Wondering What Ever Happened to Michael Bolton?

This is Really Cool

So It's Blue Monday

Well, at least according to this article at Treehugger.com it is anyways. Psychologist Cliff Arnall of Cardiff University developed a formula to come to this conclusion. I'm not so edumacated on all that mathematicianal type stuff so I will just have to take his word for it. Meh, it's Monday; makes sense, right?.......

At any rate I thought I would just post a little vid I saw over on the Shana Logic blog just incase anyone needs some cheering up on this potentially bluest of all Mondays.

ENJOY!!!



OH, those animals! Gives the term "Crazy like a Fox" new meaning doesn't it?

Cats....They're Good Entertainment.

Good (Blog) Housekeeping

I have recently been working on the blogging thing from behind the scenes, from research about post ideas to the technical side of things. Results from this will be up within the next week or so as I am implementing a new layout.

In the meantime I want to share some of the very helpful resources I have come across.
Yes, more geek tools for those who want to know.

In my research I found a blog which has very helpful information on almost all aspects of blogging, from some of the technical stuff to the daily grind of it all. The Written Word has definitely been an eye opener on several levels. I think part of what drew me to it was the writing style. Angela Swanlund has an easily understood way of getting the point across, even when the topic is technical. If there is "tech-speak" it is usually explained in simple terms for those of us who don't find techno terminology our fist language. I encourage anyone who might want to take blog writing to a higher level to take a look.

I also came across this very informative site somehow and this article about site maps was a big help. I submitted my site map to Google after using one of the site-map generators I was referred to. Hopefully my blog will get more traffic out of this but only time will tell.

YES, I am a Geek, Thank You...

Totally inspired by the Geek King, McLuvin himself of Superbad.

Some Very Basic Blogging Tips for Newbies

Once in a while I see artsy/crafty type blogs (that are usually newer) which have some interesting posting strategies. Links with straight HTML, pics that wander off the page area, dead links and other little things that are minor but also act as a blaring banner of "I am new at this blogging thing!!!" to visitors.

Being an amateur blogger myself I know how hard it is to navigate your way around all the issues that come up with this medium in the early stages. It is easy to get discouraged if you feel you don't have the necessary tools to give your best post presentation.

If you feel this might apply to you, DON'T despair! There are a few very minor things you can do to get a better experience as a newbie.

Here are some basics: (click photo for more detail)

#1 - Use the tools at hand - Write your post in "Compose" mode first and use the necessary tools; I will write about HTML mode in another post as it is also very powerful.

• # 2 - Spellcheck - it's there for a reason!
  
• #3 - When linking in a post, highlight the text you want to link and hit the "Add Link" button but be sure to insert the correct code
• #4 - Use the extra "bling" for text sparingly and never use UPPER case letters unless there is a VERY good reason (this is considered yelling at the reader in "netiquette") Colours and fancy fonts are fun but it tends to get messy if you go too crazy
• #5 - The eraser can be used to edit the formatting you went nuts with (#4)
• #6 - Ooooooh - pretty pictures! Net surfers tend to skim articles and a good pic or graphic is always a nice way to add some punch to a post
• #7 - Make use of labels which categorize your posts for easy navigation
• #8 - Preview your post before you publish so you can get an idea of what it will look like and click on your text links to make sure they are working

There you have it. *** Obviously this is a list intended for Blogger/Blogspot users as per my handy graphic. Blogger is by far the easiest platform and the first choice for newer bloggers with less technical knowhow. If you have any other tips or questions please do share in the comments.

Has this post been helpful to anyone reading? Let me know!

This Week's Geektool

I found this rad tool that lets you put a nice ribbon on the top corner of your blog. Check it out! Is that not super cool or what? Click on it to see where it takes you, I dare you.

If you want to get one of your own just check out the Quick Ribbon site where I got mine at. You can customize it to your personal taste. I made a pretty pink one for the Ella Cinders blog that takes you to the Ella Cinders Etsy shop. Too Cool!

Reminder to Etsians; Treasury West is Still in Beta

Here you see Vicki Diane Designs' second attempt at her Treasury hosted in Treasury West.
The original mysteriously vanished in to cyberspace and is no more. Not even the comments remained. RIP original. You are missed.

Vicki swiftly made lemonade out of her lemons though as she filled a new Treasury with items from people who commented on her dilemma. (So sweet, thanks Vicki!)

It seems we needed a reminder that Treasury West is still in Beta and subject to random fits of destruction like this so take note fellow Etsians; Use Treasury West at your own risk. Apparently this happened to a large number of the Treasuries at some point this morning. Unfortunate.

