January 4, 2008

But what about Google?

My friend Evelyn, who blogs at Homespun Honolulu, recently signed on with PayPerPost and has done a few sponsored posts. Some of her readers think she’s made a mistake and have shared their opinions with her. What follows started as a comment to her post on the topic, but I have a lot to say so I’ve decided to do it here instead.

Guess what, folks? There’s life after Google. Yes they took away my PR4 because I do sponsored posts for PayPerPost. I have more traffic, more regular readers and have continued to make money on my blog at the same rate since the Google slap. My readers don’t come to skeet’s stuff because of my page rank or lack thereof. They come because they like to read what I like to write. I’m a small-time blogger with no niche, yet my traffic remains healthy despite my loss of Google status. Take a look at the Awstats numbers below for the first four days of January and you’ll see that I’m alive and well. Advertisers know this, too. They are seeing that Google PageRank is not a worthy measure of a blog’s value because it is given and taken so arbitrarily. The recent Googlespank was not applied evenly and across the board, but rather in a manner that smacks of a desire to quash competition. You are mistaken if you think that Google has deindexed those of us who do PayPerPost. I still get the same traffic from Google searches every day. My blog is still positioned exactly as it was for relevant search terms. Advertisers know this and know that there is still value in paying me for placement of their content. We’ve also always had a strong base of advertisers who are not looking for an SEO boost when they sponsor our posts. They are looking for visibility, buzz, WOM - that hasn’t changed.

If retaining your PR is your primary concern then I certainly wouldn’t recommend signing on with PayPerPost, at least not until Social Spark is introduced later this month. With SocialSpark advertiser links will be no-followed, satisfying Google’s terms and letting bloggers avoid Google penalty. Some bloggers have chosen to remove advertisers’ links from their older sponsored posts and have applied to Google for reinstatement of their PR. This also removes the threat of deindexing. I won’t knock anyone who chooses to do that, but I choose not to for a simple reason: I don’t blog for Google. I blog for me and my readers. If an advertiser asks me to remove their links I’ll do it as a courtesy to them, but otherwise, no. Google doesn’t own my blog.

The threat of deindexing does still exist. Matt Cutts (Google’s most web-present mouthpiece) and Ted Murphy (CEO of PPP) have had discussions and exchanged emails about Google’s stance. Perhaps there will be peace between the two. Perhaps not. {{{{shrug}}}} The world will go on, regardless.

Yes, there are spammy blogs that are filled with nothing but rubbish in order to provide a platform for sponsored posts. If you think all blogs that do sponsored posts fit that description, you’re wrong. A lot of us have fallen into the trap of finding the money too enticing and have spammed up our blogs in a fever of sponsored posting. Most of us who did soon realized that our blogs were more important than the money and scaled back significantly. I now probably average six or eight sponsored posts a month and I’m selective about the opportunities I choose to post. Good bloggers will post relevant content and will seek out items that they think will interest their readers, whether they’re being paid or not. There are a lot of good blogs and good bloggers associated with sponsored posting. Don’t paint everyone with the same brush.

The content of a blog is the personal choice of the blogger. If you honestly believe that the non-sponsored content is no longer of interest to you because the blogger has chosen to do some sponsored posting, so be it. Move on. Their blogs won’t implode because you’ve chosen not to read them. Be aware, though, that you may be tossing the baby out with the bath water. No only have you cut yourself off from a source of good original content, you may have also deprived yourself of products, sites and services that are sponsored on that blog. Yes, there are actually readers who find our sponsored posts of interest and occasionally follow the links to one of our sponsors’ sites. It’s not required, but it happens quite frequently. Who’d have thought it?

I was pleased to see that Evelyn’s comment thread has remained civilized. Some of her readers have dissenting opinions and and have expressed them, but they’ve avoided name-calling and chest-thumping. You’re invited to engage yourselves in like manner on my blog. I find feeback from my readers to be one of the most satisfying aspects of blogging and I value your input. You don’t have to agree with me, but I do insist that you play nice.

Technorati Tags: blogging, Google, page rank, PayPerPost, sponsored posts

November 10, 2007

PostieCon in Vegas!

