I have used Feedblitz to publish BBD since February. I only offered post headlines because I wanted subscribers to visit the blog.
I noticed a few more readers recently when I checked my stats. I changed the settings so Feedblitz subscribers get the full blog feed - just like users of other feed services.
The subscription form is in the sidebar.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Updated Feedblitz Feed
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Pastel Creations
Blog Name: Pastel Creations
Blog URL: http://pastelcreations.blogspot.com
Description: Original art for sale. A great opportunity for art lovers and collectors. Also look into my web site for portrait commissions.
June 27 Featured Feeds
Big Blue Wave and Brian Cormier's Blogtastic World are the featured feeds for the next few days. Both of these Canadian blogs are very active and both have been featured before.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Create A "Link To Me" Form
One way to link to blogs is by using buttons. They can be a nice alternative to text links - especially if the blog name is long.
Some of your readers may not know how to create the image links. You can write a short tutorial like I did but you may find that the html code gets messed up when you post. That's usually due to the long image file names.
You can fix this problem by using a simple html form:
When you right-click in the box and "select all" you can easily copy all of the text.
To create the form I used the following format:
<textarea rows="3" cols="40"><a href="BLOG URL"><img src="IMAGE URL"></a></textarea>
Change the capitalized letters to the appropriate code.
Adjust the rows and columns to fit your post or sidebar. A column width of 20 works for most sidebars in Blogger blogs.
Add the code to an html/javascript widget (in Blogger) titled "Link To Me!" or something similar.
Check out: Buttons, Bows and Badges for Your Blog.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Advanced QTP
Blog Name: Advanced QTP
Blog URL: http://www.advancedqtp.com
Description: Learn advanced programming in Quicktest Professional (QTP), in English and Hebrew.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
June 23 Featured Feeds
A weird but passionate world in South Africa and Boating Bitts are the featured feeds for the next few days. Stop by, read a few posts, and say hello. Everyone likes comments.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Blog Links June 20/07
Blog Links is a new feature that will appear whenever I find enough interesting links. Not every post will be as long or as detailed as this one.
In Linking Relationships Lorelle VanFosen discusses the importance of blog links.
Whether through intention or accident, the links from your blog to others are mini-letters of recommendation. When you link to an external site, you are inviting your readers, the ones you worked so hard to earn and keep, to click away. That link better be pretty special.
I tend to limit my sidebar links to sites I think are useful and/or promote what I think are good blogging habits.
I’m often asked to do link exchanges with all types of blogs and websites. I refuse all of them. If you really want to get my link attention, then give me something worth linking to, worth writing about, worth recommending to my readers. I’m not interested in your link. I’m interested in your content.
I have been asked to exchange links and have refused so far. Most of the people asking have only been interested in beefing up their pagerank. I'm not into pagerank much. I want links I like and which will help bloggers.
Read the full article.
Have you ever visited a blog that annoyed you? I have. The blogger has probably made one of the Top 13 Blogging Mistakes. The thing I hate most is background music. Every time an internal link is clicked the music starts again... and again...
Another blogging pet peeve of mine is finding so many dead blogs. When I search the 'net or visit directories I want to find blogs that are current.
In Millions of Dead Blogs Won't Stop Blogging the author says:
"200 million people call themselves ex-bloggers." That's a ton of dead blogs but it won't matter to most blog readers. Many readers may never even notice the dead blogs because sites like Digg will guide them to new sources.
These sites will help readers find blogs but they don't help with the searches. Google and other search engines will still index the dead blogs.
Bloggers will still be faced with unavailable URLs that are taken by dead blogs. This problem is made worse by spam blogs. If Blogger and other hosts delete the dead blogs then the URLs will likely be taken over by spam blogs and another problem arises.
Many people try blogging but don't stick with it. Those of us who do find our voices and stake a claim to a small piece of cyberspace. We help spread information and interact with others. As annoying as dead blogs and spam blogs are they can't stop the joy of finding a really good "living" blog to read.
