Blogging.Tools.Tips.Hacks.Online Money.

Blog blocked for Spam.

noreply@blogger.com (BloggerMom) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 12:09:00 +0000

For whatever reason...One fine day I found out that my blog was blocked by Blogger since it was considered a spam blog and blogger wanted to discourage spam linking as well. So I had to send them an unlock request...not once but twice. Somebody (as in a living human being) was supposed to review it and then decide if it was spam or not. Since I can now access it, I guess, someone did review it and decided that this blog wasn't spam indeed.

Looking for help, I found that this has happened to several other innocent, unsuspecting bloggers as well. Alas, I am not alone in my agony.

My Alexa Ranking..

noreply@blogger.com (BloggerMom) — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 05:08:00 +0000

When I first began putting up posts...I honestly has no idea what Alexa was but everyone in the blogoshpere was talking about their Alexa ranking.

Digging more info. I found out that Alexa Internet, Inc. is a California-based subsidiary company of Amazon.com that is best known for operating a website that provides information on the web traffic to other websites. Alexa collects information from users who have installed an "Alexa Toolbar," allowing them to provide statistics on web site traffic, as well as lists of related links. Without further adieu I went ahead and got myself the Alexa toolbar and saw that my blog was ranked 3,159,519 and it was not even deemed worth of collecting stats since it was not in the first 1,000,000.

45 days later, today - 2 Nov 07, I find my ranking to have risen to 2,141,896. Have overtaken little over a million others. I am very excited and hope to keep updating this blog regularly to get within the first million pages soon.

Will keep updating my Alexa rank here.

update - 9 Nov 2007 - Ranked - 1,929,499.
update - 11 Dec 2007 - Ranked - 1,718,557.

Blogosphere Jargon

noreply@blogger.com (BloggerMom) — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 13:03:00 +0000

For a newbie, the blogging jargon may be a brand new venture and sometimes overwhelming. Below are some commonly used terms in the blogosphere.

Post: Posts are also known as entries. Every time you write something and display it on your blog, you create a post. In typical computer jargon fashion, this noun can also be used as a verb: You can post to your blog.

Comments: Comments is the way in which a blog writer holds conversation with the blog readers. People who visit your blog can post their opinion, which is called a comment. Comments are usually time-stamped and identified by the author’s name and perhaps a link to their Web site or blog. On some blogs, comments are threaded so that readers can comment on other comments, but on most blogs comments are simply displayed chronologically.

Comment spam: We all get loads of unwanted and irrelevant emails called spam. Same is a problem on blogs as well. Comment spam, as you would expect, is left in the comments of a blog. It usually includes just a few words sometimes unrelated to the blog content and a hyperlink.. The idea of the spammer is to promote his/her own blog/site giving it higher search engine rankings.

Categories: Categories permit a blogger to divide the content meticulously. For instance, putting posts about fashion into one basket and posts about celebrities in another. Categories immensely help the readers read only what they are most interested in. It is a good tool for those scanning a blog's archives.

Trackbacks: Trackback technology helps bloggers link back to other posts on related subjects. If you're posting about something that you've seen on another blog, look for the Trackback URL. Paste that URL into the allotted spot in your own blogging software, and the two pieces of blog software will communicate, building a link from the original post to yours (without the other blogger having to lift a finger).

Trackback spam: Works just like comment spam, but done via Trackback.

Pings: Pinging is sending out a message to several blogging tracking Web sites to let them know that you have posted some fresh content on your blog.Once your post is included in the ping site's index, it potentially increases your traffic.

RSS/Atom feeds: In the blogosphere, syndication is a big deal. With millions of blogs to read, many consumers use news aggregators, or readers, to pull in posts and read them, rather than visiting 150 blogs every day. RSS and Atom are two flavors of blog syndication.

Blogroll/lists: Ever noticed those long lists of other blogs alongside the posts in a blog? That's a blogroll, a list of the blogs read by the blogger whose site you are on. Sometimes lists are also kept to recommend books and other media, as well.

Moblogging: Moblogging is the short form of "mobile blogging." Lots of blog software lets you post by e-mail from your phone, PDA, or anything else that allows you to send e-mails.

