June 30th, 2008 — Blog Tools, Blogging, Feedburner, bloggers
I am having trouble with a feed of mine on a blog. The blog in question is Groovy Chicago, this is a wordpress blog. The feed is receiving an error in the feedburner dashboard (i cant make heads or tail out of this error message)
If you know what this is about. Please tell me in the comments below.
The URL you entered does not appear to be a valid feed. We encountered the following problem: Error on line 257: The reference to entity “keywords” must end with the ‘;’ delimiter.
June 26th, 2008 — Blog Tools, Blogging, Blogs, Twitter Tools
This update introduces you to two very cool finds. One is the word awesomesauce (cleverly adopted by blogger david risley) this is the hilarious term he uses to describe the latest twitter tool /app/ widget called Twellow.
It is the newest craze in twitterland. You know i really have to come up with a devilishly clever term to describe something. Lets see what awefabulous niftyrella groovycheese whippercrack word i can conjure up. Anywho to get back on topic, lets say a thing or two on Twellow.
Twellow allows members of micro blogging site Twitter, to easily search for other members of common interest. Say you want to meet and mingle with other greenies or vegetarians? Head on over to the green or vegetarian categories, or alternatively you can perform a search. As you will see (yours truly) is #6 in the veggie category. You can also add yourself to the list here.
Who comes up first, second, and so on, on the list is ordered up by number of followers. He who has the most ends up first on the list for said category.
I played around with Twellow, one pet peeve, is the inability to follow directly from their interface. Like when i search for like minded people, naturally the next step would be to follow them. But alas i still need to head on over to Twitter for this. Arrggh!
All in all the new twitter app Twellow…..is groovycheese! (i know. i know. that isnt quite as cool a term as awesomesauce)
***more blogger talk about Twellow at Technorati and Google Blog Search. You can also follow awesomesauce.
June 23rd, 2008 — Blog Design, Blog Monetization, Blog Tools, Blogging, Blogging Tips, Blogs, Contests For Bloggers, SitePoint, bloggers
Want to learn the fine art of flipping web real estate online? Bryan who runs SiteFlipU, is hosting an awesome SitePoint Blog Flipping Contest. This is a great way to learn the art and science of flipping online real estate.
This is a month long contest which begins July 1st and ends July 30th. The idea is to build a top notch site or blog, add content, build its rank and statistics, then flip it on Sitepoint. Along the way several steps net you points, the one who has the most points at the end of the month, will be announced the winner.
The winner gets several awesome prizes, including those mentioned below.
Bryan who runs a site flipping blog, is well versed in the craft of building up blogs, then turning around and selling them at profit. He is the mastermind behind the One Mans Goal blog sale, which he sold a few months ago, for an astounding $10,000. A great feat, by any estimation!
If you have been wanting to learn how to do the same, join the contest. It is going to be educational, interesting, and heck, maybe even profitable. Head on over to SiteFlipU, read up all the contest details, and join the fun.
Peace, Missy.
June 21st, 2008 — Blogging, Blogging Tips, Blogs, Digital Point Forum, G34 Media, Network, News and Updates, Paypal, bloggers
Happy weekend to everyone! Hope its a good one for all. I wanted to provide an update on the network and also tell you im working on a book, which will hopefully be ready in a few weeks.
The book is about what i have learned since i first started blogging in April 2007, and it is aimed at newbie bloggers. It will feature 101 Random Blogging Tips For Newbie Bloggers, coincidentally that is also the name of the book. The book will be self published by me, and will be distributed in both a physical format and ebook format. (pdf download)
NEW! Book by G34 Media - 101 Random Blogging Tips For Newbie Bloggers by Missy Diaz
I like to think i have learned loads since i first started blogging and there really is alot to learn as a new blogger, creating a new first blog. So i thought i would put pen to paper and share my secrets, tips, tricks, and tools of the trade. Also the real motivation for the book came about 2 months ago when my 14 year old niece sent me an email letting me know, she had of all things, “started up a blog”. I was thrilled and as i replied i proceeded to write down a few blogging tips. Before i knew it, i had quite a very long list of tips, and essentially a book in my hands. So that is where the idea came from, and how the book concept came about. Thanxs, Cori.
sidenote: Mind you my niece’s blog is not for profit (atleast not as of this post), she only started it to talk to her friends and have an online presence to discuss what is the latest and greatest in her teen life. A simple and free blogger blog she writes on and adds photos to, about once or twice a week.
