Mr Luthfi Personal Blog

5 Blogging Secrets For A Successful Blog

2010-03-18T05:22:00.001-07:00

Here are 5 Blogging Secrets For A Successful Blog, a few tips that I have learnt over the past few months that I been blogging. I think these steps are important for maintaining and keeping the momentum going new blogs. If I say they’re secrets, you’ll treasure them more, but the thing is, I share this with you daily. I do it right in front of you. But just this once, I’ll slow it down, and walk through it ll. Fair?

1. Drafts.
Make drafts of your future posts, collect data and information related to the post and keep working on them. One of the reasons most blogs fail or lose an audience is that they fail to to post consistently. Having a unch drafts helps you when you run out of ideas and keeps you organized.

2. Become A Feed Ninja.
Read more post less. While you might not be Scoble and have the ability to read 600+ RSS feeds in a few hours, try to keep track of news around your niche and interests, blogs catch up on news faster than news sites. Reading will also help to give you more ideas for your next post. Practice makes you perfect.

3. Engage Users And Build Relationships
I have subscribed to every reader who has left a meaningful comment on my blog this helps me get to know my readers better and what they expect from my blog. Use Services like cocomments etc to keep track of comments.

4. Be Available And Accessible.
One of the key things of building relationships is to be easily accessible. I have added most of my regular reader on Gtalk and chat with some of the frequently (you can add me ajacob[at]clazh.com). I’ve helped some of them out when they ask me for help or advice.

5. Break News, Write Pillar Posts.
If you follow point 1 and 2 you’ll realize there are two types of post you can do. Break news or write Pillar post. Breaking news is hard you’ll need to watch your Rss feeds like a hawk, it has a few advantages, if its important news it will get picked up easily by other blogger. Writing Pillar post will make your article sticky, most of the traffic that I get are from my pillar posts.

What Are Pillar Posts? Source DailyBlogTips

Characteristics of pillar articles:

they are longer posts
usually above 750 words
they offer a clear value to the reader
their content is timeless
their content is original and unique
they outline the expertise of the writer around a specific topic
they attract links from other bloggers

Controversy Concerning "Servicing" of Structured Settlement Payments

2010-03-09T15:14:00.001-08:00

Servicing of structured settlement payments occurs when a structured settlement payee sells only a portion of their future structured settlement payment rights, yet concurrent with the transfer, the factoring company also enters into an agreement to "service" the structured settlement payments that have not been sold. In "servicing" practice, one check is made payable to the factoring company instead of one to the factoring company and one to the payee. The factoring company receives the entire structured settlement payment, when due from the annuity issuer, takes what is owed to it and "passes through" the balance to the payee. This involves issuing a separate check to the payee issued off the factoring company account.

Further it has been alleged that annuity issuers will not address questions of payees whose payments are subject to a servicing agreement. Some factoring industry commentators suggest the reason for this phenomenon is that some structured annuity issuers will not "split" annuity payments (i.e. make payments to more than one place)ostensibly to save administrative cost. Others say that the practice is driven by the factoring companies simply as a means to secure new business. Several industry commentators have expressed concerns questioned whether such servicing agreements are in the structured settlement payee's "best interest".

What they say needs to be addressed is what effect the bankruptcy of a factoring company "servicing company" would have on the payee, with respect to the payments being serviced. Until this issue is decided, payees who are considering partial structured settlement transfers should be wary about participating in "servicing agreements". One possible solution has been suggested-that there be a requirement that servicing companies post a bond.

Earn Money Just For Commenting

2010-03-09T13:40:00.001-08:00

Earn money an Get payd more just for commenting. This is not somethings new for some people but even so it would not hurt if I tell that there are another ways to earn money that is possible for most people who not really know, this way can be used as an alternative way to earn additional money and spent a little time just for commenting. Actually not just a comment task we can get the benefits but there are also other forms of task that we can run, and of course these tasks is calculated based on credit, for 1 credit is equals $ 0.01, or 100 credit is equal $1. And of course every task has a credit score that can range from 1,10,50,100,150 credits.

To cash your money you need or have collected at least 2000 credits or equal to $ 20.

Here are all the ways you can currently earn IMReportCard.com Credits …

Rate a Review or another users’ comment 1 Credit
Grade a Product, Service, Person or Biz-Opp 10 Credits
Add your own comment to any review 50/100/150 Credits + *Bonus*
Suggest a new product, service, etc. for review 100 Credits
Refer another user to IM Report Card Whatever THEY earn!

What You Need To Get Started :

USA Account to get approved and if you are come from a fraudulent country you will be reject, so that to get approve use FREE USA VPN service before register.
Register here at IMReportCard.com (ref)
Once you get approve, set your profil page.
Read and understand http://www.imreportcard.com/faqs.cgi
English And Grammatical when Commenting
Paypal to cash your money

How much you can earn through IMReportCard.com :

Well it will depend on your skills in making comment (read the rule how to post a comment), because only by commenting you can earn huge credits between 50/100/150 or suggest some sites to review. It usually take about 1 day for your comment to get approve or reject but it also can be fast. Make sure your comment is over than 100 words (follow the rule) and dont get your comment rejected by many times or your account will be deleted.

let us assume that we can make 5 comment every day and each comments is approved and give about 50 credits each, then 5 * 0.50 = $ 2.5 per day, and if it was done for 30 days then $ 2.5 * 30 = $ 75.

It is a simple calculation, and every one of us can produce different results, depending on the comments we have made and credits given for our comments. and if you can make 10 to 20 comments a day and all of them accepted, then you can calculate yourself how much money you earn.

So, if you think this is worth to try, than register now……, this is worth to find a capital for your online business somethings like buying hosting or domain name or anyother you like.

Installing Widgets on Your Blogger blog

2010-02-17T12:57:00.000-08:00

Installing Widgets on Your Blogger blog

Once you start looking at other blogs (and you should be to learn how to format your own), you’ll notice cool-looking widgets that you may want to install on your Blogger blog. How the heck would I install something like that? you may be thinking. It’s very, very easy. You see, rather than having to actually go into the template and fiddle with HTML, Blogger allows you to add a number of items to your blog–and takes the guess-work out of it for you.

Usually, widgets will have an install code. Click on a desired widget to visit the site to get your own and look for a snippet of code. Run your mouse over the code to select it or right-click and hit “Select All” then press “Copy.” Once the code is highlighted, return to your blog and go to Layout.
How to Install Widgets

At Navbar, click on “Add a Gadget.”
Scroll down until you come to HTML/JavaScript
Select that and paste the code into the box
You can choose a title for the top part of the box
Press “Save” and you are done!

Check out your blog to see your new widget, proudly showing itself off in your blog’s sidebar!
Installing a widget on your Blogger blog is easy, thanks to the handy HTML button.

Take a deep breath and reward yourself by going out for some pizza. You are joining the ranks of dedicated, pizza-loving bloggers.

Once you get on to the process, installing widgets can be one of the neatest aspects of blogging

Duplicate Meta Description and Titles Issues In Blogger

2010-02-16T02:11:00.000-08:00

While reading the celebrating post at FalconHive, I realised an important point has been overlooked by me. Although I have written the articles on importance of Meta tags, and how to add meta tags to specific pages, but the solution to a serious error which is very common in almost all blogger blogs has remained un-answered till now in this blog.
The errors or issues in Blogger/BlogSpot blogs is the duplication of meta description tags and page titles.

Before I tell you the reason behind these errors, let's see what are the consequences of these errors: Due to any of these issues, search engines like Google and Yahoo may consider your blog as filled with duplicate content and titles, which can confuse their algorithm, and thus may lead to penalization of your blog.

Now the reasons that your blog has these errors:
1. In Blogger, although you can add meta tags to the template easily, but these tags are then used for the entire blog (all the posts). So the description tag, which is only meant for the main/home page gets copied and is displayed for all the pages. Now Google assumes that all your pages are having the same content, which is a serious offense in Search Engine Language !

2. The second issue of duplicate titles arises because Google indexes blog posts and comments separately, and while indexing comments, it again indexes the complete posts. Now this is where a serious problem of duplication of both content and titles takes place.

So you must remove these errors to make a successful and Search Engine Optimized blog.

Finally the solution to the problems:

1. First of all, in the template (Blogger-> dashboard -> Layout -> Edit HTML) find (CTRL+F) the code for meta description tag, something like this:

<meta content="GENERAL_DESCRIPTION_HERE" name="description"/>

Now put that tag in an "if" condition, so that it will be displayed ONLY in the HOME PAGE:

<b:if cond="'data:blog.url"></b:if></div><meta content="GENERAL_DESCRIPTION_HERE" name="description"></b:if>

Now save the template.

2. For the second issue (duplicate titles); in the same page (Layout -> Edit HTML), click on "Expand Widget Templates".
Then find (CTRL+F) this code:

<a expr:href='data:comment.url' title='comment permalink'>
<data:comment.timestamp/>
</a>

Replace the entire code with this new code:

<b:if cond='data:post.commentPagingRequired'>

<a expr:href='data:comment.url' title='comment permalink'> <data.comment.timestamp/> </a>

<b:else/>

<a expr:href='data:blog.url + "#" + data:comment.anchorName' title='comment permalink'> <data:comment.timestamp/> </a>

</b:if>

That's it. Now within a week or 2 weeks, you may see the difference and improvement brought to your blog by this method !
NOTE: For my own blog it took around 10-15 days to get these errors removed from Google.

To see the changes, you should have an account in Google's Webmaster Tools. Once you log in to your account you can see the errors at Diagnostics -> Content Analysis.

Credits for the 2nd hack: Cranked.Me

**UPDATE: This screenshot will better explain you, how Google considers the same page as two different pages with same title and content, just because it indexes comments separately:

**UPDATE: Thanks to this hack, now in my own blog (mr-luthfi.blogspot.com ) the number of duplicate meta tags and titles came down from around "250 and 80" to "7 and 28" within 20 days. Now Google is more frequently visiting this blog due to less (the so called) duplicate content :)

How to Change Blogger Icon Into Yours

2010-02-16T01:00:00.000-08:00

How to Change Blogger Icon Into Yours. Most bloggers (Blogspot users) are eager to uniquely customize the appearance of their blogs, and one of the small but significant customizations is changing the icon / favicon. This article will explain about how to change your blog icon, from the default Blogger icon to your own custom icon. I have used this method myself so I am sure it will work for you as well. Would you like to know more?

Recently, I had changed my tab icon of my blogger site. It used to be a common blogger icon which is an orange rectangle with the white letter B inside it. I changed it into my custom made icon of a sky blue rectangle with vertical I and Y (my initials), which also looks like a winking smiley. If you are interested in doing the same, here are the steps to do it:

1. Prepare an image

, can be JPG or PNG format. I suggest PNG format because its size will be smaller by a 4:1 ratio. It means that a 10 Kb JPG image will be a 2.5 Kb in PNG format. Also make sure the size is small like 20 x 20 pixels or less, so the file will be smaller in size and won't make your blog loads slower.

If it's difficult for you to edit a small image, you can make a bigger one first, like 200 x 200 pixels or more, and after finish, you can skew it smaller. Microsoft Paint can do it for you easily.

2. Upload the image

to an image hosting service, like the free PhotoBucket. Then, obtain the direct link to your image for the next step. You can use another image hosting service if you like, just remember to get the direct link.

3. Add this bold tags to your template. To access it, click "edit html"in "layout" section. Put them in head section, between "title" tag and "b:skin" tag. If you face difficulties in finding the tag, just use the find tool in your browser. In Mozilla Firefox, the shortcut is ctrl+f. If you use another browsers, apply with adaptation.

<title><data:blog.pagetitle>
<link href='
"color: rgb(255,0,0)">put the direct URL of your image here
' rel='shortcut icon' type='image/vnd.microsoft.icon'/>
<b:skin>

Save and done! Visit your blog, open a few tab, and you should see your new icon there. It is very simple, so feel free to try it. Any question?

30 Blogging Secrets to Power Your Community

2010-02-14T21:50:00.000-08:00

Do you like learning about magic tricks? To me, the best magicians are the ones who share what they know. Penn and Teller are like that. They love deconstructing tricks in front of you? So, do you want to learn some blogging secrets from me? If I say they’re secrets, you’ll treasure them more, but the thing is, I share this with you daily. I do it right in front of you. But just this once, I’ll slow it down, and walk through it all. Fair?

Starter Moves

An intriguing title goes a long way towards getting people to the blog. Failing that, posts with numbers seem to work. Especially weird or odd numbers. 27 is odd.
A picture per blog post has been my trick for a while. It draws your eye, whether or not you want it to. We’re wired for it. I use Flickr Creative Commons photos to do that. (Make sure you give them adequate credit. I show that in this post, too.)
Did you ever notice most of my posts open by asking a question? That’s a secret. When I do that, you stop and think about the question. But more importantly, it shifts your mind to the “what’s in it for me” sphere that you started reading from in the first place. Make sense?
Break things up visually. Notice that I have an H3 tag (html speak) title repeating the top title, and that I’m using a list to give your eye some natural “chunking.” Go back and read cafe-shaped conversations for an example.
Oh, maybe I should’ve started the post by saying that it helps if you write something useful for people. People want posts they can use to improve themselves or their business.
Brevity rules. I mention this a lot. People just don’t read long posts (usually). There are exceptions. I read every word Ann Handley writes, and often wish for more.
Write “unfinished” posts. Having ways that others can add to a post or improve on it invites participation. This might just mean asking for ideas or getting a sense of what others’ experiences are.
Mix up the length of your posts, so that people can read varied length articles, like magazines and newspapers do.
Consider an editorial calendar, where you write down which TYPE of blog posts you’ve written lately, and which you intend to write. This helps you from doing recurring posts, and gives some variety to what you’re writing.

Technical Stuff

A nice clean blogging theme goes a long way. I’m a huge fan of Thesis for WordPress (so much so that I became an affiliate for it).
Make it easy for people to subscribe to your post. Most people stop at putting a big orange RSS button up in the corner of their blog. Check out my sidebar. Check out the Financial Aid Podcast. Look how many ways we show people how to stay connected to the community. That’s not by accident.
I’ve said it before. Claim your blog in Technorati. You don’t have to like Technorati. You don’t have to think it works well. But it triggers mechanisms you need.
Consider changing your permalinks structure. (In WordPress, this is in Settings/Permalinks. Where is it in MT or Blogger?) I learned this from Chris Pearson. Change it to custom and put /%postname%/. If you click on any post including this one, you’ll see it all written out in plain English without extra info. (This is a preference).
If you worry that a post might get “lifted,” or if you encourage people to repost your work with attribution (which I encourage), include a few links in the original post that will politely show people where the content came from. I learned this from Christopher S. Penn.
Consider every plugin and widget. Do they improve your blog or slow it down? Do they help you blog smarter?
Learn a little more HTML, just a bit. Learn how to make links, how to add photos, how to bold and italicize things, and that. If you’re stuck, Google or “view source” on blogs that do what you want to accomplish. (For example, I had to learn how to stop and start a numbered list with ol start=”10? to write this.)
Don’t force people to register for an account to comment on the blog. Lots of people won’t. (Your mileage may vary, but corporations try this all the time because they’re worried about someone leaving a “your company sucks” comment on the blog. It doesn’t fix that. It slows down real discourse.)
Technology should serve your community and your content, not just be there. Consider every technological change with that lens.

The Bonus Round

Share your posts politely via social platforms. In Twitter, I usually ask a question, and provide a link to the blog post to see what people think. I don’t “blurt” the blog posts automatically. Not every post is worth Twitter.
Facebook has tools like Simplaris Blogcast that integrate your blog into Facebook. So does LinkedIn. This falls into my outposts strategy.
Link out to other blogs often.
Comment on other blogs often. Thoughtfully. Adding thoughtful comments to other people’s posts builds friendships. I was a passionate commenter on Copyblogger back when I had 10 subscribers on my blog. Brian was still really nice to me.
Remember to comment in your own comments section. Conversations with your readers turn them from readers into a community.
Showcase your community. I do this with my Rockstars page (which needs updating) and by taking the occasional guest post.
Be consistent. You don’t have to blog daily, but if you blog once a week, get at least a post a week. Need blog topics?
Repoint to the old stuff occasionally. It’s often still useful to new community members.
Keep giving. When you can’t think of what else to give, give some more. Being helpful is the #1 thing you can do for your community. Share your secrets. You can’t execute them all anyhow.

Give the reader a give such as free ebook in pdf or something. Everyone love presents.
Blog walking (and give a comments) is absoletely needed to build a nice relationship in blogging.
Encourage yourself : there is no opportunity to success when you're not confident to blogging. Many people are afail in almost everything when they hesitating for what they do. Just do it

Need more? I have a collection of my best advice about blogging.