I’ve been pretty bummed out that so many of my friends are at the BlogWorld Expo today and will be at PostiesCon tomorrow and I’m not there! Not that I don’t want them to be having a wonderful time, you know - just sad not to be there meeting so many folks that I’ve been sharing the blogging experience with for over a year now. Ahhhhhh - maybe next year. I know they’re having a really great gathering & will be blogging it so I can share the experience.

I wrote that last night but was too sleepy to continue. It’s Saturday now and I’ve spent the morning “attending” PostieCon via live hook-up:

Okay, not quite the same as being there. I didn’t get to taste the cake or give real life hugs to anyone. Don’t get a swag bag or have a ticket for prize drawings. But there’s live chat tied in, so we can “attend” the sessions and make copmments or ask question of the speakers, so it’s very cool. Come join us! Oh, you can see the live video with a chat board next to it on full screen over at Andy Beard’s blog. Mahalo Andy! Great set-up!

Technorati Tags: bloggers, blogging convention, PostieCon 07, PayPerPost, video feed

September 9, 2007

Postie Carnival

Woot! It’s Postie Carnival time! Lisa at My Thoughts, Ideas and Ramblings is hosting this time and the theme is summer vacation. Eight posties have shared something special they’ve done this summer, so go check it out and find some mighty fine reading. I don’t actually “do” vacations, but I managed to sqeeze one of my own posts into the carnival anyway.

How do you participate in the Posite Carnival? Well, first you have to be a postie - that’s what those of us who post for PayPerPost call ourselves. If you’re not a postie yet, just click on that little icon and you’ll be taken to the right spot to get started. If you are already a postie, go check out the carnival guidelines and you’ll see it’s quite painless to enter. There’s ususally an advanced notice posted over at the PPP forum, too, so just click-click and you’re on your way.

Technorati Tags: blog carnival, payperpost, postie carnival

June 28, 2007

New Police CD

If you haven’t seen the televison ad above that’s probably because you’re in the US. The ad is currently running in the UK. The whole world is celebrating the release of the new Police CD. It was released in the US on June 5th, so maybe you already have your copy. If you don’t have it yet, what are you waiting for? Actually, it’s not a CD. It’s a 2-disc compilation of all of their greatest music. I’m embarrassed to admit that there are a few songs in the set that I’m not familiar with, but only a few. It’s a generational thing. The Police were my son’s music, but they played a part in my own life, too. This is the music that’s woven through our memories, the music that topped the charts for many years. The new Police CD has all of your favorites and will remind you why you fell in love with them in the first place. Here’s the play list:

Track Listings
Disc: 1

1. Fallout
2. Can’t Stand Losing You
3. Next to You
4. Roxanne
5. Truth Hits Everybody
6. Hole in My Life
7. So Lonely
8. Message in a Bottle
9. Reggatta de Blanc
10. Bring on the Night
11. Walking on the Moon
12. Don’t Stand So Close to Me
13. Driven to Tears
14. Canary in a Coalmine

Disc: 2

1. Do Do Do de da da Da
2. Voices Inside My Head
3. Invisible Sun
4. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
5. Spirits in the Material World
6. Demolition Man
7. Every Breath You Take
8. Synchronicity I
9. Wrapped Around Your Finger
10. Walking in Your Footsteps
11. Synchronicity II
12. King of Pain
13. Murder by Numbers
14. Tea in the Sahara

Every CD set comes with an added bonus, a vintage poster of The Police the way we remember them best, as the young men who kept us singing and scripted our most romantic moments. It’s on sale everywhere, so you don’t have any excuse for not buying your own copy. Get going! We can talk about it later, after you’ve had your stroll down memory lane.

Technorati Tags: music, sponsored posts, The Police, video

June 12, 2007

Countertop of my dreams

When I was a girl we always took visiting relatives to the French Quarter in New Orleans while they were with us. We’d walk along the riverfront, eat in a fancy restaurant, maybe take in a museum or Preservation Hall, and spend the rest of our time wandering in and out of the shops. One of my favorites was the praline shop, where we could watch through a large glass window as the candy was made. I always thought that it was very cool that they didn’t pour and shape the patties on waxed paper like we did at home. The poured the hot candy directly onto a marble countertop where it miraculously shaped itself into perfect patties. It was explained to us each time that the marble helped the candy maintain the right temperature and to cool at just the right rate to retain that shape. I’ve wanted marble countertops ever since then. Many of my little-girl dreams have fallen by the wayside, but this one is with me still.

