blogeeze

50 Hot Widgets for your Blog

2008-06-18T05:50:00.000-07:00

Widgets http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widget are a handy, easy and simple way to add some flare to your blog. Whether you’d like to display the number of currently online visitors to your site or simply the weather report for Los Angeles, you can do it with widgets. We’ve assembled a list of 50 useful or simply cool widgets for your pleasure. And remember, the first rule of widgetizing your blog is - don’t overdo it! This post is courtesy of Mashable...you'll want to check them out and sign up for their RSS Feed...they offer a ton of great info.

MyBlogLog’s Recent Readers - this widget can easily be called a hit amongst blog owners; its popularity even managed to convince Yahoo into buying MyBlogLog. The widget lets you see the avatars of recent visitors to your blog, provided they’re also members of MyBlogLog.

Mashable - get the latest social networking news from this very site.

Flickr Flash Photo Stream Badge - display images from your Flickr profile with a handy Flash photo stream.

Preview Anywhere - see a live preview of outgoing links in a small popup which activates on mouseover. Some find this annoying, while others might find it useful.

Twitter Badge - if your life is so interesting that everyone must know what you’re up to all the time, then a Twitter badge is the ideal counterpart to your blog. It’ll proudly displays your recent tweets.

Digg News - display the latest Digg links on your blog. Themeable and fully customizable.

FEEDJIT - real time traffic data directly in your blog’s sidebar.

LineBuzz - inline comments for your blog. Very handy for blogs with frequent lively discussions.

Flixn - display a stream directly from your webcam, so your blog visitors can always see what you’re up to.

3Jam - lets your visitors send messages to your mobile phone, without them knowing your phone number.

Jaxtr - with Jaxtr, your visitors can actually call you to your mobile phone; again, your number stays private.

LinkedInABox - show off your LinkedIn profile. Perfect for personal blogs.

Box Widget - enable visitors to use box.net’s online storage directly on your web site.

Price of gas - displaying gas prices on your blog might seem unnecessary to some, but it’s cool if you have a traffic/travel related blog.

iBegin Weather Widget - Display weather information in your sidebar. Just like with Price of Gas, works great with travel-related blogs.

ClockLink - display time in various time zones with these nifty Flash clocks.

Film Loops - display the latest loops from your FilmLoops account.

Daily Painters - display paintings from famous painters on your blog.

WhoLinked - show your visitors which sites have recently linked to your web site. Works with all major blog platforms.

Criteo AutoRoll - displays links to blogs similar to your blog.

Bitty Browser - embed a cute, fully functional mini web browser to your blog.

Leafletter - create a mini website and embed it into your blog.

WikiSeek - search Wikipedia with this simple widget.

FeedCount - show off the number of visitors to your blog with this handy little button.

Technorati Link Count - display the number of links your website has from one of the biggest blog authorities - Technorati.

MyPageRank - another good way to show how “big” your blog is is to show off your Google PageRank.

CheckPageRank - in addition to showing your PageRank, this widget also shows your Alexa ranking.

BlinkxIt - embed a link to related videos directly into your website.

Skype button - display your Skype online/offline status on your blog.

RockYou Horoscope - not something I would personally use, but some people are into horoscope. Hell, most people are into horoscope. Anyway, this widget shows horoscope (doh!) and does it in a nicely designed colorful box.

del.icio.us Tagometer - display how many times have del.icio.us users saved your page.

del.icio.us Linkrolls - this badge shows your latest bookmarks from del.icio.us.

Timelines - need to create a timeline? Seek no further. This widget makes it really easy.

PollDaddy - PollDaddy lets you create beautiful polls in no time, and display them at your blog.

Vizu - another poll-making widget, compatible with all major blog platforms.

AnswerTips - display definitions from Answers.com for various terms on your blog. The definitions are shown in bubbles which are activated on doubleclick.

AnswerBoxes - give your visitors a chance to enter a term themselves, and get a definition from Answers.com

Now Playing - if you got to share your current playlist contents with the world, Sigamp will do the trick. Works with most popular music players, including Foobar, Winamp, iTunes and others.