Your Ideas

What would you add to the list? Which blogging secrets have helped you? Are there any questions my thoughts gave you that I didn’t adequately answer? Let’s talk about it more.

(Oh, and that’s a secret, too).

5 Blogging Secrets For A Successful Blog

2010-02-14T21:43:00.000-08:00

1. Drafts.

Make drafts of your future posts, collect data and information related to the post and keep working on them. One of the reasons most blogs fail or lose an audience is that they fail to to post consistently. Having a bunch drafts helps you when you run out of ideas and keeps you organized.

2. Become A Feed Ninja.

Read more post less. While you might not be Scoble and have the ability to read 600+ RSS feeds in a few hours, try to keep track of news around your niche and interests, blogs catch up on news faster than news sites. Reading will also help to give you more ideas for your next post. Practice makes you perfect.

3. Engage Users And Build Relationships

I have subscribed to every reader who has left a meaningful comment on my blog this helps me get to know my readers better and what they expect from my blog. Use Services like cocomments etc to keep track of comments.

4. Be Available And Accessible.

One of the key things of building relationships is to be easily accessible. I have added most of my regular reader on Gtalk and chat with some of the frequently (you can add me ajacob[at]clazh.com). I’ve helped some of them out when they ask me for help or advice.

5. Break News, Write Pillar Posts.

If you follow point 1 and 2 you’ll realize there are two types of post you can do. Break news or write Pillar post. Breaking news is hard you’ll need to watch your Rss feeds like a hawk, it has a few advantages, if its important news it will get picked up easily by other blogger. Writing Pillar post will make your article sticky, most of the traffic that I get are from my pillar posts.

What Are Pillar Posts? Source DailyBlogTips

Characteristics of pillar articles:

they are longer posts
usually above 750 words
they offer a clear value to the reader
their content is timeless
their content is original and unique
they outline the expertise of the writer around a specific topic
they attract links from other bloggers

A Month to Building a Better Blog

2010-02-14T21:37:00.000-08:00

This page is for the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog project that I ran in 2007. You can get a much more updated version of this challenge which I ran in 2009 here.

This is the central page of the 31 Days to Building a Better Blog Project that I’m running here at ProBlogger.

What is the 31 Day Project About?

To put it most simply – it’s a month long series of posts here at ProBlogger designed to walk you through 31 tasks that you can do to make your blog better. You can read more about how the project works and how to participate in my introduction to the project.

The project is made up of two parts:

My Tips and Reader Tips

Below you’ll find a summary of both. To keep up to date with the project subscribe to ProBlogger’s RSS feed or to our daily email updates.

To participate with a tip of your own simply follow the steps outlined in this post.

The Posts So Far

Day 1 – Email a New Reader
Day 2 – Run a ‘First Time Reader Audit’ on your Blog
Day 3 – Search for and Join a Forum
Day 4 – Interlink Archived Posts
Day 5 – Conduct an ‘About Page Audit’
Day 6 – Email an Old Timer Reader
Day 7 – Plan Your Next Week’s Posting Schedule
Day 8 – Comment on a Blog You’ve Never Commented On Before
Day 9 – Run an Advertising Audit On Your Blog
Day 10 – Declutter Your Sidebar
Day 11 – Dig into Your Blog’s Statistics
Day 12 – Introduce Yourself to another Blogger
Day 13 – Search for an Affiliate Program that Fits Your Blog
Day 14 – Analyze Your Blog’s Competition
Day 15 – Make Your Most Popular Posts Sticky
Day 16 – Create a Heatmap of Where Readers Click on Your Blog
Day 17 – Run a StumbleUpon Campaign for Your Blog
Day 18 – Create a Sneeze Page and Propel Readers Deep Within Your Blog
Day 19 – Respond to Comments on Your Blog
Day 20 – Run a Reader Survey
Day 21 – Make a Reader Famous
Day 22 – Catch New Readers Up on the Basics of your Blog
Day 23 – Go on a Dead Link Hunt
Day 24 – Do a Search Engine Optimization Audit
Day 25 – Go Shopping and Improve Your blog
Day 26 – Link Up to a Competitor
Day 27 – Find a Sponsor for Your Blog
Day 28 – What is Your Blog’s Mission Statement
Day 29 – Email a Blogger that Linked to You to Say Thanks
Day 30 – Explore a Social Media Site
Day 31 – Run a SWOT Analysis on Your Blog

Reader Tips

Days 1-2

Get a Color Theme by Dan Cole
Lessons I Learnt From Blogging That Apply To Other Areas Of Life (And Vice Versa) by Shine
Blog Tip: Comply With Google AdSense Restrictions On Your WordPress Index Page by RT Cunningham
Make money from my blog by Emad Ibrahim
Take one idea a day and make it your own. by Bob Walsh
Email one customer a day by Bob Walsh
Unlock Hidden Treasures in Your Blog by Dean Taplin
Reducing Bounce Rates with the Personal Touch by Simon
Congrats! You’re the Proud Owner of a New Blogging Factory by Jason Parker
Excessive Ads by Jason Moneyspace
How to build a better blog in 31 days. by Costa
How to use Google Reader to effectively track your Comment Marketing by Lodewijk van den Broek
7 Top Ways to Make Online Contacts by Matt Jones
How to increase your Blog readership: participate in carnivals by Trevor Hampel
Instant Footnotes – Harmonize Your Article And Comments By Linking Them Together by Rory Sullivan
Your Succes Depends on Relating to Your Market by Mason Hipp
Top 7 blog mistakes to avoid by David Airey
Results Only Blogging Environment by Ryan
Text Size by Dan Cole
Blog Tip: Don’t Display Google AdSense Within Sponsored Posts On Your WordPress Blog by RT Cunningham
FeedBurner by Jason MoneySpace
Meeting Others in Your Niche by Bryce
31 Days To Building A Better Blog – 2007 By ProBlogger Dot Net by Syiru
Know your numbers, your feedburner numbers by Bob Walsh
Put on your Newbie hat by Bob Walsh

Days 3-5

Get your own Blog Theme! by Anuj Seth
Ways to Increase Your Inbound Links by T.Pettinger
Don’t be a Skeptical blogger by Costa
7 Sites with Great Blogging Tips by PabloPabla
The First Thing To Do After You Publish Your Blog by Ankesh Kothari
Blogging Mistakes to Avoid by Simon
Use your Blog Comment Name for Personal Branding by Ted Demopoulos, The Blogging for Business Guy
7 Techniques that will help increase the number of your RSS Subscribers by Raiber Cristian
Budget Promotion Part Three: Blogs by Genesis Davies
Use Article Marketing to Attract New Readers to Your Blog by Rich Brooks
Beware Of Letting Your Articles Go Cold In The Draft by Clean Cut Blog
You Have a Complicated Blog, And You Want It To Be Popular. Should You Change Anything? by Ashok
Market Your Identity / Not Your Product by Jason MoneySpace
Blogsolid – ideas for better blogging by Imar
Email and Blog Branding by Jeri Merrell
Increasing Your Blog Revenue by Ian
Got Blog? Grow it With Some Special Spice… by Fred Black
Read More, Write Less: The Key to Blogging Growth by Chris
10 Things To Do When You Have Nothing To Blog About by Sly
10 Ways To Show Your Readers You Hate Them by Wild Bill
Use trackbacks to build blog community by Jo Raisovich
How to Get to The Top by Dan Cole
10 Must Have Softwares For A Blogger by Karthik Kastury
5 Ways to Get Noticed by A-List Bloggers by Steven Snell
They comment, you email, they subscribe, life is good! by Bob Walsh
Want more customers? Join a online community. by Bob Walsh
7 Ways to optimize AuctionAds by Scott Bird
Grow Your Business in 15 Minutes or Less by Mason Hipp
Do not forget http:// in WordPress posts by Sumesh
Seven Ways to Master FeedBurner by Jordan (MamaBlogga)
Cheat Sheets: Why Readers (and Social Networks) Love Them by Skellie
Taking a Break from the 30 Day Challenge – for at least 10 minutes by Patrick
My Article Writing Template – Effectivity in Action by Tom O’Leary
Website Traffic and META Tags by Jason MoneySpace with guest author Kyle Watters
How to Increase Your Traffic?? by syiru
Causal Reasoning 101 for Bloggers by Andrew Boyd
The Perfect Title: Try these Enticing Titles by Tejvan Pettinger
Top Tips for Beginnig Bloggers by SingForHim
How to participate in blog carnivals by Trevor Hampel
Top Wordpress plugins that make your blog smart by Vijay
Contests Anyone Can Do – Promoting Blogs & Websites by Rob Malon
Want Traffic? Create Something Unique and Valuable! by Lucia Liljegren
5 Simple Tips To Increase Adsense Income by Bryan Clark
How to Scientifically Identify Content that’s Perfect for your Blog by Simon
Do it on Fridays – when no one is looking by Bob Walsh
What are Friday afternoons good for? by Bob Walsh
Bloggers! If you don’t FIRE UP your HEADLINES, your blog will definitely be a LOSER! by Mark
The Frustrations of Joining Forums without knowing anyone by Costa
The Best Way To Earn Repeat Business by Derek Semmler
How to NOT make money blogging by Ryan McFarland
5 Copywriting Tips That Will Make Reading Your Web Site/Blog Easier For Visitors by Melissa Fach
Track Your Blog’s Stats by Matt Harzewski
Links, Backlinks, Pingbacks and Trackbacks – What Exactly Are They? by pearl
How to get 50x or more the traffic? by Emad Ibrahim
Magnetize Your Blog: Always Reply to Comments! by Jeanne Dininni

Days 6-8

A Tip – Think About The Audience That Reads Your Blog by Mike Goad
Creating Linked Lists for Traffic and Incoming Links by Jason Bartholme
31 day blog challenge by Alex Miller
Who’s Linking to Your Blog? by Rose DesRochers
How to get Repeat Visitors to your Blog by Rose DesRochers
Freelancers- 6 Safety Tips To Consider When Applying to Craiglist Jobs or Gigs by Melissa Fach- SEOAware.com
Ways to Increase PageRank: Tip No.1 by Matt Jones
Creating Signature Content by Skellie
Everything I need to know about writing blogs I learned in high school; The FAT-P by Jim
Should I start a new Blog? by Tejvan Pettinger
How to have 250,000 blog visitors a day by Trevor Hampel
10 Tips on How to Start Your Own Blog Contest by Mon Macutay
Simple fix for Windows Live Writer hangups by Sumesh
Where to Start? by Suzanne Atkinson
How To Write When You Can’t by Kathryn
7 Tips to Making Money through Niche Blogging by Jake Rinard
Cheat Your Way to $1000 a Day by Jake Rinard
Want a Technorati Boost for your Blog by Jake Rinard
Achieve the dream – Why I am not a Full Time Blogger by Jake
5 OSX Automator Actions for Bloggers & Developers by Simon
So what’s it all About? by Bob Walsh
No way to live by Bob Walsh
Writing sponsored content -An eye opener! by Ramanujam
Idea For Posting by Syiru
Five Ways to Increase Your Blogging Productivity by Michael Paul
Use the Search Function to Look for the Post you want to Interlink. by Costa
Blog Naming — Give Your Blog a “Reasonable Name” by Ted Demopoulos, The Blogging for Business Guy
So you’re desperate for traffic? You’ll NEVER receive it unless you participate in forums! by Mark
Stumbleupon Brings More Traffic Than Problogger by pablopabla
3 mistakes I WANT to make as a beginner blogger by Blogmunch
5 Great Affiliate Programs For Your Blog by Bryan Clark
12 Firefox Addons that Make Blogging easy by Karthik Kastury
Ways to Increase PageRank: Tip No.2 by Matt Jones
Redirecting with Alexa is a BAD Linking Strategy by RT Cunningham
3 Top Tricks for Driving Readers to Your Blog by Craig Huggart
5 Practical Steps to Getting Better at Anything by Mason Hipp
12 First Rules Of Writing by Clean Cut Blog
Is Your Blog Receiving All The Traffic It Could? by Don
Top 10 Ways To Improve Your Google PageRank by Salman Siddiqui
Building your brand, one feed at a time by Bob Walsh
Give readers choice, and let FeedBurner deal with the headaches. by Bob Walsh
Social Bookmarking 101 – Increase Traffic Decrease Effort by Rob Malon
Use business cards to publicize your blog by Jim
So how will your week go? by Bob Walsh
Display Testimonials on Your Blog by Jason MoneySpace
First Impressions Lead To a Lasting Loyal Readership by Sly
Don’t start a blog unless you can be committed to it. by Stephanie Cockerl
One Week to a Professional Blog by Simon
Blogging for Money? Some Market Research Helps a Lot by ninja
5 Tips on How to Make Non-Affiliate Money From Your Blog by Melissa Fach- SEOAware.com
How to breathe new life into a dead blog by Bob Walsh
A Guide to Promoting Your Blog Through Guest Posts by Steven Snell
How to be or becomer a good Blogger by Kishore Reddy
Improve Your Writing With A Simple Exercise by Steven Bradley
Earn “6 Times” More With Your AdSense Very Easily by Salman Siddiqui
10 Fundamentals Of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) by Bryan @ OneMansGoal.Com
Sharing the Pain: Problems and solutions are ideal content by Andrew Boyd
Ways To Increase PageRank: Tip No.3 by Matt Jones
How to embed adsense add unit in left or right corner of post content by Vijay
Too many toys is too many toys by Bob Walsh
How You Can be Just Like the Top Bloggers Today by George Manty
2 Seconds to Convince by Dan Cole
10 Ways to Promote your Blog Site Offline by Ant
Blogging While On Vacation by Anne Wayman
7 days tasks in one day but I am serious by Eklavya
Setting goals for your blog by Jordan (MamaBlogga)
How To Increase Your Blog Traffic With Social Bookmarks by Jason
Experts Rule The Blogophere by Jon
A template for boosting subscribers through education by Simon
Finding blog post ideas by Jo

