Update Time! You might want to glance at the post below to know what I mean

I’ve spent the past week plus getting a cram course from my brother who (thank god!) understands coding, hosting, windows (which I’m not using), and Plesk and Linux (though he hates the latter).

I (using the term losely) am moving the entire Whole Hog Blogs network of massive wordpress blogs to new servers – bigger, faster, just all in all great to make the move AND save some cash in the process. Of course in the beginning, it was me doing the data gathering and him sewing it all back together.

But the learning curve has been brutual with 16-20 hour days for what seems like my life. I’m sure my brother is thinking the same thing.

I actually interrupted him while he puts together a HUGE website/blog (that I will write all about in the very near future since he’s looking of course for not only readers but WRITERS).

I am pleased to say that with only short/quick phone calls now (and not every single time LOL), I believe I have come close to mastering the art of moving small, medium, and large (well organized) wordpress blogs. There was an instance, or two, where he patiently put back together anywhere from 30,000 to 90,000 lines of code! Thank you Bob!

So the move is almost accomplished! I loved where I was hosting everyone at Rackforce, it’s just that it was impossible to pass up the bargain of a brand new server built from the ground up with over six times the storage and 10 times the backbone (for much less).

I’ve been a cpanel person all my online life, but you know even when you want to give up and run back to what’s “safe” it’s worth it to stick to your guns and learn something new! Now I’m comfortable with another way to do business using Plesk! TaDa!

A reoccurring theme on this site is money – specifically of the “how to” variety. So today’s post provides you with another resource to check into – a how to get paid to blog. This can be (and is) lucrative for many. However, that said, you should be aware that Sponsored Blogging (Is) Not As Easy As It Seems.

A quick check of Wikipedia reveals numerous facts you should be aware of: (more…)

After making our post for January 3, it was off to my favorite forums. That’s where I found six tools mentioned by Owen that he loved using in 2008.

The one that caught my eye is Zemanta, an add-on to your Firefox browser that automatically recognizes your wordpress and/or blogger blogs. It’s a tool that’s going to help suggest photos, videos, articles, etc., related to what you’re writing about – all done from inside your admin area.

Here’s an example:

Related articles by Zemanta

• Twitter Is Stealing Your Password

What the example above shows is something Zemanta considered “related to” the rest of the information in this post (see below about Twitter).  There are many items to choose from, but I just picked this one – all from inside the admin area of this blog.

After installing (and it’s quick and painless and yes I did read the terms of service first), you’ll end up on the welcome page where you’ll get instructions on “how to get started right away” using this super cool tool!

A big thanks to Owen for sharing this and five other tools (one of which he created himself).

Excellent!

And, for those of you wondering why your WordPress Twitter Updater plugin no longer works, well we don’t currently have the answer to that… However, TwitterBar 1.1 may be your easiest solution.

It’s been available since November 1, 2008, tried and tested. Just be sure you know what you’ve got typed in your address bar before you Twitter it. It can be words, the link of the page you’re on, whatever. So double check first

(The Firefox logo was also pulled in using Zemanta.)

A second alternative to get your feeds posted directly to your Twitter account (though the toolbar above is very cool), is TwitterFeed

TwitterFeed requires you to create an OpenSource id. Just be prepared to validate your signup via email AND be adept at picture recognition – the  process is a tad long while you “guess the picture” during the account creation process.

What TwitterFeed will do is, depending on your setting choices, take a peek at your blog feed and post the last “x” amount you designate at the time interval you ask it to check. While that may sound confusing, it’s not – it’s just a fill in the blanks AFTER you get past the picture recognition thing (it’s very hard to explain but worth the trouble).

So there you have it… multiple ways to get your current posts automatically onto Twitter, plus add some graphic interest to your posts painlessly.  Enjoy!

Now it’s your turn to tell us what you think about this post. So please DO comment!

As online readers, we all have an immense arsenal of potential ways to track this and that as it strikes our fancy. And today, I’m going to let you in on a secret you may not be aware of…

You must have noticed how we really stress the value of commenting at the end of each of our posts… right? You have noticed, yes?

We’ve done write ups about dofollow and nofollow, and the value of free marketing and advertising yourself through the simple process of replying to posts you read on blogs.

FREE marketing! Yes, the few moments you take to make a truly constructive reply to any post on any blog can (and does according to our tracking stats) bring you free visitors to whatever link you choose to use as you fill out the comment form.

It’s so darn simple, and free, that after reading you’re crazy if you’re passing this up.

And this tool – Co.mments.com – allows you to easily access blogs you’ve asked questions on, and hope to hear from either the blog owner or one of his or her visitors to get the answer to your question.

Of course, that’s just one idea and way, to use this marketing tool.

Okay, not everything is worth commenting on. Maybe your brain has taken a siesta and nothing comes to mind. But, let’s face it, as humans we all have thoughts, opinions, experiences, and questions about something. It’s just built into our DNA to have our say.

That’s what those commenting boxes are for! And, repeating myself yet again, you’d be crazy not to comment. It’s FREE marketing.

I’ve started our own comment tracker using the above Co.mment website.

If you’re a blogger, especially a WordPress user, than you most likely have the Sociable plugin (if not, get it). Co.mments is one you can activate that will allow your visitor to quickly add individual posts of COMMENTS to conversations they wish to follow.

As an online internet marketer, start your own Co.mments account. This way, you can quickly and easily keep track of posts that you are:

1. Interested in hearing what others have to say

2. Waiting perhaps for an answer to a question you ask

3. Begin the process of networking within that post with the other readers of that post.

Be you blogger or marketer (or both), it’s fast and easy to create an account. You’ll then get your own (see ours above) web page link for quick access (bookmark it and refer to it often!), along with a feed that you can use perhaps on a Squidoo lens or….

Those who comment on a regular basis will see the value in this great tool. Those who are not yet using commenting to its fullest can now start that ball rolling with ease.

Sign up for your own Co.mment account today (it’s free!).|

SPECIAL NOTE: As SEO testers, we’re also interested in how (or if) this particular social marketing tool shows up in the search engines. With a PR of 5 and Alexa rank hovering at the 83K mark, not testing this would be a huge mistake. So bloggers, be sure to offer this as an option for bookmarking on your blog. And marketers, it’s such an easy way to keep track of where you’ve been it would be silly not to use it. All your comments, one page (your own!), and a quick reference guide as you check back on your favorite posts.

You’ll find our Co.mments icon right below here… it’s the orange one with the slanted row of dots on it in the “Be Sociable Please Tag Us” section. Click it, track this and/or any of our posts, and see how very easy your commenting life becomes

After Posting Update: Just found this Christmas song on JuliesJournal and wanted to add it to this post. A bit off topic, but it’s very cool. Enjoy!

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Okay now here’s you chance, don’t pass it up. Take one minute and let us know what you think! Your feedback and input do matter to us! Leave your comment!