Just a reminder that there are only two days left to enter my Cow Patty Bingo contest and win $50! One chance for linking to the contest, and another for linking to your favorite post. The contest will end at 11:59 pm Central time on Monday. One person’s PayPal account will be $50 richer, and five additional people will get links. So step right up and get your number now! 
Correction: I am a dingbat. The contest ends at 11:59 on Tuesday.
I just love how this email started out all friendly, and then bluntly gave me the boot right out of our shared flat with the marble countertops.
Hi. This is the qmail-send program at yahoo.com.
I’m afraid I wasn’t able to deliver your message to the following
addresses.
This is a permanent error; I’ve given up. Sorry it didn’t work out.
4.79.181.18 does not like recipient.
Remote host said: 550 relaying denied for
Giving up on 4.79.181.18.
So, it doesn’t like me. It even gave up on me! I don’t think I have had anything nearly this cruel happen in the real world. Talk about a Dear John letter…
So yes, this blog is hosted on Yahoo. At first, I regretted it mightily, but then I learned that I wasn’t being forced to use their “Easy Interface” and could in fact FTP. I also found out (like yesterday) that it is possible to set up a username in order for someone to be able to troubleshoot it for me without them being able to browse my personal email account. Now we’re cool. At least I thought we were.
So why did my email server send me such a cruel message?
I was attempting to reply to a comment left in my “About” section. The commenter inquired, “What is your blog about?” in addition to leaving a blurb and link to his blog.
Since my header obviously didn’t explain it well enough, and in fact, there are times when I do wonder, I simply cut and pasted a snippet from a review of a Dean Koonz book.
It is about a harrowing journey of adventure, sacrifice, and redemption.
So, comment link-spammer dude, if you are reading this, you’ll probably have to figure it out for yourself.
Welcome to the second edition of “Ask Bloggrrl”, where your questions are cheerfully and not always completely accurately answered by someone who is blundering along in the alternate universe of affiliate advertising and WordPress templates.
Dear Bloggrrl,
Why the heck do you have an advertisement for a Panasonic AG-DVC60 for $2261.75 on a blog about blogging? It looks similar to the Sony XDY-RWSCK7659.
Disgruntled and Confused Reader
Dear DCR,
I’m sorry, but I don’t even know what that thing is. It looks like it might be a camcorder. However, if it sells, I’ll score enough money to take the dog to be groomed and get my carpet professionally cleaned.
It is over there hiding near the bottom of the sidebar because I learned something about Chitika that is interesting. You know how you have to have at least 10,000 page views a month to join the program? Well, shortly after posting this little bloggy post, I met the criteria. I immediately applied and was accepted. Now, the thing is, once you’re accepted, you can put Chitika on your other blogs, even the ones who have three page views a month. So I thought it would be a good thing to have around, kinda like that Drimmel that I bought to make earrings out of hazelnuts and have used once. You never know–someone might stop by here and suddenly get an urge to buy one of those 58YHSLD7 things.
Full Disclosure: Yes, the Chitika links are affiliate links and I will make money if you join the program and sell stuff. Cool for you if you sell a $5000 high-def camcorder. Cool for me making money later on!!
Dear Bloggrrl,
My blog seems to cover a wide spectrum of topics. You know, dental floss, grocery stores, urban legends, dogs, parenting, whether to use my powers for good or evil�that sort of thing. Do you think I should narrow it down in order to be more successful? What if I can�t find an overarching theme? After all, how much can one write about dental floss that�s remotely interesting?
Trapped at Home in Austin
Dear Trapped,
First of all, let me sympathize. I know the weather in Texas has been extraordinarily sucky lately. Have you thought about relocating to Chad? I hear it’s very sunny there.
You know, I really think you should narrow your niche and go with the dental floss. Just imagine the possibilities! You can monetize that site like nobody’s business with Adsense and affiliate drugstore links. You can even network and find dentists and dental-floss salesman who may be interested in becoming a sponsor.
Multimedia is also an option. You could make a YouTube video demonstrating how to accomplish this oft touted practice. Oh crud, that’s already been done. And anyone who is thinking of going even more “niche” and making a video about feline dental care, you can forget it, because apparently, that’s already been done as well.