Days 9-13

Who is linking to your blog? by Rose DesRochers
That’s one KILLER headline, but don’t leave your readers hanging with a LAME opening paragraph! by Mark
How To Make Your Post Stand Out by PabloPabla
How To Be A Passionate Blogger by Wild Bill
Improving popularity of your blog by Anuj Seth
Quick Writing Tips to Improve your Blog Posts by Tejvan Pettinger
Sexy Reviews Bring Readers by The Fair Review Project
Make Your Visitors Feel Like Home by Jonathan-C. Phillips
Renew Comments on Blogs Forgotten by Costa
5 Reasons Why You Should Do Paid Reviews by Ramkarthik
Guest Blogging Strategy – Overcoming the Barriers to Guest Blogging by Ankesh Kothari
Ways To Increase PageRank: Tip No.4 + 5 by Matt Jones
Top 5 essential WordPress Plugins by David Airey
Greasemonkey scripts to rock GMail by Sumesh
Why do you blog? by Andrew Boyd
Marketing Is All In The Details by Mason Hipp
Building Search Engine Friendly Permalinks by Bryan@OneMansGoal.Com
Express Blogging by Simon
Give Your Readers Content They Want! by Adam Dempsey
The Crucial Ingredients of a First Impression by Michael Martin
Blog Hack: Link to New Blogs and Get More Readers by Ben Yoskovitz
Over-delivering to Your Readers by Ken Xu
How to Attract Readers When Your Customers Don’t Read Blogs by Brad Shorr
Top 7 Features of a good blog by Todd Dow
23 Marketing Tips Online and Offline – Tip #1 by JerkyBeef – TheBeefJerkyBlog.com
Blogging Tip: Cheap, but great, prizes for contests by Matt Harzewski
Blogging Lesson from Tom Glavine and his 300th win by Jake
You Should be FIRED … Your blog by Jake
Ranking in the SERPs – Part 1 – Keyword Selection by Erik Karey
How to Increase Alexa Rankings by Sly from Slyvisions.com
How to Remember All Those Great Ideas by Matt Wolfe
Battling Writer’s Block by Jeri Merrell
Don’t be too personal in your blog. by Eklavya
7 Compelling Reasons Why Your Headlines Need To LEAP Off The Page by Clean Cut Blog
How to run a successful blog contest. by Joshua
11 ways to increase your blogging output by Andrew Garrett
5 Crucial, but Invisible, Wordpress Plugins by Simon
6 reasons your microISV is ready for YouTube by Bob Walsh
Use a photo to engage your readers. by Bob Walsh
How to Customize the Misty Look Wordpress Theme by Ronaldo Camacho
Be Yourself in Blog Land: The Face That Launched a Thousand Ships by Samir Bharadwaj
Choosing an avatar to represent you by Ryan McFarland
Case Study in Internet Marketing: My Accountant by Suzanne Atkinson
3 Areas You Cannot Ignore When Optimizing For Local Search by Melissa Fach- SEOAware.com
Sara Ost of Healthbolt and I Will Blog for Health by Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD
Feedburner on the Page, Regardless of Stats by Michael Martin
7 Tips for Good Content by Todd Dow
Fast Track To Fame: Bloging Big Blogging Double by Rob Malon
Have you blog with Windows Live Writer? by Blogmunch
Bagaimana Cara Mendapatkan Ide ? by Aries Purwantoro
Have You Audited Your Ads Placement Within You Blog by Etienne Teo
Promote Your Blog Offline Tip #1 by JerkyBeef – TheBeefJerkyBlog.com
Most essential plugins for your wordpress blog. by Eklavya
How to post audio clips to your Blogger blog by Rose DesRochers
ten tips on blogging by bharadwaj
3 Tips to Hack Proof and Hijack Proof your Blog by Ted Demopoulos
Harness the power of elance.com by Joe @ Escape Job Hell
7 Encouraging Must-Read Articles For The Blogger Just Starting Out by Rory at Clean Cut Blog
SEO Tip: Use Dashes To Separate Words In a URL by Sly from Slyvisions.com
How blogging affects your personal development by Lola Fayemi
Adsense Optimisation, Straight from the Horse’s Mouth by Simon
Bloggers and Readers: What has worked best for you in increasing interactivity in comments? by Mark
Be Social by Dan Cole
How to Create a boxes logo by Dan Cole
Make That Footer Worth Reading by Dan Cole
Blog StartUp: Template Organization by Ian Fernando
10 Steps to Building a Killer Feed Collection by Skellie
Another Friday Tip – Drain your Disk Swamp by Bob Walsh
Pillars support your blog success. by Bob Walsh
More Lessons Learnt From Blogging That Apply To Other Areas Of Life (And Vice Versa) by ShineWithGrace
Improve my blog navigations by Blogmunch
How To Write Off-Topic Without Losing Readers by Ben Jamin
Network Marketing Online Effectively-LOGO by Jason MoneySpace
Launching a new blog by Simon
Do you have a Privacy Policy? by Suzanne Atkinson
How are my Ads performing for my blog? by Blogmunch
Top 10 basic SEO Tips to build high traffic web site by Vijay Shinde
Word Your Article Correctly – S.E.O. Search Engine Optimization by Jason MoneySpace
How to market your blog and increase your readership by Rose DesRochers
How To Install WordPress with Fantastico by Shawn DesRochers
5 Simple Steps to a Better Blog by Simon
Bagging for Bloggers 101: John Winston Howard and Friends by Andrew Boyd
Is Twitter shifting blogging to a new phase? by Sue Waters
What does your blog looks like to your subscribers? by Sue Waters
What your blog looks like in different Feed Readers by Sue Waters
How keep track of new comments on other bloggers’ posts by Sue Waters
How to stay in The Zone and keep wowing your readers with spectacular articles! by Mark
The Advertiser had to Pay for My Visit to His Site – But then He Drove Me Away from his Site! by Mike Goad
What I’ve learned in my first year of blogging by Ross McKillop
Debunking Popular Alexa Myths by James Yeang
How To Make a Better Post by Mon Macutay
3 ways to Wii Your Way to the Top of Google by Jake
4 EZ Ways to Get Rich by Jake

Days 14-19

How to install WordPress manually! by Shawn DesRochers
Post Folding by Dan Cole
7.5 Reasons I Abandoned You Today by Rich Minx
Communicating With People You Haven’t Met by Pearl
Publisher Advertising Programs Roundup by Edward Dowd
What Can Stephen Colbert Teach You about Reaching New Viewers? by Edward Dowd
How To Use Netvibes To Market Your Blog Or Business by Aaron
Bumper Sticker Magic (Blog Marketing Tip #2) by JerkyBeef
Hansel and Gretel Link-building by Skellie
Why You Should Get Your Own Domain? by Mun
14 Ways to Come Out of the Blog Lurker Closet by Adino
Be Yourself in Blog Land: Embrace the Fanboy Within by Samir Bharadwaj
Is your blog good enough? by Andrew Boyd
Top 3 Best Free Blogging Platforms by Ramkarthik
How To Write 50 Articles Per Week by Tejvan Pettinger
Wordpress : Turning 404 not found random visitors to blog readers by Fili
fabricholic by Jill Smith
Blogging & Your Business by Susan Payton
Decrease Bounce Rate – Increase Subscribers and Visit Time by Rob Malon
Use The Power Of The Slug To Increase Search Engine Traffic by Chris Lodge
Why one Blog Carnival is Better than the Rest by jim bozs
Technorati: How to Get Traffic by Lucia
Blogging Tip : Read these 5 great articles on blogging. by Eklavya
Personalise Messages and Stand Out by Michael Martin
Link Train or Link Spam? by Tom Wilson
Must-Have Tool For Bloggers – WORDWEB: Powerful Dictionary For Windows by Rory at Clean Cut Blog
5 Resources to Make YOU a Better Blogger by Simon
101 Ways to Monetize Your Website or Blog by Steven Snell
How I Generated Over 3,000 Backlinks In 6 Weeks! by Bryan@OneMansGoal.Com
Make More $$$ Per Click on Your Blog Instantly by Jake from MoreMerchant.com
Warning: Do not ’steal the lead’ by Glenn Abel
Invigorate your readers with passionate and energetic articles! by Mark
Do you ask these questions before writing for your audience by Ashish
Is Your Blog Content King? by PabloPabla
daiOptimizing Wordpress for Best Performance by Karthik Kastury
10 Steps to Publishing a Professional Looking Post…first time by Karen
5 Old School Ways to Find Blog Readers and Build Community by Maria Palma
A Blogger on Blogging – Chapter 2: Wordpress Plugins for Faster Blogging by Vlad H
Connecting Words by RT Cunningham
Looking for the Right Web Site Design, But Have No Clue Where to Start? by Melissa Fach- SEOAware.com
5 Days of… Different Types of Blog Posts by Todd Dow
How to write Story Posts by Todd Dow
How to write Advice Posts by Todd Dow
5 Blogging Mistakes I Keep Doing And Haven’t Fixed Yet by Dennis Bjørn Petersen
15 Benefits and Limitations of Wordpress.com Blogs by pchere
47 CSS Tutorials, Techniques, and Resources by Matt Harzewski
Get Your Own Domain and Web Hosting Now! by Sly from Slyvisions.com
5 Ways to Make Money from your Blog by Simon
10 Easy Ways To Improve Your Blog Writing. by Snoskred
Blog Wrap Ups Made Simple And Easy.. by Snoskred
Blog Carnivals, Start to Finish by Jordan (MamaBlogga)
Adsense for Dummies by Mon Macutay (aka GM Tristan)
Is There A Lack Of Quality In Marketing Blogs? by Steven Bradley
The Etiquette For Leaving Comment Links by Steven Bradley
Increasing Traffic – Exploring The Archives Part 2 by Chris Lodge
My Cure For Bloggers Block by Matt Jones
10 Ways to find more writing time by Jo
Ranking in the SERPs – Part 2 – Influential Factors by Erik Karey
Why You Need a Logo by Dan Cole
What makes a Great Logo? by Dan Cole
Networking In Your Niche: 4 Steps To Breaking The Ice by Matt Jones
How to make your own logo by Dan Cole
CSS Towers Logo by Dan Cole
Is Domination of WordPress and FeedBurner good? by Sumesh
Ranking in the SERPs – Part 3 – Tips & Techniques by Erik Karey
5 Easy Ways to Make Your Posts More Interesting by Erik Karey
How to Write an Internal Market Positioning Statement by Mason Hipp
What Stats Should you be Interested In? by Simon
What You Can Learn From New Bloggers by Sly from Slyvisions.com
Get more Visitors, and iPod and Cash by Jake from MoreMerchant.com
Blog Naming Tips by Ted Demopoulos
10 Tips for Making Your Blog Posts More del.icio.us by Steven Snell
Increase readership to your blog 20 percent in a month by diversifying your traffic!! by Mark
Why You Should Diversify Your Income Stream by gaman
9 Reasons Why I’m Cooler Than John Chow by Bryan@OneMansGoal.Com
2 Things a Blogger should do before launching a Blog by Tyler Michael Jonsson
WordPress Bloggers: Fix Your Incoming Pings With WP_PingPreserver by RT Cunningham
Comment for a Review by RT Cunningham
Beat the Summer Doldrums and Make Money Blogging by Jake R
Get x-ray vision to see your microISV customers by Bob Walsh
Ask your readers and customers what they want! by Bob Walsh
Robots.txt Files: Fence off Sections of Your Web Site from Search Engines. by Fred Black
Stop Cramming For A Post! by Wild Bill
Increase Traffic By Fixing Broken Links by Dean Taplin
Why Adding Pictures Is A Good Thing by Mr. Happy
Simple Facebook Adjustements to Get Traffic by Ian Fernando
Decide on your Permalink Structure from Day 1 by Suzanne Atkinson
When the Blogger’s Block Hits, STOP! by Costa
Using the Rule of 5 for Blogging Success by Takuin Minamoto
How Important Are RSS Subscribers? by Bryan@OneMansGoal.Com
Bryan Takes A Shot At Podcasting by Bryan@OneMansGoal.Com
Analytics for your Blog by Anuj Seth
How To Write A Blog Post Hung-over by Matt Jones
Full Posts vs. Partial Posts, on the Homepage by Michael Martin
3 Classic Questions That Still Useful in Blogging by Ken Xu
4 Reasons to avoid Paid Reviews by Shrihari
Make it easy for your readers to subscribe to your blog! by Mark
Why Didn’t I install Google Analytics Sooner? by Sue Waters
31 Days to Build a Better Blog–Days 11-14 by Sue Waters
You ARE A Special And Unique Snowflake: Five Ways To Prove It by Jacqueline Zenn
How to quickly get 100+ more readers to your blog by Ted Demopoulos
Do it on Fridays – cherry pick a mega list post by Bob Walsh
Take action – join blog action day! by Bob Walsh
Build readership – ask your readers what they want by Bob Walsh
Be bold when you blog! by Bob Walsh
Building a Support System via Guest Blogging by Pearl
Storytelling your Sneeze Page by Andrew Boyd
Having Two RSS Feeds: Full Post Feed as well as Summary Feed by Ankesh Kothari
Read if you don’t want to get penalized by Google by Vijay Shinde
Why Does Technorati Mock Me? by Sue Waters
Don’t Block Firefox! by Matt Harzewski
Seven Mistakes To Avoid When Building Your Business Blog by Krishna De

Days 20-23

Testing Post Readability by Andrew Boyd
Link Baiting Within Your Website – Part 2 by Rob Malon
50 Tips to Unclutter Your Blog by Skellie
What kind of URLs are the best ? by Shrihari
Everything you need to know about Linkbait : The Comprehensive Guide by kuanhoong
Ultimate Guide to time saving for Bloggers – Tips and Resources by Shankar Ganesh
Updating WordPress with Subversion by Bryce
Write Content, Then What? by Martin
How to Not Mangle Your WordPress Blog Code with Plugins by Jason Bartholme
“Banned” By Google? Find Out How to Entice Googlebot to Recrawl Your Site by gaman
Run a Blog Promotional Contest by JerkyBeef
Three Rubbish Things New Bloggers Do, and Three Better Things To Do Instead by Rhys
HOW To: Add emoticons/smileys in GMail by Sumesh
Successful Health Blogging by James
What I Learnt from My First Year Blogging by Tejvan Pettinger
Increase your subscriber count overnight – Sureshot tip by Mani Karthik
How to avoid duplicate content on Wordpress blogs by Mani Karthik
Is it Easy to Make Money Blogging? by Jake from MoreMerchant.com
2 Steps to Quit Working by Jake R
Identifying your Audience, and Knowing what YOU should expect from THEM by Simon
Optimize WordPress Page Headings by David Zemens
A Blogger on Blogging – Chapter 3: Unblocking Writer’s Block With the Help of Your Users by Vlad H
Header KISS by Dan Cole
7,076 Unique Visitors! The Power of StumbleUpon. by Matt Harzewski
What is it about a blog that makes you want to unsubscribe from its feed? by Mark
Secret Formula To Writing Headlines That Catch Your Eyes by Vivien
3 New Wordpress Security Tips I Learnt from Matt Cutts by pchere
Some Facts About Social Bookmarking Websites and the Traffic You Receive from Them by Vahid Chaychi
Improving the Reader Experience by Robert Irizarry
From Casual to Serious Blogging – what makes the differences and what does it mean? by we-wet
10 More Things To Do When You Have Nothing To Blog About by Sly from Slyvisions.com
Top 10 SEO Tips for Blogs. by Vin
How Problogger Inadvertently Gave Me 359 Headline Ideas by Tomaz Mencinger
The Blogging Tips Google Gadget. by Vin
Free Publicity for Blogs with Google Gadgets. by Vin
Quick Blogging Tip: check all links by Trevor Hampel
Good Words vs Great Words by Ken Xu
Want to meet a great bunch of bloggers AND improve your Technorati rank? by Andrew Boyd
Got blogger’s block? Two quick fixes comin’ your way… by Lori L
7 Top Ways To Lose 70% Of Your RSS Readers by Matt Jones
13 Quick Tips To Improve Your Blogging by Chris Lodge
Wandering the Web at night by Frances McLean
Is Your Corporate Identity Seductive? by Mason Hipp
Blog Marketing by Mail by JerkyBeef
Site subscription for dummies by Sue Hickton
Hosted Blogging Platforms – Why and Why not ? by Shrihari
10 Things You Can Blog About On Weekends by Ramkarthik
Put a tag cloud on your 404 – not found Page by Paul
Be Your Competitor’s Friend by Charles Wolf
Why You Should Want More Subscribers and How to Get Them by Jan
5 Ways I TRIPLED my Adsense Income by Simon
Be Yourself in Blog Land: Don’t Join the Rat Race Unless You Like the Bait by Samir Bharadwaj
Convert Category feeds to feedburner by violin kid
AdSense and Chitika Combos That Will Skyrocket Your CTR by Tomaz Mencinger
What is LinkLogger Feed? by Thejesh GN
How blogging can help your business by Aaronontheweb
14 Reasons Readers Unsubscribe From Your Blog. by Snoskred
Tuesday Think Tank: All About RSS by Sephyroth
Make Sense of Your Blog With Proximity by Michael Martin
Marketing your Blog with business cards by JerkyBeef
Jimmy Spam (& SEO Tip)! by Lucia
Blogging lessons I have learned that will benefit you and your brand! by Mark
Retire Years Earlier with 1 Easy Tip by Jake – MoreMerchant
Blog migration series – Choosing a webhost by Blogmunch
Blog migration series – choosing my Wordpress theme by Blogmunch
Important Points to Remember While Choosing a Theme by Simon Ward
What does a Professional Logo do for you? by Eve
How to use Robots.txt file effectively by Vijay Shinde
Keeping your niche blogs on track by Andreas Sundstrom
10 Easy Ways to Find Permalinks of Blog Articles by pchere
Do You Make This Mistake? by Dean Taplin
Go Mobile: Get Your Blog Published On Your Readers Cell Phones Free! by Matt Jones
Get the most out of guest blogging by Jordan (MamaBlogga)
Video: Qualities Of a Good Website by Sly from Slyvisions.com
Ride the Problogger Wave and Build Your Blog by Jake from MoreMerchant.com
7 Ways To Increase Your Productivity by Jeremy Steele
Blog as if it matters – it does! by Ted Demopoulos
10 Traits Of Successful Bloggers by Bryan@OneMansGoal.Com
What Makes A Digg-worthy Post? by Bryan@onemansgoal.com
How To Get More Comments by Bryan@OneMansGoal.Com
3 Days to Successful Blogging by Takuin Minamoto
What’s Holding you Back? by Jo
A Guide To Overcoming Writer’s Block by Mohsin Naqi
I Am Working My Way through 31 Days of Blogging Tips so you don’t have to by JD
10 Rare Tips and Tricks for Blogspot Blog by Muhammad
3 Best Affiliate Programs Of August For Your Money Making Blog by Ramkarthik
Transform your blog into podcast using autocasting by Benedict Herold
Increase Sales, Conversions, And Profits With The “Rule Of Odds” by Steven Bradley
Competitive Ad Filtering with Adsense by Suzanne Atkinson
Creating a More Valuable Blog for Your Readers by Steven Snell
How Should New Bloggers Build Community? by PabloPabla
How To: Niche Link Building by Alexandru
Offer Multiple Feeds and Blogroll by Tech For Novices
Top 5 Confidence Corruptor by Ken Xu
Blogger does a Technorati umm Delicious – All profile links are tags by Tech For Novices
Website Testing Validation URL Tools by Tech For Novices
The Blogging Evolution by Vivek

