Big Blog Directory

Goodbye And Thankyou

2008-09-21T04:06:00.000-07:00

My last update was almost a year ago.

Since then I have slowly returned to blogging and I am having fun. Right now I am not using Blogger and I don't wish to maintain a big project like a directory.

Big Blog Directory was a fun experiment and I "met" many interesting people through it. I would like to thank everyone who submitted blogs or commented here.

No new blogs will be added.

Leon

New Listings 9

2007-11-14T12:20:00.000-08:00

The last "New Listings" post was on May 9th. Here are the blogs that were submitted and listed since then.

The first group lists blogs that are still active:

The Two Cents

Software Testing Zone

Coconut Girl Wireless

A Weird But Passionate World In South Africa

Soekershof; the 'scientific' backup

Andrew Owns Agloco

Kaldirimlar

NiggyBuzz Blog

Pastel Creations

Cine-Critic

Random Thoughts From The Rockies

DAIRIBLAWG

Creative UAE

Melancholy Musings

Two Write Hands

One Man's Travel Blog

Some blogs have removed their BBD links. I may delist them.

The following blogs were listed and have disappeared or have not been updated:

Island Bird Rambles
Tech 4 Novices
i dedicate...
Fishing For Big Sharks
All Of Fun

Update: A Blogger's Confession

2007-11-03T16:57:00.000-07:00

Getting back into this blog project has been very difficult. This has always been a work heavy blog because of the rules I set for submissions and for myself.

I began to feel the strain in May. Keeping up with blog news and dealing with so many inappropriate submissions may have been possible if I had stayed motivated. All my blogs suffered and I went from maintaining five to struggling with my personal blog and neglecting this one.

I even started a blog about one of my hobbies to make sure I keep blogging. I didn't need another blog - I needed something I enjoyed to blog about.

When you go public with any venture and say "use my service" you lose control of time. Other people don't wait for you to be motivated, or well, or not busy. They operate on their time and hope it coincides with yours. Lately I have been merely reacting rather than being proactive.

I don't want this blog/directory to die but I hate it being in limbo like this. I have two things to do (at least) to keep this blog going:

Clean out dead blogs and links.
Resume reviewing and posting submissions.

I don't want to add anything new until I can get the current situation fixed. So:

No new submissions will be reviewed for posting until further notice.

Submissions Reminder

2007-09-30T17:15:00.000-07:00

I'll be catching up with submissions this week. One important reminder: your blog submission MUST have a link to Big Blog Directory (http://bigblogdir.blogspot.com)in the sidebar or designated link area. Blogs without a link will not be published.

There are two issues I would like to address. First of all: I get a lot of requests for link exchanges. This isn't a link exchange service. I want proper blog submissions. The second problem concerns where my link is placed. Please do NOT put the link in with advertisers and/or call it an advertisement on your blog. This is misrepresenting this blog.

Catching Up

2007-09-01T02:03:00.000-07:00

I'll be reviewing submissions and cleaning up the directory over the next week or so. I probably wont be posting blog news or tutorials for a while. I haven't been blogging much in the last month and am a little out of touch with everything.

Now I understand how bloggers can get distracted by other activities.

August 9 Featured Feeds

2007-08-09T23:15:00.000-07:00

I like it when the Featured Feeds posts turn into mini blog roundups. Last time they were photoblogs and this time craft blogs. Knitting Through Life and KnotGypsy's Journey of Creation are the featured blogs for the next few days.

Quick Update

2007-07-31T21:36:00.000-07:00

I haven't had time to review and list the recent submissions. I'll do that this week. Thanks for your patience.

July 29 Featured Feeds

2007-07-29T21:11:00.000-07:00

The next two featured blogs are both European photoblogs. Check out JENRIKS24hphoetry and Kaldırımlar.

July 23 Featured Feeds

2007-07-23T17:15:00.000-07:00

Flotsam and Jetsam and Island Bird Rambles are the featured blogs until Saturday. Both are Canadian blogs produced in Victoria, BC.

July 15 Featured Feeds

2007-07-15T21:25:00.000-07:00

Facing Autism in New Brunswick and Firemind are the featured blogs for the next few days. They are both Canadian blogs but deal with different issues from different parts of the country.

DAIRIBLAWG

2007-07-15T21:00:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: DAIRIBLAWG

Blog URL: http://www.dairiblawg.blogspot.com

Description: I started this blog to make sure everyone has the story behind the story on food policy, dairy policy and regulation, food safety, food security and anything else related to these topics that impacts the dairy industry in Canada.

Random Thoughts From The Rockies

2007-07-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: Random Thoughts From The Rockies

Blog URL: http://jarandomstuff.blogspot.com

Description: Random ramblings about life, work, sports and anything else that comes to mind. It's a work in progress and my first effort at blogging – constructive comments welcome.

Cine-Critic

2007-07-14T02:22:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: Cine-Critic

Blog URL: http://cine-critic.blogspot.com

Description: Up-to-date reviews and articles from Ivan Radford, Film Editor of Redbrick, The University of Birmingham's newspaper. Funny, frank and easy to read, who says critics can't be young?

July 11 Featured Feeds

2007-07-11T21:14:00.000-07:00

The new featured feeds are from Canadian blogs. EclecticBlogs is produced in Yellowknife, NWT, and EternaLee in Regina, Saskatchewan. Both of these blogs are updated regularly.