Blacklist: Blacklists are usually lists of URLs that have been identified as spam URLs, and that are therefore eliminated from comments and Trackbacks on your blog. With most blog software, the software company builds and maintains a common blacklist for all users to which individuals can contribute.

Captchas: Captchas are an additional security feature for commenting and user registration. By providing an image that includes letters and numbers, and by requiring the user to type in those letters and numbers, blog software can ensure that the comment or trackback is not some spam produced by robot programs.

Post scheduling: Some blog software allows you to write posts and schedule them to be published at some point in the future. This is handy for vacations and holidays.

Bookmarks: A bookmark is a link directly to the new post page of your blog.It's a shortcut to the blog posting quickly.To see bookmarking service that allows you to save your favorite links online and access them from any computer, wherever you are, click here.

Templates: Most blog software includes a set of pre-designed templates that give the blog a certain look and feel. Changing templates is like donning a new outfit on to your blog.
To check out free templates, click here.
To see how you can change the default template to a different one, click here.

URL Redirection: In an effort to render comment and Trackback spam ineffective, links included in comments and Trackbacks are tagged with the NOFOLLOW tag, which indicates to search engines that it shouldn't be counted when tallying search engine rankings for a Web site. There is a "NO NO Follow" movement happening presently in the blogosphere. Read more about it here.

Top 40 Social Bookmarking Sites To Boost Traffic

noreply@blogger.com (BloggerMom) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 13:23:00 +0000

We all have a button on our browser that reads bookmarks. We can use that button to bookmark a site/page and save it to the desktop, laptop etc; so that we can refer it at a later time. This kind of bookmarking is private in nature and limited to only those who use that particular computer. Social bookmarking take bookmarking to an entirely different level and lets you save or bookmark a site/page etc; publicly...that way you can access them from anywhere, anytime and not necessarily your computer. Others who are looking for similar information tht you may have already bookmarked can see your bookmarks and vice versa. Such bookmarking helps boost traffic, especially when you want more people to stop by
your blog. Here is a list of all the available social bookmarking sites.(I am sure I have missed a few here and there, please do let me know and I shall keep udating the list)

A
30DayTags has a 30-day refresh, ensuring that content is both relevant and fresh data.
B
BlogMemes
BlinkBits
BlinkList a bookmarking with slick interface and new ways for organizing tags.
Bloglines is a FREE online service for searching, subscribing, creating and sharing news feeds, blogs and rich web content.
BlogMarks is a collaborative link management project based on sharing and key-word tagging.
Blue Dot.- is a Seattle-based company whose mission is to help people stay connected with their friends, wherever they are, whenever they want.
C
Clipmarks
Connectedy is a web site where you can upload your bookmarked/favorite links from your browser into a free account.
D
del.icio.us is a collection of favorites - yours and everyone else's.
de.lirio.us Social Bookmarking, Tagging, Blogging & Notes.
Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web.
Diigo site for "Social Annotation"combining social bookmarking, clippings, in situ annotation, tagging, full-text search, easy sharing and interactions.
E
F
Furl is a free service that saves the important items you find on the Web and enables you to quickly find them again.
Feedmarker, a bookmarker and newsreader with tagging.

G
Gibeo Network is a new online service built by Gibeo. It's a rapidly growing community, a web annotation service.
GiveALink is a social bookmarking site where people can donate their bookmarks to the Web community and to science.
H
I
J
K
L
Linkroll is a free link blogging service.
Listable a site where listing combined with tagging and voting gives you a greater relevancy.
M
Ma.gnolia bookmark collection can be reached by you and your friends from anywhere, any time.
MyProgs - Social list of programs
MyBookmarks
My Web
N
Netvouz is a social bookmarking service that allows you to save your favorite links online and access them from any computer, wherever you are.
O
Oyax is a social bookmark manager.
P
Popurls is a conglomeration of about 10 different social bookmarking sites
Q
R
RawSugar is a place to save, share and discover your favorite content in an organized and highly flexible way.
Reader2 - Social list of books
Reddit a popular social bookmarking service.
S
Simpy is a social bookmarking service that lets you save, tag, search and share your bookmarks, notes, groups and more.
SiteBar :: The Online Bookmark Manager | The Bookmark Server
SiteTagger is a bookmark/favorite organizer.
Slashdot the original social bookmarking site.
Spurl is a free on-line bookmarking service and search engine.
StumbleUpon bookmarking, social networking, friends-network, random browsing within interest-groups.
T
Technorati. Who's saying what. Right now.
Thoof a user generated news and information service
U
V
W
Web Feeds is a social bookmark site with a difference, users moderate and decide which items make it to the home page.
X
Y
Yoono Social Bookmarking based on browser bookmarks (no tags needed)
Z

