Launched in 2005, Blog Her is an online community for women who blog. In addition, it holds the world’s largest conferences for bloggers (men are also welcome to attend).

Last weekend, BlogHer held its yearly conference in San Francisco and featured workshops on building web traffic, using open source software and dealing with the emotional issues related to blogging. The signs that this was a woman-centric event were everywhere; men’s bathrooms had been converted to women’s, there was a lactation room and child care available and onesies imprinted with blogging slogans were for sale.

For a relatively new conference, BlogHer is in high demand. According to the NYTimes.com, though men and women are creating blogs in nearly equal numbers, many women believe that they’re not being taken as seriously. Notably, they claim that they are making much less in advertising revenue.

Feelings of inequality among women bloggers have been reinforced through lists by the likes of Techcult, who recently listed its top 100 web celebrities (only 11 were women) and Forbes.com who created at similar list, which included 4 women out of 25 contenders.

Do you think that there is a noticeable imbalance between women and men in the blogging world? Or, is it a matter of quality content and other factors causing the divide?

If you want to have a truly great blog, transparency is a must. Yes, that’s a bold statement, but it really is the cornerstone of building a solid following.

WHAT IS TRANSPARENCY?

1. Transparency is about being trustworthy.

The easiest way to earn a reader’s trust is to tell the truth. Dave Allen states simply that ‘Being authentic means [that] the blog’s author is a “trusted source” and this trust can never be abused.’ The last thing a blogger should do is fake it because inevitably they will get caught and called out. Once your image is tarnished, it may be close to impossible to regain that former glory. The internet nearly guarantees that past sins will live on forever.

2. Transparency is about being upfront about your sources and affiliations.

If your post is influenced by a promotion or advertising agreement, always practice full disclosure. “Pay per post” takes place when a blogger is offered products or cash to promote an advertiser in their articles. Going down this road can be tricky if you aren’t upfront about it and it has the potential of alienating readers. Clearly differentiate your main content from that of which is paid (and make it clear if there’s any crossover between the two). Most readers understand that bloggers have to make a living too, but it should be an honest living.

3. Transparency is about being upfront with who you are and why you’re blogging.

Give your ‘About’ page some serious thought. After spending some quality time on your site, readers will probably want to know more about you.

Also, what are your reasons for blogging? Are you trying to make new friends? Is your goal to gain new clients for your business? Do you want to earn enough ad revenue to turn your blogging into a full-time job? Is your aim to make new connections in your industry? The more open you are with your readers about what you plan on gaining, the more trusting they will be to what you have to offer.

AVOID CENSORSHIP UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY

One of the biggest slip-ups that bloggers can make is to censor those who want to interact in a two-way conversation. The Opinionated Marketers are right when they say that “It’s one thing to write a blog saying great things about a celebrity (or a company or a product). But if you’re going to invite the public to participate, you need to be ready for the bad as well as the good.”

Dave Allen expands upon this concept by explaining that “once a company [or person] opens the doors, it can not close them. If a company starts a blog [and it should] it can not moderate the comments. And the CEO and other executives should not be contributing to the blog if they do not have the right “authority” or “voice”. By that, I mean authenticity. It’s an overused word at times but in the right context, it is completely accurate. If a CEO were to jump on the blog to blow her own trumpet non-critically about a company’s service or product, the readers would see through it immediately.”

Many of the popular bloggers today with massive followings have done so through developing a personal connection with their readers. When readers trust the blogger’s ‘voice,’ chances are that they will want to contribute to an ongoing conversation via comments, email and possibly even a follow-up article on their own blog. For a real conversation to occur, both sides need to be allowed to communicate. Silencing one of the sides won’t allow that organic conversation to develop.

There are times when the deletion of a comment should be considered, but this stance should be practiced sparingly. Obscene comments that contain no value to the conversation and attacks on fellow commenters may warrant action, but if you let everything else flow, chances are that the people who are really passionate about what you do will jump in and defend you.

Transparency can’t be bought and it can’t be earned overnight. Transparency takes equal amounts of time and honesty to develop and is worth its weight in gold. Because, with transparency comes trust and respect. And, with trust and respect, loyal fans will follow. And, with loyal fans, a tight-knit base for your brand credibility evolves.