Oh heck, I don’t know. Just keep on blogging with your bad self.
If you have a question for Bloggrrl, then by all means, do ask! You will get automatic link love if I can answer your question, however poorly.
I think some of us are taking this stuff seriously. I mean, we’re clicking, aren’t we?
2. That you can lose weight by blogging about it. This guy didn’t. By the way, if you are squeamish, don’t click. At any rate, you are not going to lose weight whilst sitting around playing on the Internet. If that guy had had a blog, he probably would have gained an extra 100 kilos. Reggie, the black kid with good credit, let me know that my treadmill invention already exists. The thing I found facinating about that article, though, is that people burn about 100 calories per hour just moving around doing whatever. Anything but sitting. I need the computer treadmill NOW!! Especially since I like looking at this lovely site, authored by a Penthouse editor.
3. That anything having to do with PHP is easy. Unless you have two brains.
4. People who blog about the placement of Google Ads when they only have five readers. Of course, these folks really don’t have to worry about it.
5. People who write about happiness and success when they are miserable, miserable individuals. I’m sorry, but I just don’t have the heart to link. Then I would be a meanie.
6. Ugly comments. Waiter Rant is one of my all-time favorite blogs. The ugly comments have been going on for years now. Meanwhile, he’s selling ads on his site and publishing a book. Guess who’s making money off all that snark?
7. That productivity articles will help you to actually be more productive. I tend to read them while sipping a latte before heading out to the pool with a magazine. I do love Lifehack, though. What is it about that site?
8. That surveys will help you earn money online. And hell no that is not an affiliate link!
9. That you can get rich quick online. Perhaps the reason why Mr. Thomas is now writing ten buck articles for a keyword site is because he snorted all of the profits from his yacht and real estate trading up his Pinocchio-lookin’ nose? (Don’t take that seriously…I’m being a meanie.)
10. Anything that politicians say. But you already knew that.
Now here’s something to take seriously. My Cow Patty Bingo Contest will be over in a week and one day! Get your chance to win 50 smackeroos in your Paypal account by linking back to this blog mentioning the contest. You get two entries if you also mention your favorite post!
Another serious thing. If you like this blog, why not subscribe to the RSS feed?
Hi there, Biz Grrl here. Bloggrrl is sleeping off her latest bout of somewhat disastrous insomnia, so I thought I’d show you some things. You see, until recently, I have largely been unaware of the many forums out there that can help bloggers with SEO, marketing strategies, tech issues and much, much more. I’m certain that I am not the only one who has been missing out on the fun, so I’ll share my new discoveries with you.
These are not listed in any particular order. I listed the “most users ever online” data because it gives an indication as to the popularity of the site, in other words, how likely you are to get a question answered.
For those of you who are interested in building sites for the purpose of selling them, there is a very interesting subforum on domain appraisals over here. Another subforum, Trade Services or Hire has an intriguing post from someone who is hiring people to post on forums….ick. Most users ever online: 307
This forum is absolutely hoppin’ with good SEO topics. One of the first things I happened upon was Link Building 101, a sticky at the top of the Link Popularity subforum. Most users ever online: 979
I found the Authority Blogger forum when Darren Rowse mentioned it on Problogger. Of course, that gave it a push, and it is now a nice new community of bloggers. No sleazy stuff over here, so don’t go looking for that job posting in forums. There are four subforums, which is nice to see, as it keeps posters focused so that topics don’t die early deaths. My favorite topic is Who Are Your Favorite Lesser-Known Bloggers. This forum is place where you can “Pimp Your Blog” or ask newbie questions, which is refreshing. It is also a good opportunity to build a presence on a forum which will likely continue to grow. Most users ever online: 148
If Adsense is your thing, here is the topic for you, with 123 viewing as of this writing. This site has some good subforums, including ones that are specific to Google and Yahoo. Although this forum is not specific to blogs, it has everything. In terms of knowledge that you can convert to cash, this one wins hands down in my book. Most users ever online: 3330 Note: over 2000 users online at the moment.