PS: You will need to signup and create an account with most of these services to begin with.

Top 15 Places to Get Free Blogger Templates

noreply@blogger.com (BloggerMom) — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 15:49:00 +0000

One of the things I was looking for as I tried to setup my blog was to change the usual one of the crowd look of my blog. I ended up looking several places before I settled on this template (templates for blogspot and not wordpress or other blogging platforms). Here's a comprehensive list of places you can get free blogger templates from:

K2Modify - The present template is designed by ADAM, a student from Australia. He has several really interesting templates listed here. Definitely the first stop.
Jackbook.com - This guy is unique..you can give him a wordpress template that you like and he will redo it for blogger for free. Kool huh!
Blogcrowds - Most of the templates are available on this site. The nice thing about blogcrowds is that if you are using one of their templates and have 10 posts or more, they will send some traffic you way...or so they say.
Hackosphere - This guy Ramani, has developed a template that is apparently lightening fast to download. Will need more aesthetic appeal though one can customise it.
Isnani.com - 61 two column templates and 11 three column templates. Some customizable, but most fairly run of the mill templates.
Final Sense - Loads of free templates.They actually have templates categorised.
Pyzam - Loads of free templates to choose from. Well actually...they make you think they have several different templates, but all I saw was different background pics with the same layout. Worth a look anyways.
Blogger Templates - A small probably personal collection of a few templates.
Freeblogger Templates - 10 free templates with unique designs - mostly 2 columns.
Beautiful Beta - 4 templates but has other useful blogging stuff like widgets and hacks as well. BloggerTemplate.Org 8 sleek blogger templates. Mostly 2 column.
Blogger Templates- Xtasy - Loads of whacky 2 column templates with different backgrounds. Gecko and Fly - 23 kool blogger templates. Mostly 2 column.
NOIPO.Org - 12 two column templates.
Blogger Templates by Caz - If you are still using the old blogger, then here are 12 two column templates..really different look form the usual.
Template Panic - Has 58 kool templates, two and three columns.

Disable the NoFollow Attribute on Comments

noreply@blogger.com (BloggerMom) — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 07:46:00 +0000

In my zeal to show off the "U comment I follow" badge, I forgot to post the blog that tells you how to actually disable the "nofollow" tag.

All the blogger templates have the nofollow tag built in. The “nofollow” is basically a tag that can be added by a webmaster to certain hyperlinks. This will tell search engines that they shouldn't visit that particular link. Most blogging platforms today include the nofollow tag in all signature links. The "no follows" have noble intentions of stopping spam via comment or otherwise.

Comments are vital for exchanging ideas, getting opinions and generating traffic, since blogging is all about building a community. Turning off comments or nofollow does not really help...especially if you are a newbie and want to get more people to participate and help your blog grow. So we need to disable or remove the nofollow tag from our templates. Here's how:

Login in to you blogger account and go to the Dashboard. Click Layout.
Once in the layout, select the Template tab and then proceed to the Edit Html tab.
Backup your existing template using then "Download Full Template" option.
Check "Expand Widget" checkbox, within which lies the comment code.
Scroll down or CTRL F for the code - "comments-block":

Here you can locate the rel='nofollow'...thats our culprit. Just delete the words highlighted in bold and save the template.

