Where This Blog Has Been Nov 7 to 13, 2010

What a week! A lot of decisions were made and even some planning and actions that were started one way has been re-arranged and done again. So you can say I’m being too hard on myself for getting things done.

What do you expect, it’s my very first mailing list! :P

More than that, I really miss you guys so first things first, I’m really impressed with the way the polls were answered so far. I was hoping for more but hey, you can’t always get what you want.

If you’re just reading this now, why not share your thoughts on your help is needed!

Overall, about 15 comments and tweets were distributed. Hurray!

Thank You

Thanks to everyone who has helped out and supported the endeavor so far:

  1. Patricia from Lavender Uses – Appreciate the vote! In this edition of Where This Blog Has Been, you will find her very first guest post. Not only is she on her way to great things, but check out her new Lavender Etsy Store!
  2. Ileane from Basic Blog Tips – Yay! Thanks for visiting the blog for the very first time Ileane and also for your rocking support! I’m honored to have your presence and thoughts on this one. ;)
  3. Tuan from Tek3D – Another respected blogger here, I always appreciate your opinion especially on all things technical. So thanks for your vote ban (that’s Vietnamese for friend!).
  4. Murray from Murlu – And yet, another awesome blogger support! Appreciate all that you have given in regards to time and the conversations we’ve had so far. Your advice has helped me moved some mountains. :P
  5. Richard from Riches Corner – Thanks for all the support and in the short amount of time so far, you are rocking it my awesome blogger friend. :) Appreciate the vote!
  6. Steve from Steve Scott’s Site – Always a pleasure to hear your thoughts on list-building, even from the list builder himself. Thanks for the awesome vote and support! :D
  7. Barry Wells from The Barry Wells – Even before the 100 Blog Comments, Barry has continued to give me support. Once again, he comes through! Thanks my friend. :)
  8. Rick LaPoint from LaPoint Marketing – Nice to meet an awesome new blogger, thanks to Patricia of course, who also has provided some great advice and support! Thanks for the vote.
  9. Adam Paudyal from Endeavor-Online – Another great Mastermind friend who’s supporting the effort as well. Thanks so much for your vote! ;)
  10. John McNally from The John McNally – And another 100 Blog Challenge friend who has continued to keep in touch! Great to hear your say John! Thanks for the vote. :)
  11. Terry Conti from Terry Conti – Finally, I want to also thank Terry for your vote. I’m glad to hear that you’re looking forward to this e-course as much as myself! :D

I also want to thank those who have voted but did not comment. There seems to be a couple of you out there. You know who you are. Thanks so much!!!

Late to the table and didn’t know that there was a poll? Have your say about what’s going to come up soon for the new mailing list in your feedback and help is needed! I really appreciate the awesome power of the community here. :)

Thus, this week’s blog hopping video is reminiscent of the recent rapture so enjoy!

Now, before we kick-off this week’s Where This Blog Has Been, I found an awesome post which can give you an idea of your blog status, celebrity-style!

It’s more or less shows you how much influence you have online. So check it out!

I’m on the D-List. :( Besides, if you’ve registered your site on Technorati, it might be more effective so are you an A-List Blogelibrity? Enjoy it and please, take it with a grain of salt. Unless you want to dominate the world, it ain’t gonna happen in one day honey. ;)

Here’s Where This Blog Has Been with a total of 18 posts for you to give love to.

Sunday, November 7 (3 Posts)

  • Steve Scott’s Sunday Selections: Hey, hey, hey, it’s another roundup from Steve and he covers everything from social media, reading facts, personal development, blogging and finally some shakes and stirs. You won’t be let down. Promise.
  • Sunday Synopsis #6: Oh no, Adam lets us in on some very sad news as this will be his last synopsis, but don’t be down so long, what’s gone is meant to brought in greater ventures. I just can’t do it with this roundup yet! Therefore, check out what you can as usual, he won’t disappoint you.
  • SuperPost Sundays Weekly Roundup #3: I’ve been following Ingrid for awhile now, as I include a new addition on Sundays, Adam’s won’t be around! :P So show some love for this gal as she got some great reads for you all. What you won’t find from the above, you will definitely find here. :)

Monday, November 8 (1 Post)

Tuesday, November 9 (7 Posts)

