Blogger help, tips and hacks

Starting a Blog - Blogging Basics for the Beginner Blogger

noreply@blogger.com (jon) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 06:48:23 PDT

Starting a Blog teaches the beginner blogger or anyone who needs a Blogging 101 refresher course how to decide if blogging is right for them as well as how to choose a domain, host and blogging software. You'll also find step-by-step tutorials to help you get started as a successful blogger.

Blog Software and Hosts (11) Creating a Blog (5) Blogging Books & Resources (6) Wordpress Tutorials & Tips (2) Blogging Ethics (4) Writing a Blog (11) Blogging FAQs (13)

What is a Blog?
Learn exactly what a blog really is.

Before You Start a Blog, Determine if Blogging is Right for You
Take a look at these factors to consider before you start a blog to determine if blogging is right for you.

Trick: How To Be Number One On Google For Keywords

noreply@blogger.com (jon) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 06:43:35 PDT

This next trick I am going to show you is something that worked for me all the time. To be number one on google for Top Keywords!.

It really does not matter if you are new to blogging and what page rank you have all you really need is focus on Top Keywords and blogs that rank number one for keywords like example: “Make Money Online” or “Best Technology Blogs”

This is what I would like you to do!

Do research which blog is number 1 for keyword you are looking for. Then go to that blog and leave comment in way you don’t sound like spammer yet you want to draw traffic from that blog to your blog (blog post).

If you notice also that blog is accepting Post Trackbacks write a GOOD blog post on your blog and link to that blog post which is ranking No.1 for specific keyword.
This trick worked for me each time, I would get at least 500 visitors each month from each blog that rank number one.

So it really does not matter if you rank 12403 for keyword like “make money online” because your comment or Trackback is going to give you pretty much good exposure to people, that were interested in that keyword.

What Is The Best Time To Blog Post

noreply@blogger.com (jon) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 06:42:34 PDT

Over the past few years I learned that if you post an article at specific time you can gain more readers, returning visitors and you control your audience when to hit the site the most.

Best time to blog post will be right in the morning 6am. Most people wake up at that time, have their coffee, serial and laptop front of them. But that does not mean that your particular audience is going to be that way.

Why?

Blogs like Political News, Economy News, Technology News or Celebrity News (News that change constantly) are more interesting to read in the morning or after work 5PM.

Blogs like Make Money Online, Astronomy, How To’s, Education etc …are more visited throughout the day BUT there is always that peak time which you should hit every day.

As you can see BONTB peak time is between 12pm-18pm now I would like you to compare your times and see the difference.

Again Why?????

Because what you want to do is check your time line when people are most visiting and blog post about an hour before the big audience arrives. This way people will say “Oh this has been just updated, great!” or “Wow I got to bookmark this!, it’s breaking news!”

Help a Blogger Choose Some Speakers

noreply@blogger.com (jon) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:06:04 PDT

write here

Passive Speakers

These are included here only for completeness: nobody should ever consider passive speakers. Little more than a pair of earbuds in a box, these toy accessories are uniformly tinny, rattling novelties. The only thing that sounds worse is the cellphone music that generous teenagers share with you on the Subway.

A close cousin is the active speaker, usually adding a little more oomph with a battery powered amplifier. The only real difference is that they can project the sound a little further, therefore bringing more people into your radius of irritation.

Verdict: Avoid

Extras

Another thing to consider is how you’ll get the music to the speakers. If all your music is on an iPod, Apple’s Universal Dock is a good choice: the line-out will hook into any stereo and it comes with a remote. If you are using iTunes, on a Mac or a PC, the Airport Express will wirelessly stream tunes around the house. Then there are third party options, like Roku’s Soundbridge and the Sonos system, but those can be pricey (and have a lot of extra frills). Plus, you still need a stereo to actually play the music. Of course, there’s always the cheap option: a six foot cable with a jack on each end.

Recommendations in the comments, please. I’m leaning towards a 2.1 setup, but if you can convince me otherwise, I’m happy to change. And keep them cheap.

Help a Blogger Choose Some Speakers

noreply@blogger.com (jon) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:06:31 PDT

Digital music is great, something very apparent to the frequent traveler. Since moving to Spain last year, I’ve been hopping from country to country and apartment to apartment, carrying my whole music library on my Mac’s hard drive. Compare that to a few packing cases full of CDs and you can see why I ripped all my music before that first, nervous departure.

But how best to get that music back into distinctly analog, air-shifting sound-waves? This post is ostensibly to ask for your help, as I have landed, speaker-less, back on Barcelona’s fair shores. But first, read a roundup of the options.

A Real Stereo

This might be the smartest option in terms of quality. What we used to call ‘mini-systems’ usually have beefy speakers and the space inside for a decent amplifier. The trouble is, those same speakers take up space, both on the shelf and in the shipping box. All-in-ones also pack in a lot of superflous (for me, at least) extras: a radio, a CD player, and perhaps even a cassette deck (remember those?)

Separates would solve the latter problem as you only need to buy an amplifier and speakers, and they will probably give the best sound of all. But they’re expensive, take up a lot of space and, to be honest, if you’re just pumping MP3s through it, you probably won't notice the difference.

Using RSS Newsfeeds to Get the Latest Headlines

noreply@blogger.com (jon) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 05:14:32 PDT

This Page
What's a Newsfeed?

What are RSS and ATOM?
Quick Examples
Educational Uses
Who Has News Feeds?

News Organizations
Blogs
Other Web sites
Applications to View Newsfeeds

Preview RSS in Browsers
Newsreaders
Web Services
Penn State Portal
Thunderbird (Win/Mac/Linux)
Google News Alert E-mails

Where to Subscribe
What's a Newsfeed?
A newsfeed is an XML text file which sends information about news items to a newsreader application like the Penn State Portal or by some browsers including Safari 2, Opera 8 or Internet Explorer 7.

