Hit Man E-Mail Scam

This is my second opportunity to guest blog for Successful Blogging.
I would like you to know what an honor it is to be invited to do so. Successful Blogging editor Ryan has invited me to be a contributor to the site. My focus will be on IT news.
Shakespere

FBI Alert: Hit Man E-Mail Scam Persists

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and its partner, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), continue to receive thousands of reports concerning the hit man e-mail scheme. The e-mail content has evolved since late 2006; however, the messages remain similar in nature, claiming the sender has been hired to kill the recipient.

Two new versions of the scheme began appearing in July 2008. One instructed the recipient to contact a telephone number contained in the e-mail and the other claimed the recipient or a “loved one” was going to be kidnapped unless a ransom was paid. Recipients of the kidnapping threat were told to respond via e-mail within 48 hours. The sender was to provide the location of the wire transfer five minutes before the deadline and was threatened with bodily harm if the ransom was not received within 30 minutes of the time frame given. The recipients’ personally identifiable information (PII) was included in the e-mail to promote the appearance that the sender actually knew the recipient and their location.

Perpetrators of Internet crimes often use fictitious names, addresses, telephone numbers, and threats or warnings regarding the failure to comply to further their schemes.

In some instances, the use of names, titles, addresses, and telephone numbers of government officials and business executives, and/or the victims’ PII are used in an attempt to make the fraud appear more authentic.

Unfortunately, these hit man e-mail scams are still circulating and evolving throughout the Internet. Don’t get ‘knocked off’ by these cyber criminals who are trying everything they can to access your money and personal information. Instead, protect yourself by reporting any messages you get to the FBI through the IC3 at www.IC3.gov,” said Special Agent Richard Kolko, Chief, National Press Office, Washington, D.C.

Below are links for the two previous public service announcements published by the IC3 concerning the hit man scheme:

• http://www.ic3.gov/media/2007/070109.aspx

• http://www.ic3.gov/media/2006/061207.aspx

To receive the latest information about cyber scams, please go to the FBI website and sign up for e-mail alerts by clicking on one of the red envelopes. If you have received a scam e-mail, please notify the IC3 by filing a complaint at www.ic3.gov. For more information on e-scams, please visit the FBI's New E-Scams and Warnings webpage.

The End of Referrals

Today marks the final day of referral ads from Google.

Earlier this summer Google posted the following on their Inside AdSense Blog.

As part of the integration of DoubleClick, the DoubleClick Performics Affiliate Network will now operate as the Google Affiliate Network for advertisers targeting users located in the United States. Similar to the AdSense Referrals program, the Google Affiliate Network enables publishers to apply for advertiser programs and get paid based on advertiser-defined actions instead of clicks or impressions. For further details, please visit: http://www.google.com/ads/affiliatenetwork/.

In case you didn't notice, they sneaked this in there " get paid based on advertiser-defined actions instead of clicks or impressions".
When I say "sneaked" I mean that you probably were so fixed on "referrals" and were trying so hard to understand what it all meant that you that you didn't notice what would affect you even more. Google has ended cost per click . This means that you will now only be paid for actions.

Getting paid for actions means that somebody has to sign up for something or purchase something thanks to an ad they saw on your site. Has this ever happened in the past for you?

If you are unhappy about this here is an alternative for you to consider:

• "AdSense for feeds" option. This means you can now use AdSense to place ads in your RSS feeds . Google says that they will sell cost-per-impression (CPM) ads directly to the largest advertisers, while the rest of your inventory will be filled with contextually targeted cost-per-click (CPC) and CPM ads. This means that more of your feed items will be sold and with higher overall revenue, than with any other feed network.

AdSense for feeds offers:

• Receive higher CPMs and maintain a positive user experience by displaying ads specifically optimized for RSS feeds.
  
• View detailed stats on your feed audience, distribution, and more through FeedBurner when you set up your feeds with AdSense.
  
• Manage monetization for your feeds through the same account that you use to manage other AdSense properties.
  

On the downside.....

• If you already have a feed with someone other than FeedBurner, you will have to start all over and convince your readers to re-subscribe.

• If you do not have a reader base for feeds, it can be hard or may take time to establish one where you'll actually have enough feeds going out to make some advertising money.

Visit Google's Help Center for more information.

Guest Blogger- Chocoholics Diary, Starting a Hobby Blog

How to get started on your hobby blog.

I love chocolate.
That is a fact.

I turned my love for chocolate into my blogsite, Chocoholics Diary.

I started my blog just for fun. It certainly is not my day job but, with small bits of advertising I am able to pay for the domain name chocoholicsdiary.com. I also earn a few extra dollars which make the rewards even better.

If you are seriously considering starting a hobby based blog here are a few things to consider;

• Are there any similar blogs?
• What will your niche be?
• What makes you any kind of an authority?
• What will your site consist of?
• Do you have any kind of a potential reader base?
• Where will your material come from?

In my case, yes, there are similar blogs. All I had to do was a Google Blog search on chocolate and an array of blogs popped up. Were there too many to make mine any kind of a success? Probably not.

My niche is that I offer recipes, news, and facts about chocolate. Kind of like a knowledge base for chocolate.

My authority is that I've eaten plenty of chocolate in my lifetime. Because of my love for the product, I have no problem doing the research.

My site consists of news, embedded items, and recipes for chocolate related items.

My reader base was totally picked up after I started the blog and people randomly visited it.
A lot of the time, the information that I provide is the kind of information that people are in search of.

