Yes occasionally I have to keep hitting my head against the wall before things start to sink in. Each time WordPress releases a new version I play catch up checking my plugins and themes to see what works with it and what does not.
Well I actually decided that is plain dumb and decided that this Old Bald Guy really needs to smarten up a bit. (I know a huge shock)
So I decided instead of playing catch up I really should be testing things constantly and signed up to start using the beta versions. So now I am running the latest WordPress 2.7 on a separate install so I can test things ahead of time. Novel approach I know .
So look for more info on the upcoming release and the back end will be a shock as it has changed completely. Not just a few changes and colors but a total new look.
After playing with it for a bit it will actually be much easier and intuitive. Now it has been a bit of shock as being old and bald I get used to things the way they are. After all I have spent years learning which button does what. But…
Do have to say that they are doing a great job on the new version and after the initial culture shock it will be much easier to use.
Look for more soon and as the roll out gets nearer look for a quick video walk through to get you prepared for the new look.
As always your questions and comments are welcomed.
That was the title of an email I received this am.
After a huge initial launch and then numerous growing problems with people trying to scam the system I expected it to keep evolving and have used it on this blog to continue to test it.
Now I have been a vocal critic at times of this service for marketers as it created unnecessary leaks from a pre sale process but liked it in niches and thought it was a good tool for finding other blogs in the same niche.
I do give props to John Reese first for trying something new and second for having the nerve to “kill the baby”. Shows why the man is so successful.
Have seen too many people, especially new people continue to do the same thing and expect it to work better. Have been guilty of that myself as you fall in love with an idea and have such an emotional investment you continue to work it long after you know it is futile.
So I do have some sorrow to see this go but great respect for John for pulling the plug completely.
If you have Blog Rush on your blog remove the code so you don’t have a huge white space in your side bar and look forward to the next innovation that comes out for generating buzz and traffic between bloggers.
As always your questions and comments are welcomed.
Today I tried this for the first time. There is always a learning curve and as usual I screwed up the beginning. They tell you to mute or it will be added to the replay then I got excited when the music started and did not unmute for a minute.
So there is dead space in the beginning but after that I did answer the questions that were submitted but was disappointed in the lack of interaction.
Will probably try this for Q and A one more time but am not sure it is not much better suited to doing interviews than a Q and A unless there is sufficient interaction. The daytime slot probably hurts with that too.
So I have added the show below but there is a delay before it starts.
As always your questions and comments are welcomed.
Well the day has arrived for the initial episode of my Blog Talk Radio Show. Looking forward to giving you answers to any questions you may have on WordPress or blogging.
There have been a few questions asked but can always use more so feel free to leave a comment here with the question you would like addressed.
One of the things I love is tracking where my visitors come from so I know what is driving my traffic. It helps me to understand what is working and what is not.
Now I use both Google Analytics and for blogs My BlogLog. Was there today as usual (yes I am always checking stats a bad habit – NOT unless you use that as an excuse not to do what needs to be done) and noticed something.
The other day AWeber announced their new feature that allows you to tweet your email broadcasts automatically. Relatively simple even for an Old Bald Guy like me.
So………
I wrote about it as soon as I saw it and tracked back to their blog from another blog of mine as it fit what I had been writing about at Three Turtle Marketing.
Because I was doing this very shortly after they announced this on their blog it ended up as the 5th comment on their blog. So now I am getting visitors stopping over from that.
Getting out there and interacting on topics that will get a bit of play early can make a nice difference in your traffic. Are you doing it? If so how regularly?
Just a few thoughts to help you improve your traffic.
As always your questions and comments are welcomed.
If you have not left a question please leave one for the Blog Talk Radio Show tomorrow at 3pm on the post below this.
Okay you answered so I have scheduled the first session on Blog Talk Radio. It is scheduled for Tuesday at 3 pm. I only set it for 15 minutes until I see what type of crowd and how manty questions there are.
Social bookmarking is a method for Internet users to store, organize, search, and manage bookmarks of web pages on the Internet with the help of metadata.
