Written on September 18th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 07:09 pm by Darren Rowse
Engadget Redesign
Gadget Blog fans will be interested in Engadget’s new design and list of features. They’ve rolled it out in the last hour and it’s definately got a new look and feel. Here are their main change headings:
- User moderated comments
- Comment logins
- Dynamic content width
- Breaking news, features box, Engadget Mobile headlines
- Tags and tag feeds, comment feeds, and category feeds
- Multiple podcast feeds!
The breaking news and features boxes are a good move. I’m sure they get a lot of visitors to their individual archive pages and this will help build page views.
I’m also interested in the moderated comments which allow users to have control in how they display and rank them. Wouldn’t work on many blogs with few comments (or wouldn’t be the effort to add it) but on blogs with lots of comments like Engadget gets it’d have an impact.
Interesting to see one of the top blogs reinventing itself like this. What do you think of the redesign?
PS - in terms of advertising - the main thing I notice about the new design at a first glance is that it seems to have a lot less ads on the main page in the content area. From memory they had quite a few of them (mainly AdSense).
Written on September 18th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 02:09 pm by Darren Rowse
Qumana Review
Martin over at the Blog Columnist has posted a review of Review of Qumana (v3.0) which those looking for a blog desktop editing solution might be interested in.
Written on September 18th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 08:09 am by Darren Rowse
Wordpress Democracy Plugin Warning
Regular enternetusers reader, Darren McLaughlin reports that the WP Poll plugin by the name of Democracy has some SEO problem with it as it creates multiple pages with the same content - something Google doesn’t like (it considers it to be duplicate content).
Read Darren’s post at Wordpress Democracy Plugin: Warning! SEO Nightmare
Written on September 17th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 10:09 am by Darren Rowse
103bees Adds New Search Term Analytics Features
Those of you using the 103bees search term analytics stats package (I reviewed it here) might have noticed a couple of updates in recent times.
The latest update is that they now track PPC (pay pre click) stats. So if you’re using a program like Google AdWords to promote your blog you can now track how many hits you’re getting and to which pages (etc).
The other update from the last week or so is that they’re now showing how highly you rank for different search terms (something I asked for in my review).
Lastly they’ve added a page titled ‘Rankings’ in which you get a nice summary of your top search term results with terms that you’re ranked at different levels for. This will help those wanting to identify which search terms they might want to do a little SEO for.
Lots of useful information provided in these updates.
PS: they now seem to be accepting new applications (they’d previously been closed for a few weeks).
Written on September 16th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 10:09 am by Darren Rowse
Fair Fighting Rules
As a follow up to my post on 10 Steps to Conflict Resolution I thought I’d post this list of ‘Rules for Fighting’ that I dug out of one of my marriage counselling files.
Again - it applies to all kinds of relationships and I can’t see why it’s not relevant to bloggers (some points more than others). I hope some find it of some use.
- Know what you’re fighting about
- Stick to one subject only
- Be direct - say how you feel, say what you require
- Choose the time of your battles carefully
- Keep quarrels private
- Don’t read your partner’s mind
- Don’t expect your partner to read your mind
- Don’t Blame
- Own your own feelings - this means starting sentences with ‘I feel’, not ‘you make me feel’
- Don’t talk each other down
- Don’t hit below the belt
- Don’t wear the belt too high
- Don’t bring up past fights and use them as ammunition for the present one
- networkly listen
- No physical Violence
PS: In terms of a source for this - it was given to me by a friend with no note of the original source on it.
Written on September 16th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 12:09 am by Darren Rowse
5 ways to building a better blog
Pronet Advertising has a nice piece on building a better blog and identifies 5 areas that a blog can stand out from the rest in:
- Content
- Usability
- Visibility
- Uniqueness
- Readers
Read the full detail on each at 5 ways to building a better blog
What would you add to the list?
Written on September 15th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 01:09 pm by Darren Rowse
Blog Translation Plugin for WordPress
Josh just sent me an email asking if I’d seen the Angsuman’s Translator Plugin Pro For WordPress. I hadn’t but now that I have I’m intrigued.
