I’ve been asked to review this site, so here we go…

WebHosting Choice is - essentially - a directory of web hosts. What makes this site unique is that it is not only a directory of web hosts, but a directory of web hosting plans. WebHosting Choice contains the following:

• Advanced Search: Advanced Search allows you to choose specific plan details… not just a few details, but ALL details. You can speciy maximum monthly cost, minimum disk space, minimum bandwith, maximum setup fee (no one else does the setup fee), pop emails, ftp accounts, subdomains, mailing lists, databases, uptime guarantee, features such as webmail, php, chopping cart, installed scripts, and payment options. …the most complete search I’ve found…

• Host Directory: The Web Host Directory contains a listing of all of the hosting companies that are listed on this site, and lists how many plans are available for each company. This is just a simple list, but it get the info out there.

• Plans Directory: The Plans Directory is set up by feature. For instance, you can look at plans that are unix hosted, plans that are Windows hosted, plans with no setup fee, plans that offer streaming audio/video, plans that offer PHP, etc… Once you select the feature, you get a list of all plans from all hosts supporting that feature.

• Submit Host: At the time of this review, the submit page was not working, generating a fatal error.

• Reseller Web Hosting: This links directly to hostgator.com

• Learning Center: The Learning Center contains information on quick start with webhosting, a comprehensive FAQ about web hosting, information on how to avoid scams, how to register domains, and so on…

One interesting thing that is not linked to from the main page are reviews of the hosts. One can click through the Host Directory, and on the main page for each host, click the link to the reviews.

WebHosting Choice has a love of hostgator.com (affiliate link), linking to Hostgator at the top of many pages (”We recommend Hostgator”).

All in all, I’d say that WebHosting Choice is a great place to do some research, especially if you’re new to hosting.

(This review has been compensated.)

The CRIA threatened the company renting the servers to us, and because of this it is not possible to keep the site online. Sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for your understanding.

This is not the first time Demonoid has been shut down. In September of 2007, Demonoid.com was shut down without warning, and remained offline for over a week with no explanation. Ultimately, it was revealed that the company hosting the Demonoid servers had caved to pressure from the CRIA (Canadian Recording Industry Association) and had shut down access to the Demonoid servers.

Unfortunately, that seems to be the same case, this time, although it is believed that the Demonoid administrators took the site down, semi-willingly, rather than be forced offline as before. It is unknown whether or not the site administrators will attempt to re-open at a later date. Demonoid.com administrators could not be reached for comment.

As of 6:30am EST, the demonoid tracker still reports a status of “working” on seeded torrents, although several seeders are reporting no connected peers and no upload traffic for the past several hours.

Turns out there’s an interesting idea out there.  Ecotourism.  Basically, ecotourism is ecologically sustainable nature/culture based tourism that supports local communities. I did some looking around at a Hawaiian Beach Rentals website, recently, and apparently this ecotourism thing is the new “in” way to vacation.

I did a little looking, and decided to look around on Maui Vacations.  Some of the properties look really nice, and apparently they are all ecotourism friendly.  The way I understand it is that this website lists eco-friendly resorts and rentals.  These places aren’t the cheapest in Hawaii, but it looks like they are all bang on for the buck.

Sure, this post is a compensated endorsement/review, but you know my policy… I actually have to be wiling to do business with a company before I post about them in a positive manner.  The Maui Vacations website, along with their Hawaii travel blog, is going on my bookmarks list for when I finally get ready for my Hawaiian vacation (courtesy of ad revenue).

(This post was a compensated endorsement/review for the linked website(s).  As with all positive compensated endorsements, I am actually willing to do business with this company, and am willing to recommend the links to others.)

The removal of all eBay advertising from Google began when Google attempted to crash eBay’s user conference, in Boston, this week.  eBay is holding their annual user conference, this week, in Boston.  Google, in an effort to promote their Google Checkout program, unveiled plans for the Google Checkout Freedom Party.  The event was intended to try to convince eBay - via lobby from eBay users - to start accepting Google’s Checkout, a direct rival of eBay-owned PayPal (eBay has banned Google Checkout from their system, stating that it has yet to prove itself in fraud protection).  All attendees of eBay’s user conference were given special invitations to attend Google’s Checkout Freedom Party, for free food, free drinks, and free massages.