  • What Your Traffic Numbers Really Mean: John takes you behind the scenes with hits, pageviews, visits and unique visits. This way you can always look at a traffic report and see what really matters for that site. Hint, hint, this one as well. ;)
  • The Social Phenomenon – Covering 100 Bloggers in 100 Days: Here’s the challenge post from Ajay which asks you to join him on the quest to cover topics which you have interacted with or would like to take on in your perspective. Challenges are always fun, but this will have to wait until the mailing list launch. :)
  • 9 FREE Ebooks on Social Media: Ingrid has got some awesome finds here for you. I mean these are top-notch reads which can help you delve into the process of marketing your presence better. I don’t know how she does it but she’s proving again and again, she’s an effective socialite! :)
  • A Newbie Begins a Blog – And A Business: Yay! Show some love folks because when a fellow blogger starts guest posting those are some precious times to learn from. Here is Patricia’s very first guest post on Rick’s blog. She shares her secrets to how she has build her business online in such a short time with her blog!
  • Holy Crap! Cook’s Source: When copyright goes out of hand, what you’ll notice is the community will respond. The moral of the story is, if you don’t have permission, don’t publish. Here, Gini, highlights a recent nightmare which can give us all a lesson on publishing content.
  • My One Bit of Advice For Success As An Entrepreneur: Gideon, the video blogger, does it again with some great tips to help you succeed no matter it’s online, in the real world or anything you’ll undertake. I’m a big fan of the guy who breaks down his concepts into simple, easy digestible bits. See how you can too!
  • IM Faceplate is An Online Business Owner’s Dream Tool: Deborah introduces us to a tool which can integrate many features of Web 2.0 right now all into one place. Not only that, for the article marketer with an opt-in list, you can insert them as well into your faceplate!

Wednesday, November 10 (2 Posts)

  • Over 75 FREE Rapid E-Learning Resources: Tom blogs a lot about E-Learning development so in the midst of my research for the new ecourse, this was one of the monster post I found with valuable information. Not only can it be applied to creators of ecourse but anything blog-related from design, media, social and more!
  • Business Blogging Advice – Content Creation Topics: Matt gives you some great advice for thinking about your content in terms of a small business. After all, if you want conversions, leads or even be seen on the search engines, you have to have a strategy of some sort.

Thursday, November 11 (NONE – Happy Veteran’s Day!)

Friday, November 12 (1 Post)

  • The Online Marketing Funnel: Here’s a short and sweet article with a great pictorial on how conversion goes from research to revenue by NitinK. Back in 2008, this process is still relevant to now. What do you think?

Saturday, November 13 (NONE)

Honorable Mentions (4 Posts)

  • I’m Full Time Online Just Quit My Offline Job! – I love hearing good news especially when someone I admire like Sally Neill says, ‘I just quit my job!’ Now with the new mailing list, I want to too. With enough effort and even some of her magic touch, I just might! :)
  • Review of Cloud Living – Ali is one of those rare writers you have to follow online. Her review of Glen Allsopp’s ebook Cloud Living is a great take on what you can expect to make a living on the internet from one of the most talked about blogger.
  • Income Blogging Guide Course Review – The infamous Kristi Hines reviews the Income Blogging Guide which is a competitive package to the Blog Mastermind course. Her take and review shows that the course is really a rich interactive experience and worth trying. A great post as I ponder on the new e-course.
  • Interview with Six-Figure Problogger – Yaro Starak – Young Rob Rammuny interviews Yaro and does a great job of it. Not only that, he’s only 16! A-maz-ing! The best part, the transcript can also be downloaded for offline viewing later. Great for bedtime reading. ;)

Build a relationship with this blog and be featured in the next edition!

Where This Blog Has Been Oct 31 to Nov 6, 2010

I’ve hope you have had a productive week my friends! I definitely did.

And as we approach the beginning of the month, it’s always an exciting time around the blogosphere because reports on traffic, earnings and even progresses are shared. These are inspirational! More than that, they help you see for yourself how you can improve your efforts online.

I found myself really in awe though as I visited new blogs and even familiar ones to see how they have been. I haven’t been as active on Twitter as I could be, but that’s OK. It’s just nice to see progress, but more than that profits through all the hard work done last month, and that’s what you’ll find below for some posts today.

So here’s this week’s video to blog hop to:

And here’s Where This Blog Has Been this week with a total of 32 posts!

Sunday, October 31 (2 Posts – Boo!)

