Welcome to Wallyworld

I was reminded of The Shawshank Redemption today with news of the two prisoners who escaped from prison yesterday in a copy-cat Redemption-style breakout. Jose Espinosa, 20, and Otis Blunt, 32, fled the high-security unit of the Union County jail in New Jersey by using thick wire to scrape away mortar around a cinderblock in the wall between their cells. They then repeated the action on another cinderblock in an exterior wall in Espinosa's cell, jumped onto a rooftop below, and made it over a 7.6-metre fence topped with razor wire before legging it in opposite directions. And just like in the movie, they used bikini girl posters to cover the hole and laid out pillows and sheets on the bunks to make it look like they were still sleeping. A notable difference between this escape and The Shawshank Redemption was these guys pulled it off in a matter of weeks while the hero in Shawshank took 19 years to reach his goal. Nineteen years! Think about it. Its a long time to stay focused. I can draw some parallels between that and this blogging lark. Many a time I've thought of giving it away. Too much work for too little return. In fact not long ago I had this blog up for sale and someone offered me a grand for it. And that made me think. Made me think that it was probably worth at least twice that. So I found some new energy and here I am - blogging away. It's a bit like talking to yourself at times. Especially when you don't get any comments. So what are Some Things The Shawshank Redemption Taught Me About Blogging?

Never Give Up.
Nelson Mandela didn't. How long was he incarcerated for? 23 years I think it was. Likewise the character in Shawshank - Andy Whatisface. So it might take you years to get your blog noticed and appreciated. But so what. If you enjoy it - just do it. The rewards will come in time.

There's No Such Thing As "Overnight Success".
All the great artists - the actors, musos, dancers, writers, painters - have honed their craft over years. Just because they suddenly got noticed doesn't mean they haven't done the hard yards. Same goes for athletes and sports people. And same goes for you, the blogger. Know how many blogs are out there now? No, neither do I. But at a guess I'd say it's well over 100 Million. That's a lot of chatter.

Lay a Proper Foundation.
Well its kind of the opposite in the Shawshank movie - but you get my drift I'm sure. Andy Dufresne didn't go at it like a maniac and attract attention to himself. He just slowly and methodically chipped away at the wall. That's what you gotta do here. There's no magic formula, no silver bullet to having a popular and successful blog. You just gotta do your thing and make sure you do it well. And like Andy Dufresne, find your groove.

Don't Get Too Comfortable
Yeah...just when you think you've got it down and you're in a nice comfort zone - blam - the figures drop off, the Adsense revenue freefalls, no-one's coming to your blog - no-one's even commenting. What to do? Know what I do? I take time-out. I go do something different for awhile until I have some new energy, some new ideas for the blog. And I'm sure it comes through in the writing. There's a great piece of dialogue in Shawshank -

..these walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, it gets so you depend on 'em. That's 'institutionalized'...They send you here for life and that's exactly what they take, the part that counts anyway.

Yeah. Don't get institutionalised. Break out of your comfort zone. Take a risk. Change your template. Change the tone of your blog. Rattle the cage a bit. Just like Andy Dupresne did when he broadcast this music from the prison P.A. system -

Favicon (short for Favorites Icon) is a feature that makes it possible to put a logo or other small graphic with your URL in the browser - next to the web site address. If you check your browser now you'll see this site has a guy with a surfboard icon next to the URL.

FavIcon from Pics can generate a favicon from a picture, logo or graphic of any size/resolution. Cool eh?

To make a favicon all you do is select a picture, logo or other graphic for the Source Image and click "Generate FavIcon.ico". Within a few seconds, you'll get a favicon file that's based on the selected image and instructions on how to add it to your web page. I love this!

Google snatchThis is quite interesting. See what you think -

Never has there been a time when someone sits down and
shows you step by step blueprints to make real money
on the internet. Furthermore, no one in the right frame
of mind will show you a way to do it WITHOUT spending a
single penny on advertising.

Never pay for Google ads ever again and let the world
see your site within 60 minutes!

Last time I looked, David Sifry's Technorati was tracking 108 Million blogs worldwide. But a report from China is saying that the number of Chinese bloggers is expected to reach 60 million by the end of this year. (So I guess that means Technorati isn't tracking them?)