What are RSS and ATOM?
These are two specifications (written in XML) which contain news headlines and summarys which can be read by a news reader

Sites with newsfeeds are marked with colored icon links saying RSS, XML or ATOM. RSS feeds are more common and simpler to create, but ATOM feeds may contain more informaiton including images.

You may need a newsreader or feed reader to view these sites. See the Plugins section below for information on obtaining newsreaders.

Quick examples
Penn State Portal Channels - Each "channel" reads a RSS XML file and displays it in the channel
BBC World News - This page uses an XSLT style sheet to display the RSS file in a browser.
TLT Computing with Accents Newsfeed - This page combines RSS with CSS style sheets so it can be readable in a normal browser.
Your Daily Art Blog - Includes a Newsfeed
Language Log - Linguists writing on language news and linguistics phenomena in the media

Educational Uses
Some educational benefits of monitoring newsfeeds include.

Monitoring RSS Feeds can allow students and instructors to gather the latest news and information about key subtopics.
RSS newsreaders enables more efficient scanning of news headlines, so that users can select only a few articles to read in depth.
Top of Page

Who Has RSS Feeds?
Blogs
Many blogs, including Blogs at Penn State, include a subsidiary RSS feed. Look for the Subscribe link or the RSS or XML icon.

News Organizations
Many news organizations contain RSS feeds (often marked with an RSS icon or XML icon). Some examples include the following. To find a news organization's RSS page, look at the bottom of the page or to the side.

Penn State Live
Washington Post RSS Feeds
CNN News RSS
New York Times RSS Feeds
BBC News
Note: You may need a specialized news reader plugin or application to view the contents as a channel. Otherwise, you may see a series of XML tags.

Other Web Sites
It does not require much effort to set up an RSS feed, so many people or organizations have created an RSS feed to provide specialized news stories. Here are just a few random examples.

Stone Pages Archaeology News
Life in the USA - American life described for newly arrived immigrants
Applications to View Newsfeeds
RSS is a technology different from regular HTML Web pages and usually requires special news reader plugins or applications to view RSS feeds correctly. These applications convert a feed to a "channel" with headlines and link to full stories.

Here are some examples of news reader applications supporting RSS files.

Preview RSS Feeds in Browsers
The following browsers have simple RSS Support. They allow to quickly view the content of a feed, but not necessarily manage subscriptions.

Internet Explorer 7 (Win)
Safari 2+ (Mac)
Firefox Extensions/Add Ons Section
Firefox, Opera and Camino also have RSS support but they may assume that you use a separate RSS reader (as listed in the next "Separate RSS Newsreaders" section.

To View feeds
Click any RSS link or enter in any RSS URL with the .xml or .rss extension (e.g. http://newsrss.bbc.co.uk/rss/newsonline_world_edition/front_page/rss.xml)
Note: In Internet Explorer, you can also click the orange feed broadcast icon ().
Note: In Safari, you can also click the blue RSS icon () in the address bar.
A new window will appear listing headlines and links.
Note: Safari converts addresses to feed:// instead of http://
To Manage Subscriptions
The applications below are recommended if you want to manage subscriptions.

Separate RSS News Readers
If you wish to follow a newsfeed regularly, then a newsreader is recommended because they indicate new headlines and they allow you to organize your RSS feeds into category folders. Some common freeware news readers include:

Feed Reader (Windows)
Net News Wire Lite (Mac OS X) - There's also a for-fee full version
Straw (Linux)
RSS Info List
To subscribe to a news feed, find the New Channel or Subscribe button command, then copy and paste any URL ending with the .xml or .rss extension. The new "channel" will be added.

Use the folder option in each package to create categories for newsfeeds. Folders will typically list new headlines in each category; you can then click inside the folder to see individual subscriptions.

Web Services
There are also online services which let you subscribe to and organize your feeds. The advantage is that you can access your newsfeeds from any computer, but the data is stored off your computer and can be lost. Like the freeware applications, these usually include folder category support. Common ones include:

Bloglines.com
Google Reader
Top of Page

Penn State Portal
Each channel on the Penn State Portal is an RSS feed. The links for the headlines direct you to an HTML page with the full news story. Below is an example of the My PSU News channel with headlines.

Each headline links to an HTML page of the story on the external Penn State Live site.

Details of Google’s Latest Security Hole

noreply@blogger.com (jon) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 05:07:33 PDT

I’ve now received confirmation from Google’s Security Team that the latest vulnerability Philipp posted about has been fixed. After carrying out some investigations of my own, I believe this is the case – so I’m going to share with you what the problem was and how I was able to exploit it. In doing so, I hope to educate other developers about the potential flaws that can occur in growingly complex web applications.

In summary, I was able to create a page that was hosted on a google.com domain, which is something that should never be allowed to happen. Because of this vulnerability, I was then able to use a simple bit of code to steal someone else’s Google cookie and access their Google services.

Latest Updates for PicasaPrint

noreply@blogger.com (jon) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 04:59:30 PDT

Updates to Picasa are made on an ongoing basis. These updates may include bug fixes, performance enhancements, additional hardware/device support and other improvements.

To make sure you are running the latest version of the software, follow the manual update instructions below. If your software is out of date, you will occasionally receive automatic alerts when you open Picasa that updates are available. You may choose to update at that time. Please note that we don't always auto-update people when new builds are available since some builds contain fixes and/or improvements that are only relevant to a small percentage of users.

