Top Blogging Tips

After having my Blog for 3 whole weeks now, here are a few top blogging tips to anyone wishing to start up their own Blog:

• Use Wordpress.

Although Blogger is probably easier to use, Wordpress is where its at. The designs look better and Wordpress allows you more freedom. At some point in the future I will be changing to Wordpress, but at the moment im happy with what Blogger provides.

• Install Sitemeter to track your visitors.

Other people tend to recommend Statcounter but I find that its easier to read all the information that Sitemeter provides. I currently have both installed on this site but Sitemeter is my preferred tool.

• Try picking a particular thing to Blog about.

When I started this Blog I didn't have a clue what it was going to be about. And to be honest, I still don't know. After tracking my visitors with Sitemeter it appears that this isn't a good thing to do. It doesn't appear that many people read all my posts once they are on my site.

I have two particular entries that rank high on Google Search for particular Key Words (which is great). But once my visitors read these posts they don't tend to stick around or come back. This is probably due to the mixture of content I have on this site.

However if someone stumbled across a Blog about making money and that's the subject they are interested in, then they will continue to read that Blog.

So... any idea's what I should start Blogging about? ...is anyone actually reading this?

• Be patient if you don't build up a big fan base straight away.

These things take time! How long? I don't know... longer than 3 weeks by the looks of it.

Just Keep on Blogging!!

• Write interesting articles, not sh*t like this.

My write ups on Sopcast and Tversity seem to attract loads of traffic to my site. Its just a shame I don't have anything else interesting to share.

• Write some comments on fellow Bloggers Blogs.

It's a great way to get your name around the Blogging community. Read this articles to see what im talking about - Caroline Middlebrook - also, while your there check out her free eBook as it will help if you plan to create a Wordpress site/Blog.

• If you are going to use Blogger/Blogspot to set up a Blog, then check out this website for some awesome ways to add stuff and change things.

• Most important of all, make sure you start using Firefox if your not already. Download it here for free now!!

Errr... I think that's all I have for now. If I have anymore helpful hints to Blogging I will let you know.

3 Weeks and 1 Day Later

Its now been over 3 weeks since starting this Blog of mine and personally, I think it looks ok.

Considering this is my first ever attempt at anything Webby and I had no experience with HTML im pretty pleased with how it looks.

Obviously Blogger make it very easy to create a Blog and all you have to do is choose which theme and what colours you want and hey presto you have your own Blog. Very simple.

However I have applied some personal touches to this site that weren't as easy (but was still pretty easy). I have added a Favicon to my site (the little icon next to the URL in your Browser - seems to only appear with Firefox and not when I use crappy Internet Explorer - Therefore if you use IE download Firefox now). A good reason to have a Favicon is to make your site stand out more and make it easy to identify. So if you add this site to your FAVourites the "i" ICON will appear and it will make it easier for people to find my site in there Favourites list.

I have also incorporated Google Adsense into my site, which is pretty simple with Blogger as they provide a simple Adsense Widget you can add to your sidebar. Google will scan your site and advertise appreciate content. If you are looking at making some extra cash from your website or Blog there are plenty of Ad companies to choose from, but Google allow you to customise your adds and blend them into your site more easily.

The theme I originally chose only had 2 columns - a side bar on the left and the main body. As you can see I have added a third column on the right. Allowing me to add more Widgets that are easier to see.

One of the most difficult and annoying things I added was the "Continue Reading…" link which appears on the front page. I only wanted for some of my posts to show on the front page and for users to click "Continue Reading..." if they wanted to read the rest of the entry. This was pretty simple to add but started to get really annoying when I tried to change the size and colour of the link. It can also become pretty fiddly each time I write a post as I need to set where I want the break of point to be. However I am now getting the hang of this.

So does anyone actually read what I write? Well after 22 days I have had 400 visits to my Blog. Not bad really. However, there are some Blogs out there that get 40,000 hits a day. Maybe one day I will have that many… then again… maybe not!

So if anyone does read this, thanks very much. I appreciate it.

5 Reason to Own an Xbox 360

To be honest there are plenty of reasons to buy an Xbox and there are plenty of Web sites telling you why you should by an Xbox. But here are my reasons as to why you should own an Xbox 360.

Firstly, High Definition. Most people now own a Plasma or an LCD, with most people choosing these TV's as a fashion statement - They look better than old school CRT TV's. So if you have a nice HD ready TV, throwing an Xbox into the mix is a great way to start getting the most out of your TV. Not only are there hundreds of games to choose from, all made for HD TV's, but through the live marketplace you can purchase a great variety of HD films and TV shows.