In a social bookmarking system, users save links to web pages that they want to remember and/or share. These bookmarks are usually public, and can be saved privately, shared only with specified people or groups, shared only inside certain networks, or another combination of public and private domains. The allowed people can usually view these bookmarks chronologically, by category or tags, or via a search engine.
Most social bookmark services encourage users to organize their bookmarks with informal tags instead of the traditional browser-based system of folders, although some services feature categories/folders or a combination of folders and tags. They also enable viewing bookmarks associated with a chosen tag, and include information about the number of users who have bookmarked them. Some social bookmarking services also draw inferences from the relationship of tags to create clusters of tags or bookmarks.
Many social bookmarking services provide web feeds for their lists of bookmarks, including lists organized by tags. This allows subscribers to become aware of new bookmarks as they are saved, shared, and tagged by other users.
As these services have matured and grown more popular, they have added extra features such as ratings and comments on bookmarks, the ability to import and export bookmarks from browsers, emailing of bookmarks, web annotation, and groups or other social network features
That is a pretty good definition so lets look at how they help you and how to use them.
Every time you bookmark a site it creates a back link to that page. More back links equals higher ranking in the serps. Higher serp and you get more free traffic. That is the basic reason why.
Now how do you do it?
First understand that the word social is important. Like other link building strategies the key is to take part in the community. If you are doing commenting to build links and aren’t adding value and taking part in the conversation your comments don’t get approved. Wasted effort on your part and people start to dislike you.
The same goes with bookmarking. This is a community and you are sharing what you have found of value. If the only thing you find of value is your site/s no one will value or use your links. You may also get your account deleted and lose what little you have created.
If you are bookmarking your sites and other sites of value now when someone looks at your list you have provided value. In most of these sites people can vote your links up (good resource) or down (bad resource).
The real traffic comes when others agree and vote for you then you get proof from others that these links are worthwhile.
So if you are going to be bookmarking get in the habit of doing it for all pages that you find of quality.
Three ways to help yourself and others at the same time.
Bookmark your articles that you submit at the various directories.
Bookmark forum posts that you are taking part in that have good information.
Bookmark blog posts that you comment on.
All of these help other sites and help to find you so it is a win win for you and the site you used.
Hope this helps to clear up what social bookmarking is and how you can use it.
As always your questions and comments are welcomed.
WordPress came out with an unexpected update yesterday. With all their work on 2.7 they were not planning this but a security flaw that involves the Snoopy library was announced then.
Because of that they came out with an almost immediate update and it is easy to do but necessary. You will only need to download 2 files and overwrite them. They both go into the wp-includes folder.
You can get the two files from WordPress or download and install the full version. I just grabbed the two files and added them to each blog as it was much quicker. You can get the full story and downloads here.
I created a short video to show you how to just add the two files so you do not have to do a full upgrade.
The first video is the quick version the second one will show you the full upgrade process.
Quick Upgrade
Full Upgrade
As always your questions and comments are welcomed.
I like your blog. Its informative. I am a newbie and would like to know how you put in the ‘bookmark’ at the end of the post.
This is actually easy to do on WordPress. It is a plugin called All-in-one Bookmarking Button. Just upload it to your wp-content/plugins/ folder, click it to activate and you are good to go.
I like this because it ties into social marker which is a great service to use to help speed up your bookmarking.
Social marker also has code that allows you to add this type of button to any web site too. It does not have to be a blog.
As always your questions and comments are welcomed.
Hey guys and gals most days I answer your questions but today I would like you to answer mine.
I have been looking at Blog Talk Radio and decided that it would be a great place to do my monthly free call where I can answer whatever questions you have on WordPress and blogging.
Now the problem is I normally do this in the evenings and thatis not possible with the time slots available. If iI do the show it will have to be during the day here on the east coast.
One of the things I like about this format is that you can call in or they do have a chat box so you can ask and follow up with questions live.
So the big question is three parts.
Would you be interested in that type of show?
What time during the day would be best for you?
Which day of the week would be best for you?
Okay those are my questions and I look forward to your input by leaving your comments.
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