My kitchen remodel is still about a year away. I hate the thought of living for another year with and outdated kitchen that was poorly designed in the first place. Still, I’d rather wait until I can do it right than to put myself on a too-small budget and end up with a kitchen that doesn’t fulfill my dreams or my needs. I purchased the wood for my cabinet fronts when I was getting the supplies for the new room last year (silly me, I thought I’d finish the new room and go right into the kitchen remodel.) I also have my floor coverings picked out. I know my paint color. The only major design decision left to make is which countertops will pull it all together. I’ve just spent about an hour fooling around at Marble.com and I have to tell you it was the most fun I’ve had in ages (all of you other DIY fans can appreciate that, right?) Who knew there were so many color varieties to pick from? The site has 2D and downloadable 3D showrooms, so I picked different cabinet colors and marble or Granite Countertops and tried them out together. They even have over fifity different edges to choose from, so I played with those, too. The granites are lovely, but I think I’ll be sticking with my old dream of marble. There are so many choices that I’m feeling a little overwhelmed right now and keep changing my mind about what I want. Still, I have a year to dicide, so it’s not like I’m in a huge hurry. There’s one thing I know for certain though. My new kitchen will have a large island with a marble countertop. When that boy of mine finally blesses me with grandkinds, I’m going to show them how to make candy the right way.

Technorati Tags: countertops, granite, marble, memories

June 9, 2007

Spy Sweeper

It’s time for me to remind you that when it comes to computer technology I know next to nothing. There are two ways that I make decisions about what technology I can and should use. First, I listen to people around me that I trust. I read your blogs. I go to the websites you recommend. I hang out in forums with smart people who understand things that I need to know. I ask a lot of questions. Secondly, I turn to trusted sources to see what their opinions are. Today I was asked to review Spy SweeperSpy Sweeper and I took advantage of their offer to download a free trial of their software. I haven’t had a chance yet to ask for your opinion, so I went to my second line of investigation. What did I discover?

SPY SWEEPER IS THE MOST AWARD-WINNING ANTISPYWARE SOFTWARE. And we’re not talking about little made up awards that carry no weight. Some of the most respected names in technology have recognized Spy Sweeper for excellence. Names like PC Pro, PC Magazine, Softpedia and PC World have all evaluated Spy Sweeper and found it worthy of awards and special recognition for excellence, ease of use and value. No wonder it’s the top-selling computer security software on the market.

I’ve been using a freebie spyware program for a couple of years. Every time I run it, it leaves me with a warning about “threats” it couldn’t remove. I just ran Spy Sweeper and, for the first time, I don’t have that anxiety of thinking that I’ve left my computer unprotected. Why? Because Spy Sweeper completely cleaned my computer of spyware and its Smart Shields will detect and block even brand new threats. Regular automatic updates will insure that I have the full advantage of their constantly expanding spyware definition database. You don’t have to take my word for it. Check out their site. Download the free trial version, and check out their awards page while you’re there. Find out why Spy Sweeper is the most award-winning spyware removal software you can install on your own computer. The sources you trust have already recognized its excellence. Try it out and you’ll see why.

Technorati Tags: antispyware software, computer software, spyware removal

June 4, 2007

The News Room

Just in case you need one more reason to come visit Hawaii, take a look a the video below. Kilauea has been putting on a spectatcular show for weeks now. You can come see me on Oahu, then take advantage of the interisland airfare wars to fly to the Big Island for $9.00 instead of the usual fare of around a hundred bucks. I’ve been to the Big Island a few times, but never when Madam Pele was showing herself so magnificently. Maybe I should spring for the nine bucks myself, ya think?

