Archive for the ‘blog’ tag
Understanding Blogs
Blog is actually a shortened version of the word “weblog.” The word is used as a noun
referring to the actual weblog and also as a verb meaning “to edit or post to one’s
weblog.”
A very simplified definition of a blog as used today would be as follows:
Blog: a journal displayed over the internet that is updated often and is meant for display
to the public; this journal is most often displayed in reverse chronological order.
There are a number of different types of blogs. Each is slightly different in how it is
written or in the way in which it is delivered to the audience.
Media – includes Vlogs (video blogs), linklogs (link blogs), and photologs (blogs of
photographs).
Device – Some blogs are categorized by the type of program used to compose the blog.
Some are done strictly on computer programs while others are moblogs, or those written
on mobile devices such as phones or PDAs.
Genre – A final descriptive element of the blog is the genre or topic area in which the
blog galls. For example, blogs typically fall into one subject area such as politics, travel,
consumer products, and/or others.
Most blogs have the same general structure, although some will vary slightly. Below is a
typical blog structure:
Title: This is the ‘headline’ for the post.
Body: This is the main content of the post.
Permalink: This is a url that will direct readers to a full length article, if available. This
option is not always used, especially in personal blogs.
Post Date: This tells the date and time of publication.
Comments: These are remarks that are left by readers regarding the post.
Categories (Tags): This is usually a listing of previous articles that are related to the
current article.
Trackbacks (pingback): These are links to other sites that are relevant to the particular
blog entry.
Now that you know what a blog is and how one is set up, how can you create one of your
own? Most blogs that are online today are fairly easy to maintain and do not require the
use of a web developer. They are pretty easy to navigate by any normal computer user.
Web applications can help you to easily create or make changes to your blog and to
promote your site to potential readers.
So what is a web application? It is something that can be used by regular internet users
via a network such as the World Wide Web. They are easy to use and require little
installation and memory space to run. With these applications, bloggers can make
updates from just about anywhere in the world as long as there is internet access. This
allows bloggers to easily maintain their blog without having to host their own server.
Many systems suc as Ecto, Elicit, and Blogger let maintain without even being online at
the time. Users can compose or edit without internet connection and simply connect to
publish the blog. Other applications allow a combination of blog and wiki, called bliki.
About The Author:
My name is Simon and I am a Blogger. My purpose with this blog is to inform the internet marketing community and those unaware, that you can make money doing a great number of things on the internet. I want to educate you to some degree as what to do and what is available to do it with. I ask that If you do read an article, that you would take a moment and comment saying good job, alright! or that it just sucked. Let me know, for it is important. Most of all, if you do enjoy my articles, please subscribe to my articles through the RSS feed by clicking on the RSS button on the blog page. Thank You for visiting and,
Good Day!
Blog Marketing and Scams
Blog marketing is something that has really peaked an interest in the online world. Many people across the interent are blogging, and have blogs. A blog is also known as a web log. But you will hear the term blog more often than the term web log. It basically is just an online journal that you can use and publish for the world to read. Whether you choose to write about personal things, or business. Maybe you want to use it to promote products or services. The way you use your blog is totally up to you. However, you should be aware of the scams that are out there, and what to avoid while you are trying to market your blog.
Blog marketing or really any kind of marketing has scams. Just like everything else you are going to come around. There is always someone that is wanting to scam someone else and take money from the ones that do not know better. So what can you do to protect yourself? The best way to protect yourself from blog marketing scams is to become familiar with them, and know what they are. While this can also be hard to do because the scams change as much as you change your clothes, just stay on top of them, and know what to be looking out for.
Many times when a blog marketing scam surfaces, you will find that someone is going to write about it. They are going to try and warn others before they can fall into it. So, just make sure that you read and know what you are getting into. Do your research when you are marketing your blog. Ask others if they have heard about something that you are interested in doing. Chances are, if you are wanting to pay for some marketing of your blog, that you will find someone else that has used every company out there. Get feedback from your fellow marketers for the best results. Ask them if they have recommendations, or know of places that are legitimate.
If you have been scammed, chances are there is not much that you can do other than get the word out about it. However, just remember, if you have paid someone through something like paypal that protects you, then you have a time limit to get your money back and freeze the scammers account. But, that does not always work. Most of the time the scammers are all ready aware of things like that, and they work fast to move to not be caught. If that is the case, you really can not do much else about it other than alert the proper authorities and count your losses.
While there are many that will scam you with blog marketing, there are also many that will not. There are just so many legitimate resources that you are going to find that you can use and trust. The best thing to do if you are new to the blog marketing world is to ask around and find out who is the best for the marketing that you are trying to do. Doing so will often keep you from falling into a scam, and throwing your hard earned money away.
Unfortunately, you are going to come across those that have no regrets what so ever about scamming others. The only thing that you can do is your research at times to make sure that you are using a service or person that you can trust. Ask for references, and make sure that you will be getting the best that you can afford. You will not regret it in the long run, and it will pay off to check someone or a service out before you go and invest your hard earned cash. Actually contact the services or person’s references to make sure that they are who they say, and that they can deliver what it is that you are looking for. It only takes time.
