Tag Archives: Blogging

Blogging

Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam…

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I was alerted to a post written by our friend Holly titled Spammerview. It’s a very witty representation of the problem most of us have with spam, told in a story form that, while you’re reading it, easy captures all the different types of spam we seem to be getting these days.


No Spam by David Hegarty

My mind harkens to last week when I keep thinking I saw a post titled something like “Does More Spam Mean I’m Successful”? I’ve been thinking about this one for awhile, and I’m starting to think that there almost has to be a direct correlation between spam and how well your blog is going. After all, does anyone get all that much spam if no one is visiting your blog?

I still get a few one liners here and there, but today’s spam is definitely getting a bit more sophisticated. As I wrote about spam back in July, some of it actually seems to be on topic sometimes, though if you read it well you can tell, especially when the same message appears on other posts at the same time. Another trick is its copying someone else’s comment on your post and using it as theirs, which might be hard for some people to remember if they have lots of comments on that post. And finally, now some of the spam actually figures out your name via the name of the author of the post, and that might make you think, at least initially, that it’s legitimate.

Days ago I had a review of this blog written by Forum Spotlight, which was very nice, and the first comment was a spam comment. How do I know? It never mentioned my blog, which it supposedly didn’t like, and it talked about all the images, and it said it liked images being transparent. If images are transparent you can’t see them, so it’s spam; by the way, I hope you drop over there to take a look at it.

I just think we’re going to be stuck with spam, but I’ve decided that, as much as I hate it, I’m going to do whatever I can to increase how much of it I’m getting, because that might eventually mean I’m rocking this mug! 🙂

Cuisipro® <br />Ice Cream Maker – 1 Quart”/></td> <td valign=

Cuisipro® Ice Cream Maker – 1 Quart

Blogging

Mitchell’s Top Ten Recommended Blogs

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One could ask “what makes you think anyone cares about what you think are blogs people should read.” The response would be “my blog, my opinion, case closed.” In actuality, I think that it’s a nice thing to recognize people when you enjoy things they do. And people like being mentioned, even if they may miss it. I’m going to say that I doubt everyone I name will notice that their blog has been mentioned here, and that’s okay. It’s just another list post; studies show that people love list posts. And if you’d like, copy the little badge I created and add it to your website, then wait for people to ask you if you’ve lost your mind. 🙂

Actually, August 31st was Blog Day, where bloggers are supposed to name 5 blogs they recommend for others to read. But I had something else on my mind for that day, so I decided to go my own way and do it today.

First, did I have any real criteria for what I was going to look for? Absolutely not! In this list are some friends of mine, some big time names, and some folks whose blogs I just have to make sure I check out as often as I can. I don’t always comment on all of these blogs, but I do from time to time. But I always make sure I read them, and I think that’s what makes them important to me. And two of the blogs on this list were on last year’s Blog Day list as well.

I put them in alphabetical order so I didn’t have to rank them. They are what they are; here we go:

Abundance Blog at Marelisa Online – As you probably know, I really respect Marelisa’s blog, and the interview I did with her should prove that. It’s just a quality blog, very deep, and one of the few blogs that I actually have to slow down to read. This blog was on last year’s Blog Day post.

Beautiful Summer Morning – Nick Grimshawe has a beautiful blog, very calming and motivational, and I actually have to give him credit for introducing me to Josh Groban, who I’d never heard of until Nick posted one of his videos on his blog. Nick also has the distinction of being on my 2008 and 2007 Blog Day list.

Click Newz – It’s been awhile since I’ve talked about Lynn Terry, but I still make sure I read her blog all the time. I ever wrote a post about her and how she makes money, as she’s one of the top internet marketers in the country. Lynn’s blog was also on my 2008 Blog Day list.

Kikolani.com – How could anyone not list Kristi’s blog as one of their favorites? I always make sure to go through her Fetching Friday blog, as she puts up a lot of blog posts she’s read through the week and is recommending others view. At one point I thought of stealing that idea, but man, that’s a lot of work! So young and so accomplished; great work!

Mostly Bright Ideas – This is actually a very new blog written by Charles Gulotta, and if y’all haven’t visited it by looking at some of his blog titles then you don’t know what you’re missing. He’s very funny and insightful, and his images are funny as well. To think, I convinced him to think about writing a blog, and look what he’s done with it; great job!

Problogger – Okay, a top guru who was also on my 2008 Blog Day list, but who can truthfully deny that Darren Rowse isn’t on his game? I like it best when he’s writing instead of the guest posts, but I sometimes learn from those as well. This is one of those blogs where if you’re looking to learn a lot more about blogging I suggest you go through his archives.

Solo Business Marketing – Shirley George Frazier’s blog on marketing is a great one, so much so that her blog was one of only two that made my 2006 Blog Day list. I must have been mad not to mention her again before today. I learn a lot by reading her blog, and I think it deserves a heck of a lot more attention that it gets.

Twist Image – Mitch Joel recently wrote Six Pixels of Separation, and it was through a conversation he was having with a friend of mine that I discovered his blog. He talks about marketing and communications in the social media age, and something interesting that he has are podcast interviews, which are pretty fascinating. I guess you could call him a guru.

View Infinitum – This is my friend Scott’s blog, and I have to say that he’s found quite the following over the past year. It’s a photography blog, and though I’m not anywhere close to a photographer, I will say that he gives a lot of great information on the craft, and I think I’ve even seen Sire popping in there from time to time.

