• The new and old ways of reading news on the web
• An introduction to RSS Readers (using Google Reader as an example)
• How to identify and subscribe to an RSS feed
• What to expect when using an RSS reader

A gorgeous new, free theme which is minimal in design but rich in features is Typominima. The purpose of the theme is to enable bloggers to express themselves with a clutter free theme. You can check out the theme features and also a series of posts containing sample styling for the most common elements you’ll need on your blog before you download Typominima.

And for those who just can’t get enough of Facebook, you can use the FB Timeline theme for your blog. Check it out here.

Free themes are often great but care needs to be taken. Not all free WP themes are clean and free of nasties. If you see a theme you like but aren’t sure, drop me a line and I’ll be happy to assist.

Some of the tips include:

• Create a solid password and change it regularly. Tips for creating a solid password are: Passwords should be longer than six characters and include a mix of uppercase, lowercase, and special characters. If you need help with checking to see if a password is considered strong, you can use this site – Microsoft password checker.
• Change your password regularly.
• Share your personal information only with people and companies that need it.
• Log into Facebook once each session. If in doubt or if you feel something is ‘off’ then skip the bookmark and type  www.facebook.com directly  into your browser address bar.
• Always log out of Facebook (and any other site that needs logging into) after using someone else’s computer.
• Use secure browsing when and where possible.
• Keep your anti-virus software updated.
• Keep your browser and other applications up to date.
• Never paste script (code) in your browser address bar.
• Beware of scandalous posts from anyone—even Facebook friends. If it looks like something a friend wouldn’t post, then don’t click on it. Many of the scammers devise their nasty apps based around current events. e.g: ‘Watch this video to see Michael Jackson’s last minute alive‘ and other such garbage gossip.

Head over and download the free pdf: Guide to Facebook Security

http://www.reclaimprivacy.org/facebook

And another tool is the Facebook Sanitiser, which does a lot of the work for you… but I prefer the first link.
http://facebooksanitizer.com/

Facebook recently changed their whole layout. As is typical on Facebook, a large number of groups and pages were created by users to express their anger and frustration. Groups such as “I hate the new FB. Give us back the old layout!” and other such titles. The number of comments from people who logged on to the FB account, saw the changes and whined annoyed me. People asked (well, they posed it as a question but I doubt they really want to know the answer) “Why does FB have to change all the time?“.

Now I don’t know much about FB or why they do what they do. But I do know a little about website development, albeit on a much smaller scale than FB. Security, cutting down on bandwidth, advertisers, cosmetic appearance and usability are all some of the reasons that I know of for changing a site’s layout and setup. They may have other reasons yet again but these are the ones that I can think of…probably because they’re the reasons that I have when changing AussieHomeschool’s site layout and functions.

Security is paramount!

Surely no one would disagree with this. Well, just as hard as site owners work there are sick hackers who work harder, seeming to get pleasure from defacing (at the least) and hacking into sites. Website security and patches moves at such a ridiculous rate… it’s hard to keep up, but we must. And sometimes, not every time, but some times a complete layout is needed to fit in with the security updates.

Bandwidth: an issue for everyone.

Just because I might be have a great broadband connection doesn’t mean that I should strive to make my website and bandwidth friendly as possible. Did you realise that your Facebook is free? Yup, you didn’t pay for it. In fact, any surfing of FB that you do comes out of your monthly bandwidth limit. But did you realise that FB also has to pay for a bandwidth limit so it costs them bandwidth every time we (users) download or view a page! Same with AussieHomeschool- it doesn’t cost the user to view the site but we pay our monthly bandwidth fee as part of our account. The bigger the page the higher the bandwidth. So the more streamlined and smaller each page can be, the better for all of us! (however I’m sure that FB doesn’t struggle to meet its payments like most smaller websites).

Advertisers

Layout changes occur because of the bandwidth issue and streamlining of pages but also to accommodate the needs of advertisers. Well, someone has to pay, don’t they? FB is a free service but they largely depend upon advertisers. And as with most forms of media, a great deal of weight is given to advertisers. It’s just how the world turns! Same with our non profit sporting club – we give as much credit and weight as we can to our sponsors and donators, for they help keep the club alive. That’s fair, isn’t it?

New features and functions

Sometimes the layout changes occur because of the advancements in website design. New features and functions are constantly being developed and these changes are most often for the user’s benefit. If there were no change, there would be no Web2.0. We’d all still be reading text from static HTML pages! Imagine life with no status updates, no interactivity. Oh my!