Days 24-27

The Big Dummy’s Guide To Viral Marketing by kuanhoong
Three Alternative Ways To Increase Your RSS Readers by Rhys
How to Blog Without Writing by Tejvan Pettinger
11 things to do before you hit the publish button by Shankar Ganesh
Using Private Label Rights the RIGHT way for Blogging! by Ian Fernando
The Alarming Effects of Consistency by Mason Hipp
7 Blogging Tips for Beginners by Nirmal T V
How to Create and Publish Your Own eBook on a $0 Budget by Skellie
Two Tips to Better Blogging by Claudia Fletcher
Things To Consider In a Blog Redesign by Mohsin Naqi
Using FeedBurner Pro to Your Advantage by Erik Karey
The Pros and Cons of Guest Blogging by Erik Karey
CashQuests + Problogger Traffic Is Finger-Lickin’ Good by Matt Jones
How blogging can build your personal brand as a professional speaker by Krishna De
Get Your Blog Indexed Quickly by Pat B. Doyle
Should You Have More Than One Blog? by Matt Harzewski
How to use eBay as a Viral Marketing Tool by Michael David Austin
Blogging for Business: Building authority with trackbacks, pingbacks, and comments by Aaronontheweb
How can interlinking posts benefit your blog? by Mani Karthik – DailySEOblog
Link Building Opportunities Are Everywhere If You’re Paying Attention by Steven Bradley
9 Simple Steps to Speed Up Your Blogging by Steve White
5 Blogging Tips For Programmers by Jonathan Franzone
How-to: A twofer for Blogger Blogs – Add co.mments and StumbleUpon by Sephyroth
Comments Trackback Blog Website Platform by Tech For Novices
Free SEO Search Engine Optimization Tools – Simple Ones by Tech For Novices
http://techfornovices.blogspot.com/2007/08/blogger-custom-domain-ftp-sftp.html by Tech For Novices
Spring Widgets and Feed RSS readers by Tech For Novices
Help! I Don’t Have Anything To Post Anymore! Things To Do When Running Out Of Ideas by Carl Ocab
Strike While the Iron’s Hot to retain fleeting visitors by Simon
Blogging, Writing and Giving Birth by nymfa aranas
Chosing Exactly What You Want From Your Blog And Achieving It by Matt Jones
Blogger Messing about with Search Engines by Sephyroth
Leave Effective Comments: Use ‘The Goldilocks Principle’ by lucia liljegren
(Wo)men of Mystery Wear Cheap Spandex Suits by Samir Bharadwaj
Author Name. Nuisance or Necessity? by Michael Martin
Benefits of Blogging by Dan Cole
23 Great Ideas For Blog Posts by Pat B. Doyle
Castro is Dead Tips to Viral Marketing by Jake
Why Blogging for Small Business and Business Star-Ups? by Stefan Töpfer
Build a better travel blog: go offline by Sheila Scarborough
Amateur Bloggers Steps to Avoid while Growing by Kishore Reddy
The Top 10 SEO-Related WordPress Plugins by Steven Snell
Really Answering The Question “Why Do You Blog?” Might Put A Match To It by Rory at Clean Cut Blog
Heaps of Clicks – Anagram for Blogging Success by Meg
5 Things You Need To Make High Quality Podcasts by Paul Nilsen
Blogging is Dead Unless We Unite by Jake
Learn How to Write Titles to Get Traffic and Links: The Ultimate Guide by Yuri Filimonov
How do you measure your success as a blogger? by Andrew Boyd
Blogging Mistake #2 – Always use an image by Chris
Blog statistics for business — What to monitor and why by Shonnie Lavender
Should I of studied my grammar better before starting a blog so I migh’tve not loosed so many of my readers? by Mark
How to Read Blog posts on a Phone Using Mobile Friendly Google Reader by Sue Waters
How-to: Integrate your Blogger feed with FeedBurner by Sephyroth
8 Wordpress Theme Tutorials You Don’t Want To Miss by Mohsin Naqi
5 Tools Every PayPal User Should Know About by James Yeang
The Power Of a Simple Blog by Mohsin Naqi
31 Days to Build a Better Blog–- Days 20-26 by Sue Waters
Regional Blogging and Reframing by Andrew Boyd
Autoblog the News by Andrew Boyd
2 Ways to Automatically get your Content "Out There" by Simon
5 Ways To Overcome (Blogging) Shyness And Be More Productive by Mohsin Naqi
My top 5 tips for increasing adsense earnings (without increasing traffic) by Ben Gillbanks
Using Story Telling Techniques to Improve Blog Posts by Simon
Hiring a designer for your blog? Read this first so you don’t lose out! by Simon T
Design Considerations for the Web 2.0 and Blogs by Simon T
How to Enhance your WP Writing Experience by Karthik Kastury
Let your Blog Stumble…it won’t hurt by Karen from Scraps of Mind
Let your Blog Stumble…it won’t hurt by Karen from Scraps of Mind
SEO: Get higher Google pagerank by naming files and/or blog post titles optimally! by Rahul Bansal
Google Adsense Hack: Automated Section Targetting for bloggers! by Rahul Bansal
How to get list of plugins installed on any wordpress blog! by Rahul Bansal
Commentstorming by Andrew Boyd

Days 28-31

Make Your Template Unique by Michael Martin
Blog on the Air by Jerky Beef
A Blogger on Blogging – Chapter 4: Easy Way to Confuse Your Users by Vlad H
Notebook and Pencil by Martin
Valid XHTML: Ampersands in Links by Martin
WordPress Link Love – Follow On Plugins And Tweeks by Rob Malon
Making a Favicon for Your Blog or Website by Tallfreak
Why your “About” page is going to become more critical on your business blog by Krishna De
5 Blogging Tips to Maximize Pageviews Per Visit by Blain Reinkensmeyer
The Nine Habits of Highly Effective Bloggers by Etienne Teo
10 Popular Firefox Addons for Better Blogging by Etienne Teo
5 Ways your Blog can GainTraffic From Media Power by Etienne Teo
Get More RSS Feed Subscribers! by Matt Harzewski
Hooked on Phonics Works for Me: How Learning to Spell Can Make You a Better Blogger by Kev at Special Kind of Stupid
How To Find Hidden Links In Your Site by Courtney Tuttle
Top 7 Sign’s You Are an Obsessed Web Stats Whore by Sarah Pacopac
5 easy ways to get bookmarked on delicious and become hot by Mohsin Naqi
The First Months of Blogging May Break or Make You by Jan
5 Essential OSX Blogging Tools by Simon
Using Outbound Links to Improve Your Blog by Steven Snell
Wordpress Plugin of the week – Redirection by Blogmunch
Wrap Your Brain around Viral Marketing by Suzanne Atkinson
How To Get Your Blogger Blog’s Categories Indexed By Search Engines (Again) by Bloggeroo
Adsense Isn’t Enough To Make Money Online by Taylor
Rabbit and Turtle Race in Blogging by Ken Xu
Break Your Blog Out of the Box with Mailing Lists and Cliff-Hangers by Fred Black
Don’t Starve Your Readers or Give Them Indigestion by PabloPabla
Better Google ranking by DPeach
Fact errors, libel and blogs: How to cope by Glenn Abel
What you need to know about outgoing links? from SEO perspective by Vijay Shinde
7 Ways to Turn Your First Time Visitors into Returning Visitors by Kreah
Blog Design – Open Your Eyes by Snoskred
Blog Hints – Refer To Yourself In The Third Person? by Snoskred
Creating Content from Everyday Life by Pearl
10 Reasons Why Blogging is like Sex by kuanhoong
blog migration series – Choosing Wordpress plugins by blogmunch
Visualize Your Success by Pat B. Doyle
What do YOU think is the best time of the day to post articles on your blogs? by Mark
Golden Pencil’s Mission Statement by Anne Wayman
Are Your Blog Posts Actually Useful? by Matt Jones
How To Load WordPress From A Static PHP Script by Jeremy Steele
5 essential blogging tools by Shawn Wallace
How I Added a Sparklet to my Lists by Suzanne Atkinson
7 Ways To Give Writer’s Block A Severe Beating by Jason
7 Ways to Brand Your Blog by Jordan (MamaBlogga)
Easily Fix Broken Links & Prevent Your Visitors Getting Lost by Chris Lodge
5 Steps For Effective Uses of Lists In Your Blog Posts by Sly from Slyvisions.com
Group Elements of You Website by Dan Cole
Demystifying Blogger Template Editing by Sephyroth
Writing Dirty by Skellie
Raving Lunatics of the Twenty-First Century by Chris
The Social Network That Makes you Money with Google by Shawonne Womack
Avoid The FUD By Following These Three Simple SEO Tips by George Manty
50 Types of Links for Bloggers and How to Make Them. by Vin
Increase Traffic Create a Google Gadget by Vin
Hot Tips On Blogger Profiles. by Vin
Branding For Small Business And Bloggers by Steven Bradley
Analysing The Problogger Group Writing Project by Rhys
7 Ways to Lower the Buying Hurdle by Mason Hipp
Does Valid Code Help Your Blog? by Michael Martin
How Does Being Social Help Your Blog? by Pat B. Doyle
A Simple Way to Create a Re Direct Link by Ian Fernando
Wordpress Duplicate Content: You Control the Horizontal, You Control the Vertical by Widgett Walls
Learning about blogging on my bike by Christine Martell
blog migration series – cpanel orientation by blogmunch
SUPERCHARGE your blog! What guidelines do you follow to make your blog successful? by Mark
Affiliate Programs 101 – Blog And Make Money by Shine With Grace
How To Get Others To Listen To You by Mohsin Naqi
Social Media Marketing: The Secret Weapon of Small Business by Mason Hipp
Ten Writing Errors That Makes Your Blog Less Good by Simon
Text-link-ads: all-in-one blog advertiser / monetizer by Joe
1 Quick Tip to get 1850 Visitors to Your Blog by Jake
The Importance of Comment Policy by Ken Xu
5 Stupid Ways To Sink Your Blog! by Ted Demopoulos
Stop frustrating your Readers! by Bob Walsh
Reach out to your online friends by Bob Walshb
Do it on Fridays – cherry pick a mega list post by Bob Walsh
9 Essential Tools for Bloggers by Steven Snell
Another Money Making Blog or Blog About Blogging? by PabloPabla
Made A Mistake In A Post? Remember to Ping Feedburner by Matt Jones
Actively Changing Your Layout by Dan Cole
1 EZ Tip to Beat the Rush and Make some Bucks by Jake
Use 25 Expert Techniques to Have a Successful Blog by Yuri Filimonov
How to : Time based Adsense by Ben Gillbanks
How To Find Profitable Affiliate Programs And How To Display Them On Your Blog by Pat B. Doyle
Update Your Permalink Structure by http://wolftales.ath.cx/webmasters/update-your-permalink-structure/
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What can Bloggers learn from Babies? by Simon
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What you gotta ask yourself is, Do You Feel Lucky, Punk? by Mark
What Your Readers Don’t Need To Know About You by Mohsin Naqi
Why I Use the WordPress Default Permalinks by Pat B. Doyle
Don’t Fall in the Expert Trap – Strive for Genuine Authority by Jan
10 Tips for Good Commenting Practice by Tejvan Pettinger
Blog Tools and Services That Bloggers Need To Use by Sly from Slyvisions.com
31 Day Blogging Challenge — Day 27 – 31 by Sue Waters
And The Winners Are…..The MiniLegends! by Sue Waters

Better Blogging Tips

2010-02-14T21:34:00.000-08:00

There’s lots of information and advice hidden in the archives of this site, and I admit that it’s not especially easy to find it all. To that end, I’m going to put up a series of posts from time to time where I’ll give you links to 10 of my posts about a topic that might be of use to you. Today’s topic: blogging. Let me know if this is helpful. In reading through these posts a bit, it’s funny how I sometimes echo themes, repeat advice, etc. But I believe repetition is a good teacher. Plus, I’m forgetful. It’s a perfect mix.

10 Secrets To Better Blogging

10 Blogging Tips – So tiny, you can fit it on a 3×5 card, and yet, I think it’s useful.

Growing Your Audience – Some Basics – Here’s a question I get often. “How do I attract more readers?”

Basic Business Blogging Suggestions – Blogging for work? Here’s a place to look for topics and starting points.

Make Your Blog Design Work for You – Layout and design are important. I’d like to think that looks don’t count, but we both know better.

Conquering Fear of Blogging – Sometimes, we’re just not ready to make the next step. Some advice.

Writing Effective Blog Posts – It’s not that I have a formula, but I do have ideas on what works.

Seven Blog Improvements You Can Make Today – There are lots of ways that blogs thwart your audience. Here are some remedies.

Keeping the Blogging Fires Burning – Sometimes, we run out of motivation. Here’s some ways to fix that issue.

20 Blogging Projects for You – More ideas for WHAT to write, if necessary.

Performance And Your Audience – Blogging Tips – Shakespeare said all the world’s a stage. I believe it.

And if you want the “best of” from my site, there’s always this mega list of posts.

Is This Helpful

Let me know if this is useful, and I’ll continue the series. Let me know if this gave you some ideas on how to improve your blogging. Let me know if you have questions that weren’t answered by those 10 posts. Work for you ?

Oh, and in case you need to save any of these for later reference, in the right sidebar is an Eco Safe widget that saves pages (with their comments) as PDF files. So, if you want to share these around the office easily, you could always make 10 PDF files out of them and send around the bundle.

What Should Blogger Do, Google Ask

2010-02-14T21:30:00.000-08:00

After 10 years of existence and releasing a bunch of features including activating real time RSS feeds, jump breaks (AKA expandable post summaries for you WordPress guru’s) and anointing BlogPress Lite as the Blogger app for the iPhone, Google is now asking for suggestions on how to improve Blogger.

(Blogger Buzz) As we close the chapter on the first ten years over here on Blogger, the team couldn’t be more excited about the possibilities that lie ahead over the next ten. And while we’ve got some great things planned already, we know that the ideas and passion of the Blogger community will inspire us further. So in that spirit, we’re going to once again ask for some help writing out the next chapter of Blogger. Only this time, we mean it quite literally :-)

We’d like you to take a second to think about where Blogger is today, and then where you’d like to see it in the future. What are some words that come to mind? How would you describe it?

Google is already taking suggestions over here, although here are a couple that come to mind from this Blogspot fan.

Pages: WordPress.com has them. Typepad has them. Even Squarespace has them.

Blogger needs to add this (long overdue) feature. And no, Google Pages doesn’t count (and neither does Google Sites).

Blogger Theme Market: There are probably more themes for Blogger out there than any other platform that I know of (WordPress included).

One site called BlogSkins hosts tens of thousands of templates, and a simple Google search showing millions more.

If Google could organize the vast majority of these in one place, it would help users help users find decent looking templates without having to dig too deeply into the code.

Any other suggestions?: If you are a blogspot users (or former one), what suggestions would you give to Google to improve Blogger?

What Blogger Should Do

2010-02-14T21:25:00.000-08:00

I was recently asked about the "death of blogging" for this article in The Economist. I didn't get back to the reporter in time, though, so my comments ended up, ironically, on his blog. (Conclusion: I don't believe blogging is dying, but...it's complicated. Like in most healthy ecosystems, new species are breeding. Whether or not they're called "blogging" is a question perhaps best left for scientists, but there are many new forms that are undeniably part of the blogging genus.)

Last night at the Churchill Club, I was quoted as saying that Twitter "will dwarf Blogger." I do believe that, but it will be no easy task and will not be soon. Blogger is big. Really big. That chart was from six months ago. Is it losing traction? I don't know. It doesn't look like it was then. And since then, the team over there seems to be kicking ass. A glance at Blogger Buzz show's they've been launching feature after feature the last few months. Launching any features when you're that big is usually a daunting task. Shows that a lot of years building a solid platform have paid off.

So, the question is: Where do they go from here? Part of that, I suppose, will be determined by where the Google powers-that-be decide Blogger lands on their priority list, given the leaner times. Clearly it's not one their cash cows, but it's also not a side project they're dabbling in. I've heard it makes money (from AdSense on blogs they host), but I really don't know. In fact, I know so little about Blogger these days, I feel like I can actually write about it as an outsider.

From a product perspective, I do feel like they could get more out of the capabilities and incredible usage they already have. Here's an unordered list of some of the ways I'd look to do that if I were in charge:

Build a Network of Networks: Building more interconnection between users and blogs is clearly part of the focus now with "followers." It's something we realized we were remiss in not doing more of way back when we built the (not very good) profile pages in 2004, when Friendster was the big thing and Orkut was launching down the hall. There are a ton of mechanisms to do this, but one thing to consider: Don't try to make one big network. Perhaps enable anybody to create a blog network/community thingy. (There might be a doc around there about "Blogger Hubs" -- not sure if it's still relevant.)