July 5 Featured Feeds

2007-07-05T21:59:00.000-07:00

They say good things come in small packages. I am not sure I agree with that but good blogs can be about small things or from small companies. Chihuahua Tales and Dwarfed Films are the featured blogs for the next few days.

When you visit Dwarfed Films check out To Shoot A Rurf. It's a weird and enjoyable short film.

Directory Cleaning

2007-07-04T16:37:00.000-07:00

One of the important things to remember is that only current blogs are listed in BBD. Blogs that are dormant for 60 days have their listings removed.

It's directory cleaning time again and I just de-listed nine blogs. Eight have been dormant since April and one since early May. I would have left the latter blog for a while but there were other issues involved.

Here are the blogs that were were removed:

A view from three steps back...
ANSWERS
Adoption Tales
Excribidinglish
My Irish Football Blog
Ridiculosity Report
RedRag blog
Romantically Cynical
The Life and Times of an Endoscopy Technician

The blogs will be re-listed if the bloggers update and contact me - and they have linked to BBD.

Update: Adoption Tales has been updated and re-listed.

July 1 Featured Feeds

2007-07-01T21:06:00.000-07:00

The featured blogs for the next few days are Blind Sight is 20/20 and Camoen.

Updated Feedblitz Feed

2007-06-28T03:04:00.000-07:00

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.

Pastel Creations

2007-06-27T22:36:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-27T22:22:00.000-07:00

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.

Create A "Link To Me" Form

2007-06-25T01:46:00.001-07:00

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.

Advanced QTP

2007-06-24T07:11:00.001-07:00

Blog Name: Advanced QTP

Blog URL: http://www.advancedqtp.com

Description: Learn advanced programming in Quicktest Professional (QTP), in English and Hebrew.

June 23 Featured Feeds

2007-06-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

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.

Blog Links June 20/07

2007-06-20T15:32:00.001-07:00

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

2007-06-20T06:50:00.000-07:00

Andy's Blog and Another Point of View are the featured feeds for the next few days.

bVibes - a Digg-like site for blogs

2007-06-20T06:42:00.000-07:00

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.

June 11 Featured Feeds

2007-06-13T18:56:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-13T18:25:00.000-07:00

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....

Update: Blogs And Directories

2007-06-11T21:47:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-11T02:30:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-11T01:13:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-11T00:25:00.000-07:00

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.

SA Blog Round Up Part 3

2007-06-08T23:39:00.000-07:00

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.

SA Blog Roundup Part 2

2007-06-07T22:50:00.000-07:00

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.

Melancholy Musings

2007-06-05T15:15:00.000-07:00

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.

June 4 Featured Feeds

2007-06-04T05:46:00.000-07:00

2 Lazy 2 Blog and 2 Lazy 4 Video are the featured blogs for the next week.

Kaldirimlar

2007-06-04T05:30:00.000-07:00

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.

Quick Update

2007-06-01T11:01:00.000-07:00

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.

SA Blog Round Up Part 1

2007-05-26T10:25:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the South African Blog Roundup co-hosted with SA Rocks. I wanted to have a special SA roundup because many South Africans took the time to list their blogs with BBD. Another reason is that I have been following the SA blog scene since last fall and find it interesting.

This post will list some of the South African blogs found in Big Blog Directory. Blogs that participate in the roundup will have additional information added to their link. I will update this post over the next few days.

Part 2 will look at "The South African Blog Scene".

Part 3 will look at other participating blogs and offer some concluding remarks.

Have a look at the listings and check out the blogs. You might find something you like.

Leon

South African Blogs

A Designer's Ramblings

A Weird But Passionate World In South Africa

Musings from a jam jar

Nicharalambous.com

Protocolinpractice has contributed: South African Blog Roundup.

Romsky's

SA Rocks posted the roundup introduction. Nic also posted a mini roundup of his own: SA Roundup Featuring Some Stuff.

Soekershof; the 'scientific' backup

South African Cricket Scene

Blogger Header Customization

2007-05-24T08:15:00.000-07:00

In January I wrote a post about customizing the header in Blogger blogs. The method worked okay but involved modifying the template.

I found out from phydeaux3 that Blogger has a new "Configure Header" widget and finally got to test it yesterday. The screenshot below is from my test blog.

Images upload okay but can't be resized or repositioned. I would have liked my test image centered horizontally.

It would be nice if images could be tiled, or moved, or a made to fit. At the very least the header widget should be given layout options like those used when uploading images to posts.

Freevlog has a video tutorial that shows how to use the widget.(via)

Soekershof; the 'scientific' backup

2007-05-18T01:03:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: Soekershof; the 'scientific' backup

Blog URL: http://soekershof.wordpress.com

Description: This blog is primarily a service tool for customers of Soekershof Nursery and other succulent lovers. It provides visitors with information about all (basic) aspects of cultivating succulents including cacti in South Africa. There are links to other relevant Internet sites.

A Weird But Passionate World In South Africa

2007-05-18T00:47:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: A Weird But Passionate World In South Africa

Blog URL: http://soekershofwalkabout.blogspot.com

Description: This blog keeps (potential) visitors updated with the latest developments in and around Soekershof and with links to other interesting things-to-do/see in the area.

May 16 Featured Feeds

2007-05-16T00:50:00.000-07:00

Love, Food, Wine, and Good Chick Flix and Magick River are the featured blog feeds for the next week.

These two blogs mark the end of the first round of featuring blogs here at BBD. Next week I'll start from the top of the list at BBD Blog Feeds and work from A-Z.