  • Steve Scott’s Scary Edition – Halloween Selections: Yes, Steve has a compendium of interesting scary posts to ease you into the holiday, even after it has passed! This would make for a great niche site to put together as well. Hint, hint, seasonal niches.
  • Sunday Synopsis #5: Another collection of great articles for you to check out from all over the blogosphere. My recommended Sunday readings besides mine of course. :P This week, Adam shares with you a poem and also many posts on self-development as well as online success.

Monday, November 1 (5 Posts)

  • 5 Tips For Integrating E-mail With Your Blog: If you haven’t thought about how e-mail should be included in your blogging efforts, Tink explains why. Through these simple tips, understand that value is what you’re aiming for. After all, your readers are giving you permission to contact them.
  • Promote Your Blog By Promoting Others: Without comments, your blog will not attract the traffic that is needed. Oftentimes, that is because most bloggers won’t comment if sites aren’t dofollow and that is a fallacy. Here Daniel explains why commenting is quickly reaching grounds as the non-paying way to traffic.
  • 8 Character Drawing Art Tutorials: I’d like to introduce more art and design sites to the roundup besides the blogging how-tos. For the creatives, here are some drawing tutorials found by Khizar which gears you up for hands, feet, eyes, faces, action movements that are more on the anime spectrum.
  • Get MORE From Networked Blogs on Facebook: If you’re on Facebook, this is one application you should also apply to update your readers on the latest posts from your blog. Fiona shares her strategy to how you can enable your blog to be seen more with this service.
  • 5 Social Bookmarking Sites For Blogging Blogs: I use one of the social bookmarking sites mentioned in this article to promote this blog, however there are a few more which I haven’t yet implemented. Jamie though will clue you into the networks where you can further promote your blog to.

Tuesday, November 2 (5 Posts)

  • Awesomeness of Co-Working Communities: Nunzio gives us a look at a growing trend going on around office space communities and I have to say, it sounds like something which might enable us to build our business when working at home doesn’t work out.
  • From 0-45 Visits A Day, My Experiments and Mistakes: Ajay has blogged up to 7 times already and funny, he hasn’t given up! So instead, he shares what he has learned about traffic and what visitors really want in terms of content.
  • Lavenders – Small Niche, Big Ideas: Lovely Patricia is the lavender queen! Shhhh, she thinks she isn’t though. However, she shares her thoughts on who on the blogosphere she has build connections with and guess who’s in it? Check out how you can integrate lavender into your life.
  • Writing Tips For Non-English Speaking Bloggers: Tuan doesn’t speak English as his first language, so he explains how he has shifted from his native tongue to writing fluently in what you’re reading now. Thus, I was so surprised I could have been fooled. Find out what helped him.
  • Link Luv – Weekly Roundup #2: Ingrid has done it again. She shares with you her second set of posts to give love to and this time, she asks, what should she call her Sunday roundups? Go take a look and give your honest opinion, any is helpful. Along the way, check out some great gems she found.

Wednesday, November 3 (2 Posts)

Thursday, November 4 (2 Posts)

  • Blog and Income Report – October 2010: Murray shows us what has brought in some money for his efforts online and surprisingly, there’s a gem here you want to take away – article marketing at it’s best can bring in residual. More than that, his traffic is awesomely high, I’m kind of jealous. :P
  • How to Use CommentLuv Enabled Sites For Backlinks: Kimi has a video that shows you what to look at when you’re commenting on sites that has CommentLuv enabled. From utilizing what posts to share to how to see it on your browser, make sure you are making the most out of your commenting.

Friday, November 5 (11 Posts)

