Blogging

If you use GOOGLE Adsense, you should be aware that Google has recently implemented new policies.  Publishers need to be certain they read through the policies top to bottom.  (They’ll appear when you log in to your adsense account.)

One of the newest policies, and one that has most people pretty shook up, is the one that now requires all publishers to have a Privacy Policy in place. 

When I read that I was now to notify my visitors “specifically about cookies and web beacons,” my head nearly exploded.  Yeah, so, cookies, to me, are baked in the oven and eaten with coffee…. and web beacons?  Web beacons? 

Thankfully for people as out of the loop as I am, we have a guardian angel:  Jennifer Slegg at Jensense.com has developed a Privacy Policy template for us.

Jen, I love you.

You can copy the template, fill in the blanks with your information, and place it on your new Privacy Policy page.  And, of course, be sure to link to her blog.

….and thank God for her…. And light a candle in her honor……  And name your next child Jennifer.

We bloggers are like Hallmark, we’re always wanting to reach out and touch someone.

But with all the billions of blogs and web sites online, the competition’s enough to make you want to hide in your closet.  

Waaaay in the back.

New people land on our blogs almost daily.  When they come through our front door, we want them to sit down and get comfortable while we serve them a plate of posts and a glass of rss. 

The trick is catching them before they take off to the blog next door.

I’ve come up with an idea that sort of puts the welcome mat out for our cherished new visitors, so that hopefully they’ll become one of our even more cherished regular guests.

At the top, you’ll notice a link to “First Time Visitors.”  I created a simple little page to serve as a welcome mat - telling what Self Help Daily and I are all about.  It includes an invitation to look around and take a tour and even points in the direction of the glass of rss.

A welcome page, such as this, should be short and to the point.  I don’t think it should go too far into detail about the blogger or the blog (that’s what the about page is for, after all). 

The words, “Welcome New Visitors!” is different from the words that we’re used to seeing on blogs:  About, Contact, rss, Blogroll, etc.  It stands out, so I believe it would get a newcomer’s much coveted attention.  If I were on the blog for the first time and saw a welcome mat rolled out for me, I’d jump on it.

Sometimes a short, simple affirmation…or mantra…can make a huge difference and leave an impact in its wake that can be felt for a lifetime.  One of the most inspiring stories of “overcoming an addiction” I ever heard involved such a mantra.  A young man overcame a serious drug and alcohol addiction and totally turned his life around.  He told me that he kept telling himself, “I will do this.”  When temptation tapped him on the shoulder, he’d encourage himself to look the other way by whispering, “I will do this.”  When it smacked him in the face, he’d yell, “I WILL do this!”

And he did.

As we motor toward 2008, I want to challenge all of you to come up with a 3 to 6 word affirmation to inspire and motivate the rest of us.  It can be one you’ve used, yourself, or it can be one you plan to adopt for 2008.

If you’re a blogger, I’d love for you to write a post centered around your mini mantra.  Then, leave a comment with a link directing us to your post.  If you aren’t a blogger, I still want to know your thoughts, of course!  So, leave your words of motivation in the comments as well.

My personal favorite mini mantra has become, ”Make it Happen.”  I love this mantra’s attitude - it doesn’t encourage us to wait around, hoping that what we want falls into our proverbial laps.  It refuses to let us take a passive or inactive stance in life.  It totally holds us accountable, and isn’t that how it should be?  “Make it Happen” reminds us that we are in the driver’s seat, as opposed to the backseat - meaning we have to relentlessly keep our hands on the steering wheel and steer our own lives in the direction we want it to go.

It doesn’t give us any wiggle room or permission to say things like:

• If only I had more time…
• I don’t have enough money…
• No one will help me!
• I can’t catch a break…
• I’m too old…
• I’m too young…
• I’m too frail…
• I’m too heavy…
• I’m not smart enough…
• I don’t know how…

If we were to even try to utter any of the phrases above, this mantra would stare us dead in the eye and firmly say, “Make it Happen” before we even got the words out.