Contacting Bloggers

2007-05-15T23:50:00.000-07:00

I visited all of the South African blogs listed in BBD and invited them to participate in the SA Blog Roundup. One part of me felt good about leaving the comments in the blogs but another part felt intrusive.

I'll see how this goes and decide whether to change tactics for the next roundups. I am planning a Creative Arts Blog Roundup for mid June and a Sports Blog Roundup for sometime in July. Contact me if you want more information.

One side effect of this is that I can update some blog listings. South African Cricket Scene has changed URLs and is being updated regularly. South African Rugby hasn't been updated since March.

One thing I noticed is that BBD gets called many different things in blogrolls. I have seen "Big Blog Directory", "The Big Blog Directory", and "Big Blog Dir". Only the first name is correct but I am more interested in the link being correct.

Coconut Girl Wireless

2007-05-15T01:43:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: Coconut Girl Wireless

Blog URL: http://coconutgirlwireless.wordpress.com/

Description: Tropical enlightenment...between sessions.

Eclectic mix of culture, entertainment, health, personal, spiritual and environmental issues and the zen of surfing...brought to you courtesy of some Hawaii surf wahines and Darby Romeo of Ben Is Dead Magazine, Killzine, the I Hate Brenda Newsletter, and the book Retro Hell.

Come on in - Pina Coladas are strong and the water's nice and warm! Aloha.

Software Testing Zone

2007-05-14T23:52:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: Software Testing Zone

Blog URL: http://software-testing-zone.blogspot.com

Description: Dedicated to thoughts about software testing, QA, and other software quality related practices. Articles on software quality assurance, testing and test automation.

South African Blog Roundup

2007-05-13T18:24:00.000-07:00

Big Blog Directory and SA Rocks are co-hosting a South African Blog Roundup. Any South African blogger can participate.

Between May 25th and 30th write a post with something like the following (please link to both blogs):

Big Blog Directory and SA Rocks are co-hosting a South African Blog Roundup and I am participating...

Next answer the following three questions:

Why does South Africa "rock"?
Why do you blog?
What are two of your favourite posts?

Once you have written your posts leave a comment here with a link. Blogs not listed with BBD can leave their links with SA Rocks.

Take Firemind's Blog Test

2007-05-13T18:13:00.000-07:00

Last year I created a short survey about blogging. Take the "test" and compare your answers to those provided by other bloggers.

Blog Updates

2007-05-12T23:30:00.000-07:00

Keeping track of nearly 100 blogs can be daunting. I track most of the blogs in Google Reader but it still is a big job.

When a blog hasn't been updated in over two months I will delist it but save the listing as a draft. When I know it is being published again I will restore the listing. It is important to let me know you are blogging again.

somewhatsane and [La Madriguera] are dormant and the latter links to a "on hiatus" page.

A Designer's Ramblings is back and it's nice to hear from Peter again.

Camoen's Poetry and Thoughts is now just Camoen. Check out the poetry and take the poetry poll.

You can't reason with Crazy has moved to a new site and uses WordPress now. Stop by and see how everyone is making out.

May 10 Featured Feeds

2007-05-10T19:45:00.000-07:00

Knotgypsy's Journey of Creation and Mickey's Musings are the featured blog feeds for the next week.

Blogger's feed page element is working again and I added all of the new listings to BBD Blog Feeds. We have almost been through the list for the first time. I may change the way I pick featured feeds by working only from A to Z. In any case every blog will be a featured blog sometime.

The Two Cents

2007-05-10T19:15:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: The Two Cents

Blog URL: http://www.thetwocents.com

Description: A Pop Culture Blog for Everyone! I always find I'm talking about this stuff, forwarding fun links, or debating certain issues with everyone ...so I started this page so everyone can be a part of the action. TV, Movies, Music, Sports, whatever! Post Comments everywhere. Let the world know what you think! Give them your own Two Cents!

New Listings 8

2007-05-09T18:41:00.000-07:00

These are the blogs that were added to Big Blog Directory in the last month.

MyBootsnMe.com

Love, Food, Wine, and Good Chick Flix

Protocolinpractice

Camoen

Wampago Music Videos

Church of Integrity

Another Point of View

The Astonishing Adventures Of Lord Likely

Powell River Books Blog

Webtalks

SportsGuru

Pericharis

Reiki Healing-Remote Healings

EternaLee

KnotGypsy's Journey of Creation

Use Quick Blog Search to view all listed blogs alphabetically or Search This Blog Using Labels to search by topic.

MyBootsnMe.com

2007-05-07T09:54:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: MyBootsnMe.com

Blog URL: http://mybootsnme.blogspot.com

Description: Travel info and photos of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and surrounding areas. Updates on 2010 Vancouver Olympic venues as well as current weather, ski and ferry reports.

Love, Food, Wine, and Good Chick Flix

2007-05-06T18:56:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: Love, Food, Wine, and Good Chick Flix

Blog URL: http://lovefoodwineandgoodchickflix.blogspot.com

Description: Commentary on recipes and cooking, TV and movies, music, pop culture, celebrities, wine recommendations, and anything else that happens to be going on in my life at the time. Lots of pictures, video clips and general fun stuff.

May 3 Featured Feeds

2007-05-03T08:37:00.000-07:00

Motivation and JENRIKS24hphoetry are this weeks featured feeds. It just happens that both are photoblogs. Enjoy the pictures.

Blogger's Feed page element hasn't been working properly for the past week. I can change feeds but not add new ones. I will add the new blogs to BBD Blog Feeds when the problem is fixed.