Point People to Good Content: When it comes to interconnectedness, don't just try to make it more "social." Social is important, but pure socialness can be achieved elsewhere. One unique thing about Blogger -- vs. say Facebook or MySpace -- is the content. How can you make the content more interlinked and use the network to get more attention to the good stuff, thus rewarding the creating of more good stuff? You know what the most-viewed/commented/linked-to post on Blogger was today. Show it to me! I bet it's interesting! (Even better: Show me what's most popular within my blog network.) BTW, if revenue, not just usage, is a priority, this plays to that, because it's the content focused blogs that can make the money.

Get More Out of the Navbar: The toolbar you have at the top of millions of blogs could do so much more. This is where you can put the feedback mechanisms, interlinking mechanisms, etc. NextBlog could be a whole thing! Make that so I never wanna stop clicking because it always shows me something awesome. (Think StumbleUpon within the Blogger network.)

Prettier Templates: When it comes down to it, many people just want a page that looks good. This a large part of Tumblr's appeal, in my opinion. You gotta upgrade those templates. I know prettiness is not a focus in your culture, but bring them into 2007 at least web design, if not 2009.

Help People use the Layout Engine: The new templating system does everything anyone would every want. But you kinda gotta be a programmer who likes programming in production, in a textarea, in a language you've never used, to tap into it. Yes, there's point-and-click design and widget goodness, but it seems...hard. Can you make it seem fun? Can you make it so pseudo-developers can figure it out and others can leverage that? Layout sharing perhaps (kill two birds)?

Make it Fast: You've made some progress on slimming down the posting form page (at least in Draft). But I don't know if we've fully embraced the Google mantra of speed is every. I predict you'd see a 30% increase in posts if you made posting twice as fast. (That goes for the whole workflow, not just the posting form.)

Become the Aggregator: One possible answer to the question to what role does the stand-alone blog live in the age of a million-and-one generalized and specialized participatory web experiences is as a personal aggregator that reflects back the other stuff one does on the web. Yes, I'll load all that stuff into FriendFeed, but that's not my "online presence" as we used to say back in the day. Everybody (or at least a lot of people) needs an URL -- and one without a ? in it. I want my tweets, and my photos, and my whatevers to show up on evhead.com (hosted by Blogger) in an attractive way.

Put Ads in the App Interface: For example, the published landing page alone must get millions of views a day. And it's the perfect point for someone to go elsewhere. See if you can target it off what they wrote about. No one will mind (much). And strengthening your revenue story will strengthen your position in the company.

Do Something Radical: I almost feel like this list is way too conservative. Not that I think Blogger's in trouble. But I suspect there something potentially more awesome that you could pull off by leveraging what you already have. You probably have those ideas. When there are so many great things to do that you know will work, it's hard to not focus on them. But it might be time to try something wacky.

Sorry, I know you've already thought of these things. When you're working on a product and people on the outside tell you what you should do, acting like they're all smart, it's annoying. The hard part is building stuff, not thinking it up. Carry on. (But seriously, the prettier templates thing.)

Top Blogger Story Ever

2010-02-14T21:22:00.000-08:00

It’s amazing to see by only 6 months, icanhascheezburger.com can be that successful. That’s mean it’s still have a lot of space in blogging world. All you need to do is have creativity and find a niche.

Here are the 13 top blogger success story cover by Business Weeks:

What do you think? Pretty exciting huh? This is just the beginning.

A Blogger True Success Story

2010-02-14T21:17:00.000-08:00

People often ask me why should one blog. Rather than answer that question based on only a few months of experience, I went to the source, Bora Zivkovic. By day, Bora is an online community manager at PLoS ONE, but his claim to fame is his uber successful blog, A Blog Around the Clock. Bora is also the series editor of the science blog anthology The Open Laboratory and a supporter of Open Access science.

Bora Zivkovic with an inflatable Brontosaurus!

What is your professional background?

Hi!

Even as a little kid I always loved animals and thought that whatever I do when I grow up would have something to do with animals: perhaps work at a zoo or in a circus! When I was in 6th grade or so, I read the entire series of books by James Herriot and decided to become a veterinarian. I went to vet school at the University of Belgrade, but did it pretty slowly, taking two years to finish each year of school (it is a HARD program there!). At the same time, I was heavily involved in the horse world and equestrian sports, working at a racecourse, training horses (including my own) for jumping, teaching kids to ride and taking care of all the horses’ health in a small region (a couple of small towns and surrounding villages) just north of Belgrade.

Then the specter of war enveloped Yugoslavia and I decided to leave, with vet school unfinished. Once I settled in the USA I realized that in this country the situation is different: there is a glut of equine veterinarians, but on the other hand, one can do basic biology – my old love – as there are great schools and funding for such stuff. So I started grad school in the Department of Zoology (now Biology) at NC State University where I got a Masters (but not a PhD – all but defense) studying circadian rhythms and photoperiodism in Japanese quail. My vet-school background prepared me well for the physiology research (my MS work), and my interest in evolution prompted me to expand to a more integrative approach (my PhD work) later on. I also took the opportunity, being at a big research university, to take extra classes in unrelated fields – from ecology and palaeontology through avian biotechnology, to history and philosophy of science, thus expanding my views. I was never someone who could just focus on a very narrow line of thinking and read only the papers directly relevant to my research.

What made you decide to become a science blogger?

I started out as a political blogger first. Frankly, I started blogging because I was depressed. After 10 years in grad school, I had a writer’s block with the dissertation (and not doing any experiments any more – we did not get our grant funded and decided not to resubmit at that point – not to mention an increasingly supressive and unhelpful IACUC hellbent on stopping, or at least maximally reducing, animal research on campus), I was suddenly tired of research, departmental politics, science… I did not like the postdoc place I was going to go to – one of those super-slave-driving big cancer labs where everyone is pale like Eloi for never seeing the sun. Three important and very close relatives died one after another within a 6-month period. We were living in a big but cold and drafty house in a depressing neighborhood in Cary, NC, in winter (when I get hit by SAD anyway). I was depressed about the way we as a country were inevitably hurling towards starting a war in Iraq. I wanted to scream.

So I screamed online. I tried to psychoanalyze Bush-voters in order to explain them to myself. I found a community on the campaign blogs, and am still in touch with some of them to this day. Through links, I discovered DailyKos, Pandagon, Shakesville, Majikthise and many more blogs, started linking and getting incoming links. I got completely embroiled in the progressive blogosphere to the detriment of everything else in life. That was my therapy. I spent the first year and a half trying to get a Democrat elected, blogging on campaign blogs at first, then starting my own blog (Science And Politics) in August 2004.

Then Kerry lost the election. I got sick of politics. I discovered other science bloggers, starting with Chris Mooney on the original intersection and then went through his blogroll. I decided to try blogging about my own field of science in the hope that would lift my writer’s block and help me finish the dissertation. That goal did not work (I am mainly mad at myself for disappointing my PI whom I admire and adore), but my science blogging instantly got much more recognition than Bush-bashing – my very first science post on Circadiana got an instant avalanche of traffic from BoingBoing, Andrew Sullivan and others. Oh – so there is an interest for this kind of thing?! People seek authoritative voices from people with actual expertise in the topic they are writing about! I can do that!

When Scienceblogs.com started in January 2006, after looking at it for about 10 seconds I realized that was the place to be. I asked some of the original 14 SciBlings what the way to get on was, applied, and a couple of months later got the invitation from Christopher Mims who was the Overlord at the time. A Blog Around A Clock – the fusion of my three old blogs (Science And Politics, Circadiana and The Magic School Bus) – went live in June 2006.

My blogging style instantly changed: much less politics, much more science. Much more enjoying the community (now that my depression was over). Much greater care put into each post, making sure I do not spout nonsense – I was at too visible a spot now for such carelessness!

Then I got the job with PLoS in the comments of a blog post on my blog. That changed my blogging again. More community building, less substantive posts about science. More about the publishing business, especially Open Access. Almost no politics (except for a couple of months just prior the 2008 election). More recently I have been paying a lot of attention to the way the entire media business is changing – the “death of newspapers”, the causes of such sweeping changes, and the potential future systems for journalism.

So, my blogging goals changed several times, as did my blogging style. As I write about cool science so rarely these days (1-2 posts per month at best) I cannot really seriously say any more that I blog (except by spreading link-love to others) in order to spread the science to the lay audience, to explain my field to people, to counter pseudoscience, or to break the stereotypes about scientists – the things I used to blog for. I am not sure, exactly, what my goals are right now, but it appears I cannot stop. I have been thinking lately: what my “next phase” in blogging will be? I invite suggestions.

How has science blogging influenced the development of your career?

When I started blogging on scienceblogs.com I also started enjoying the perks: free books, invitations to panels, interviews, etc. Organizing the 3 conferences and seeing 3 anthologies into print widened the circle even more. More perks came my way after I got the job with PLoS – travel to conferences in US and Europe, media interviews, press passes to big events, etc….

The term for this is “amplified serendipity” – if you are active online, seen as a trusted and useful member of an online community, something good is bound to happen to you, eventually. You can’t predict exactly what and when, but it will happen. You may even get to meet and befriend Henry Gee! And the community will support you when you are down, as much as they cheer when you are up.

Interestingly, while my career went in the direction away from research into areas of the publishing business, my blogging is also prompting some people to try and get me back into research. For example, I posted a hypothesis a few years back on my blog and recently was contacted about setting out to test that hypothesis in a collaborative effort. The first manuscript coming from this effort, covering preliminary data, has already been submitted and more is still to come. I also intend to prepare manuscripts covering my unpublished and undefended PhD work and submit them as well.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring?!

How did blogging prepare you for your current position at PLoS ONE?

Apart from being a participant in the online world, I have also, all along, been a student and observer of the Web and the people’s behavior online. I have been reading stuff – ranging from peer-reviewed papers to blogs – about these topics for quite a while now. I have been observing online communities like Facebook, Twitter and FriendFeed, as well as the blogosphere, for quite a while now. Thus I think I have developed a decent understanding of the online world as well as decent instincts about the best ways to behave online. This definitely helps.

The other aspect of blogging for a while was the ability to build a large community of readers and online friends. That is a community that moved with me to PLoS – they are interested in what I am doing there, what PLoS does, the Open Access movement, the works. In other words, I did not have to build a PLoS community from scratch. In a way, my community became a part of the PLoS community and is constantly helping me in doing my job in various ways: tipping me off if “someone on the Internet is wrong” about PLoS, spreading the word if I ask them to, etc. A win-win situation for everyone: PLoS, me and everyone in that community.

Please describe the duties of an online community manager at PLoS ONE.

I thought this was top sikrit! If I tell you, I’ll have to kill you! LOL.

I have a number of “jobs”, really. Building the community, increasing awareness of what PLoS stands for and does, correcting the myths and errors that sometimes pop up about PLoS (and Open Access) online, watching how the online world talks about us, promoting Open Access both online and offline, trying to get people to comment on our articles (and studying why they don’t if they don’t and why they do if they do, monitoring media/blog coverage of our papers, encouraging bloggers to write about our articles, promoting some of our most interesting articles every week, blogging on everyONE blog, and in general working with our communications team in making sure our message gets spread online.

I am also trying, whenever I am in a position to do so, to persuade online and offline friends to submit manuscripts to us and, especially lately, to help us build new Collections on PLoS ONE – let me know if you are interested in this!

Do you have any advice for a blogger interested in a career in science publishing?

This is a tough question – you made me think about this for a long time and I am not sure my answer will be totally satisfactory, but let me try:

Both the publishing world and the blogging world are rapidly changing and nobody has a crystal ball to know the answers to the ’life’s peristent questions’: how are those going to look like in the near and far future (though I tried to speculate here).

A career in science publishing means having a job with a scientific publisher. But there are many different kinds of jobs there: editorial side, production side, marketing side, etc. Each has different requirements and a different “culture”.

For the editorial side, offline reputation is still the most important. You need to be known as a good scientist in a couple of different meanings of the word “good”. As an author, you should have a reputation for sound experimental design, good data analysis, logical conclusions from the data and clear writing. People who edited or reviewed your manuscrupts in the past should remember you for these traits: manuscripts that are easy to deal with because they are pretty good to begin with. The word about this spreads through the offline, secretive channels, is a well-known fact about you, and will get to the ears of people who are doing the hiring.

As a reviewer, you will also be a known quantity – are you a careful reader of the manuscript, are your suggestions fair and constructive? If you have built a good reputation as an author and a reviewer in the science circles, that is much more important for getting an editorial job than anything you may do online. Of course, this may change in the future, but not yet. Thus, at this point in history, your mad online skillz are not really relevant for getting this kind of job. Of course, a good understanding of how people read and use scientific literature online is a definite plus, so study it!

On the production side of the business, tomorrow is even harder to predict. While printing articles on paper will be done by journals for some time in the future, until it becomes completely financially impossible to do, more and more scientific publishing is moving to the Web. This poses its own unique problems. Publishing a scientific paper online is not as easy as copying and pasting some text and images online, as if on a blog. While the need for skills with preparation of manuscripts for ink-on-paper printing may vanish in the near future, the skills for shaping the papers to be both person-readable and machine-readable are becoming necessary – get your computer skills polished.

Again, your online presence and behavior may not be important for getting you the job, but your understanding and experience of how people read stuff on the Web will be useful. After all, as long as journals publish papers both online and on paper, the two versions have to be identical. Once the papers are published only online, they can be optimized entirely for online use, perhaps producing something that looks very different from what a traditional paper looks today. This is similar to the problem facing newspapers – putting articles designed for print online does not make them optimally adapted for the online ecosystem: from formatting, to the lack of links, the copy+paste of print articles online results in an unsatisfactory product. Online articles have to be thought, built and produced with the Web in mind from the beginning.

It is on the marketing/communications side that online experience is most important. The traditional PR language is counterproductive. In this age of radical transparency, the PR language reeks of dishonesty – people start wondering what you are trying to sell or what you are trying to hide. It is also a one-to-many mode of communication which people these days actively dislike.

The rapidly changing world of online communication brings forth the importance of language. The traditional language of science is very formal. The new language of online communication is very informal. When the two meet, online, the result if often a clash of cultures. In a communications job with a science publisher, one needs to be able to nimbly navigate both cultures and use the appropriate style for appropriate audiences. The job is to promote and defend a brand – it is essential to know how to be firm but polite, completely transparent and timely, and to be able to make many, many one-to-one relationships with the users of the brand, thus building trust.

Essentially, you need to know how to listen, not just talk. You need to engage with the members of the community on a daily basis. You need to take the suggestions from the community seriously and, when possible, incorporate them into the way your brand works. This increases the feeling of ownership in (and thus loyalty to) the brand by the community.

This is not a job for the faint of heart – you are constantly balancing on the edge of a potential PR disaster. You are supposed to act like a human, but getting into online fights is one of the very human traits – one to be avoided as much as possible. So, pick your fights carefully. And rarely. And when you do, keep your composure (and, for yourself only, keep your own sense of humor and perspective). This is the time when one is most tempted to use informal and snarky language but, if you are representing your employer, this is exactly the time to switch to a polite, formal use of language and let your “opponent” destroy himself in the plain view of your community. Don’t try to do the destroying yourself, as tempting as that may be. Let the community do the job for you. Bite your tongue, sleep overnight, and then proceed cautiously. So, if you are a blogger, your blog should demonstrate that you are capable of doing the above: tempering your emotions when it is really important. Bloggers are always fighting – show that you can fight with style. Or being capable of avoiding fights altogether. This will be especially attractive for hiring agents who are themselves not Web-savvy and belong entirely to the formal/polite world (and are thus horrified at the usual and normal tone of the blogosphere).

This brings me to the way the blogosphere itself is changing. The original blogs, ten or so years ago, were essentialy places for links (with perhaps a few words attached). This function of the blogs has now mainly moved to other services, e.g., Twitter. The blogs remain now the places for longer, more detailed, thoughtful pieces. This new “workflow” of modern communication, termed ‘mindcasting’ by NYU journalism professor Jay Rosen has been described here and here.

I have described the way we at PLoS are adapting to this new flow of communication, i.e., how we use Twitter, FriendFeed, Facebook and blogs for two-way communication between PLoS staff and the community. Getting experience in the use of all these services (and others, e.g., Flickr, YouTube, Stumbleupon, Tumblr, Digg, Redditt, etc.) is a useful toolset to have before applying for a communications job with a scientific publisher.