I think that, probably, the reason this mantra appeals to me so much is because I need it so badly!  It just so happens that I am the most laid back person in the world. The title belonged to my dad, but when he passed away, I moved into the top spot.  In addition to that title, I’m also the stereotypical only child. I was spoiled off my butt when I was growing up, and frankly I embraced it.  If I had a mantra it then it would have been, “Someone will take care of that…” or “I’ll get around to it…”   But everyone grows up, right?  Even little spoiled brats!

Make it Happen is a firm reminder that if you want something to happen - it’s up to you to…… Make it Happen. 

I look forward to reading your own mantras and thoughts.  I realize it’s a very busy time of year, so if you only have time to post the mantra - go for it.  After all, a really good mantra is a lesson all on its own.

Priscilla Palmer had a brainstorm and is allowing those of us with Personal Development/Self Help Blogs to splash around in the puddles. Fun!

She started off with five of her favorite Personal Development blogs and has invited everyone else to add five of their own.  She then takes all of the blogs and lists them in a master list. 

Priscilla’s List:

Aaron Potts at Today is That Day

David Rogers at How to Have Great Self Confidence

Henrik Edberg at The Positivity Blog

Karen Lynch at Live The Power

Lyman Reed at Creating a Better Life

Joi’s Additions:

Mike Sigers at Simplenomics

Mis Bear at Love is the Best Medicine

Alexys at Unraveling the Spiritual Mystique

Shai at Self Help Diva

Modern Worker

I actually have many more blogs I check out and love, but I thought these 5 would be a great place to start.  They, in my opinion, not only fit the “Personal Development” genre, they each have something else that I seek out in blogs:  A personal voice.  Every blog and/or site I link to on Self Help Daily and Out of Bounds has that going for them.  They’re written by people who are very comfortable with who they are - no pretentions, no chep impersonations.  They’re cut from the cloth that’s imprinted with the words, “This is me, this is who I am, this is what I do and this is how I do it.”

They’re the sort of bloggers and people who I suspect say “Thank you!” when told “No one else does it like that…”

Other blogs I read and love can be found in the links in the sidebar.  Some are simply personal blogs that I enjoy greatly, like Pretty in the City. (Love her!)

Thanks, Priscilla, for the opportunity to take part in this great idea.  I intend to go back to the master list and pig out on the buffet of wisdom.

Btw, this is a great opportunity to say this:  If anyone has linked to me on their website or blog and you don’t see yourself linked back here - please e-mail me, as there must have been an oversight.  When I switched my e-mail from joi @ selfhelpdaily.com (spam hell!) to joi @ aim.com, some of the link requests and other e-mails flew off to never never land. Just let me know and I’ll be thrilled to link back to you.  Link love?  I’m all about it.

Who says you can’t get anything for free anymore? 

I was researching html validation, search engine spiders, and search engine performance today and came across a few websites that made my job a lot easier.  I’ve linked them below, so if you have a website or blog, you’ll want give them a look when you get a chance.  On second thought - make a chance, the information’s THAT important.

Free Internet Marketing and SEO Tools - I was particularly impressed with #17, the Spider Viewer.  It allows you to see your page as a Search Engine Spider would.  I ran some of my websites through and was amazed at the lack of some keywords as well as the abundance of some utter nonesense!  I have a little work to do.

Dr. Watson’s HTML Validator - Again, you enter your url, then you’re presented with a list of “errors” found in your html.  Rest assured, there’ll be errors.  I read an article on About.com and the author said that their own website had lots of errors.  It does, however, point out some basic html validating errors that could be causing problems in other browsers and/or wreaking havoc in your search engine performance.

Below the list of errors found, you’ll be able to see your html code with numbers before each line - it makes it a cinch to find exactly where the problems lie.  Did I find any errors on my websites?  Again… I have work to do.

I’m terrible about getting all caught up in the pretties of a website or blog - the images, the colors (I’m waaay into colors.).  Sometimes I have to handcuff myself to the desk and make myself dig behind the scenes….look under the covers, so to speak.

The main reason I launched myself into this research was because one of my websites (Buttermilk Press) (and corresponding blogs, Get Cooking) is performing about as miserably in GOOGLE as it possibly can. I guess there’s just so much competition in the field of recipes, it’s tough to break into the top pages.