Protocolinpractice

2007-04-29T23:24:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: Protocolinpractice

Blog URL: http://www.protocolinpractice.blogspot.com

Description: This is a conversation about protocol and how we relate to each other in business and social environments. It is also a forum for people in government, conferences, public relations, marketing etc to get together and talk.

Mostly I just post things I find of interest to me about Durban, South Africa, skills development, government etc.

Wampago Music Videos

2007-04-27T02:09:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: Wampago Music Videos

Blog URL: http://www.wampago.com

Description: Offering thousands of music videos, movie,game and music news. Add your own music videos by posting them directly to the site.

Another Point of View

2007-04-26T19:30:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: Another Point of View

Blog URL: http://pov-mentarch1.blogspot.com

Description: A middle-of-the-road progressive's opinions and musings on past, current (and even future) events.

April 25 Featured Feeds

2007-04-25T19:55:00.000-07:00

The featured blogs this week are Musings from a jam jar and I get a kick out of.... Check them out and leave a comment or two.

The Astonishing Adventures Of Lord Likely

2007-04-25T03:03:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: The Astonishing Adventures of Lord Likely

Blog URL: http://lordlikely.blogspot.com

Description: The journals and diaries of Lord Likely, aristocratic adventurer and gentleman of action.

Testing Spicypage

2007-04-23T07:47:00.000-07:00

I joined Spicypage two weeks ago and listed Firemind there. I have gotten some traffic and found some interesting blogs. There are a few things about the site I dislike but nothing major.

I just listed BBD and it will be interesting to see how people react to this blog compared to Firemind. I will write a review in the near future.

Welcome to visitors from Spicypage. Have a look around, check out some blogs, and say hello. Thanks for stopping by.

Powell River Books Blog

2007-04-21T04:10:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: Powell River Books Blog

Blog URL: http://powellriverbooks.blogspot.com

Description: The Powell River Books Blog focuses on travel and activities on the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest. Life in a floating cabin on Powell Lake is a source for posts about living off-the-grid. Go quading, hiking, boating, flying, kayaking, and snowshoeing, the opportunities are limitless. Join us in Powell River, the Pearl of the Sunshine Coast.

April 19 Featured Feeds

2007-04-19T02:10:00.000-07:00

We are still working our way through the list of blogs for the first time. I work from A-Z for one selection and Z-A for the other. This week's featured blogs are Flotsam and Jetsam and My Irish Football Blog.

Annoying Blog Ads

2007-04-19T01:48:00.000-07:00

In-text advertising has to be the most annoying form of marketing used in blogs. It is even worst than paid posts. I can ignore paid posts but sometimes the in-text ad links look like real links. Sometimes when I move my cursor over a page to check something the ad link is triggered and this annoying pop-up obscures what I want to see.

There is another problem with these ads. Quite often they are unrelated to what is being blogged about. Have a look at this screenshot:

According to the ad you can buy 'your blog' on eBay. The ad looks silly and the whole advertising aspect of the blog loses credibility.

If people want to 'monetize' their blogs they are better off producing great content and finding a sponsor.

Webtalks

2007-04-16T22:44:00.000-07:00

Blog Title: Webtalks

Blog URL: http://webtalks.blogspot.com/

Description: Webtalks is a blog where we have high level discussions on topics related to Websites.Here we have special focus on guides to Google services like Adsense and Blogger including their tips,hacks and support

Dear Media (Bloggers) - an open letter

2007-04-16T17:11:00.000-07:00

I wrote an open letter to the media at Firemind. It also applies to blogs covering the shooting at Virginia Tech.

Blogging: Your First Five Steps

2007-04-14T21:27:00.000-07:00

Here are some ideas to help you get started with blogging and keep at it.

1. Blog often and write the best posts you can.

Try to blog daily or at least several times a week. This will get you into the habit of writing and you'll get more of an idea of what your blog is about. The more content you have the easier it is for people to find your blog.

It doesn't matter what you blog about as long as you are comfortable with it. Try to have more original content than quizzes, videos, and similar material. Items like these can be useful when you have writer's block but don't rely on them too much. You should try to add an opinion or anecdote to such items.

2. Leave the blog design alone until you have the time and the confidence to do a good job with it.

The basic template designs may seem boring but they are adequate. Some bloggers spend more time playing with the template than they do blogging. They either make a bad mistake and lose content or end up with a nice design but no content. If playing with the design interrupts your blogging too much stop tinkering for a while.

I have come across a number of dead blogs with great designs and very few posts.

3. Comment on other blogs and respond to comments on your blog.

Comments are a major part of blogging. When we comment or respond to comments we are having a conversation with other people. Comments turn 'writing on the Internet' into blogging. Getting comments tells you that you are being noticed. You aren't alone. Responding to comments makes your visitors feel welcome.

In Blogger I allow anyone to comment and I don't use comment moderation. I do use word verification to stop comment spam. These settings have worked fine for me.

4. Practise good blogging behaviour.

As I said before blogging is a conversation and like any dialogue it has rules.

Treat others as you wish to be treated.
Credit your sources of information.
Don't 'hotlink' to images or videos - that is bandwidth theft.
Don't use anyone's content without asking permission. Content is copyright protected even if that fact isn't stated.

5. Learn more about blogging.

Blogging may seem a bit overwhelming at first. There are so many ideas to consider and many options to choose from. Things can get frustrating at times but if you are patient and willing to ask questions everything will work out.