About The Author:
We would like to think the Author is of his right mind but following what he writes about and the passion in his blogging. The determination as to his sanity is likely best left up to you. In the event you do enjoy his writing be sure to subscribe via the RSS button on the top of the page, to TWEET each Article and SHARE on FACEBOOK, all of the linking facilities are with the article. If there may be something you do not like, we won’t give up on you for eventually something will popup that you will like and want to tell everyone about.
Good Day!
Great Blog Marketing Techniques
Marketing your blog is not all that hard to do. You have to be persistent and want success however if you want your blog to do well. You cannot just make a post and forget about it. You have to continue updating your blog and marketing it so that it will become popular and one that everyone wants to read. There are other ways as well that are good marketing your blog. Keep reading for more information.
Interviewing people and posting it on your blog is an excellent way to market it. Just be sure that the people that you interview pertain to the market of your blog. You want all of your posts to be relevant, including any interviews that you might do. For example, if your blog market was vacuum cleaners, and you did an interview with the owner of Hoover vacuum cleaner; that would definitely pertain to your market.
If you hear any news on the market of your blog, be sure that you post it. Everyone loves news, and even the readers of your blog will appreciate you blogging about the current events in the market that you are blogging about. Something to keep in mind when blogging about the news is the more current the news, the better. No one wants to reread old news, so it is a great idea to try and stay as current as possible when you are blogging about the news.
Contests are another way that you effectively market your blog. Having contests on various things would be a lot of fun, and something that will keep your readers coming back. Everyone loves to win things, and you can also make the prize that you are giving away relevant to the market you are promoting on your blog.
While good content is something that you will need for your blog, you also want to ensure that it is original content as well. You can market a blog with something that is copied and that you do not own the rights. Plagiarism will get you in trouble with Google as well as the person that originally wrote the content. Be sure that all of your posts are ones that only you own the rights too. This is a great thing to know and do when you are marketing your blog.
Press releases are also an excellent way to market your blog. Sending out a press release or having one made for you is a great idea. You will find that they are even affordable for most budgets, and some companies offer a package deal for example, if you let us write your press release we will submit it for half price. Who could resist a deal such as that? Especially when you are budgeting and trying to get the most from your funds.
Comments on a blog are also a very important aspect of blog marketing. You will want to be sure that you always answer and acknowledge the comments that are made to your blog as well as others. When you show that you are an actual person that can hold a conversation, you are showing others that you are real and that you really and truly have the best intentions for your blog. Make sure that no comment goes unanswered.
Marketing a blog comes naturally for some and can be a little harder to focus on for others. Another important thing that you will want to do for your blog is to be sure that you find links. Exchange links, get one way links, and ask for more and more links. You will never have enough links to your blog. The more links the better in this case.
Blog marketing is not hard to do. Just be sure that you follow all of the proven and tried techniques that others are talking about and you won’t go wrong. Just don’t give up and keep on marketing because it will pay off sooner or later.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Simon Lalonde is a fanatic blogger who has been in internet marketing for over 5 years and yet is constantly learnig more and more of which he shares in his blogging and news letters. If you want to subscribe to Simons weekly newsletter CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE or if you just want to sent Simon a note then Email Simon. Stay tuned for a wide varity of information and be sure to select the RSS feed so that you do not miss anything. Good Day!
I don’t Send Attachments – Our Fight against SPAM
How prevalent is Spam? According to Scott McAdams, OMA Public Affairs and Communications Department (www.oma.org):
“Studies show unsolicited or “junk” e-mail, known as spam, accounts for roughly half of all e-mail messages received. Although once regarded as little more than a nuisance, the prevalence of spam has increased to the point where many users have begun to express a general lack of confidence in the effectiveness of e-mail transmissions, and increased concern over the spread of computer viruses via unsolicited messages.”
In 2003, President Bush signed the “Can Spam” bill, in December of 2003 which is the first national standards around bulk unsolicited commercial e-mail. The bill, approved by the Senate by a vote of 97 to 0, prohibits senders of unsolicited commercial e-mail from using false return addresses to disguise their identity (spoofing) and the use of dictionaries to generate such mailers. In addition, it prohibits the use of misleading subject lines and requires that emails include and opt-out mechanism. The legislation also prohibits senders from harvesting addresses off Web sites. Violations constitute a misdemeanor crime subject to up to one year in jail.
One major point that needs to be discussed about this: spam is now coming from other countries in ever-greater numbers. These emails are harder to fight, because they come from outside our country’s laws and regulations. Because the Internet opens borders and thinks globally, these laws are fine and good, but do not stop the problem.
So what do you do about this? Her are the top 5 Rules to do to protect from spam.
Number 1: Do what you can to avoid having your email address out on the net.
There are products called “spam spiders” that search the Internet for email addresses to send email to.
