AdSense Tracker: September 2007

You Are Not Going To Believe This!

As I sat here at the computer before daylight this morning, I was seriously considering shutting this blog down because of my involvement in a project that is consuming all my waking hours and will be for the next few weeks. As I wrote the post listing all the great things that had happened here recently, I changed my mind and decided to stick it out and beg for your patience.

So this evening, I sit down at the computer and check the blog only to find I won a sponsor link in Nate's contest at Average Joe Blogger. Considering all the other stuff I won recently, that was pretty darn cool and I was feeling fairly impressed with my superior contest skills.

Then I checked my email.

I had a nice note from David Airey telling me I had won a prize in his blog birthday contest. He wanted to know what to call me when he posted the winners list tomorrow. Well, naturally, I was blown away. I was thinking to myself, "How can this be?" and "I wonder what I won." because he was giving away all kinds of really cool prizes like custom logos, books, a podcasting kit and all kinds of other stuff.

Then I checked Technorati...

...and saw he had linked to me and I realized the email was 10 hours old and it was already tomorrow in the UK. So I clicked on over to see what I had won.

I Won 3rd Place, The Bronze Package

This is what the Bronze Package includes.

Logo / blog header design from Jonathan-C. Phillips
One hour blog optimization consultation with Daniel Scocco
Revolution Premium WordPress theme package (personal package) from Brian Gardner
Blog review and email interview published on Make It Great! with Phil Gerbyshak

Folks, I just can't tell you how close I was to shutting it down this morning. It looks like you guys are stuck wit me now and you can count on seeing more contest entries.

Now I need some input from you guys.

I need to figure out a new domain name and theme idea for this place. Ad Tracker and the AdSense Tracker Blog were fun but it is time for them to come to an end. I need something more reflective of me and the atmosphere around here. Yes, the pink, bubble gum look will be gone. I want something a little more serious but not a cheap knock-off of everybody else.

Think about it and post your suggestions, I really need the help so please throw your ideas out there.

While you guys are working on that, I'm going to the casino!

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Size Does Matter

I forget sometimes that you guys don't get to see this blog from this side of the screen. I forget that, as long as things are going smoothly, you don't have any idea that people are flooding in and brushing past you on the way to another post. All you see is what you click on. For all you know everything is the same as any other day.

The last couple of days have been a little weird. A couple of bloggers that live a little higher up the food chain than me, decided to have some fun with one of my posts from last week and tried to make it go viral. It was great fun and while you regular readers were sipping your coffee and pondering the supremacy of WordPress or Blogger, a couple of hundred people were pushing past you to find out what Google was up to now.

It was very cool to have the rush of traffic but I learned something that shocked me.

I didn't like it.

As most of you guys know, I'm a stats hound. (I prefer my name for it, GnomeyNewt.) What you may not know is I watch my stats obsessively. So much so, I recognize most of your IPs. When I look at my detail page on Sitemeter it displays IPs and ISPs but I see my readers. I have found I can only keep up with about 100 per day. (I know this because last Tuesday was the first time I had hit 100 in one day and it was all I could do to keep up.)

Yesterday the count went over 200 and instantly, I lost the intimate feel of this blog. I couldn't see who visited when and what they read. All I could do was look at referrals and trends and outclicks and all that other sterile, non personal stuff.

Nope, don't care for it. It's not that I don't appreciate the new visitors, I do. It waas just a little uncomfortable with the crowd milling about. Fortunately traffic has died back down a bit. I like small parties with my friends, not roaring nightclubs where I see my friends from across the room.

Maybe it's just a growing pain. Blogging success and traffic go hand in hand. I wonder if this is why successful performers talk about missing the small venues.

I realize most of you have better numbers than these every day. What do you do to maintain the personal relationship with your blog readers? Do you only worry about your commentators and ignore the lurkers? Do you miss being small? Would you go back?

Blogging Schizophrenia

Before we begin

I have been away from the computer all day. I came back only to find you guys having a party without me! I would like to stop and say "Welcome" to all of the first time visitors coming through from the links to the Google 2.0 post listed by Bobby, Gary and Costa. Thanks guys! Today is a record traffic day for this little blog.

Back to our regularly scheduled post

I know some of you are asking, "How many personalities does Tracker have?" or "Off your meds again, Tracker?"

My response is simple, "It's none of your business"..."Sure it is"..."Shut up!"..."They deserve to know"..."No they don't, go away!"...I'm sorry, where were we?

Oh yes, what's going on around here?

How does a sane person write two articles back to back that seem to be so opposite?

To make a point, that's why.

If you read both articles closely, you'll notice they are almost exactly the same.

I decided to try an experiment. I took a given set of facts and wrote two articles in opposition to one another.

The first article, extolling the virtues of Blogger, was just a spur of the moment post but in the comments, Nick pointed out that there were pros and cons on both sides. this gave me the idea to do the follow-up article in opposition to see what it would look like and to see what the reactions would be.

It was interesting to see people once again a little torn and drawn to both sides, as I am.

I can hear you now, "Tracker, what's your real opinion?"

My answer is, "What difference does it make? The only thing that matters is your opinion."

Why WordPress Is Superior To Blogger

If you are serious about blogging and expect the world to take you serious, self hosted WordPress is the only blogging format to use.

Yes, you can run a perfectly decent blog on the free Blogger platform but, as long as your blog has a blogspot address, it will always be treated as a stepchild in the internet mainstream and if it does become successful, it will be known as an anomaly.

Why is WordPress superior to Blogger for a serious blog? Well, let's see.