Posting Dilemma

So today I am lamenting about what to post about and here comes Pam with the answer. Yes the answer is a question but it's a good one.

Pam has a great business and blog that will be getting a small face lift within the week as I promised. She also had a question regarding how to customize the basic "Comments" tab at the bottom of blog posts while using Blogger.

I had wondered about this too for quite some time and I finally figured it out when I was playing around with one of my test blogs. You might also have wondered about how to customize this basic feature as it seemed to me it is not that plainly obvious.


When you are in the "Layout" mode of Blogger/Blogspot, hit the Edit button on the bottom right corner of the Post area (as shown.) This opens up a window where you can change several of the posting options and there is a field that indicates what is going to show up where "comments" should be and you can just change it to your preferred wording. I am fond of alliterations myself but you might be into something more straight forward.

"Silly Sayings", "Random Rants"? I have seen some interesting takes on these but please remember to keep it appealing and inviting for readers to comment. So there you go.

LOOK! To the Right!!!

So just in case you are new here, please take a moment to appreciate the pretty BLANK advertising spots on your right.

They are the Project Wonderful spots that I posted about and guess what......They are brand spankin' new so they are FREE!!!!

***UPDATE: My very sharp friend with the great name, Stacey pointed out that my ad box was not activated but it is now.

Wednesday Wonderful

I know I was supposed to be blogging about a giveaway but things have just been a little hectic around here with the frenzy of end of school ritual.

I did want to post about Project Wonderful which I have been contemplating for a while now. The program is a solution to affordable advertising for small businesses and it uses ads that are on a bidding system so that you can really get some big exposure for very little funds.

I have put a few bids out to some smaller sites and I will see how it turns out. I have also signed up to have an ad bar on Psilology which is subject to approval of course so stay posted on the status. Great ads at rock bottom prices coming soon so stay tuned!!!

If anyone has some feedback about their experiences with Project Wonderful I would LOVE to hear about it.

New Store!!!

I found this rad new Paypal feature. It is still in Beta but I thought I would try it out so have a look.

A Paypal Storefront widget! I'm still not sure how it works but hopefully it will refresh when I update it. One downfall to it is that it is too wide for my sidebar columns so I will have to try and find a way around that. Also it includes some Flash which tends to mess with my computer so we'll have to see.

What do you think? Should I keep it?

Some Google Firsts, F.Y.I.

Lately I have been trying to figure out how to get some better traffic and ranking for this blog and things seem to be improving. Everything I do with my blogging has all been DIY in nature so it has definitely been a steep learning curve.

Today I give you some interesting stats concerning my Google ranking on some search terms.
In fact, this blog is coming in #1 for two searches of particular note.

"Etsy Alternatives" and "Ye old hooters"!!!

I know what you're thinking. "How did she figure that out?" and "Why would anyone search that second term?"

The first question I can answer but not the second. I have no idea why someone would search "ye old hooters" though I am guessing the person who did probably has a good sense of humour (and no it wasn't me!)

As for the first question, part of this process of learning about SEO and PR and such means I keep a keen eye on my stats. I use Statcounter.com for tracking visitors and referring sites to my growing list of sites. I even use the Google Analytics tools. The searches my blog comes up on are getting interesting to say the least.

Being the number one spot for the Etsy alternatives search has been great because I really do get lots of people searching the term that land themselves here. If you take a look you will see that Psilology even trumps Etsy itself for that search so it makes me all the more happy. I only hope I am keeping it interesting enough to keep them coming back. I want to keep things fresh for the readers so I take requests just like the DJ! Please share your comments.

Etsy 101 - The Mother of all Lists

I get quite a few hits from people who are looking for alternatives to Etsy as an online sales options due to my post way back when.

I never did get around to critiquing and reviewing the options that I posted but I still plan on getting to that one day soon. In the meantime, I am going to stick with it in a typical love-hate relationship that I have got going on here.

On that note, I get to the main topic of today's post;

Loosewire Studio has compiled an extensive and informative list of resources to use while on Etsy. I have been on Etsy for a while now but am by no means an expert and I really learned lots of great "insider info" on the thread about it over on the Etsy forum. If you are looking at alternatives to Etsy as a current seller, you might want to check out the "Mother of all Lists"target="_blank" for some insight into some essential tools that might help your selling experience.



One of the useful links provided in the list is for Picnik, an online photo-editing software that works wonders. Next week I will be posting a before and after of my shabby photos turned fabulous using the Picnik site.

Do you have any favourites from Loosewire's master list?