China has 110 million Internet users - second in usage to the U.S. At the moment, 5 October, there are an estimated 36.82 million Chinese Bloggers. So that's set to almost double by the end of the year. Phenomenal!

No wonder Google is going head to head with the Number One Chinese Search Engine, Baidu.

Google Tips & Shortcuts here's how to fire up Google to really define your searches -

• Find a definition, rather than just any mention of your search term, by putting the word “define” followed by a space at the beginning of your search. For example, a search for [define “virtual world”] will retrieve definitions of “virtual world.”


• Enter an address, including zip code or city and state, in the search box, and your top search result will be to a Google map. For example, if you search for [1102 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ], your results page will begin with a Google map of the area around the Ross-Blakley Law Library.
• Include a city or zip code in your search to retrieve local results. If you search for [Tempe, AZ “post office”] or [85287 coffee], your results page will begin with a Google map displaying results for the area and links to more information.
• For local weather information, search for “weather” followed by the city or zip code, e.g., [weather 85287].
• Search for a telephone area code to find a map of the region included within the area code. For example, the search results for [480] will begin with a map of the area codes for the Phoenix area. You can also search other specialized numbers, including patent numbers and tracking numbers.

More here at LawLibNews - including a Podcast.

Top 100 Tools for Learning is a pretty interesting list put out by C4LPT - the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies. Here's the Top 10 on the list -

Firefox, the web browser, tops the list, with over 50% of contributors naming it as one of their favourite tools. It is clearly the tool that is empowering many people to manage their own learning, and is frequently cited as people's "window into the web". Its ease of use and the extra functionality of its add-ons make it useful in many different situations. Some of these add-ons even get their own ranking in the list: Web Developer and Firebug (for debugging websites), Zotero (for supporting research) and ScribeFire (for blog posting) Other browsers do appear on the list, but much lower down the rankings, ie Internet Explorer (at 31=) followed by Flock and Safari (at 72=)

del.icio.us is interesting at No 2 - with 40% of contributors mentioning this social bookmarking tool - again it is clearly an important tool for managing personal learning. It is well ahead of any other social bookmarking tools, with digg and Furl way down the list in joint 72nd position.

Skype, mentioned by nearly 35% of contributors, comes in at 3rd place and is again ahead of other instant messaging tools like Google Talk, Adium, MSN/ Windows Messenger, Meebo and Pidgin. Undoubtedly due to its VoIP features and its impressive list of add-ons to extend its functionality.

Google Search follows closely behind in 4th place, and it is clear from the comments that this is a essential tool for many. It has long been said that Google is the ultimate e-learning tool and its high ranking here bears this out. When people need to find something out they go to Google. Wikipedia is further down the list but is still an important tool and Google Scholar is not far behind. Other search engines on the list include Dogpile and Quintura.

PowerPoint makes an impressive position in 5th place. For all the complaints we hear about "death by PowerPoint" it is clearly a much exploited tool - and not just to build presentations, although some contributors point out that in order to create narrated, Flash-based presentations you need to use a plug-in to PowerPoint. PowerPoint is pretty unique in that it doesn't have any real contenders in the marketplace (nor on the list), although Keynote is related highly by Mac users, it is still a long way down the list in joint 72nd place. A related presentation tool - Slideshare - makes a good showing at 31=; this is a hosting/sharing service for presentations (already created using PowerPoint) and which allows you too add audio to synchronise with slide animations.

Wordpress appears in 6th place. This blogging tool beats its rival Blogger by only a few places (9th). TypePad and Edublogs are in the bottom half of the list and b2evolution is in joint 101st place

Gmail is the most popular email software to be named in joint 7th place, although Outlook ranks quite highly in joint 17th position with Thunderbird a little behind. Other email software Yahoo Mail and Eudora scrape in at the bottom of the list.

Google Reader, is in joint 7th place, and is the most favourite tool for reading RSS feeds; its rival Bloglines is a few places behind in joint 12th. There's not an awful lot between the two and at the end of the day it appears to be just a matter of preference. Other (dedicated) feed readers - NetNewsWire and FeedRaider - appear a long way down the list in 101= place. So the top two are clearly the main tools in this area.

