As bloggers we participate in memes, we start memes, sometimes we even end memes. In my Abridged Ethnography of the Blogosphere, I asserted the fact that there is a blogging culture, so it seems fitting that a commonly used word by bloggers has its roots in the culturally relevant study of memetics.

A meme, as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, is as follows: “meme (mi:m), n. Biol. (shortened from mimeme … that which is imitated, after GENE n.). An element of a culture that may be considered to be passed on by non-genetic means, esp. imitation“. In a grander sense, an oral history can referred to as a meme, or even language itself it transmitted by memetics. A blogging meme is much like this: When one puts up a meme post, they are imitating the post of another before them because they have been tagged. Then they are imitated by others as they are tagged.

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Posted: July 25th, 2007 under Blogging.
Comments: 10

Recently Google AdSense introduced Referrals 2.0, which allows AdSense publishers to select which ads they will show on their sites. As well, there is a much greater profit margin to be had as they are referral ads that require conversion for the advertiser.There are many different categories of ads and so it is not difficult to find some that match your site content. You can select up to 15, and these will rotate based on your most profitable ads.

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Posted: July 25th, 2007 under Uncategorized.
Comments: 2

At WordCamp 2007, Matt Cutts suggested the SEO Title Tag plug-in for Wordpress and I have added this plug-in to this blog. It allows for mass editing of title tags for pages, categories, and posts.

Search engines place a great deal of importance on title tags, and while you want your post titles to attract readers, it is optimal to consider Google when creating SEO title tags.

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Posted: July 24th, 2007 under Uncategorized.
Comments: 14

The following are things that I have heard (and sometimes read) from people who don’t know about search engines or SEO. This is not to poke fun at people who do not understand SEO, as a majority of the world does not, but rather just to flesh out some myths and identify them as being just that.

1. You pay Google for first page results.
2. The most important search engine is MSN.
3. Ranking in the search engines has something to do with traffic.
4. The most relevant sites are always listed on the first or second page.
5. SEO is not important.
6. You must be very technically minded to understand and engage in SEO.
7. Ranking well in the search engines is about trickery and manipulation.
8. SEO is when someone adds keywords to your site.
9. SERPs exist in a vacuum.
10. The web designer who built your site already did it for you.

And it is this last point that I really wanted to discuss, as it is related to all the others. I have heard this time and time again from local companies, but then looking at their sites along with link popularity, I can tell them that: No. You may have paid for SEO services. And since they are not informed with regards to SEO, it is difficult to gauge whether or not it has actually been done, and done well.

I suggest to anyone that they educate themselves before paying for search engine optimization services, learn a little bit about how search engines work and the basics of how sites come to rank well. There are a number of questions you should ask an SEO consultant before hiring one, but I suggest going that one step further to learn the basics of search engine optimization and the workings of search engines in general.

Ranking well in the search engines can have a big impact on the growth of a company, and it is not something that should take lightly. Hiring an SEO consultant can also be rather expensive, so it should be hard to justify learning a bit about search engines so one can make an informed decision.

Posted: July 24th, 2007 under Uncategorized.
Comments: 2

I have mentioned being an avid reader, and so it follows that reading has greatly impacted how I view the world and I have gained so much from the books that I have read.

So here are some books that have shaped who I am today.

Human, All Too Human (Friedrich Nietzsche)

There is something for every free spirit in this book of philosophical aphorisms. I can even bear Nietzsche’s misogyny during some points in this book. I read it cover to cover years ago, and now I often read bits and pieces here and there. It is always on my desk.

“A good posture on a horse robs your opponent of his courage and your audience of their hearts - why do you need to attack? Sit like one who has conquered!”

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Posted: July 24th, 2007 under Uncategorized.
Comments: 3

I was tagged by Mike and Mark for the Blogging Tips link train. So I have them both listed in my list, and I have added myself.

The basic premise - copy and paste the list below and then read through each and put a star next to those you like. Then add yourself to the list with your own tip for bloggers.

1. Look, read, and learn. - http://www.neonscent.com/ ****
2. Be, EXCELLENT to each other. - http://www.bushmackel.com/ ****
3. Don’t let money change ya! - http://www.therandomforest.info/ ****
4. Always reply to your comments. - http://chattiekat.com/ ****
5. Spell check is your friend. - http://thingsbymike.com *
6. Be the blog. -http://www.meandmydrum.com*
7. Blog about your passions. - http://www.pinkhatseo.info
8. Write like your talking to a friend. - http://sapheyerblu.blogspot.com

This should be a pretty interesting, eclectic listing of tips by the time it is done. :)

And I would like to tag: Sapheyerblu, Hernan, Aaron, Ad Tracker & Christy

Posted: July 23rd, 2007 under Uncategorized.
Comments: 7

Inspired by Mike’s Calzone Recipe.

I knew that the random picture that Mike found in Google image search could not do justice to his delicious calzone recipe, so here is my interpretation.

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Posted: July 23rd, 2007 under Uncategorized.
Comments: 10

I was tagged by AaronCookDotCom to share Eight Random Facts About Me. I participated in this meme a while back, so this time I am going to do it with a twist. So here are my Eight Random Girly Facts About Me, and why not check out 8 Random Facts about Aaron too!

Be warned… these are eight very girly things I could say about myself. :)

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Posted: July 23rd, 2007 under Uncategorized.
Comments: 18

A few days ago, I received my blogging book Secrets of Successful Blogging by Ted Demopoulos in the mail. I won this from Matt Huggins’ Entrepreneurial Blog. I was super excited to receive my very first book about blogging. :)

I have already read a few important points in this blogging book already. And one thing Ted says in his book is: “Almost the whole world will be able to see what you’ve written.”

And I think about that often so I:

1. Use spellcheck to check my spelling.
2. Read over what I have written.
3. I try to be my usual dynamic and interesting self. :P

Thanks Matt for my great new blogging book! I look forward to reading more because I think that I could use 101+ tips for blogging.

To learn more about blogging yourself:

55 Essential Articles Every Serious Blogger Should Read on Matt Huggins’ blog

Posted: July 23rd, 2007 under Blogging.
Comments: 12

I would like to announce that the header is now clickable. I think I have had about 10 requests to do so, and I have made it happen.  :)

I followed Terence Chang’s suggestion to just get rid of the PHP and just do a link with img as I would in html. Thanks Terence!

As well, have you noticed that my RSS Feed Bear is blinking and licking his lips over the past few days? I thought for sure someone was going to get spooked! :P

So if you want to find my home page, JUST CLICK THE HEADER!

Posted: July 22nd, 2007 under Blogging.
Comments: 13