A couple suggestions for you: a) use form emails, which can hide addresses or also b) use addresses like sales@company.com instead of your full address to help battle the problem. c) There are also programs that encode your email, like jsGuard, which encodes your email address on web pages so that while spam spiders find it difficult or impossible to read your email address.
Number 2: Get spam blocking software. There are many programs out there for this. (Go to www.cloudmark.com or www.mailwasher.net for example). You may also buy a professional version. Whatever you do, get the software. It will save you time. The software is not foolproof, but they really do help. You usually have to do some manual set up to block certain types of email.
Number 3: Use the multiple email address approach.
There are a lot of free email addresses to be had. If you must subscribe to newsletters, then have a “back-up” email address. It would be like giving your sell phone number to your best friends and the business number to everyone else.
Number 4: Attachments from people you don’t know are BAD, BAD, BAD.
A common problem with spam is that they have attachments and attachments can have viruses. Corporations often have filters that don’t let such things pass to you. Personal email is far more “open country” for spamers. General rule of thumb: if you do not know who is sending you something, DO NOT OPEN THE ATTACHMENT. Secondly, look for services that offer filtering. Firewall vendors offer this type of service as well.
Number 5: Email services now have “bulk-mail” baskets. If what you use currently does not support this, think about moving to a new vender. The concept is simple. If you know someone, they can send you emails. If you don’t know them, put them in the bulk email pile and then “choose” to allow them into your circle. Spam Blocking software has this concept as well, but having extra layers seems critical these days, so it is worth looking into.
ABOUT the AUTHOR: Simon has passion for those who abuse the good nature of the internet community. He is pleased to present these concepts and ideas in battling that which irritates us. If you like email simon direct at simon@probloggeek.com with your thoughts and ideas. Simon just enjoys blogging and looks to you for new ideas and requests.
Being a Writer – A Home Based Business
As a writer, you probably already use a computer and the Internet. You may maintain your own web site to showcase your writing abilities. However, many other opportunities abound when you have writing skills. You may want to consider a few of the best home based business opportunities.
As an online writer, you can publish your own ezine or electronic magazine. The Internet essentially levels the playing field for writers as you don’t have to wait for a publisher to discover you. If you have the desire to publish an ezine, you can get started with very little upfront money. By using various self-promotion techniques, writing your own ezine can become one of the best home based business opportunities available to you. Alternatively, you could publish your own weblog or blog. Pick your own platform or just write to get your name out there. Your possibilities are limited only by your imagination and time.
Another one of the best home based business opportunities for writers is blogging or writing for hire. Many businesses and individuals want to maintain blogs for different reasons but don’t have the time or the experience to do so. They will often pay a professional writer to maintain this aspect of their business. They may also require other types of writing for their web sites or offline needs. You can find out about these types of opportunities in different writing magazines both on and off the Internet.
And, of course, one of the best home based business opportunities for any writer is freelancing. You may choose to sign up at a site like http://www.elance.com where you can bid on different writing jobs from all over the world. So many different possible projects exist for a freelancer. You could write sales copy for businesses, write business correspondence or even ghostwrite books. The list goes on and on.
Many of the best home based business opportunities for writers are available either on the Internet or through the Internet. You just need to get out there and find the best one for you.
ABOUT the AUTHOR: There are a number of subjects Simon will write about from time to time, with many articles being derived from his pocket book of ideas and thoughts. Some of these thoughts come to him in the middle of night while sleeping and others just about anytime. So stay tuned for more and many. If there is a subject you would like to see feel free to email Simon anytime day or night at simon@probloggeek.com with your request or thought.
I Bought A New Car and Survived!
Nobody got bloody, bruised or banged up in this auto buying excursion to Johnson Auto Plaza in Brighton Colorado on SH 85. This went so well that I had to tell it to the world in my blog. The government CARS $4,500.00 definitely got me inspired to go out and get a new car and with Dodges $4,500.00 I definitely had to go to a Dodge dealer which was Johnson Auto Plaza. My experiences with Dodge goes back to 2000 when I bought A Durango SLT brand new. My sales Rep, Dick Wollert was truly a seasoned pro in making the experience good. I am not boasting carelessly, for those who follow me know that I do know blow smoke in my blogs and truly have passion for which I write about. But I do have a little favor to ask of all of you; when you go to Johnson Auto Plaza for your next motor vehicle purchase that you mention Simon LaLonde and his article on Johnson Auto Plaza is what brought you to them. I know your experience will be as good as mine if not better, “. . . they guarantee it!”
Blogging and Pro Blogger
Most that I can tell you at this point is that I am definately a Geek. Does that qualify me as a blogger or a Pro Blogger? Not but oh how do I like to talk and ramble on. I have been there and done that. I have a list of so many Gurus and their alleged speciality that I fear I am losing focus as to what a Guru even is. But, Hang with me and we will try to examine every aspect of blogging possible. I will do the reading for you and geek mash it into something reasonable sounding that won’t even cost you anything other than the 10 seconds it will take to read my blog from time to time and to comment on how off base I am if I nailed it. So hang with me and we will see what cracks out!