We’re Moving!

For the past couple of weeks I’ve been doing things for the last time and saying goodbye to friends. We’re moving out of the area, and although I’m excited about the move, the goodbyes are the hard part. I should have bought shares in Kleenex, that’s all I’m saying. Unbelievably, I’ve still got a lot to do – there are still cases to pack and a car to deliver. I’m catching up on last minute email and checking my blogs for comments and other activity. Maybe I’m addicted to my online life, or maybe it’s a case of trying to do as many normal things as possible before changing my life completely. I’ll have to think about that. See you in a week or so.

New Paid Posting Opportunity

There’s been a lot of discussion about whether it’s right to have advertising on your blog. Here’s my take on it. I am a freelance writer. That means I get paid to write. Having ads on my blog posts means I get paid to write. I write what I would write anyway and have a sponsor or sponsor who effectively pays me for my time. This means blogging is not just fun, but lucrative. Although it’s never going to make me rich, I can make pocket change, which suits me fine. Maybe one day I’ll feel differently, but for now diverse sources of income are important. That’s why I was pleased to read about Blogsvertise, a paid to post opportunity that shells out a whopping $10 per post. I’ve only just signed up with Blogsvertise, but watch this space for more information. I’ll be posting a detailed review of Blogsvertise once I’ve been with them for a while.

Googling Myself A New Way

I’m sure I’m not the only person to Google myself. Who else is going to keep track of whether my website promotion efforts are working? So when I heard about Google Page Creator, I immediately saw it as a good chance to create a micro-site. This is a small site for a single purpose. I decided to test how easy it was to use and it was very easy – so easy that it might well become the next target for spammers. Until then, I’ll keep my test effort live – Freelance Writing Fast!  It’s a way of giving me quick access to all my stuff on the net and it took me less than half an hour to create. I’ve now got a couple of ideas in mind for the next one, so I’ll keep you posted.

Blog post sponsors:

A web release from surgery-directory.com highlights a new blog that aims to give people useful information about plastic surgery procedures such as Male Cosmetic Surgery and Liposuction. There will also be news on the latest developments in plastic surgery.

GourmetGiftBaskets.com has issued a web release about the association of St Nicholas with Christmas. It tells of the transformation of a Dutch saint into the Santa Claus we know today. GourmetGiftBaskets.com is a good source for Corporate Christmas Gifts of all kinds.

Another Work In Progress

It’s only a trial at the moment, but I’ve had a go at putting the site menu on the home page across the top (out of the way yet accessible), to leave more room to shift around other page elements. Next on my list is swapping around the advertising, moving my newsletter block to the top of the page and a few other tricks. I’m also experimenting with SSI for the ad and menu content. This is only on the home page so far, but watch the site over the next few weeks for more changes.

Do You Stumble?

I’ve discovered StumbleUpon (thanks to Blogspinner) and I could be addicted. To use it, you install a Firefox toolbar and press ’stumble’. This takes you to lots of sites you might never have found otherwise. You can search for anything from aardvarks to trade show displays. Personally, I use it to find new writing sites. Someone else has suggested that you use this for link trading. I haven’t done this yet, but it sounds a good idea. I’ll keep you posted on how it turns out.

Trade Show Booths That Are Easy to Set Up
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Blog post sponsored by Blogging for Money

Invited To Writely

When my laptop died a few weeks ago, I thought that I might have had less of a problem if I used an online word processor, especially as my temporary replacement didn’t have Word. I’d heard about Writely, so off I went to sign up. Shock, horror! It had just been bought by Google and was closed to new subscribers. Thank goodness for Google’s tried and true invitation system, but how was I to get one. Today I found this site:

Writely and Google Spreadsheet Invitations

It’s offering free invitations to Google’s latest products. What have I got to lose, I thought. Just in case, I signed up with a different email address. But it took 10 minutes to receive my invitation for Writely and signup. And while I was signing up, I got a spreadsheet invitation too. So, if you’ve been waiting to get into Writely or Google Spreadsheets, visit this site: Writely and Google Spreadsheet Invitations

Good luck – and happy writing!

Blinklist Is My Ex

In my article on social bookmarking, I said that this was a great tool for writers. I still think this, but I’ve changed my favourite. BlinkList was the one I really liked, because it was pretty, allowed private bookmarks and was easy to use. But this week, they suddenly decided to block WritingUp because of suspected spam (I have no problem with spammers being blocked, but WritingUp is getting a bad press in some quarters for no reason at all). I sent them an email and got it unblocked, but all my writingup tagged bookmarks had gone. Vanished. Never to return. To b*astardize John Cleese, they were ex-bookmarks.

Since I use these to cross reference my own blog, I had to go back to del.icio.us, where they still were. But that site is just too plain – I use it, but it doesn’t gladden the eye. Now I’m testing Diigo – a newish service which has a lot of great features and a Firefox toolbar. I’ll let you know how it turns out. In the meantime, here are 10 of my Diigo bookmarks:

My Diigo

Plain English Guide To RSS

RSS Described in Plain English is a great resource. People often ask what RSS is and it can be difficult to explain it in words of one syllable. Common Craft has done just that  – and it’s in language anyone can understand. Six questions, six answers. I’ll be recommending this the next time someone asks.