What Happens in Vegas…Gets Blogged About at Megavegalicious.com
What do you do if your a 23 year old living in Las Vegas and looking to start your new life in the United States. You blog! Forget your computer programming life in Romania and embrace the glitz and glamour of sin city. Let the world know about your adventures with a fun and interesting blog called Megavegalicious.com!
Last September Anca Bristena did just that. She started an original and fun blog called Megavegalicious.com. (Which should win some honor for the most creative blog name in some time.) At Megavega, Anca posts about everything from shrimp cocktails to blog reviews. Of course, the continuing thread throughout the blog is Vegas in all it’s glory!
I really enjoy the conversational style of Anca’s writing and the different, sometimes quirky look at Las Vegas life. After having visited Megavega from some time, I’ve decided to write a review of the site. Here’s my thoughts on the blog, the stories and the Vegas adventure.
What I love:
- When someone said that content is the most important aspect of any blog, Anca was definitely listening. The stories and information are well written, entertaining, and often humorous. The posts remind me of conversations at a friend’s house where the topic is usually light, changes frequently, and is never stuffy or pretentious. For a couple recent examples, see My 100th Post! and 10 Things I’ve Learned So Far.
- The simplicity of the design puts the emphasis where it belongs…on the content. The design is simple and the font is large and easy to read. There are not distracting ads or other junk to clutter the page.
- Anca adds videos of Vegas in many of her posts. These videos may show a Vegas attraction or how to make a pizza. But each video is well chosen and I’ve yet to find one that didn’t work.
- Anca creates a community feel at her blog by responding to comments and interacting with readers. She rewards frequent commentors with a “Top Commentors” plugin at the bottom of the page.
- There is always something new to read at Megavega! Anca is one of the most prolific bloggers I know. She reached the 100th post after only 229 days. That’s an average of one post every 2.3 days. Recently Anca has been posting almost daily.
What I would change:
- The graphic and logo for Megavega are begging to be improved. Just like the logo on my own blog, the Megavega logo would benefit from some design work.
- There is no search feature on the blog. Anca could help her readers find posts and Las Vegas topics by adding a search function.
- Several key features are hidden at the bottom of the page. I would move the popular posts, archives and categories lists to the empty right hand column. Currently the column is just wasted space and these features would encourage visitors to discover more of the gems at Megavega.
- With the already long list of posts on the blog, I would love to see an archives page like the one generated by the Clean Archives plugin from iDunzo.com.
Anca, thanks for all your work to bring us Las Vegas from a blogger’s point of view. Keep up the great work and the sense of humor. I’ll definitely be back, and may even plan a visit to the city of lights this summer!
Where Does Blogging Fit Into Your Life?
Blogging often starts as a curiosity or minor interest. You write a few posts, get a few visitors and a subscriber or two. You start reading other blogs (if you’ve not been doing this already) and adding more and more to your RSS reader. After a couple weeks, you find that ideas for you blog creep into your head during business meetings and social conversations. Soon blogging becomes a passion….no, an obsession.
For many of us, blogging started as a hobby but became something more. In my own life, I started blogging as an outlet from work; a way to share my ideas and gain ideas from others. But it didn’t take long for blogging to become much more than that. Soon it was two blogs, then three. A couple months ago I added a fourth blog as a resource for a training workshop I was doing. Four blogs will keep you very busy.
But I also have a life outside of blogging. And recently, that life has gotten in the way of my blogging. Well, maybe that’s not a good way to put it. The fact is, I have to set priorities for my life, just like each one of you. And my priorities are family and work. It was work that needed the most attention and will continue to consume the majority of my time for the next month. So, something had to give, and it’s been my blogging.
I don’t blog for a living. Heck, I could probably make more with a sign on the street corner. But I do value my blogging for other reasons. Nonetheless, blogging has taken a backseat in my life for the past several weeks. Any of my regular readers already know this just from the infrequent posting on this blog. I’ve even got a few kind emails (thank you) from readers wanting to know what had happened. As I said to them, it’s just a situation where life had other plans than I did.
When you are blogging, or involved in any hobby for that matter. You need to keep things in perspective. Keep your priorities straight, even if something has to suffer a bit. I’m not suggesting that you neglect your blog, but don’t let it take over your life. We’ve probably all heard the jokes about husbands or wives that seem wed to their blogs, allowing their relationships to suffer. But when it really happens, something is desperately wrong. Put blogging in it’s correct place, and give it the proper attention only AFTER you have taken care of the other priorities.
So, I’m probably not going to be posting as often as I’d like during the next month. Let me apologize to you now. You may want to take the time to visit some of my older posts or spend the time working on your own blog. I will be posting once or twice a week, so I’m not disappearing entirely. And watch out for mid-May, when I get some of my free time back. There is still a lot I want to accomplish on this blog and a lot that I want to share.