You can tell the world (your visitors, fellow bloggers) that you are now officially welcoming comments, by sporting a badge that says "U Comment, I Follow". If you like my badge, just give me a shoutout. I will send you the photoshop file if you want to customize the colorscheme to go with your blog.

You can even let them know your comment policy if you have one..for example:

COMMENT POLICY
Comments on this blog are made DOFOLLOW for the Google Spiders.
Comments are moderated.
Spam will not be tolerated.

New Badge - U Comment I Follow

noreply@blogger.com (BloggerMom) — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 14:46:00 +0000

I kept bumping into these cute li'l buttons saying "U comment, I follow" on the blogs I visited. Curiosity killed the cat and I tried to find out more. A lesson in history enlightened me that there;s something called a "nofollow tag". The “nofollow” is a tag that can be added by a webmaster to certain hyperlinks, and it will tell search engines that they shouldn't visit that particular link. Most blogging platforms today include the nofollow tag in all signature links. The "no follows" have noble intentions of stopping spam via comment or otherwise.

There has recently been an outcry against the "nofollow tags". Randy Clay became the poster child for this movement and came up with a small picture to put up on your blogs to indicate the "No NoFollow Movement". Read more about it here. Several other prominent bloggers have also jumped on the "U comment I Follow" movement. Most sport that li'l badge on their blogs.

Comments are vital for exchanging ideas, getting opinions and generating traffic, since blogging is all about building a community. I too like the idea that we can be judicious in our comments and avoid spamming. So I am joining in the "U comment I Follow" movement.

I wanted a badge that was different which gave me a reason to install and use Adobe Photoshop. It took me a REALLY long time to hunt for tutorials that helped me bring my idea to life. But I finally managed...and the result is for you to see on my sidebar. I am not a Photoshop guru (at least not yet!)..so if anyone has any pointers about making this badge a little more sleeker and kool, please do let me know. If you want to experiment with it yourself, just give me a shoutout and I will send across PSD. Or just drop me a comment and let me know how it looks.

Changing Blogger Templates.

noreply@blogger.com (BloggerMom) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 16:04:00 +0000

A Step by step guide to changing your blogger templates:

Your new blog is all set up but you decide to give it a face lift.Choosing and then changing template can be daunting especially if you are just getting started and have now clue what HTML/XML is about(i still don't have a clue)!!

If you are using one of those default templates your screen probably looks like one of these:

First - You need to find a template you really like. You don't want to change the template and look of your blog often, since people get used to and expect a certain look and quality from a blog over time. Select the template and download a copy of the code and save it to your computer.

Assuming that you are using the new blogger, you can go to the dashboard and click on Layout option.

This will take you to somewhat advanced settings. Click on the Edit HTML option from those seen below.

Before making any changes to your template, it is always advisable to make a backup copy of the existing template. To do so, just click on "Download Full Template" and save a copy to your computer.

To change the existing template, hit the choose button which will let you browse to the to the location where you have downloaded the new template....and simply upload the new file.

If you want to skip the trouble of saving the template to your pc and upload it back to blogger, you can copy the new template code from the source and paste it in your "Edit HTML" area. Just make sure you back up the existing template first.

After the uploading or copy paste is complete, the Edit HTML box will reflect the new template. Preview the template and hit "Save" if you like what you see. That's it..no rocket science here.

Spruce it up.

noreply@blogger.com (BloggerMom) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 10:09:00 +0000

Once you have the blog up and running you may want to spruce it up and realise that Blogger has 16 default templates, of which one is just classically plain. As for the remaining 15 templates, there are three or four different ways to dress up each template. But one major limitation of all these templates is that they are two column templates.

I find most people looking for good three column templates. Three column templates seem to be in vogue primarily because they let you manage your content, your advert, widgets and all the other stuff much more effectively.

On one of my other blogs, I made the mistake of experimenting with the template - after I had lot of content there. Looking back, I'd definitely say its a big no no... I had to go back and redo many things. I did not know how to bring old widgets to the new template so I had to redo all of them as well.

A word of advice - Look around for your perfect template before hand. Fidget around and find the one you like best.And then start adding content and widgets to avoid any major design changes later on.