Superior Content Management System - The difference between WordPress and Blogger in the realm of content management is like comparing grad school to high school. They are both institutions of education with class rooms but that's about it. Blogger will provide the tools necessary to put your posts online but WordPress gives you the ability to have a professional publication.

Superior User Interface - Let's face it, the Blogger user interface is desined for the complete novice and, as such, offers few real control options beyond the basics. WordPress, on the other hand, allows for almost infinite flexibility in design and control.

Superior Credibility - A self hosted WordPress blog with a "YourDomain.com" web address garners dramatically more instant credibility than a "MySillyName.blogspot.com" address. How serious would you take a business with a ".geocities.com" web address or a "@hotmail.com email address? Would you give them your credit card info? My point exactly.

The bottom line is, comparing self-hosted WordPress to Blogger is like comparing a new computer system to an IBM Selectric. They will both produce a decent looking letter, and if a letter is all you want, either will do and the Selectric is probably free just like Blogger. If, however, you want or need a more professional product, there really is only one option.

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3 Reasons Blogger is Better Than WordPress

While the entire blogosphere is waiting impatiently to jump in and discuss the virtues of WordPress 2.3, I'll give you something else to discuss.

Yes, WordPress is a "must have" for a serious blogger, especially if their topic is "making money" or "blogging" but, in many circumstances, Blogger is a superior platform and here are 3 reasons why.

Totally Free - No hosting, no domain, no expense whatsoever. How much explanation does this one need?

Super Simple User Interface - No complicated set up or installation. No downloading themes or plug-ins needed. Simply enter your username, password and email address, choose one of thirty-something templates, answer some simple questions and start posting.

No SEO Needed - The fact is Google loves Blogger. A frequently updated Blogger blog will be indexed quickly and rank pretty well for almost anything that is posted with virtually no Search Engine Optimization.

While a Blogspot address causes credibillity issues for business or "make money" blogs, the fact is, if your blog is simply a place to express yourself online, Blogger is a perfectly legitimate, acceptable and often superior platform.

Heads Are Rolling Around Here

Time has come to make a command decision to lop off the dead wood, trim the fat, shed the extra weight, or whatever.

I've decided to concentrate on you guys and not on the peripheral garbage that has been cluttering up the place. So, in an effort to improve your experience, I have decided to implement the following changes.

Google Be Gone - I have decided that AdSense ads on this blog look crappy, take up space and don't make any money. When I see the miniscule amount AdSense brings in, it just makes me angry. I would much rather do this for free than be assessed a value of pennies a day. Google, in all it's forms, is gone.

BlogRush Got BlogFlushed - 7 days - 3 clicks, pretty much a no-brainer. All that widget did was slow down my load time and bleed off visitors. Chris Bloczynski wrote a compelling article about why he doesn't think the BlogRush model will work and I agree with him, I also believe people have already become blind to the widget. The bottom line is, it's not worth the real estate.

Deal Dot Com? - More Like Deals Don't Come - I think these guys are up to something other than actually selling a product. Some of the "deals" they've offered seemed shady at best. I'm not educated in all of this SEO, SEM, whatever stuff but something seems fishy. If they were actually trying to sell a product I think they would give real product info instead of the stupid, long winded, joke sales copy they put up. I also feel if they were after more than traffic they would offer an RSS option on the sales page. I don't care who's behind it, I don't feel comfortable about it so, it's out of here.

I know all of this seems to go against the original concept of this blog, but if you recall, this has always been an experiment. My experiment has led me to decide advertising on a blog about blogging of this format is a waste of time and space. I actually think it is a detriment.

I don't disavow advertising forever. As a matter of fact, I almost certainly will reinitiate it on the new WordPress design, if it ever sees the light of day. Until this blog is able to generate enough income to not be insulting, I prefer to donate my time and effort to the blog community.

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Google Buys BlogRush!

Not really!

I just wanted to see if I could write a headline that would get any hits from BlogRush. If you came here from BlogRush looking for a story about Google buying blogrush, dream on. As long as you're here thought, go ahead and have a look around, read a little and grab my feed before you leave!

Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Blog Post

It's Saturday and that means contest entries. There are a lot of great contests going on out there. One of the more popular prizes these days is banner advertising in all of those cool new ad optimized themes. Be sure to check these contests out and enter if the spirit moves you but if you win, you could at least remember to link back here for referring you.

Advertising

GadgetTastic - GadgetTastic is running a contest to give away a 125x125 banner to run for 3 months. They value that ad at $1800 and all you have to do is link to the contest like I just did.

Make Money Online - Make Money Online is running a contest to give away a 125x125 banner on two blogs plus links and Diggs, Stumbles etc. All you hae to do is write a 20 word review about their cool "Make Money Online" blog where you can get some great 'make money' tips. You better hurry though, this one ends on September 30th.

The Gospel According To Rhys - Rhys is running a contest for a 125 banner as well as an ad icon. All you have to do is guess how much money is in his jar in pounds. (Why do the Brits insits on weighing their money?) Anyway, I think it looks like 43 pounds 28p. Or is that shillings, or crowns, or sovereigns, or loonies, or toonies, or euros. Wouldn't it just be easier if everybody just used dollars?

Stuff

It's Write Now - It's Write Now is running a contest to give away a new 8gig ipod nano. All you have to do is blog about the contest and link to it as well as to the blog. You know, the usual stuff. The contest runs until October 31st so take your time on this one. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't mind if you just forget to enter. OK, forget I mentioned it. Next.

Fiddy P - Fiddy P Blog is giving away some of what seem to be very ear buds. The headphones are Vmoda Vibe noise isolating and are worth 69.99 GBP (There they go weighing their money again.) I've mentioned here before that I don't have an mp3 player, but if I win the Nano above I really need some super cool headphones to go along with it. Entering this contest is pretty straight forward. You just need to post the usual links and stuff. He does let you enter once a week for a total of three possible chances. Check out this contest and while your there check out the cool WordPress Plugins he has written.

