Author Archives: Mike

Mike Bergin is a leading authority in the field of standardized test preparation, but really aspires to be a naturalist. Mike is the founder of 10,000 Birds and Nature Blog Network as well as the editor-in-chief of I and the Bird.

Whither StumbleUpon?

Social bookmarking sites are a tremendous way to drive torrents of traffic to a deserving blog. Or at least that’s been the theory. Out here in the perimeter of the blogosphere, we nature bloggers rarely experience the Digg effect or feel the Yahoo Buzz. Del.icio.us has never been all that tasty either. But StumbleUpon, I [...]

Mind Map to the Future of Blogging

Forecasting the future of blogging sounds like an exercise in futility, since most seers and soothsayers failed to predict the rise of blogs at all. In fact, at every turn, a significant new player like Facebook or Twitter comes along and completely rearranges the online micropublishing landscape. But just because people can’t necessarily predict the [...]

NBN Book Giveaway: Life List

Last month on 10,000 Birds, I reviewed Life List: A Woman’s Quest for the World’s Most Amazing Birds, the biography of Phoebe Snetsinger written by Olivia Gentile. I loved the book and also loved that the author and her publisher were interested in giving away some books to our readers. You will probably also love [...]

NBN 2.0

Have you noticed that we are on the cusp of our 1000th member at the Nature Blog Network? That’s a whole bushel of nature blogs! Yet the achievement doesn’t quite feel honest, considering that roughly a quarter of our members haven’t even installed the NBN badge. At the same time, the recent discussions we’ve had [...]

Can Blogging Make You a Better Person?

Michael Martine of Remarkablogger recently asked a question I expect might evoke introspection in many of us on the Nature Blog Network: Can blogging make you a better person? How would tapping out any old thought that comes to mind make one a better person. Oh, you think I’ve gotten blogging confused with Twitter? Maybe [...]

13 Lessons on Successful Blogging

After thousands of posts and a sparkling career as the ultimate professional blogger, Darren Rowse of ProBlogger has a thing or two about success in this challenging medium. Whatever your online ambitions, you’re bound to learn from Darren’s experience as he recounts 13 Things I’ve Learned about Successful Blogging: Anticipate Growing Trends Solve Problems and [...]

Make The Midwest Birding Symposium an NBN Event!

One of the true pleasures of being a nature blogger is meeting other nature bloggers. If you haven’t tried this before, I highly recommend it. With our international community of intelligent, inquisitive, and often entertaining naturalists, writers and photographers, there is simply no need to toil in solitude! TR Ryan of From the Faraway, Nearby [...]

Newest Blogs in the Network 6-10-2009

Looks like last week’s light list was not the beginning of a trend after all. We’ve been graced this week with 18 excellent additions to the Nature Blog Network, including 2 with Nature Notes in their name! Please take the time to visit our new colleagues… BIRDS Birds and Wildlife of the North Kent Marshes [...]

Flora to Plants?

Last week, I broached the topic of splitting the Nature Blog Network category of Ecosystem into smaller, more specific categories. That fruitful conversation is still going, so don’t hesitate to add your two cents. But before I commence recategorizing the NBN, I’d like to turn our collective attention to another category: Flora. One suggestion has [...]

Newest Blogs in the Network 6-3-2009

Summer is drawing nigh for those of us above the Equator and with that sweet, sultry season comes a lull in blogging activity, both reading and writing. Perhaps this annual easing of effort explains why we only have 6 new additions to the Nature Blog Network this week. This is hardly a problem though as [...]