Secondly, probably the biggest use I get from my Xbox is not from playing games, but from streaming my divx files from my laptop to my Xbox so I can watch the latest Lost on the big screen. You can find a guide on how that is done here

thirdly, Xbox Live! This great service allows you to go head to head against anyone in the world on your favourite games. Live also enables you to chat with your friends over your head sets or through instant messenger. Live also enables you to download additional content for your games- more maps, weapons, levels etc

Yes, it does cost a small fee, and yes Sony do offer a free service, but Xbox Live truly is worth the 12p a day fee.

Fourthly, Exclusives! Every console has its own exclusives and the 360 isn't any different. But while the PS3 have... errr... nothing worth noting at the moment, the 360 have great exclusive titles, including, Gear of War, Halo 3, Bioshock. It will also have exclusive content for the up and coming GTA IV game.

And Fively (is that even a word?)... why should you own an Xbox 360? Here's why:




P.S If your having troubles with your Xbox 360 take a look at this. Easy way to fix the Red Ring of Death Click Here!

The Perfect Valentines Gift

With Valentines day less than a week away its time that we start thinking about what we can get our loved ones to show them how much we adore them and love them.

Choosing a gift for that special someone can become tricky. It depends on a number of factors including; the length of the relationship, what typed of person they are and where you think the relationship may be going.

I mean you don't want to send them 12 roses, buy her chocolate and Jewellery if you have only known them for a week. That could be slightly overkill, and on the other hand, you don't want to just get them a card if you have been "courting" for a couple of years.

What the best way to show your girl you love her... Tap dance.

Check out this video below for Vodafone. If your partner is as miserable as this girl, then it could be the only thing to make her smile ;-)

Why Firefox is Better

Yes that’s right, im going to go there!! The good old Firefox vs Internet Explorer war.

As I have mentioned before I have installed Sitemap on my Blog and this tracks my visitors. It tells me where they live, what they look at on my Blog and many other things, including which Web Browser they use.

Currently 46% of my visitors use Firefox with 52% using IE. Personally I use Firefox and im sure that anyone that has tried Firefox for a day will stick with it. The advantage IE has is that it comes pre-installed on your commuter. This leads me to think that anyone that uses IE only do so because they are unaware they have a choice and that alternatives exist. They use it because it is there. Which is a shame, because the alternative, Firefox, is such a better Web Browser to use. And here's why:


- Its safer to use that Internet Explorer. Tests have shown that IE is more open to Virus and Trojans.

- Its faster. Faster Browsing and loading.

-Its a lot more easier to use. Everything seem to be where you want them to be.

-Better Bookmark managing. This allows you to easily keep all your favourite websites nicely managed

-Firefox Add-ons. There are plenty of Add-ons that allow your to customize your browser

-Integrated Pop up blocker. No need for third party applications with Firefox

-Restore Session. Firefox remembers what you was looking at if your computer is suddenly restarted.

This is just a short list on why Firefox is better to use. Download it for yourself to experiance the greatest Web Browser there is.

So, if you are using Internet Explorer and haven't tried Firefox give it ago. You can download it using the button on the top right corner of my Blog and its completely free. If you use it for just one day, im very confident that you will continue to use it forever.

While your up there, be sure to take advantage of Google Packs. Free essential software for your PC provided by Google.

Google takes on the World

I'm pretty confident to assume that everyone who uses the Web has heard of Google. 'That place you go and search for something', and that’s what most people probably think all Google is, a search engine.

However, there a loads and loads of other things that Google can offer Web users, and it seems that they are slowly moving into every kind of medium the web has to offer.

To benefit from all the things that Google have to offer, you should set up a free Google account. This will enable you to sign in to all of their services with the same log in.

You can start with Gmail, Googles own, free web based e-mail system. I switched to this from my Hotmail account last year and find it fantastic to use. Its easy to manage and you are able to customize different aspects of your lay out.

They provide an application that you can download to your mobile phone so you are able to read, receive and send e-mails from anywhere using your mobile phone to access your Gmail account. Gmail can also be sync'd with Outlook or Thunderbird to enable you to manage your e-mails using these tools instead of having to go online to receive your mails. This is something that Hotmail stopped a few years ago for anyone who had a free account.