I have complied a really long list of places where you can look for free download able templates. Check it out and find yourself your dream template here.

Setting Up a Blogspot Blog.

noreply@blogger.com (BloggerMom) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 06:08:00 +0000

Welcome to the ever exciting world of blogging. Since you are here, let's assume that you want to start a blog...be it for personal, professional or social reasons. There is so much blogging related stuff out there that it is overwhelming to sift through it all and find the information you can use. So here I am putting up a step by step gide to get you blogspot or blogger blog up and running.

It is as simple as:
CREATE ACCOUNT -> NAME THE BLOG -> CHOOSE TEMPLATE

To start off I'd suggest getting a GMAIL account, since it offers a host of other free services. BLOGGER is just one of the many services.You can sign up for GMAIL here. The signing up is fairly simple and straight forward.

Once you sign up for the gmail account, log in and locate the "more" tab on top, drop it down and click on Blogger.

Clicking on the Blogger tab ill bring you to your Blogger Dashboard, which is basically where you can create, customize and experiment with your blog.

See the "create blog" on the top right corner? That's just the button we need to click. It will take you to "Name Your Blog" page.

Now all you need to do it enter a title you want your blog to have (provided someone else has not already taken it and it is still available). Proceed to check availability of the URL which is nothing complicated, but just a link you and others will use to reach your blog.

For instance let's call our new blog - Bloggermom testing. I have chosen that as the tittle and the URL (Your title an URL can be two different things, but make sure they are related to what you are blogging about.

As you can see the blog URL/address for bloggermom-testing is available. So we can go ahead with the word verification and capture that slot for yourself.

Then you will need to select a template. Just scroll down through the several default templates and see which one you like best. Select your template and hit the continue button.

Viola..you are done. Your blog is all set up and ready.

Just click on start posting, create a new post, review i and hit that publish button. That's all there is to it.

Happy Blogging.

Must Have Hacks /Widgets.

noreply@blogger.com (BloggerMom) — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 17:57:00 +0000

Zoom Clouds - With ZoomClouds you can put in a matter of minutes a tag cloud in your site, based on whichever RSS feed you like.

Recent Posts | Recent Comments | Search Box | Picasa Album | Weather - All these one click widgets are available at Beautiful Beta.

Special effects for Peekaboo posts | Create drop-down menus easily | Selective Expandable posts | Customizable recent comments widget (using JSON feed) |
Random message widget (no Edit HTML!) | Tweak your label tabs - All these and few other interesting hacks can be found at Ramani's Hackosphere.

Phydeaux has some tips ans tricks up his sleeve, but his most popular hack is the Tag Cloud, followed by the Blogger Archive Calendar.

Alternating Sidebar Styles | AJAX Labels by Deepak.

Many useful hacks, tips and tricks at Freshblog and BlogU.

Top 60 Useful Blogging Tools

noreply@blogger.com (BloggerMom) — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 14:30:00 +0000

Quality blogging takes time. Anything we can do make it easier is welcome. Which is why I have decided to make a comprehensive list of tools that make our blogging life easier. If you know of or use a tool that helps…do let me know. I will definitely look it up and list it here.

AddThis – All in one Bookmarking and RSS buttons

Audio Blogger - adds audio to your blog.

Audioblog – Audioblogging and Podcasting made easy.

Blogdesk – BlogDesk makes it easy to write, speeds up lavish processes and assists the author with smart features.

Blogjet – BlogJet is a Windows blog client for managing multiple blogs, with features no web-based blog editor can match. ( I am actually writing this blog using blogjet and I really like it. You can try it for free for 30 days)

Bloglines – Bloglines is a FREE online service for searching, subscribing, creating and sharing news feeds, blogs and rich web content.

Blogpulse – BlogPulse.com is a blog search engine that also analyzes and reports on daily activity in the blogosphere.

Blog Poll – Custom poll builder for bloggers.

Blogrolling – BlogRolling is a one-stop linklist manager for your blog or journal, helping you manage your ever-evolving linklist with ease.

Blummy – blummy is a free tool for quick access to your favorite web services via your bookmark toolbar.