There are many forums, blogs, and websites that can help a person out. If you approach these sites with an open mind, and some common sense, you may learn a lot.

Your greatest sources of help are other bloggers. Most are willing to help if they have the time and the right knowledge. You may be expected to help them at a later date. When I help another blogger I always do so with one condition: that the person I help be willing to help another when the time comes.

SportsGuru

2007-04-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: SportsGuru

Blog URL: http://sportsguru.eclecticblogs.ca

Description: Recaps of Edmonton Oilers, Manchester United, Formula 1 racing, Edmonton Eskimos plus any other sports items that interest me.

Pericharis

2007-04-14T05:05:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: Pericharis

Blog URL: http://pericharis.blogspot.com

Description: The secret diary of a modern Matron.

Don't Modify Blogger's Navbar

2007-04-14T00:48:00.000-07:00

Blogger provides a free hosting service in the form of Blogspot. They used to put a single banner ad at the top of the page but eventually settled for the navbar. Many bloggers dislike the navbar and either modify it or delete it. Blogger says:

We consider it a violation of the terms to modify the Blogger navbar.(source)

(Via A Consuming Experience).

In the Blogger Help Group I often come across this issue. While I haven't heard of blogs being deleted over this I still think bloggers should leave the navbar alone.

Google Adsense And Traffic Exchange Programs

2007-04-13T15:41:00.000-07:00

Google Adsense Blog has posted a response to queries about traffic exchange programs like Blog Explosion.

We understand that our publishers are always looking for ways to attract interested users to their sites. But using third-party tools or services to increase your site traffic may lead to invalid clicks or impressions and result in your account being disabled. For this reason, we'd like to provide you with some guidance about this. (Read the rest).

If you use Adsense on your blog check out the post and make sure you understand the rules.

My Views

Advertising

I don't use advertising in my blogs and hopefully I won't have to in the future. I have an ad free blog button in my sidebar at Firemind but still get people asking if they can advertise there.

I am used to seeing ads in blogs now and can live with the ones that are subtle and well designed. I hate seeing blogs that have more space devoted to advertising than blogging.

Traffic Exchanges

A few years ago I had to mediate a 'discussion' at one of my groupblogs. Some members were experimenting with Blog Explosion and wanted the groupblog to join. Other members were against the idea. I did some research and decided we would not be joining the program.

I found that traffic exchange programs bring traffic but not readers. People click on your blog to get credit and then leave. Very few seem to stay long enough to read posts and few return.

Another issue was with the types of blogs that joined these programs. People complained about finding hate sites and adult blogs by accident.

The biggest complaint was the sheer amount of bad blogs that one had to spend time checking. Lots of free blog traffic sounds grand to a new blogger. People join before they have learned some blogging basics and end up annoying visitors. Furthermore people join the exchanges and then quit blogging. A visitor then finds a dead link or a dead blog.

The way to get blog traffic is to write well and interact with other bloggers. Post as often as you can and think about what you write. Comment on other blogs and allow comments on your blogs. Join forums, directories, and programs that emphasize blogging rather than traffic or pagerank. Learn to blog and the traffic will come.

Traffic exchange seems like a good idea when you first look at it. If you look closer you can see why it is problematic. Our groupblog never joined any traffic exchange programs and within a year all members had given up on Blog Explosion.

Links And BBD

2007-04-13T15:18:00.000-07:00

Some admin posts in BBD don't allow comments. This is to keep things clear and easy to understand. Other posts allow comments but I may delete comments in some cases. For example: I allow comments in the Blog Finding Resources post. After I check a recommendation I may delete it if I am not comfortable with the links provided.

I am rather picky about my sidebar links. If I find a blog that encourages behaviour I don't agree with I will remove the link. If a blog encourages techniques used by spamblogs or advocates violating the host TOS (terms of service) I won't link to it. I want bloggers to learn blogging not manipulation.

There are a number of beginner friendly blogs that I think are useful but I am uncomfortable with. If you have any suggestions or questions feel free to email me.

Reiki Healing-Remote Healings

2007-04-12T14:09:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: Reiki Healing-Remote Healings

Blog URL: http://reikiranch.blogspot.com

Description: Remote Reiki energy can heal the body, mind, and spirit at all levels from long distance. Everybody can benefit from a Laser Reiki pain release remote healing.

The Secret is the law of attraction. Those who are in high vibrational energy are abundant. Instant pain release from the neck and back are possible with Reiki.

April 12 Featured Feeds

2007-04-12T10:18:00.000-07:00

It's time to change the Featured Blog Feeds again. This time we have two blogs from Canada - one from the west coast and one from the east. The featured blogs are Ocean And Forest Walks and Facing Autism in New Brunswick.

Easter Blogging

2007-04-09T23:18:00.000-07:00

I browsed BBD blogs to see what people were posting about Easter. Here are some of the interesting posts I found.

Things started out strange when I visited Popped Culture on Good Friday. Suddenly Last Supper looks at the various ways that famous meal has been portrayed in art. The artwork is interesting and makes one wonder about our modern heroes.

Good Friday was also on Andy's mind recently. Rebirth and rejuvenation are part of our internal processes and sometimes they need a little help. We can never tell when or how our spirits will be lifted but it is nice when it happens.