Google backed down at the last second, when eBay expressed serious reservations, publicly, about the Google event, and Google’s actions toward the advertising partnership.  On Wednesday Google canceled the event, only one day before it was to take place several blocks (a quick trolley ride) away from the eBay event.  Google’s blog stated that, “eBay Live attendees have plenty of activities to keep them busy this week in Boston, and we did not want to detract from that activity. After speaking with officials at eBay, we at Google agreed that it was better for us not to feature this event during the eBay Live conference.”

Spokespersons for both companies have made a few choice comments on the issue:

Hani Durzy, an eBay spokesman, declined to say whether his company pulled advertising on Google in retaliation for the party. But he did voice disappointment in Google for the event, saying, “We didn’t think it was the way for one partner to treat another.”

Durzy decided to cast the advertising freeze as an experiment, news articles say, in an attempt to see if the money eBay has been using on Google will yield better results, elsewhere.  Neither Durzy, nor any other eBay representative, has mentioned where eBay will next advertise.

Derek Brown, an analyst for Carter Fitzgerald, stated, “We’ve seen that the two companies (eBay and Google)  have been on a collision course for a long time.  This seems to be the latest and most bizarre twist.”

eBay’s advertising funds were withdrawn from Google, this past monday, and AdSense publishers are already feeling the pinch.  Although the majority of eBay ads were relatively low cost per click (most in the two to five cent range), eBay was still Google’s biggest advertiser.  According to comScore Networks, eBay’s ads showed up on Google a whopping 188.3 million times in March.  More than double the number shown by Target, Google’s second largest (now first) advertiser.

What does this mean for AdSense sellers?  Those profiting off of eBay-related AdSense sites will find themselves in a sudden financial loss.  Publishers whose sites deal with specific products, auctions in general, and/or brand specific information, will find a good portion of the advertising on their site has disappeared.

In some cases, this may be a windfall for some publishers.  Almost every publisher would have had eBay ads on his or her website a few times a day, regardless of the theme.  Now the eBay ads that were so prevalent, and out of place, will be replaced with more highly targeted ads with potentially greater cost per click.

It will be interesting to see how this affects each individual publisher’s income.  This particular publisher has noticed a slight increase on one site, and a noticeable increase on another.  Time will tell how well publishers will fare with the loss of Google’s largest advertiser.

Technorati Tags: Google, eBay, AdSense, eBay User Conference, Google Checkout, Google Checkout Freedom Party, Target, PayPal

LinkWorth offers many products in their repertoire:

• LinkAds: LinkAds is the standard text-based ads we’ve all come to know and love.  LinkAds, however, is keyword based, as opposed to content-generated like Google and Yahoo.  Payouts are based on per-ad basis.
• LinkWords: LinkWords are a keyword-based, dynamically generated advertising system.  Each page is scraped, and advertisements are linked to specific keywords within the content.  When a visitor mouses over a lnkword keyword, an ad pops up.  Payouts are based on CPC (Cost-Per-Click), like Google, Yahoo, Etc… (This program is contextual, and is not compatible with Google, Yahoo, etc… as other LinkWorth programs are.)
• LinkPost: LinkWorth has joined the paid post rage.  With LinkPost, advertisers can pay bloggers to post about their products and/or services.  Like all paid post systems, the review is entirely up to the blogger.
• LinkedInTxt: LinkedInTxt, at first glance, appears much like LinkWords; however, site owners sell the keyword-based links, themselves.  For instance, if you have a strong keyword on your site, say “automotive maintenance”, a buyer can purchase a link from that keyword.  You then manually link to the purchasers website from that keyword.  Payment is on a per-link basis.  Think of this as selling links within content.
• LinkBB: LinkWorth’s answer to billboard ads.  A publisher sells a billboard ad on their website.  Purchasers will select the keyword, and provide the publisher with an HTML page.  The publisher then links the chosen keyword to the HTML page.  The advertisement displays as a separate page, but is completely contained on the publisher’s site.
• LinkDir: Publishers pay LinkWorth to submit their website to multiple directories including the famed DMOZ.
• LinkART: Publishers write an article and post it to the LinkWorth system.  Once approved (and paid for), LinkWorth will submit the article to mutiple article sites for the publisher.
• Traditional text link ads: Sell traditional text links where the buyer selects the text and link.  Like other text link systems, the publisher selects where to place the link, and can offer placement on just the home page, the entire site, or only on specific sub-pages.  The traditional way to make money online by selling text links.