  • Funny Marketing Lesson: It’s quite amazing to find out how you really talk at times, especially when you don’t know what you’re talking about and think about marketing in such a way that it’s about the sell. Here, in this funny video, Cathy teaches us a lesson on redefining your target audience.
  • 1k Articles in 100 Days – The Conclusion: :( The challenge has ended but I found something which will keep me going. Murray presented to the blogosphere a great idea and a few participated, here is the final results. Check it out and also sign up to try your hand at article marketing today! Don’t wait.
  • Chuck Norris Guide to Proficient Protecting of Your Site From Rabid Varmits: OK, this is actually an interview between Barbara and Chuck Norris. He reveals how you can restore your site’s password and even how to determine the strength of the password so that it won’t be easily hacked.
  • 7 FREE Ways to Internet Market with Yahoo Answers: Caleb provides you with some stunning insights on how you can utilize Yahoo Answers to market yourself and even create backlinks. There are some rules though and if you don’t abide by it, consider yourself banned for life!
  • Get Ready For Top Level .Free Domains Which Will Be Totally Free: This is something you should hop on the bandwagon and you’re only allowed to get one FREE. So if you think about monetization that might be something helpful. However, I went and secure my name. :)
  • Niche Site Challenge Part 001 – The Method in My Madness: Alex and Moon are cr-a-zy! They have taken something that has spawn the blogosphere by storm and brought it to us small bloggers. Now you can follow along and see for yourself a new process in how to build your own niche site.
  • I Will Take Your Challenge Alex, For $100 Please: Here’s Moon take on the duel. Quite a fantastic challenge this will be and what’s more, she already has two sites she had started on so with the release of her new ebook soon, you’re going to find out more how she’s going to bring it.
  • Top SEO WordPress Plugins: Dan shares with us some of the plugins that are making a splash online and they range from premium to free. Thus, if you haven’t heard about it yet, he’s also the creator of Keyword Winner. ;) Way to go Dan!
  • Twitter Strategies That Works, No Instant Followers Please!: Suresh has experimented with some services that promises you followers but unfortunately, they fail to live up to their promise and so here’s the real truth to utilizing Twitter to make it work for you which has the tools for you to make use of too.
  • AZBlogTips October Revenue: Tinh shares with us another awesome month with his earnings online. Now, he has made more than this as he calls it a boring month. I said, ‘What?!’ Well, take a look for yourself, I’m sure you’ll say the same thing too. It’s really kicking you in the rear.
  • Big List of 60 Web 2.0 Sites For Link Building, PR4-9: Satrap has collated together a long list of 60 for you to take a look at and think about where you want to practice building your links offsite. This is a great way to build a reputation online, however it can be tedious so do what you can.

Saturday, November 6 (2 Posts)

  • Doubling My Passive Income Earnings with Bukisa: Here’s another gem by Murray as he shows you a way to double your earnings online. Now don’t underestimate the 1k Challenge because he’s read through the terms and actually understand that once you retain the rights, anything is possible. Find out why!
  • Get 10x Traffic By Content Distribution Method: An old post but nonetheless timeless in that when it comes to expanding your thoughts on content and marketing them, here’s a blitz by Typhoon to get you going. The ideas presented are very useful for repurposing and republishing if you so choose.

Honorable Mentions (3 Posts)

Build a relationship with this blog and be featured in the next edition!

Have You Raided the Nearest Blog Lately?

I’ve been noticing a lot of views on my Sitemap page as of recent, but what’s more is that I’m also doing the same elsewhere on other blogs. At first I thought, ‘Is this a problem?’ But then again, I put on my optimist hat and turn the effort into getting to know the blogger, indirectly.

Here’s why.

One of the things all bloggers love is traffic to their site. When you can stay longer and browse around the pages, well, the stats will show up on their Analytics that the time spent will be more than the average visitor. So you’re a golden nugget here.

And it doesn’t matter if you’re a commentator, social networker or drifter. Out of the 3 types of blog visitors, the drifter will stay around the longest. Why is that?

Well, you can’t comment on every blog post. While you would love to go through them all, there’s just not enough time. There are other blogs to visit as well.

The next reason is you’re not ready to give out your e-mail yet or even be seen in the blog’s community. Strange but trust me, I’ve been there. I’ve hoovered around hundreds of articles, comments, banners and whatnot and found that that Casper-like behavior only makes me want to reach out more.

It looks like I’m building up my arsenal and infantry but at the same time, I don’t want to be bothered with spam from commenting! :P So I’m on the defensive here and really, I just want to watch my back.

So what the heck am I blog drifting for then?

Research. You see, blog drifting, in it’s truest nomadic form is the most experienced visitor of them all. This may now seem like an addendum to the types of visitors I’ve written a few weeks back, but it’s really about the benefits of knowing your community better.

So why should you even raid your nearest blog?

For Content Direction

Career Choice

You want to know what topics your blogging friend is interested in. Right off the bat, just as you’re talking to a stranger, in the first few minutes through the archives, you can tell if you’ll be hitting the right notes. Basically, will you both be talking the same language?

No? Well, then get some reading done. Browse the About page, read the comments, see who the top commentators are and what they have to say about the articles written. I really appreciate it when my visitors leave me warm comments and actually take some time and effort into conversing with me, especially in wishing me well and whatnot.

Because we’re all busy.

