opinions will always make somebody angry and it\u2019s a no-win situation.\u00a0 People who agree with me probably just nod their head and move on to another article while people who disagree often feel compelled to voraciously defend their point of view and\/or expound on the limitations of my personal I.Q.\u00a0 Which is fine\u2014I rather enjoy debating people who have informed opinions contrary to mine. Sometimes they even change my mind.\u00a0 But what it is more difficult is getting caught between two opposing readers, neither of whom I know very well.<\/p>\n

I$ it worth my time?<\/h2>\n

I also get asked if I make money with my Rome blog.\u00a0 Well, luckily I didn\u2019t get into this for financial gain.\u00a0 The answer is yes: my blog earns enough to pay for itself\u2014hosting service, domain name, auto-responder, etc.\u00a0 But that\u2019s it.\u00a0 It\u2019s sure not paying the rent, I can tell you.\u00a0 What could\u00a0almost<\/i> pay the rent, however, is the sale of my eBooks on Amazon.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Not yet, but it\u2019s slowly getting there. \u00a0Of course moving to a cheaper apartment might be an easier route towards that goal.<\/p>\n

Some of the most popular ways to earn money with a blog are through Google Adsense and affiliate marketing programs.\u00a0 I\u2019ve experimented with both of these, but honestly, unless you get 10,000 people a day visiting your website (which I don\u2019t), then it hardly seems worth it. \u00a0Individual advertisers have approached me, but I\u2019ve said \u201cno\u201d so far. \u00a0I might reconsider this in the future, but at this point I don\u2019t feel like it\u2019s a good deal for either party.<\/p>\n

Ciao, Google! \u00a0Eccomi qua!<\/h2>\n

Now, if you\u2019ll notice, I\u2019ve done a couple of clever things within this post for the purposes of demonstration.\u00a0 I usually don\u2019t do much of this, but because the subject matter is about the dynamics of Internet algorithms, I\u2019ve stuffed this post full of my keyword (count how many times you see \u201cRome blog\u201d), linked to several other pages both internally (my website) and external (other authority sites), and basically hammed it up for the search engines.\u00a0 In the long run, this isn\u2019t a good strategy.\u00a0 Really you should just write, keeping Google in the back of your mind, but never let it control your thoughts.<\/p>\n

Well, I guess I\u2019ve reached the limit of my word count and I\u2019ve fulfilled my obligation of posting for this week (not to mention the number of time that I\u2019ve used the term \u201cRome blog\u201d).\u00a0 By next week I hope to have most of this technical stuff worked out and so I\u2019ll be back to pontificating on the merits and difficulties of life in Italy. \u00a0It’s more interesting and there’s still so much territory to cover!<\/p>\n

A presto!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My New and Improved Rome Blog (Now even tastier, with extra fat and more calories added for your enjoyment.) Today\u2019s post will be a mixed bag of info and updates.\u00a0 First off, you may have noticed that I\u2019m redesigning my Rome blog, so I\u2019ll ask that you have a little patience while I undergo this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1872,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,169,46],"tags":[17,406,48,50,450,70,13],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1870"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}