My information comes from a variety of places. When I do a facts post I consult research authorities. Recipes are found from recipe sources.

Starting a hobby blog is not hard to do. You must put some thought into it in order to maintain a direction and fulfill a niche. A lot of the time this is an ongoing process.

How do I use the Blogger Reading List?

Blogger is adding a reading list capability.

This is great if you have a favorite blog and want to follow the posts of another blogger. You can keep track of the blogs you follow via your Reading List on the Blogger dashboard.

How to become a Follower of a blog

According to Blogger, there are several ways to become a follower of a blog. One of the easiest ways is to visit a blog that has added the Following widget and click on the "Follow this Blog" link under the "Followers" widget:

You'll then see a popup window with the options to either follow publicly or anonymously:

Select how you'd like to follow the blog, then click the orange "Follow" button. It is that simple, you are now a follower of the blog!

If you elected to follow the blog publicly, your profile picture will be displayed on the blog with a link to your Blogger profile (Note: The widget may not show all followers of the blog. If this is the case all followers will be linked from the widget).

When you become a follower of a blog, the blog will also be added to your Reading List on your Blogger dashboard. Additionally, you can become a follower of any blog or URL (even if the blog doesn't have the Followers widget) by adding the blog to your Reading List on the dashboard.

(Note: We are slowly adding this feature for all users, some of the functionality may not be available to all users immediately.)

The Reading List

It is simple to add a blog to your Reading List. First, click on the "Blogs I'm Following" tab under "My Reading List" on your Blogger Dashboard.

Then, click on the blue "Add" button in the bottom left corner of your Reading List.

Next, insert the URL of the blog you'd like to follow in the URL box. You can add as many blogs as you'd like by clicking on "Add another". When you have added all of your favorite blogs, click the orange "Add" button.

You'll then be given the option to either follow publicly or anonymously:

Once you've decided on following publicly or anonymously, click the orange "Follow" button and that's it! You've added all your favorite blogs to your Reading List! Now, every time one of the blogs are updated the latest post will be displayed in your reading list under the "Items" section.

Additionally, adding a blog to your Reading List will create a subscription to the blog in your Google Reader account.

I love this idea because it makes the blog world a freindlier place. I hope it works out without any "known issues" though.

Help Wanted!

Still thinking about guest blogging?

I'm still looking for a tech-inspired individual, a 'mommy blogger', and a blogger- not from the USA.

Need traffic to your site?
Need experience?
Need credibility?
Need a possible guest blogger on your site?

RSVP kubrickspick@gmail.com

Be careful what you post

There are bloggers out there who believe that they are immune from copyright laws or who may not understand them fully. Here is another example of one.
A blogger is suspected of streaming songs from the unreleased Guns N' Roses album "Chinese Democracy" on his Web site. He was arrested this week and appeared in court, where his bail was set at $10,000.

FBI agents arrested him on suspicion of violating federal copyright laws.
Federal authorities say the blogger posted nine unreleased Guns N' Roses songs on his Web site in June. The songs were later removed. Prosecutors say that the leak could result in a "significant" financial loss for the band.

While I am not sure that this blogger intended any ill harm to G & R, he is not alone out there in posting something like this. In reality, he is probably a huge supporter (or was) of the band and was excited to see them releasing something new. Like many of us poor, but supportive bloggers. You gotta wonder where he got the stuff to begin with.

The moral of the story- be original and use your own work.

Blogsvine WordPress Plugin (External Vote Button)

Blogsvine, is a user generated, revenue sharing, blog bookmarking and blog post rating website.

According to Blogsvine, anyone, once registered as a Blogsvine member can submit their blogs or blog posts for free and earn Adsense Revenue. At present, Blogsvine share 65% of the Google Adsense Ads shown on the member-submitted pages.

Blogsvine, just got a Blogsvine External Vote Button Plugin for Wordpress completed and you can download it from here. All updates about this Plugin will be highlighted on this page.

Plugin Name: Blogsvine Wordpress Plugin V1.0

Download Link: Direct Link (1 Plugin file + Instruction txt file - 2.36KB)

Demo link: Blogsvine Blog

Adapted from a WP Plugin Originally developed by David Hobson

Tested on Wordpress 2.3.1 and above.

Blogging the Democratic Convention

Are Star Ratings a Good Thing?

Re centlyBlogger released a new Star Ratings Feature. According to Blogger, with the new Star Ratings feature, your readers can easily rate your posts — or the things you post about — from one star to five stars with a single click, right from the post footer.

Is the star rating for everyone?
No. A problem with using a star rating can be that it is very subjective in that not everyone values your post for the same reasons. If your post has a poor rating, the result is that everyone sees that your post stinks and they move on before reading it.


When should you use the star rating?
A star rating is good for measuring how you are doing. You may benefit more with a poll that asks specific questions. Then you'd know your audience better and what you need to work on.

If you want to try it, here is how, according to Blogger.

To enable Star Ratings, log it to http://draft.blogger.com/ and go to your Layouts page. From there, click the “Edit” link for the Blog Posts page element and then check the “Show Star Ratings” checkbox.

You can customize the location of the stars within the post by dragging the preview around in the “Arrange Items” box.

Additional Notes

• This is a Layouts-only feature. If you’re using a Classic template you’ll need to upgrade to Layouts to add Star Ratings.
• The star ratings widget should blend seamlessly with most solid-colored blog backgrounds (one exception is Rounders, where the edges of the widget will be visible via a color change). The text and background colors for the ratings are taken from the following skin variables:
  
  • Foreground: textcolor, textColor
  • Backrgound: mainBgColor, bgcolor
• If you have customized your blog widget’s template you may not see the Star Ratings. You will need to either reset your blog widget’s template or copy the Star Ratings code from a fresh template.
  