Some of us live in mild climates but Winter still seems too long. When April comes we often sigh with relief. Archie Whitehall had this to say:

Easter celebrates resurrection, re-birth and new beginnings. It is the epitome of Spring. It is a celebration of nature’s decision to return the life that had died in the fall. Spring is the resurrection of flowers, leaves, crops and so forth. (source)

Residents of Moncton were sighing but it wasn't due to relief. It seems winter was trying to resurrect itself on Easter morning. I wonder if anyone tried making snowbunnies.

Bunnies made of snow aren't as good as real ones. Spring is progressing normally here in Victoria. The weather is mild and we have had some sunshine.

Bunnies are important because they bring Easter eggs. Eating the eggs is fun but first you have to find them. The important thing is to find all of them so you don't discover something 'interesting' in May or June.

My favourite Easter Eggs are the chocolate ones. I have tasted many types but I haven't found any like these ones. I don't think they are edible but they look nice.

Well, that's a little roundup of Easter posts from some of BBD listed blogs. Thanks to everyone for the interesting writing.

Submission Guidelines Update

2007-04-08T00:48:00.000-07:00

I have updated the Submission Guidelines and added:

4. Links must point to http://bigblogdir.blogspot.com
5. Links should be in the sidebar, footer, or designated links page - not buried in a post.

This is standard procedure for reciprocal links. #4 ensures that traffic comes to the most important and useful part of this blog. Links to each listed blog are done the same way. #5 is about visibility and fairness. Put the BBD link on the 'page' you want to be linked to - ie your blog's URL.

Linking To BBD

Links to BBD are mandatory.
Read this post if you need help linking.
Text links should read "Big Blog Directory".
Links must point to http://bigblogdir.blogspot.com
Links should be in the sidebar, footer, or designated links page - not buried in a post.
If there is a reason your blog cannot link to BBD let me know. I will make exceptions if needed.
When you send in your submission tell me where I can find the link.

I had several blogs submitted recently with incorrect links.

EternaLee

2007-04-06T00:16:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: EternaLee

Blog URL: http://eternalee.blogspot.com

Description: The personal, spiritual, social, political blog of a Christian freelance journalist from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

KnotGypsy's Journey of Creation

2007-04-05T23:12:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: KnotGypsy's Journey of Creation

Blog URL: http://knotgypsy.blogspot.com

Description: I am a jewelry artist specializing in micro macrame. I write about my jewelry, creativity, beading, etc. I write about anything related to my journey on the path of living a creative life and making a living at it.

New Listings 7

2007-04-05T05:24:00.000-07:00

These are the blogs that were listed since early March.

Boating Bitts

A Letter Never Sent

Dwarfed Films

RiteTurnOnly.com

Uncommon Notions

Magick River

SuperMomPreneur

Snippets and Blabbery

My Irish Football Blog

Facing Autism In New Brunswick

I get a kick out of ...

yayacanada

Use Quick Blog Search to view all listed blogs alphabetically or Search This Blog Using Labels to search by topic.

April 5 Featured Feeds

2007-04-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

Eco Planet Canada and RedRag blog are the featured blogs for the next few days. Check them out and say hello.

Directories Update

2007-04-03T00:14:00.000-07:00

I removed the sidebar links to Blogotion and Blog Intro. I submitted to them over a month ago and still haven't been listed. I'll leave the link to Globe Of Blogs.

I listed BBD with Tom's Top Blogs a while ago and have gotten a few hits. I'm not really a fan of ranking ("top") sites but this one is okay. The sidebar button says 'Bump Me Up'.

Technorati Hacked!

2007-04-01T03:25:00.000-07:00

The Technorati logo has been modified by hackers to change with each page refresh. They will strike the tagging system next. Soon everyone's tags will be changed to 'bob' because the 'net needs more references to bob.

Technorati wasn't the only one having a joke. Google is advertising a new ISP called TiSP. The site is quite funny.

BBD Updates

2007-03-31T19:53:00.000-07:00

I have been updating BBD's companion sites and puttering a bit in this blog.

I experimented with different templates for BBD Blog Feeds and found one that is easy to update and looks okay. I will continue to select two Featured Blog Feeds working my way through the list from A - Z and from Z - A.

Ridiculosity Report and EclecticBlogs will be the featured feeds for a few days.

I have added a number of useful links to BBD Delicious. I have a number of blogs to check out and will be updating the site periodically. If you have any suggestions send me an email.

I have been adding links to the Resources section of the sidebar. I will add some more after I get a chance to check them out.

BBD Swicki needs to be updated but I haven't the time right now. It works and that's what matters most.

I removed the ip2phrase widget from the blog. Today it stopped BBD from loading in my browser. I find that third party applications can cause this to happen if Blogger has problems connecting to their host websites.

Dwarfed Films

2007-03-31T19:37:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: Dwarfed Films

Blog URL: http://dwarfedfilms.blogspot.com

Description: film making resources, articles and info and all the news on DWARFED FILMS, the Irish film and 3D animation specialists.

Links to quality freeware and useful open source software.

RiteTurnOnly.com

2007-03-31T03:11:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: RiteTurnOnly.com

Blog URL: http://riteturnonly.com

Description: News and political commentary from a conservative Canadian viewpoint.

New Blogger Widgets: Newsreel and Video Bar

2007-03-30T23:53:00.000-07:00

Blogger has added two new page element widgets: a Newsreel and a Video Bar.

The Newsreel widget searches Google News for chosen keywords. It is dynamic and updates over time.

The Video Bar widget searches Google Video and YouTube for videos based on the keywords used. Videos open in the blog above the main body of text.