If you have contacts in your address book that also have a Gmail account you are able to see when these users are online by logging into your Gmail account and you can also use Googles own IM to chat with your friends. This requires no additional downloading and is run from you Gmail page.

Another great feature with Google is iGoogle, this enables users to complety customise there search page. Instead of just seeing the standard Google search field you are able to add what ever you want to your iGoogle page. I previously used Google.com as my home page, as often enough, when I went online I would use Google to find what I was looking for.

I have now changed my home page to iGoogle. This still contains that trusted search field, but I can also now view snippets of all my favourite websites. I can see my Gmail inbox without having to log on to Google mail, I can see the weather for my area, daily horoscopes, top You Tube videos... the list is endless. Its very simple to use, just click on the "add stuff" button and add what ever you want to appear on your iGoogle page. You can add a calculator, a to do list, post its or as mentioned the latest news from your favourite websites. See below for an example of my iGoogle page:



The great thing is though, you are not restricted to just one page. You can simple add another tab to show you more stuff. For example, I have created a Sports tab so I can see the latest sports news from loads of different websites without having to actually go to all the different websites:


To get the most out of your PC I highly recommended downloading Google Pack for FREE. This includes several bits of software that you can use to maximise the efficiency of your PC. You are able to pick and choose what software you want, you can choose from Norton, Skype, Picasa, Adobe Reader and many more cool applications that are supported by Google. Just click on the link on the left hand side to obtain all your free Google supported software.

If you have your own website or Blog you can use Google Adsense to help you make some extra cash. As you can see on my Blog I have some ads scattered around. These are provided to me my Google. They are completely customizable to fit in with you website, as you are able to choose which colour you want, the size and how many you want to display. By adding these to your site, you earn money by people clicking on the ads. It’s a great little feature, and if you have plenty of Traffic passing through your website you could earn a nice little sum.

In fact Google provides loads of different tools to help set up your own website. You can use Google Page Creator to create your own website. Page Creator also enables you to upload picture files to the internet to provide you with a URL for your picture.

If you want help with improving Traffic to your website check out Google Webmaster. This site has several different tools that will help with developing your website and also getting it out there in the Google search results.

Finally, another great Google tool I have been converted to using is Google maps. Previously I may have used the AA or Multimap to find directions or look for a certain place on a map. But now I only use Google maps. When providing directions, they seem to be a lot easier to use and read and make more sense when you are driving. You can view a normal map view, satellite or Terrain view. As you can see, I have Google maps on my iGoogle page.

Google really have lifted the bar and seem to be taking over the web. I have only mentioned a handful of products that Google provide, but there really are loads of them, from Google Checkout to Google Earth, Google Video to Google Accelerator.

Sign up for your Google account today and start taking advantage of all the amazing things they have to offer.

At War With 3 Hot Girls

That's right, it looks as if I'm at war with 3 young ladies from London called "Smooch". What am i talking about? The number one spot on Google. At the moment if you search for 'iSmooch', this website is only at number 2.

I doubt anyone would even search for iSmooch anyway, but I'd still like to be top dog. At the moment its the Myspace page for a girl band called "smooch".

There are a number of ways to boost your Google ratings, and here's how;

1) Submit your website to Google, its free and simple. Just submit your URL to Google using there submission form and Google well then send there Googlebot out and check out your site. If you don't sumbit a form, they will eventually find your website, but its quicker to point them in the right direction.

2) Submit to other search engines and directories. Get your website out there and let people see what you have to offer.

3) Write clearly and properly, and try and write often.

4) Key word density - If your writing about celebrity fashion, make sure the readers know what you are writing about. Make it clear in your titles what you are writing about and throw in some key words in your post. This will help Google identify what your page is about.

5) Incoming links. These are links to your website from some one else's website. It helps that they use your keywords or phrases when they link to your website. So if some one wishes to put an iSmooch link on there website, it would help me if they used 'iSmooch' as the link word. It would also help if they were a website that had a high page rank with Google.

There are loads of other ways to increase your ranking, just Google 'SEO' (search engine optimisation), and you will find loads of website giving good advice.

SEO, is a very important thing to focus on when creating a website. Obviously you want a lot of traffic passing through your website and the number one way for people finding information on the net is by "Googling it".

So far, most of my traffic comes from Google results. Sitemeter shows me how my visitors get to my website and often enough it is by people searching for something in Google and my page being high in the results. For example, if you Googled "tversity and sopcast" my article on this topic appears on the first page.

Hope this helped.