Monthly Archives: June 2010

Check Your Blog Stats Like Your ATM Balance Pt 2

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This entry is part [part not set] of 1 in the series Check Your Stats Monthly

We really should check our blog stats like we check our ATM balances. Since I participated in the Blog Challenge for this month I thought it would be good to share some of the stats from my host. As you know, yesterday I shared how the stats look on one of myWordpress.com sites. But tonight venture with me for a quick , I mean really quick look at some stats on this WordPress.org site hosted by Bluehost.

Now, I am not going to share ALL  of the categories but the few I do share can tell me where I need to improve. Of course after you stop looking I will be looking at all the stats.

Direct address/Bookmark?link in email?Links from an Internet Search Engine

search engine activity

What Search Engines are connecting to this site?

My revelations and future actions

Yes, it is true that most of my action came from Google. But some action also came form 9 different search engines. Two folks used a Social Bookmark! In this case I was Stumbledupon. Actually someone contacted me on Facebook to let me know they Stumbled me. MY ACTIONS? I am going to get busier in those bookmarking sites!!!

Finks from an external page(other web sites except search engines)

external links

external links

My revelations and future actions

I noticed that there is one site that I joined that serves the highest number of links. Here is a little more about them

Tamazu is a categorized collection of blogs. This site is split up into niches so you can find your need in a click! Tamazu has many types of blogs, and we accept blogs in all languages, so don’t miss all last news of the world. For each niche we have top list. Come see Blogger services blogs and discuss!

This site allows you 2 blog submissions per day. But you must do reciprocal linking.

The next highest is Twitter. This is the place that all the BLOG CHALLENGE folks had to hang out to tweet their posts. Now, I am going to sneak over to the month of May to see how it was different. Ha it was only 5 and Stumbleupon was higher at 6 so my action is to keep hanging out in Twitter and submit my sites to more directories.

Finally I will share a f ew of the top posts for this month. Or rather those with the most views. Are you ready?

post with highest views

post with highest views

My revelations and future actions

The post, 10 Top Reasons Why Baby Boomers Should NOT Use Social Bookmarking had the highest views as of the 29th of this month with 360. My decison?

Do more posts with Numbers in the title.

Ok, that is enough for tonight.  This baby boomer must get rest and be up early to walk and prepare for a workshop plus attend a meeting. I hope this motivates you to check out your stats and make some decisons. Of course there is much more so take your time. Have fun!

Check Your Blog Stats Like Your ATM Balance Pt. 1

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This entry is part [part not set] of 1 in the series Check Your Stats Monthly

Whenever I check my ATM card balance I find out several things that form my spending behavior. Well the same thing happens with our blog stats. As many of you the blog stats available to you on your host  can tell you a lot about your current and future blogging activity.

What If You Are Using Blogger or WordPress.com?

Well, I currently use both Blogger and WordPress.com for my FREE hosted blogging. I have never used a service to track statistics on Blogger but I found a service that does it free.

But wait! Did you know that Google owns both Blogger and Google Analytics? Well, they would not leave their blog site without a statistical interface for too long. Here is a tutorial for adding Google Analytics(Which I also use for this self-hosted site) to your Blogger blog.

WordPress.com has a built in blog statistical interface. It is quite good. It will also tell you the posts that get the most attention. Check out the stats on one of my recently neglected sites.This is what you will see directly on your Dashboard on a WordPress.com site. It shows the top posts for the week and also the most active. If you place your cursor on the graph it will show the number of posts for a given day. Since I have not been as active for a few moons there is not a lot of activity. But that will change..

wordpress.com stats for http://www.rosiesblogclass.com

Rosiesblogclass.com stats on WordPress.com

Continue reading →

It’s Shake and Bake Blogging and I Helped!

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Remember that Kraft commercial “It’s Shake and Bake, and I helped?” Well, I thought about that today. As you may recall, Shake and Bake is an alternative preparation for chicken that allows you to produce a dish without frying. You prepare the chicken and bake it.  It is supposed to be healthier for you.

Now,it is my premise blogging can be a shake and bake occasion also when you are working with a blog team. How?

Well imagine this scenario:

You need to post about the steps for grading a vinyl LP before posting it on an auction site. You could do the research, post it and it is up.  Now that may take you a few hours and that includes quality control.That is the fried approach.

