And now he’s rapping about it.

(Includes some naughty words, but nothing you don’t regularly hear in the newsroom.)

Adam’s blog really is fantastic. He’s in Kenya now; check out his reports.

TypePad is offering a bailout for journalists. Since more than 13,000 of you have been laid off this year, they should have plenty of takers.

By signing up for the Journalist Bailout Program, you’ll get a free TypePad Pro account. (TypePad isn’t usually free, and I’m not sure how long the account will be free.) That will include support and everything you need to get started. You’ll be enrolled in Six Apart Media’s advertising program, and you get the revenue from the ads placed on your blog. TypePad will promote your blog on blogs.com, and they have programs to increase and drive traffic.

Not sure what you should be blogging about? I asked for some advice from my friends on Twitter (and added some of my own):
• Blog what you know. Did you cover local politics? Then write about local politics. Got a story idea you couldn’t convince the Powers That Be to do? Do it. Are you obsessed with “Star Trek”? Write about it. Do you like to take pictures? Post them. Are they all pictures of your cat? Post them anyway!  But …
• Make sure you can — legally. Did you sign a non-compete clause? Read back through it, and seek advice (call a lawyer if you need to) on what you can and cannot do. (via @sayvil)
• You can even blog about your job hunt. But don’t bash your former employer.
• Keep writing. Post often and write tight. (via @hidama and @macdivaona)
• Talk to your commenters, but don’t take everything they say to heart. (via @jamietie and @dansinker and @dailybreezeme)
• Blog because you want to, not because you have to. (via @jrue)
• Make sure it reflects your personality. (via @wmhartnett)
• Most important: Don’t drink and blog. (via @johnrobinson)

To sign up, e-mail bailout@sixapart.com a link to your last story, photo, page design, etc. (Copy editors, I have to assume they will welcome you too. E-mail ‘em!) This isn’t just for newspaper journalists: Magazines and TV stations are closing and/or laying off employees too.

If you don’t have a blog, sign up. If you have a blog but have been looking for ways to make it better, sign up. (There are other blog options — free options. I started blogging with Google’s Blogger. It can be a bit limiting, though, so I moved on to, and really like, WordPress. Take a look at Tumblr, too — it has some nice features and makes posting a variety of links, photos, videos, etc., quite easy.)

Once you get your blog set up, make sure you promote it from your accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and any other social network you belong to. Tell your friends. Tell your family. Get the word out. Don’t forget to post your résumé and to create a page (or pages) of some of your best stories or photos or designs or headlines.

Got more advice for new bloggers? Let’s hear it!

(Updated to add the perfectly timed and themed card from Indexed.)

Here’s a look at what people are saying. A tag cloud generated from posts written about the blog (I know — don’t judge):

Thanks folks, it’s been fun!

One of the oddest things about this experience though? Stories. Written about me. By people I’ve never talked to. Seriously — strange! OK, I do have a lot of information on the “about” page, but that includes a lot of contact information — e-mail, AIM, Twitter and other social networks.

But do you know what was missing? A link from the blog to the new site. (There was a link in the first entry of the liveblog, but elsewhere.)

The front page of the Independent’s site has a link to a user guide and column about the redesign. The user guide is a PDF. (Clicking on the image of the guide will not download the PDF, though. It’s a separate link to the right.) Why not walk me through it on the site? Set up a slideshow or, if you can, create a guide in Flash. There were two ways to get from the Web site to the blog: a link from the user guide page or through the blog channel, but neither adequately advertised that a live discussion was taking place on the blog. (I did ask Web editor Stephanie Romanski about it, so a clearer link may have been posted later.)

Paper Cuts: Keeping track of layoffs and buyouts in the newspaper industry got more reader- (and subscription-) friendly. “Paper Cuts” has had its own page for more than a year now; as its own blog, it’s easier to keep track of what’s new and to update information. Plus, it allows for comments and discussion. A win all around!

Live & Kern: I finally figured out what I want to call my personal blog, and found a domain name that was available — hooray! This blog started out (unnamed) as part of this site; I owe Mark Dodge Medlin a drink or three for rescuing it after its database was (accidentally) deleted. Thanks, Mark!

The leaves three other blogs:
Points & Picas: The one you’re reading now. All of the journalismy, designy, newsy stuff.
Story of Man: The story of man as told in headlines around the world.
The Bird’s Nest: Clever quips from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Weatherbird, a cartoon tradition that started in 1901.