Ask ZuneSpring July 2010

We’re midway through the summer folks, and simply couldn’t be in a better mood. There haven’t been any disasters on the Zune front in the last couple of weeks. I haven’t had to tell someone how to re-install their Zune software or give out the number to Zune Support.

While that’s great news for nearly everyone, that doesn’t translate to an extremely in depth Ask ZuneSpring for July. In fact it translates into a very small column. My hope is that you guys are all out enjoying the summer weather and blasting as much music as you possibly can, but if the problem is that you don’t know how to submit your questions, let’s fix that straight away. Send your email questions to theteam@zunespring.com , message us via Twitter at @ZuneSpring, or leave us a voicemail at  1-847-4ZSLive.

Joey asks via email: “hey, got my new website up http://www.beyondzoones.zxq.net/ give me some tips to help me with it and also, how much longer you think till a or the zune hd 2 comes out or leaks…?”

A: As far as tips, there’s as many different ways to run a website as there are stars in the galaxy. The most important ones to me are the ones that are easy to forget. Content is better then the way your website looks. Too often folks get wrapped up in changing, and redesigning their site, however if nothing is on it for them to read why bother revamping it? I struggled with this often at my older sites, but I’ve managed to control it here at ZuneSpring. In four years we’ve had a total of 5 designs, with two of them lasting at least a year, and the current one going strong at a year and a half. I do revamp some graphics here and there to keep it fresh and current.

Second, you should cover a topic that interests you. Fine your niche and stick with it. Does ZuneSpring get a lot of readers, not as much as I would like. Does ZuneSpring sometimes feel like a job instead of having fun? Yes. However I’m passionate about the topics we discuss here, and that’s why I continue to write about them day in and day out.

Lastly, and I can’t stress this enough. With the invention of Blogger, and WordPress, many people can get a blog started in a couple of minutes. They can buy domains for $9.99, and they can  even use free editing tools for graphics. Anyone can make a website. It’s what you want to do with it on Day 2 that counts. Also, what separates editors from bloggers is the way you conduct yourself, a sustained passion for what you are writing about, and the communication skills you bring to the table. If you are afraid that you don’t meet the bar for any of those three save yourself and don’t bother.

Thanks for the great question Joey,  If you’ve got a question, a comment, or an observation, email us at theteam@zunespring.com or send us a tweet at twitter.com/ZuneSpring.