LinkWorth is - as I stated before - a competitor of TextLinkAds.  LinkWorth has a decided Web1.0 feel to its website, and new members may find it a bit hard to navigate.  To be honest, I still get lost from time to time.  The LinkWorth dashboard, however, lists everything at a glance, and a very large link at the top of the page appears to alert you of pending links for you to review and approve or decline.  The methods for placing ads and links on your website are also quite clunky and old-school.  No spiffy AJAX interfaces, or WordPress plugins, here.

LinkWorth is a great marketplace to use instead of - or in addition to - TextLinkAds.  Link prices are set entirely by the publisher, and the publisher has complete control over what he (or she) offers on their site.  Visit linkworth.com and check them out.

(This has been a compensated review, however the opinions included are my own.)

Although I am being compensated for this review (loudlaunch.com), I honestly think Data Deposit Box has something.  They’ve only just launched - their press release is dated February 13th, 2007.  They cite the growing list of data loss reports, and specifically mention Johns Hopkins University and Hospital’s issue of losing backup tapes containing payroll data on over 50,000 workers, and medical information on some 83,000 patients.  I have to admit, I, myself, watch the news to see what boneheaded company is going to lose their data, next.  I have a low margin of worry that - eventually - someone will lose my data.

Personally, my family has been affected by data loss.  Merril Lynch, some years ago, cancelled and re-issued the visa cards my parents hold, due to data loss.  The cards were cancelled as soon as ML realized they were affected, resulting in nearly a week that neither of my parents could make purchases (the cards were linked to their Cash Management Account (much like a checking account)).  ML’s excuse?  Apparently some backups of customer data were lost.  Although the backups were later found (or so I hear), ML had to react as if they had gotten into the wrong hands.

Data Deposit Box has a unique business model.  They’re charging by the gigabyte.  Two dollars per gigabyte, to be exact.  That’s a surprisingly decent amount.  DDB is also offering the strongest encryption in the game: 448 bits.  Yeah, more than twice as strong as standard web encryption (which is 128 bits).  Combine that with a unique encryption key, and you’ve got a pretty secure file.

Data Deposit Box’s other big draw is the automation of the process.  Backups are continuous - files are backed up immediately, whenever they change.  DDB supports versioning (recovering older files), remote access (web), file sharing (secure web links), idle time backup (backups pause automatically while you’re working), and advertises speed… Only the changes to a file are backed up, not the entire file.  Combine that with their touted flexibility (laptops, workstations, servers, network shared, removable storage, etc…) and you have a heck of a system.

Online data backup, secure and reliable* Data Deposit Box appears to be not only the newest player in data backup, but one of the best options, particularly for small business (I know all of my business data will fit in a single gigabyte). Check ‘em out. (*Link text was obligatory, therefore, the sentence reads strangely.)

I know it’s been a while since I’ve actively updated MindBlog, and I sincerely apologize for that (or, at least, I’m attempting to seem sincere).  I honestly just lost the drive to blog (transmission went out).  In a way, I was adrift in the sea of the Internet (flare gun got wet).  This, however, turned out to be a good thing.

Over the past several months, my interests have turned from general blogging, to earning online, in general.  Therefore, I am restarting MindBlog, and taking it in a new direction (North by North-East).  I’ll still be blogging about blogging (redundantly so); but I’ll also be blogging about other money-making ventures (bank robbery is only an option if you’re desperate… and don’t mind sharing your life (and body) with a large man named Bubba).

Welcome to the new MindBlog (just new, not improved).  Blogging, marketing, earning, etc… will be the topics we’ll be covering.  After all, AdSense is dead (affiliate link. It’s a free report, though*), so we have to find another way to keep some money rolling in.

On top of MindBlog (more to the side, really), I’ll be starting a new blog or two.  My wife and I have decided to start a blog together… The Jeroni Project.  Once we get it up and going, I’ll link it in.  I’m also debating on starting a more personal blog.  I’ll also be releasing a version of the MindBlog theme for WordPress.  I’m also going to start work on a new version of SimpleTagsPlus.  For now, however, you can track me on twitter, and tumblr.

Welcome back to MindBlog! It’s good to be home (cardboard boxen are more comfortable than you think).