The Beef Jerky Blog - The Beef Jerky Blog is running a comfort contest to give away two cool Fuf Chairs from poofbags.com. Check them out they are very cool chairs. Be sure to go over to The Beef Jerky Blog and check out the other ways to get entries.

The Prize Blog - The Prize Blog is running a contest for a new logo and $20 cash. All you have to do is link to the contest and blog like I just did. You need to get this done though, because it ends October 17th.

Now go win something!

Fair well Shaun. We'll see you next summer!

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5 Tips To Increase Comments

Comments are one of the things that make blogging worth while but, in the age of feed readers, how do you convince people to click over and leave one?

That's what we're going to discuss and, no, I'm not going to tell you to end every post with a question.

If you follow these five steps, within two weeks you will be well on your way to developing a community around your blog.

Show Some Link Love - This is one of my personal weaknesses. Take the time to acknowledge other bloggers. Make a special folder in your bookmarks for those posts you read and find interesting then, once a week, put together a post featuring the best articles you read that week.

Offering a little praise and linking to a post will almost always bring a positive response from the author and put you on their radar.

Comment On Other Blogs - I know you've heard this before but it really does matter. Why would you expect someone to go to the effort of rewarding you with a comment if you wont take the time to do it for them?

The most important things to remember about commenting are; make your comments relevant, be polite and do not include a link inside the comment body. (Be sure to fill out your email and URL in the author box.)

Give Something Away - It may seem like simple bribery and it is but, it works. many blogs have had great luck giving away prizes in contests where the only way to enter was by leaving a comment.

This blog has had so much success with "Submission For A Comment" promotions (StumbleUpon & Reddit) that I have seriously considered making them a regular event.

Write Compelling Content - If all you write are "Tips & Tricks" and "How-To" posts, you're going to have a hard time getting beyond the "Great Post" and "Thanks for this info." comments.

Write one or two posts a week where you express your opinion about something. Don't be afraid to take a position and back it up. Your posts don't have to be argumentative, just passionate. Write about something you care about, a favorite charity or a touching experience.

Answer Every Comment - I saved this point for last because I feel it is the most important. Your response to a reader's comment is your opportunity to encourage a conversation.

Imagine being at a party and an attractive guy or girl compliments you on your outfit. If you say "Thanks" and keep walking, do you think they will make an effort to talk to you again? Imagine, however, if you stopped for a moment, acknowledged their presence and gave them a compliment back. You have now encouraged them to talk to you again.

Always make your new commentators feel welcome and encourage them to comment again. It never hurts to end your response to a new comment with a question, but only once. Don't make them feel obligated to keep answering repeated questions, you'll run them off.

Take care of your regular commentators by encouraging continuing conversations. You must remember also, this is not a one way street. You should, at least, visit your commentators blogs and become a regular reader and commentator on the ones you like.

Summation

If you write about topics you are passionate about as well as knowledgeable of, it will show in your content. If you care about your readers and treat them that way, they will appreciate it and show you.

If, however, all you want out of blogging is for people to click your ads, just hit the delete button and walk away. Turning off your computer will save you more money on electricity in a year than you will make blogging.

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Google Announces End of Page Rank

Google 2.0

In a nod to Web 2.0 and in an effort to make the Google experience more user-centric, Google will end the system of assigning each web page a Page Rank based on an algorithm of links, quality and popularity. Instead, each page will have a Page Rate assigned by the readers.

Page Rate will be established by the installation of an attractive voting widget on each page allowing readers to click either an up or down arrow to show approval or disapproval of the page's content. After clicking the arrow of choice, the reader will be prompted to leave a comment about the page they just voted for. While all users are allowed to vote, only those logged into their Google account will actually have their votes counted or be allowed to comment.

Float It

Google users will also be able to go to the new "Float It" site where they may rate sites already rated by other Googlers. Once on Float It, readers are encouraged to examine pages other Floaters have submitted and vote to either "Float It" or "Sink It", thereby helping to bring exposure to the truly deserving web pages.

Trip Over It

Another method of finding pages to rate will be by using the new Google Toolbar With TripOverIt. The new toolbar will have a TripOverIt button integrated into it as well as a window showing the current page's Votes and Floats. With the toolbar installed, the user may click the "TripOverIt" button and be taken to a random web page to vote on. The user need not worry about selecting categories or preferences because the toolbar will also track their surfing habits and only serve up the kind of pages they like.

Goo.glicio.us

For those Googlers who want to be able to return to the pages they really liked, Google has developed Googlicious. Googlicious is a social bookmarking community that allows users to connect and share their favorite pages.

Limitations and Restrictions

While it is required that each page have the Page Rate Widget installed to qualify for a Page Rate, the site owner is not allowed to have any other voting or submission widgets on the page. Neither may the site owner ask for votes or refer to the widget in any way. The site owner also may not, under any circumstances, click their own widget. If a site owner clicks their own widget or in any way attempts to commit widget fraud, all pages owned by that owner will be removed from the Page Rate Program, will be disallowed from Organic Search Results and the Googlebot will be instructed to break all of the links on the page and screw up the CSS code on its way out.

Rankings

Rankings will still be scored on a 10 point system based on a proprietary algorithm of Up Votes, Down Votes, Float Its, Sink Its, Bookmarks and the quality of comments received.