I will provide more details on the book as it nears completion, i do hope i have your support, and help me to tell the world about it. I need you (my blogger friends) big time, to aid me in spreadin the word. I plan on having a kick a$$ contest to promote and launch the book. So stay tuned for that!
Network Update - Blog Theft, Digital Point Forum Ban, and Money Lost
I have good and bad news to report in this update. First lets cover the bad news. One of my network blogs, Groovy Entrepreneur, was stolen from me 2 weeks ago. How? Well i had it up for sale at Digital Point Forum, someone (username: Huzur N Darem) made an offer, sent me money via Paypal, and i then proceeded to transfer the domain name and the blog itself. Well, an hour and a half later, the money was on hold “pending a Paypal investigation“.
Groovy Entrepreneur Blog Was Stolen From Me
Needless to say 2 weeks later, im out the blog, the money, and to add insult to injury i got banned ( 30 days ) from Digital Point Forum for leaving a 2nd feedback on the user above. Essentially right after i had received the money from Paypal, i proceeded to leave a positive iTrader feedback for said buyer, he did same to me. But after i learned of the money being on hold, i wanted to change or delete my feedback, but DP does not allow this. I wanted to warn others about what was happening, as he was still live on the forums (while all this was going down) trying to buy, or should i say, SCAM others.
DP doesnt care about scams or getting involved in Payal buyer/seller transactions, it is against their policy to leave 2 iTraders on same thread, so if you do it, they just ban you, and there is not much you can do about it. Below is reply from a DP staff member on my problem.
It’s VERY clear here. You do business at your own risk. This
is a platform - we are not mediators. You chose to send your
site before payment cleared - that’s no one’s fault but your own.
Take it as a lesson learned, and try contacting people who can
actually do something about it (like the domain registrar, host,
etc.) instead of us when you’ve already been given our policy
repeatedly.
Despite the very cold response (i have to grab a sweater when i read that reply), I hope my account access at Digital Point Forum is restored on July 10th. It is a good forum, im quite active on it, and it is THE MARKETPLACE of all online marketplaces, as far as domain name sales, website/blog sales, and more. Better than eBay, and cheaper than Sitepoint.
The only good news that came out of this whole thing, is that i was able to get my domain name (Groovy Entrepreneur) back from Namecheap, my fave registrar. I sent them an email explaining the whole mess, and they were able to push the name back to me. Thank You, Namecheap. I use them for all my domain name purchases, as they have an easy interface, excellent customer support, and good prices.
The only other good thing to come out of this blog sale scam, it i have learned to be more cautious with my Paypal transactions. I have excluded non US based Paypal payments, and i have learned about Escrow.com. They seem to be safer than Paypal when it comes to digital goods sales. See, the thing about Paypal in reference to any and all digital goods, is that these items are NOT COVERED BY THE SELLER PROTECTION POLICY. Why? Because according to Paypal there is no way to verify receipt of such items, they are not trackable, and therefore are not covered items.
What does this mean to you and me? It means you can get screwed big time (like i did) by people who know this and will scam the living daylights out of you. In my case it seems the person who sent me money used someone else’s account or some other type of fraud, but the bottom line is that because the item in question was a blog (a digital good) i was not covered by the Paypal seller protection policy, and therefore had no recourse. The money was initially placed on hold, then just this past Monday, was reversed, and sent back to the senders account. That’s it, its a done deal, nothing i can do about it. Except use Escrow.com next time.
So to wrap up this network update, i have a cool book about blogging in the works, i lost a dear blog of mine (which would have celebrated its one year anniversay this month), regained an almost lost domain name, and learned HOW NOT to sell a blog on Digital Point Forum.
Stay with me as i navigate the cold waters of internet marketing, blogging, and online commerce. With your help and support, the water might warm up abit. Peace, Missy.
June 18th, 2008 — Blog Tools, Blogging Tips, Blogs, Twitter Tools, bloggers
With the release of a NEW! widget, called TwitterCounter, you can now display your twitter follower count on your blog.
Just like the Feedburner chicklet displays the number of your RSS subscribers, the chicklet from TwitterCounter, will display (in similar fashion) the number of followers you have through Twitter.
Simple, quick to install, and free…this is a neat add on for your blog. They have also assembled a Top 100, which showcases the most popular Twitterers, as determined by number of followers.
What do you think of displaying your follower count on your blog? Do you think you will add this chicklet to your blog? Speak your peace below.
Technorati Tags: twitter, twittercounter, followers, widget, new, bloggers, blogs, tools
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