BuzzBoost - display headlines from your RSS feed on any website.

LibraryThing - show off the latest books you’ve been reading.

Plaxo Address Book - let your most faithful visitors access their address books direclty from your site.

AuctionAds - a widget that displays auctioned items on eBay, and gives you a percentage of the price paid when sometimes buys an item.

aStore - similar to AuctionAds, only for Amazon. Create a mini-store on your site and receive profit when someone buys an item through your store.

Plazes - show your current location on a Plazes map.

Stockalicious - track your portfolio with this widget, and share it with others. Let everyone know how much money you’ve lost.

Yahoo! For Good - create a charity badge and ask for donations for a worthy cause.

Giftspace - your friends never know what to buy you for birthday? Let them know what you really want with this nifty widget.

MixMap - see where are the visitors to your MySpace profile from on a map.

Google Map Widget - display a searchable Google Map on your website.

Google Video Search - add a video search form and selected videos to your web site.

Odeo player - display an Odeo player for and podcast right there in your sidebar.

Find a Product, Create a Blog, Make Money....REPEAT!

2008-06-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

The next time that you have an afternoon to spare, go ahead and start a blog and make some money!

Here's how we do it.

First, find a product to sell. At this stage of the game, it is probably best to start out with an affiliate product. So, if you haven't done so already, go get signed up with the major players..
Commission Junction, Linkshare, ShareaSale, and the new kid on the block, PepperJam Network. There are others, but these are our favorites.

Now, find a product that you feel will create interest. Stay clear of the more popular items, as these will have too much competition. Instead, find a micro-niche within a specific category.
For example, lets say you want to sell baby products. You are better off finding a specific niche within the category"baby products", such as "baby carriers" or "baby blankets".

Now, start a blog about "baby carriers", or "baby blankets". Use a free blogging platform, such as Blogger or Wordpress.com. We like Blogger because you can add Google Adsense to it, to create additional income. With Wordpress.com, you cannot. Another platform we have used and really like is Typepad. They charge a minimal fee for unlimited blogs.

Be sure to use the phrase of the product you are blogging about in the title, such as "Barneys Baby Blankets" (I sure hope none of you run away with this idea :>) )
And remember to use your keywords frequently throughout your posting.
Add the link to your baby blanket affiliate, and there you have it! Your first niche blog.

See how easy that was? So easy in fact, we now want you to go ahead and repeat it...over and over and over! Find a new product, blog about it, and do it again.
We'll talk about how to promote your blog and get traffic to it in the next few posts. Good luck!

It's Phenomenal! It's Flock!

2008-06-08T11:26:00.000-07:00

Well, I had just barely gotten use to the idea that Internet Explorer was not my only option for browsing, and was still adapting to the great Firefox Mozilla, when the announcement came in about Flock.
This is a truly advanced browser, and really in tune with todays world and web.

It supports 19 different services, such as Facebook, Digg, Fickr, Twitter, YouTube, Blogger, Wordpress, Gmail, Aol Mail...more! Just log in to any of these services that you use and Flock will automatically activate these services within its features.

Flock makes it incredibly easy to share things on the web. Simply drag and drop photos, text, or links to friends or associates in your sidebar, to blogs or even email. Be immediately informed when your contacts or favorite blogs make any udpates. The more you discover the Flock browser, the more you are going to think this is way cool.

"Internet users spend a lot of time going from one site to the next, keeping
up with a variety of friends and interests. Flock pulls all of your favorite
people, places and content together in a convenient view and delivers a more
personal experience of the web, where its users are more easily connected to
what's important to them."

Don't Beep your Horn at this Traffic Jam!

2008-06-07T18:15:00.000-07:00

Information is racing at us from all directions at a crazy pace...how can we keep up with it all??

Thankfully we discovered the new beta Traffic Jam...brought to us by the folks at Blog Rush! TrafficJam.com was created to filter this "traffic jam" of information for you.