Browsers

Other times changes occur in order to keep up with modern browsers. All web browsers read and render information differently. Most browsers adhere to web standards but not all. AussieHomeschool and this site were built according to web standards. At the time of initial publication of each template used the sites adhere to web standards but Internet Explorer 5,6 and 7 do not read websites the same as other modern, functioning browsers. Therefore, as the IE browser upgrades changes, adaptations are made to sites and components used so that it can attempt to accommodate IE. Not easy.

Some seem to complain for the sake of complaining. Seems to me that some people updated their status indicating their dislike for the new layout before even having a play with it. In fact, the whole layout is easier. It is more compact yet more comprehensive. Previously, every corner of the FB screen contained links: Top left, top right, bottom left and bottom right. Hmmm, quite a scroll to get to the bottom at times. However now all the information is found at the top of every page: top left and top right hand corner. In most cases it may only be one click extra but it’s all in the one place. This is clever site design.

Developing character

I was bemused to see the amount of younger people griping about the new layout and how much they hated it! Some were swearing in protest and saying they would leave FB. Wow, if they can’t handle a little thing like layout changes then how will they handle the lemons that life may throw their way? We do well to model and teach our children to be flexible and adaptable in this modern, technological age. They have a distinct advantage over the previous generation when it comes to technology… let’s hope they make the most of it!

Lastly I had to spare a thought for the older generation. People like my dad! My dad will probably read this post… but he won’t comment. :-*  I hope that one day he will, but for now he is on a huge learning curve, just by owning a computer, learning to turn it on, open a browser and find his way around google and my website.  He is doing such a great job and I am so proud of him! It is no easy feat learning about modern technology when one hasn’t grown up surrounded by it. We can learn a lot from the older generation – namely the flexibility, adaptability, love of learning, zest for life and patience that our younger ones (myself included) need to develop.

Next time a website changes (and most sites change layout and appearance at least annually) spare a thought for the site owner. There’s usually a good reason for it. At the very least, go download yourself a proper browser… you’ll be amazed at the difference!

If you have a business or desire more readers then you need to focus on keeping a clean, simple design.

No-No’s

• Music players that are set to autoplay. Usually they are stuffed in a sidebar which makes it near impossible to locate and turn off. Sometimes I’m reading blogs very early in the morning or occasionally at night when the children are asleep. I may even like your choice in music…but I like to listen to music at a time when it is convenient for me. Bloggers could consider not having the player set to autoplay. As far as web development goes, this option is more courteous.

• Jumping through firing hoops just to leave a comment. I know we all hate spam but you can’t make it overly hard for commenters else they simply won’t comment. Want readers–> Allow comments –> Make it easy for them. The Internet is flooded with captcha images. They can be so difficult to read. Big turn off.

• Cluttered sidebars…I know it’s hard, especially if you really like all those pictures. but who is your blog for? Your appreciation or readers to read your content?  What is most important on your blog? Images, widgets or the content? (Darren is an Aussie ProBlogger who made a video blog on this topic. Take the 2 min to view his thoughts.)

• No Contact page. It’s important for readers to know how to contact you privately. You might miss out on advertising opportunities or speaking engagements because a facilitator cannot contact you.
• No RSS feeds. It’s unlikely that people will return to your site daily or weekly to see if you have posted new content. Create your RSS feed and let the contact go to them!

Must Do’s:

• Have an ‘About me’ page. Readers need to be able to discern who you are and what you like to write about. An ‘about me’ page or widget, with a photo. It adds the personal touch and immediately lets the reader know a little about you and the purpose of your blog.

• Navigation. Make it easy for readers to content on your site. Give them multiple ways to find information! Search bars, archives, popular posts, recent posts, categories, tags and tag searches, etc are great ways for readers to find relevant content on your site.

• When referencing a Scripture  actually link to an online Bible!

• Publishing your RSS feed.  (Publishing the feed for your comments is even better!)

• Having a ‘contact page‘ or widget.  Let users know how to contact you.

• Make your content scannable. Write in paragraphs. Writing for web content is different to proper writing. Web authors need to use more paragraphs, bullet points and typography than when writing for books or magazines. Breaking your content into more paragraphs makes it easier on the eye for people to read.

• When relating a story, thought or incident, link to your previous posts in order to give the readers some background.  Do not assume that your readers have read your previous posts. Chances are they have not.

Does your blog need a make-over? Contact me for a consultation!