But if you are doing the shake and bake team approach it goes something like this:

Team blogger #1 does the research on grading vinyls using the Goldmine system and sends that information to Team blogger #2 who  writes the post and puts it in draft.

Team blogger #3 creates a title and inserts it into the post. Now, that may seem like a simple task but to make the title engaging can take a little trial and error.

Team blogger #4 reviews the post for any errors in grammar.

Team blogger #5 creates the tags and indicates the category. He or she may also indicate if it was part of a series using a plugin like Organize Series in WordPress.org. (Or any other method depending on the blogging platform)

Now Team blogger #6 will upload and size an appropriate picture(s) into the post. In this case it would be a pictures of a vinyl LP and cover at high magnification.

But alas, we are not finished yet. Team blogger#7 will now preview the post and add any appropriate monetization links like affiliates if they relate to the record collecting business.

Finally, Team blogger #8 will preview the post, check to make sure all the links work and publish it or schedule for publishing.

Now you may not have as many team members but even if there is only a few each one can play a role that will save time, insure a quality post and make your blogging efforts healthier both mentally and physically.

Each member of the team can then say, It’s shake and bake and I helped!”

5 Ways Blogging Can Be Like Peeling Potatoes

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Blogging like peeling potatoes by blogging boomer, Rosie Horner

Blogging can be like peeling potatoes

Tonight while preparing for tommorrow’s dinner I discovered five (5) ways blogging can be like peeling potatoes.

  1. You seldom look forward to peeling potatoes. But you have a vision for the results.With blogging there are times that you really don’t feel like doing it. But you know that when you make that post the hoped for results can really happen!

  2. You wash and scrub the potatoes. Then make sure your knife or peeler is sharp. With blogging you start with fresh content and a sharp mind.

  3. Slowly peel using your own style. With blogging you want to blog with your own style that will get the job done.

  4. Avoid cutting too much of the potato with the peel. With blogging you want to cut away all the stuff your readers may not want to hear. Note: If you are doing a rant you might leave the skin on and just slice and dice.

  5. Get rid of the peels or find other uses. (For example, does anyone live on a farm?) With blogging you get rid of the content you did not use or find other places to use it.

Sure we could also look at  cooking, and recipes that include the potatoes. Then there is the presentation, eating and digestiong of the potatoes. And did I hear anyone say leftovers? Well  it is the same way with blogging. There are so many simple yet complex dimensions of blogging. That’s what keeps us serving and eating our blogs

But I am sure you can come up with many other aspects of blogging as it relates to the simplicity of peeling potatoes. Thanks for listening.

Are You Blogging Your Hobby?

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As I traveled from my moms after a day of work, hospital visit to a friend who had open heart surgery, several drug stores, and a modified zumba class because of my sore arm, I began to wonder what I would blog about tonight.

While I was at the drug store ,looking for an item for my mom, and while I was at the gift store at the hospital I talked to two different folks about coins.  I realized that I had not given any time for many days to the pile of coins waiting for me to investigate from my pocket change.

That’s when I decided to chat for a few minutes about hobby blogging.

For the first time in my baby boomer life I have a hobby. I don’t recall ever having a hobby unless you call talking with strangers in the elevator or diners about their passion a hobby. I don’t consider my blogging, speaking or hanging out at the senior center my mom lives  in a hobby.

http://www.babyboomerpocketchange.com

But last year I started reading and exploring coin collecting. While my husband decided to explore the guitar. And guess what we both decide to create blogs about out new found passions.

Why?

  • It helps us to remember where we store our new found information , videos and audios
  • It reinforces our learning.
  • It is very niched which is great for ads
  • Helps us to keep on top of the hobby
  • A great way to meet other people in the hobby
  • We can submit to Blog directories like blog catalog and join groups with folks of same interest.
  • I can post pictures of coins give a history then bring that picture with a link to the site on Ebay or other sites If I am selling that coin.
  • Plus more

Hubby’s hobby blog is Midlife Guitar and mine is Baby Boomer Pocket Change.

What’s yours?

Social Bookmarking and Baby Boomers-Blog Comment Before Bookmarking

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This entry is part [part not set] of 10 in the series Baby Boomers and Social Bookmarking Can You Digg it?