The hottest subforum over here is the Making Money With CPC and/or CPM Programs. It has a solid lineup of SEO, marketing and website issues subforums as well. Most users ever online: 569
This site has a decent marketing subforum. I especially liked this post entitled Viral Marketing is Like a Fat Midget with a Wig on a Unicycle. You know, because metaphors and similes and stuff like that are cool. Most users ever online: 1743
One currently hot thread over here is What Do You Read in Blogposts?. There are two subforums devoted to blogging, as well as a plethora of other information related to SEO, marketing, graphic design and lots more. Most users ever online: 7365
Over in this neighborhood, there is an interesting subforum called Relevant Link Exchange Forum. I know that some of you will find it helpful, as it is very subject specific. There is also a Freelance Jobs/Help Wanted subforum, which has some useful postings, as well as some opportunities where you can earn ten cents for posting in a forum. Hey, it’s a package of ramen noodles, so don’t knock it. And I thought some bloggers were sneaky. Most users ever online:1835 Note: This was today, so this may be one to watch.
Outfront is a forum that is primarily geared towards more traditional websites, as opposed to blogs. However, their SEO and Web Business subforum has topics that are quite applicable to many bloggers. Most users ever online: 2677
This site was acting a bit wonky when I last visited, which is a shame, because it has some interesting forums on advertising, Google, Yahoo and a job board. Nothing specific to bloggers, but the SEO advice is worth paying it a visit. Most users ever online: 2398
I had to slap Bloggrrl’s hand because she just had to click on the thread entitled Porn Blog. You should check that one out just because it is so darn hilarious in a completely unintentional way. They also are taking part in the ongoing comment discussion, and have some helpful topics such as discussions about blog platforms. And all that is just in the blog section. You can also find subforums on topics as diverse as social networking and PHP. Currently Active Users: 1941
One thing I have noticed on every one of these forums is that there are always many more “guests” online than registered users. This doesn’t make sense. If you are going to spend your time hanging out at a forum, why not add to the discussion and give yourself some linklove in your signature while you’re at it?
Just in case you’re not sure how to make a BBS signature, here is how to do it.
[url="http://url you wish to add"]Text you want to be clickable[/url]
[email]Your Email[/email]
[img]URL of image[/img]
If there are any forums that have helped you out with blogging that are not listed here, please do put them in the comments.
Sometimes, what we think are clever posts should sit in the draft stage for a while before we press that “Publish” button. My last post, Bloggrrl’s Essential Guide To Men’s Underwear would be an example of one of those posts. Here are the reasons why I think it should have stayed in WordPress purgatory:
Those are the two reasons I had been pondering as I began to write this post, when another commenter said something disturbing. I usually don’t approve anonymous comments, but this one happened to be true.
So, the point of this post is not to beat myself up over it, or even apologize, although anyone who opened it at work probably deserves an apology or at least a Kiss. The point is to let you know why it was a bad idea, just in case you are considering doing something similarly idiotic, which you probably aren’t.
There is a secondary point that is also important to mention here. That is that the best-selling women’s panties on Amazon are the crotchless variety. And the best-selling men’s underwear are tighty whities. What is up with that? There is no justice in this world. I would do a compare and contrast if it weren’t for the the first two reasons mentioned above. Although, violating number one would make some of you men happy at this point, I’ll bet.
However, as I mentioned before, you, dear reader, are the reason I was looking at underwear on Amazon. I’m not going to mention the reason why or the word “underwear” again for 10 days. It is really messing up the Adsense, and I might lose out on fifty cents if I’m not careful.
I had every intention of writing my follow-up blog health post, Is Your Blog Anorexic, but insomnia struck again, and I got on a roll looking at men’s underwear. Now, before you go thinking I am a weird, pervy woman for looking at men’s junk stuffed into interesting decorative yet functional undergarments, let me tell you something. I was doing it for the blog. I promise. I won’t tell you why yet, but the mystery of why Bloggrrl was looking at men’s underwear on Amazon.com at 3:37 in the morning will be solved before two weeks are out. Then it will all make sense.
These underwear will make whoever discovers them at third base run screaming for the door. Sorta like this:
Save it for MySpace.
I learned that apparently, there is underwear that likes to style and profile. Yes, profile. That’s how they market this brief. It is a fine example of putting oneself out there, so to speak. Check out the unusual ads that Tim over at eMonitized has created. Getting attention is always good in the blogosphere, unless we are talking about the very, very bad kind.