How to manually install or upgrade Picasa:

On Picasa Home, click the download button at the top of the page.
Follow instructions to run the program and install. (You do not need to uninstall first.)
Any previous edits you've made will be preserved.
LATEST UPDATES:

Version 2.7, Build 37.49 - March 06, 2008

Improved performance for new Intel chips.
Translation fixes for Hungarian and Chinese.
Fixed a case that would result in an error when capturing images from webcams.
Version 2.7, Build 37.36 - October 30, 2007

Added support for 11 additional languages: Bulgarian, Catalan, Filipino, Indonesian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Serbian, Slovakian, Slovenian, Thai, Vietnamese.
Version 2.7, Build 37.32 - October 02, 2007

Fixed a case where corrupted AVI files could cause a crash.
Fixed a case that would result in a "This account is not enabled for Picasa Web Albums" error.
Version 2.7, Build 37.29 - September 13, 2007

Added support for RAW pictures from the Canon 40D.
Fixed a case where certain RAW pictures appeared overexposed.
Full-screen preview using Ctrl-Alt now works again.
Fixed a case where uploading to Picasa Web Albums could result in an immediate "failed to connect" error.
Version 2.7, Build 37.23 - August 21, 2007

Added support for 7 additional languages: Croatian, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, and Ukrainian
Fixed a problem with Picasa jumping to the wrong picture after deleting a picture
Fixed two issues which could cause a "Failed to Connect" error when logging into Picasa Web Albums
Fixed a case in which an error could result when opening pictures with third-party products
Fixed problems related to Picasa Media Detector not disabling properly
Version 2.7, Build 36.60 - June 26, 2007

Support for geotagging integration with Picasa Web Albums
Added more metadata to JPEG when exporting and uploading photos
Version 2.7, Build 36.40 - May 3, 2007

Minor update to RAW
Fixed a case where updating thumbnails message would incorrectly appear.
Updated version number for international installs.
Version 2.7, Build 36.37 - April 24, 2007

New RAW processing engine with support for more cameras and improved color.
New color engine for "tuning" fixes.
Added support for Google Photos Screensaver.
Improved BlogThis! reliability.
Version 2.6, Build 36.19 - February 13, 2007

Improved support for Vista.
Fixed a problem with Timeline and Slideshow on Vista Aero mode.
Improved reliability of uploading to Picasa Web Albums.
Updated icons.
Version 2.6, Build 35.97 - December 12, 2006

Fixed a problem with naming conventions of temporary files during install.
Version 2.6, Build 35.94 - December 7, 2006

New autoupdate behavior for Windows Vista support.
New CD/DVD-burning engine (supports more devices).
Improved upload reliability to Picasaweb.
Added support for 18 new languages.
Added XMP metadata parsing.
Fixed many crash bugs.
Rolled-up fixes from 32.97 and 32.95.
Version 2.5, Build 32.97 - November 14, 2006

Fixed IE 7 video upload.
Fixed Orkut uploading problem.
Fixed bad GPS data the first time you save a non-JPG photo.
Version 2.5, Build 32.95 - October 9, 2006

Fixed an issue with corrupt gif files causing excessive CPU usage.
Fixed issues with uploading videos to Picasa Web Albums for accounts with upgraded storage only.
Version 2.5, Build 32.94 - September 15, 2006

Share photos online - Upload photos to Picasa Web Albums for easy sharing on the web. When viewing your friends' albums online, you can even download them right back into Picasa on your own computer.
Nested Folder View - Now you can choose how to display folders in Picasa.
Save Changes to Disk - Now you can save your edits and have access to them in other programs, but we also provide an automatic backup that lets you revert to the original at any time.
Screensaver - Show starred photos in a collage, or pan and zoom your Web Albums photos. Choose between four presentation options to display your best shots.
Geotagging - Tell Picasa where you shot each photo, and view them on a 3-D globe in Google Earth.
Larger thumbnails - Our thumbnails are slightly larger, so photos are clearer, and we've improved speed as well.
Updated RAW support - We support more cameras and RAW formats (including the Canon 30D, Nikon D200, and DNG).
Other goodies - Improved caption editing. Starred photos organize automatically into a special album. The bottom row of buttons can now be configured to suit your needs. The "Just raw frames" option lets you export time-lapse sequences in the movie maker. Plus, don't forget to check out the "Tools" > "Experimental" menu for other things we're trying out.
b28.10 January 26, 2006

Added 25 new interface languages -- Picasa is now available in Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Estonian, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Filipino, Polish, Romanian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Catalan, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese. When you start Picasa, the software will automatically match your system's native language. To change the language in Picasa, go to Tools > Options. Change the language using the pulldown menu on the "General" tab. You will need to close and re-open Picasa to see your changes take effect.
Picasa now supports Internet Explorer 7.
Fixed problems with UNC path drives.
b27.66 November 10, 2005

Fixed corruption problem for Canon 5D RAW files.
Fix for problems importing from a scanner.
Fix for problems exporting a webpage to a network drive.
Fix for problems exporting a webpage to 4 or 8 character folder name off of the root drive.
Fix for problems with special characters in your Gmail password (users would receive a "login incorrect" error).
Fixed hotkeys.
Fixed crashing on TIFF files with JPG compression.
b27.60 October 11, 2005

Support for Nikon D50 RAW files.(note: color balance may not be correct).
Fix for problems backing up read-only files (they were getting backed up, but would not show as having been backed up in the Picasa Backup Set).
Windows 98: Fixed not being able to expand directory trees inside the Folder Manager.
Windows 98: Fixed CD burning bug.
Windows 98: Fixed Picasa not scanning files on your desktop.
b2.1 September 19, 2005

Multiple interface languages – Picasa is now available in Chinese (simplified and traditional), Dutch, English (U.S. and UK) , French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. When you start Picasa, the software will automatically match your system's native language. To change the language in Picasa, go to Tools > Options. Change the language using the pulldown menu on the "General" tab. You will need to close and re-open Picasa to see your changes take effect.
BlogThis! - Post a photo to your blog in one click. Picasa's new "BlogThis!" button replaces the "Blogger" button and allows you to upload your photos directly to the Blogger web editor, without the need for a Hello account. To use, select a photo in Picasa and click the "BlogThis!" button. (If you do not have a Google Account for Blogger, follow the steps on-screen to create one.) When you are signed in to Blogger, the web editor will open. Click "Publish" to post your photo to your blog.
Print CD covers – Turn any photo into cover art. Click the "Print" button. Go to Tools > Options > Printing. Select "CD Cover Size" and apply. "CD Cover Size" is now one of the print layout choices.
Improved RAW handling – Picasa supports more RAW formats and cameras in this release, with improved color-balance support and faster speed. Work with your highest quality files from these camera manufacturers: Canon (.CRW, .CR2), Nikon (.NEF), Olympus (.ORF), Pentax (.PEF), Kodak (.DCR), Sony (.SRF), Minolta (.MRW), and Fuji(.RAF). New models supported include the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT (aka the 350D), Pentax *istDS, Konica/Minolta Maxxum7D (aka the Dynax 7D).
External drives - Find photos on external drives using Picasa. Simply go Tools > Folder Manager to choose whether Picasa should scan a connected external drive to find photos. When you unplug and reconnect, Picasa will find your photos instantly (with no scanning), and will also preserve your albums.
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Show off your favorite blogs with a Blog List

noreply@blogger.com (jon) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 04:38:20 PDT