I’ll freely admit that I was a long standing Twitter holdout. With profiles on Facebook, Myspace, Flickr, Behance, Buzznet, Live Journal and my personal blog already clogging my schedule, the motivation for adding another social networking site to my list of engagements was definitely lacking. Months of being preached to about the positive virtues of Twitter fell onto deaf ears.

The turning point came last week when I was staying with a well respected blogging friend in New York City. She explained that for bloggers, Twitter is a worthwhile tool because it can be set up to notify followers of when you’ve updated your blog. Essentially, folks following you on Twitter are provided with a quick, on-the-go reminder of what you’re up to and in return, you can gain some steady traffic to your blog posts.

After one more deft attempt to escape the world of Twitter, my friend took over and signed me up on the spot (while I continued to protest in the background). Within three days, I had 60 ‘followers’. And, the rest is history; a Twitter fiend was born!

While some have found the advent of Twitter (and for that matter, Plurk) to be a distraction from blogging, Darren Rowse of ProBlogger holds the opposite view:

I personally find that Twitter informs and inspires my blogging. The interactions that I have, the conversations that I see others having, the questions that I’m asked and the answers that other users of Twitter and Plurk give me are constantly feeding me with ideas to blog about.

So, why should you join the masses of twittering addicts?

Some Benefits of Twitter:

1. Find Blogging Inspiration

If you’re stumped on what to write about, posting a quick ‘tweet’ (a post or status update) in the form of a question or poll to Twitter can provide a platform for your biggest fans to brainstorm and tell you what they really want. In a matter of minutes, it’s possible to have an abundance of clever ideas gathered on your screen via users from around the world!

2. Remind Followers to Check Out Blog Posts

It is possible to set up a feed that publishes your blog headlines directly to Twitter with a handy link. Some people just don’t have the time to keep up with RSS feeds and linking your article in this manner can be much more user friendly.

3. Readers May Make a More Personal Connection

Twitter has the ability to take on a more spontaneous, playful side of a blogger’s personality. Since tweets are often fired off multiple times a day (whereas a blog post from the same user may go live once a day or even less frequently) and posted on the spot with a maximum of 140 characters, they tend to be short and sweet and more to the point since space is limited. There’s not enough room to defend your views, to delve into a disclaimer, or to give a back story.

When blogging, many of us focus upon a niche topic (examples being music, street style, self improvement, D.I.Y. crafts) and may not want to clutter the front page of our blogs with random, off-topic personal tidbits such as, “I’m in line at the store and just saw Michael Jackson in a wheelchair” or perhaps “Courtney Love just passed me up in a shopping cart!” Yet, these present tense mumblings give those subscribed to your Twitter feed a way to bond with you as a real person, not just the persona they encounter on your blog.

Additional Twitter Pluses:

a. The site is very user friendly. It takes a max of five minutes to sign up and get a profile in place.

b. Unlike the social networking behemoths Myspace and Facebook, Twitter is free of advertising (for now).

c. Keeping track of your favorite posts is easy. If you see a tweet of value, click the star directly to the right of the message and effortlessly bookmark it for future viewing:

The Downsides of Twitter

Of course, not everyone will agree that Twitter is the equivalent of the second coming of Christ. Some points of contention are as follows:

1. Limited Comment Length

Since the number of characters on a Twitter post are limited to 140, it’s not always possible to reply in an intelligent, in-depth manner. Dave Allen’s take on its shortcomings is pretty accurate. He says that:

I still believe a good, well written blog is the place for conversation. Twitter, a micro-blog, is not. I use my Twitter account to drive traffic back to my blog where the conversation can really open up. After all, Twitter only allows 140 characters so truncated updates are the norm, which is fine. On both my blogs, the other being Pampelmoose, I enjoy reading comments that can often be longer than the original post - something that is impossible with Twitter.

2. The Distraction Factor

While firing off short and succinct messages may be fun, the time it takes to do so can add up quickly. Some people become so preoccupied with tweeting that their blog postings begin to dry up. In my view, Twitter is not a replacement for blogging but rather a tool that complements and reinforces blogging efforts.

The Bottom Line

Twitter is a free, easy to use social networking service that isn’t cluttered with ads and other unnecessary applications. If you’re an active blogger, Twitter has the ability to keep on-the-go readers informed and provide them a more personalized experience. If you use it with a purpose in mind, it’s a win-win situation for both you and your subscribers.