This is the very, very bad kind. You see, it doesn’t matter how hot this guy’s body is, because he is never ever going to be able to show his face in public again after wearing a girdle in a serious manner. Was that underwear photo shoot really worth the $200? Dude, I sure hope so! If you are doing something extraordinarily atrocious on your blog to make money, such as advertising unethical services, then people will never, ever want to look at your blog again. Rhys at The Gospel According to Rhys knows what I’m talking about. Read the bit about “War Ass”.
It is easy to understand why this guy would not want to show his face. Some things are simply incomprehensible. Is your blog one of them? There can be a difference between being an expert and being someone who can explain things to others. Some web experts are so smart that I can’t count as high as their IQ’s, but what they write about does not make sense except to other experts. And if other experts are the only ones who can understand it, then what is the point, really?
On the opposite side of the spectrum from the expert lies the person who lets it all hang out. This blogger happily shares his digestive troubles, difficulty losing weight and who won the farting contest between he and his wife last night. This is fine, and can make for entertaining reading, but this person will rarely be perceived as an expert.
These are George Foreman briefs. I’ll tell ya, I have learned a lot tonight. Who knew? I figure that these underwear must be meant as a weight-loss incentive, implying that the wearer can become the The Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Machine. Now, any blog that is a lean, mean, fat-reducing machine is going to be good. First of all, anything that implies fat reduction in today’s McDonald blubber-clad society is going to draw in tons of visitors. And then there is the part about being lean and mean. This blog won’t be cluttered. It will have great information conveyed in a clear, concise manner. Absolutely no nonsense.
You have the pink blog. I’m somewhat guilty of this. I’ve been told that the color pink will drive off male visitors, but as this picture clearly shows, men can be quite comfortable with the color pink! If I ever get tired of you guys hanging around, I will consider putting up a flowery background with some Hello Kitties thrown in for good measure, though.
It may not help you in the romance department, but jokes will help you in the blog department. Apparently, I Can Has Cheeseburger gets 15 million page views a month and earns $5,600 in that same time period. With posts like the one today, I’d say they’ve earned every penny of it.
Apparently, no real person was harmed in the creation of this ad.
If your blog is like this, then you’re good. Geeks are in style now. However, I’d guess that this sort of thing works better on the blog than in the bedroom. Just saying.
I really don’t know what to think about these, other than if I encountered them in real life I would be unable to refrain from laughing hysterically until I wheezed. Transparency is generally good in the blog world, just as long as there isn’t too much of it, you know? Don’t review products that you know nothing about just so you can insert affiliate code and hope to make a few bucks off of some dude shopping for a new car stereo. That is not slick, it’s slithery. Weblog Tools Collection has a good article on this topic. On the other hand, it is not good form to post pictures of your stuff on the Internet, especially if it is unexpected. That’s when transparency has went too far.
Why doesn’t the guy wearing these have that pumped up six-pack? Be honest. Is this your blog? Is it wearing that boring and not-cool-nerdy blue business look with nothing to spice it up even a little bit? Do you write exclusively about mutual funds? Did you know that the best selling underwear on Amazon is tighty-whities? Why? Why??????
After I got over the shock, I was delighted to realize that men also wonder if their butts look good in their jeans. Do they really? This is wild. So do you pad your blog? Padding it with content is good, while padding it with gazillions of ads and other visual clutter is not. Take a look at this blog. Pretty clean design, and it’s still making over 6K a month.
Aw…this guy even looks embarrassed! They should have distracted him or something. These briefs have the unfortunate name of “Balls in One Erector”. I’m trying to think of some way that this could apply to a blog, but I’m laughing too hard. Perhaps you’d like to give it a try.
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Information Improvisation
Homes must be designed in a way that there is proper space and place for everything to give it a well maintained look and elegance in the way of life. The bathroom cabinet must be built away from the shower to prevent it from rusting. The kitchen drawer slides must be well lubricated for smooth functioning and extra storage boxes space must be made for convenience in living. Different materials and eatables can be stored inside homes using different techniques which are available on the internet on home storage research page. Homes made in severe climatic zones also install energy storage cabins to preserve energy.