As for your own blogging, it can help and hinder, depending on how you use it. Getting in needless fights and insulting someone everyday (even if the person you are insulting is a truly despicable public figure) may not work so well for you. On the other hand, having a nice feel for the community in your comment sections, and at least occasionally writing nice posts about science that are worth aggregating on ResearchBlogging.org is surely a plus for getting that job.

Tips and Trick for Blogs

2010-02-14T21:16:00.001-08:00

Tips for creating a blog.
There are no hard and fast rules on how to blog. Having said that, bloggers will likely increase their exposure by following some simple blog guidelines.

1.) Stay on topic.
Opinions are generally accepted but the content of the items in the blog should all relate to a general theme. Unless you have an uncanny knack for wit, humor or cynicism, the majority of your readers will be interested in the content that relates to a specific defined theme or loosely defined area of interest. Most readers won't care that you eat Cheerios for breakfast. They may, however, be interested in the fact that vinegar takes out stains and that toilet paper rolls make great wreaths. Define a topic and stick to it. This will ensure that you create a loyal following of interested readers.

2.) Stay informative.
If you are attempting to create the impression that you are knowledgeable about a specific industry or sector, be sure that you stay current on news. If you are endorsing a product or voicing an opinion, be sure to check your facts; your reputation is at stake. If you are offering an opinion, be sure to qualify your post, making it clear that the content is intended as an editorial.

3.) Old news is not news.
While blogging every day can be a drain, it is important that the information presented is current and accurate, writing an article or blurb about something that happened 6 months ago, will not be of interest to many. Telling your audience that Martha Stewart was convicted and will be going to prison, after her sentence is completed will make people question the value of your columns.

4.) Adhere to a schedule.
Create a schedule and stick to it. Realizing that blogging requires time and effort, don't create unrealistic expectations and be unable to deliver. An occasional lapse or holiday is generally understood but readers returning to find stale, out-dated content are going to find another blog with similar content. New blogs and RSS feeds are popping up on a daily basis. If you have worked hard to develop an audience and a community you don't want to lose them due to lack of communication.

5.) Clarity and simplicity.
Keep your posts and blog entries clear and easy to understand. Remember, the web is global and expressions, idioms and acronyms don't always translate. Sometimes a little explanation goes a long way.

6.) Keyword-rich.
If the goal of your blog is to increase your visibility, include related keywords in the title of the blog. Use the title as a headline to attract interest. Each item post should have a title that will attract attention but still be relevant to the post. The title should be no longer than 10-12 words.

7.) Quantity matters.
In order to attract the attention of search engines, you will need to develop content and substance. A headline or simple sentence is not going to generate the interest of readers or help with search engine ranking. Be sure to archive old blog posts to develop a large portal of similarly-themed content.

8.) Frequency.
If your blog content is updated frequently, search engines will tend to spider the pages at regular intervals.

9.) Spell checking and proof-reading.
It only takes a few extra moments and can save you from having to make embarrassing explanations. Remember that whatever you publish on the Internet can be found and archived. Think carefully about what you post before doing so.

10.) RSS.
RSS will increase your blog's reach. It is important that you include your blog's content in an RSS feed to increase readership and distribution.

Most weblog audiences are small, but with time and regular updates audiences grow. Bloggers may never have more than a few hundred readers, but the people who return to regularly are generally interested in what you have to say.

Writing a Good Blog

2010-02-14T21:11:00.000-08:00

Blogs, or Web logs, are online journals that are updated frequently, sometimes even daily. An update, (also called an entry or a post) is usually quite short, perhaps just a few sentences, and readers can often respond to an entry online. People who write blogs are commonly called bloggers. Bloggers, tongue in cheek, call themselves and their blogs the blogosphere.

Blogs are a great way to keep everyone in a family abreast of the latest family news without running up the phone bill — you can simply read back over important updates to find out the latest news. In addition, many blogs are being used to host photographs, and their chronological structure can be a great way to keep track of a baby's growth, a trip, or the process of planning a wedding.

Professional writers often look down on bloggers, because their informal online writing rarely benefits from a good editor. Blogs are known for their casual writing and unpredictable subject material, but the best blogs have proven that — regardless of punctuation and spelling — even "novice" writers can be entertaining enough to attract a broad audience.

Bloggers with an especially engaging subject, such as chronicling a trip around the world, have the advantage of inherently interesting material, but even mundane material can attract an audience if you have an engaging style and voice.

Here are three guiding principles to writing a successful blog:

Develop a writing style and tone appropriate to your subject material.

Post often, even if your posts are short.

Allow your readers to comment on your posts.

Develop a writing style and voice

A great site design and technical gimmicks are no replacement for developing an interesting, readable writing style. Most of us don't do much personal writing in our everyday lives or even keep a diary. Writing about yourself is never easy, and you may find yourself freezing up in front of the computer screen or becoming stilted and unnecessarily verbose.

Here are a few suggestions you can use to develop your own voice and style for your blog. First, remember that a blog is a conversation. Try to write the way you speak. Avoid jargon and clichés and don't overuse the thesaurus. It may be helpful to speak your entry out loud before trying to type it or to read it aloud after you've written it. If you find yourself struggling as you read aloud or speaking unnaturally, think about what you might have said if you were talking to a friend rather than writing.

Second, write your blog with a specific friend or family member in mind. Thinking of someone you know well and who might want to read your blog will help you relax your writing style. That's why it's become popular for many people to start personal journal entries with Dear Diary. The goal is to get your writing to sound more like you and less like a lofty essay.

Always consider your audience. If you're writing for only close friends and family, you don't need to explain that Sarah is your 8-year-old daughter every time you mention her. But if your blog attracts a wider audience, you may want to create references or glossaries to help new readers follow along.

Finally, before you start blogging, spend some time visiting other blogs that are like the one you're thinking of starting. Read one or two for a few weeks and pay attention to things like the length of posts, frequency, writing style, and subject material. You can get some great ideas for your own blog by noting what you find interesting and compelling in other people's blogs.

Update, update, update

The blogs that attract the most readers are the ones with frequent updates. If you start a blog, be prepared to spend some time working on it every day or two. If you're going to be a blogger, you have to blog! It takes discipline for most of us to write, even conversationally, every day. If you find yourself dreading posting to your blog, maybe a blog isn't for you.

As you go about your day, keep the blog in the back of your mind. You may even want to carry a notebook where you can jot down reminders for topics you want to blog about later. Start paying attention to the parts of your life that are most interesting to you; those will likely be the areas your friends and family are most interested in as well. Don't be afraid to write about everyday activities — parking tickets and car repairs — but don't neglect to talk about what you're thinking and feeling. All these areas will make it possible for you to update frequently.

Having a co-blogger can take some of the pressure off, especially if all authors contribute regularly. If you're going to be working with several people on one blog, talk over how often you expect each other to post so that you can keep some focus and cohesion to your blog.

If you will be updating your blog on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis, try to be consistent about when you add new posts so that your readers know when to catch up. For example, you may choose to update your site every Sunday evening.

Invite comments

An important aspect of blogs is that they feature the writing of the blogger as well as the comments of readers. When you visit a blog, you often find a comment link under the text of each blog posting. Clicking that link enables you to read comments from other people and submit your own. Usually bloggers make their own comments in the posts on their site, but sometimes a blogger adds a response in the comment section because it's a more direct way to address someone else's comment.

Not all bloggers choose to implement the comment feature, but if you want to develop a dialogue with your audience, comments are the best way to do so. The comment feature is an easy way to involve your audience and get valuable feedback about what you're doing with your blog.

If you do decide to allow comments on your blog, be sure to keep an eye on them. The comment feature makes it possible for anyone to add comments to your blog and you may not always like what they have to say. For example, spammers sometimes take advantage of inattentive bloggers to do some marketing that you may not want on your blog. All good blogging software makes it easy for the author to remove comments.

Top 10 Blog Writing Tips: Write a Blog You’d Want to Read

2010-02-14T21:08:00.000-08:00

Write with the reader in mind. Remember WIIFM? It’s marketing jargon for What’s In It For Me? That’s what you should be keeping in mind. Your reader will read your post looking for what’s in it for them.
Make it valuable and worthwhile. Don’t waste people’s time. If you don’t have anything to say, no problem, plenty other people do. So share their articles, do an interview, review a book.
Proof-read for typos and glaring grammatical errors. You wouldn’t go out of the house with dirty hair or missing a sock, so why would you publish spelling mistakes? Respect your readers by polishing up your stuff.
Keep it short and simple, sweetie. (KISS). Most people are scanners. You may have a lot to say and think it interesting, and it may be. But people are reading online and out of time. Get to the point quickly. Publishing short posts more frequently is a better format than publishing lengthy articles every few weeks.
Keep it lively, make it snappy and snazzy. Even if you aren’t a natural born writer, you can write for your blog. Just write like you’re speaking to your friend.or to yourself! Remember though, get to the point quickly. Keep in mind the journalist’s rule of 5 W’s in the first paragraph: who, what, why, when and where.
Link often. This builds credibility and positions you as an expert in your field. People don’t have time to know what others are doing, you should tell them. Linking to other blogs and websites also helps you build a network of associates who will in turn link to your blog.
Use keywords often. This will help you stay on purpose, and the search engines will love your blog. Your rankings will go up. This is one of the reasons we have you write out your purpose statements before beginning your blog. The clearer you are about your purpose, the more consistently you will deliver messages that are on target. And the more often your keywords show up, the better your search engine results.
Write clearly (short sentences, only one concept per sentence). No double speak or jargon; no more than one idea in one sentence- don’t make your readers have to think about your meaning. Spoon feed them. Use commas and dashes liberally.
Write like you talk. It’s okay to use common expressions from speech. Examples: Go figure. Don’t even go there. Now, I ask you. Gotta love it. (And, remember the age group of your readers.)
Use a clear headline, and don’t be afraid to make bold statements (but don’t mislead people either). Make it snazzy and use key words. Example: Ex-Techno-Weenie Masters HTML Code

BONUS: After you write a post and BEFORE you hit the save button

Use this checklist to ask yourself a few questions as you are reading through for typos and grammar:

Is the topic clear to someone who only reads the headline?
Does the lead paragraph tell who and what the story is about and why the reader should care about it?
Is the angle you’ve used likely to seem newsworthy?
Would someone who knows absolutely nothing about this topic understand this post?
Is the post free of jargon?
Is it written in journalistic style and does it make an effort to be objective?
Have you peppered the headline and the post with keywords and phrases that will be attractive to search engines?
Did you remember to ask your readers a question at the end, or something to stimulate readers to comment?
Did you remember to write with the reader in mind, always keeping in mind WIIFT? (What’s in It for Them?)

Top 100 Creative Writing Blogs

2010-02-14T20:59:00.000-08:00

From poetry to lengthy prose, creative writing can be a great way to express yourself. Of course, even the best students and writers can use a few tips, a little inspiration and a whole lot of help getting their work out there. These blogs offer all of that and more. From blogs that focus on writers still trying to make it in the publishing world to those providing updates from best selling authors, you’ll find all kinds of information geared towards improving and informing your creative writing.

General

These blogs cover a wide range of issues for students of the written word.

Writer Unboxed: Learn both about the creative and business sides of fiction writing from this great blog.
Backstory: Ever wonder where writers get their inspiration? You’ll find loads of posts that record just that and you can contribute your own stories as well.
Write Anything: Check out this multi-author blog to find writing challenges, inspiration and shared writing.
Inkygirl: Daily Diversions for Writers: This blogger not only posts about using the Internet to improve your writing but posts her own comics frequently as well.
Women on Writing: Get information on writing geared just towards female writers out there.
Cute Writing: Here you’ll find posts on writing, blogging and publishing and many articles focus on ways to make your work more efficient.
Write to Done: If you enjoy the blog Zen Habits, you’ll appreciate this blog by the same author. This site focuses on simple, effective ways to write more, better.
The Urban Muse: Freelance writer Susan Johnston provides tips and tidbits for other working writers out there.
Writing Forward: From grammar tips to ideas for improving your creative writing, check out the helpful posts on this site.
Writer’s Write: This blog is a great place to find information about writers, books and the publishing world.
Creative Writing Corner: Connect with your creative side through the posts on this blog.
Creative Writing Contests: Want to challenge your creative skills? This blog can direct you to the great number of writing competitions out there.

Aspiring Authors

These bloggers are writing on the ‘net and off, still waiting to get their best work published.

The Desperate Writer: This writer and cosmetologist shares her stories on this blog, both personal and creative.
Incurable Disease of Writing: Blogger Missy is getting her degree in creative writing and posts about her experiences on this site.
Emerging Writers Network: If you’re just getting started in your writing career, check out this site to learn about the ins and outs of writing and about other writers working towards success.
Ficticity: Check out this site to find posted stories, writing tips and even a few book reviews.
Authors’ Blogs: This isn’t just one blog, but a collection of numerous aspiring writers sites, so you can take your pick of reading material.
Plot Monkeys: These four bloggers talk about everything from their everyday lives to the books they love.
Maternal Spark: Moms who love to write or create on the side

Published Authors

Get some advice, inspiration and motivation from these authors doing what they love and getting paid for it.

The Orwell Diaries: Most writers are familiar with the work of George Orwell. Here you’ll find regular postings from his personal diaries.
Tom Conoby’s Writing Blog: This blogger shares his thoughts on books he reads, his own writing and much more.
John Baker’s Blog: This working writer shares his passions– reading and writing– on this site.
The Man In Black: Young mystery writer Jason Pinter shares his thoughts on just about everything on this blog.
Neil Gaiman’s Journal: This well-known writer has published a large number of books, several of which have been made into major motion pictures. Check out his blog for more about what he’s working on right now.
Wil Wheaton in Exile: Readers of this blog might recognize his name from his days on Star Trek: The Next Generation but these days this actor spends more of this time writing books and posting on his blog.
A Writer’s Life: Love the TV series Monk? Learn more about the writer behind the books the series is based on from this blog.
The Paperback Writer: With several published books under her belt, this blogger shares her writing tips as well as information about her personal life.
Pocket Full of Words: Novelist Holly Lisle shares her experiences as a writer on her blog.
Beyond the Beyond: Bruce Sterling has written numerous science fiction novels and now shares his thoughts on science and technology on his WIRED blog.
Contrary Brin: Scientist and author David Brin maintains this site where readers can talk about issues from his books or just about anything else.
Scott Berkun: This author teaches creative thinking, writes books and give public talks. Read about his writing adventures and otherwise here.

Improving Your Craft

Get some tips on becoming a better writer from these blogs.

Becoming a Writer Seriously: Aspiring writers can find all kinds of helpful advice and guidance on this blog.
WordSwimmer: Learn to understand the writing process a little better with a little help from blogger Bruce Black. There are loads of interviews with authors as well as suggestions on improving your writing.
Time to Write: Blogger Jurgen Wolff wants to strike a creative spark in writers of all kinds by providing tips and inspiration here.
Flogging the Quill: Check out this blog to learn more about the craft of creative storytelling.
Six Sentences: What can you write in six sentences? Share your attempt at this writing exercise on this blog.
Luc Reid: From tips on finding time to practice writing to information about the publishing industry, you’ll find loads of helpful posts on this blog.
The Writing Show: While more podcast than true blog, this site is a good place for writers to get answers to their questions and get help finding inspiration.
Men With Pens: Whether you’re a writer freelancing or just writing for fun, you’ll find tips on how to do it better on this blog.
Write a Better Novel: Make sure whatever you’re writing will get the attention it deserves when time comes to get it published. This blog provides all kinds of information on creating a better novel, no matter the subject.
Write Better: Here you’ll find a wide range of writing tips to get your creative writing in top shape.
Clear Writing with Mr. Clarity: Learn to get to the point and write clearly and concisely whether you’re writing a letter at work or working on a book.
Mike’s Writing Workshop: This blogger is all about posting things that can help writers get better and get inspired.
Kim’s Craft Blog: Learn about writing fiction, memoirs and other creative writing from this writer who teaches courses at The Cambridge Center for Adult Education.

Grammar and Editing

You may have the best ideas but that doesn’t mean much if you can’t write them well. These blogs will help you tune up your writing so it’s publish-worthy.

GrammarBlog: Laugh at the grammar and spelling errors of others while getting tips on improving your own skills on this blog.
Evil Editor: This editor might be evil, but the tips provided on this blog can really help you refine your stories.
Blue Pencil Editing: This blog is both a good resource for working editors and and writers in search of a little guidance.
Editing and Proofreading Hints and Tips: Get simple tips on improving your editing process from this blog.
Headsup: the blog: Here you’ll find posts about the sometimes frustrating world of editing and learn what not to do.
Grammarphobia: This site offers readers the chance to ask their own grammar and language questions and get answers.
Apostrophe Abuse: Think you know how to use the apostrophe? This blog might teach you otherwise.
Daily Writing Tips: Get some daily advice on how to improve the basics of your writing.
ProWriting Tips: This blog is home to numerous grammar and writing tips.
The Engine Room: JD, a copy editor, runs this blog all about language use that can help you get a handle on your usage.
Cheryl Norman, Grammar Cop: If you’ve got some questions about grammar that need answering, visit this blog.
English4Today: Get a handle on the English language through the guidance of blogger Anthony Hughes.