Check out the examples at my test blog. (via Blogger Buzz).

BBD Topics And Locations

2007-03-28T00:18:00.000-07:00

There are now 76 blogs listed in Big Blog Directory. I decided to have a look at the labels used and see what I could find out.

I use an alphanumeric system to keep track of the blogs in the directory. The letters represent the first letter used in a blog's name. For example BBD can be found by clicking on the abc label. The most commonly used letter combos are: stu (17), abc (13), and pqr (12).

Most of the labels used are what I call content labels. They represent the topics discussed in each blog. The following list shows the topic name and the number of blogs using that label. I set the minimum at five blogs to keep the list manageable.

There is some overlap of photoblog/photography/photos set and the tech/technology set.

personal (27)
blogging (10)
local (9)
writing (8)
books (7)
photoblog (7), photography (6), photos (5)
politics (7)
music (6)
tech (6), technology (3)
culture (5)
health (5)
travel (5)

Some of the blog descriptions have location labels. These represent topics discussed in the blogs and often give an indication of where the blogger lives. I have grouped them geographically (roughly).

canada (9), british-columbia (4), victoria (4), new-brunswick (2), moncton (1), yellowknife (1)

south-africa (5), cape-town (1), gauteng (1), johannesburg (1)

usa (4), midwest (1), seattle (1), texas (1), utah (1), virginia (1)

uk (3), ireland (1), norway (1)

international (2)

china (1), japan (1), yokkaichi (1), india (1)

mexico (1)

Uncommon Notions

2007-03-27T23:33:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: Uncommon Notions

Blog URL: http://uncommonnotions.blogspot.com

Description: Uncommon Notions explores with humor the enjoyment I find in everyday living. Experience family, children, work, marriage, and childhood memories via my perspective.

Magick River

2007-03-27T23:27:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: Magick River

Blog URL: http://magickriver.blogspot.com

Description: Antares has been described as a visionary philosopher, chameleon of the arts, wild man of letters, veritable savant, incurable romantic... all of this is amusingly and luminously reflected in his Magick River Blog.

March 26 Featured Feeds

2007-03-26T19:27:00.000-07:00

It's time to change the Featured Blog Feeds again. For the next few days BBD will link directly to the latest posts at Romsky's and Chihuahua Tales.

Feedback

2007-03-26T18:36:00.000-07:00

I like it when bloggers get traffic from BBD. That is one of the reasons why I created this blog. SuperMomPreneur says:

The #1 referrer (where people came to my blog from) was by far the Big Blog Directory. Leon is running a great site there - he posts new submissions on his main page for a little while, which accounts for my high traffic. So thanks, Leon! (source)

Thanks. I just wish the new submissions could stay on the front page longer. It depends on how much blogging I do and how many submissions I get. But every blog gets to be on the front page at some time and will get featured at some point. It all works out in the end.

SuperMomPreneur

2007-03-22T23:55:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: SuperMomPreneur

Blog URL: http://supermompreneur.blogspot.com

Description: Lessons learned and learning by a stay-at-home-mom figuring out the world of eCommerce, one PHP book at a time.

Snippets and Blabbery

2007-03-22T23:41:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: Snippets and Blabbery

Blog URL: http://moxyideas.com

Description: One mom learning the ropes of eCommerce, the return to fitness, as many books as possible and other fun topics about which very few people care, but like to read.

Featured Feeds

2007-03-21T15:12:00.000-07:00

Brian Cormier's Blogtastic World and South African Cricket Scene are the Featured Blog Feeds for the next few days. Check out the blogs and leave a comment or two.

The New Face Of Spamblogs Part 3

2007-03-19T00:54:00.000-07:00

In part 1 of this series I explained that I found a spamblog stealing content from one of my blogs. In part 2 I showed that this spamblog was part of an elaborate spam network that was stealing content from over 300 blogs.

The content of the spamblogs in this network was stolen from blogs with two common features (in addition to being Blogspot blogs):

No copyright notice was visible on the blog or in the site feed.
The site feed was set to 'full' - which means most, or all, of the text of a post was displayed.

Content on blogs is copyright protected whether there is a copyright notice showing or not. Unless there is notification in the blog saying content may be used one must ask permission to use it.

Some blogs use Creative Commons licenses. These licenses allow some freedom of use but any restrictions must be adhered to. A 'cc' license doesn't mean a user can do everything with the content or use it anywhere.

If you find that a blog is using your content without your permission you can ask the blogger to remove it. If that doesn't work you can report the blog to the blog host if it is known. You can also report spamblogs and copyright issues to Google and other search engines. Check to see if the site uses Google Adsense. If it does report the blog to Google.

You don't have to feel helpless when faced with content theft. Things may seem to be taking some time to fix and you may be frustrated. The easiest thing to do is blog about it. Explain what is going on and how you are dealing with it. You can link to the post with the stolen content BUT don't link to any spamblog - that is just sending them traffic. It is better to write the URL without using a link and let people copy it to their browsers.

Reading List

Copyright

What is Copyright Protection?

Content Theft

Finding Stolen Content and Copyright Infringements

What Do You Do When Someone Steals Your Content

The Worst Excuse for Content Theft

Site Feeds

If you decide to use a full site feed on your blog consider adding a copyright notice.

Do You Need Permission to Use Feeds

Adding A Copyright Notice To Your Site Feed

Full versus Partial RSS Feeds

Feed guarding: Protecting your weblog content from theft — or worse fates . . .