From The Founders

In an interview posted on the Google blog, the founders of Google were asked if they were trying to take over the entire internet. Sergey Brin adamantly stated, "We absolutely are not trying to take over the internet!" Co-founder Larry Page interjected, "We don't like to use the word 'trying'."

***If you thought this humor writing was entertaining, you might enjoy reading the follow-up article posted here. ***

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romandock dot com

Today we're going to be discussing the positives and negatives of that world famous Mediterranean port, Roman Dock.

OK, not really.

The truth is romandock dot com is a blog run by a guy named Nick who, when trying to come up with a domain name, decided to combine the names of his two dogs, Rocky and Mandy. (Aren't they cute?) Drop some letters, add some letters and there you go, romandock.

You see, Nick and I agreed to exchange blog reviews. His review of this blog can be read here. Nick took the time to write one of the most in depth and complete reviews I have ever read. In it he made several good suggestions, some of which have already been implemented.

On To The Review

If you think picking your domain by combining your dogs' names is original, how about having one of your categories be Ham Radio?

It's quite obvious the author is passionate about blogging but he may be even more passionate about Ham Radio. This dual passion has led to the only dual niche blog I know of. Blogging and Ham, interesting. As a matter of fact, Nick's first contest is for a Ham License Manual with the intension of getting the winner licensed.

Layout

The first thing a reader notices after the beautiful header image is the Super Mondo Deluxe RSS Icon. We're talking about a button so large it's a little bit distracting, but that is the point isn't it? This button is big enough to be worth the visit to romandock just to see it. Seriously.

The sparse ads and widgets seem to be well accommodated by the 3 column Word Press theme. The pastel earth tone color palette creates an "easy on the eyes" environment and go really well with the aforementioned header image.

The Content

Romandock is an active blog with content posted daily. A quick glance at the MyBlogLog widget reveals several recognizable avatars. This alone tells you he has quality readers and is providing quality content.

Nick shows a discipline I could only dream of by keeping his writing confined to 4 categories; Computing, Ham Radio, Money and Ramblings. (I know, that last one is kind of wide open.) His posts are always well thought out and very thorough.

Suggestions

Aside from the content of romandock, I found some other things appealing as well. I really like the header image and the lines and presentation of the blog itself are clean and direct, but I must make a few suggestions.

I can accept the fact that the distractingly large feed icon is only doing its job, but imagine my disappointment when, upon clicking it, I was taken to a page of code instead of the customary FeedBurner page. I would strongly encourage the author to start using FeedBurner. Not only will this make his feed easier to acquire, it will give him stats as well as an email subscription option. I would bet if he were to use FeedBurner, add an email option and let his readers know about it, he would increase subscribers by 10-20% within a week.

I would also encourage Nick to spice up his content with a few images and some bold text. This would make the articles both scannable and sticky at the same time.

Since there is already a row of nav buttons along the top of the header, I would eliminate the "Pages" and "Categories" boxes from the sidebar. I would then move the "Search" box to the standard top position with the "Sponsored Links" box directly below it. This would put the sponsored links above the fold thereby increasing their value.

I would recommend adding "Top Commentators" and "Popular Posts" boxes below the "Sponsored Links" box and above the "Blog Roll".

Lastly, I just have to say, I'm torn on the Kontera ads. I realize a blog about making money must explore every avenue but I just don't care for them. I will say, however, that they are more under control than I have seen on other blogs. Meaning there are fewer of them and they don't seem to be taking over.

Wrap Up

As you can tell, other than the RSS issue, my suggestions for improvement are all based on personal taste and opinion. The fact is, Nick writes very well thought out and informative posts about computing and blogging. I don't know anything about Ham Radio but I suspect his writings on that topic are just as helpful.

I have always found romandock dot com to be worth the visit and hopefully I'll be able to add it to the feed reader one day.

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Average Joe Blogger - A Contest Review

If you still surf around the interweb on your 300 Mhz Packard Bell with the 28K modem, you may not have heard about the contest over at Average Joe Blogger. Nate (aka - Average Joe) is giving away ad spots on his blog as prizes and considering the going rate and the traffic he gets, it's a heck of a deal.

As with most blog contests lately, there is a tiered system of entries to the drawing. The more effort you put in, the more opportunities you receive. Having already been a subscriber and having already mentioned the contest and linked to it in a post, the only thing left to do to improve my chances at one of those ad spots is to write a review of Average Joe Blogger.

The Background

Average Joe Blogger was born 2 months ago today and is posting some impressive numbers for its short existence. Nate explains his reason for starting the blog as, and I paraphrase, an average Joe blog fan (me or you) decides to give the problogger thing a whirl and invites us along to share the experience.

The Blog

I've always been impressed with Nate's choice of logo design. I don't think you could find an image anywhere that communicates "Average Joe" better than the one he uses in his logo and social avatar.

The blog itself is setup with the popular Word Press 3 column layout. This, combined with the white background, blue links and pale pastel accents are easy on the eyes and make for a clean look.

The layout makes it obvious this blog is all about two things; quality content and creating income and he seems to be succeeding at both.

The Negative

Any review has to have something negative and this one is no exception. But, to be perfectly honest, I had to look really hard to find anything and it is totally my opinion and really is pretty nit-picky.

You can tell Nate has his readers at heart because he hits every button in his sidebars. He has his Popular Articles, Recent Comments, Categories and Top Commentators displayed. He even has a poll asking for reader input along with the obligatory MyBlogLog widget.

In light of the placement and success of the banner ads and sponsor links, I would recommend dropping the AdSense skysraper to allow the Categories and Top Comments to move up. Also, the "I Follow" and "Site Information" badges seem a little out of place but I honestly don't know what I would do with them.

See what I mean? Nit-picky.