I’ve talked here numerous times about how I’d love to find ways of translating blogs into different languages so the idea of a plugin that does it into 8 languages (German, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean and Chinese) is very attrActive.
Of course the problem with this, and every other automated translation service, is that translation is very difficult with such systems. This plugin uses either the Google or Babelfish translation services which are good for getting the gist of what something in a different language is about but which are by no means fluent (in my experience).
I guess the question for bloggers would be around how high a quality do they want to maintain in terms of what their readers of other languages are reading.
The plugin costs $30 to use (I think it’s reasonably priced) and it seems to be pretty well fitted out in terms of specifications (not that I’ve tried it). You end up with 9 versions of every post on your blog (the original english one and the 8 translations). This means you’re going to be picked up in search engines 9 times which will be very attrActive to some.
One note to those using AdSense - read the comments of the post as there does seem to be some problem with getting AdSense ads serviced onto the different translated pages.
I’d be interested to hear from anyone who has tried it. Leave your impressions and experiences in comments below.
Written on September 15th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 09:09 am by Darren Rowse
AdSense Ad New Content Channels to MTV Premium Video Test
Late in August it was announced that AdSense were doing a limited beta test with some publishers of their Premium Video Content (a partnership with Viacom where video ads were embedded into video clips, trailers etc). The test was a 4 week pilot that ends on 20 September.
I’ve just heard from one of the publishers involved in the test they’ve been sent a document by AdSense adding new options to the pilot for publishers for the last week of testing.
Publishers can now target different ‘channel options’ including:
- Music Content: (Features interviews from artists such as Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguillera and Headbangers Ball.)
- Hiphop Music Content: (A showcase of MTV artists and their lifestyles as shown in ‘Sucker Free Sundays’ and ‘Sway’ HipHop Owners Manual.)
- Entertainment and Pop Culture Content: with two options (Option A: Spotlights Andrew Milakonic, Nick Cannon’s ‘Wild and Out’, ‘Jackass’ series and previews from the feature film release. Option B: A collection of MTV celebrity clips. )
- Reality TV Content: (Contains highlights and behind the scenes from the new ‘Laguna Beach’ series.)
- LGBT Content: with two options (Option A: Incorporates ‘Logo’ programming and ‘New Now Next’ artist interviews including Rufus Wainwright. Option B: Highlights the ‘Logo’ lesbian network ands shows like ‘Can’t get a Date’.)
Publishers were given different codes to paste into their sites for each option.
The introduction of their email to publishers sheds a little more light onto it:
“Thank you for your participation in our MTV video media pilot. As you know, our testing will conclude on September 20th, 2006. During the course of this final week we are excited to give you a choice of multiple channels of content to display on your site(s). Feel free to try any or all of the 5 content channels that would be of most interest to your visitors. There are no inherent monetization differences between these content channels. This document will help you implement the JavaScript code required to request and display Google’s Flash video player.”
I’ve also spoken to a couple of publishers who are part of the test about how it’s performed for them. Both told me that it started slow but in the last week the earnings from it have picked up considerably. One told me that the videos are earning more for them than other AdSense ads were previously earning in the same positions.
Keep in mind though that from what I can see AdSense have chosen publishers who have sites that have a youth culture readership to them - as a result the ads are pretty well targeted to the sites.
Written on September 15th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 09:09 am by Darren Rowse
$1800 Prize Pool for Next Week’s Writing Project
This time last week I called for prizes for next week’s enternetusers Group Writing Project. I was expecting a similar response to last time but was inundated with offers (over 35 now). Some of them were a touch strange (you’re a quirky lot) and some were quite amazing.
I’ve chosen 5 and let everyone know if they were successful or not - but wanted to build a little anticipation for the project by saying that the prize pool for the five prizes up for grabs in the next round is worth over $1800 (USD).
I’ve also selected a topic which will, like last time when we did ‘lists’, be one that can be suited to virtually any subject of blog.
Log into enternetusers on Monday (probably in the afternoon Melbourne time) for full details of prizes, topic and how to participate.