Today we’re releasing a new page element for Layouts blogs: Blog List. The Blog List improves on our Link List page element by using blogs’ RSS and Atom feeds to show update times, post titles, and snippets.

Use a Blog List to put a blogroll in your sidebar, or make a few to categorize the blogs you read. The Blog List works well for any page that has an RSS or Atom feed, so you can get creative: link to news sites, podcasts, Twitter streams, search results, or anything else with a feed.

Here’s a quick summary of the features that a Blog List gives you:

Link to blogs, web pages, and feeds from your blog’s sidebar, with an optional favicon

For pages with RSS and Atom feeds, Blog List can show last updated time, post title, and a snippet of the latest post

Sort links alphabetically or by last update time
Show all links, or hide some behind a “show all” link

Import subscriptions from Google Reader

Blog List links are visible to search engine crawlers, so your blog’s PageRank and reputation flow to those you link to

Want to see it in action? We made a help video to walk you through adding and configuring a Blog List:

Thanks go out to everyone who chimed in on the Blogger in draft blog while this feature was being developed. You helped us a lot!

Tip: Want to show more posts from a single blog? Use the Feed page element to put any RSS or Atom feed in your blog’s sidebar.

Download Google's Help Files

noreply@blogger.com (jon) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:45:07 PDT

Did you ever want to get a help file for Gmail, Google Docs or for Google Desktop so you can print it or save it on your computer? All Google services have help centers that include information about features, tutorials, troubleshooting guides, but you need to find the information in a complicated hierarchy of topics or use the search box.

Fortunately, there's a way to save all the information related to a Google service: append ?fulldump=1 to the address of a Google help center. This doesn't work for all Google services, but here's a list of addresses that dump all the information from a help center (note that the pages are very large and are frequently updated):

Gmail Help: http://mail.google.com/support/?fulldump=1

Google Calendar Help: http://www.google.com/support/calendar/?fulldump=1

Google Docs Help: http://docs.google.com/support/?fulldump=1

Google Spreadsheets: http://docs.google.com/support/spreadsheets/?fulldump=1

Google Presentations: http://docs.google.com/support/presentations/?fulldump=1

Google Reader Help: http://www.google.com/support/reader/?fulldump=1

Google Video Help: http://video.google.com/support/?fulldump=1

YouTube Help: http://www.google.com/support/youtube/?fulldump=1

AdSense Help: https://www.google.com/adsense/support/?fulldump=1

Analytics Help: http://www.google.com/support/googleanalytics?fulldump=1

Google Desktop Help: http://desktop.google.com/support/?fulldump=1

Picasa Help: http://picasa.google.com/support/?fulldump=1

Google Toolbar for IE: http://www.google.com/support/toolbar/?fulldump=1

Google Toolbar for Firefox: http://www.google.com/support/firefox/?fulldump=1

Google Earth (PDF): http://earth.google.com/userguide/v4/google_earth_user_guide.pdf

17 Smashing Tips On Choosing Your Best Wedding Gowns

noreply@blogger.com (jon) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:04:37 PDT

Wedding is a special occasion where the bride becomes the heroine and she is the star of the event. Wedding gown is undeniably a special attire that every women wishes to have in her wardrobe. As you will be the center of attraction in your wedding, you have to be careful in choosing your wedding gown such that it matches your style. The gown that you select should make you look extremely gorgeous and should fit you correctly.

You can enjoy your wedding only if you are comfortable in your wedding attire. Though you may find different styles of wedding gowns, you have to select the one that that suits you. Choosing the wedding gown is often a tough decision to make as every woman want to look great on their special day.

If you take some time and plan perfectly, you can arrive at the best wedding gown for yourself. Here are some tips for you that will help you to decide on your wedding gown:

1. Understand that the cost of the wedding gown does not determine your look. If you are able to spend time in choosing your wedding gown, then you can find an inexpensive gown that looks spectacular when you wear it. Your wedding budget is very important. Choose the gown that fits your budget. Splendid wedding gowns are available at different price ranges and you can choose the one you like that fits your budget. If you have a good budget for your wedding gown, you can get a designer to design a wedding gown exclusively for you. Designer celebrity gowns are often expensive but always try to strike a balance between the budget and the pattern of your wedding gown.

Blogging Basics

noreply@blogger.com (jon) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 05:58:17 PDT