The websites above gave me a wealth of information, though, so I may have a shot now. With enough effort, who knows, I might even land in the top 5,000!!!

If you happen to be sitting on any SEO knowledge you’d like to pass on to me, I’d welcome it with open arms.  After all, how will the world enjoy my amazing buttermilk biscuit recipes if they never find them?!  Geez.

Okay, this is cute.  No, I mean really cute!  Lipton Tea has a Fight Indooritis website up and it’s a total hoot.  It’s all in fun, of course, but there’s a great deal of truth lurking behind the smiles.

We do spend too much time indoors, don’t we?  Have you ever noticed how much complaining kids now days do about the weather?  The same weather that you and I used to spend all day in - playing hide and seek, softball, tennis, riding bikes, or just going from porch to porch and pooch to pooch…  If it was hot, we’d just turn the sprinkler on for a little bit, or spray one another off.  Then, off we’d go again.

Now, if kids get a little hot, they run for the house and their techlicious toys and tv. 

Adults are, of course, spending too much time indoors, too. We’re blogging, networking, and playing with our own techlicious toys.  Inactivity and a lack of fresh air isn’t exactly doing us a world of good, is it?  It’s a beautiful world out there and we need to enjoy it without a window between us.

Here’s the link to the cool little site: http://www.fightindooritis.com/

Enjoy - but not for too long.  The world’s waiting for you!

Joi

Thanks, Aditya, for bringing this one to my attention!

P.S.  By the way, if you’ve never tried the bottled teas Lipton makes - the Green Tea with citrus or the White Tea with Raspberry, you should check them out asap.  My family is addicted to them.  We’re all trying to kick the soda habit and Lipton’s making it a cinch.  I get the diet varieties and, I promise, they’re absolutely delicious.

Check out the slick jobby to the right. ———>>>>>>>>  Is it cool or what?  The more time I spend thinking about it, the more uses I come up with for it.  Right now, I’m using it as a go-between for two of my self help blogs - this one and Out of Bounds. I’ve put the one on OOB at the bottom of the page because the wide load won’t fit comfortably in the sidebar.  It doesn’t mind being a bottom dweller in the least, though.  Looks kind of sweet down there.

I’m thinking about some of my websites (like Buttermilk Press for example) that have accompanying blogs.  This would be a perfect way to show visitors what the most recent posts have been.  It’d be so much more effective than just, Visit My Blog!

Click on the link below the unit to find out more.

Have you heard of The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)?  If you’re a blogger, or simply an individual interested in the rights of others, you’ll find their mission very interesting.  Their website, quite honestly, contains too much for me to tackle in one post.  So, I’m simply going to point you in their direction and let them take over from there.

>>>>>http://www.eff.org/  (One time it’s polite to point!)

The only thing I hate about being one of the busy bees in life is that I don’t have nearly enough time to explore other websites and blogs.  Reading people’s blogs is where the real good stuff is!  Think about it - the benefits are two fold:

1. You get to meet new people.  So you get a bigger look at the world.  You’re able to see the world, not only through your own eyes - but through theirs as well.  That concept, alone is driving me to MAKE time for more online vacations. Just this morning, alone, I’ve toured the city of Jakarta with a beautiful young Indonesian Chinese lady (http://www.prettyinthecity.biz).  I went ahead and fell in love with her blog - and with something she said on her ABOUT page.  She said, “Time passes so quickly.  I need a witness for my life.” I love that!  I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent on her blog and I’m richer for it.  It opened up a corner of the world I wouldn’t have seen if I had just gone about my regular, coffee drinking, doin’ my thing routine.  (Oh, I’m still drinking my coffee - make no mistakes about that!)  I love for people to e-mail me links to their blogs and websites - and link exchanges are something I’m always open to.  Thank you, M, for letting me know about your lovely blog - I’ll be a regular visitor!
2. You’ll be inspired and motivated.  I’m always inspired by other people’s lives - inspired by what they do to overcome obstacles, inspired by what they’re doing with their lives, and inspired on where they want life’s road to lead them.  Inspiration and Motivation?  They’re wonderful things!  On another blog I visited this morning, Reel Life Wisdom.com, I found a quote that I’ve written on an index card and have placed on my desk.  (It’ll be the Quote of the Day for today - 4/6/07, so watch for it!).  It’s the first time I’d ever seen this particular blog and that’s amazing to me - but it won’t be the last time.  Two of the dearest things to my life are right there in one place - movies and self help!  I’m a total movie’s buff, so all the pictures and references had me positively giddy.  It was like, “I remember that….I saw that…” - and I’m up to my ear lobes in Self Help, so this is a blog I fell hard and fast for.  It’s an amazing concept and approach, very clever and very, very well done.  It’s also another blog I’ll visit regularly.
3. If you aren’t very careful, you might just learn something! When you visit quality websites and blogs, you’re inviting others to come into your home and share their wisdom with you.  (Except you don’t have to tidy up first or change out of your fuzzy wuzzy houseshoes.  Mine are pink, btw.)  Vouchon.com is a really cool place where the owners invite others to come in, sit around the table and share something they’d “Vouch” for.  I’d been looking for a place to get polls for a few of my celebrity websites - I actually found just what I needed through a Vouchon post.

So, make a habit of searching out quality websites and quality blogs - then make them a part of your everyday life.  That life will be all the better, and fuller, because of it!

Joi

Smart Ass Art Print
Buy at AllPosters.com

But I’m even a firmer believer in sharing with others.  Whether it’s clothing, money, food, or advice - we should never hold onto anything that could help another person.  That’s why I thought of an idea that might be kind of cool.  If you have a blog, I propose that you do this:  In an upcoming post, write about One of the Smartest Things You Ever Did.  Then, encourage your readers to do the same.

Take out marrying the right person or having great children.  Those were at the top of my list, and I’m sure they would be yours, as well. 

Hopefully, you’ll have many, many “smartest things” to choose from.  Just pick one that you think could help another person.  After you’ve written your post, let me know and I’ll link to it….after I’ve read it and gained the wisdom for myself, of course!

I’ll get the ball rolling:

One of the smartest things I ever did was instill a love of reading in my daughters.  They have been very, very successful in their studies and they score way above average on any test set in front of them.  I think a lot of this comes from the fact that they’ve always been voracious readers.  

I believe that’s what’s lacking with a lot of kids these days. We need to get back to when a book was a child’s primary handheld.

It’s not that tough to instill a love of books and reading.  Here’s what seems to have worked for us:

1. When our girls were tiny - as early as 6 months - I’d read to them.  I went all out, did the crazy faces and voices.  We made a production of it!  By the time each of our girls were 4, they were already reading.  They wanted to be a part of all the fun - so, soon, they were reading to me as often as I read to them.
2. I made Library Trips as big a deal as going to the zoo or park.  We’d go out to eat right before going to the library, and we’d talk about the kind of books they wanted to find.  Then, we’d go and lose ourselves in the library for about an hour.  They We still get excited about going to the library (and eating out).
3. When our girls were between 4 and 6, they had to be in bed at 8:30 (that may seem early, but you should have seen what time they liked to get up!).  However, we’d always tell them, You can either turn the lights off and go to bed now, or you can stay up and read for 30 minutes.  Always…always…always, they chose to stay up a little longer reading.   As they got older, of course their bedtime was moved back - but the same deal was always in place, turn the lights off and go to bed now, or stay up and read for 30 minutes.

I’d check back in 30 minutes, and if they were in the middle of a book or a chapter, I’d give them a little more time.  It was rewarding to have a child asking to stay up a little later because they were enjoying a book so much.

I’d always talk to them about what they were reading, too.  Ask questions, probe for their opinions, etc.  I’d often ask them to draw me a picture of how they pictured the main character(s) to look - anything to show that I was interested. 

Books are a wonder, in themselves.  If you can just get them into your child’s hands, the book, itself, will win them over.  For a lifelong love of reading.  That, of course, is one of the greatest gifts you can give your children. 

And one of the smartest things I ever did.