Written on September 15th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 12:09 am by Darren Rowse
10 Steps to Conflict Resolution
Yesterday we talked about Relational Communication Skills - essential skills for blogging relationships (ironically the picture I used in the post caused some to question whether I had some poor communication skills going on).
Today I want to turn my attention to conflict resolution, another essential skill (closely related to communication skills) for relational bloggers.
As a basis for this post I want to share a 10 point process that I share with couples (which comes out of a resource by the ‘Prepare/Enrich’ marriage counselling program). These steps are designed for couples working through specific areas of conflict in an ongoing relationship - as a result some of them are much more applicable for blogging relationships which tend to be more short term and between people not really in relationship (ie - this won’t be perfect, but lets see what we can get out of it).
Here are the 10 steps with a few thoughts on each:
1. Set a time and place for discussion
In most cases blogging conflict happens in posts and comments between bloggers. This is something I actually enjoy (if done well) but is also something of a problem for constructive resolution (due to its public nature and the fact that conflict rarely stays between two people). If a comment thread is becoming destructive I generally attempt to take the discussion to a more private setting either via email or IM. Doing this tends to take some of the sting out of the interaction. Also to set up a discussion for some point in the future helps to give each party a little space to calm down and approach the interaction more reasonably.
2. Define the problem or issue of disagreement
Many online conflicts tend to spill out into related topics to the point where parties end up not really knowing what they’re fighting about at all. Attempting to keep a discussion to one main point (at a time) can mean you’re more likely to move through it and then tackle another issue.
3. How do you each contribute to the problem?
Conflict is rarely a result of one person solely being at fault in a situation. Communicating to each other not only what the other person has done wrong but identifying your own failings can be a humbling experience and usually brings you a long way closer to resolving the issue.
4. List past attempts to resolve the issue that were not successful
As blogging conflicts don’t usually come out of longer term relationships this might not be as relevant. However there are occasions where the same issues surface again and again and it can be helpful to identify previous occasions and look at what the resolution was. Identifying patterns of conflict can be quite illuminating (you might just learn a thing or two about yourself when doing it).
5. Brainstorm. List all possible solutions
When people fight they generally push one argument or solution upon others and are not willing to entertain the idea that there might be other possible solutions. Listing the alternative opinions and solutions can help both parties to find compromise.
6. Discuss and evaluate these possible solutions
Talking over the alternatives in a neutral and objective way helps both parties to see the pros and cons of different ways of thinking. This is where the assertiveness and Active listening skills that we unpacked yesterday come to the fore.
7. Agree on one solution to try
In some cases there is no ’solution’ needed (other than to agree to disagree and to move on) - however in some cases there might be more. Agreeing how and when to finish the conflict is important and stops those lingering flame wars where neither party is willing to let the other one have the final word.
8. Agree on how each individual will work toward this solution
If there’s some sort of agreement on the resolution to agree to how each person will contribute to it is important so that there is accountability around it.
9. Set up another meeting. Discuss your progress
I actually find that when you’ve had a blog conflict with someone and have moved to some point of resolution that it can be helpful to privately contact the person later on to debrief on it and to see if there is any further resolution needed.
10. Reward each other as you each contribute toward the solution
Positive affirmation goes a LONG way in all types of relationships and in blogging it’s just as important.
The above process isn’t ‘perfect’ for bloggers but I suspect that if we (I definitely need to work on it) used it as a basis for our interactions with each other that we’d be a lot more productive. Once again, it takes a commitment to all parties involved to move through conflict in a positive way (something I find only some people are willing to do).
PS: Conflict isn’t a Bad Thing
Lastly I want to finish with the thought that conflict can actually be a good thing. While I know I avoid it (my family was always a very calm and conflict avoiding type environment) I also am learning to see conflict as an opportunity to grow.
Conflict in blogging actually can result in some really wonderful eventualities. I can think of a number of times that great ideas and great new friendships have come out of conflict with other bloggers for me. While it isn’t always easy - it’s definitely worth entering into conflict with a willingness to learn and grow.
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