Tech Savvy Dem Convention

The Democrats are promising a technologically "savvy" convention.

Anchoring the Convention’s technology offerings is the official Web site, DemConvention.com. In addition to traditional content such as video highlights and full text of Convention speeches, the 2008 Convention Web site will feature an exclusive daily Convention preview program, behind-the-scenes blog posts, pictures and video uploaded by Convention attendees and citizens across the country, an aggregated feed from an unprecedented blogger pool and much more.

In a first for a political Convention, the DNCC will offer live, gavel-to-gavel, streaming video coverage in HD at DemConvention.com. Microsoft’s Silverlight platform will provide viewers with an unprecedented opportunity to individually tailor their Convention experiences by selecting their desired camera angles.

A complete, Spanish-language simulcast will also be available on DemConvention.com. More than 300 million people around the globe speak Spanish, including 35 million Americans, and the simulcast will ensure that more people can fully participate in this year’s historic Democratic National Convention and the democratic process.

A series of daily webcasts, “Countdown to America’s Future,” will feature exclusive interviews and nightly Convention previews. “Countdown” will air Sunday–Thursday at 2:30 pm MT/4:30 pm ET and on Friday, August 29 at 7:00 am MT/9:00 am ET. “Countdown” will also be available on Comcast’s Video on Demand and via satellite to media newsrooms across the country.

“America’s Town Hall” will virtually throw open the doors to the Convention hall by inviting individuals across the country to submit text and video questions at DemConvention.com/townhall. Elected leaders and national policy experts will respond directly to voters’ questions live from the Convention floor and online throughout the week.

Through a partnership with YouTube, Convention-goers will also be able to share their unique perspectives by uploading photos and video at kiosks inside.

A record 120 blogs have been credentialed as members of the media for the Convention, connecting communities across the country to the historic event through the eyes and ears of an influential group of online voices. The pool includes blogs covering national, state and local politics, blogs representing a variety of communities and issue-specific blogs.

The DNCC’s blog will feature behind-the-scenes blogposts and video and an aggregated feed of highlights from credentialed blogs.

How to Guest Blog

Okay, I have put out the call for guest bloggers and I have had a few inquiries. This is very exciting because I believe that we can help each other grow as bloggers and promote blogging in general.

Here is what you need to do if you are interested in guest blogging.

E-mail me to let me know that you are interested. Include the following information.

1. Your name
2. The web address of your blog(s).
3. The topic that you would like to guest blog about.
4. A synopsis of your post.

Here is what I'm looking for in a guest blogger.

• A new or different insight on my general topic- successful blogging.
• Someone who has some information that can be of benefit to others.
• A potential for blog growth for both of our blogs.

Here is what will happen.

1. You will e-mail me the above information and I'll read it.
2. I'll get back to you and ask for a full post. For your first post you will need to include a paragraph about yourself, a link to your blog and something about why you blog or what keeps you blogging.
3. I will post it on my blog after editing it to fit into the aesthetics (I'll notify you prior to posting any edits to your wording....I just want to make sure that the look fits).
4. We will both promote your post.
5. If you want me to, I'd be happy to reciprocate the favor. Keep in mind that you will be benefiting from increased exposure and traffic. However, advertising revenue generated will not be shared (and vice versa).
   

You don't have to be the most experienced or greatest blogger in the world. Hence, why not give it a try?

Blogging for education

A blog can be used for many purposes beyond keeping an online journal.
Teachers can use a blog as an online source for their students and families.

Here are a few examples;
Miss Baker's Biology Class
Here is a listing of numerous blogs
Teacher Magazine
Setting up your classroom blog is as simple as you make it. I would suggest using a Blogger Blog since these are the easiest to work with. If you are more experienced and your school has server space, you can explore WordPress software. It's important to keep the actual blog simple to use because mostly, time is precious.

1. Sign up for your blog. I would suggest using Blogger and the minima template. This template is cleas and easy to work with.

2. Customize your blog. Using gadgets from the layouts page, add subscriptions, pictures and some kind of statement about your blog and it's purpose.

3. Add links. You may want to add links for resources for learning and research. Also add a link to your e-mail address.

4. Notify your intended audience. You may want to invest the nominal fee for purchasing an easy to remember domain name.

5. Keep updating. Posting, adding links, and new gadgets will keep your blog updated.

A blog can serve as an excellent resource for teachers. Besides the fact that it is free, a blog is easy to update from anywhere and can be a personable and effective means to share information.

More resources:

expertvoices.nsdl.org

School blogs.net

ePals

Help wanted: Guest Bloggers

The other day I put out a want- ad post looking for guest bloggers.
(thanks to all who have responded and YES, you can still respond).

Guest bloggers can do a lot to help your blog;

1. Guest bloggers can add a new dimension to your topic, writing and knowledge base.
2. They can bring their readership to you site.
3. A guest blogger can fill in for you if you have to miss a blogging day or just need a day off.
4. A partnership can lend an authoritative view to your site credibility.
5. Guest bloggers share a new insight that you may never even have thought about.
6. Having a guest blogger can ultimately increase your traffic.
7. Using a guest blogger who is somewhat of an expert on a subject can be beneficial to your diversity of knowledge.

Over time the goal for a guest blogger can be a team blog.
Team blogging can serve as an excellent resource especially when each of the team mates has a specialty. Some of the most successful blog sites are team blogs.


