Even donkies blog

Girlfriend says it pretty funny and well worth the read. I'm waiting for his review of Windows Vista before I start reading.

Link:
http://sheafferdonkey.blogspot.com/

Three tips to protect your WordPress installation from Matt Cutts

Secure your /wp-admin/ directory
Make an empty wp-content/plugins/index.html file
Subscribe to the WordPress Development blog

I just did two of these on a WordPress blog I admin. Very easy to do and gives you a bit more piece of mind.

Read about how at:
http://.../three-tips-to-protect-your-wordpress-installation/

Quick test from Windows Live Writer

Trying an offline blogging application called Windows Live Writer to see how well it works. Reason is I want to do some bigger and better blog posts that will take time to generate and an offline blogging application will help.

Link:
http://get.live.com/betas/writer_betas

Better blogger templates

Some new and different blogger templates to give your blog a more unique look.

Link:
http://www.geckoandfly.com/blogspot-templates/

Is it Rocketboom or is it Memorex

WebbAlert, with Morgan Webb, appears a lot like Rocketboom. The difference is that the information is much more main stream and cutting edge (as far as what's hot in the blog world). Interesting enough that I may follow the video blog for a bit and see where it goes. Will it keep my interest over time? Not sure yet.

Link:
http://www.webbalert.com/

Is your blog profitable?

Many of the people who write blogs today simply want to share their opinion on something. But then there are the business-minded folks, who have found a way to use blogs, or Web logs, to bring in a little extra cash too.

And if you don't read ProBlogger, then check out his site too.

Link:
http://.../how_to_make_money_from_your_blog_5_tips

Blogger to add Video Upload shortly

Its something at least. Blogger has a long way to catch up to the more professional blogging applications around and I think will always be second rate if they don't add the ability to use mods or user created features.

Link:
http://.../introducing-blogger-in-draft.html

Blogger adds Autosave feature

Blogger Help : How Blogger Autosaves Your Posts: "When you create a new post, Blogger will start automatically saving it for you once a minute, without interrupting your typing."

Continually moving forward with features that makes Blogger a little better with each new feature released.

Link:
http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=42442

Gotta make that money man

If you haven't noticed by now I run Google Ads on my blog to help offset my hosting costs (have around 20 domains generating lots of traffic each month so I need as much help as I can get). Smashing Magazine has a pretty good article on how to maximize your income from Google Adsense. Read up and be on your way to earning six figures from your blog.

Link:
http://.../google-adsense-facts-faqs-and-tools/

Don't store my blog email

In order to help combat spam I will be regularly changing my blog email address. To find out the current email just look to the right as its in my profile area.

Hopefully this won't be too much of a hassle for my readers.

10 things every blogger should know or...

how to get more out of each blog post.

1. Create titles that go after keywords. The more important the keyword is to the post, the closer to the front of the title it should be. Try and not use simple words too close in the title. So, instead of The hidden things we found in Windows Vista we would write Windows Vista's hidden features disclosed
   
2. Wisely name your images. Have image names that include keywords or words that may be searched upon in Google's image search. If your blog is good enough every visitor you can get to stop by may be a source for multiple new readers. So, instead of having a picture named vlogo.jpg name it microsoft-vista-logo.jpg.
3. Create posts that not only informs but add a personal touch. Write like you are talking to a person face to face. People read your blog because they either like the information you provide or the personality of your writing. Create posts that combine the best of both worlds.
   
4. Link, Link, Link. Create links from blog posts to sources that assist the person reading. Always link to posts you have previously made on the subject. With linking you are trying to accomplish two things: 1) Give the person enough information and sources that your blog post is the only one they need to read on the subject and 2) Get a person to read multiple posts of yours, the longer they stay on your blog the more chance they will come back and tell others.
5. Become the expert. Figure out the purpose of your blog. Revisit topics and posts on subjects that your are knowledgable in. Making posts where you come across as a topic expert can help get on sites like Digg, Slashdot, Reddit and Furl.
   
6. Break it up. Don't be afraid to create posts that span several days using a Part 1, Part 2.. designation. Bring the person back to your blog for a couple of days. When doing this make sure to cross-link all posts together so no matter which post they come in on they can get to the others with ease.
7. Add some style. Add lists, bold, italics, quotes, larger text and other simple styling. The styling not only creates a better reading experience for a person viewing your blog but also provides a very important thing for SEO. Google treats keywords that are emphasized in some way (bold or italic) with more importance than ones that are not. So, adding a bold phrase that contains your keywords can help in your Search Engine Result Placement over another blog / page that didn't make something bold.
8. Stay ahead of the curve. Create posts on hot topics and subjects that are current even if its a personal blog. People want to read about what's happening now, not what happened a week ago.
9. Followup. If you create a post that promises for a follow-up or addtional information, then do it. Don't leave the readers hanging.
10. Tell the world. Your blog will be lost in the behemoth blogging world unless you tell people about it. Place a link to your blog in your email signature, in a signature on forums, approach other blogs for link exchanging, add your blog to blog directories, post comments (usefull not spamming) on other blogs. Basically get your name out there.

So, what do you think? Helpful?

So you want a blog

So you want a blog but not sure of the choices, then check out the Blog Comparison Chart. Some of the information is already dated but still offers a nice comparision nonetheless.