Just type in the subject you want to read about, and voila!...thousands of blogs appear like magic.
It will save you hours of your time and you will now have access to tons information from across the internet that you would never be able to discover on your own.

"TrafficJam.com uses data from the BlogRush Network. BlogRush is a content syndication widget that's currently used by thousands of blogs (and more everyday) from all over the Web.TrafficJam.com uses technology to analyze the click-through rates of millions of blog post titles across the BlogRush Network, along with other factors such as time spent on a particular blog entry's page, and attempts to estimate the 'popularity' and 'quality' of certain posts based on similar data from other blog posts of the same topic."

Complete with screenshots and exerpts, you can quickly skim through and click through to those that interest you. TrafficJam makes it easy by suggesting categories, or you can see the top 20 blog posts from all categories.

The good news is you can submit your own blog for inclusion on Blog Rush, which will automatically get you in the results of TrafficJam. Sign up here.

Get Challenged! The 30 Day Challenge

2008-06-06T18:34:00.000-07:00

The 30 Day Challenge Pre-Launch Begins!

For those newbie bloggers interested in learning how to make money blogging, this will be a perfect opportunity.
The 30 Day Challenge began its pre-launch June 1st, and will officially start on August 1, 2008.

So what is the 30 Day Challenge?

The 30 Day Challenge will teach newbies about Internet Marketing, so they can begin an online business and begin to make money. The actual training class will begin August 1st, but Pre-Season will cover all of the tools that will be used throughout the course. Anything the instructors feel you should know prior to the start of the class, they'll cover during the pre-launch period. This way everyone will be starting on the same level.

You can grab the first pre-lesson which is all about the new Flock Browser here... everyone is raving about it!

"In a nutshell... The Thirty Day Challenge is about making your first $10 online. For a full 30 days we are going to be showing you exactly how to start your own Internet business and generate your first income online without spending a dime. That's right, this is going to cost zip, diddly, nothing, nada, ziltch. The entire training program is free, and you won't have to spend a thing to get your business started and begin making money." Ed Dale and Dan Raine

From what I understand, this is a great course for all of our readers who want to make money blogging, not to be missed. I have not taken it any of the past years, but will surely be involved this year, and hope to be able to share some of the great things covered in the course. We encourage you to sign up right away...this is an absolutely FREE course... why wouldn't you take advantage?
Watch the video and sign up here!

PS...if you sign up, you can start RIGHT AWAY and take last years challenge..check it out.