Here are some benefits to you when you sign up as a team blogger;

1. Your name becomes known.
2. You can ride on the reputation of the other team members.
3. A team blog can easily drive traffic to your other blogs.
4. You can bask in the traffic brought in by the other team members.
5. Each team member can learn from one another.
6. Team members can help one another through feedback
7. Writing for a team blog can make you more credible to readers.

Keep in mind that when you sign up you may not get paid or be privileged to any ad revenues. However, you can greatly benefit by driving traffic to your site through your knowledge.

Do you have blogging knowledge to share?
If you are interested in guest blogging on this site please e-mail me.

Mobile Blogging-Blogger

Everyone seems to be text messaging now.

Lately, I have been using my text messaging to update my Facebook, Twitter and keep tabs on the latest news.

With Blogger, you can send a text message to update your blog. The message can also include an image.

According to Blogger;

You send a message - which can be a photo, some text, or both - to go@blogger.com. We take care of the rest. In other words, we auto-provision a new blog and publish the post. It's that simple.

Here's how to start a mobile blog:

1. 1. Send an MMS to go@blogger.com to create your mobile blog. The text and/or photo in your MMS will be uploaded to that blog right away. We'll message you back with the address, (so you can visit your new blog on the web) and a token (so you can claim your blog and access it from your account).
2. 2. OPTIONAL - If you feel like changing anything on your new mobile blog or if you already have a Blogger account and want the posts to go to your existing blog, you can log in to go.blogger.com and enter the token we sent to your phone. You'll then have the option to claim your new mobile blog and merge it with your existing blog. Note to users whose blog address does not contain blogspot.com: Once you make the aforementioned switch, new mobile posts will be published to your chosen blog but mobile posts published prior to the switch will not be moved over automatically.

What types of messages can I send to Blogger Mobile from my phone?

MMS or Email - note this doesn't include email sent from a mobile device that actually passes through a webmail gateway (such as mail sent from your stanford.edu account from your phone).

What size photos can I send?

Photos are currently limited to 250K each. If they exceed that size, you'll receive a bounce message letting you know so you can try again with a smaller picture. Note that your phone (or carrier) might have size limits of its own.

Is there a cost for using Blogger Mobile?

Mobile providers' standard rates for sending and receiving text and photo messages apply. Blogger won't charge you for any of its services.

Requirements

Text messaging-enabled mobile device with a text messaging plan. This service is free from Google but charges from your carrier for usage may apply.

For more information send the keyword HELP to BLOGGR (256447), you can also text STOP to BLOGGR to cancel text messages.

I'm eager to try this. There are many bloggers who do their entire blog via their cell phone.

Help bloggers become successful!

I'm looking for a few good guest bloggers.

While you won't be paid, you will receive exposure and acknowledgment for your skills.

I am looking for a few individuals to guest blog on my sites.
If you feel that you can contribute information that relates to blogging and complements Successful Blogging, as seen here, please contact me kubrickspick@gmail.com.

Thanks,
Ryan

Photosynth- Make Panoramics

Microsoft labs recently released Photosynth, a new service available at photosynth.com . The people at Photosynth say their service "will change the way you experience and share photos."

Photosynth can transform regular digital photos into a three-dimensional, 360-degree experience. Anybody who sees your synth is put right in your shoes, sharing in your experience, with detail, clarity and scope impossible to achieve in conventional photos or videos.

Synths constitute an entirely new visual medium. Photosynth analyzes each photo for similarities to the others, and uses that data to build a model of where the photos were taken. It then re-creates the environment and uses that as a canvas on which to display the photo.

It then re-creates the environment and uses that as a canvas on which to display the photos. Photosynth is available for free at photosynth.com, where you can explore creations from users around the world and build synths of your own.

Photosynth.com enables you to experience synths contributed by other users from around the world, and to simply and easily create your own with nothing more than a few dozen photos of a place or object.

Each photo is processed by computer vision algorithms to extract hundreds of distinctive features, like the corner of a window frame or a door handle. Photos that share features are then linked together in a web. When the same feature is found in multiple images, its 3D position can be calculated. It's similar to depth perception - what your brain does to perceive the 3D positions of things in your field of view based on their images in both of your eyes. Photosynth's 3D model is just the cloud of points showing where those features are in space.

The Photosynth viewer shows you the 3D point cloud, but more importantly, it also shows you the original pictures overlaid on the model. Imagine a slide projector placed at each original camera position, aimed how the camera was, and projecting the picture that camera took. A screen is placed in the 3D environment at an appropriate distance from the projector. As you move around in the Photosynth environment, projectors turn on and off, giving you a changing perspective on a world built entirely out of the original photos.

Blogger Gadget Errors

Blogger recently opened up the Blogger in Draft gadgets to the Blogger dashboard. To the frustration of many of us, this may have been a premature move as many of the gadgets are having issues running. Blogger says they are working on these issues.

I for one have been trying to add the blog list to this blog for a couple of weeks. The issues for this widget remain "unresolved"
To see if your problem is something that Blogger is looking at, check out their known issues blog.

A couple of months ago I wrote a post concerning getting help from blogger when something goes wrong. Blogger likes to direct you to their Google Group for blogger to try and fix your problem, or I should say, get you to figure out how to fix your problem yourself.

For example, when you get one of those annoying error pages with the BX code they want you to report, they fail to mention who and where to report it. Hey, Blogger is a free service, you get what you pay for. I finally found where to report this stuff.

