~Bringing in the backup…~ posted on January 30th, 2008

In one of  my recent posts I had quite a lot of people complaining that I had overreacted to something that shouldn’t be reacted to. My original thoughts were that way too many people in today’s society spend way too much time on the computer everyday, and our social lives are suffering from it. Unfortunately I also can raise my hand to say that I’m a victim of this popular activity.

Only recently was it so that I was able to come across this fantastic video on another blog. It really proved to me that yes, It was right for me to overreact in disgust at what this society has grown into in only a short period of about 5 years. I would love to explain the many different messages that have been featured in this video, but as with anything in life, it would be much better for me to show you…

If you would like to comment on what this video is talking about, please take a simple 5 minutes to write as much as is needed to spread your opinion to my readers.

~What makes me stay at a blog…~ posted on January 29th, 2008

I, as a humble computer user, tend to find myself in front of an incredible number of new blogs every day. I could easily go by 10 new blogs every day and not take a note of any of them. So, you ask, what makes me stay a blog and maybe keep a feed link…. well I’m about to show you.

Please note that my browsing speed is usually quite fast and every single item below could be done in about 5-10 seconds from when the page has been loaded. If I like the blog, this could go on for an extended period.

1. Their Blog Design

Yes, as a part designer it seems as though I’m partially biased towards website design. If a blog looks like the most ugliest website in the world, there’s a good chance that I may have a quick squiz at the content, but then I’ll leave straight away without a second thought.

The purpose of a blog design should be to draw people into the website straight away. Sure, I agree that content is king, but without it is like being a visitor at someone’s house and all they’re doing is jabbering away at you at the front door without inviting you in.

2. How interesting their content is

Sure, they can talk about what everyone else is talking about, but they can pretty much talk to themselves for all I can. I as a competent blog reader would much rather be reading something new any day compared to a new angle of an old topic.

3. How professional they sound

To be honest, I hate casual bloggers whom write as though they were professionals. Sure, if they were blogging on a content aimed blog it could be fine, but even in those certain situations I would rather be reading someone whom seems a little more human like rather than a business machine.

4. Their Post Frequency

Looking through the post frequency usually gives me a good idea as to how proficient a blogger is at his/her job. The closer together the posts are released, the more likely this blog has a larger fan base or is a lot more interested in what they talk about. The later is what I like.

By now I would be semi interested in this blog. This stage would just start to give me a chance to think about staying for good.

5. The average number of comments

Do they have an active and interesting community pushing this guy/gal on? I have to look at many of the professional blogs and just shake my head at the absence of comments. What is the point of blogging when there isn’t anyone out there actively pointing the finger at you and saying that you’re wrong? I would much rather have an argument with one of my visitors about a topic that I’m interested than have 100 stupid warm and fuzzy comments…

6. Their advertising

Advertising doesn’t really worry me that much, unless it’s a plague of Google adsense boxes. If it’s not well targeted advertisements or well positioned within the blog I don’t like it. Have a good look at Brisbane Is Home and you can view some well positioned Google adsense boxes that have a very targeted audience.

I must say, blogs are getting a lot better these days with the amount of advertising people have on their blogs. It seems as though having 6 125×125px advertisements in the panel is quite popular in the larger blogs.

7. Pure instinct

Do I like it? Do I dislike it? Do I really want to add another blog to my large feed collection or could I just pass this by? Will this help me in any way, or is there something special about this author?

In the end the decision is pretty much up to instinct of how well all the above elements are put together, and personal preference.

Happy blog reading!!!

~5 Cheeky Commenting Tactics~ posted on January 27th, 2008

Most of my traffic into this blog is either from Virb or from comments on other blogs, especially high traffic blogs. More often or not I come to the high traffic posts and they’re already swamped with keen blogging enthusiasts that also would like a piece of the traffic apple for themselves. From this position I could either break down and make my life miserable because I missed being in the top 5 comments, or I could refer to these 5 Cheeky Commenting Tactics

1. Use bold letter to place emphasis on what your saying

What are the chances of someone just zooming down the long list of plain texted comments to directly stop in the middle to look at your also plain texted comment…. zilch. Spice up your post with a few <b>bold words</b> or <i>italics</i> to prove that your little comment is going to be worth something to someone. It’ll stand out like a lighthouse in a sea of un-styled text.

2. Write something longer than what other people are saying, but not too long (!)

It’s hard to believe, but if your have a lot to say, people will stop to listen. If you’ve been paying attention to what others on the current blog have been saying, and you take all this in and either summarise what everyone else has been saying with a new twist there’s a good chance that people will respect what your saying.

3. Start a conversation

Hey, it’s no secret, people like to talk. If you aim a few words at a few different people there’s a good chance that if their back in town later on, they will respond. This tactic works especially well if the post that your posting on is an especially good post. There’s a great chance that if you bookmark where your comment was left and then come back to it later, you’ll have some replies coming through.

4. USE CAPS TO SAY SOMETHING

This way is a guaranteed way to seriously annoy people. It is NOT something that you should be doing on a regular basis, but it will bring in traffic, believe it or not. I personally do not like this way of doing things, but if your willing to bring in a slight upbuild of traffic at a high cost, be my guest.

5. Create an image with your text, then flip it

Most blogs don’t allow pictures, but if they do, this is the most efficient way to bring in traffic. It’s quite amusing to just browse around the place and then see this upside down blog comment. If you don’t have a laptop and your not that good at reading upside down, your in trouble, but there’s a good chance that your going to remember that comment for a long time to come.

And remember, no one likes a mimic commenter (this will be the next post in my commenting series…)

~The end of the universe is… a lake~ posted on January 24th, 2008

Hey, I couldn’t believe it myself but look at the evidence. It’s either that or there’s some conspiracy going on within the lake that we don’t know about…. Strange thing is that I’ve been to that lake multiple times and there’s nothing really there that should be censored. Do they want to censor the water levels? It’s a bit too late really, I’ve already posted on the water levels out at Brisbane Is Home.com

Are there any places that you know that have been stuffed up or censored by Whereis.com, Google or any other website? Maybe you’d like to show a picture of your favourite place from the air? Please feel free to share your comment on these matters.

~Just throwing out an idea…~ posted on January 22nd, 2008

It’s quite painstaking to design your own website portfolio. You try something, but then don’t like it because it’s ‘not your best’ and there’s no-one to confirm whether it’s actually good or not, so you try again…. and again…. The screenshot below is just one little idea that came to my head a little while ago, so I just though that I might see if anyone likes the idea from a business point of view… Please leave your comments!!!