And hey, I’m human too. Just because I blog about topics that may be technical at times, it doesn’t mean I’m cold. I love quirky humor, cheesy comments and even dorkiness. There I’ve said it and now you know. :)

Another thing is, if there is a sense of reciprocity given to the visitors on the blog. If yes, I would strongly urge you to network, because there is potential for you to learn, grow and even develop in whichever direction you’re pursuing online.

No, no, no! It’s not taking advantage of them. It’s facing your fears. So reach out and connect!

It’s web 2.0 here folks. Stalking is overrated. We may all be writing about different topics but one of the things besides politeness that gets us across online is direct conversations. So tell me what do you really want?

Just like real life, we all approach the beginnings with a little finesse but as that block is turned, it seems we go cr-a-zy! I know I do. It’s here, there and everywhere. But what’s evident is I’m hungry. I know you are too.

When we can feed that hunger and the blogger who sees it tends to us, once we’re full, we can really focus on the nitty gritty – business. Thus, I believe that frenzy is something to understand.

Psychologically, that’s our actions telling us that it’s curious. So why not feed the cat?

No Hype, Just Truth

TruthI don’t know how many times I’ve been excited and carrying that elsewhere to another blog, I get disappointed when they’re not as excited as I am. Truth is, there is more misery than successes in the blogosphere. However, that doesn’t mean my parade has been rained on, it just means there are now fellow bloggers to revive and inject with hope.

Yeah, superhero time.

But that wasn’t always the case. You see, I don’t think this strength was obvious until I had confidence, and that was mainly backed by a strong army of friends and a network which I enjoy interacting with. It makes life beautiful on the net. But you have to understand, not everything is Pleasantville.

There are problems everywhere and solutions are not found. So when you see solutions fanatically in one place and self-fulfilling prophecies in another, they aren’t listening to each other. And the thing is they’re two languages mimicking one another in so many levels deep, that sometimes I think we are at war.

However, that’s farthest away from the truth. And the truth is we’re all trying to figure out how to make money online. That’s what I thought too but now that’s going to change.

So what is the truth and is all this networking and online hugging real?

This is what I have to say – when it’s love, it’s love. You can’t explain it. That’s passion. That’s something science can’t measure and that’s why I keep blogging. The moment I start to doubt myself, that’s when I’m getting away from my target, the goal.

I don’t know how many times you’ve drowned yourself in misery as well, but that cycle pulls you down, down, down. So I rather lie to myself and raise back up the dead by passionately doing what it is I have to do to get there.

What’s evident is when you realize this, it becomes personal. You can see through the lies and hype. That’s why when you too put in the effort towards seeing what your passion is, only time will reveal the truth.

For me, it’s raiding other blogs to learn that I have something in common with them, connect and linger longer. That may be a weird way to reach out, but really, I’m giving you my time to honestly want to get to know you. And whether I’m valuable to you or not, depends on how you receive me.

Can you do the same?

Go out there and raid the nearest blog around you. What can you learn?

Where This Blog Has Been Oct 24 to 30, 2010

Happy Halloween! WoooOOOOOoooo. :)

ZombiedI went around a lot in the first couple of days. As the week ended, well the holiday took on more of the schedule as you have to take a break. It’s part of the fun. However, the love never stops. For this week’s Where This Blog Has Been, I want to also give you a cool tool to transform yourself into the zombie that you ought to be!

With Zombie Me (I found the final page where you don’t have to register), all you have to do is upload a picture and wait. The result is a zombiefied you! Check out Thubie, the zombie me. Yeah, I was scared stiff myself. However it doesn’t beat the scariness of not posting today! LOL.

Also here’s this week’s video to check out! Enjoy!

Now here’s Where This Blog Has Been with a total of 34 posts to give love to!

Sunday, October 24 (2 Posts)

  • Steve Scotts Sunday Selections 24 Oct 2010: Blogging is not an easy feat if you don’t have a plan. This week’s selections focus around the theme of organizing your blogging strategy so that you won’t have to suffer the repercussions. Always a pleasure to be apart of Mr. Scott’s community!
  • Endeavor Online’s Sunday Synopsis #4: Don’t you just love roundups when they start spinning a web of their own and well, you just can’t stop reading them? Here’s another from Adam that every week I recommend along with Steve’s as you’ll get the best of what’s out there. Enjoy!