What happens to what you report once it's been reported, I do not know. The fact that this exists makes me feel a lot better, which is probably the intent of the page itself.

So, in case you missed it.....
Blogger Buzz: Spice Up Your Blog with Google Gadgets!


Google Gadgets in your Layouts blog can now set their height automatically (if the gadget author supports it). Read more about adding Google Gadgets to your blog.

Fresh out of Blogger's own testing ground, Google Gadgets have now been enabled for all layouts blogs. This new interface allows for the integration of iGoogle Gadgets directly into your sidebar, with an array of customization options for easy tweaking. Also built into Gadgets is our robust Gadget Directory, which lets you browse through thousands of cool gadgets and add them to your blog with a simple click of a button.

You can access Gadgets from your dashboard under the Layout | Gadgets tab (the tab formerly known as "Layout | Page Elements.")

Gadgets have built-in configuration for easy integration into your layout. All gadgets are automatically sized to match the width of your sidebar, and their height in pixels can be adjusted using the Gadget's built-in options. Our large list of Gadgets is constantly growing and evolving. You can browse them all from our comprehensive Gadget Directory, which runs the gamut from sports updates to site counters, and flash games to local information tickers. To bring up the Gadget Directory, just click Add a Gadget from your layout. Have an idea for a gadget that isn't listed? Then build it yourself! We are always on the lookout for great ideas, so please submit your own creation to the iGoogle Gadget Directory, and then let us know about it in our Help Group— we may just add it to our 'Featured Gadgets' Section.

A final reminder;

• Sometimes these gadgets can be slow to load
• Often you may install a gadget that doesn't work or goes bad
• Many gadgets come with their own advertisements which you will not get a portion of.

Google going political

Google is joining news-ranking website Digg and blogger groups to set up a "Big Tent" for media and delegates at the Democratic convention next week in Colorado.

The 743-square-meter (8,000-square-foot) center will feature a public area with kiosks for uploading videos to Google-owned YouTube and demonstrations of services offered by Google.


Google will also demonstrate a "Power Reader In Politics" project that lets people check out what candidates are reading online.

Google will also provide free massages and blended ice-and-fruit "smoothie" drinks. It plans to bring the same amenities to the Republican convention in Minnesota.

The increased importance of the Internet for political campaigning, fund raising and organizing has given heightened credibility and status to bloggers formerly shunned by convention organizers.

"We've definitely been excited about the growth and embrace of technology by both voters and candidates," Google spokeswoman Ginny Hunt told AFP on Tuesday.

"It's been explosive. It's light years from 2004. YouTube didn't exist four years ago and now it is being heavily used for politics."


Google is also a technology organizer for the Republican National Convention and the company's chief executive, Eric Schmidt, is listed as a technology advisor for presumptive Democratic candidate Barack Obama.

At the Democratic convention Google executives will take part in policy symposia on climate change, energy, philanthropy and technology.

Celebrities, political elite, and geeks are expected to be on the invitation lists to Google bashes that are coveted tickets at both conventions.

Just how important is Google?

Google's search engine is one of the most visited websites on the internet. The term "Google" has become a word in itself- just google it. Millions of people visit the search engine daily.

If you are looking to increase traffic to your site, Google is as important as your site content is. There is an obsession to some extent for websites and blog to get noticed by Google. Siply put, the more noticed you are, the better you rank in search results, which means you'll get more traffic and thus more advertising revenue.

Goolge claims that they get their search engine results based on rankings. Google says they keep the formula for this secretive. " There are two reasons for it: competition and abuse. Competition is pretty straightforward. No company wants to share its secret recipes with its competitors. As for abuse, if we make our ranking formulas too accessible, we make it easier for people to game the system. Security by obscurity is never the strongest measure, and we do not rely on it exclusively, but it does prevent a lot of abuse." There are many websites, SEO's, and tech gurus who claim to know the secret behind the formula used by Google. This has made some of them a lot of money as search result rankings mean so much to website traffic.

The University of Michigan's annual American Customer Satisfaction Index for the e-business sector to the list of surveys confirms that Google is doing well.


The ACSI, puts Google at the top of the search engine competition for customer satisfaction in the big search and portals category. Google's score of 87 out of 100 (based on interviews with 3,000 customers) is one of the highest scores ever recorded by the ACSI.



The researchers note that Yahoo has had a bad year with the press they have received concerning a potential sale to Microsoft and the change in leadership. The researchers say that Microsoft still has problems differentiating itself; AOL's appeal continues to dwindle as consumers become more search-centric rather than portal-centric when interacting with the Internet; and Ask is still managing to carve out a small but loyal customer base.


There's no great mystery to that: happy customers translate to successful companies.
Because of it's popular search engine, Google has made huge profits in advertising.

Great Traffic Tips

We all want more traffic. Traffic means that people are reading what we write, they regard us as an authority, and they return for more. Ultimately, traffic means rewards for us both monetarily and otherwise.

To increase traffic, we need to reevaluate what we are doing, improve what is working and be reminded of the traffic tips that are out there. Here are some of the best tips around.

• When you write, have a point and make it a logical point.
• When you write, word your point in the eyes of the reader and what that reader wants to read.
• Update often, daily at a minimum. Get your readers trained to come back to see what you have said today.
• Keep your posts to one topic and cut out the clutter. Keep it Short and Simple.
  

• Use the primary keywords from your advertising keywords in the title of your post and the seconday ones in the body of your post. Search engines like this.
  