For instance:  When I attempt to navigate through my WP Admin interface, the system takes forever to load each page.  Whenever I attempt to edit a post or page via the wp-admin interface, I often must refresh the page three and four times before it loads correctly.

The server has an amazing uptime, 103 days.  The physical memory is at 98%, the swap is at 0% (used).  The file systems are at 73% of capacity.  The load averages are reasonably.  I think, however, that certain things are preventing WordPress from running well enough.  Therefore I have decided to move this domain to another server.

I’m hoping to do this within the next couple of days.  With any luck, it will be completely seamless.  I am seriously considering setting up a small blog network for my sites, and a few associates.  To do so, I’ll need to get a new domain, and do some re-mapping so Google doesn’t completely lose me.  Regardless, I’m hoping to have things done within the next week.  If I go the network route, well, we’ll have to see what happens, but I’ll likely be looking for members.  If I don’t,
then I’ll at least start blogging here more often.

Wish me luck on this switch.  Hopefully WordPress will make it seamless.

Three days later, your two-hour article has received exactly fifty hits.

“What happened?!” You read, re-read, and deconstruct your post word by word, trying to figure out why people aren’t coming to read it.  You ask other bloggers, and all agree that it’s a great post.  You ask your friends, your family, even your cat!  They all agree that it’s a masterful piece of work. (Well, all except the cat.  The cat just meows at you and stalks off back to her nap.)  You’re left in the dark, wondering why you can’t ever get exposure.

So… What happened?  You forgot to write the headline, first.  You forgot one of the cardinal rules of marketing…  The 80/20 Headline Rule.  The 80/20 Rule states that on average, 8 out of 10 people will read your headline, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest.  By writing your headline (most bloggers call these “titles”) first, you are - in effect - making a promise to your readers.  You are promising to deliver on the headline.

That’s the catch.  Promises have to be made, before they can be fulfilled.  If you write your amazing content, first, you have to turn around and come up with a smashing headline that takes in all of the points in your article, and not only conveys the basis of your post, but does it with style.  You’re reverse-engineering your article.  If you write your headline first, suddenly you have to live up to the promise you just made.  You wind up making your content more streamlined, and more honed to the topic.  75% of the time, you’ll do it unconciously.  The rest of the time, well, that’s the normal time it takes to write a post.

How does this work?  Simple.  You have a general idea for the subject matter of your post.  You know what you want it to be about.  Perhaps it’s only the most basic, or general idea.  Take that basic idea, and create a helluva headline before you write the content.  Here’s an example:

Peter Cooper wrote an article called “19 Rails Tricks Most Rails Coders Don’t Know“.  He came up with the headline, before he wrote the content.  He had a vague idea of what he wanted to write, and he created a smashing title for it.  The post content?  It wasn’t all that amazing…  It was a series of tricks, tips, and techniques that most rails coders probably knew, but didn’t commonly use.

The result of his writing the headline, first?  Within 24 hours, the article hit the top of the del.icio.us popular list, garnering over 500 bookmarks (on del.icio.us), and a few thousand page views.  A later update simply stated that the post was over 6,000 page views.  An even later update (in comments to another entry on his own blog), Peter revealed that the post had received around 11,000 page view (within 24 hours); and his FeedBurner subscribers went from the mid 800’s, to the mid 1,700’s.  A jump of around 900 subscribers.

Take the challenge, and for your next twenty entries, write your headline first.  I think you’ll be very surprised.

A lot of times, we go through our days experiencing thing after thing that we could blog about.  Unfortunately, we’re never in front of our computer when that happens.  So…  What can we do to increase the chances that we’ll still have that bloggable moment with us when we sit down and put fingers to keyboard?  Chris has a four item list, and I’m adding a couple more items.  Here we go:

• Carry a camera with you at all times:  As Chris says, “you never know when something priceless is going to happen.”  He raises a very valid point.  An example?  Maybe you blog about cars.  You’re out at the mall one day, and see an old 1930’s Studebaker; or an old 1940’s hot rod.  Inspiration suddenly hits in the form of a post about classic hot rods, and their slow return to the forefront of collectivism, today.  You grab your trusty camera, and snap a picture.  Bingo, instant blog fodder, and a boost to your blog metrics (images within posts have been proven to increase click-through rates, and reader attention.
• Recognize life’s little annoyances when they happen: As Chris says, something small, insignificant, and completely annoying happens to you at least once or twice a week, yeah?  Since most bloggers tend to bring their subject into their lives in at least some form or fashion, how often do those annoying things have to do you with your blog topic?  Keep track of them, and blog about ‘em.  An example?  You’re a car blogger, and you’re out at the mall, and you see the afformentioned 1930’s Studebaker.  The guy backs out, nearly running over you as you’re walking past the car, and flips you off.  Bingo! You’re instantly reminded that a lot of classic car owners seem to be jerks (in your opinion).  That’s blog fodder.  An added bonus to this type of post is that “annoyance” based posts really tend to pull in the comments.
• Have you learned something so excellent it made your life better?  Trust me.  That’s a blog moment.  98% of the time, it doesn’t even have to be on the same topic as your blog (we all need to make off-topic posts, occasionally).  It’s worth that much more gold in the bank if it relates to your topic; but if it doesn’t, don’t worry about it… Blog it, anyway.  Do you blog about blogging, and you learned how to change your car’s oil, yourself, this week?  Blog about it.  Spend some time in a right-brained creative-zen mode, and see if you can’t parlay that post about changing your car’s oil into something about changing your blog’s “oil”. (In this case, that would transliterate into making small changes to your layout every so often, just to keep things from growing visually stale.  …speaking of, I need to write that post.)
• Be consistent in your strongest areas:  This should be strikingly obvious.  I’ll forego Chris’s more unusual example, and use my own.  If you’re passionate about woodworking, then for crying out loud, put down the hammer, and blog about it, occasionally.  Actually, if you’re really passionate or knowledgeable about a subject (or even just want to), blog about it consistently.  Over time, you’ll establish yourself as one of the go-to places for information on your topic. (Example?  Mind Blog has slowly become one of the go-to resources for new bloggers.)
• Keep Blogging Notebooks:  I’ve mentioned this time, and time, and time again.  Keep a notebook with you, at all times.  I have a small notebook in the door cubby of my truck; I have a notebook in my laptop bag, my briefcase, and any backpacks I take with me; and I have a voice memo feature on my mobile.  At my computer, I use Microsoft OneNote (and for those of you who can’t afford/don’t want to pay for OneNote, there’s a free note software called EverNote).  KEEP NOTEBOOKS.  Keep multiple notebook.  My suggestions for notebook locations?

• At your desk:  Keep a notebook at your desk.  If you’re only ever at your desk to use the computer, use a computerized version like OneNote, or Evernote.
• In your bag:  Keep a briefcase, laptop bag, or backpak?  Keep a single subject notebook in it.
• In the living room: Keep a legal pad, or a single subject notebook lying on your coffee table.
• In the bedroom:  Keep a small notepad, or something similar, lying on your bedside table.
• In your vehicle:  Keep a small notepad (A gregg ruled notepad, or even a single-subject spiral, is a great addition to your vehicle).
• In your back pocket:  No joke.  Moleskine notebooks are great for this.  Personally, I use my cellphone’s voice memo feature, but for those of you without this tool, carry a small notepad, or notebook in your hip pocket.

There you have it folks.  Several ideas on how to sieze the blog moment.  Do you have any more suggestions?  There’s a comment form, just below!  Please, let us know!

If you’d like to read what inspired this post, check out Seize the Blog Moment | Pearsonified.

Technorati Tags: Blogging, blog tips, blog notebook, sieze the moment

Go check out the Google International Zeitgeist for information on who is searching for what, from where.  You’ll be surprised.

Speaking of blogging tools, has anyone ever used Elicit?  It’s supposed to be the end-all, be-all of integration, including del.icio.us, flickr, amazon, and so on.  If anyone has used it, or is using it, I’d love to read a review from you.

• I moved from Texas (Houston) to Georgia (Dublin).
• I moved in with my fiance.
• We found a new rental home, and moved homes (still in progress, but 98% complete).
• We acquired DSL.

It’s been a long month, let me tell you.  I have to admit, though, I’m very happy with the way things are going.  It’s nice to be in a steady, long term relationship.  It’s even nicer to have your own home, and be living with the woman you love.

Okay, enough about that, let’s dive into the blogging, shall we?

I’ve missed out on a LOT over the past couple of months.  Since I’m so far behind, I’ll be catching up on what all I’ve missed.  During this catch up period (in which I’ll also be unpacking and setting up the new house), posting will be sporadic.  I’ll be trying for one post per day, but I’ll probably only manage three or so per week.  At least it’s something, yeah?