Monday, October 25 (11 Posts)

  • How to Come Up With 100 Blog Post Ideas in 30 Minutes: Srini shares his process on how he goes about an A-list blogger’s archives and gets ideas to write his post. With a short video, he’ll walk you through real-time on getting those topics and mindmapping them as well.
  • Blogging Groups – Are They Effective? Let’s See.: Mark is thinking about forming a group because, well all the best bloggers out there have their own coaching program, but on the less expensive side, you have like-minded bloggers getting together just for the sake of growth. What do you think about this?
  • It Takes Longer Than You Think: By the Caffeinated Elf, a very cool name indeed, she talks about your mindset on leveraging your work. How the type of ‘Boss’ you are can change the way you go about doing things and even effectively grow, but it does take longer than you think.
  • How to Utilize Your Categories and Tags More Effectively: Here’s a guest post on Famous Bloggers by Niles where she shares her observations on the best way to go about presenting your site through the categories you’ll use and even how the tags are utilized. Straight from a website designer with 8+ years of experience!
  • Jamie Northrup’s Daily Twitter Tasks Checklist: What are effective ways to market yourself on Twitter? Jamie shares her daily tasks with you in a downloadable PDF as well, so that you too can try for yourself how to go about social networking on Twitter in many different ways.
  • 25 Entrepreneurs Reveal Their Monetization Strategy: When should you start making money with your blog? Some of the burning questions you have inside can be answered here through bloggers and their experiences in going about ‘making money online’.
  • Top 9 Ways of Forcing Google to Crawl Your Site Faster: Here’s a guest post on StrictlyBizNews by James Adams and it is so detailed with actionable steps you might want to take a look and get your site out crawled soon! If you have already, consider looking through the ways to see if you might have missed something.
  • Handy List of 9 Blog Toolbars to Increase Your Reader Engagement: Mike does it again with another awesome share on toolbars you can put on your blog and increase visitors networking choices to spread your influence online. Really helpful if you have less space on your site but don’t mind leaving choices somewhere on the top or bottom for readers to click through on.
  • 10 Amazing SEO Infographics to Educate Your Staff and Clients: Here’s another guest post by James sharing a great list of infographics online on SEO! This is the go-to if you need to explain to someone the process without so much words. Just print, show and they’ll see!
  • NittyGritty’s Link Luv – Weekly Roundup #1: Yay! Ingrid has her first roundup out and these are great reads since it’s always good to see what fellow bloggers are reading too to find inspirations from. Check out what’s in line from last week and share your love.
  • It’s Been A Long Time Coming, But It’s Finally Here!: Well, my mentor, Miss Sally Neill has finally got herself a new place. Here in this post, she shares the excitement and even updates as being part of Alex Jeffrey’s A-Team! You go Miss Sally!

Tuesday, October 26 (10 Posts)

  • Does Google Stop Pagerank Updates?: Tuan shares with us some news on the recent updates with Google’s PageRank as it determines what some of the elite sites on the web are. For the moment, there seems to be a delay as we don’t know when the next calculation will happen.
  • The Killer Guest Posting Opportunity You Won’t Find Anywhere Else: Ann Smarty of MyBlogGuest reveals news on great sites which you can contribute guest posts too, thus more exposure if you need. In order to take advantage of this opportunity, you have to be a member of the FREE community which has a forum.
  • 20 WordPress Plugins For Successful Internet Marketers: Michael shares with you over 20 plugins to monetize your blog with. He also explains what you can do with them and how effective they are in implementing them in your business, when you do get around to it.
  • SEO – The Act of Mingling Two Opposite Worlds: Here’s a guest post by Suresh but it’s more than about SEO. It’s about passion and even finding yourself through the search engine frenzy madness online. So how do you write content that ranks well online but at the same time appeal to your readers?
  • Keyword Research – First Step to a Successful Website: Aakash walks you three a simple 1-2-3 format on researching your keywords before starting out a site. This is particularly useful for niches which you want to tap into and make a profit from.
  • Getting Serious About Humor Writing: A nice little piece for you to think about. Especially when it comes to voice, humor should be relevant. It’s what makes us human and at the Random Chick Blog, she gives you some pointers on seriously being funny with advice from Dave Barry of the Miami Herald.
  • My 10 Favorite WordPress Plugins: Jessica shares with us some of her favorites and there are some here you might want to consider. As a WordPress user, you cannot get enough. Furthermore, it’s good to know what choices you have so that if the occasion arises.
  • 3 Stages Every Website Owner Must Go Through: We all grow when we blog but seeing your path in full bloom, you might not be aware that there are obstacles you’ll face. Here’s an article by Roman who takes it apart for you so that you’ll understand the roads which will happen as you go deep.
  • Your Own Product – How Much Value Do You Need to Deliver?: We’ll all get into the process of creating a report, a product to sell, even give away and in this hibernating mode, the writer at SocialMouths explains why value must be essential and in his discovery, I’ve learned that it’s more or less about you as well.
  • How to Create A Personal Developmental Plan: Steve gives you some thoughts and insights on thinking about yourself. Not only that, it’s about your plan for the future and even though, professionally it holds it’s rewards, what about you?
  • 6 Reasons Not to Work So Hard: Besides all the work you’re doing, you need to sometimes spare a little time to think about your ethic and that is what Jennifer shares with us here. Don’t go towards these reasons which will eventually turn itself against you. Make yourself a beast but a enjoy it too.