Summation

After reading Nate's work for over a month, I have come to regard him as very knowledgeable and always take his blogging tips and Word Press tips seriously.

If you're looking for a content-rich blog, written in plain English, Average Joe Blogger is a must-read and should be in your feed reader. I have personally learned a lot from this blog and look forward to learning a lot more.

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Whats The Deal Dot Com?

Dealdotcom is a new site for finding awesome deals on cool products online. The site is so new, in fact, it hasn't even opened it's doors yet. It is set to go live next Tuesday the 18th.

What's It Going To Be?

Basically dealdotcom is a "Deal A Day" site specifically for internet marketers. It will feature products and services for web development, blogging, site monetization and anything else related to online marketing. Each day dealdotcom will offer one product at a super discount for 1 day or until the inventory is gone with a new and different item featured each day.

If you want an opportunity to purchase internet marketing products or services at a substantially reduced price, this is your ticket. If you have a product or service that needs a kick start, perhaps a deep discount on a limited quantity offered to a targeted audience is just your ticket.

Whats In It For Me?

How about two-tier affiliate income for life? That's right, you refer someone and they sign up for free. From then on, anything they buy, you get a 35% commission. Anyone they refer, you get a 15% commission on, for ever. No time limit. That is an excellent affiliate deal.

How Do They Pay?

Dealdotcom will pay you your commissions 30 days after the end of the month by Paypal or check, you choose.

Summary

Simply put, this is a fantastic opportunity to get in early on a real money maker. All you have to do is sign up for a free account and then publicize your referral link. As with any multi-tiered affiliate program, the sooner you get in the better. So, what are you waiting on? Go get signed up so you can start signing up people before these posts are everywhere and it's too late.

Yes, these are my referral links. Clicking on them will not change your deal at all. it will just help me out a little.

**** NEW ****

These banners have been released for use to promote DealDotCom on your site. Feel free to use them from here.

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Fechr Update and I've Been Honored!

Fechr Update

I received an email response from Bobby Griffin this morning. The point of the response is as follows:

Basically, I recently got a new job that is consuming a lot of my time and I had the choice to half-ass focus on some of the things I've been working on...or give full attention to some and put on pause the others. Well, Fechr is on pause right now. My goal is to start it up again October 1st!

This is a perfectly good reason for the site being on autopilot, however, I still feel there should be some kind of notice on the same page that sells you on the idea of writing a review in order to get featured.

*Note - After re-reading last night's post, I can see that I may have been a bit short in tone. Web sites come and go, that's understood. I just feel the bloggers, trying to improve their bogs any way they can by jumping at every opportunity to boost traffic, should be aware of the deal before going to the trouble of writing a review and submitting it and then never hearing anything.

Someone Thinks I'm Special!

You're not going to believe this, I don't. I've been put into a group with Danielle Nagami from Ms. Danielle, Jane May from Daily Web Ideas, Becky from PreBlogging, Susan Suarez and Sam Breadstone. I know, I know! It's crazy!

Enkay from Enkay Blog has named us his picks for Top 6 Female Bloggers. What?!?!

These ladies are some of the hottest established and up-and-coming blog talent out there and I am blown away that Enkay included me in this list.

Somebody go give that man a Stumble or something!

Fechr Schmeecher

Does anyone remember Fechr? You know, the site set up by Bobby Griffin from Bestest Blog that we all wrote reviews about so we could get featured for free?

If you recall, everyone was sold the deal that if you wrote a review of Fechr (Pronounced Feature) your blog would be put into a random selection and eventually be featured on Fechr and get hundreds of visits for free.

This was supposed to be a great idea because the features would only be free in the beginning to bloggers who wrote a review. After Fechr became popular they would charge to feature a site.

There's just one problem, it seems the site is on auto pilot and has been for almost a month, with Bloggrrl as the "featured" site for over three weeks.

A Little History

Fechr hit the scene on or around July 28th. At least that is when the 1st review, written by Colleen from Geeky Speak, was submitted. My review was also written on the 28th and was the eleventh post submitted.

A search of the archives shows the site was maintained as advertised, with a different site being featured every 24 hours, for the first eight days. During the next 14 days only six sites were featured, then at some point, the last site to be featured was put up. That was over three weeks ago and nothing else has been put up since even though Fechr is still accepting article submissions and is now up to 165 submitted posts and growing daily.

The concept of Fechr always seemed a little flawed to me. I never understood why anyone was supposed to want to go out of their way to check a site that was just going to show some random blog's homepage but, being a newbie, I played along. Now, it seems, maybe I was right.

I don't begrudge the free review I wrote. I understand that plans don't always work out. Sometimes a great idea doesn't get off the ground.

What I don't understand is why, if the site is actually dead, would you leave it up and keep accepting reviews from unsuspecting bloggers?

I appeal to Mr. Griffin to do the right thing and post some type of notifications so no more bloggers are tricked into writing a review for a site that is no longer being maintained and is not going to deliver on it's promise to them. At the very least, the article submission form could be disabled.

* Bobby Griffin was emailed for comment but did not respond before posting.

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How I Busted A Scraper

How You Can Too!

Regular readers know I have been fighting a controlling addiction to statistics. What you may not know is, though I spent a little time "on the wagon" only checking my stats once a day, I have recently fallen back into my old habit of checking my stats constantly.

Yes, as I've seen written around the blogosphere, I meet all of the qualifications of a "stats addict". This obsession, however, led me to discover one of the most hated things on the internet, a scraper blog. A scraper blog with my content on it!

How?

I used to wonder how someone would catch a scraper using their content. I always thought it would be through Technorati or finding a search return with your content on it, not in my case. I found my thief with my FeedBurner stats.

