First a bit of history. BitsDuJour is all about it's community of software developers and software enthusiasts. We love that the comments on our deals put developers in direct contact with buyers, and that's why we call it "The Conversation". We have tens of thousands of comments, and add to that forum posts where you can chat about whatever you feel like.
We realized recently that people had a lot more to say than just comments and posts. Some of our comments get really long, full software reviews and information that's about much larger subjects. So we created a new section of the website, open to everyone, but vetted. That's the new "Tech News" section.
Tech News articles are special. We feature them on the site in category pages, the homepage, and the Daily Bits email that goes out to hundreds of thousands of people. That's why we have to make sure that the subject matter and writing meets a certain standard, and that means a couple guidelines to follow.
Tech News articles all live in a category. First step is to select a category from the list and think of a subject.
The best subjects are topics that relate to software, but are not just straight up product reviews. We won't accept any blatant advertorials for software products, but you can put in a mention of a product. Your subject should always be bigger than any products. Let's give a few examples...
Productivity: "How to organize your online life"
Development: "The easiest way to start out developing an application"
Security: "Are anti-virus programs enough to keep your computer safe?"
Good subjects answer a direct question, and give information around that. Bad subjects are simply descriptions of a topic that read like a dictionary. Don't feel shy in expressing an opinion, either positive or negative, just be sure to fact check your sources.
We prefer HTML format, and images are encouraged, as are links and videos. Articles should be at least 350 words, and feel free to go longer.
To get started writing please Contact Us and tell us what you're thinking of writing so we can make sure that it's a good subject.
We really look forward to seeing more submissions from the ever-growing BitsDuJour community!