5 things Nobody Needs to see On a Blog

Lately there have been a few issues that have been bothering me as I am seeing more and more blogs out there in the Big Bad Blogosphere. It seems there are so many blogs, good and not so good that I read but there are a few little features that some of them incorporate for whatever reason and some of these features have no business being on a blog.

I am a designer at heart so I am always thinking of how people interact with each other through this fine medium we have at our disposal. I amazes me what some programmer geeks come up with thinking "How great will this be?..." when the cruel reality is entirely different, entirely UNcool to see on a site.

Now there may be a time and a place for each of these features somewhere on the net but as a general rule, I do not like to see these on a blog as there is simply no need and in some cases they actually hinder the reader (hint; this is bad!)

Here they are;

Flashing, rolling text or banner ads.
When reading a blog these are particularly distracting to the eye. How can I read the content when something is flashing to get my attention?

Visible counters.
While probably the least offensive, they don't need to be on a blog unless you are in the top 50 or so list of blogs. Does anyone really need to advertise that they have only had a hundred and 5 visitors over the last 3 years of blogging?

Music.
Tunes that play automatically are fun but not everyone has the same taste in music. Call me Canadian but I don't like to offend potential readership with my country music so why am I subject to someone else's eighties hair band fetish?

Snaps. (shown above)
These are my biggest pet peeve. These are little pop-up windows that show up when you scroll over an outgoing link. Completely UNnecessary. They take up half of my small laptop screen and sometimes even freezes it up. Not everyone has the latest technology for optimum viewing so why ruin what little surfing time they might have?

Outgoing link pop stats.
Hybrid of stat counter and snaps, this feature is not really that bad but who needs to know they are just like all the other folks who have visited the site?

Have any thoughts to add? Maybe there is something irking that I have missed so chime in!

Mother's Day Giveaway Round-Up

OKAY, I had big ideas for hosting a giveaway for Mother's Day myself but time has done it's usual Houdini act and escaped me again on this event. Instead I give you a nice round-up of Mommy focused giveaway's hosted by some other magnificent places in the blogosphere.

Really, I think this list is probably a better gift for readers because the potential to win is so high so get to it.
Check out the links, enter the contests and WIN, WIN, WIN!

The Mommy Daddy blog is having an awesome giveaway, and they are celebrating being new parents too!

5 Minutes for Mom is having an equally awesome giveaway with no less than 7 different prizes, so the odds to win BIG are BIG!

Hip Mama's Place is also getting in on the freebie fun over here.

A Bookworm's Diary is also giving out some goods with so many ways to get your name in you are bound to win something. (Mention my blog on your entry and I get EXTRA entries! SWEEEET!)

Another blog round-up of daily contests can be found over at All About Kimberly with some high stakes sweepstakes. (*Mostly for US residents so read the fine print and be sure to qualify!)

And last but not least, Melinda Zook has a cool geek gadget up for grabs over here. ***This one closes tonight at midnight so, quick, like lightning zip on over and enter! To get your attention I will add her uber-fab badge to this post. (Yes, I love a good visual aid!)

I Found a Great Online Selling Option

Some of you who have been keeping up with my online-goings-on might recall my exploration into the vast arena of online shopping cart providers. I have posted about different options in the past and here I have found one more that deserves a mention.


Ashop Commerce is a great provider of shopping cart software with many extras to enhance your ecommerce software experience. They offer free store design with many versatile templates for an attractive shop set up. The pricing structure is varied to address the diverse needs of those of us in the market for shopping cart options. If you check out their shopping cart software you will notice they really do cover all aspects of selling online for merchants.

As a bonus, I noticed that they also offer SEO techniques within the shopping cart software which is something I think all online merchants find challenging. What more could we ask for in a complete online selling solution? They even have a free 10 DAY trial offer that doesn't even require a credit card! I think I might just be their next customer.

March is Almost Over

Already! How time flies!
In that vein, check out my new widget at the right sidebar. Now you can all know how much quality time you are wasting spending reading my most interesting little blog. You can get your own clock right here and there are a few styles to choose from, so go ahead, time's a wastin'!

While you are at it, have a peek into my Etsy shop. I have updated with a few brand new items that are completely different; some uber cool banners for fellow Etsians.
Have a look and tell me what you think.

Here is an Interesting Image Tool

I found this new tool great for blogging images called Polyvore.
There is quite an assortment of images in the archives so there are many applications that I can think of using this for.

It is quick to sign up and the image sets you create are all saved on the site server so it very handy for bloggers without using up personal hard drive space. This image I made only took about 10 minutes, including the sign-up process! Polyvore is bookmarked on my computer now.