125 Social Bookmarking Sites

2008-06-06T04:27:00.000-07:00

34Things - To do List, Activity Lists [PR 8]
Aboogy
AllMyFavorites - [PR 4]
Article Tag - Social bookmarking service. [PR4]
aworldofhelp - [PR4]
Backflip - General [PR 6]
beanrocket - general [PR 6]
Bookkit - [PR4]
Bookmark Manager - [PR5]
BookmarkSync -[PR5]
BibSonomy - [PR1]
blabb.com
Blauer Bote Bookmarks / link - Bookmark manager for German & English [PR 5]
BlinkBits - [PR 4]
BlinkList - [PR6]
BlogHop - [PR7]
BlogLot - [PR 2]
BlogMarks.net - [PR 6]
BlogMemes.net - [Network also has French, Spanish and Portuguese version - BlogMemes.info] [PR5]
BlogLines.com - [PR 8]
BlogPulse - [PR7]
Blue.us - [PR4]
BookmarkTracker - [PR 5]
browsr - [PR5]
BuddyMarks.com - [PR6]
butterfly - [PR 4]
Chipmark.com - [PR 5]
clipclip - [PR4]
clipfire - [PR 6]
Clipmarks - [PR4]
commontimes - [PR6]
Connectedy - Converts browser bookmarks into social categories. [PR5]
Connotea - Social bookmarking for the scientific community. [PR7]
Complore (Research Collaboration Tool for Researchers)
del.icio.us - [PR 8]
de.lirio.us - [PR 6]
Digg - Technology site combining social bookmarking, blogging, RSS, and non-hierarchical editorial control. [PR7]
diigo - [PR6]
dinnerbuzz - for guide to restaurants, bars, and coffee shops anywhere in the world. [PR5]
Dog Ear - [PR3]
Dohat.com [P33]
Dutch Social Bookmarking site - This is the (currently only) Social Bookmarking site for the Netherlands. [PR3]
Fark - [PR8]
Favoor (Available in English and German) [PR3]
FeedMeLinks [PR4 /PR3]
Feedmarker - RSS and ATOM aggregator & bookmarks manager. [PR5]
Filangy [PR5]
Flikr - social bookmarks for photos [PR8]
Furl - this is similar to Similar to del.icio.us [PR8]
GetBoo - [PR1]
Gibeo - [PR6]
GiveALink - bookmarks for academic research [PR4]
GoKoDo MyBookmarks [PR4 - MAIN SITE]
GoobToob - Video clips, vote your favorite videos to the top, and submit new video clips.
Google Notebook
H2O Playlist - [PR6]
Hotlist Anywhere - [PR5]
Hot Links - [PR6]
Hyperlinkomatic - [PR5]
i89.us - [PR 3]
IceRocket - [PR7]
IndiaGram (Also has a voting system like Digg.com) [PR4]
Indiamarks (Bookmarking site dedicated to Indian community) [PR2]
Jots [PR6]
Kaboodle - [PR6]
Kinja - Blog bookmarking & aggregation service [PR 7]
leze.de and - German Internet Bookmarking Service [PR3]
Lilisto -[PR3]
linkaGoGo - [PR7]
linkfilter - [PR6]
linkroll - - [PR6]
LibraryThing - for books - [PR7]
Linux Bookmarks (LQ) - Bookmark, tag, annotate and share links to Open Source and Linux related sites - - [PR7]
ListMixer - [PR6]
Listible - [PR2]
Lookmarks (beta) - search & share bookmarks - [PR5]
Ma.gnolia - [PR5]
Maple - [PR6]
Mecanbe - - [PR 6]
memestreams - [PR 5]
Millions Of Games - casual games, tagged, rated and bookmarked by hundreds of users daily - [PR 5]
MotorKen - [PR 5]
MyProgs - Social bookmarking for the programs that you personally use, etc. - [PR 6]
Netvouz - [PR 6]
Network Menus - - [PR 4]
Newsvine - [PR 7]
NowPublic - [PR 6]
O Y A X - bookmarking service with groups - [PR 4]
PeerMark - [PR 4]
popurls.com
RawSugar - [PR 6]
Reader² - [PR 6]
Reddit - [PR 7]
Rojo - [PR 7]
Rollyo - [PR 6]
Rrove.com - social bookmark service for locations. - [PR 5]
Save Your Links - [PR 5]
Scuttle.org - [PR 6]
Scuttle - Download the script and start a bookmarking service. Web-based social bookmarking system. Allows multiple users to store, share and tag their favourite links online.
Segnalo - Italian Social Bookmarking - [PR 5]
Shadows - [PR 7]
Shoppersbase (Bookmarking website for online shoppers)
Shoutwire - [PR 5]
Simpy - offers Social bookmarking with tagging & full-text searching. - [PR 6]
SiteJot - [PR 5]
sitetagger - [PR 2]
Slashdot - [PR 9]
Smarking - [PR 5]
Spurl - stores copies of the pages saved. - [PR 6]
Squidoo - General topics [PR 5]
Start Aid - [PR 5]
Start - General by Microsoft [PR 7]
StumbleUpon
Social Bookmarking (Provides users with a personal social bookmarking sub-domain)
Sync2It’s BookmarkSync - [PR 5]
Tab Marks - [PR 5]
taghop - [PR 4]
Tagsy - [PR 3]
TagTooga.com - [PR 5- main site]
TailRank - [PR 6]
Textnotes.de - [PR 4]
Technorati - [PR 8]
Tutorialism - Bookmarking website for tutorials
uLinkx - Social Video/Music Bookmarking
unalog - open source book marking software - [PR 5]
URLBlaze - url sharing tool. - [PR 3]
URLex - bookmarking & RSS feeds - [PR 4]
Wazima - [PR 5]
Web Feeds - [PR 5]
Wink - General social bookmarking + Search engine [PR 6]
Wiklink - Tool for use to synchronize bookmarks with your browser.
Wists - Shopping links, Visual bookmarks, wishlists and also photoblogs. [PR7]
World Wide Wisdom - [PR 5]
wURLdBook - [PR 5]
Yahoo! My Web - General bookmarking + sepcialty feeds + Available in many languages [PR 7]
Yoono - [PR 6]
Youtube - [PR 6]
Yummy! Social PDF Library - Bookmark and find PDFs and print them too! - [PR 5]
Zaadz - [PR 6]