After the catch up period, I’ll be back to reading feeds, tracking news, and gathering information and help for you folks.  I’ll be back to my old tricks again, as soon as I possibly can.  Posting at least once a day is my goal.

Also, look for some of the following things to maybe happen.  The following items are on the back burner at a slow simmer, and may be jumping to fruition pretty quickly:

• A blog about married (or not-so-married) life by myself and my fiance.
• A blog network arrangement between myself, Justin Shattuck, and whoever else he has in this.
• A pet blog (or perhaps dog blog).
• A general article and information blog.  In essence, a one-page-site blog. heh.
• A marketing ideas blog, presenting 700+ marketing ideas, one per day.
• A gear switch, moving MindSpeak from a Texan political blog, to a Georgian political blog.
• The re-vamp of MindFaith to become a community blog with open submission and lite editing, for the masses to talk about faith.
• A “new type” of link exchange for people with information/ad-revenue websites. (This is the lowest priority).

Okie dokie folks, that’s about it for now.  It’s 2:45am, I’m tired, and there’s one heck of a woman waiting for me in the bed.  So stay tuned and see what comes out, next.  G’night!

Don’t fret folks, it will only be a little bit longer until I am up to speed and back blogging. I am merely waiting on getting moved, and getting DSL installed (we could use dial-up, and I’m using it now, but it is extremely, excruciatingly slow. What would normally only take me an hour (in the normal online/blogging routine), now takes nearly three and a half. Waiting for DSL is a must.

Don’t worry, though, I have been paying close attention to the comments left on the blog, and I have made several notes for myself about entries that should be written. Many of you have asked questions that have resulted in frantic note taking, and draft editing. Also, I have been making some changes to the blog itsself (not anything major), and I’ve been doing a bit more learning about online marketting, etc. I hope to have a lot more information for you to ponder, pretty soon. I’ll also be announcing the new direction in which this blog will be heading. (Don’t worry, I will still talk about blogging, and I will still be dedicated at heart to the amateur blogger, and I will always accept questions, comments, and suggestions from the amateur bloggers.)

Thank you for understanding, folks. This has been a great adventure for me, and the next year promises to be even better. I look forward to coming back to MindBlog with a fresh perspective, and a clear mind. Look for my return partially, within two weeks, and my return full force within four.

As always, if you would like to write for MindBlog, you are more than welcome to submit an article, and you may absolutely include bio information, and a link back to any website you choose. Your links WILL be followed (I do NOT add a ‘rel=nofollow’ tag like some people do).

A blogging notebook, also known as a blog fodder notebook, is a small notebook that you carry with you at all times. In this notebook, you will write down ANY ideas that occur to you that have even the remotest thing to do with your blog topic. Have multiple blogs? Try a divided notebook of some sort. Don’t want to carry anything that big? Use those little stick-on tabs to divide up a moleskine notebook or gregg-ruled pad. If you only have two blogs, use the notebook from the front for one blog, and from the back (backside of the pages) for the other.

A lot of people suggest moleskine notebooks for this purpose (and most of those people are big into lifehacks, etc). Personally, I use a simple Gregg ruled notepad. One of those greentint “Steno Book” pads. Some people call these a steno pad, although that’s a slight misnomer, as a steno pad is a slightly different size and style. (Steno pads are still good ideas, though.)

Do I actually carry a blog notebook? You bet I do. Actually, my blog notebook winds up containing ideas for multiple sites - blogs and not. I carry it everywhere I go, though. It sits in my truck, when I’m not out of the house. (Why? When I’m in the house, I’m constantly surrounded by notepads, papers, or keyboards on which I can make notes that can later be transferred to the notebook, if I wish. Also, a lot of ideas come to me when I’m sitting in my truck, smoking cigarettes (which I do, pretty much every night that it isn’t raining). Also, it keeps me from forgetting it as I’m rushing out the door.

Oh, one other thing. Keep your old blog notebooks, and go back through them every so often. You’ll often find old ideas that are perfect for a new article. (Oh, yes, mark which ideas you blogged on, so you don’t repeat unless it’s neccesary. Don’t mark them out, though, as they may generate more ideas, later on.)

So, go… go get a notebook. I’ll wait…

…See, that wasn’t so hard.