Where Is Your Feed Going?

FeedBurner gives you the ability to find out any time your feed is being used for something other than being read by a feed reader or delivered in email. These non reader uses are called "Uncommon Uses" and are available on your FeedBurner dashboard.

Simply log into your FeedBurner account and go to your dashboard. In the left hand navigation column select the Uncommon Uses button and click it.

You will receive a screen like the one above. This page will show any non-reader loads of the feed such as MyBlogLog, BlogSkinny and any of the other directories I am registered with. A you can see, for this day, it shows feeds2read.net and the scraper site. Feeds2read.net is one of the feed directories this blog is registered with and is not a problem. If there are no uncommon uses it will say exactly that.

Protect Your Blog

We all spend entirely too much time creating the content that fills our blogs to allow it to be stolen without a fight. When you feed your stats addiction every day, add a new stat into the mix. Right after you check Technorati to see who linked to you, click over to FeedBurner and check to see where your feed went as well.

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Flisstered No More

That's right, I'm better now.

Not only did the thief take down the site, it happened within one hour of my post. You see folks, when I scream people listen and jump.

I Won!

Shutting that site down is only one of the reasons I'm in a better mood. I won a contest!

I won Daily Moola's give away of The SEO Book by Aaron Hall. Man this sucker has over 300 pages and almost no pictures. Now can learn what all that stuff is you guys are always talking about.

Thanks Again Dev!

Since we're on the topic of SEO, I dare you to go Google "Flisstered". (Be sure to spell it right.)

Another Contest

This one was announced after the last contest post I made. Bloggrrl is having a contest and giving away a very nice crystal checker set that it looks like some people might abuse and use for a drinking game. I guess if you win it you can do whatever you want with it. Get over there and check out the rules and get yourself entered. I am.

I'm Flisstered!

"What's flisstered", you ask?

Flisstered is part flattered, part PISSED!

You're probably wondering what could possibly have the mild mannered Tracker flisstered. Well, I'm gonna tell you.

I think I've been scraped!

Check this Tumblr blog and tell me if I'm wrong. I don't seem to be the only one. If you look through the blog you'll also find articles by Pro Blogger, Blogging Tips, Daily Blog Tips, Marketing Pilgrim, Blog About Your Blog, John Chow, John Cow and Vandelay Website Design. There's even a post about how to ad a copyright to the bottom of your feed.

I guess I should feel proud to be included in such company. I'm a little flattered that someone thought my work was valuable enough to steal, but I'm still pissed.

Does this mean I've made the big time?

Top Secret Blogger

Take a couple of seconds and click over to read my newest post on Top Secret Blogger.

Blog About Your Blog

Be sure to check out the new contest over at Blog About Your Blog. Entry is just a link to the home page. Be sure to check out the crap the 1st and 2nd place losers win compared to the awesome 3rd place prize.

Thank You!

I want to thank those of you who have reported back on the effect of the Reddit experiment and remind those of you who haven't that you need to, please.

How To Review A Blog

Blog reviews are a very popular method of getting and exchanging publicity or even supplementing one's income. Unfortunately, many bloggers find the idea of reviewing other blogs intimidating because they don't know where to start or they are afraid they will do it wrong.

This guide will help you write a review by providing some basic guidelines and hints to get you started.

Before You Begin

Before you begin your actual review it is a good idea to explain why you are writing it (Is this a reciprocal review? Is this a contest entry?) and, if it is a paid review, that should always be declared up front.

Try to keep the reviewed blog's target audience in mind and remember that what you might not find appealing may be just the ticket to them. Always try to look at the site from their perspective.

Remember, your readers trust your opinion or they wouldn't be reading. Assume they have never seen the site you are reviewing. If you blow smoke just to make the reviewed happy, you will lose credibility on your own blog.

Questions To Ask

Purpose

What is the blog's niche?
What is it set up to accomplish?
How well does it seem to focus on this purpose?
Does the blog fulfil it's expressed goal?

Layout / Usability

Is the look and feel of the site pleasing?
How is the flow?
Does the site seem organized or does it seem crowded and chaotic?
Are common elements like the archives, RSS icon, about page and contact link easy to find?

Content

Does the content seem to be original?
Is the author's tone pleasant?
Are the posts constructed with easy readability in mind?
Are the posts written with proper grammar and spelling?

Activity

How often are posts added?
Are there many comments?
Are comments actively encouraged or even allowed?
Does the author respond to comments?

Believability

Does the blogger seem to be an authority on their chosen topic?
Do they make claims that can't be proven?
Do they make assertions without providing corroborating links?

Dos and Don'ts

Do Don't

Be Nice Be Nit-Picky

Be Honest Be Judgmental

Give Your Opinion Be A Rubber Stamp

Offer Suggestions / Solutions Be Rude

Keep In Mind

Write your review for your readers not the blogger you are reviewing. You would not direct your readers to download software you thought was useless, don't write a rave review about a blog you think is mediocre.

You can and should provide your opinion but only be judgmental in the most extreme circumstances such as plagiarism or some other blatantly illegal activity. If you cite something negative, be sure to offer a solution or admit you don't have one.

Summary

This is only a guide. As you begin writing reviews you will find topics not discussed here as well as things here you don't need. Use these tips to get you started exploring the world of review writing.

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Itll Make You Say Wii!

You know, weeee! As in big fun!

Those incorrigible cows over at John Cow dot com have convinced another sucker, I mean sponsor, to pony up the funds for another cool contest.

This time Cell For Cash dot com is providing a Nintendo Wii and a $50 game voucher to boot. Now who can't appreciate that?