• You should also use your keywords for your links within your post.
• Use links in your post especially when you quote or there is an implied definition.
  

• Submit Your Blog to 5-10 directories weekly- try this
  
• Submit Your RSS Feed To 5-10 directories weekly -try this
• Ping your blog to 5-10 sites weekly -try this

• Build Links To Your Blog, especially easy if you run more than one blog or have a website.
• Visit other blogs and leave comments
• Offer to exchange links with other similarly themed blogs and websites. You can also do this with those who comment on your site.
  
• Submit your blog posts as articles to sites. Try this
• Stir interest by posting something that may be controversial. Try to stay neutral in your post.
  
• Use e-mail as a source. Include your blog address in your signature when you send out e-mails that have a future- such as e-mail with humor.
  
• Be sure to promote your blog feed for posts
• Consider promoting your blog feed for comments
• Use a variety in your presentation such as with images
• People like to read lists because they are easy to scan.
• Be current in your post topics as opposed to 'so five years ago'.
• Educate and update yourself daily on your subject.
• Also write posts that will always be relative or timeless.
• Be encouraging with your peers or those blogging on a similar subject.
• Use sources and site who they are by linking to them.
• Know how to write authoritatively yet, personable
• Encourage your reader to participate in the post by asking for opinions.
  
• Keep items concerning your personal life, such as your pets or kids to a minimum and in the 'about me' area. If people want to know more about you that's where they'll look.
• Twitter, twitter, twitter.
• I like Facebook too. You can encourage your friends find you on social media sites.
  
• Add chicklets to Digg etc.
• Guest post and invite guest posts.
  
• Use several posts to form a series about one topic.
  
• Use sidebar links to topics. Labels are a good way to organize.
  
• Make it easy to comment. You can always go back and delete stupid ones.
  
• Evaluate the whole of your blog in terms of colors and layout.
  
• Be patient as there are a lot of bloggers out there and it does take time to acquire an audeince.
• Consider using an advertising budget to advertise your blog.

Give me a day and I can write for hours on this subject. Now to practice what you read.

Try using a poll

Bloggers are always thinking of creative and different approaches to keep readers stimulated. One way to do this is with the use of a poll.

A poll is a good way to get readers involved with the post. The blogger is asking the reader for an opinion about something. This makes the reader feel important and useful to the site.

Polls are good for sites that are political in nature because they serve as a quantitative measure that can motivate. A blog poll is hardly scientific, meaning that they are not a good measure for research. They are best used for human interest.

Most of your visitors will probably opt out of actually answering your poll. You may have a few who will answer more than once. However, overall, your poll will be noticed out of curiosity.

WordPress plugins for polls can be found at the following ;
lesterchan.net
P-Polls

SodaHead Polls

Democracy

PoWPoll

MEMEdex Polls

KB Survey

Tweet Tweet

Blogger has a poll gadget that is simple to use. On the downside, it is often 'broken'.
Here are a few sited to check out. These sites can provide you with the code that you can use on most any platform.

In depth stats Poll Daddy
blogflux
BlogPoll
My Poll Host

Promtion Day

I have decided that today I will do 5 easy things to promote my blog.

I visited Problogger and left a comment.
Interestingly enough, the post that I commented on was about comment moderation. If you have not visited this site, I urge you to do so. There is a plethora of blog information here.

I pinged at technorati. to let them know that I updated my site.

I added 20 follows at Twitter. Twitter is an excellent source for bloggers to make friends and get traffic. If you are looking for follows, feel free to share some of mine. Simply visit my page, click on following and then click on follow beside the names you want to follow. I am tigermanryan.

I created an account with the Huffington Post. I then commented on different stories. The Huffington post is one of the, if not the, most read read blog around. You can get a lot of notice here.

Lastly, I submitted my feed to feedplex directory.
I did their free submission however, they offer upgrades for a fee.

Online Threats

Consumer Reports has just released their latest updates about online threats to your computer.

According to the report, several major online threats—spam, spyware, and virus infections—have declined significantly over the past few years.

Online threats are still of great concern, according to their research and national survey of 2,071 online households conducted this past spring by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. Consider these findings:

• The odds of becoming a cybervictim have dropped to 1 in 6, from 1 in 4 last year. Still, American consumers lost almost $8.5 billion and replaced about 2.1 million computers because of viruses, spyware, and e-mail scams over the two years the survey covered, we estimate.

• Phishing—sending authentic-looking but fraudulent e-mail designed to steal sensitive personal information—is still a serious concern. About 6.5 million consumers, or roughly 1 in 13 online households, gave such scammers personal information over the past two years. Fourteen percent of them lost money.

• There’s still plenty of spam out there. One of the newest types, cell-phone spam, is a minor nuisance to most online homes, our survey found. Still, 1.2 million people nationwide received more than 25 such messages each during a recent six-month period, we estimate.

• Government is one of the biggest culprits compromising consumers’ security. Our investigation found that recent lapses by federal, state, and local government have resulted in the loss or exposure of at least 44 million consumer records containing sensitive personal information. (See ID leaks.)

• Many consumers continue with risky online behaviors, including failing to maintain security software on their PCs. Our new tests of free and commercial security software found most products to be very good, though some suites offered less-thorough protection. Suites and stand-alone software that claim to flag phishing sites varied in effectiveness.

The Consumer Reports’ latest tests of 11 security suites show that not all of them are worth the money. Only a few deliver enough protection to justify paying $50 or more for continued protection after the trial period that may come with a new computer.

The report also found spotty performance for some anti-phishing toolbars that are built into suites and integrated into browsers.