I urge you to use social bookmarking as part of your blogging strategy. However, when you are about to make a comment on a blog, do that first. Comments and bookmarking command separate attention and time.

Follow this little scenario for a few moments.

I just went to the blog of someone who posted a comment on my blog. Now, as bloggers with good home training, we will reciprocate by  posting a comment on that person’s blog. (Of course I am not referring to the spammers or hateful) So I read a post that captured my attention because of the title.  I was hooked. Not only was the content exceptional but I was ready to follow the steps right away.

But I knew that I needed to curb my enthusiasm and be about the business of writing my comment. I put the link to the article in a notepad on my comuter. Then I  proceeded to make my comment. But, oh my, I was just about to enter the comment box when I saw those SHARE BUTTONS STARING BECKONING ME TO CLICK ON THEM. I thought to myself, “Haven’t I been preaching about  this to others lately?” And if you know anything about me, I really do try to practice what I preach. So, I brought my curser out of the comment box and scanned the available options.

Now, I was ready to bookmark  as well as connect with social networks like Facebook and Twitter. I had my passwords right next to me. No excuse, this was going to be done. So, I started with Digg. After signing in I Dugg the post. Then I decided to check my other submissions. Did anyone Digg them? Then I went to the popularDiggs. Later, after about 5 minutes, I went back to the post. Instead of clicking off the tab I clicked the back button 1, 000 times.

Then I was back at the blog post. I decided to go to Stumbleupon but then thought perhaps I should Tweet it also. After clicking on the Twitter button I signed in and tweeted the post. I then retweeted a few posts that were current. I then preceded to check if I had any direct messages, retweets or if anyone used my name in a tweet. Wow, what else was happening in the blog30# world I needed to check that too.

Oh my, time to get back to the comment I was going to leave on the post. So I tracked back again. At this point, after answering the phone, I decided to create my comment. I would get back to the other bookmarks or social networks later.

The bottom line is sometimes it is better to stay focused on the comment. Then focus on the social bookmarking. As baby boomers many of his have such varied exciting interests that we are easily distracted by other interests. Commenting demands it’s own attention and bookmarking must be given it’s valued attention as well.

Does this make any sense?

Help My Arm Hurts From Blogging?

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My arm is hurting but is it from blogging? Actually, because I should have frequent flyer miles from physical therapy I suspect the pain is from, once again, poor egonomics. Yes, I have been blogging, ebaying, working for the job, research,etc from the work station called the TV tray and laptop. A place without arm or back support that is only supposed to be used for quick email checks, etc.

I KNOW BETTER.  I have a really nice set up in the basement, but alas, I admit I cannot watch an old movie while working. Oh, and did I mention cooking without burning something or eating dinner near the computer? You see, we have a no eating in the basement rule so my little snacking is reserved while I am upstairs.

Why do I share all of this with you? Because :

  • It is a reminder and chastisment for me
  • I don’t want you to fall into the trap of ignoring the correct ergonomics of blogging.
  • I want to hear some of you solutions, good habits and positive reinforcements.

You know, I am a health educator by training and still function in that capacity. For me to go through these issues is like being in a car accident without my seatbelt. When you know what to do but do not do it that is not a good thing. Are there things you know to do but not doing as it relates to keeping healthy while online?

Ok, going to bed early tonight, that is another thing I must go back to doing.

Did You Know that Ezinearticles Had a Plug-in For WordPress.org?

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Thanks to a fellow blogger in the current Blog Challenge I found out about Ezinearticle’s plug-in for WordPress.org blogs. So I say thank you to Kevin Thompson.

Now, I am not saying that I probably saw notification sent via email from Ezinearticles or heard someone mention it but I never paid any attention or read the email. Ok, 50 lashes with a wet noodle.

But today when Kevin said, “You just got to use this plug-in it’s awesome.” So, I decided to digress from my series on social bookmarking and share this information with you.

I went to my plug-in manager and did a search on ezinearticles. There it was ready for me to install. I checked to make sure it was compatible with the current version of my blog.

After installing I read more about the plug-in. You can actually post an article on Ezinearticles directly from your blog post. Now, before you say anything about duplicate content please look at this blog post on Ezinearticle’s blog.