Cell For Cash is a company that buys old cell phones. (Who knew they were worth any thing!) I mean they will actually give you cash for the phone you just upgraded and threw in the drawer. I saw a few models they will pay up to $48 dollars for. They also have an affiliate program that looks worthwhile. Check them out.

To get yourself a chance at this great weight loss program, go to this post and follow the directions.

I wish you all the worst of luck in this contest because I really want to win this thing.

Grab the Moolah!

Dev from Daily Moolah is giving away a copy of The SEO Book by Aaron Wall in a contest. You can read about the several ways to enter on this post. The most valuable method is to write a review so here we go.

I've been a subscriber to Daily Moolah for a little over a month now and have to tell you it is a great resource for ways to improve your blog's SEO, both white hat and gray. In fact the hardest part of being a subscriber is keeping up with the projects he comes up with.

If you want to improve your traffic and make money online, make Daily Moolah a daily read.

When you stop in, tell Dev the Tracker sent you and congratulate him for reaching 100 subscribers.

4 Grand In Prizes!?!

I have always heard there is nothing like an Irish birthday party and judging by the contest David Airey is throwing to celebrate his blog's 1st anniversary, I would say that is true.

David Airey, a graphic designer specializing in logo design work, is giving away over $4,000 in prizes during his celebration contest.

Folks we're talking about some serious prizes here! He's giving away everything from forum membership, design help or watercolor art to a complete pro blog package.

He has arranged participation from some of the biggest names out there. Check out the list of sponsor sites.

custom WordPress theme

blog advertising

I Love Typography

Lorelle on WordPress

Graphic Design Blog

improve your website design

search engine optimisation

Fraser’s Affiliate Marketing Blog

Marketing Tools Review

design for the Blogger platform

guide to social media

Wishful Thinking

business growth consultant

contract negotiations

product launch expertise

Business Blogwire

david the designer

winning brands

Ed Roach Watercolours

Entry is simple, just check out his contest post and get yourself entered.

When you decide you are ready to step up to the best logo possible, contact David.

Whats In Your Bag?

I don't want to know what's in your wallet (Unless you're sharing). I want to know what's in your bag.

I can hear you saying, "What are we talking about now"?

What are your current projects?

Almost all of us here have at least one blog, but I'm asking what other projects you have going on. (Blogs, Affiliate Sites, Information Sites, etc.)

Have you bought any domain names in the past few months? How many?

You don't have to be any more specific than you want to be (There's probably not someone waiting to hear your idea and steal it.). Don't be ashamed, either, if your current blog consumes all of your available time.

The reason I ask is I realized today that I have accumulated a half dozen domain names over the past few months (Damn you, BustAName!) and consequently have a few development ideas in the works.

One project in the planning stage is a site focused directly at brand new blogger wannabes with little to no experience. It would not be a "Get Rich Blogging" site but more of a "How To Create and Maintain a Successful Blog From Scratch In A 2.0 World". (Catchy name, huh? That URL will be easy to remember!)

The other project I'm working on is a semi-blog / semi-site. Kind of an Entertainment Tonight meets Drudge Report in the blogosphere utilizing text, audio and video.

So, now I've come clean, what do you have going on?

Did you enjoy your read?

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Lets Do Something Different

Stats

All of you guys that have been around for a while know Thursday is stats day. That was cool when everything was new but now it's time to grow.

Last week this blog broke through the barrier of profitability. In light of this, I've decided to start reporting monthly instead of weekly. Since the last report was for the eighth week, I'll report again on October 8th.

Have You Reddit?

Reddit is one of the big social book marking sites where the readers evaluate submitted articles and vote them up, down or not at all.

Where StumbleUpon readers tend to like lists and cool pictures, Reddit members are more into pillar article type stuff. While Reddit has the potential to deliver massive amounts of readers, my experience has been about 10-30 in the first 1-2 hours and then almost nothing.

Here's my offer.

Last week I stumbled all over you. This week I'll Reddit you. Reddit-ing an article requires a lot more effort so I'm not going to take as many entries and I'm going to ask more of you in return.

This time I need you to direct me (with a link preferably) to the one article you have written that you feel deserves some exposure. Please don't ask me to sift through your archives to find something to submit.

I am also going to ask that you commit to coming back here tomorrow and telling everyone what happened. Did you get a spike in traffic? How long did it last? How many hits did you get? etc. Be as brief or elaborate as you wish. I would like to have some actual figures though. (Yes I'm working on something.)

I'm only going to commit to submitting the first 12 decent articles but I may very well go longer. Don't rule yourself out just because you see 15 comments because several of them will be mine. Let's have fun with this and don't forget to come back to report about your experience.

Blogging Joe On The Radio

A loyal reader and regular commentator here is taking his blog to the next level.

Joe, from Arsenal Marketing will debut the Blogging Joe Radio Show this evening live at 7:00pm Eastern.

He'll be taking live calls and IMs while he discusses blogging and Web2.0 marketing and if someone asks him a question he can't answer they will be rewarded with a link from his home page.

Catch the show at 7:00pm Eastern this evening.

Show link - Blogging Joe Radio Show

Phone in - (646) 716-9639

AIM ID - bloggingjoe

Be sure to click over and show him some support.

This is for Bush Mackel

Fulfill your need, grab my feed!

Prejudices & Preconceptions Revisited

Several days ago we discussed the issues around bloggers' nationalities. This time we're going to go a little deeper.

Today we are going to talk about the less obvious prejudices and preconceptions. The ones we keep hidden and rarely admit to, even to ourselves.

I had originally planned to break this down into several posts about nationality, gender, sexual orientation and race. As I'm writing this it occurs to me we could expand it to include religious and or political affiliation.