Wassupblog – Speaking of Sire, his blog took a major jump over the past year, getting an Alexa rank as high as 65,000 at one point and still sitting in a pretty nice place. He covers internet marketing, blogging, and a host of irreverent issues that are funny from that quirky Australian point of view. I think if he were British his blog would probably be an even bigger deal; yeah, I said it! lol His blog was also on my 2009 Blog Day list, and I keep telling him that when I grow up I want my blog to be as big as his. Then again, it means I have to grow up.

There you go, my top ten list of blogs I hope you check out. Congrats winners!

Gomadic Universal Charging Station

Blogging

10 Posts That Deserve More Attention

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Something that’s hard for a lot of people is self critique. We’re either too easy on ourselves or too hard on ourselves.

I’m no different, although my parameters change depending on what it is. When it comes to this blog, I know that there are a few throwaway posts, where the post isn’t necessarily important to anyone but was entertaining to write. That’s part of my quest to give visitors something different to look at.

However, there are times when I write something that, in my mind, didn’t get enough attention or enough visitors for whatever reason. Every once in awhile, I like to go back to some of those posts and share them in one specific post, hoping that maybe newer visitors will see those titles and say “hey, I must have missed that one”. At least that’s what I hope. So, here are 10 posts of mine over the last 2 months of 2009 and first 6 months of 2010 that didn’t get many visitors that I feel deserve more attention.

5 Ways Poker Is Like Blogging – This was my attempt at being creative by comparing two of the things I love doing most, one of which is playing poker.

An Interview With Marelisa Fabrega – Marelisa is one of the top bloggers in the world, and I was able to secure an interview with her. This needs to be read by everyone.

Twitter Marketing – Do You Have A Plan? – I found myself again some days ago explaining to someone what Twitter was about and how it could be used for business, and this wasn’t at my workshop either.

How Can You Prosper Through Publicity? – Everyone who has a blog needs to understand just how much more prosperous they could be, either monetarily or personally, by figuring out how to handle their publicity better.

What Do We Expect For Free? – We all like free stuff, but are we taking it to the extreme for some things?

Are Writers Taken For Granted? – As someone who’s been writing to make a living for the last year, it seems that people devalue just how much of a commitment it is, even when they can’t do it themselves.

Content Is An Electronic Emperor – This was my response to a comment made by Rupert Murdoch, partially one of the most hated men in the world.

Web Courtesy – Don’t We Deserve That Much? – With so much hate that people spew in blogs and especially when responding to news stories, I question whether there is any courtesy anymore.

Are You Using Social Media For Promotion? – I wrote this last year, way before I ever started thinking about doing workshops on the subject.

My 10 Favorite Blog Posts Of 2009 – Okay, this isn’t quite fair, but at the end of the year I posted 10 blogs posts I liked that I wrote in 2009; so now you have 10 more to check out if you’re interested. 😉

Golf Bag Caddy Two Bag Holder

Blogging

Formatting Your Images On Your WordPress Blog

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I’ve seen this often enough, and I decided it was time to say something about it.

When you add images to your WordPress blog, do they show up like this:

Notice, it’s sitting out there in its own netherland, not quite falling into place with the rest of my text? That has to be somewhat irritating, because it takes up space and, well, it just doesn’t look all that good. No matter the size of the image, having it pop out like this makes it seem like it’s not a part of the post. WordPress seems to do this as a default for many blogs. There are certain themes that will render the images properly, but for the most part I don’t see that happening with a lot of people.

You’ll notice that when I post images, they’re part of my content. it wraps around the image, and is under some kind of control. It’s integrated into things, and I can move it left, right, or in the center if I so chose, although I’ve never wanted to have an image in the middle as far as I can remember.

How do I do it? I add a little bit of HTML code to my posts, and whether or not you like doing it or understand it, I think by showing you what I do that you might like how it looks in your blog posts. And then if you can’t remember it, or even if you do, all you have to do is remember to go back to posts where you’ve used the code, copy and paste it into your new post, and then just change the image link. Having said that, I decided it was easier to show it to you as an image, and this time it’s intentionally in the middle so you can see the code without it disappearing:

As you can see, at least I hope as you can see, it’s not difficult code, but it’ll wrap your text around your image and thus blend things in better; at least that’s how I see it. I hope it’s a helpful tip; any questions, just ask.
 
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Blogging

Facebook Like Button For WordPress

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In my continuing quest to work on spreading my influence, I figured I may as well add another thing to help figure out just what kind of influence I have, at least through this blog.

Back in June, before really thinking much about this project, I added Topsy, which allows people to retweet my blog posts if they like them without having to sign up for a service like TweetMeMe. This time I’ve installed the plugin called fbLikeButton. You have to put it in just like that, because there are a lot of plugins for the like button for Facebook. However, this one was the highest rated by people who have tried others, and I know why. It was the only one that didn’t require me to go to Facebook and set up a script to use it.

You’ll notice at the end of the post that the “like” button shows up just under my copyright notice. You have the choice of having it at the top or bottom or in both places, but I chose the bottom because it interfered with my “listen” button, and I figured having it at the end of the post make it easier for anyone who liked it and didn’t want to go back to the top. Of course, it would be nice if my Topsy allowed me to do that as well, but I think I like it just the same. You can also make it wider or thicker, so to speak, and you can select “recommend” instead of “like”; I stuck with the regular one. And if people click on it, their names and image will show at the end of your post as well; you get to determine if you want faces to show, and I decided to go that route for now.

What the like button does… heck, let’s just show what Facebook says it does:

“When the user clicks the Like button on your site, a story appears in the user’s friends’ News Feed with a link back to your website.”

And there you are. I hope you “like” this post.