I clicked “Publish.” Now what?

Wired magazine has deconstructed the blogging process in their latest issue, following your blog post from the moment you publish it, all the way around the world as aggregators (feed readers like RSS), scrapers (spam blogs) and spiders (search engines) all chew on your information.

What’s darkly funny about the process - and anyone who has ever tried to run a commercially successful blog, rather than just a personal journal, will tell you this - is that the reader is the absolute last person considered in this process. Marketing a blog is not about how many hits you get or how many people are commenting, but rather who is linking to you (and in what way) and how important Google’s algorithms perceive you to be. Read the rest of this entry »

For the RC car enthusiasts among us, champion RC car driver Igor Presnukhin has recently started a blog where he shares his vast knowledge of RC Cars Tips and Tricks with the world.

His is the kind of site that can truly help grow the hobby for all ability levels. On one hand, Presnukhin provides tons of helpful tips that will be appreciated by seasoned drivers. But his blog is also enjoyable for newcomers, who are likely to be sucked in by his enthusiasm and practical explanations of a wide range of concepts (The 15-page “Introduction to RC Cars” is a definite must-read).

The tutorials on the blog are easily laid out (with photos!) so that anyone can learn from Presnukhin’s vast RC car knowledge. Best of all, he updates his site feverishly, averaging about five new posts per day. There is plenty of information on this site to keep readers interested not only in Presnukhin’s RC Cars Tips and Tricks blog but also in the sport of RC car racing in general.

Remember those trying times in Autumn 2001? Al-Qaeda had just executed the largest, deadliest terrorist attack on United States soil, and the country was banding together with their American flag car magnets and “God Bless America” t-shirts manufactured in the Far East. Then President George W. Bush uttered the famous, “uniting” words: “You’re either with us or against us in the fight against terror.”

Back then, six whole years ago, there was only one way to be a patriot: support the “War on Terror” and lend unquestioning support to George W. Bush and his administration. If you dared to ask for peace (Cindy Sheehan), or careful consideration of the risks of going to war (23 Senators and 133 Representatives), or even suggested that the U.S. government should have conducted itself differently (Gore Vidal), you were labeled “unpatriotic.” Read the rest of this entry »

In the midst of awards season, this is an honour you don’t want to win: Small Business Web Coach Craig Dewe has published a list of the “5 Worst Web Designers in the World.”

Dewe’s list includes “professional” sites with nested tables, frames, scrolling marquees, flashing backgrounds, and lots of other outdated graphical tricks that novice designers played with in the 90s - the difference being, of course, that these companies want to take your money for their web design “skills.” Read the rest of this entry »

Never underestimate the power of blogs. A decade ago, few knew they existed; now they number in the millions. If you still think blogs are just online journals, think again.

Companies have been using blogs for SEO-friendly marketing for several years now and have since expanded these efforts into paid posting ventures through companies like PayPerPost. Through third parties, advertisers pay bloggers to write about their companies and services, generating valuable marketing buzz in cyberspace.

PayPerPost, founded in 2006, is one of the leaders of the blog advertising and paid posting revolution. Qualifying bloggers - known as Posties - can sign up to write sponsored content on a wide range of subjects specific to their target audiences. Each post is reviewed for quality, length and requested features (advertisers may request a video, a link, or other tidbits) and Posties receive Paypal payments for completed assignments. Read the rest of this entry »