I started with nationality because, in the blogosphere, it is the most difficult to disguise. All of the others could easily go unnoticed with only a cursory examination of a blog.

I determined that to cover all of the topics I would have to write the same post over and over with the same content, only substituting terms and since everyone has their own buttons, here's what we're going to do. You know what is in your heart. You choose the appropriate terms from the following list (or use your own) and fill the blanks as necessary.

Male Straight White

Female Lesbian Asian

Gay Black Arab

Liberal Conservative Christian

Jew Muslim Atheist

I came across this great blog a few weeks ago. I really enjoyed the writing style. I just assumed the author was a __________ _________.

I visited the blog several times and left a few comments. I even went so far as to exchange emails with the author a couple of times. I thought some of their articles were a little weird but, for the most part, I really liked their sense of humor and take on topics. A couple of days ago something I read in a post hit me a little funny so I checked deeper and found out they were actually a _________ _________.

Now I don't know what to do because I am a ________ ________ and I feel very strongly about __________. I have never been comfortable around _________. I'm confused because I was really getting into their stuff but now, whenever read it, I can't help thinking about _________.

Now what do you do?

Seriously.

You can lie to me but don't lie to yourself.

This happened to me. I wandered into a blog a couple of weeks ago and really liked the content. For some reason I don't know, I thought the author was a female of a certain political persuasion. After reading several posts and commenting on a few, I realized the author was, in fact, not only a male but also the polar opposite politically than I thought.

My feel-good, P.C. conscience said the content was all that mattered, who wrote it didn't change anything. In reality, my reaction disturbed me enough to inspire these posts.

The truth is, it just feels different now. It shouldn't but it does. I still read the blog, I just don't know if it moves me as strongly as before.

How much does the image you have in your mind effect how you relate to and accept an author?

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Expand Your Market

Do you check your stats?

OK, stop laughing. I couldn't even type that with a straight face.

Here's what I'm getting at. When you look at your statistics, notice where your traffic comes from.

All over, right?

If you're like me, most of your traffic is coming from Europe and North America. But a lot of traffic is coming from the rest of the world as well.

I was over at Kumowai's blog the other day and read an article she posted about the free Google Translator Widget that you'll notice I have added to my sidebar.

I was going to share this tool with you but when I started doing my research for this post I came across an interesting fact. Were you aware that, according to Internet World Statistics dot com only 31.2% of the world's internet users speak English. This means over 2/3 of internet users can't read this blog.

I found those numbers surprising. I guess I just never thought about it.

Think how many more readers you could open yourself up to with the simple addition of a translator widget. Think of it as a service you would be doing. You know, sharing your prime content with the other two thirds of the world.

I know a lot of you guys have already taken this step and, quite frankly, I feel a little bit guilty for coming to this realization so late along.

In this connected world we live in, a translator should probably be standard equipment for a website, shouldn't it?

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Bloggers 10 Commandments

Thow shalt not comment on a blog before reading the entire post
Thow shalt not click on thine own ads
Thow shalt not Stumble, or Digg thine own blog (But it's OK to ask a friend to.)
Thow shalt not take the name of Google in vain more than thrice a day
Thow shalt not steal content from thy neighbors blog (Borrowing is OK)
Thow shalt not covet thy neighbor's new Word Press theme, traffic or CTR
Thow shalt not bow down at the altar of the A-Lister's blog to the detriment of thine own blog
Thow shalt not kill thy blog by leaving it unattended for days on end
Thow shalt post meaningful articles on a regular basis
Thow shalt not speed link more than twice a week

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Blog About Your Blog - A Review

Me - "I'll take, Things That Are Intimidating for 0 Dollars but might get me a little exposure, please Alex."

Alex - "Very well. The answer is, "You are nervous and intimidated about writing a review of a blog that is written by some of the best bloggers on the planet who post authoritative how-to articles about blogging."

Me - "Umm... What is reviewing Blog About Your Blog?"

Alex - "Yes, the judges will accept that answer! Congratulations! You win absolutely nothing but a cool back link that you already have. Hope you don't blow it."

Where do you start with a review of one of the best "Blogs About Blogging" out there? Well, let's start at the top.

Header

The first thing you notice when you hit the Blog About Your Blog page is the incredible logo. In my book this is has got to be in the top 5 "Blogs About Blogging" logos out there and, to be honest, I can't think of the other four.

What blogger can't identify with the guy staring at his computer wondering what to type?

Content

The header logo simply sets the stage for a community blog manned by some very recognizable names (I'd name some but I don't know who to leave out.) who publish high quality posts that leave no doubt in the reader's mind they speak from experience.

After you've taken a couple of days learning how to Write Great Post Titles, Get More Comments, Optimize Your Blog and learned to Recycle, slip over to the BAYB Store and pick up a T-Shirt with that cool logo. (There really should be a link on the home page.)

Layout

While the colors of the site are pleasing to the eyes and the flow and navigation is smooth, the old style narrow format causes the necessity of a small font in the sidebar that causes the text to blend a bit. (At least to me.)

While the majority of the internet is being slow to accommodate the new monitor formats, I think a blog who's focus is staying on the cutting edge of progress could afford to be a leader in this area.

Summary

I don't expect you to just accept my word for any of this. The fact is, any blog with almost 300 subscribers and over 11,000 unique visitors last month is worth a look. Combine those stats with the fact Daily Blog Tips ranked Blog About Your Blog in the top 25 blogs in the world about blogging and you have yourself a Must See blog.

Now, click over there and check 'em out and tell Matt, Tracker sent you!

If you'll excuse me, I have to go check Google and see how I place for "blog, blogs and blogging".

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