So, tonight I dusted off my Ezinearticle’s username and password. I was missing in action for a while and decided to check the status of my over 600 articles. I submitted three (3) posts from an earlier series.

The cool thing is that the plug-in will validate your article before it allows submission. If you have too many links or other issues it lets you know. Also, remember that Ezinearticles changed the required number of words for articles to 250.

So, now I have another challenge. To get 1,000 articles submitted and approved by September, 2010.Now that it is out there please check on my status. (Why not join me?)

Note that I said approved because after I submitted my articles I got that wonderful email that said they will be reviewed in48 hours. But since I have become a blogger I know that if at first you don’t succeed you just keep trying.

OOPs, be sure to designate the right category for your article or change them when it gets approved.

10 Top Reasons Why Baby Boomers Bloggers SHOULD NOT Use Social Bookmarking

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This entry is part [part not set] of 10 in the series Baby Boomers and Social Bookmarking Can You Digg it?

I have discovered 10 Top Reasons Why Baby Boomers SHOULD NOT even think about using Social Bookmarking. You may disagree with me and that is your blogging boomer right but let me know why. So, here are my reasons:

  1. Blogging Baby Boomers have a hard enough time blogging and posting in social networking sites like Facebook and Orket, so who has time, during pre and post retirement, to post to social bookmarking sites?

  2. Most baby boomer bloggers only blog to entertain themselves or for therapy. Who cares about promoting an expertise, service or product when most of them are fishing, or baby sitting grands?

  3. Social bookmarking sites are a waste of time when all you have to do is use the FAVORATES in Internet Explorer and BOOKMARKS in FireFox. ( Who caresabout Safari or Opera, etc because most boomers are on PC’s right?)

  4. Baby Boomer Bloggers are not as smart as the generations before them. They will have a hard time keeping up with the passwords to all those extra sites.

  5. Most Baby Boomer Bloggers can’t see the SHARE BUTTONS.

  6. It has been said by critics of baby boomers that they are selfish. So why should the want to share  good information, articles, products, music,videos, etc with others in their friend networks that they find on other bloggers sites?

  7. Who said Baby  Boomers had friends. If they join a network who will they talk to?

  8. Most Baby Boomers no longer say “Hey can you Dig it?”

  9. Aunt Bea, in Andy Griffith, Macgyver or the Snurfs never used social bookmarking.

  10. Baby Boomers probably came up with those strange and scary names for the social bookmarking sites like the ones below. Who will trust those sites to be for nerdy boomers, scholars, business folks or artists?

* CiteULike

* Connotea

* Delicious

* Digg

* Diigo

* Faves

* Flattr

* folkd

* GiveALink.org

* Metafilter

* Mister Wong

* Mixx

* MSDN

* Newsvine

* oneview

* Propeller.com

* Reddit

* Simpy

* Slashdot

* Sphinn

* Squidoo

If you disagree with me GREAT!! Join me on my Facebook Fan Page and let’s continue the discussion. Also, I dare you to join at least three(3) of these sites. Let’s work on it together.

Social Bookmarking for Baby Boomers-What is BibSonomy?

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This entry is part [part not set] of 10 in the series Baby Boomers and Social Bookmarking Can You Digg it?

Now itistime to look at a social bookmarking site called BibSonomy. According to their site description:

BibSonomy is a system for sharing bookmarks and lists of literature. When discovering a bookmark or a publication on the web, you can store it on our server. You can add tags to your post to retrieve it more easily. This is very similar to the bookmarks/favorites that you store within your browser. The advantage of BibSonomy is that you can access your data from wherever you are. Furthermore, you can discover more bookmarks and publications from your friends and other people

You can register and start working with this unique site but the best way, I feel, to really get to know it is visit the the BibSonomy blog.

So, I challenge only the daring and adventurous baby boomers reading this post to explore this social bookmarking site if you are serious about social bookmarking. PS, invite like-minded friends to join from work and organizations.

This is a review done by CNET a few years ago:

Sonomy is a system for sharing bookmarks and lists of literature. When discovering a bookmark or a publication on the Web, you can store it on our server. You can add tags to your entry to retrieve it more easily. BibSonomy is very similar to the bookmarks/favorites that you store within your browser.

The advantage of BibSonomy is that you can access your data from wherever you are. Furthermore, you can discover more bookmarks and publications from your friends and other people.