Archive for October, 2007

  • 31 Oct

    Posted by
    Joni


    Category

    Yoda’s Thoughts on PageRanks

    14

    I’m trying to strike while the iron is hot (although I’m not gonna benefit anything from this) so with the ongoing, soon dying, PageRank brouhaha, I’m posting this funny image I got from Essential Keystrokes:

    Judge me by my pagerank, do you?

    Jedi master Yoda: “Judge me by my PageRank, do you?”

    LOL. So no, don’t judge a website by its PageRank. A website’s PR score is just one of the many indications that the it is doing good. It’s not the only basis. Unless, you’re only focused on selling links and doing more sponsored reviews — which I’m not.. Not anymore.. Not yet? Haha.

    Btw, to those Text Link Ads, ReviewMe, PayPerPost, SponsoredReviews (etc.) users whose websites’ PageRanks have increased, don’t forget to edit your website details (ranking and pricing) in each of your dashboards. In TLA, for example, you can update your Alexa ranking by clicking on the link “Edit your listings” in your Account Home. Choose the website you want to update, click on “Edit Details”, find your “Alexa Rank” info, then click on the “Update” button beside it. That’s it! You might want to update your other accounts with the other munny-making sites, too, if you want to earn more munny.

    For another good read in regards to the recent PR phenomenon, Aaron Wall has listed items about Google’s obfuscations of PageRank scores.

    Still on the topic of PageRank, CashQuests.com suggests a way for a webmaster/blogger to know more about his own site’s PageRank details. If you want to check not only your homepage’s PR scores, but your internal pages as well, LivePR is the perfect tool to use. Once you’ve entered your main site URL and the page has stopped loading, click on the “Sort by PR” button on top. Here’s an example for my site:

    LivePR

    I’m sure there are other similar tools out there, LivePR is just one of the reliable ones. The LivePR tool, just like the other analytics tools (SeoDigger, Alexa ranking, Technorati, Google Trends, Compete.com, etc.) helps us get to know our website or blog better. But like I said, PageRanks are not the only thing we should think about, so, moving on… :)

    I’ll be away for a few days (and by “away” I mean a place where there’s no computer or Internet access) to have what I think is a much needed break. Lol. Have a nice long weekend again! Don’t you just love long weekends?

    Oh and Happy Halloween! :)

  • 30 Oct

    Posted by
    Joni


    Category

    Join the Craze and Win a WordPress for Dummies Book

    6

    WordPress for Dummies

    After months of waiting, the official WordPress for Dummies book by Lisa Sabin-Wilson is now available! You can get it at Amazon.com, Barnes and Nobel, Books-A-Million, Dummies.Com and Wiley.Com. But if you can’t wait for the book to be shipped, you can just get the e-book version from Wiley.com. Download the book’s teaser here. :)

    About the WordPress for Dummies Book:

    WordPress is one of the most popular blogging tools available, with over a million registered bloggers, and climbing! This all-new Dummies guide delivers just what would-be bloggers need to get up and running with WordPress and start communicating with the world. WordPress For Dummies covers blogging basics, choosing a hosting solution or setting up a host, developing blog content, syndicating blog posts with RSS, launching a specialized blog (including podcasting, photoblogging, mobile blogging, and videoblogging), and even earning revenue. It includes help on every aspect of installing and using WordPress, illustrations from real-world WordPress blogs, step-by-step tutorials on key topics, and insights from bloggers who use WordPress. (Read more)

    Incidentally, the author, Lisa Sabin-Wilson, is also my boss at E.Webscapes Blog Design Studio. EW is just the best online company to work for with the most supportive co-designers and developers who are ready to go off their way to help you if you need it. It’s also a very organized place so if you’re looking into having a custom WordPress theme with your own specs, functionality, and other ideas in mind, you can request a blog design quote and have the chance to work with professional people *ahem*. At E.Webscapes, it’s not just about the design, but it’s also about establishing the overall functionality and flexibility of your WordPress blog, official website, or e-commerce site.

    Win a copy of WordPress for Dummies

    Anyway, if you’d rather not purchase the WordPress for Dummies book, there are ways that you can get it for free. One is at Leanne’s blog where she’s having a Pumpkin Carving Contest. This contest is perfect if you had just carved a fancy-looking pumpkin for Halloween and would want to put the thing to good use. Heh. You only need to take a photo of your pumpkin and submit your carving there. She will then post it on her blog and the owner of the pumpkin that gets the most votes will win a free autographed copy of WordPress for Dummies! The Pumpkin Carving Contest will end on the 31st, so if you’re interested in joining, you better pimp that pumpkin and set it up for a photoshoot today. :) (Read more about the contest)

    But wait there’s more! You can also get the chance to win a free autographed copy of WordPress for Dummies at Lisa’s blog. She’s celebrating her 5th Blogiversary (Check it out – she mentioned me in her post! Lol) and she’s giving away 5 copies so you have more chances at winning. To join, you only need to:

    Make a post on your blog about how WordPress has helped, or harmed, you with your blog. Include plugins you use, themes you use, stuff you’ve learned, opportunities you’ve taken.. people you’ve met. (Read more about the contest)

    Just to be clear, I did NOT write this post as a contest entry. I just thought I’d help promote the contest. And I don’t think I’m eligible to join given I work for her and all, haha. Besides, I was promised I’d be sent my own autographed copy soon. *Hint hint* :D

    I know of another upcoming contest that’s giving away a copy of WordPress for Dummies too, but I’m in no position to spill the beans, so, just watch out for that blogger’s announcement. Hehe.

    Then again if you’re not up to joining these blog contests and you’ve got the moolah, you can always get your own copy directly. :)

  • 27 Oct

    Posted by
    Joni


    Category

    Surprise, Surprise.

    8

    I’ve been indifferent to politics for as long as I can remember. I don’t know why exactly, but there’s something about it that don’t interest me much. Add to that the fact that I find it hard to understand how all those political stuff go about (and that I myself refuse to understand them thoroughly), although I found my Political Science subject in college fascinating. But that was it! Maybe it’s because I was brought up by apathetic parents or because I’ve been hanging out with apathetic friends. Maybe there’s something about how a government is run that makes me want to shy away from it or the fact that my impression of a typical government lackey — from what I’ve been hearing from other people since I was a kid — is that he’s corrupt, manipulative, and just plain evil. Lol. My classmates in high school even had a hard time persuading me to run for student body officer when I was in my senior year. I caved eventually — only because I was bored and in dire need of something to do to improve my standing in the honor roll race and to prove myself to this teacher of mine who hated me for that one time I interrupted her in class (She caught me working on a tat-like doodle on my seatmate’s arm, half-listening to her while she was helping us review for NSAT, haha). I was elected, btw, but I can’t say that it made much of a difference. Anyway..

    When I read about our former president’s pardon a few days ago, I also felt what other Filipinos felt about it — I felt betrayed and ashamed. To echo what everybody else has been saying, allow me to ask these same questions: Where’s justice in that? What significance does Edsa Dos bring now? What was all the hullabaloo about our former president’s impeachment six years ago and the recent hearing and verdict (where he was sentenced to a penalty of reclusion perpetua) if we’re just gonna throw all of those away just because our current president woke up one morning and decided she wants to pretend to be a nice and forgiving person? I can almost imagine our two favorite presidents meeting over a cup of coffee somewhere, discussing matters, laughing, and exchanging remarks like, “I can’t believe they fell for that!” or “It took you long enough, but thanks mate!” Grrr.

    Like I said, I don’t know much about our government (and maybe I’ve just been rambling on about stuff that are actually out of context here, hehe) but the news about the pardon irks me a little. And for someone who knows squat about politics, it doesn’t really take much for me to understand that we have one very twisted government system. Surprise, surprise.

    But I guess Karen is right — justice will be served. Not today, but someday it will be. And really, who am I to play judge? Maybe this is a good example of how it is to extend grace to those who don’t deserve it?

    Good reads: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

    Does PageRank matter?

    On the techie side of the globe, prolific bloggers and SEO folks are talking about the drastic changes of their blog’s PageRanks (blogs such as problogger.net, johnchow.com, copyblogger.com, weblogtoolscollection.com, andybeard.nu, searchengineland.com, etc) which I’m sure most of you have already heard about. What is my reaction to this? I’m not really sure yet. I could care less, I guess. But hey, at least mine stayed at PR 5, that must count for something, right? No? Whatever. Heh.

    Everybody should have realized by now that the Great and Powerful Google is like one big jigsaw puzzle, which means that it’s just so hard to figure out. This SEO Chick brought up a really good point about it. But among the blog posts I’ve read about this topic, I find these two posts unique just ‘coz they have a different tone from the rest: “The Other Side of the Paid Links Coin” by Pat of SEOish.com and “Why You SHOULD Still Care About PageRank” by Kumiko of CashQuests.com.

    I’ve got theories (guesses, really) about why this phenomenon happened, but like everybody else, I can’t support them with anything. The only thing I know is that this is a constantly evolving industry which is why this isn’t a surprising phenomenon at all. And, oh, that Google is search engine god so why don’t we all just quit whining. Lol.

    Anyway, let’s just move past these things. I’m sure we all have better things to think about. I have a new *Multiply site, so maybe you can start there by adding me to your contact list? Hehehe.

    *I seriously doubt that I’d be able to update that site regularly, though.

    [EDIT] It’s Mae Paulino’s birthday today. Happy birthday, gurl! :) [/EDIT]

    Have a nice long weekend everyone! :)

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