Box - Store your data in this BOX and access important documents from your desktop, laptop, or even mobile phone on the go. Once you've uploaded your files to Box, you can also share them with anyone, or just keep them safe for as long as you want.(free to try)

Buttonmaker- One of the most customizeable buttonmakers.

Creative Commons – CC help you keep your copyright while inviting certain uses of your work — a “some rights reserved” copyright.

Co.mments -You post a comment on a blog. How do you know if anyone responded? Use co.mments to bookmark posts you want to follow.

ClustrMaps – Map your visitors.

Copyscape – The free Copyscape service makes it easy to find copies of your content on the Web.

Domainsbot – The domain name search engine

Ecto – Ecto is a feature-rich desktop blogging client for MacOSX and Windows, supporting a wide range of weblog systems, such as Blogger, Blojsom, Drupal, MovableType…

Favicon – See those small 16x16 px icons whenever you open a URL. You can make your own here.

Feedburner – One of those tools you just can’t afford to live without. FeedBurner is the leading provider of media distribution and audience engagement services for blogs and RSS feeds.

FeedDemon – Windows-based RSS reader. (free to try).

Feedjit – Live Traffic details.

Flickr – Host and share your photos here.

Flock – Flock is a consumer Internet business which has developed a free, next generation web browser. It simplifies social and web-based applications by bringing them one step closer to the user and integrating them directly into the browser.

Google Analytics – Metric tool to help you analyse how your blog fares in terms of who your visitors are, where they came from and tons of other stuff.

Google Reader – RSS Reader.

Google Webmaster Tools – Webmaster tools provides you with a free and easy way to make your site more Google-friendly.

Haloscan – HaloScan provides a free, easy to use commenting and trackback service for weblogs and websites, allowing visitors to leave feedback, share their opinion, or comment on the subject at hand.

Instant Domain Search – searches domains faster than you can type

Looking for useful tools..Any Suggestions?

Keyword Discovery – KeywordDiscovery compiles keyword search statistics from over 180 search engines world wide, to create the most powerful Keyword Research tool.

Keyword and Backlink Tracker - Search Engine ranking tool.
Keyword Spy - Keyword Research Tool.

Looking for useful tools..Any Suggestions?

Mint – Mint is an extensible, self-hosted web site analytics program. Visits, referrers, popular pages and searches can all be taken in at a glance on Mint's flexible dashboard. (Free to try)

MyBlogLog – Metric tool and networking site.

Newsgator – Free RSS reader and news tool.

Nichebot - Another comprehensive keyword research tool.

Overture Keyword Tool - Another keyword research tool.

Performancing – Metric tools and a place where those that want to make money from their blogs can learn, and perfect the art of making a living from weblogging.

Post2Blog – Post2Blog 3 is a FREEWARE handy blog editor with live spell-checking support for pro-bloggers.

Pingoat – Pingoat is a service that pings or notifies a number of services that keep track of weblogs and publish them.

Pingomatic – Ping-O-Matic is a service to update different search engines that your blog has updated.

PayPal – PayPal is the safer, easier way to pay and get paid online. The service allows anyone to pay in any way they prefer, including through credit cards, bank accounts, buyer credit or account balances, without sharing financial information.

Photobucket – Upload all your photos, videos, and images for free.

Looking for useful tools..Any Suggestions?

Rocketpost – RocketPost is a productivity app for blogging, designed for serious bloggers and business users.(Free to try).

Sitemeter - Website stats tool.

Sitening – A Sitening Account is free and will provide access to the SEO Tools.

Slide -Make slides of snaps you love and embed them. Slide widgets — including Slide Shows, Guestbooks, SkinFlix and FunPix — are popular on top social networking and blog platforms.

Snap -A preview tool to give readers a preview of external links on a blog.