Wednesday, October 27 (6 Posts)

  • Color Psychology – How to Use It On Your Blog: Here’s a guest post by Kate Kutny who shares with us the different impressions we give to our visitors when they come to our blog. Very insightful and if you’re considering what color would be next, this is worth a read!
  • E-mail Deliverability Tips: Tom, CEO of Aweber has some tips on how you can properly abide to the laws, policies and even format your e-mails so that they get to where they should go without looking like they’re SPAM. Thanks to Kate, this post was made possible.
  • How to Start Fresh From This Moment in Time: Fatherhood is a great place for Adam at the moment. He’s transitioning himself into that which will uphold goodness that will come and he shares some tips on how to go about it with change.
  • How Launching A FREE Product Doubled My Income: Leslie, the Freebie Guy, is someone whom I have been following way back since I got into freebies. Now here he is coming out with his own product, I’ll be darn! There’s something to learn here though. He found a need and took action on it. Found out what!
  • Jobs Are Filthy Habits That You Should Kick As Soon As Possible: This is a VERY long post and I mean long. If you have time, please do read it as it really kicks you into focus about reality and the conditions in which we affix ourselves. Unless you see change, it won’t happen unless you think for yourself.
  • Exploitation – The Dirty Secret to Win the Web: Murray will not stop and that’s because he can’t and he won’t. The blogosphere is revealing before him a pattern and he’s sharing it with you in this post. While this may not have occurred to before, you’ll be shocked to see that it will.

Thursday, October 28 (5 Posts)

  • You Can Now Change the Name of Facebook Page: Tuan shares with you the latest update for Facebook users on how they can change their ugly long name pages to their site. This is good for branding, however it’s only for those under 100 friends.
  • How Effective is Your Elevator Pitch?: Trish is going to show you where you can find a tool to see what you elevator pitch is right now! Direct from the Harvard Business School, it’ll help you refine and improve how you present yourself to business prospects.
  • Social Bookmarking For Internet Marketers: Here, Steve explains for you the benefits of leveraging your presence on social networks. As there are so many, you don’t know where to start. Furthermore, it’s taking one place at a time and mastering it.
  • Google Analytics and Web Traffic: John shares with you how he has went about installing the Google script onto his niche sites and what he did to bring traffic to them. These simple steps should not be taken lightly, as they pack that powerful punch that rakes in the numbers to give a better picture of demand.
  • It’s Time to Kick Ass! I Landed My First Client: Murray is on his way to greater things and it’s no surprise that all the hard work is now coming into action. He has new work in the works and it’s exciting times. Not only is he ready, he’s ready to rock!

Friday, October 29 (NONE)

Saturday, October 30 (NONE)

No honorable mentions this week as I don’t want to overload you with too much information. :) Have fun and once again Happy Halloween!

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What is the Pink Panther of Blogging?

One of my favorite movies has to be the Pink Panther series. The new ones. And that’s because I’m a fan of Steve Martin. So as I watched over the second part today, something struck me.

Why is it that there will be those looking for the best and those who don’t get involved together?

You then have a story immerse with the elements of a mystery in crime, circumstance and humor, just to see that the value of the pink panther is nothing more than a diamond.

The world’s largest one too!

Pink Panther Diamond

And it is these same elements in blogging that I find we, ourselves are searching for again and again all over the blogosphere on what value truly means.

We think that because someone has a blog with a large following it has more value.

So the larger the value, the bigger the crimes that comes with it too!

And the blogs that normally have traffic hoovering over them might no longer instill a voice of reason. At least one which is evident to new readers.

When there is no sense of filtering involved, you’ll begin to see a lot of greed, lust and even the presence of honorable bloggers whom we’d like to connect with, have lamps rubbed the wrong way.

