One thing I have learned to watch for when I look at free web scripts, gadgets, widgets and such for adding to my blog are hitchhikers. Before you paste the code into your HTML paste it into Notepad first. Read the code. Do you see a link to a third party URL? A site not your own or the one you are using the code from.
Some of the sites offering freebies are also making a buck by using your blog to spam another site. Watch for it. You can remove that part of the code or just choose not to use the script, find something else.
Why does it matter? Well, not a big deal, but do you really want someone else using your blog to make money for themselves? Whether your blog is completely spam/ ad free or not, do you want people getting away with piggy backing on your work?
One thing I have learned to watch for when I look at free web scripts, gadgets, widgets and such for adding to my blog are hitchhikers. Before you paste the code into your HTML paste it into Notepad first. Read the code. Do you see a link to a third party URL? A site not your own or the one you are using the code from.
Some of the sites offering freebies are also making a buck by using your blog to spam another site. Watch for it. You can remove that part of the code or just choose not to use the script, find something else.
Why does it matter? Well, not a big deal, but do you really want someone else using your blog to make money for themselves? Whether your blog is completely spam/ ad free or not, do you want people getting away with piggy backing on your work?
Wink and Feedjit are two programs I have been using on my personal blog awhile. I began with Wink after finding it on Lady Banana’s blog (I think I found both there actually).
Wink is a way to keep all your social communities in one list. You can also find others through Wink. Mainly I like it cause I don’t have to remember what I have joined and where I stuck the link. It is all right on the front page of my blog. I can go from there to MySpace, FaceBook, Flickr, Yahoo, and so on. Take a look.
Feedjit is a tracker. I don’t have a huge interest in what browser people are using. It’s interesting to see how they came to my site. But, the real reason I like Feedjit is cause I can see where they came from, which country. Most people are fellow Canadians and Americans. But, I enjoy seeing the odd international flag just as much as seeing what area of North America people are from. It’s great to see how far flung my blog is reaching out.
I guess this is the last time I will post anything here. The last time I will come here thinking about what I will write and what links I can add. It’s been so many years, since 2001. I went through a marriage, immigration and divorce and then came back once I thought I had things on track again. Now here we are, caught in the middle forever, no end to life, just to this site.
My biggest annoyance with death and dying is just not being here any more. To see how it all ends. How does civilization finish up? How does the planet itself handle things when our sun dies in so many generations ahead we can’t even count that far. It bugs me that I won’t be here to see it, to know how the story ends.
Seeing BackWash end is like that. The site is getting an end but everyone else carries on along without it. BackWash doesn’t get to tag along with us any more.
I’ll miss it. Even though I haven’t been a reliable poster for awhile. I was here for some pretty interesting times in my life and the lives of the others who came this way.
Good Bye, Best Wishes and Merry Seasons Greetings to us All.
A blog should be published at least once a week, if not daily, with fresh, original content. If you can’t do that you are using the wrong media and selling yourself short. Ezines need to make a comeback in a big way. Although an ezine can use content management systems (blog software) it is the format and style which make them different. An ezine is an online magazine. They don’t need to be published daily, they don’t need to be the work of just one person and they can have various sections geared to offering information, services and promotion of the business. If you can’t write your own blog post each day, consider an ezine. Hire or find people to create the graphics, articles and power up your ezine. It is a great alternative in the SEO sense too as blogs are clogging up their categories in web directories while ezines have dwindled. If you want to stand out try the ezine format, be different from the flock.
A blog should not expect reader feedback or rely on it. People read, lurk and leave. That’s how it goes. If you want interaction with your readers/ sales prospects look at message boards. You only need to make a short post, maybe just a quick question, then let the readers post their opinions, ideas and questions. It is interactive and relies less on your own input than on the people you want to inform about your skills, services and/ or products. It is a good idea to make sure you have recent posts so be prepared to make at least one each week, more when your message board is just starting up. Have family and friends help out until your readership has grown enough to support the board with real traffic. Always go in to moderate your boards for spam, discussions that get out of hand or someone who has asked a question about your business. Message boards are a great way to inform the public. Instead of a blog which cycles posts a board has all it’s content sorted and displayed on the front page. Readers hit the section they want and follow the thread, like a train of thought. It is a great format for site owners who don’t really want to spend time learning how to write and publish.
Another option is the email list. A blog is static, it does not move from where you put it on the web. An email list goes right to the people who subscribe. They will see it in their inbox and read it at their convenience. You don’t rely on bringing them to your site. Though, have a site with more information for them to come to once the email has drawn them in. Post a list monthly, weekly or some other time period that suits you. It does not have to be stuffed with articles. There is a lot you can do, depending on what you are selling. Use it just to notify them about a contest you are running, a sale, something new that has just come in. Or give them tips and advice and keep all them all in an archive on your site which they can refer to. Add a link to your site and the archive at the end of each email. It is important to have unsubscribe instructions too, make them clear and visible.