Thanks to Aresenal Marketing for this great list....

Content for your Blog

2008-06-05T17:09:00.000-07:00

So, where do find content for your blog? Anywhere and everywhere!

Read and stay updated with blogs that share your same niche and be sure to sign up for their feeds. Use Google Blog Searchor BlogPulse to locate brand new posts on your related subject. If your readers are interested in how to "Make Money Blogging" , be sure you are providing them with useful information on that subject. Make yourself an expert on the subject, learn as much as you can, and be willing to share that information via frequent posts that will keep your readers clamoring for more. I visit certain blogs daily, and it is something I look forward to. Oh, what will they share with me today that will help me learn and improve?

Magazines and article directories have a wealth of information that you can review and rewrite. We like MagPortal to find good quality articles from a large variety of sources. Other good article sources can be found here at SitePro News Article Resource Directory.

Social bookmarking sites are becoming increasingly popular and can be a valuable source of popular topics. Visit some of the more poular sites to see whats being recommended by users. See our post listing 125 social bookmarking sites.

What about your own expertise? Write about what you know about, and write and post frequently. Keep your content interesting and engaging. Provide information that is fresh and sought after. There is absolutely nothing that search engines love more than good quality, frequent blog content. One of the finest blogs we have discovered on the subject of finding blog content is Blogging Tips - Hundreds of Resources for Finding Content for Your Blog. You should alos check out "Tips on Writing Content for your Blog"

Keep the blog content coming, bloggers!

Ping, Ping, Ping-O-Matic!

2008-06-05T16:49:00.000-07:00

As we add new tools and techniques to drive traffic to your blog and allow you to make money blogging, we hope that you will experiment and share your results with us!

One tool we find effective in bringing new traffic is Ping-O-Matic. This free service will update different search engines, such as Tecnorati and FeedBurner, and inform them that your blog has updated.
Try using this quick and easy tool each and every time you post to your blog.

Drive Traffic to your Blog with Google Adwords

2008-06-05T16:23:00.000-07:00

If you're trying to make money blogging(and who isn't) then you're probably already familiar with the various pay-per-click programs out there. Google AdSense is the most popular, but have you considered Google AdWords?

One of the easiest, but certainly most costly, ways to drive traffic in order to make money blogging is Google AdWords, which are the ads that other people have placed on their sites who are in the Google AdSense program.

With Google AdWords, you create an advertisement of a headline and two lines of text, plus your URL, and you input as many keywords as possible. Whenever anyone does a search on those keywords, your ad will come up next to relevant content. Interested parties click on those ads and are driven to your blog or site, where they'll hopefully buy whatever you're selling! Voila! you are now making money blogging!

The downfall with Google AdWords and similar programs is that each time someone clicks on you're ad, you are charged an agreeded upon sum - from a penny up to $5 or more! The more you agree to pay per click, the higher up in the results you will appear. Phew...although effective, it can get expensive. And only one out of every hundred people that are driven to your site will typically buy anything. You will need to monitor it closely to see if it is paying off for you.

So if there's a way to use the Google Adwords program and not have to pay for any keywords clicked on - legally - you might want to look into this program. (We have NOT reviewed this yet, so would appreciate any comments from users that have tried it!) Check out Get Google Ads Free!