June 20 Featured Feeds
Andy's Blog and Another Point of View are the featured feeds for the next few days.
bVibes - a Digg-like site for blogs
bVibes is a new 'blogmarking' service where members can vote on blog posts they like. Popular posts will end up on the front page as 'hot vibes'. Submitting a post is easy and all new posts end up on the 'New Vibes' page.
There is an associated blog where you can keep up on site news. There are also buttons to add to your blog.
This site can be good for promoting your blog and also for finding new blogs to read.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
June 11 Featured Feeds
A Letter Never Sent and Andrew Owns Agloco are the featured feeds for the next few days.
Featured blogs will usually change late Wednesdays and Saturdays.
One Man's Travel Blog
Blog Name: One Man's Travel Blog
Blog URL: http://grahamettridge.blogspot.com
Description: One Man's Travel Blog ..."Oh my goodness! I'm in my late 20's, I'm single and I have done nothing with my life" was the realisation that hit me like a freight train one spring morning in 2002....within a few days I had arranged a trek through a desert - That's how it started and this blog tells my story from Egypt to the Amazon to Auschwitz Concentration Camp and more....
Monday, June 11, 2007
Update: Blogs And Directories
Blogs
Snippets and Blabbery has moved to a new site. Thanks to 'Blabby' for letting me know.
Directories
I added some new blog directories to the Blog Finding Resources page and removed some dead links. I will be adding some more in the near future.
I removed my sidebar link to Globe Of Blogs. I submitted a listing for BBD in February and it still hasn't been posted! A five month wait is outrageous even for big sites. It is still listed with the other directories because it's a good place to browse for blogs.
I listed BBD with Blog Catalog in April and will write up a review this month. Recently I listed my personal blog (Firemind) with Blog Catalog and Photarium too. One of the things I am interested in is comparing the referrals each blog gets from the sites.
BBD Is Changing
There are currently 102 blogs listed in Big Blog Directory. I just received two more submissions tonight that look promising.
BBD began as an experiment and is doing quite well. Sometimes little things make me pause and consider how I am doing but overall I am pleased.
Some of the oldest blogs listed (25?) don't link to BBD because it wasn't required at the time. These blogs are not included in the roundups or featured feeds. I have contacted people at various times and have gotten mixed feedback. I should have made links mandatory from the very beginning.
I have been thinking about the "60 day" rule (ie: any blog that is not updated for 60 days is delisted from BBD). After delisting some blogs awhile ago I wondered whether 60 days was too short of a period. As a blog reader, however, I don't have much time for dormant blogs. I want to read a blog that I know will be around when/if I finish the archives. I want a blogger who is around to interact with me when I comment.
With blogs being added and delisted BBD is always changing. That may be it's strength because there will always be something new for visitors.
June 11 Featured Feeds
A designer's Ramblings and Adoption Tales are the featured blogs for the next few days.
I may go back to changing the featured feeds twice a week so that everyone gets a chance. With so over 100 blogs a weekly change may mean waiting a year to become a featured feed.
NiggyBuzz Blog
Blog Name: NiggyBuzz Blog
Blog URL: http://www.niggybuzz.com/wordpress
Description: Personal Blog about Money Making online. Affiliate programs, Manual traffic exchanges, Marketing tips and more.
Two Write Hands
Blog Name: Two Write Hands
Blog URL: http://2writehands.blogspot.com
Description: Two Write Hands and Two Left Feet. I've been told I can write, but no one ever told me I could dance. Discover the brainwork of a 27-year-old college student, published writer, and self-proclaimed genius. Follow my blog and one day say "you knew me when." Or you could just point out my typos.
Friday, June 08, 2007
SA Blog Round Up Part 3
In Part 1 I wrote a brief introduction and mentioned SA blogs listed in this directory. I also mentioned posts contributed by participating BBD listed blogs. In Part 2 of the roundup I looked at the South African Blog Scene. This post will mention contributions from other participants and offer some concluding remarks.
Some More Participating Blogs
Blog round up from Adventures in London Above.
South African Blog Roundup from Peak People: An inside look.