Getting Published

The ultimate goal for many students and professionals working on creative writing is to get work published. This blogs can help you learn about the business, get your work out there, or even publish it yourself.

Ask Allison: Ask your questions about breaking publishing and gets answers from this helpful blogger.
Guide to Literary Agents: Get some tips on where and how to find a literary agent to represent your work when the time comes.
Beacon Literary Services: Emerging writers and those with a little experience under their belts alike can take advantage of the publishing advice offered here.
Questions and Quandaries: This Writers Digest blog answers a wide variety of questions about publishing.
Writer Beware Blogs: While you may be desperate to get your work out there make sure you protect yourself from scams. The information in this blog can help you stay safe.
The Swivet: Colleen Lindsay is a literary agent and you can read her reactions to recent publications and if you meet her requirements even submit your own work.
The Rejecter: This blogger isn’t a literary agent but an assistant to one, the person you’ll have to go through to get your work published, and she posts all about her work on this blog.
Booksquare: This blog works to dissect the publishing industry so you can learn it inside and out.
Pubrants: Literary agent Kristen blogs about everything publishing from queries to working with writers.
Nathan Bransford Literary Agent: Want to know more about literary agents and the publishing world? Check out this blog.
Practicing Writing: This blog posts plenty on writing advice as well as the latest publishing opportunities.
Bob Baker’s Full-Time Author Blog: Thinking of making the leap to being a full-time writer? This blog can be a great resource on publishing your own book to set the stage.
Future Perfect Publishing: Explore all the possibilities for publishing that are out there through the help of this blog by Tom Masters.

Genre Focused

These creative writing blogs focus on one particular type of writing, such as mysteries, romance and fantasy.

Storytellers Unplugged: This multi-author blog is contributed to by writers, editors and publishers and can give you a great background on writing in a wide range of genres.
Gibberish: Science fiction and fantasy writer Jayme Lynn Blaschke posts about his writing and more on this site.
SF Signal: From books to movies, you can keep abreast of all the goings on in world of science fiction through this blog.
SF and Fantasy Novelists: Here you’ll find loads of information on writers working in the science fiction genre.
Reading, Raving and Ranting: If you’re interested in historical fiction you can read about Susan Higginbotham’s experience writing about fourteenth-century England.
Myth and Mystery: Novelist and contributor to the New York Times Rick Riordan is a mystery writer and you can read about his latest work on this site.
Type M for Murder: Learn a little bit about murder mysteries from this multi-author blog.
Crime Fiction Dossier: If crime fiction is your thing, you’ll learn loads from this blog by David Montgomery.
Jungle Red: Six mystery writers contribute to this blog that talks about writing, life, love and much more.
Romancing the Blog: This blog is home to numerous romance novelists who post on just about everything.

Fiction Writing

Most creative writing falls into the category of fiction, so learn more about writing great novels and stories from these blogs.

Advanced Fiction Writing: Written by the "mad professor" of fiction writing, this blog is geared towards inspiring you and getting you writing.
Writing Fiction: Here you’ll find a lively discussion about writing and publishing novels and short fiction.
Killer Fiction: With five published authors contributing to this blog, you’ll get loads of tips and posts on writing.
Ginny’s Fiction Writing Blog: Ginny Wiehardt posts about fiction writing in this About.com blog.
Becoming a Fiction Writer: This blogger is following her dream of becoming a fiction writer.
Blog Fiction: If you plan on taking to the net with your writing, this blogger can give you all kinds of tips on doing it right.
Fiction Writers Review: The writers who run this blog are all about reviewing books but they also discuss what works and what makes truly great fiction.
Angela Booth’s Writing Blog: Whether you’re writing fiction or just freelancing, you’ll find helpful writing tips on this blog.
Fiction Writing: The Passionate Journey: You won’t become a great writer overnight. This blog can help you start and keep going along your journey to writing success.
Fiction Scribe: From grammar errors to book tours, this blog talks about a wide range of issues affecting fiction writers.

Poetry

If verse is more your thing, pay these helpful blogs a visit.

Avoiding the Muse: Doctor, blogger and author C. Dale Young maintains this blog as well as teaching an MFA program on writing.
Poetry Hut Blog: Keep up to date on the latest happenings in the poetry world with this blog.
Poet with a Day Job: Does the title of this blog remind you of yourself? Read this blogger’s posts on writing, reading and everyday life here.
1,000 Black Lines: Posts on this blog are a single line long, some of which record daily events and others that read like lines of poetry.
The Best American Poetry: Learn about some of the best poetry out there through this blog.
harriet: The Poetry Foundation maintains this blog, which posts about happenings in the poetry world and speaks directly to you, the poet.
Poems at the Poetry Showcase: Contribute your poetry to this blog, or read the postings of others.
Poets.org: The American Academy of Poets lets you know about great poetry that’s out there through their blog.
Poetry and Poets in Rags: This blogger is both a salesman and a poet.
Silliman’s Blog: Here you’ll find informative posts on contemporary poets and their work.
Poets Who Blog: This blog is a great resource for poets, with writing contests, posts about work and more.

What is Managed hosting service or dedicated server

2010-01-31T15:37:00.000-08:00

A dedicated hosting service, dedicated server, or managed hosting service is a type of Internet hosting in which the client leases an entire server not shared with anyone. This is more flexible than shared hosting, as organizations have full control over the server(s), including choice of operating system, hardware, etc. Server administration can usually be provided by the hosting company as an add-on service. In some cases a dedicated server can offer less overhead and a larger return on investment.

Dedicated servers are most often housed in data centers, similar to colocation facilities, providing redundant power sources and HVAC systems. In contrast to colocation, the server hardware is owned by the provider and in some cases they will provide support for your operating system or applications. Here is the spesific describe:

1 Operating system support
2 Bandwidth and connectivity
3 Management
4 Security
5 Software
6 Limitations

Operating system support

Availability, price and employee familiarity often determines which operating systems are offered on dedicated servers. Variations of Linux and Unix (open source operating systems) are often included at no charge to the customer. Commercial operating systems include Microsoft Windows Server, provided through a special program called Microsoft SPLA. Red Hat Enterprise is a commercial version of Linux offered to hosting providers on a monthly fee basis. The monthly fee provides OS updates through the Red Hat Network using an application called yum. Other operating systems are available from the open source community at no charge. These include CentOS, Fedora Core, Debian, and many other Linux distributions or BSD systems FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD.

Support for any of these operating systems typically depends on the level of management offered with a particular dedicated server plan. Operating system support may include updates to the core system in order to acquire the latest security fixes, patches, and system-wide vulnerability resolutions. Updates to core operating systems include kernel upgrades, service packs, application updates, and security patches that keep server secure and safe. Operating system updates and support relieves the burden of server management from the dedicated server owner.

Bandwidth and connectivity

Bandwidth refers to the data transfer rate or the amount of data that can be carried from one point to another in a given time period (usually a second) and is often represented in bits (of data) per second (bit/s). For example, visitors to your server, web site, or applications utilize bandwidth as the traffic moves from your server to the Internet and vice versa. Connectivity refers to the “access providers” that supply bandwidth, or data transfer rate, through various connection points across a network or footprint to one or multiple data centers where dedicated servers are housed.

Bandwidth measurements are defined (per telecom standards) as the following:

First – 95th (measured using average bits and speed of transfer)
Second – Unmetered (measured in speed or bits)
Third – Total Transfer (measured in bytes transferred)

95th Method: line speed, billed on the 95th percentile, average or peak usage, refers to the speed in which data flows from the server or device. Line speed is measured in bits per second (or kilobits per second, megabits per second or gigabits per second).

Unmetered Method: The second bandwidth measurement is unmetered service where providers cap or control the “top line” speed for a server. Top line speed in unmetered bandwidth is the total Mbit/s allocated to the server and configured on the switch level. For example, if you purchase 10 Mbit/s unmetered bandwidth, the top line speed would be 10 Mbit/s. 10 Mbit/s would result in the provider controlling the speed transfers take place while providing the ability for the dedicated server owner to not be charged with bandwidth overages. Unmetered bandwidth services usually incur an additional charge.

Total Transfer Method: Some providers will calculate the Total Transfer, the measurement of actual data leaving and arriving, measured in bytes. Measurement between providers varies, though it is either the total traffic in, the total traffic out, whichever is the greater or the sum of the two.

One of the reasons for choosing to outsource dedicated servers is the availability of high powered networks from multiple providers. As dedicated server providers utilize massive amounts of bandwidth, they are able to secure lower volume based pricing to include a multi-provider blend of bandwidth. To achieve the same type of network without a multi-provider blend of bandwidth, a large investment in core routers, long term contracts, and expensive monthly bills would need to be in place. The expenses needed to develop a network without a multi-provider blend of bandwidth does not make sense economically for hosting providers.

Many dedicated server providers include a service level agreement based on network uptime. Some dedicated server hosting providers offer a 100% uptime guarantee on their network. By securing multiple vendors for connectivity and using redundant hardware, providers are able to guarantee higher uptimes; usually between 99-100% uptime if they are a higher quality provider. One aspect of higher quality providers is they are most likely to be multi-homed across multiple quality uplink providers, which in turn, provides significant redundancy in the event one goes down in addition to potentially improved routes to destinations.

Bandwidth consumption over the last several years has shifted from a per megabit usage model to a per gigabyte usage model. Bandwidth was traditionally measured in line speed access that included the ability to purchase needed megabits at a given monthly cost. As the shared hosting model developed, the trend towards gigabyte or total bytes transferred, replaced the megabit line speed model so dedicated server providers started offering per gigabyte.

Prominent players in the dedicated server market offer large amounts of bandwidth ranging from 500 gigabytes to 3000 gigabytes using the “overselling” model. It is not uncommon for major players to provide dedicated servers with 1Terabyte (TB) of bandwidth or higher. Usage models based on the byte level measurement usually include a given amount of bandwidth with each server and a price per gigabyte after a certain threshold has been reached. Expect to pay additional fees for bandwidth overage usage. For example, if a dedicated server has been given 3000 gigabytes of bandwidth per month and the customer uses 5000 gigabytes of bandwidth within the billing period, the additional 2000 gigabytes of bandwidth will be invoiced as bandwidth overage. Each provider has a different model for billing. As of yet, no industry standards have been set.

Management

To date, no industry standards have been set to clearly define the management role of dedicated server providers. What this means is that each provider will use industry standard terms, but each provider will define them differently. For some dedicated server providers, fully managed is defined as having a web based control panel while other providers define it as having dedicated system engineers readily available to handle all server and network related functions of the dedicated server provider.

Server management can include some or all of the following:

Operating system updates
Application updates
Server monitoring
SNMP hardware monitoring
Application monitoring
Application management
Technical support
Firewall services
Antivirus updates
Security audits
DDoS protection and mitigation
Intrusion detection
Backups and restoration
Disaster recovery
DNS hosting service
Load balancing
Database administration
Performance tuning
Software installation and configuration
User management
Programming consultation

Dedicated hosting server providers define their level of management based on the services they provide. In comparison, fully managed could equal self managed from provider to provider.

Administrative maintenance of the operating system, often including upgrades, security patches, and sometimes even daemon updates are included. Differing levels of management may include adding users, domains, daemon configuration, or even custom programming.

Dedicated server hosting providers may provide the following types of server managed support:

Fully Managed - Includes monitoring, software updates, reboots, security patches and operating system upgrades. Customers are completely hands-off
Managed - Includes medium level of management, monitoring, updates, and a limited amount of support. Customers may perform specific tasks.
Self Managed - Includes regular monitoring and some maintenance. Customers provide most operations and tasks on dedicated server.
Unmanaged - Little to no involvement from service provider. Customers provide all maintenance, upgrades, patches, and security.

Note: The provider will continue to maintain security on the network regardless of support level.

Security

Dedicated hosting server providers utilize extreme security measures to ensure the safety of data stored on their network of servers. Providers will often deploy various software programs for scanning systems and networks for obtrusive invaders, spammers, hackers, and other harmful problems such as Trojans, worms, eggdrops and crashers (Sending multiple connections). Linux and Windows use different software for security protection.

Software

Providers often bill for dedicated servers on a fixed monthly price to include specific software packages. Over the years, software vendors realized the significant market opportunity to bundle their software with dedicated servers. They have since started introducing pricing models that allow dedicated hosting providers the ability to purchase and resell software based on reduced monthly fees.

Microsoft offers software licenses through a program called the Service Provider License Agreement. The SPLA model provides use of Microsoft products through a monthly user or processor based fee. SPLA software includes the Windows Operating System, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft SharePoint and shoutcast hosting, and many other server based products.

Dedicated Server Providers usually offer the ability to select the software you want installed on a dedicated server. Depending on the overall usage of the server, this will include your choice of operating system, database, and specific applications. Servers can be customized and tailored specific to the customer’s needs and requirements.

Other software applications available are specialized web hosting specific programs called control panels. Control panel software is an all inclusive set of software applications, server applications, and automation tools that can be installed on a dedicated server. Control panels include integration into web servers, database applications, programming languages, application deployment, server administration tasks, and include the ability to automate tasks via a web based front end.

Most dedicated servers are packaged with a control panel. Control panels are often confused with management tools, but these control panels are actually web based automation tools created to help automate the process of web site creation and server management. Control panels should not be confused with a full server management solution by a dedicated hosting provider.

Limitations

Many providers do not allow IRC (bots, clients or daemons). This is due to rogue IRC users triggering DDoS attacks against the provider, which may overwhelm their networks, lowering service quality for all customers.

Adult content is disallowed by many providers as it may either be of questionable legality or consume large amounts of bandwidth.
Copyright violation Hosting copyrighted material of which you do not own the copyright to is against the terms of service of most hosting companies.

Chose your own hosting and domain which is the most handy when you are get a webs on your hand. Bya this article you can understand what is the most suitable for your condition.

Factoring Terminology On Structured settlement factoring transaction

2010-01-11T15:19:00.000-08:00

Best Interest Standard On Factoring Terminology On Structured settlement factoring transaction. Internal Revenue Code Sec. 5891 and most state laws require that a court find that a proposed settlement factoring transaction be in the best interest of the seller, taking into account the welfare and support of any dependents. “Best interest” is generally not defined, which gives judges flexibility to make a subjective determination on a case-by-case basis. Some state laws may require that the judge look at factors such as the “purpose of the intended use of the funds,” the payee’s mental and physical capacity, and the seller’s potential need for future medical treatment. One Minnesota court described the “best interest standard” as a determination involving “a global consideration of the facts, circumstances, and means of support available to the payee and his or her dependents.”

Courts have consistently found that the “best interest standard” is not limited to financial hardship cases. Hence, a transfer may be in a seller’s best interest because it allows him to take advantage of an opportunity (i.e., buy a new home, start a business, attend college, etc.) or to avoid disaster (i.e., pay for a family member’s unexpected medical care, pay off mounting debt, etc.). For example, a New Jersey court found that a transaction was in a seller’s best interest where the funds were used to “pay off bills…and to buy a home and get married.”

Although sometimes criticized for being vague, the best interest standard’s lack of precise definition allows considerable latitude in judicial review. Courts can consider on a case-by-case basis the totality of the circumstances surrounding the transfer to determine whether it should be approved.

Discount Rate

In the beginning, the factoring industry had some relatively high discount rates due to heavy expenses caused by costly litigation battles and limited access to traditional investors. However, once state and federal legislation was enacted, the industry’s interest rates decreased dramatically. There is much confusion with the terminology “discount rate” because the term is used in different ways. The discount rate referred to in a factoring transaction is similar to an interest rate associated with home loans, credit cards and car loans where the interest rate is applied to the payment stream itself. In a factoring transaction, the factoring company knows the payment stream they are going to purchase and applies an interest rate to the payment stream itself and solves for the funding amount, as though it was a loan. Discount rates from factoring companies to consumers can range anywhere between 8% up to over 18% but usually average somewhere in the middle (link to a discount rate calculator can be found here).

Factoring discount rates can be a bit higher when compared to home loan interest rates, due to the fact the factoring transactions are more of a boutique product for investors opposed to the mainstream collateralized mortgage transactions. One common mistake in calculating the discount rate is to use “elementary school math” where you take the funding/loan amount and divide it by the total price of all the payments being purchased. Because this method disregards the concept of time (and the time value of money), the resulting percentage is useless. For example, the court in In Re Henderson Receivables Origination v.