What's a weblog?
A weblog, or "blog", is a personal journal on the Web. Weblogs cover as many different topics, and express as many opinions, as there are people writing them. Some blogs are highly influential and have enormous readership, while others are mainly intended for a close circle of family and friends.
Why are blogs important?
The power of weblogs is that they allow millions of people to easily publish their ideas, and millions more to comment on them. Blogs are a fluid, dynamic medium, more akin to a "conversation" than to a library — which is how the Web has often been described in the past. With an increasing number of people reading, writing, and commenting on blogs, the way we use the Web is shifting in a fundamental way. Instead of primarily being passive consumers of information, more and more Internet users are becoming active participants. Weblogs allow everyone to have a voice.
What are common misperceptions about weblogs?
The main misconception about blogs is that they are only personal diaries. Weblogs come in all flavors, from personal journals that are mainly shared with close friends and family, to blogs with readership levels placing them in the league of mainstream media. Blog topics include political commentary, product reviews, scientific endeavors, and any area of information where people have a deep expertise and a desire to express it.
What is a blogger?
A blogger is someone who writes a blog.
What is the blogosphere?
Blogosphere is a word used to describe the online community of bloggers and their writings.
How is a weblog different from a website?
A weblog is a website that is updated frequently, most often displaying its material in journal-like chronological dated entries or posts. Most blogs allow readers to post comments to your the post, and link from their blog to your posts using the permanlink URL or address. In a blog, the content can be published and syndicated separate from the formatting using an RSS feed. Readers can then subscribe to the feed to automatically receive updates.
What is a weblog post or entry?
An entry, a post, or a posting, are the terms often used to refer to a specific article or commentary written by the blogger on his or her weblog.
What is a comment?
Many weblogs allow readers to write a reaction to what was written in the blog entry. Comments can often be found directly following the blog entry.
What is RSS?
RSS is a file format that allows anyone with a website — from large media companies to individual commentators — to easily "syndicate" their content, similar to how comic strips and popular columns are syndicated by their owners to hundreds of newspapers. Except that on the Web, the RSS syndication is usually free, and the content that is syndicated is often not the full entry, but excerpts and links back to the originating website. Technorati uses RSS to track updates to millions of blogs.
What is "syndication"?
In traditional media, syndication is a way of making content (such as OpEd columns or cartoons) available to many media outlets to publish simultaneously, usually for a fee. In the world of weblogs syndication means making part of a website available for consumption in a specialized reader or for other sites to use and publish, often for free. The part of a site made available for such syndication is most often a "RSS newsfeed" that lets other tools and sites display some or all of the site's content with proper attributions and links to the original source.
How is RSS different from a blog?
A blog is a website which usually includes current entries, comments, a "blogroll," and an archive. An RSS newsfeed is a way of representing a portion of that website.
What about an RSS search engine? Is that different from what Technorati does?
Yes. RSS feeds are a subset of the World Live Web. An RSS search engine searches only content structured in specialized XML formats such as RSS and Atom but does not look at a site's HTML or other markup. Not all blogs have RSS feeds, and some sites that are not blogs (such as The New York Times or some online event calendars) do have RSS feeds. Many blogs only send out a small portion or summary of their full postings and leave the full postings on their sites as HTML. Technorati specializes in searching all blogs, not merely those with RSS feeds, and instead of only indexing the RSS feed (often the first few hundred words of an article), Technorati reads all of the HTML code in a blog posting, and also tracks all of the activity around a blog or post such as inbound and outbound links.
What's the relationship between blogging and journalism?
Weblogs are different from traditional media. Bloggers tend to be more opinionated, niche-focused, and partisan than journalists, who strive for editorial objectivity. Blogs encourage dialog with readers, which is why many traditional journalists now also have blogs. The relationship between blogging and journalism can be characterized as symbiotic rather than competitive. Bloggers are often sources for journalists, and many blogs contain commentary and riffs on what journalists wrote that day. Frequently newsmakers use blogs to respond to what journalists write about them. And by linking to traditional media, weblogs can introduce new readers to journalists and their publications.
Are weblogs a business or a hobby?
For most people, blogging is a hobby. For some, especially journalists, writers, and business and political leaders, writing blogs enhances their professional careers by giving their voices a broader audience and allowing more engaged contact with their readers, constituents, and customers. Some bloggers have readership numbers approaching that of big media and are able to earn income from their popularity.
What is a permalink?
The homepages of most weblogs have several entries, or posts, listed on them. Because blogs tend to be frequently updated, articles you find on a weblog's homepage one day may not be there the next. A permalink is the permanent identifier to a specific weblog post or article. Bloggers love permalinks — they provide an easy way to capture specific references to posts or articles about which bloggers are writing.
Why is linking so important?
A link from one weblog to another helps provide context around an argument or point, and it is essentially a "vote of attention" from one blogger to another. By linking to another site or blog, the weblog author is saying, "I find what you are saying important enough to link to it." Linking also helps create the conversation of the Web, the critical mass of connected thought that is not available in static text.
The relevance of a site on the Web can be determined by how often a source is cited and therefore considered an authority. Links in the world of weblogs are even more important since bloggers frequently link to and comment on other blogs, creating a sense of timeliness and back-and-forth one would have in a conversation. Technorati tracks the number of links and the unique source of links to determine the breadth and readership of any author or site. Technorati is uniquely positioned in the center of this ongoing conversation monitoring who is linking to whom and which bloggers are commanding attention on various topics.

What are "inbound links" and "outbound links?"
Inbound links refer to hyperlinks from other sources citing that weblog. Outbound links refer to hyperlinks from the weblog to outside sources.
What is a "blogroll?"
A blogroll is a list of blogs and bloggers that any particular blog author finds influential or interesting — so much so that the author wants the link to be enduringly visible on his or her site instead of just in occasional entries. A blogroll is often found to one side of a blog's entries, and the hyperlinked names lead directly to the blogs in question. Blogrolls indicate which online community a blogger is attracted to or belongs to, and they are part of the conversations of the blogosphere.
What is the World Live Web™?
The World Live Web™? is a frequently updated subset of the World Wide Web. Sites in this subset update often, and Technorati is able to index this new content within ten minutes in most cases.
Is searching the Live Web™? different than searching the Wide Web?
Yes. The Web indexed by most search engines is static and inactive. Other search engines will occasionally visit sites in search of new content. Technorati is integrated with the tools that power the blogosphere and is therefore notified of new content as it happens. Technorati lets you know what is being said right now, by whom, and how it affects you or your business.
What is Technorati?
Technorati is the leading monitor of the world of weblogs. Technorati is a real-time search engine that is the largest source of fresh information about the global and local conversations going on all across the Web. Technorati allows you to find out what people are saying about you, your company, your products, your competitors, your politics and, other areas of interest, on the Internet in real time.
For more in-depth information about Technorati's service please see our Frequently Asked Questions page. For more information about the company please see the About Technorati pages

Marketing Mania: Driving Business without Driving Yourself CrazyAnita's keynote will focus on one of the key points of learning to market as a small b

noreply@blogger.com (jon) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 05:48:23 PDT

Anita's keynote will focus on one of the key points of learning to market as a small business: balancing running your business with promoting it. Since more than half of our attendees came from true small businesses (less than ten employees) we recognize that many of them are faced with the daily challenge of actually running the company. They don't have marketing departments, they ARE the marketing department.