[PhotoCredit:OiMax]
The War Against Blog Commentors Who Use Keywords as Names
A couple months ago, I followed an interesting discussion at Remarkablogger related to a new comment policy that Michael Martine posted for his blog. It seems that Michael had become frustrated with the increasing number of comments on his blog that appeared to be more interested in plugging their websites keywords than adding to the dialogue. After some very interesting and thoughtful comments from his readers on the new policy change, Michael posted a slightly modified policy.
It was fun to be an observer looking in as Michael worked to resolve this problem, but now I’m more than an observer. It seems that BloggingStartup has also entertained more than a couple comments that appear to be more about promoting someone’s website than adding valuable comments. Take, for instance, the last two comments on my April 6th post. The names given for the two commentors were “baccarat” and “Internet Advertising”. I have also had comments from individuals named POS Software, Hairstyles and EPOS in the last couple weeks. They each left comments specific to the post, so I left them alone.
So now the question is, should I continue to allow comments with these names, or should I enforce my policy of no keyword comment names. Hmmm, a real dilemma.
First, let me make a couple points. Number one is, I value each of my readers, including those that push keywords in their comment names. I don’t want to alienate anyone who takes the time to visit my little blog and read my posts. I particularly appreciate each individual that shares their thoughts through commenting. Also, I understand the desire on every bloggers part to promote their blog…and commenting on other blogs is a valuable means for doing this.
But ask Michael said on his blog (and I summarize), when you leave a keyword for your name, it means: “•It makes it difficult for me to respond…•It makes you look like a cheap spammer…•It makes me look cheap….•It simply isn’t appropriate.” So that lead me to make a decision. I decided that I can no longer allow comments to be left with a name that is mearly a keyword to promote your website. The names left on comments must somehow represent who you are. So let me share specifically what I mean and, at the same time, try to be as fair and flexible as possible.
If you use a personal name followed by a branding title, that is fine. For example, I often leave comments using the name Jim|BloggingStartup. This give my personal name and the title of the brand I want to promote. I specifically do not separate the two words in Blogging Startup because I do not want this interpreted as keyword plugging. Other acceptable examples from comments left on this blog include Gina Jackson Personal Fitness and Alex Top 10 Web Hosting Reviews. Although Alex’s name is a borderline example, at least I have a name.
If the name is the FULL name of your blog or website, that is acceptable. I know, this means that individuals will still be able to plug keywords if they are part of the blog name. But I will accept the premise that a blog or website name IS a personal identifier. Acceptable examples I’ve seen on this blog include ABlogContest, IndoContest, EWDirectory, and ExecutedToday. But adding spaces between words and .com on the end only makes it appear to be more advertising then commenting. By the way, I reserve the right to edit your name to comply with this expectation.
If your name is just keywords and not the full name of your blog, I will remove the comment or change the name. This is what I have done with comments in the past and those that I had recently allowed. I have also sent emails to each of the commentors to let them know of this action. If they send me an alternative name to use, I will repost their comment. But in the future, I can’t email everyone about this policy. Besides, any regular blogger should recognize that just using keywords for a name is not appropriate.
One final thing, I almost pulled Aaron Cook’s comments when I found out that he doesn’t even know where the kitchen is in his home. But I’ve decided to leave his comments as an act of solidarity with my blogging brother. Despite the suspect name, the blog is worth a visit.
And if you want to promote your blog (and if it’s no more than a year old) send me an email and ask for a review. There really is no need to stuffing your comment name with a bunch of keywords.
[PhotoCredit:Cambodia4KidsOrg]
Ms. Kinder Was Right: Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling Do Matter
Who’s Ms. Kinder? Ms. Kinder was my eighth grade English teacher. I assume she took the job when there was no more demand for Nazi drill sergeants. But despite Ms. Kinder’s Himmler-like techniques, what she taught us has proven to be valuable to my blogging success. So now, in front of my faithful blogging friends I confess, “Ms. Kinder, you were right. And I’m sorry about that little incident with the lunch box and the earth worms.”
When I first started blogging I really didn’t pay a lot of attention to my spelling, grammar or punctuation. I figured that a blog is more informal and these things really didn’t matter all that much. Well, four blogs later, I’ve seen the light. I learned how important these things were by my own reaction when reading blogs littered with offenses to the English language. Blogs with errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar led to a couple of responses:
- I’d get confused or frustrated when trying to understand what was written. This is particularly true when reading technology related blogs that already challenge my intellect.
- I’d loss trust in the knowledge of the writer. It just seemed difficult that someone who would misspell compensation on their blog could teach me anything about making money online.
But both of these reactions usually result in my leaving the blog. Grammar, spelling and punctuation errors are a distraction and a nuisance. I found that I just didn’t care to read a blog written with little care for use of proper English. It’s not that you won’t find errors on my own blogs, but I make an effort to make them as few as possible.
So, what do you do if you weren’t really listening when Ms. Kinder’s was explaining expletive constructions? Here’s my suggestions for minimizing English language atrocities on your blog:
- ALWAYS reread your article before posting to find errors. Proofreading is basic to all forms of professional writing; make it a regular part of your blogging.