For optimal protection, the report recommends that users consider BitDefender, $50. CR’s tests revealed it was consistently very good in performance and fairly rich in features, including the best variety of antivirus tools of the high-rated suites. McAfee’s Internet Security Suite with SiteAdvisor, $50, is a fine choice for a newer computer. It performed comparably to BitDefender and is among the most effective against spam and phishing.


The best programs tested this year detected 80 percent or more of the tested threats and updated their databases within a day or two to detect all the actual threats. The worst program allowed 60 percent or more of the modified viruses to slip by and had not detected most of the actual threats by the end of the test period.

Although Macs are far less vulnerable to viruses and spyware, they can transmit infected files to Windows users. Because CR’s survey found that Mac owners are as likely as Windows users to become victims of phishing, they should use at least one anti-phishing tool.

Online: www.consumerreports.org

www.cityfile.com

As if New Yorkers don't have enough to keep them awake and talking about stuff. Now there is a new Web site, www.cityfile.com, which is devoted to the NYC who's who talk. The site lists profiles of the 2,121 most notable people in New York City and has sparked questions by some wannabe movers and shakers as to why they are not on the list. This could be a form of blogging taken to the next level.


The site is also home to their blog, Dailyfile, which is updated continually on weekdays.

They want you to work with them.
You can contribute to the site by registering for free, which will allow you to post comments, rate people, and upload photos. If you have some info to share with us about a particular person on the list—or you'd like to suggest someone we should consider adding to the database—you can do so here. Or you can simply email us at tips@cityfile.com. If you're interested in writing and/or editing opportunities, feel free to drop us a line at editor@cityfile.com.

If you have the time, or are in the mood to smile, check it out. www.cityfile.com,

Adding yourself to your blog

Many of us bloggers get so entranced in our technical or topical blogs that we fail to 'keep it real' By keeping it real, you can connect with your readers and make them feel more comfortable while reading. This is important if you want them to stick around or return.

By keeping it real, you are injecting a piece of yourself into your writing. This is the number one element that will make your blog unique and special. For many of us technical or topic writers, this can be difficult to do since we are focused on an authoritative voice to get credibility.

So, here are some tips to help you;

• Include an 'about me' page or element on your sidebar.You may want to include a picture and a snippet about where you live and what you do.

• Write a post about something in your life and how it relates to your topic. For example, recently I joined Twitter. I joined Twitter to test it out for a post write. I never imagined that I would get so many new friends and hits on my blog. Okay, so now I've put something in my post about how my life relates to a topic.

• Mention a comment or a blurb about a site that you link to. Include how and why you enjoy this.

• Tell your readers something about yourself. For instance, I enjoy comparing my writing style with my friend who also writes a blog. He goes by Shakespere. Shakespere is more of a writer and I'm more of a tech person. We have known one another for years.

• Use a link list of blogs or sites that you enjoy visiting. It may be a good idea to have two lists, one for blogs or sites that you enjoy visiting and one for sites or blogs that are related by topic to yours.
  
  
• Invite people into your social networking world. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace etc. You can add a badge and suggest people to follow you.

Usually bloggers who are blogging specifically about themselves will start off with a personalized emphasis while bloggers with a technical or other focus will need to think about having to do this. When you feel more comfortable writing, consider adding personalization to make your writing more inviting.

Google Gadgets for All Layouts

It really isn't that big of a deal if you've been using Blogger in Draft. But, now you can use it in regular Blogger. Google Gadgets have now been enabled for all layouts blogs.

This new interface allows for the integration of iGoogle Gadgets directly into your sidebar, with an array of customization options for easy tweaking.

You can access Gadgets from your dashboard under the Layout | Gadgets tab (the tab formerly known as "Layout | Page Elements.")

Google says that all gadgets are automatically sized to match the width of your sidebar, and their height in pixels can be adjusted using the Gadget's built-in options.

The upside is that you have many more options for your blog. The downside is that if you use too many, they'll take up space and make it a slow load for your site. Also, you need to keep checking on these as they do have a tendency to go bad every now and then. Also, many come with ads that you're not compensated for (are we stupid?).

My biggest complaint?
UUUUURRRGGGHHH. The Blog List gadget is still not fixed. What's up with that?

Stuck for a topic

Every now and then it happens to everyone. What will you blog about today?

When I hit the brick wall, I tend to look at the broader picture of topic sources. Here are some ideas.

• Check news sites- CNN, Fox, MSNBC are all good places to start. Often you can find some sort of a lead that interests you and you can do a Google search to find out more about it.
  

• If you subscribe to similar blogs, go read what they are writing about. Don't steal. You can quote or get ideas though. Be sure to let the blogger know that you are quoting if you do.
  
  
• Lately I've been blogging a lot about Twitter. You can get a lot of ideas from fellow Twitterers by reading what they write or visiting their sites.
  
  
• Review former posts on your blog. Some may need to be updated or expanded upon.
  
  
• Check out your analytics to see what the popular blog posts are or what search terms they are using to find you.
• I subscribe to Google Alerts. This is an easy to format search that gets sent to you as requested.
  
  
• Step outside your blogging box and consider writing about something different. It will give a human touch to your writing.
  
  
• Lastly, never underestimate the value of guest bloggers. Consider asking someone who comments on your blog, a blogger that you follow or heck, I'd even guest blog.

Hitting the brick wall is no big deal. Everyone does it at some point. The trick is to keep writing.