EVERY time you reference another blog in your post, you should use trackbacks. EVERY time. The only exception is when a blog does not allow trackbacks, or you simply can’t find the trackback data.

First off, WordPress blogs will - usually - contain the appropriate RDF data in each post so that WordPress (if you’ve selected the option to do so) will automatically trackback, or pingback (a pingback is WordPress’s version of trackbacks. WP handles both ping and track backs).

The above is not always the case, however. The best bet is to find the trackback link for each post (usually posted just below the post, or just above the comments). Copy the link (or the link location, if they’ve simply linkified the word “trackback”), and paste it into your blog’s trackback field.

For WordPress blogs, there is a default trackback url to each and every post. That URL works like this: http://www.blogdomainhere.com/path/to/post-title-here/trackback/

For MoveableType and TypePad blogs, the URL is a script-based URL, and you’ll have to track it down within the post. If you can’t find it within the post, do a VIEW SOURCE on the page, and search for the word “Trackback” or the acronym “RDF”. You’ll find it, if it’s there.

If you’re reference a post on a blogspot (blogger.com) blog, you’re out of luck unless they’re using a third-party trackbacking service (like Haloscan). Blogger is a bit behind the times in that respect.

Make CERTAIN, if you track back to a blog, provide a link to the entry in question in your post, somewhere. If you’re insistent on not providing links, then don’t bother to track back. (A cheap, annoying, and easy-way-to-get-branded-as-an-asshole way around this is to make a single period “.” a link to their entry). Why? Simple. Most spam control systems require the post’s URL to be in your post, somewhere. Mine certainly does.

By using trackbacks, you’re able to get visitors to drop by your blog who are interested in the topic at hand, and saw the trackback link on another blog. Plus, it’s a way to trade links and traffic with another blog (it’s considered a backlink by Google, and helps increase your page rank).

It’s very simple. Use. Trackbacks. Every. Time. You. Reference. Another. Blog’s. Post.

The top-referring website (not including search engines) to this blog is referring traffic through a track-back I initiated. How’s that for telling.

Adding a “send to a friend via e-mail” link will allow people to send your posts to others who might find them interesting. This is great way to increase viral and social marketting. It’s as simple as adding a little bit of code from a service that provides “send via e-mail.”

Add this option to your posts, and watch the social/viral marketting increase!

Use FeedBurner (http://www.feedburner.com) for your feeds. Feedburner allows a lot of tracking options. They track the number of readers of your feed (updated, up to the moment), the number of click throughs to specific entries, and a plethroa of other statistics.

Not only does FeedBurner allow for tracking, it also allows you to add things like “add to del.icio.us” links, and “e-mail to a friend” links, greatly increasing the opportunity for social and viral linking.

Set up with FeedBurner (the FeedBurner WordPress plugin makes this easy for you WordPress folks. A simple Google search should locate it), and use it to track your feeds.

Using a recent posts plugin allows you to highlight your recent posts on every page. This way, people who are viewing an individual entry page can see the topics (or subjects) of your recent posts, and be able to click directly to them. I suggest highlighting the latest ten posts, although if you have limited space, highlight at least the lastest five.

The reason for using this plugin is, very simply, keeping people reading on your blog. Increase the time people spend on your blog, increase the likelyhood of them clicking on ads, participating in discussions, or just generally reading more content.

Grab a recent posts plugin, place it near the top of your page, and watch the amount of time people spend on your blog, per visit, increase - often, dramatically.

Meta tags are one of the cornerstones of SEO (Search Engine Optimization). A strong meta keywords tag, and a strong meta description tag are imperitive to your SEO technique.

A Meta Description tag does precisely what it sounds like. It describes your blog. Like this: <meta rel=”description” content=”This is your blog description, in one or two sentences.”> For me, my description is something like the following: “MindBlog: Amateur blogging for amateur bloggers. Blogging and blogosphere information for the amateur blogger - filling the niche between personal diarist and professional blogger.”

The meta keyword tag lists the top keywords for your blog. The “content” section will contain a comma seperated list of keywords. My keyword tag for this blog might look like the following: <meta rel=”keywords” content=”blogging, blogs, how to blog, make money blogging, blogosphere, blogging news, tips and tricks, blogging tips”>.

Write a strong meta description and keywords tag. It will definitely help in your search engine rankings!