- Use your spell checker. It may not always be right, but it’s a second opinion on your spelling. WordPress and most other major blog platforms have a spell check built right in. So use the tool to avoid some simple mistakes.
- Use other resources and guides to help improve your grammar and use of punctuation.
Here’s a list of online resources to help:
Punctuation Made Simple - Learn to properly use the colon, semicolon, apostrophe, dash and comma. Links are at the bottom of the page.
Guide to Grammar and Style - Jack Lynch’s site has a wealth of information, but can be a bit difficult to navigate. There is an alphabetical index and a rudimentary search engine.
Online Writing Lab Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling - Excellent resources. Brief and to the point.
Strunk’s The Elements of Style - The same guide I used in college, available online. This is a great read if you are looking to improve your writing.
So, no more excuses. Ms. Kinder was right, but more importantly, your readers deserve a quality blog. And good use of English is critical to a quality blog. So take the time to check your spelling, grammar and punctuation. Donut be won of those righters whose two lazy to get it write.
[PhotoCredit:ZapPowBang]
How’s Your Blogging Spam Filter Working?
One of the joys of blogging is screening the comments for the idiot spammers. You know…those fools that actually think people find their porn and Viagra by reading blog comments. Really, how successful is your online business if you have to resort to sticking ads on blogs by way of spamming comments?
Oh well, that’s where our spam filters come in. So the question today is, just how good is your spam filter? When I started this blog, I decided to do a little recordkeeping to see just how good my spam filter is. I have always used the Akismet spam filter that comes with my WordPress installation. Of course, I keep it up to date with each new update.
So, here’s the comment stats since my blog started in mid-January 2008.
Total Comments: 598
Total Spam Comments: 410
Percent of Comments that are Spam: 68.6%
Spam Comments Missed by Akismet: 1
Comments Incorrectly Filtered as Spam: 4
Percent of Spam Filtering Errors: <1.0%
Percent of Spam Peddling Porn or Viagra: 78.9%
Percent of My Budget for Buying Porn or Viagra: 0.0%
Percent of My Day Spent on Spam Problems: 0.0%
Now if only the Sacramento Kings stats looked as good. Quite honestly, I can’t imagine how the Akismet filter could do any better. Actually, I can’t imagine how it does even that well. The Akismet filter is absolutely amazing. By the way, the above photo reveals the secret behind the Akismet spam filter.
So, what spam filter do you use on your blog? Do you feel the performance is on par with the Askimet filter?
[PhotoCredit:Lloydyidau]
Best of the Blogs on Blogging #1
It’s time once again to dig the deepest depths of the blogosphere to bring you the best posts about blogging! But this time I’ve given the link roundup a new name. So, without further ado (whatever ado is?) here they are, the best of the best from the last week of March 2008.
WordPress Releases WordPress 2.5 Release Candidate 3 (Hack WordPress) - Okay, it’s just an announcement and a link, but it’s an important announcement for every WordPress blogger out there.
Simple Steps to Improving Quality of Posts (Blogtrepreneur) - Steven Snell lists some great tips for making each of your post a powerful message. This is a list every new blogger should read and remember.
Which Type of Blogger Are You - Leader or Follower (The BlogEntrepreneur) - Copycats beware! Bill is not going to let you get away with just mirroring the great bloggers. His post calls for originality and passion in your blogging, but just replicating the John Chow post.
How to Build Traffic Without Marketing (Entrepreneur’s Journey) - Is it possible to build your blog traffic without active marketing? Yaro Starak says yes, and his article describes how search engine traffic, like that from Google, can be attracted with a healthy supply of blog content.
Another Premium Theme Giveaway (Blog Oh! Blog) - Every new blogger must make that difficult decision of choosing a theme. But what if you would start with a high quality, premium theme for free? Jai Nischal Verma designs some of the best free and premium themes for WordPress, and now he’s giving away another premium theme. To enter, just blog about the contest and be sure there’s a link in the contest comments. In the meantime, take a look at the Trueblogger theme that Jai is giving away.
How a Few Measly Words can Dramatically Improve Your Blog Headline and Content (Copyblogger) - Wow, some great practical advise from Sean D’Souza. Stop struggling with writing your blog headlines and follow Sean’s excellent advice and crafting a powerful title.
20 Types of Pages that Every Blogger Should Consider (ProBlogger) - If you’re not reading ProBlogger, here’s another reason you should start. This post by ProBlogger creater, Darren Rowse, is packed with excellent ideas and recommendations for your blog pages. A must read.
How to Use Forums to Get Blog Traffic (ClickNewz) - If you’ve not been following the 31 day series by Lynn Terry, you should be. This post is #26 in the series on how to become a better blogger (based on the Collis Ta’eed article). Here Lynn provides simple, but effective advice for using online forums to promote your blog.
[PhotoCredit:JarvistFrost]