Most bloggers have come across Stumbleupon It is, as I understand, a site for discovering new sites and sharing them. It is also an online community in itself. However, in some cases, it is also a confusing morass of dubious favours in search of another favour in return. A bit like, “scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours”…Or more to the point, “stumble my post and I’ll..” you get the drift. Not as much as the wretched Digg, but I do think some people think of it that way in some blog communities.

As a source of traffic, it has huge potential. However, after some playing around with the site, I would, in honesty, like someone to fill in the exact merits of the site. In terms of user friendly, I think it is all over the place. I am always getting referrals from Stumbleupon, yet I can never get to find out who has stumbled my sites. I am prompted to log in all the time.

I am therefore, inviting bloggers opinion. Is it just me, but why is it so damned confusing??

The focus of this blog

Basically, from now on it will be about anything me. At times, I may bang the drum about a specific product or anything on the radio, or internet tips I have discovered and want to share. Other words, more of a personal blog.

I’ve an upcoming trip to South Africa which I intend to serialise for my blog, simply to share the experience and to record my activities and learning from there.

Before then though, I will be focusing on software I have learned to find more than useful, and other issues from cyber space.

Hello again to all my blogging buddies, hope you’re all still active

The general feeling in the city is the worst of the housing market slump is behind us, and for two months running, the market has shown a slight gain. Local high street traders in the town where I live tell me recent weeks have been among their best ever for sales. It’s almost as if local people are determined to prove the so called experts wrong and simply go out and enjoy themselves

The news is just as well in my own case, as I’ve secured planning permission to effectively split my property into two and create a new dwelling. So…you may hear about me on the news, something like “this man has applied for a mortgage (albeit a small one) so there is obvious doubts to his sanity”….

So, how about this for a “sales pitch” for anyone starting a new business venture…

Create a new internet domain, a bit like Marksolutions.co.uk, or creditcrunchbuster.com for example, and every post you make tag it with “alternative to credit crunch” or “recession proof” in order to gain as much blog exposure as you can get.

Then decide on a theme for your blog, preferably what you can write about most convincingly…And simply make it as much fun for people to visit as you can, then sell ad space.

There is so much being written in the blogging world about blog posting strategies, yet I see little attention being paid to the entertainment angle. As writers, are we not to consider ourselves “entertainers”? If not, why not?

As far as I can see, many people are simply fed up with global recession news, and the so called entertainment on offer on TV and radio. So, think of yourself as an entertainer in your website, and create as much fun as you can, or simply make it like an island of tranquility for people to visit to “get away from it all”…

Worth a thought, would you say?

Image by toothpick charlie of flickr.

It’s one thing to get search engine traffic, but is there any use to it, if you get unrelated terms? One example is this site, I get search engine traffic from people looking for the famous Roman “Mark Antony”, yet my content is totally unrelated to him and history so those getting here will not be best pleased, perhaps!

That’s one drawback to using your domain name as the same as your own  name. Yet originally I wanted my domain name to reflect myself, so I still take the view there is no real harm in doing that. But what techniques can be employed to help bring in search engine traffic…

One is permalinks If you use wordpress, in settings adjust your permalinks to point to your posts using the post title, instead of the default post number. It helps search engines find your post title slightly easier.

Tags. One thing I dislike about the popular site Flickr is the unlimited number of tags we are allowed to put in when we upload pictures. Tags are labels which can be applied to posts, and you think of keywords which relate to your posts and add them to the post tags. BUT don’t over use them. I strongly advise against what some do on flickr…Upload  a picture of a landscape and tag it  with BMW motor car!!

The greater number of tags increases exposure maybe, but again, what’s the use if your post is relating to say SEO and you tag it with horse racing??

Regular updates. When websites are updated regularly, search engines love it because it is fresh content, if it’s original. But again, I have to rebel against standard blog tradition here by saying daily updates are ONLY necessary IF you have something unique and relevant to say every day. If not, one quality update every three or four days is way better than sketchy daily updates about nothing in particular.

Think of your readership, and maybe even think of yourself as a reader. Do you visit sites on a daily basis, if so which ones and for what purpose? And then work out exactly how many updates you think a site like yours should get.

There are scores of articles on ho to get search engine traffic. But the best tip I can think of is write as best you can. My own aim is to use my websites to project my own life and  interests, and let the technical factors like SEO  work themselves out, which they will over time, if you are popular.

It seems Google have rewarded my efforts for this site with a page rank of 4, and 3 for my guitar site, Guitar World. I think PR is something bloggers obsess over, as if it’s the b and end all of website ownership…The important thing is to keep the quality content, and the PR, Alexa rank and all other website ranking factors will eventually fall into place.  

I am working on applying for a small mortgage to finance the work on my house, so you may see me on the TV news, “this person has a housing project and applied for a mortgage, the first person to do so since about 1962..The medical department have been alerted, as there is obvious doubts about his sanity..” That is if the credit crunch factor is applied

Talking of which, the news this week has been dominated by the G7 conference in London, which gave our alleged leader the chance to play host. The package they agreed upon seems to be less stimulating, more an emergency fund. With all this global mess do I feel any apprehension in undertaking my own project on right now with a view to creating an extra dwelling to hopefully sell?

I feel someone has to start somewhere to get things moving. After all, what can we ordinary people do about the global situation…We only have control over our own lives (well wouldn’t that be something..) and I feel the need to trust my own instincts rather than the TV news.

All my best wishes to you all

 An important, and not always understood aspect of computers, is that, following a system reboot or full system restore, your hard drive does not completely erase. It can still be easily read and all details accessed by those who have the software to do it.