Comprehensive List - Free Blogger Templates

noreply@blogger.com (BloggerMom) — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 04:36:00 +0000

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There is tons of stuff out there explaining how to get a blog up and running...so I am not going to go there. One of the things I was looking for as I tried to setup my blog was to change the usual one of the crowd look of my blog. I ended up looking several places before I settled on this template (templates for blogspot and not wordpress or other blogging platforms). Here's a comprehensive list of places you can get free blogger templates from: <a href="http://www.jackbook.com/">Jackbook</a> The present template is designed by Jackbook. There are several more. This guy is unique..you can give him a wordpress template that you like and he will redo it for blogger for free. Kool huh! <a href="http://www.blogcrowds.com/resources/blogger_template.php">Blogcrowds</a> Most of the templates are available on this site. The nice thing about blogcrowds is that if you are using one of their templates and have 10 posts or more, they will send some traffic you way...or so they say. <a href="http://hackosphere.blogspot.com/">Hackosphere</a> This guy Ramani, has developed a template that is apparently lightening fast to download. Will need more aesthetic appeal though one can customise it. <a href="http://freetemplates.blogspot.com/">Isnani.com </a> 61 two column templates and 11 three column templates. Some customizable, but most fairly run of the mill templates. <a href="http://www.finalsense.com/services/blog_templates/">Final Sense</a> Loads of free templates.They actually have templates categorised. <a href="http://www.pyzam.com/bloggertemplates">Pyzam</a> Loads of free templates to choose from. Well actually...they make you think they have several different templates, but all I saw was different background pics with the same layout. Worth a look anyways. <a href="http://blogger-templates.blogspot.com/">Blogger Templates</a> A small probably personal collection of a few templates. <a href="http://freeblogger-templates.blogspot.com/">Freeblogger Templates</a> 10 free templates with unique designs - mostly 2 columns. <a href="http://beautifulbeta.blogspot.com/search/label/templates">Beautiful Beta</a> 4 templates but has other useful blogging stuff like widgets and hacks as well. <a href="http://www.bloggertemplates.org/">BloggerTemplate.Org</a> 8 sleek blogger templates. Mostly 2 column. <a href="http://blogspottemplates.blogspot.com/">Blogger Templates- Xtasy</a> Loads of whacky 2 column templates with different backgrounds. <a href="http://www.geckoandfly.com/blogspot-templates/blogspot-templates/">Gecko and Fly</a> 23 kool blogger templates. Mostly 2 column. <a href="http://blogtemplates.noipo.org/">NOIPO.Org</a> 12 two column templates. <a href="http://bloggertemplatesbycaz.blogspot.com/">Blogger Templates by Caz</a> If you are still using the old blogger, then here are 12 two clumn templates..really different look form the usual. <a href="http://www.templatepanic.com/?s=blogger-templates">Template Panic</a> Has 58 kool templates, two and three columns.

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Surfing for blogging.

noreply@blogger.com (BloggerMom) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 17:49:00 +0000

Blogging requires content and consistency...which i guess rules out a whole lotta people...probably me too :-) I have been around and written stuff here and there before but seeing how blogging have exploded suddenly, I am all inspired to do it more often and with a purpose, more so with consistency and quality content.

I have been reading some stuff by all the probloggers like Darren Rowse, Yaro Stark and others. All the problog gurus will hammer the fact that "content is king". But it is also important to find
you niche to churn out the content...isn't it? I mean, you really have to be passionate
about something to write about it day in, day out eventually to take it to a point where you can
make a living out of writing on a topic.

All this is easier said than done..honestly. I tried to find what my niche was and came up with a laundry list of things I felt passionately about. I have even written about those things, be it yoga, politics or experimenting online money making options. So what do people with no niche do? Maybe write about the things without worrying about sticking into slot to get started with? Probably....

I thought hard and even harder, until I realised that there was one thing i just haven't stopped doing over the years. I have surfed the internet like there is not tomorrow since 1997, i guess. Sometimes I use it for more meaningful searches like recipes, consumer court info, find events and stuff...sometimes i just wilf (what was i looking for?) These days i surf to find interesting reading material on blogging and more specifically blogging for a living.

So that's it...that is what i better stick to. Surfing for blogging. If you dont have a niche...create one. Just be sure that you like it so much that it's something you are willing to invest time and energy in. Otherwise you'd get bored and drop it halfway and become one of those inconsistent folks.

More later...

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