Campos noted an annual discount rate of 16.8% where the annuitant received $36,500 for the assignment of payments totaling $63,364.94 over 84 months (two monthly payments of $672.32 each, beginning September 30, 2006 and ending on October 31, 2006; eighty-two monthly payments of $692.49 each, increasing 3% every twelve months, beginning on November 30, 2006 and ending on August 31, 2013). However, had the court in Henderson Receivables Origination applied the illogical formula of discounting from “elementary school math” ($36,500/ $63,364.94), the discount rate would have been an astronomical (and nonsensical) 61%.

Discounted Present Value

Another term commonly used in factoring transactions is “discounted present value,” which is defined in the NCOIL model transfer act as “the present value of future payments determined by discounting such payments to the present using the most recently published Applicable Federal Rate for determining the present value of an annuity, as issued by the United States Internal Revenue Service.” The IRS discount rate, also known as the Applicable Federal Rate (AFR), is used to determine the charitable deduction for many types of planned gifts, such as charitable remainder trusts and gift annuities. The rate is the annual rate of return that the IRS assumes the gift assets will earn during the gift term. The IRS discount rate is published monthly (link to current rate may be found here).

In Henderson Receivables Origination (above), the court calculated the discounted present value of the $63,364.94 to be transferred as $50,933.18 based on the applicable federal rate of 6.00%. The “discounted present value” is a measuring stick for determining what the value of a future payment (i.e., a payment that is due in the year 2057) is today. Hence, the discounted present value of a payment corrects for inflation and the principle that money available today is worth more than money not accessible for 50 years (or some future time). However, the discounted present value is not the same thing as market value (what someone is willing to pay).

Basically, a calculation that discounts a future payment based on IRS rates is an artificial number since it has no bearing on the payment’s actual selling price. For example, in Henderson Receivables Origination, it is somewhat confusing for the court to evaluate future payments totaling $63,364,94 based the discounted present value of $50,933.18 because that is not the market value of the payments.

In other words, the annuitant couldn’t go out and get $50,933.18 for his future payments because no person or company would be willing to pay that much. Some states will require a quotient to be listed on the disclosure that is sent to the customer prior to entering into a contract with a factoring company. The quotient is calculated by dividing the purchase price by the discounted present value. The quotient (like the discounted present value) provides no relevance in the pricing of a settlement factoring transaction. In Henderson Receivables Origination (above), the court did consider this quotient which was calculated as 71.70% ($36,500/ $50,933.18).

Process Structured settlement factoring Pre-2002

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Congress enacted law to provide special tax breaks for payments received by tort victims in structured settlements, and for the companies that funded them. The payments were tax free, whereas if the tort victim had been given a lump sum and invested it themselves, the payments from those investments would be taxable.

Companies liked structured settlements because it allowed them to avoid taxes to a certain extent, and plaintiffs liked them because it allowed them to receive tax-free payments of what became, over time, a much larger amount of money than the original amount paid out by the settling party. Such settlements were also considered an especially good idea for minors, as they held the money safe for adulthood and ensured that youth would not find the money wasted or ill-spent. “Despite the best intentions of plaintiffs, lump sum settlement awards are often quickly dissipated because of excessive spending, poor financial management, or a combination of both. Statistics showed that twenty-five to thirty percent of all cash awards are exhausted within two months, and ninety percent are exhausted within five years.” Andrada, “Structured Settlements – The Assignability Problem,” 9 S. Cal. Interdis. L.J. 465, 468 (Spring 2000).

An explanation of IRS Code section 130 was given during discussions of possible taxation of companies that bought future payments under those structured settlements. “By enacting the PPSA, Congress expressed its support of structured settlements, and sought to shield victims and their families from pressures to prematurely dissipate their recoveries.” 145 Cong. Rec. S52281-01 (daily ed. May 13, 1999) (statement of Sen. Chaffee).

Congress was willing to afford such tax advantages based on the belief that the loss in income taxes would be more than made up by lower expenditures on public assistance programs for those who suffered significant injuries. A strict requirement for a structured settlement to qualify for this tax break was that the tort victim was barred from accessing their periodic payments before they came due. It was for this reason that the annuity had to be owned by another who had control over it. The tort victim could not be seen to have “constructive receipt” of the annuity funds prior to their periodic payments. If the tort victim could cash in the annuity at any time, it was possible that the IRS might find constructive receipt.

“Congress conditioned the favorable rules on a requirement that the periodic payments cannot be accelerated, deferred, increased or decreased by the injured person. Both the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committee Reports stated that the periodic payments as personal injury damages are still excludable fro income only if the recipient is not in constructive receipt of or does not have the current economic benefit of the sum required to produce the periodic payments.”

Testimony of Tax Legislative Counsel Joseph M. Mikrut to the Subcommittee on Oversight of the Committee of Ways and Means, March 18, 1999. “These factoring transactions directly undermine the policy objective underlying the structured settlement tax regime, that of protecting the long term financial needs of injuries persons . . . “ (Id.)

Mr. Mikrut was testifying in favor of imposing a punitive tax on factoring companies that engaged in pursuit of structured settlement payments. Despite the use of non-assignment clauses in annuity contracts to secure the tax advantages for tort victims. companies cropped up that tried to advantage of these individuals in ”factoring” transactions, purchasing their periodic payments in return for a deeply discounted lump sump payment. Congress felt that factoring company purchases of structured settlement payments “so directly subvert the Congressional policy underlying structured settlements and raise such serious concerns for the injured victims,” that bills were proposed in both the Senate and the House to penalize companies which engage in such transactions. (Id.)

Before the enactment of IRC 5891, which became effective on July 1, 2002, some states regulated the transfer of structured settlement payment rights, while others did not. Most states that regulated transfers at this time followed a general pattern, substantially similar to the present day process which is mandated in IRC 5891 (see below for more details of the post-2002 process). However, the majority of the transfers processed from 1988 to 2002 were not court ordered.[9] After negotiating the terms of the transaction (including the payments to be sold and the price to be paid for those payments), a formal purchase contract was executed, effecting an assignment of the subject payments upon closing. Part of this assignment process also included the grant of a security interest in the structured settlement payments, to secure performance of the seller’s obligations. Filing a public lien based on that security agreement created notice of this assignment and interest. The insurance company issuing the structured settlement annuity checks was typically not given actual notice of the transfer, due to antagonism by the insurance industry against factoring and transfer companies. Many annuity issuers were concerned that factoring transactions, which were not contemplated when Congress enacted IRC 130, might upset the tax treatment of qualified assignments. HR 2884 (discussed below) resolved this question for annuity issuers.

Structured settlement factoring transaction

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A structured settlement factoring transaction describes the selling of future structured settlement payments (or, more accurately, rights to receive the future structured settlement payments). People who receive structured settlement payments (for example, the payment of personal injury damages over time instead of in a lump sum at settlement) may decide at some point that they need more money in the short term than the periodic payment provides over time. People's reasons are varied but can include unforeseen medical expenses for oneself or a dependent, the need for improved housing or transportation, education expenses and the like. To meet this need, the structured settlement recipient can sell (or, less commonly, encumber) all or part of their future periodic payments for a present lump sum.

HISTORY Structured settlement factoring transaction

Structured settlements experienced an explosion in use beginning in the 1980s.The growth is most likely attributable to the favorable federal income tax treatment such settlements receive as a result of the 1982 amendment of the tax code to add § 130. Internal Revenue Code § 130 provides, inter alia, substantial tax incentives to insurance companies that establish “qualified” structured settlements.There are other advantages for the original tort defendant (or casualty insurer) in settling for payments over time, in that they benefit from the time value of money (most demonstrable in the fact that an annuity can be purchased to fund the payment of future periodic payments, and the cost of such annuity is far less than the sum total of all payments to be made over time). Finally, the tort plaintiff also benefits in several ways from a structured settlement, notably in the ability to receive the periodic payments from an annuity that gains investment value over the life of the payments, and the settling plaintiff receives the total payments, including that “inside build-up” value, tax-free.

However, a substantial downside to structured settlements comes from their inherent inflexibility. To take advantage of the tax benefits allotted to defendants who choose to settle cases using structured settlements, the periodic payments must be set up to meet basic requirements [set forth in IRC 130(c)]. Among other things, the payments must be fixed and determinable, and cannot be accelerated, deferred, increased or decreased by the recipient. For many structured settlement recipients, the periodic payment stream is their only asset. Therefore, over time and as recipients’ personal situations change in ways unpredicted at the settlement table, demand for liquidity options rises. To offset the liquidity issue, most structured settlement recipients, as a part of their total settlement, will receive an immediate sum to be invested to meet the needs not best addressed through the use of a structured settlement. Beginning in the late 1980s, a few small financial institutions started to meet this demand and offer new flexibility for structured settlement payees. In April 2009, financial writer Suze Orman wrote in a syndicated column [1] that selling future structured settlement payments "is tempting but it's typically not smart."

Purchase Structured Settlements

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Companies that purchase structured settlements will buy out your future payments in exchange for advancing you money now, minus their fee. These companies can provide needed cash in a lump sum, far more than your monthly allotment, if that is what you choose to do, instead of staying on the monthly or yearly plan that your structured settlement sets forth.

If you have been involved in a lawsuit for personal injury, product defects, medical malpractice, or wrongful death of a family member, you may have mediated a settlement offer. Many times, since settlements in personal injury cases can be so large, the payouts are structured, or set up to be paid out in increments over time. This can be over several months, or years, and in some cases for a lifetime of payments. This amounts to a guaranteed income for the person who has settled their lawsuit for monetary compensation.

HOW TO Purchase Structured Settlements

When a large sum is spread out over many months, or years, there can be some tax advantages, and it does assure the recipient of future income. By taking a large lump sum all at once, the person who receives it gets a large amount of money all at one time, with nothing set aside for future expenses. People who are hurt and have ongoing medical expenses will need a lot of money for their future care, and a structured settlement is good for that purpose.

Purchase Structured Settlements Sometimes, however, the recipient has a good reason for wanting a large amount of cash immediately, instead of the smaller amounts over time. They might want to go to college, or buy a house, or have another good reason for needing some, or all, of their settlement money up front. This is a good time to consult the companies who purchase structured settlements.

There is a fee charged, from around 10 to 30 percent of the money advanced, and the transaction is similar to getting a payday advance, except for a lot more money, and the repayments go directly to the company that bought out your settlement. It is possible to have them purchase just a part of your settlement, so you get a lump sum now, and whatever remains would continue as before, but in a lesser amount. You would still get some future income, just not as much.

When deciding to sell a settlement, it may be necessary to obtain court approval. That is one way that the legal system acts on your behalf, to be sure you are doing this for a good reason, because the structured payment system was decided upon for a good reason also. Take time to examine several companies who purchase structured settlements before you take action. Oftentimes, smaller competitors offer better rates and terms than the big names like Peachtree and JG Wentworth.

What is a Structured Settlement Payment?

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An agreement to receive future periodic payments for the dispersement of money stemming from a legal claim or other claim.

The present era is showing some problems that are acute and having a social aspect of ‘security of people, especially elderly’. This is one aspect which is making many of sleepless. Although one shouldn’t feel helpless. With the arrival of innumerable of Insurance companies this problem could be approached with proper planning.
The best option is the 'Structured Settlement Payments'. To avail this one needs to have one Structured Settlement Broker. This is important just to make the calculations and the projections for the receiving party to enable him to get the best output.

What is a Structured Settlement Payment?

Structured insurance settlement is one option that always has some benefits in this regard.
There are many cases when money usually gets distributed through one annuity purchase from any Life Insurance Company. The payments come in a regular basis where the time interval is one of supreme importance. It varies from annually to semi-annually to quarterly or even monthly. The time frame for the acceptance of payment, as well, gets varied. It spreads from a fixed period of time to lifetime. Even, there are cases when the payment is made on immediate basis. This is to cover the emergency of the claimant.
One very common instance may be that of car accident settlement. The payment always goes to the claimant immediately as soon the news conveyed.

Structured Settlement Payment had been first introduced in Canada, USA to make it an alternative to one time large payments. Since then, this has been brought into practice to involve large amount of money. In those countries buy structured settlement, is one common phenomenon. The risk factor, which is generally related with the process, gets a complete security.

This system is created when an applicant settles for an extra amount of money and instead of accepting it as one-time, goes for this option to get a steady deal of amount over a certain period. The process of creating an enjoying this is one real simple. One independent party holds the annuity that has been bought by the claimant. Later, this holder, actually, makes the payment to the claimants or the injured parties.
This amount is one completely free from tax. Having it as one tax—free, an extra level of comfort gets created in the complainant making him, doubly sure.

Certain Ways To Make Money With Yahoo Answers

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Like with any other money making idea…most of them are good, but the number one reason why failure is common…they lack direction. Not this time. There are many ways to make money online (as you have seen by reading this blog) but let’s focus on one of the thousand: making money with Yahoo! Answers.

If you have been around the world of affiliate marketing for a while I’m sure you have heard of this marketing method before. Both success and failure; and, how it no longer works. Well, this is because most people want to talk about spamming Yahoo Answers without providing a service. Let’s take a look:

Technorati Tags: make money online,earn dollar online

Certain Ways To Make Money With Yahoo Answers

Way 1 : Yahoo! Answers is one of the fastest growing social networking sites on the internet when it comes to user generated content. Just like the old Radio Shack slogan…”You’ve got questions? We’ve got Answers.” The same goes for this site: everyone has a question - someone needs to provide the answers. Even though Yahoo as a company has been divided up more than the West Bank…Answers seems to be doing well. Assuming you want to follow my advice and earn some cash…you have to make one promise: the goal is to help people. It’s amazing who is willing to PAY you to help them. Time to state some guidelines:

* Start using your account: Don’t go and create 175 accounts like some recommend. Yahoo will flag your IP if you do this. This account will be your “bread and butter”….start answering questions authoritatively. For right now, that’s it…your only job is to answer. People won’t listen to anything you have to say unless they trust you. The object is to build trust by gaining points: here’s how Yahoo Breaks it down.

Ask a Question: - 5 Points (they evidently want to encourage giving vs. taking)
Vote for a Best Answer: + 1 Point
Answer a Question: + 2 Points
Choose a Best Answer for Your Question: + 3 Points
Answer Is Selected as Best Answer: + 10 Points

Even though there are more rating details to cover…those are the basics.

Way 2 : When choosing questions to answer, let me show you something I thought of while researching this: go to the homepage of Answers and do several search queries in the box: website, URL, site…you might even try “link.” Check it out >>> As you see, people are ASKING you to TELL them which Hosting site to use. Don’t use this technique until you’ve mastered step 1: helping people. Or in the case of “url,” they are asking for a specific link. This can go for any industry, not just web hosting: which site is best for buying ringtones, digital cameras - you name it.

Way 3 : When answering, it’s important to keep in mind certain SEO aspects. How many times have you Googled something and seen Yahoo! results? On a side note, I find it incredibly funny how Google views Answers as an authority website…I guess it’s kinda like Fox News; Fair & Balanced. Moving on, just like writing content for a website, your answers will be indexed…and, especially the ones with your links - make sure you’re targeting desired keywords. Every time you answer a question…keep in mind someone could view it 2 years from now.

Way 4 : Now its time to figure out what links you want to promote. If you own your own website you’re already ahead of the game. This saves you time in dealing with the headache of which affiliate offers allow you to promote on social networking sites. Some have strict stipulations on using Facebook, Myspace…etc. Some network’s I have used in the past (and have advertisers allowing slightly blackhat marketing techniques,) are: Azoogleleads.com, RocketProfit.com, ClixGalore.com and ClickBank.com.

My advice is, get with your account manager (they are on your side) and let them know what you are trying to do. Look for a niche market besides common ones such as web hosting. The less answers being supplied, the more likely yours will be chosen as best….therefore your rank increases.

Way 5 : Be active in the Answers community. Just like Facebook & Myspace, add contacts to increase your trust. This is also a good time to start up a second Yahoo account…if you’ve been diligent in building up the first one, becoming an authority on subjects and having been selected for “Best Answer” numerous times, the Yahoo gods won’t flag you for creating a second account. Using the new account you’ve created, answer questions in totally different categories to increase your “market share.” Rinse & Repeat the above steps.

Way 6 : Links vs…original answers should be about 5/100….if you have 100 answers I wouldn’t advise you to have any more than 5 quality links touting your ads. I know this is much different than other tips given on this subject….but this has worked best for me. Yes, this will take a lot of effort to start up, but there’s no reason to waste all of your hard work by being greedy.

Let me know how it works.