Computer Disposal

So, you have a computer for sale, or does not work anymore, and you want to upgrade to a new machine…Before you do so, consider this…

The BBC  did a feature where they contacted a man, telling they knew all about him, his employment records, his children, address, bank account number ect, and they made an appointment with him to tell him exactly they got this information; From a high street shop in  the Nigerian capital!

What the man did was simply thew his old PC on the scrap heap, because it no longer worked. BUT a person unknown must have recovered it, took out the hard drive, and, presumably with other hard drives, exported them to Nigeria, a scammers paradise, where these are imported by the thousand. Hard drives sell for about £10 there in shops.

After buying one such hard drive, the BBC agents were easily able to extract data from it, using software. So, how best to get around the problem and protect your personal details?

Software To Erase Data

You can obtain software yourself, which completely erases hard drive data by clicking here. Make SURE you have backed up all data first though!

The Need To Recycle

The other alternative is to have your old computer recycled, if it no longer works or you do not wish to sell it on. If you deal with Dell, for example, they will arrange for any old computer equipment to be collected, and professionally dismantled and disposed of. If you are a Dell customer, they will offer this service free of charge.

I still have all my computers, and this one is my third. In the next six months or so I will hopefully upgrade it, and recycling will be my choice.

My Guitar Site continues to make good progress, and is my main website focus. I’ve decided to take up an option for sponsorship for Guitar world, for three months, and monitor the effect on my website traffic.  I am editing more very rare videos to upload, and also on my youtube page. Youtube can be a great traffic refer-er..

                                             Website Sponsorship

Sponsorship is something to consider very strongly, once you have enough content. In particular, look for sites in your niche. Some may offer you attractive terms, to promote your site for a limited period. It can increase your exposure greatly, and boost your traffic. If you continue to deliver content of value to your subject, later on you will be able to attract and promote other websites yourself. The more popular you are, the higher fee you can command.

                                                 Web Fiction

I’ve been neglecting my fiction site for way too long, but this week I aim to complete two more uploads relating to the serialisation of my late Father’s novel, “A Bugle For The New Day”, a romantic Welsh family story.

Recently, I’ve also bought a new domain, which will be incorporating many affiliate marketing programmes, relating to subjects I enjoy.

This site is really my headquarters, so to speak.  A site where I can administer my domain and general  news, and continue to pass on any tips for blogging as I come across them. Many thanks to my friends who have supported me in my ventures  :)

Have a great week…

   UK Grinds To A Halt In Snow

The main news topic this past week…The coldest weather for the last 18 years in UK…And, once again, we have ground to a halt, with schools, airports, bus terminals closing.

Many times this question has been asked…Why does UK grind to a halt every time bad weather hits in winter? During these global warming days, the question has been asked less and less, and of course, the logical conclusion appears that it simply does not justify the investment of extra road gritting, salt supplies, for it to be used only every 18 years!!!

Tools of the trade….

So why have I not been taking advantage of the blizzards and writing blog posts? Simple…Because I’ve packed a spade into the boot of my car, in case I needed to dig myself out, and been out every day the past week on my job, and let my blog do it’s work for me at home! That’s the beauty of affiliate marketing, which I’ve wrote about before. Once it’s set up, it works for you, PROVIDING you have done enough ground work in the initial stages.

In my own case, I’ve not had to take any time off work. To my surprise, out in the countryside, I’ve been able to complete my client list without any weather interference. BUT if I had NOT packed a spade in the boot, by the law of sod, I would have been stuck, like so many others. I think though, once you are in the situation where you need to even THINK about digging yourself out of anywhere, you are pretty much cooked anyway!  My point  here though,  is preparation. Like setting up a blog.

Reading through this entry makes me a little concerned. I’d hate to sound smug. There’s still a great deal for me to learn, both professionally in my job in healthcare, and as a blogger. Tomorrow, Monday, I have an appointment with a surveyor, to draw up plans to split my house into two (not literally) but to create two dwellings from one. I have the space for it, so let’s see how far I can take this project.

I fear complacency. Just when you think you have a comfortable niche in life, that’s when things can change suddenly, and it can be hard to pick up where you left off before you got all cosy in your niche. It makes sense to look for alternatives, choices, markets, decisions. Selling part of my property will raise extra capital, but of course, short term it will require investment on my part. It’s like everything, you don’t get anything for free…

I’m on leave from work all next week, so I may be on here more often. Be good ;)

Credit Crunch..Cities hit hardest.

Research group Centre for Cities  placed a number of cities on “red” alert for being exposed the most to the impact of the downturn, including Belfast, Liverpool, Wigan and Hull, because of the number of residents who were unemployed or had no qualifications.

Cities on “amber” included Bristol, London and Edinburgh, which all had strengths such as skilled populations and diverse industries but also weaknesses including exposure to vulnerable financial services.

Some cities were on “green”, mainly in the South East, a region said to be better placed to recover more quickly from the effects of the current recession.

                                         From  a   Personal Perspective.

Well perhaps those of us based outside the main cities will be okay then! Especially on the west coast. But back to this report…is not London considered to be the “south east”?? I guess this might be a case of you can prove anything with statistics…even the truth!

Other news coming out today is UK leading bank Barclay’s has delivered an upbeat statement, calming fears about the companies health, and that, despite something like £8 million write-downs, annual profit will still be way ahead of expectations, over 5 billion.

This news has given a lift to the beleaguered banking sector. Crisis, what crisis? Somehow, I doubt it… Banks overall are still reportedly not lending and still the massive credit overhang still plagues the world. But maybe at least some suggestion that the world might not after all come to a premature end.

All that is gold does not glitter!

Image by murdochious of flickr.

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