Blogging

Need For Feeds – Web Style

A while ago I got into the habit of reading posts from several blogs (like Lorelle on WordPress and Dave Seah blog) in an attempt to do these things:

1. Learn new things.
2. Waste time.

Now the only way reading people’s feeds can help me accomplish those goals is if they actually make posts on their blogs for me to read. Today, I looked at the ever-so-convenient Feeds menu in Opera, and saw not a single feed with new posts. I immediately thought to myself, “I am so bored, I need something to do.”

A minute later Opera refreshed the feeds, bringing in my daily dose of reading. What a relief that was!

The Beta Boost

With many of today’s sites, it is common to see a little Beta indicator by the logo. I’ve jumped on the bandwagon. Now although I don’t actively use (or proclaim use of, at least) any beta-version add-ons on this site, I though it would be funny to add beta somewhere here. Take a look at the header and see what I’ve done.

Best Traffic Booster: Content Is King

After looking through my stats in Google Analytics lately, I noticed a trend in my search engine referrals. Ever since my post about my experience with the Math A Regents, I received dozens of hits from Google and other search engines. In addition, various other posts (including my mention of the Windows XP Royale theme) have brought me reliable traffic, which indicates that they are what people are looking for.

Rule numero uno: Make lots of good content. People (and search engines) look for pages that have something useful to say and that say it well. If possible, use spell checking (or copy and paste the text into another app and spell-check it there) before publishing you articles. Google Hacks says that with the advent of spell checking from search engines, spelling is as important to your content as water is to you (I like that metaphor).

Another trick I’ve discovered is to write in a timely fashion. Timing is a key factor in getting traffic. If you write about skiing and snowboarding, late fall and winter is probably the best time. Similarly, the optimal timeframe for content on roller coasters or surfing is late spring and summer. For example, if I would have written about the Math A Regents exam in August, I don’t think I would have as many hits (also, people were using “January 2007″ in their search phrases, which brought them to the archive page of that timeframe, but this is a side effect). If you want to write about a particular topic, take a few moments and think about whether it’s relevant at that time. If the answer is yes, pour out your thoughts, otherwise, write it down and save it for later (just don’t forget about it).

Finally, I suggest using SEF-friendly URLs or pretty permalinks (or whatever they are called in your respective CMS), or paying attention to your URLs if you hand code your site. Although I don’t seem to notice any effect from using this tip, I am guessing that it helps a little bit. At the very least, it makes your URLs look nice to your visitors.

When To Quit Blogging

Lorelle reports on when people should stop blogging: when it’s getting boring, when you don’t have time, when you can’t think of anymore original content, and a few others. Do you think it’s time to stop blogging?

Writing Styles for Formal and Informal Communications

When the average person is in an instant message conversation, he won’t exactly use proper grammar and spelling (”lol” is a very common phrase). When writing a letter of recommendation to a university, one will spell check over and over again. People will talk differently under different conditions, and this surely shows it.

In an informal setting, such as instant messaging as I mentioned above, one needs to communicate quickly. Shortcuts for various words and phrases commonly overcome the need for correct spelling and grammar.

For formal communications, like when writing a letter, the quality of the writing will be very important to the recipient of the letter. One will generally take care to use correct spelling and grammar in his writing.

I often find myself following these “rules”. If you decide to pick them up, you will find that you can be both social and intelligent when communicating with others. if everyone follows my advice, we might have a better Internet (another piece of random advice).

Everyone’s Blogging About Blogging!

There happens to be this trend today with some so-called “probloggers” who write about little more than blogging itself on their blogs. While every person has their own opinion of what a blog is, there has to be some kind of standard defenition for the term ‘blog’. Now in my humble opinion, if someone is going to start a blog, they should actually write about something other than blogging. Write about things in the niche that you would locate yourself under (or to use Web 2.0 terminology, tag yourself with).

Some blogs, like Weblog Tools Collection, actually do something useful by posting links to plugins, themes and the like. In particular, Lorelle on WordPress is like a WordPress manual in a blog format. Some other blogs, like BloggingPro (as well as others whose names I don’t remeber off hand), seem to write about just blogging, how to make money from blogging, and stuff that doesn’t really cover a wide range of interests (or to use general words, a niche). At least expand your ‘market’ by writitng about other things.

Even though I don’t really expect to rant about this again, it’s worth mentioning even once. Please probloggers, open up your minds to things other than blogging, like many people say to me, “Get a life!”

WordPress Secrets: The Real Ultimate Static Front Page

Quick Note: If you are looking for the source, find it here.

With WordPress, there have been so many attempts to make the best static front page. Most variations have included plugins that change the default behavior of the home page to display a pre-selected WordPress page. However, the Turbocharged blog showcases a new technique that uses a theme’s home.php template, and even allows you to add pure PHP code to it. Rudd-O’s solution Continue reading »

WordPress Music Video: It’s Called WordPress

While including one slightly family-unfriendly line in his lyrics, Devin made up a pretty corny music video themed around WordPress. Talking in a southern accent, he highlights the main advantages of WordPress, and adds a spin of comedy.