Spam Blogs

How To Spot a Splog

Reporting Spam Blogs

Do You Really Want To Delete Your Blog? - explains how deleted blogs can end up becoming spamblogs.

Splogs + Scraping + AdSense = Fraud

How Spam Blogs Cheat Technorati

The New Face Of Spamblogs Part 2

2007-03-17T17:50:00.000-07:00

In part 1 of this series I explained about finding a blog that had stolen content from one of my blogs. I suspected that it was a spamblog and that it was one of several hosted at addapad.com.

In this post I will show that content has been stolen from other blogs. I will also talk about addapad.com ,a similar site called thewhatblog.com, and the two search engines they are connected to. I will keep the links to these sites to a minimum since I don't want to send them traffic or boost their pageranks.

When I discovered the extent of the content theft from my blog I started investigating blogs hosted at addapad. I looked at quite a few blogs and then began searching for post titles in Google. I found that the stolen content all comes from Blogspot blogs.

Here are some examples:

Looking For 'Dryland' is a post from Sonya's Grab Bag. Here is how it appears on thsangelhsnohalo:

Good morning... is a post from Artsy Catsy. It also appears at grneyedfairie:

When I was investigating the spamblogs I used the search boxes found on most of them. I was taken to a webpage at searchmat.com and found that every outgoing link lead either to addapad.com or thewhatblog.com. The latter is another blog host that uses WordPress. It is set up like addapad and is associated with find-a-blog.com which is identical to searchmat. Some searches at find-a-blog lead to addapad.

The two search engines are the only places where I found any advertising. Both use Google Adsense. If the ads were in any of the spamblogs they would be violating Google's TOS. They may still violate the terms of service.

The ads could be the ultimate point of this network. The stolen content and referrer spam from the few blogrolls attracts people to the blogs. Visitors poke around and eventually find the search engines and the ads. Some people will click on the ads and escape what is essentially a well crafted and subtle maze.

The network may not seem like a spam operation at first but a quick Google search shows that many sites are dealing with 'referrer spam' from both hosts. Referrer spam screws up site stats and messes with Internet searches.

People dealing with referrer spam are being inconvenienced. Bloggers having their content stolen and used this way are being insulted. When we find a blogger taking our stuff we have someone tangible to contact or blame for our troubles. These generic spamblogs are faceless and unnerving. How do you fight something intangible? Just figuring out who to contact is frustrating.

I wondered how many other blogs were effected by this. Every blog on addapad and thewhatblog is stealing content from one Blogspot blog. I did a search at Technorati and found out that addapad had 112 blogs listed and thewhatblog 218. These two sites plagiarize at least 330 blogs!

This spam network is something I haven't seen before. I have seen individual splogs linked together before but not like this. When each component is looked at separately they look legitimate. When seen together they look like pieces of an elaborate scam.

In part 3 of this series I will present ways bloggers can deal with content theft.

The New Face Of Spamblogs Part 1

2007-03-16T00:47:00.000-07:00

Spamblogs are mutating into new and scary forms. They are being made with WordPress blogs and appearing in their own dedicated blog directories.

If I wrote this post 24 hours ago it would have been completely different. I would have told about my experience with content theft and how I contacted a blog hosting service to resolve the issue. I found that there was more to this than copyright infringement.

This began by accident. I was doing research on Blog Directories for this blog and ended up in an obscure search engine. I noticed a blog called armandorico that had a post with the same title as a post in one of my blogs. I clicked on the link and got a shock! Every one of the 16 posts on the blog came from a blog of mine called Braindance!

Here is a post on armandorico...

and the same on Braindance.

The blog looked like some test blogs I had seen and that is what I assumed it was. I bookmarked the site and searched for the blog in Google. I found a cached page that made me very angry. It showed an older version of one of the stolen posts. Links had been added and the 'test blog' was turned into a spam blog.

I found my way to addapad.com's Abuse page to report the blog and have it removed. I was working out what to say and decided to think about it some more. I checked out the website and realized there was more to this than I thought.

I became suspicious when browsing the "Most Active" section in the sidebar. Every blog listed seemed like the one I had found. I thought a webmaster might need a few blogs to test out a hosting service or directory but this seemed excessive. Furthermore, none of these blogs were using Lorem Ipsum but were using text taken from real blogs.

Someone took a lot of time to create several blogs with stolen content. Were these test blogs or spamblogs? Who was doing this?

In part 2 I will talk about what I found and what I think might be happening.

Update: Roundup

2007-03-15T23:50:00.000-07:00

The South African Roundup will be postponed until some time in April. I have been too busy to work on it.

BBD Del.icio.us

2007-03-13T14:06:00.000-07:00

I set up a del.icio.us account for BBD. I will add blog related information I think is useful. I already had a personal account but felt a separate more-focused account was a good idea.

I looked at other social bookmarking sites but chose to stick with del.icio.us because I am familiar with it and it works. If you have a del.icio.us account you can add me to your network and suggest blog related sites.

Having a bookmarks site will help me provide better information. I don't have the time to blog about all the useful posts I find. BBD News is useful but presents various problems such as: subscribing and managing feeds, and obtaining permission to post copyrighted material.

The sidebar link is in the BBD Extras section.

Facing Autism In New Brunswick

2007-03-13T07:19:00.000-07:00

Blog Name: Facing Autism in New Brunswick

Blog URL: http://autisminnb.blogspot.com/

Description: News and comment on autism and autism related issues in education, heath, residential care and government policy.