That can make it tough to keep your focus. How do you decide how much value you're getting from your marketing efforts and where do you draw the line on when blogging should give way to picking a new hire or cutting checks to suppliers? How do you avoid getting caught up in the fun that is Twitter and Linked In and Facebook and maximize your time to get it all done?

Honestly? We don't know the answer. That's why we've asked Anita to come and enlighten us (and of course, you!) She'll help us all gain some perspective on the best ways to maximize our marketing efforts while still leaving yourself time to focus on the things we do best; run our businesses!

Jennifer Laycock Brings Business Back to the Basics

noreply@blogger.com (jon) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 05:42:07 PDT

Sage highlights Jennifer Laycock's article "How Social Media (Didn't) Change Business," in which she uses her grandfather as an example of what business is really all about, and that's PEOPLE. Jennifer's grandfather was an insurance agent who delayed his retirement for a year to personally take care of all his clients' claims after a major tornado struck the area. With the social media bandwagon riding full these days, Sage points out that even with new technology, the importance of the person, of the customer as an individual, always rises to the top. He sites the power of user-generated reviews, reinforcing that people trust people, not corporations.

A ‘Quick’ Tip on Landing an Interview for Your Blog

noreply@blogger.com (jon) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 05:37:04 PDT

Over the last month since launching the Blogger book I’ve done more interviews with other bloggers and sites than I’ve ever done before. It’s been a lot of fun but it’s also taught me a lot about how to approach people for interviews on your blog.

Perhaps the best piece of advice that I could give a blogger wanting to approach another person to be the subject of an interview is to make it a manageable task for the person that you approach.

There is nothing more off putting when you’re asked to do an interview than being sent 20 questions.

Actually - there is one more off putting thing than 20 questions…. It’s being told that there will only be a few questions… which you agree to…. and then getting sent 20 questions.

I’m not against long interviews (and have even done a couple over the last months) but it is important to establish the scope of the interview that you want up front with your potential interview subject.

If you’re looking for something in-depth then let them know this so that they can put the time aside for it (if they say yes). Just be willing to get a ‘no’ if you’re after a long interview as they can take considerable time. As a guide - my 18 question interview with Guy Kawasaki a couple of weeks back took me 6 or so hours (over numerous days) to write up.

To increase the chances of someone saying yes to your interview a shorter interview might work. You can also increase your chances by giving them a brief insight into the topic of your site and how it is relevant to them.

Many people are willing to do interviews with bloggers - but you’ll increase the chances when you make it achievable and realistic to do. An example of this is that the most success I’ve ever had with interviewing other bloggers
.

How I Make Money Blogging - Top Income Streams Update

noreply@blogger.com (jon) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 05:17:47 PDT

Once every 3 months I update my Make Money Blogging page here at ProBlogger with my top income earners for that last quarter. Today I made the update for the last three months (March to May 2008).

My top income earners for the last quarter were:

AdSense (previously #1)
Chitika (previously #2)
Private Ad Sales (previously #4)
Amazon Associates (previously #3)
Miscellaneous Affiliate Programs (previously #7)
Shopzilla (previously not in the list)
ProBlogger Job Board (previously #6)
WidgetBucks (previously not in the list)
Miscellaneous Ad Networks (previously #8)
I’ve included where it was previously ranked in my income streams so you can see how things have changed (and where they have not. AdSense and Chitika continue to dominate although Private Ad Sales have been making a move, as have affiliate programs.

You can read a complete description of each one and how I’ve used it in the Make Money Blogging post.

How to Reset Your Blog

noreply@blogger.com (jon) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 05:11:49 PDT

From time to time you may have problems when using blogger, anything from layout issues, to missing posts or missing widgets. When you get strange behaviour in your blog you may need to reset your blog.

To reset you blog is quite simple and will fix most issues straight away.

When you reset your blog you don't lose any posts, so if you are having problems try resetting, it may just help.

Please see http://notjustajax.blogspot.com/2008/06/how-to-reset-your-blog.html for detailed instructions on how to reset your blog and hopefully fix your problems.

SeanJC

http://google-checkout-api.blogspot.com

Online Estate Agency - Buzz Properties

AJAX, GIS and Web 2.0 Consultant

noreply@blogger.com (jon) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 06:13:20 PDT

Successful blogging is not just about being the best writer on the web or even the most prolific. Being a successful blogger is about creating a connection with an audience by providing relevant content, nurturing that relationship with comments and links and keeping the dialogue flowing. Here are ten tips to get you started.

1. Understand the fundamentals of Blogger Relations
While anyone can set up a blog in a day and start publishing articles, it takes far more work to be a great blogger and see the real benefits of blogging. First, you need to have a blogging strategy that is in line with your PR strategy and business goals. Next, you have to provide relevant content. Most importantly, you must conduct what is called Blogger Relations. Blogger Relations is what blogging is all about—starting and maintaining a conversation. Unlike Public Relations or media relations where you are trying to pitch your story, with Blogger Relations you initiate and participate in ongoing discussions with other bloggers and your target audience. As the conversation progresses, you get to know the other players in your industry; you gain credibility by listening as well as commenting; and you gain new readers as other bloggers provide links back to your blog to give you credit for your ideas. The more you conduct Blogger Relations, the more successful your blogging will be.

2. Create value
Creating something of value for your audience should be the first aim of your blog; otherwise your readers will have no reason to return. This is where a public relations strategy can help you develop content that keeps your customers coming back for more.