And so the wishes come.

The consequences? Control.

Here is where the mystery begins.

The pink panther is now lost and the value that is held behind the glass box is stolen.

Where could it be?

The story of blogging takes on the same tracks and following the steps of the clues left behind for us, we try to piece together the blog puzzle. Just as detective Clouseau ponders, ‘Where do those footprints lead to?

Pink Panther Inspector

Taking into account of what we do know, what we’ve heard, seen and have experienced, the motive behind blogging unravels.

What is a blog?

What is the best way to go about blogging?

What must you say on your blog?

Who are you blogging for?

The simple concept of writing and publishing content is now elevated into a system of yes/no checklists and the audience through which it filters through has become more prejudiced.

Dofollow? High Alexa? High PR? Mailing list? SEOed?

It seems there is a concern going on for those who writes the best content, provides the fastest, best way to do something, makes the most money … buzz, buzz, buzz.

For readers who don’t know any better, this is the chaos through which we give them.

It is any wonder how their minds have suddenly become loaded with so much information?

And when we’re not considerate of what’s going on really, we’re only contributing more to the problem. So, OK, I want a say too. I want a part of the pink panther as well but I won’t commit the crime. I’m not going to steal it away from someone else, I’m going to find out through looking back at what has worked.

I’m going to ask you – what is the pink panther for this blog?

Before you answer that though, let’s continue further because I’m not finished! :)

The system which has defined for us some of the values online isn’t always what we want. Nor is it always good for you either.

I guess that’s how you think outside the box. It’s questioning the context even if proof is given because it doesn’t apply to you. Nor to me. Then where do you apply it?

Consider the birth of another drive – the need for competition.

Without actively involving ourselves in the process of blogging, we won’t know what is the pink panther.

How in the world will you know what is value if you don’t provide it?

What is value anyway?

Look deep. What do you see? No, it’s not a diamond.

It’s the elements that makes a diamond retain it’s sparkle, the carbon inside that gives it life and the chemical structure which makes it strong.

Diamond Crystal Structure

We are the diamond.

The pieces which will hold us together makes the network which will continue to bind us valuable. Not only is our blog but the blogs which connects with us has value.

Value is in numbers. Not alone. Web 2.0 has made that possible with the social networks we’ll leverage. So do you understand now why a blog is only as awesome as the community that builds it?

I understand now.

It’s a never-ending connection of like-minded individuals which gives life to information not of one but many. And doesn’t it touch your heart to know that someone at least cares about what you’re doing, contributing and even trying to do online?

That only makes you better and creates the value in the network you belong to stronger.

It only takes one to motivate you to jump to 10. Really. That’s how I felt with my first comment. Because from that day forth, I knew that more was coming and all I had to do was continue to give and soon, I shall receive.

OK, let’s do a prediction now.

In about, let’s say a few months or a year down the line, your value can grow to be profitable. Monetary. You’re going to have power at that point and that requires a bit of responsibility through planning. Structure. With that, you might have an ethical side that will tug at you and might change the way you market. Refinement. Finally, with the successes you’ve gotten, it’s back to giving to the community again. Charity.

Blog ValueWho knew that there were so many ways you can grow to give value? I definitely see why monetization is important now. It’s the first step to starting the cycle of value.

Again, think of that diamond, how is it held together?

Through the network which internally connects the atoms, how is it strong?

What is the element that connects the whole piece eventually?

What gives it that shine?

Taking the same concept over to blogging, you can apply the experience the same way.

So as you narrow down those tidbits, you’ll begin to find that the audience which you’re talking to now knows you best, because you’re going to share things about yourself with them. It’s just like first impressions. They want to know who you are.

Like friends in real life, it’s reciprocal.

That’s why there are top commentators so that you show who are some of the active participants around your blog. If you’re allowing guest posts, that too will endow you with value as well as the writer which will contribute. (coming soon!)

Most importantly, you have to keep doing what it is you’re doing. Don’t stop! That’s your branding strategy. To keep going through rain and storm. Inspire. Influence.

Surprisingly, value is always closer than you think.

Just look at the mystery of solving the pink panther. It’s from the network in front of you. However, you’re going to run into circles before you can see it. You’ll be digging and digging and even though you’re falling off track some days, you’re getting closer and closer.

It all comes back to where it came from. You.

What is your pink panther? How about answering that previous question as well – what do you think is the pink panther for this blog? :) Share your thoughts.