Word makes a high ranking in 10th position. (Together with PowerPoint, these are the only commercial tools in the Top 10). However Google Docs & Spreadsheets is close on its heels (in 14th position). But it is clear that the MS office products - PowerPoint, Word and Excel (at 22=) - are still very much used and admired, since the other office suites are a little further down the list. - OpenOffice (31=) and Zoho (57=).

Come closer kiddies - I want to talk to you about a serious social hygiene problem - Master Baiting. I was moved to comment on this after reading Andy Hagans’ Ultimate Guide to Linkbaiting and SMM. And what exactly is SMM? you're asking - it stands for Social Media Marketing - using Digg, Myspace, Stumbleupon, YouTube and the myriad other Social networking/Bookmarking sites out there.

Link baiting and Social Media Marketing are probably - the most cost and time efficient way of building relevant, trusted, editorially-driven backlinks - as Andy puts it. The critical success factor in getting ranked in Google for competitive keywords.

Andy, like me, says Content is king. But packaging is queen, promotion is the crown prince and a baity title is the Sword of Excalibur as he succinctly puts it.

So how do you start building your links? Anything can be link baited. You can write a hook for any topic - any product.

Just as in Newspapers and Magazines (which I've worked on) the most important part is the Title

This is where you attract your readers. You'll notice I haven't called this piece something lame like "How to Get Link Baits" or the equally lame and overused "10 Tips for Link Baiting" - although I've gotta admit the old "Ten Top Tips" heading always works. I've sexed it up a bit with the cheeky Master Baiting phrase (some people won't get it but never mind). And I've chucked in Link Baiting as a keyword and to further (I hope) strengthen the story and get you to read on. (is it working?)

If you're creatively brain-dead or don't have the knack for the snappy title you can always use a cheatsheet like this one - Copyblogger’s 10 Sure-Fire Headline Formulas That Work.

He's done the work for you with these Ten sure-fire headlines -

* 1. Who Else Wants...?

Who Else Wants a Great Blog Template Design?
Who Else Wants a Higher Paying Job?
Who Else Wants More Fun and Less Stress When on Vacation?

* 2. The Secret of...

The Secret of Successful Podcasting
The Secret of Protecting Your Assets in Litigation
The Secret of Getting Your Home Loan Approved

* 3. Here is a Method That is Helping...to...

Here is a Method That is Helping Homeowners Save Hundreds on Insurance
Here is a Method That is Helping Children Learn to Read Sooner
Here is a Method That is Helping Bloggers Write Better Post Titles

* 4. Little Known Ways to...

Little Known Ways to Save on Your Heating Bill
Little Known Ways to Hack Google’s Gmail
Little Known Ways to Lose Weight Quickly and Safely

* 5. Get Rid of [problem] Once and For All

Get Rid of Your Unproductive Work Habits Once and For All
Get Rid of That Carpet Stain Once and For All
Get Rid of That Lame Mullet Hairdo Once and For All

* 6. Here’s a Quick Way to [solve a problem]

Here’s a Quick Way to Get Over a Cold
Here’s a Quick Way to Potty Train Junior
Here’s a Quick Way to Backup Your Hard Drive

* 7. Now You Can Have [something desirable] [great circumstance]

Now You Can Quit Your Job and Make Even More Money
Now You Can Meet Sexy Singles Online Without Spending a Dime
Now You Can Own a Cool Mac and Still Run Windows

* 8. [Do something] like [world-class example]

Speak Spanish Like a Diplomat
Party Like Paris Hilton
Blog Like an A-Lister

* 9. Have a [or] Build a [blank] You Can Be Proud Of

Build a Body You Can Be Proud Of
Have a Smile You Can Be Proud Of
Build a Blog Network You Can Be Proud Of

* 10. What Everybody Ought to Know About...

But there's no use having these powerful headlines if the bodycopy sucks. As Andy Hagan says - content is only crowned as king when it has focus. Focus comes from the title. In the title, you are making a promise to the reader: here’s what you’re going to read/learn/achieve in this article. All your content should be devoted 100% to meeting (or exceeding) this promise. Anything else—no matter how “valuable”—is fluff and should be cut out. Readers do want in-depth resources and advice, but they want it in a concise, focused serving.

A hook can help you keep this content focused and tight, and to fulfill the promise you made in the title. The hook has the potential to be the burning sensation that makes the article “write itself”. You sit down with a single purpose in mind, and this dictates how you write and package the content.

