I've been putting in labels on blog posts since I started this blog, but only in the last month or so have I realized the value of them and ability (now acted upon) to show them via a widget on the blog itself.
So, to the right of the actual posts, below the subscribe to buttons and above the archive list is...
Labels / Tags / Source Linked / Authors / Companies / Point of Post
Pretty self-explanatory, but the way it works is I've selected to appear on this label list what is now around 30 of the 900 some odd labels I've used within the blog. The criteria is based heavily on # of posts done with each label (the label of Sports Illustrated is chosen over say... McDonald's), but also keys in on authors I really like, but may not have posted about a lot... Austin Murphy as an example).
Usage of the actual labels is of course you click on one noted in this list and all the posts with said said will list out. Simple, yet a nice way to find stuff around a topic or category.
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To the topic or category I've chosen to highlight (again, 30 or so at this point and likely to expand over time)...
1. Book review - you know... a book that I've reviewed after reading.
2. Where was the story I'm linking to from - typically a magazine. Reflects as a tag of the publication or website (but, mostly publication at this point) name.
3. Who was the author of the book (if I'm reviewing it) or story (if I'm linking to it).
4. What's the company being posted about - again, not every company I mention or link to a piece on, but the ones of greatest interest (which relates closely to most frequently posted on).
5. Blogging - similar to "book review" in that it's a label that I use to note what the post is about... in this case, it's about the process involved in the writing of this blog.
6. Best writing - links to pieces or books I really liked... often posts that I did pulling together said favorite pieces.
7. Websites of interest - post containing links to websites of note... stuff I want to check out further.
8. Business topics - posts around categories of business I find interesting.
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This list of tags I highlight in the aforementioned tag cloud is very much a work in process (in part because I'm still working on tagging all the stories containing "best writing", "websites of interest" and "business topics"), but it leads to a pretty cool organization of the blog output.
Ahh... the blog output. I do enjoy when I read great stuff that I want to write about and just as much enjoy creating content of value... you know, at least value to myself.