3. Grow and sustain your audience by providing real analysis
Monitor the news and blogs for articles that would be of interest to your audience. When writing about the news as a blogger, it is not just a matter of describing the news—though that is important. It is more imperative that you provide new, informative and entertaining analysis in order to sustain and grow your audience. That is why opinion and your personal perspective interlaced with your past experiences will help to add to your credibility and foster loyal readership.

4. Report on community opinion
If you think the news is important but don’t have an opinion or perspective, one way to provide opinion is to provide a synopsis of ideas from the community at large. In addition to acting as a valuable resource for your audience, you create the opportunity to send a trackback link to one or more blogs, connecting with more bloggers AND more readers.

5. Respond with comments to build relationships and traffic
Responding to another blogger’s comment can be just as important as the article post itself. Blogging is about dialogue and the opportunity to interact with your audience. Many posts will not receive any comments, but when they do, you have to be ready to respond. Blogging is a little like having an amphitheatre of people viewing a conversation between two people. While you must focus on the conversation with your commenter, you must also be aware of the rest of the audience. In other words, you should respond to the challenge the commenter presents while at the same time providing greater context, so the entire readership can follow and benefit from your conversation.

6. Track your conversations
In order to keep conversations flowing, you have to stay aware of each discussion in progress. Unfortunately, we are still in the early days of blogging, and many blogs do not include notification technology to let you know where there has been a new post. And even if a blogger receives notification that you have commented on his/her blog, does not mean that you will receive notification when that blogger replies to your comment. If comment email subscription is available, it is wise to subscribe. You may also choose to use tools such as del.icio.us or Cocomment for tracking comments online and subsequent follow up. But, ultimately, you may have to monitor for comments manually to make sure you keep the conversations alive.

7. Don’t be afraid of criticism
Dialogue is also about criticism; so don’t be afraid when others criticize your ideas or actions you have taken on a blog. See it as opportunity to keep the conversation flowing. In the blogosphere, you are more respected when you demonstrate the ability to respond. In addition, a “foil” critiquing your work can often draw more attention to the discussion and increase readership. Furthermore, criticism can be constructive. Feedback related to product flaws and improvements can actually help your product development process.

8. Conduct interviews to generate content and ideas
Interviews are a great way to generate interest and content for the blog. Picking other bloggers to interview is particularly helpful in generating links and traffic. Many bloggers will enjoy the added attention and more than likely link back to your interview post.

9. Promote your blog
When an author writes a book, the writing process is often very much solitary. Once the book is published, however, a writer must reach out to others and promote that book through public readings and strategic marketing. Building a successful blog requires a similar approach. Once your articles are written, you have to promote them by chatting with colleagues in the industry and starting a dialogue. Connect with loyal and thoughtful readers as well as industry authorities. When bloggers take note of your article, it tends to have a viral effect, increasing eyeballs exponentially.

10. Monitor the web for brand names and references
Using RSS feed search engines such as technorati.com and blogpulse.com, monitor for mention of your company and corporate blog posts as well as important developments in your industry

10 Tips for Becoming a Great Corporate Blogger

noreply@blogger.com (jon) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 06:12:24 PDT

10 Tips for Becoming a Great Corporate Blogger

noreply@blogger.com (jon) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 06:07:25 PDT

Unbreakable Linux - Free Linux DVD set from Oracle

noreply@blogger.com (jon) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 06:02:51 PDT

First it was Ubuntu and now it is Oracle's turn. That is right; here is a wonderful chance to get yourself a DVD set of Oracle's Unbreakable Linux. Essentially Unbreakable Linux is Red Hat Enterprise Linux sans the Red Hat trademarks.

Oracle claims Unbreakable Linux delivers enterprise-class support for Linux with premier backports, comprehensive management, cluster software, indemnification, testing and more, all at significantly lower cost.

To order your Free DVD of Oracle Unbreakable Linux with free shipping and all, visit this page and click the "Register Now" button. If this is your first visit to the Oracle website, you will have to create an Oracle account. Next enter your shipping address which is the address to which you would like to receive the DVD set and press "Submit". That is it. Oracle will ship you a brand new DVD set of Unbreakable Linux.

Is it Possible to Earn a Full Time Salary as a Part Time Blogger?

noreply@blogger.com (jon) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 05:35:49 PDT

“Is it possible to earn a full-time salary as a part-time blogger? (eg, if you’re student)”

This question has been voted up quite high in my Q&A sidebar widget so I thought I’d attempt an answer today.

It’s one of those questions with two answers:

Yes…. and…. No

Let’s unpack both (and I’d encourage you to read both as they bring balance to the question).

Yes it is POSSIBLE to earn a full-time salary as a part-time blogger
Part of me wants to simply answer this question with a ‘no’ answer and give a long list of answers why it’s not possible (because to answer ‘yes’ will mean some will accuse me of painting an unrealistic picture of blogging for money). However I have met a number of bloggers who make a good living from blogging as part time bloggers (in writing this I don’t have permission to share their stories so I’ll keep this fairly general).

However in every case there are a few observations I’d make about these bloggers. They usually had all of the following characteristics (or at least a few of them):

1. They worked hard - they might not have put full time hours (40 or so hours a week) into their blogging but they certainly did work quite a few hours and worked hard in those hours. Many of them did work full time on their blogs at certain times (summer holidays etc).

2. They were very good at what they did - they had an exceptional knack of being able to write engaging content, build networks and build community on their blogs.

3. They had an element of ‘luck’ to their story - I am thinking of a couple of bloggers particularly who really found themselves in the right place at the right time when they started their blogs.

4. They were able to draw others in to help - one way to overcome an inability to work full time hours is to draw others into your blog to help shoulder some of the load.

5. They made money indirectly ‘because’ of their blog and not just directly ‘from’ their blog - interestingly a number of the bloggers I’m thinking of have developed products (e-books and courses) of their own that they sell from their blog (and other people’s blogs). This means they are not just building a revenue from advertising but have a secondary source of income.

