Blogging Heroes: Interviews with 30 of the World's Top Bloggers (Hardcover)

by Michael A. Banks (Author)
Key Phrases: naked conversations, other bloggers, other blogs, Blogging Heroes, The Long Tail, Ars Technica (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Among more than 102,000,000 blogs, a few stand out as influential, ground-breaking, and singularly successful. These thirty bloggers, who write about everything from business trends to parenting, have been featured in Wired magazine, Popular Science, and on CNN, NPR, MSNBC, and 20/20. In one-on-one conversations with Michael A. Banks, these innovative, creative thinkers have shared their tactics, their philosophies, what drives them, how they mine for subject matter, and their personal secrets for success. Come and learn from the masters.

From the Inside Flap
They've gained a loyal following that continues to grow. They write about everything from business trends and the inner workings at Microsoft to parenting tips, personal secrets, and prolonging the life of your vehicle. They're passionate about their subjects and about the free expression of blogging. And they're even more passionate about being passionate.

They are thirty of the nation's most successful bloggers, and their stories and secrets—in their own words—fill these pages.

Technorati lists well over 102 million blogs, yet in such a sea of content, these bloggers stand out. Their voices are heard, their words are read, and their messages have an impact. In this fascinating and intimate look at the blogosphere, these influential and innovative individuals tell you what it takes to achieve blogging success.

If you've even thought about starting a blog, you can't afford to miss this wisdom.

the bloggers

• Dave Taylor The Intuitive Life Business Blog

• Chris Anderson The Long Tail

• Gina Trapani Lifehacker

• Ina Steiner AuctionBytes

• Mary Jo Foley All About Microsoft

• Dave Rothman TeleRead

• Frank Warren PostSecret

• Mike Masnick Techdirt

• Mark Frauenfelder BoingBoing.net

• Robert Scoble Scobleizer

• Peter Rojas Engadget

• John Neff Autoblog

• Ken Fisher Ars Technica

• Deborah Petersen Life in the Fast Lane

• Joel Comm JoelComm.com

• Brian Lam Gizmodo

• Kristin Darguzas ParentDish

• Chris Grant Joystiq

• Scott McNulty The Unofficial Apple Weblog

• Philipp Lenssen Google Blogoscoped

• Brad Hill Weblogs, Inc.

• Steve Rubel Micro Persuasion

• Rebecca Lieb ClickZ

• Deidre Woollard Luxist

• Gary Lee An Internet Marketing Web Site

• Richard MacManus Read/WriteWeb

• Eric T. Internet Duct Tape

• Victor Agreda DIY Life

• Steve Garfield Steve Garfield's Video Blog

• Grant Robertson Download Squad

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 298 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (December 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470197390
• ISBN-13: 978-0470197394
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #270,507 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Blogging Heroes" Opened My Mind, March 15, 2008

By	Roger Corn (South Pasadena, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I found "Blogging Heroes" to be a really inspirational book that introduces the reader to many of the pioneers of blogging. As someone who is not a hard-core technical person, it was refreshing to learn the variety of blogs and get a glimpse into their world from the inside. You will probably recognize several of the blogs and enjoy finding out their origins and what motivates the people that breath life into them.

Some of the blogs profiled started as magazines first; others were born online. Some are run professionally by trained journalists; others are run as hobbies during spare time. All of the profiles, though, were interesting. I often found myself at the end of each chapter thinking, "That is so cool. What that person did!"

As you read the book, you'll easily notice patterns in the advice, motivations and other factors that were keys to these bloggers' success. By the end of the book, you'll have a very concise list of what to do if you want to get started blogging (or improve your current blog).

Michael Banks style is great. "Blogging Heroes" is very easy to read with each of the 30 chapters devoted to one interview. I read the book one or two chapters each night before bed. It was perfect for that kind of reading- chapters are under 10 pages long; so, you can always finish one in about 10 minutes.

I recommend this book to anyone that wants to learn more about the world of blogging from a personal level.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Are you a blogging hero?, January 26, 2008

By	Bruce Reyes-Chow "Flippin' Sweet" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I "had" to burn the rest of a Borders gift card, so aimlessly wandering the aisles I picked up Blogging Heroes: Interviews with 30 of the World's Top Bloggers and started thumbing through it. I have just started reading but so far this book of interviews with top bloggers is really good.

For you BLOGGING addicts . . . you will get two things out of the book. One, articulation/affirmation for some the practices and approaches that you already integrate into your blogging. And, two, a few nuggets and aha's that will seem so obvious, but you never knew.

For you BLOGGING newbies . . . you will get two things as well. One, you will benefit from the real-life experiences from real-life-bloggers about art and practice of blogging. And, two, it becomes painfully clear how NOT imposing blogging can be. These are pretty much regular Joe's who have found a way to share their knowledge and opinions and a significant number of people who care to read them.

Not everyone should/cold be a blogging hero. There will be some limitations based on focus area, writing ability, intent and in my case, gray matter, but regardless of your blogging status, this is a good read.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A great group, but, May 7, 2008

By	G. Steen "bookee" (Baltimore, Md USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Internet books are getting a little too cookie cutter. I blame the editors for this one. Wisdom takes more than 2 hours to read and needs more than a interview questionnaire. The author is blind to the 3 principles that he presents through the bloggers: passion - there is no passion in this book. Uniqueness - basically most of the bloggers all give the same recommendations. Content - the repetition here is unforgivable. What makes these bloggers unique is their obsession, but the author needs to dig deeper if he wants to find some real wisdom. Many there isn't any.