Joe The Blogger Perspective With John Kolbert

An Interview by jeff

John Kolbert is a blogger who writes about many topics such as technology, WordPress, software, blogging and more. He doesn’t consider himself to be anyone special but more along the lines of being an average Joe. John is also a self taught PHP programmer with a few WordPress plugins under his belt. In this interview, I ask John to describe why he blogs, the basis behind his new project Techlyzer.com and more.

How did you become involved with blogging? Is it something you’ve always wanted to do?

I like creating tutorials. Plain and simple. The whole reason I started blogging was because I wanted to share ideas I had discovered. For example, as I was teaching myself some programming languages, I would spend hours figuring scripts out. One day I started thinking, “I can’t be the only one figuring out this problem right now.” I decided to start a blog and share the things I had been discovering.  Of course, it’s become more then that now, but that’s how I started.

Your personal tech blog, Simply-Basic.com runs on WordPress. What made you decide to use WordPress versus the other publishing platforms that exist?

When I first created by personal blog I was quite unaware of the different blogging platforms. A simple google search of blogging software quickly led me to WordPress, and I’m glad it did! WordPress has given me the flexability I need, the control that I wanted, and even a good number of paying jobs! As far as the other platforms go, I never found any as easy and enjoyable to use.

Speaking of WordPress, you have a few plugins under your belt that you have developed. How does it feel to be able to create something from nothing to solve a particular problem?

It’s a great feeling! Plugin development is one of my most enjoyable hobbies. My first plugin, Admin Favicon, was an extremely simple plugin. But honestly, it took me a few hours to create because I had to learn how WordPress worked. But once it was completed I was quite proud. The real test, though, is releasing it into the wild and getting feedback, support requests, and keeping up with comments. It adds a whole different aspect into blogging.

Do you currently earn any income through blogging? If not, is that a route that you’d like to pursue?

I’ve tried to monetize my sites with things like Adsense. I even tried text links for two months before I realized my mistake. I haven’t maximized the income yet because it hasn’t been a priority for me. The thing about blogging is you can monetize your site using various techniques. For example, during the summers when I have plenty of time I monetize my blog in a different way. I use it to advertise myself as a freelancer, even putting up a banner advertisement for my contact form. During the fall and winter months I remove those ads because I just get too busy.

It looks like you have launched a new project recently called Techlyzer.com. Can you give us a brief summary as to what this project is all about.

Techlyzer is my new venture into an aspect of blogging that I feel gets overlooked: video blogging. Techlyzer is (nearly) all screencasts of tutorials and reviews. I mentioned earlier that I really enjoy discovering things and then teaching others. However, I started to tire of the lengthy write-ups that came with typing out instructions and including a large number of screenshots. Plus, I’m a visual learner. It’s only been barely a week but I’ve been happy with the response I’ve gotten.

What software do you use for the screencasts on Techlyzer.com? What pointers can you give to those who are looking to do their own screencasts.

I use a really simple-to-use program called “Screenflow“. I believe it’s only for Mac OS, but it’s been a great program to use. It’s not as powerful as say Camtasia Studio, but you can’t beat it’s simplicity and how the final product renders. Along with that I use a simple $20 desktop Logitech microphone, nothing fancy. The trick to making a quality screencast is to not be afraid to fumble during it. If you make a mistake, pause, and start again from that same point. Screenflow makes the editing process very easy. My final product is not a seamless video, it’s all the good parts edited together

Before we let you go, there is one last question that must be answered. What is the future of blogging?

The future of blogging looks very bright. I believe that blogging to going to play a significantly bigger and better role in how the average person gets their daily information. Even major news sources understand the necessity of blogging (just look at CNN’s news blogs) and people reported news (iReport.com, anyone?). It is important to remember, though, that not everyone will be a big time, money making blogger. Blogging has basically no barriers to entry, economically meaning that there are lots of bloggers and low profit margins overall. But it’s not, and shouldn’t be, all about the money. Blogging is a healthy, enjoyable, lifestyle or hobby that’s here to stay.

You can catch John’s work at Simply-Basic.com and you can view his technical screencasts at Techlyzer.com. Also, be sure to check out his list of WordPress plugins he has developed thus far.

This Interview was published on November 19, 2008 at 9:52 pm • Did you like it? Subscribe!
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