I hate Afro-optimism from Red Star Coven. Walton later wrote Why SA Rocks.
Is SA Rocks bullshit? from Neverness. This was written as a response to the Red Star Coven post and was reprinted at SA Rocks. Since it fits the theme of the roundup I have included it here.
(The contributions from SA Rocks and Protocolinpractice can be found in part 1).
Concluding Remarks
This concludes the first South African Blog Roundup. This project has been fun but also difficult. Things didn't go as planned but several bloggers got together and blogged about common themes. I consider this an important success because two of the mandates of BBD are to encourage blogging and encourage cybersocial interaction.
I hope readers of these posts learned something about blogging in South Africa and found some new blogs to read.
I would like to thank the bloggers who participated in the roundup. I would especially like to thank Nic Haralambous for his ideas and encouragement.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
SA Blog Roundup Part 2
Part 1 of the roundup presented a brief introduction and introduced South African blogs listed at Big Blog Directory. This post will look at the SA blog scene from an outsider's viewpoint.
The South African Blog Scene
When I started BBD in October of last year I knew very little about South African blog resources. When I did search for resources I found very few of them.
The first site I came across was the South African Blog Directory. This was a Blogspot based directory that listed blogs in it's sidebar and occasionally featured some in posts. The blogs were organized into categories but labels were not used. The directory eventually disappeared.
When South Africans began submitting blogs to BBD I saw links to SA Topsites, SA Blog Topsites and Muti. I browsed these sites but they didn't really catch my attention. Muti would get mentioned in blog posts from time to time.
In January things started to happen with the 2007 edition of the SA Blog Awards. I saw a number of posts about the awards. Most of them discussed the nominated blogs while some talked about the controversy surrounding the awards.
In February SA Rocks was launched and began to gather momentum. For many the positive outlook of the site was appealing. They linked to the site and some of them became contributors.
In March and April two Technorati-like sites were launched. Amatomu, which came first, looks at the South African blog scene from different angles and bloggers use it to keep up with other blogs, follow trends, and even as a source of blogging humour.
Afrigator was launched in April and took a broader mandate than Amatomu. It covers all of Africa and includes feeds from news sites as well as blogs.
I haven't discovered any new blog sites lately but more may be coming. The blog scene is quite dynamic and the bloggers are creative. People looked at South Africa and SA blogs and sought ways to make things better. This has had a positive effect on blogging and bloggers have been getting more exposure. The future of blogging in South Africa looks bright indeed.
Blog Search Engines
Gargoyle
Grabble
A Short Reading List
Amatomu - South Africa’s Technorati
Does the SA Blogging “elite” dominate Muti?
Introducing the public Amatomu alpha: notes from the developer
New local blog directories and a new blog service
SA blogging industry growth pains...
sarocks.co.za launches today
State of the Nation - 2007 trends for SA blogging
The controversial 2007 SA Blog Awards
What’s With Afrigator?
Part 3 will list the participating blogs and wrap up the roundup.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Melancholy Musings
Blog Name: Melancholy Musings
Blog URL: http://musingsmelancholy.blogspot.com
Description: This blog is just a mix of whatever I happen to be thinking about so there's a variety of weirdness that comes out of my head.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Kaldirimlar
Blog Name: Kaldirimlar
Blog URL: http://www.kaldirimlar.com/
Description: I have a photoblog since February this year. I am trying to post daily photos from the sidewalks that I have been walking around. Mainly I am posting photos from Brussels, Belgium where I am currently living. I also go through my photo archive to find interesting photos to post.
My motto is to share sidewalk stories with people. I write a few words under the photos to describe the situation. This is mainly in Turkish.
I decided to include short video clips, too. So with my gsm and digital camera I take photos and videos. Then I upload them to flickr and youtube, then publish them in my blog. I am hoping to keep this blog and have the readers also contribute with their stories.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Quick Update
I have been ill this week and I am trying to catch up with projects in this blog. I'll wrap up the SA blog roundup today. I am also reviewing some blogs for the directory and should be able to make a decision tonight.
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