Nick Wilson’s "The Art of Linkbaiting" talks about using 5 different hooks - News, Contrary, Attack, Resource and Humour

Now how do you get your award-winning piece widely read? A really good way is to use one of the bigger Social Networking Sites. This is not exactly a "walk in the park". For instance, I have a Digg account where I've been submitting what I thought were gripping little news stories on a variety of subjects but the most "diggs" I've ever had has been 7 or something (pathetic). I still try but Digg seems to be dominated by a hard-core group of submitters and its their stuff that flies and gets thousands of Diggs and links. I'll hang in and keep trying.

I've also been submitting stuff to BoingBoing - one of the most popular blogs and never had anything picked up and was very nearly going to give up on them when they ran one of my stories a couple of weeks ago and I got thousands of hits overnight - and they're still coming. And of course a backlink from a blog like BoingBoing is worth gold. So I'm quite pleased about that.

Digg is a sort of techie/geeky kind of site so obviously they are the kind of stories they're interested in but they do have a section on "Offbeat News" - which is wide open to linkbaiting opportunities. It's currently featuring This Great Story On Paris Hilton Losing her Inheritance - wish I'd submitted that one.

I notice Andy Hagan advocates using power words in the title and description. “In-depth”, “how to”, “comprehensive”, “Digg”, “HILARIOUS”, “Nintendo”. Those words still work but if I read Hilarious one more time in a story I think I'm gonna puke.

Andy also says - Submit the story from a power account. If a person regularly gets stories on the homepage of Digg, other users will “befriend” him/her, and as a result, will be more likely to vote for his/her future stories. If you don’t have access to a power account, at least try to build some trust in your username and profile by regularly submitting stuff that’s not from your own site, commenting, and digging others’ stories. - good advice. I should follow it.

Delicious is another good bookmarking site. Then you have Netscape and Stumbleupon

I haven't talked about using the extremely popular Video Sharing Sites. I've been posting on YouTube for eighteen months now. Just for fun. I have something like 260 videos up. And 650 Subscribers. My videos have been viewed 2.7 Million times. Amazing huh? Some of them have been extremely popular (well it's a love/hate thing). But all of that traffic hasn't been monetized. Yet. YouTube hasn't taken me aboard their Advertising Partner Program where they share some of their Google Adsense earnings (and I believe its not much - the partners have to sign a Confidentiality Agreement so no-one really knows what they're getting paid but I suspect it's bugger-all. Still, if you're getting thousands of hits a day it must amount to something).

So how do I get a benefit from all those videos and views? Easy. I have a hyperlink to my site from the description on the side of the video. Not everyone reads the description. But you can bet if they do they are really interested in the topic so it can create a powerful link. For instance...I have a popular video on YouTube about a French guy that built a fully-functioning 1:30 scale-model of a Ferrari. Some people find it fascinating and they go to the description to find out more. I give them all the details of the model and a link to the guy's site and other interesting model-sites and then I say something like "if you're interested in unusual cars you might like to check this out" and I send them to a car story on my site. Too easy.

So all you gotta do now is get cracking on your killer article. Dont forget to let Pingomatic know you've updated your blog. And always go back and check that your hyperlinks are working. Oh yeah...you can always post a link to it from the Comments section below. I'd be interested in reading it. à bientôt, Malkie, Paris.

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Check out this 3D Mailbox - from the same people that brought us Visitorville - see the button on the Nav. Column on the left.

Latest screen shot of Alexa's Traffic graph for Rocketboom.

What's happening at Rocketboom? Have the protagonists kissed and made up? Doubtful. Is there really a hottie coming across from MTV Europe? Do we care? You betcha. I'd really like to know how many hits Rocketboom is getting - wouldn't you? Given, that on a good day they were getting anything up to 1 Million. So I figure they must be getting at least double that. I'd be dumping some Google Adsense on there at least. 'Cause, you know, that guy over at PlentyofFish gets 15 Million hits a day and reckons he's making $10,000 a day off Adsense. So if you take that as a guide does it mean that Rocketboom could conceivably be pulling in a couple of thousand dollars a day in Adsense Revenue? At the very least, they should be updating the message. Tsk Tsk Andrew. People are saying it's a bit cold and impersonal - a bit corporate - not warm and fuzzy like a vlog should be perhaps.