Digsby

Now that I've got everyone Twittering, I am going to tell you a little secret.
Like many of us who will admit it, I'm addicted to social networking. Social networking gives me the opportunity to interact as much as I want to or don't want to while I am doing work on the computer or other tasks. Thanks to Twitter, I can keep my mind socially interacted with while not having to deal with some of the normal issued associated with a friendship.

Like you, no doubt, I also do a myriad of different kinds of social networking. From Facebook to AIM and more. I just discovered a little friend who has made it all, and my life, much easier.

Digsby is a widget that I have installed to my desk top that signs me in to all of my social network sites at once and keeps me updated without bothering me. With Digsby, I just have to login once. Even though you can set Digsby to login on start-up, I choose not to as start-up can be slow enough as is.

Here is what it looks like;

You can customize the look of digsby
with application skins

Digby offers;

• Combined duplicate contacts on your buddy list into 'merged contacts'

• Multitask with popups that

• Manage multiple conversations

• 

Put a widget on your blog, website,
or profile (like facebook) to chat with visitor

• 
• Keep track of social networks and get alerts of new even
  

• Manage all your emailaccounts right from digsby with drag + drop tabs you can reply from
  

Life just seems to get simpler by the moment, thanks to things like Digsby.

Do you Feedjit?

You've probably stumbled upon their nifty widgets during the course of your daily blog journey. Feedjits are the widgets that give updated information about visitors or other information.

There are four Feedjit widgets designed to show of your blog's traffic and guide readers to your most popular content. The Feedjit's widgets are customizable to your blog's look and feel. I like the fact that you do not have to register for anything to do it. It's all free.

Feedjit's Live Traffic Feed
Feedjit's Live Traffic Feed provides you and your readers with a real-time view of visitors to your blog.

Feedjit's Live Traffic Map


Feedjit's Live Traffic Map provides you and your readers with a real-time map showing where in the world your readers are. .


Feedjit's Live Popular Pages


Feedjit's Live Popular Pages widget guides your visitors to your most popular content.

advertising your blog- Google

We've all heard about Google advertising and are eager to become part of hosting their ads on our site.

The fact is that Google gets over 60% of the search engine business. You've seen and hosted their ads. The Google network is the largest in the world.

You're going to pay a bit more to advertise with Google but, you'll definitely get more hits.

Here is how it works- according to Google.

You create your ads
You create ads and choose keywords, which are words or phrases related to your business.
Get keyword ideas

Your ads appear on Google
When people search on Google using one of your keywords, your ad may appear next to the search results. Now you're advertising to an audience that's already interested in you.

You attract customers
People can simply click your ad to make a purchase or learn more about you. You don't even need a webpage to get started - Google will help you create one for free. It's that easy!

Expand your reach through the content network
With hundreds of thousands of high-quality websites, news pages, and blogs that partner with Google to display AdWords ads, the Google content network can reach users all over the web to help you drive conversions. Choose from text, image, and video formats to communicate your message.

Target the right user in the right context
Using your keywords, Google's contextual targeting technology can automatically match your ads to webpages in our content network that are most relevant to your business. For example, an ad for a digital camera may show up next to an article reviewing the latest digital cameras. If you want greater control, use placement targeting to hand-pick specific sites or sections of sites you want your ads to appear on.

Measure and optimize your results
With the Placement Performance Report , you have visibility into where all your ads appear. Review your ad's performance on a site-by-site basis to see impression, click, cost, and conversion data, and use this data to identify well-performing sites to target more aggressively and low-value placements that require content optimization or exclusion. Be sure to sign up for analytics as you can use advertising and analytics together.

Google partners put you in front of more potential customers. Their partners include AOL, Ask.com and more.

Google allows you to Set your budget
There's no minimum spending requirement--the amount you pay for AdWords is up to you. You can, for instance, set a daily budget of five dollars and a maximum cost of ten cents for each click on your ad. I never hit my daily budget. To ensure that I don't I'll pay a certain amount each week for my advertising and when it runs out for the week, it runs out until I feel like adding more.

Pay only for results
You're charged only if someone clicks your ad, not when your ad is displayed.

Payment options vary by country and currency.

Tips:

Start your budget low- $10 a week
Keep checking on how much you are paying per click. If it seems like you're getting too many clicks, you can lower the amount you bid until you feel more comfortable.
Look for coupons. Sometimes you can get them from hosts.
Check your analytics to see which keywords are working best and where the hits are coming from.

Yahoo to offer Privacy Option in Advertising

It's a known fact that cookies on your computer can tell the 'bog brother' on the the internet a lot about you. Sometimes more that you want people to know.

In an effort to promote good faith, Yahoo has announced that they will let its Web visitors decline ads targeted to their browsing habits. This decision is made as Congress steps up scrutiny of customized advertising and consumer privacy. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has held a hearing questioning online advertising practices.



The option will likely be available by the end of August.

Visitors who decline would still see generic ads .The policy change does not affect Yahoo's other targeted ads, such as those tied to search terms or location.

The Yahoo trend does not stop the collection and retention of data that had been used to generate targeting profiles. Yahoo said it still needs the information for other reasons, including fraud detection and law-enforcement requests.


Time Warner's AOL began extending the option to its own sites late last year, incorporating technology it acquired with the purchase of the behavioral-targeting firm Tacoda. Microsoft Corp. also allows opt out on its own sites.

Google's privacy policy offers opt out to third-party sites only. Google say it conducts little, if any, behavioral targeting. Instead, Google has focused on contextual targeting, in which ads are influenced by one's search terms or the text of a Web article.