6. They USED to work full time as a blogger - one blogger that I’m thinking about now works about 20 hours a week blogging and make a very good living from his blog - but only because he used to work full time. ie he built up his blog to a point where it really was earning good income which then enabled him to scale back a little and coast a bit (he also hired someone to help him - see point #4).

No it’s not LIKELY that you’ll make a full-time salary from blogging part time
It is possible to make a full time living from blogging part time - but the sad reality is that the bloggers I’m thinking of are not in the majority.

Most bloggers who do get to a level of earning a full time living from their blogs are working full time hours (or above) on their blogs. And even then many that are working full time hours are not able to make a full time living from blogging (time is just one element of many factors that build a successful blog).

When I’m talking to new bloggers wanting to explore blogging as a way of making money I generally encourage them to see it as something to supplement their existing income.

Yes it is possible to make a full time living from the medium but the reality is that most never get to this point. Sure - have it as a goal, but set yourself smaller goals in terms of your earnings and see it as something that progresses over time as you invest more time into blogging.

If you’d like to see a progression of how this unfolded for me I’d encourage you to read my story of becoming a Pro Blogger. It it you’ll see that I gradually stepped up my time put into blogging - but only as the earnings I was receiving allowed me to.

PS: Are You a Part Time Blogger Earning Full Time Income?
If you’re one of those bloggers that I mention in this post that are able to pull in a full time income from blogging part time I’m sure my readers would love to hear from you and learn from some of your wisdom. Feel free to share your own experiences (either with your URL as an example or anonymously if you’re not wanting to go public) - looking forward to your own lessons.

TypoXP : XML Template for Blogger

noreply@blogger.com (jon) — Fri, 30 May 2008 07:43:01 PDT

When it comes to free blog templates, I tend to yawn. Doesn't matter if it is a template for Blogger or a WordPress theme. They mostly are rehashed base versions and if you seen one ... you seen them all.

Every now and then, however, a template does catch my eye. Not so much the look of it, but the ingenuity I can see beneath it all. Such is the case for Ustadz's WordPress theme knock-off of Sunaryo Hadi's TypoXP 2.0. He has created a truely unique Blogger template that is not only astonishing to view, but has many add-on features that are easy to install.

TypoXP Blogger Add-on Features:

Expandable post summaries
Author Comment Highlight
TypoXP Sidebar Title Icon Set
Label (Tags) Cloud Widget
Archive Calendar Widget
Recent Posts Widget
Recent Comments Widget
Search Widget

Resume Tips for Freshers

noreply@blogger.com (jon) — Fri, 30 May 2008 07:35:25 PDT

Well! there is a famous saying “First Impression Is The Last Impression”

In today’s competitive world the above saying is playing very important role.
As today people are running for jobs in every fields and in all directions, but some of them get success and some are not. Why some are not getting?

Now here is the answer for the above question and it is Resume or Biodata of the person. And this is the first impression of the person for getting and losing the jobs. A good resume is the tool that can get you an invitation to the interview for your dream job. If writing a good resume is part of your preparation for the job hunt.

Don’t forget that your resume is really an index of your abilities.

The very first step is to build your resume in right and professional format.Today 2 main formats are used: Chronological and Functional

To build your resume you can use free resume forms located on the web. This can provide you with directions if you are having trouble building your resume.

There are 2 important things to keep in mind while building resume is proper order and punctuations. Correct punctuation is another consideration for expressing good grammar, and essential for creating clear business communications. A resume with lots of grammatical errors, or one that contains lots of typos drives recruiters crazy. If you can’t proofread your resume yourself, get a friend or a professional do it for you!

Use action and industry oriented words which create a positive impression about you, that you are professional and knowledgeable.

A lot of people think a generalized resume describing everything they have ever done is a great way to show their experience and skills. This is not true. You should only include information that is useful to the job you are applying for.

Latest Seo Tips - Free Seo Tips

noreply@blogger.com (jon) — Fri, 30 May 2008 07:31:32 PDT

One of the most misunderstood files, but yet one of the most powerful on the Web, is the RSS feed sometimes known as the RSS news feed, XML feed or web feed. One form of this special XML file is the podcast, but yet many casual and even hi-tech surfers still do not understand that they are using this exciting technology invisibly every day to read news and follow blog sites.

RSS, standing for Really Simple Syndication, is not new technology. The technology and implementation was created in 1999 by Netscape. RSS is an important technology and one that you are most likely using to get news, information updates, and to follow blogs that you like from a portal page invisibly. RSS files are created in XML or Extensible Markup Language. XML is another programming language used widely on the Web, like HTML, but one that cannot be read in its raw form by a browser. Because it operates invisibly, RSS has not been recognized by mainstream web surfers as the powerhouse that it is, but, that doesn’t mean that developers aren’t using RSS to serve you the content and information that you want most!

Why is This Misunderstood File So Powerful?
RSS, XML feeds or RSS news feeds, as they are commonly known, create the dynamic backbone behind many of the sites that many casual web surfers use every day without even knowing that they are using this exciting technology. If you visit a personalized home page, add content to it, or even subscribe to blog with one click buttons, most likely, you are using the power of RSS news feeds already. Blogs routinely and automatically create these RSS news feeds (sometimes in a format known as Atom) and these special files allow others to auto subscribe to your content and view snippets of your information in real-time from a variety of portal news aggregator websites like My Yahoo, iGoogle, My Live, My AOL, and others.

Podcasts are Another Flavor of the RSS News Feed
Podcasts or RSS news feeds which contain audio file enclosures are just another flavor of this powerful XML file format. It is interesting to note that as of late 2007, 13% of polled Web users had heard of and were routinely downloading and playing podcasts, but fewer than 7% of the polled Web users stated that they were using RSS news feeds on a regular basis. Actually, the figure of users utilizing RSS feeds is probably much greater than 7%, but people are simply not aware that this hidden application is most likely supplying the content and information that they like to review on a daily basis.

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