How do you like my blog’s news service, The News Room? This is a resource I know I’m going to be using again, a clearinghouse for news from respected news sources like the Associated Press (AP), Reuters, and Agence France-Press (AFP.) I enjoy blogging about my life and my own little corner of the world, but it’s good to reach outside that bubble to share relevant and timely stories like this. The News Room is constantly updated with stories and news releases from around the globe, so there’s always a variety of topics to choose from. Whatever your blog focuses on - hard news, entertainment, health and science - whatever, you need to bookmark this site. Categories are clearly defined, so it’s easy to go right to your area of interest and find the kind of information you like to share. The process is user-friendly, even for a techno-phobe like me. After I located the story above I clicked one button and and it was ready to copy into my blog. There’s no fee for the service and you can actually make money when you use it. Each article comes with a bit of advertising that produces the revenue to fund the service and can be added to the revenue stream for your blog. All of us in the blogosphere need to keep our posts fresh and relevant. This a great tool to help us do that. The possibility of income (and opportunities for some great prizes, too!) is just icing on the cake.

Technorati Tags: blog advertising, blog resources, Hawaii, Kilauea, news services, volcano eruption

May 30, 2007

Promoting my business

I sat down to do this post over four hours ago. I’ve been on my sponsor’s website ever since, and I’d appreciate some input from you folks on a decision I need to make. My business is eight years old and I’ve never done much pro-active marketing. I have a packet of information that I distribute on a day-to-day basis and I am occasionally asked to address real estate offices at a monthly meeting or continuing education seminar. That’s pretty much all of the promoting I’ve ever done. My clientele is limited to realtors on Oahu and a few escrow transaction co-ordinators, so I decided long ago that trade shows and home shows that appeal primarily to homeowners and developers/builders would not be a wise investment. Referrals from satisfied clents have kept me going all of these years, but the real estate market has been very slow for over a year now. I need a way to reach out to new prospects who haven’t tried my services yet, and to keep my name in front of my existing clients. The most practical and affordable way for me to do that is to find some imprinted promotional marketing products that will encourage clients and prospects to keep my name and contact information right at their fingertips.

I have my insurance agent’s calendar on my desk. It’s compact (important in a cluttered office like mine) and I use it every time I work on my books. I also look there instead of the phone book when I need to call him. I want something that handy to put in front of my clients. It’s the wrong time of year to send out calendars (though it’s something I should consider with my holiday greetings this year,) and I need to start promoting my business now. My first thoughts were of pens and keychains because realtors use a lot of both. I think, though, that they’re likely to leave those with their clients, who are not my clients. Realtors use a lot of highlighter pens to mark up their documents and I don’t think they would give those away, but I want something more durable. While I was looking at the items offered at gimmees.com I was having “voila” moments repeatedly. I have four letter openers scattered around my office. Two of them are works of art and rather pricey. I never use them. The one I use most was picked up at a home show over twelve years ago. The advertising imprint for the company that gave it to me is still doing its job because I use it every day. Likewise the luggage tag on my briefcase and the business card holder that goes everywhere I go.

I’ve narrowed my choices down to two that are within the budget I’ve allocted and will do an admirable job of helping me accomplish my goals. The letter opener seems like natural to me because of my own experience. I haven’t looked at all of the many styles available yet, but I really like the house-shaped one depicted here.

My second choice is an item I’ve never used before but I really like it. I think that it’s unique enough that it’s not likely to get tossed in a drawer with half-a-dozen others and that it would be used regularly. And, well, it’s cute and I like it. I’d consider using it for a future photo puzzle if I didn’t want your opinion, but since I do I’ll tell you that it’s a screen duster. Now wouldn’t you use one of those and keep it either on your desk or in your notebook/laptop bag? Wouldn’t you notice the imprint every time you cleaned your screen? Or is there some other desktop item that you think would do a more effective job for me?

What do you think of my reasoning? There are a lot of other choices at gimmees.com and it’s possible I’ve missed the most perfect item of all simply because they have so much that I haven’t seen it all yet. If you stumble across something else that you think is better than my own choices, give me a shout. This may seem like a small thing to those of you involved in big business, but it’s huge to me. Can I get some feedback from my readers who either own their own businesses or have helped promote a business?