Keep Me Out allows you access to ‘your’ nominated site for a set timeframe (minutes). So, you enter the url of your favourite site and you will only be allowed to access it every 60 minutes. Cool uh? But, yes there is a but…it only works if you use the domain link that they provide you – and put it in your bookmarks bar and rename it.

Successful business blogging needs a readership. How to do this is the million dollar question.

• Comments! It’s the best way. You have to visit other blogs and leave comments. This lets other readers see you and follow back to your blog but so will the blog owner. Not allowing comments or making it too diffcult for readers to leave comments is blog suicide!  You need to build readership- you need to build relationships.

• Link to other sites. Yes, I know it sounds contrary to send people away from your site but it works. Also link back to your own writings. Refer to your previous posts but don’t expect everyone to know the history so fill in the blanks for them when doing this. Also link to your previous posts- keeps people on your site plus builds a relationship with them. Blogging is all about developing relationships!

• Develop a minimal blogroll. Don’t underestimate the performance of a blogroll. It helps build readership and get you around the ‘net.

• Submit your site to all the social networking sites. Build your reader base through RSS. This is SO important. People read blogs via RSS more so than visiting the site these days so, get your feedburner account up and running and get it looking swish. Make it VERY easy for people to subscribe to your blog.

• Get your name out there. Use keywords. Tag all posts. Develop a mission statement/aim and put it in your blog. Work that blog! Hey, I know you’ve done that but it needs more!

• You need a few pages – A visitor will only be on your blog for about 6 seconds if you’re lucky. You need to GRAB them. They need to see everything in one hit. Where is your About Me page? How do I contact you? Remember, make it easy for me, the reader. Why would I want to contact you? Are you available as a guest writer? A guest speaker? Sell yourself to me! Tell me why I need you! Tell me why I want to visit your site.

• Freebies! Everyone loves something to download so get some freebies to give away. You’re a gifted writer and speaker. Make a few podcasts and offer them for free!

• Learn to use typography to your advantage. It helps break up a post into bite sized pieces and makes skimming easier. And, like it or not, most people skim.

• Get some useful plugins. Do others readers really care about the live feed in your sidebar? I know you might like it but do others need to see it? No they do not. It does not add to your site content or your mission statement. Instead you can use a Related Posts plugin or a LinkWithin plugin.

• Personalise your site even more! Yes, it is possible without giving away all your personal details. eg: design your own logo or avatar so that it can follow you around the Internet. Sign up with Gravatar or OpenID so that every time you comment on another blog it links back to your site and it includes YOUR avatar! It is important- builds familiarity-relationship. You can include your avatar or logo on your site in the sidebar or in the top of every post! Design a banner that you can give to other sites to display, that links back to your site.

• Study how to build your site. Subscribe to blogs that primarily exist for this reason.I’ll list a few with good info, but bear in mind that they are not Christian.

1. http://www.adsensetipssite.com/adsenseblogging/tentipsblogging.html
2. http://www.problogger.net/
3. http://lorelle.wordpress.com/
4. http://www.successful-blog.com/
5. http://www.blogbloke.com/ to name a few…but this would get your started.

Does all this take time?

Yes! It’s a part time business but if you want to succeed to any degree you need a strong online presence. You may have a presence- you need to build it and that takes work.

Of course if you’re really serious, you could also go with your own domain name and hosting which allows for heaps more individual customisation. Let me know if you need some help with that.

You will notice a search box at the top of the page followed by twelve square boxes. Each square box can be assigned a website by you which will save onto your computer for next time you want to access that website.

Once you have set up your favourite websites, you simply set your browser to open HomepageStartup.com by default every time. We have made adding and deleting websites easy with Homepage Startup.

Helpful for those that are still using the archaic browsers such as IE. Not that I actually use it as Firefox has a plugin called ‘Morning Coffee‘ that can be downloaded and used. Also helpful for those times when your PC needs to go into the pooter hospital for surgery and you check at the Internet Cafe or library. 

For those that would like to upgrade their browser to a decent one, you can try here forFireFox Hundreds of plugins for FF can be downloaded and easily installed from here:

Now on to something different. This is a site that I use frequently. It is a tv guide, which allows you to select time and date and has quick previews of shows. When you register you can have daily emails sent to you, and you can be alerted when there is a program showing with any key words or titles that you have selected. Add your favourite program titles and keywords (eg. actors, hobbies, sports) to your favourites. They update your personal TV guide every day and up to a week in advance using the program names and keywords stored in your favourites. I love this site and it’s ease of use.

Attached to this site is a Movie Guide which is helpful for seeing what’s on at the Cinema at any selected theatre. That’s about it for now.