Edit: Maybe I shouldn’t have gone back to site before making a firm decision. I’ve just discovered their “Bargains” and “Sale and Closeout Items” links. I could be there a long, long time.

Technorati Tags: promotional products, trade show giveaways, payperpost

May 29, 2007

28 classics from The Police

There are people in this world who were more excited than I was when it was announced that The Police were going on tour. Tickets for thirteen of the twenty-six European concerts have already sold out, so I guess the guys are pretty popular over there. Coincidentally, tickets are still available for only thirteen of over thirty North American concerts, so I suppose that means there are rabid Police fans all around the world. Some of those same people who stood in line to get first crack at the concert tickets are probably already standing in line for the new police cd, which won’t even be released until June 5th. I’m above such frivolity, of course. It would be very unbecoming for a woman of my mature years to behave like a teenage girl with a first crush just because the group that scripted the music for my last love affair happen to be re-releasing all of their classic hits in a two-cd set that will probably sell out before I can hobble to the record store. You won’t see me down in the trenches duking it out with fanatical groupies for my own copy, even though it comes with 28 classic tracks and includes a 1979 vintage concert poster that makes the boys look like … well, like boys. No, it would be beneath my dignity to exhibit such enthusiasm, even though “Every Breath You Take” still causes me to blush because the first time I heard it I was … well, never mind; you don’t need to know that story. What you do need to know is what’s included on the new cd:

Track Listings
Disc: 1

1. Fallout
2. Can’t Stand Losing You
3. Next to You
4. Roxanne
5. Truth Hits Everybody
6. Hole in My Life
7. So Lonely
8. Message in a Bottle
9. Reggatta de Blanc
10. Bring on the Night
11. Walking on the Moon
12. Don’t Stand So Close to Me
13. Driven to Tears
14. Canary in a Coalmine

Disc: 2

1. Do Do Do de da da Da
2. Voices Inside My Head
3. Invisible Sun
4. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
5. Spirits in the Material World
6. Demolition Man
7. Every Breath You Take
8. Synchronicity I
9. Wrapped Around Your Finger
10. Walking in Your Footsteps
11. Synchronicity II
12. King of Pain
13. Murder by Numbers
14. Tea in the Sahara

Hmmmm! My memory is not what it once was, but now that I’ve reviewed the list again it’s becoming clear to me that the new police cd contains songs that played a signifigant role in several special relationships in my dim and distant past. I wouldn’t mind having a copy of the set myself, just to keep those memories, um, stimulating. I just can’t make myself go stand in line to be one of the chosen few who snags a copy that first day. Most people see me as an old-maidish type and I have to admit that I don’t mind my son thinking that of me. Doing something as silly as camping out in line for music that arouses fond memories might make him start to think a little too much about his own vague memories of Mom’s past, don’t you think? I wonder how much the kid next door would charge me to go wait in line for me?

Technorati Tags: music, The Police, sponsored posts

May 25, 2007

Postie Carnival is coming!

I’m so excited that I’ll be hosting the next Postie Carnival! Submissions are due by 6:00 p.m. Sunday so I can pull it all together for publication. Try for earlier if you can, please. Postie’s are such great writers and have so much diversity to offer, so I’m looking forward to a lot of good reading!

The theme is neighborhood events. You define your own neighborhood, be it a single block or a whole city. You define “events.” Whatever is going on that is important to you or makes a good story, share it with us, please! After you make your post, go to the Blog Carnival submissions page and click on the orange button to make your submission. I’ll take it from there. All you have left to do is to make sure you check back here on Monday so you can see who entered and what they have to say!

What’s that you say? What’s a Postie? Posties are the smart bloggers who get paid to post about the things they love at Payperpost. We’d love to have you join us. You can do that right now by clicking on the purple badge right over there on my right sidebar. That will take you to a spot where you can register with Payperpost. Then you’ll be a postie too, and I’ll give you star billing in the Postie Carnival when it runs right here on skeet’s stuff on Monday, May 28th! Hope to see you there!

Technorati Tags: blog carnivals, blogs, carnivals, payperpost, posties, Postie Carnival