Blogging Thoughts On Hosts Themes Widgets

I have been receiving emails and in the form of comments, that I write on Blogging, provide some tips.

Blogging.

I do not presume to be a good blogger, but I shall put down some points I have learnt over the past four years, things I have learnt by making mistakes.

Points I make here may be used as a starter  and there are good bloggers and more technical savvy people are around, one can seek their help.

Let me reiterate I am a totally ignorant person of Computer and the Internet, let alone the terms like ‘Hosting’ etc.

Hosting.

I am writing on WordPress platform, that too in WordPress .com .

There are others like Bloggers of Google.

I do have blogs there.

WordPress,to me, may not look as flashy and rich as Bloggers,I find that very easy to write and the technical problems like texts disappearing, blogs not being visible ,images do not show,Links not displaying properly are very few and far in between.

And in such cases WordPress attends to them immediately with practically no lead time..

If they have a problem, they let me know and once they are set right, they inform me again.

In some cases, they inform me in advance.

Though Bloggers is very appealing and has a wide variety of formatting, to me it seems, that you have to do it by yourself, and that is too dicey for me.

But WordPress does every thing for me, I just concentrate on writing.

And too many options and I am lost as to what to choose in terms of Themes and Design.

Choosing.com,org,.net.

I am told there are some technical reasons for the difference but I am assured by WordPress is that your readership will not be affected by choosing any of them.

Going professional might help in terms of making the site design more appealing and will help one monetize better.

That is your choice.

So long as the platform on which you write does not give you headaches in terms of not displaying your posts,  your search results appear on the Internet, your problems are attended to immediately that Hosting should do.

Be it WordPress or Blogger.

I have not detailed about the other Hosts as it would beyond the scope of this post.

Themes.

This , again , is a question of personal choice.

If one wants Glitzy you have it..

But the more Links, Widgets, complicated Designs, the loading time becomes slower and that affects your Readership.

Keep the Widgets to the essentials to keep the reader engaged, from his stand point, not your own.

Apart from Meta description, Log in details,Follow,provide Widgets for Categories,Tags, Archives,Recent Posts,Top Posts and anything more is optional.

If your post is Photography oriented check with the Hosts for tips.

Too many Links in a Page or even in Home page affects the Loading time of your site.

The purpose of a Blog is to be read, primarily.

Make sure it is simple and readable, with reasonably standard fonts and size”do not use fancy stylish fonts, they may appeal to you, not necessarily the reader.

Avoid high lighting(actually this point should come under ‘Content‘)  or keep it to the minimum and Caps is strict”.No No”

I started off with DePo Masthead Theme of WordPress(three columns, I like it very much).

Then as my son told me repeatedly that my Blog looked like a scribbling pad, I switched to WordPress Sunspot Theme.

It looked very good to me.

In a week I started receiving suggestions that I change the design to some thing simple and more readable as the color combination was affecting readability.

Now I am using the Theme ‘Able’

I received feedback it is good.

Browsers.

I have used almost all of them,Google Chrome,Mozilla,Safari et al.

Google Chrome and Mozilla are very good.

Mozilla has very rich features in terms of easy sharing tools and convenience in writing .

But where Google Chrome scores over is that Google Chrome feels light to touch while Mozilla is heavy.(This is the best I can describe this point, I do not what it is.

So I am with Google Chrome for writing and with Mozilla for sharing.

More posts on Blogging follow.

 

 

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• A WordPress Glossary (business2community.com)

Check Plagiarism, News Blogs Instantly

I came across an interesting article in the Atlantic on Journalism being turned out to be churnalism.

Blogs.

With access to Internet, people can have easy and immediate access to information.

How to find out if it is plagiarized?

Story:

We live in an age of information, it is said again and again. But that doesn’t mean we live in an age of good information, as last week seemed intent on bearing out. In fact, quite the opposite. Countless times each day, we have to weigh the credibility of a piece of information, and decide whether to put our faith in it.

It’s not really feasible for each of us to track each piece of information to its source (nor would it be efficient), so, instead, we use clues — who wrote this, where is this published, does this square with other information we know. But the trouble is that these clues aren’t perfect indicators, at least in part because even credible publications and professional journalists sometimes regurgitate information without giving it a careful vetting, a process often referred to as churnalism (just as gross as it sounds).

Today, the Sunlight Foundation has unveiled a tool that will help us all with this work. “The tool is, essentially, an open-source plagiarism detection engine,” web developer Kaitlin Devine explained to me. It will scan any text (a news article, e.g.) and compare it with a corpus of press releases and Wikipedia entries. If it finds similar language, you’ll get a notification of a detected “churn” and you’ll be able to take a look at the two sources side by side. You can also use it to check Wikipedia entries for information that may have come from corporate press releases. The tool is based on a similar project released in the United Kingdom two years ago, which the Sunlight Foundation supported with a grant to make it open source. Churnalism will be available both on the website and as a browser extension. Its database of press releases includes those from EurekaAlert! in addition to PR Newswire, PR News Web, Fortune 500 companies, and government sources.

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/04/is-it-journalism-or-just-a-repackaged-press-release/275206/

What one is to do is to submit either a url or Text to find out if it is Plagiarized.

And hit ‘Submit’

You get the results immediately.

My son has often said that I comment on News Stories , Articles and I have a Blog.

So, his contention is that my Readership and Ranking in India and in Alexa is actually not correct.

My reply was and is that a News or an event has to be reported first .

Then for the second writer this material becomes ‘plagiarized”

That means that there can be no News or Report appearing more than once,

So, the content may be elsewhere but your views and perspectives have to be unique.

This was my reply to him

I wanted to test this with this soft ware( I tested with another Software and the result was ‘No Matches, that is ‘original)

Testing software at:

http://churnalism.sunlightfoundation.com/

I submitted two articles, one containing information from sources on KGB paid Rrajiv Gandhi( Is ubmitted the url)

The result.

‘TEXT MATCHED

No Matches

and another The Text from my url http://ramanan50.wordpress.com/2013/04/24/directing-the-mind-yoga-sutra-1-12/

“Explaining that the modifications of the Chithi,Yoga delves further into describing the tool that can make the Modifications extinct and enable the Individual to return to his original Self or His Natural Identity..

The modifications of the Chitha starts from and due to the Mind and its activities.

Can we control The Mind be controlled and make us do our bidding?

Yoga confirms we can.

But it is difficult.

We are aware how difficult it is to reign in the Mind.

The more one tries to control the Mind, more it would become uncontrollable and roam, than it would have been, had we kept quiet.

This is not a disqualification for practicing Yoga nor is this unique to you, of us , the fickle minded.

Arjuna,who mastered the art of Concentration, for he was the one, when asked by his Guru to hit a bird,after felling it , said later, that he could see nothing else but the bird only, found it difficult to control the Mind and confesses to lord Krishna in The Bhagavad Gita.(6.34)

The Result.

TEXT MATCHED

No Matches

 

TEXT SUBMITTEDSomething Wrong With The Text? Flag It Now.Photo Essay on the killing of Tamerlan, the suspect involved in Boston Marathon bombing, who was killed in Watertown shoot out. The Tsarnaev brothers take cover. Multiple police vehicles. Kitzenberg says you can see the suspects firing at police officers. Kitzenberg’s zoomed-in photo, highlighting a pressure cooker bomb. A blast mark from the explosion. After shooting had stopped my roommate found a bullet hole that penetrated his west-facing wall and continued to pierce through his desk chair. Watertown Shootout From Kitzenberg’s blog: Body of Tamerlan, Boston Bomber. Watertown Shootout Timeline. UPDATE 3:20PM 4/23/2013: I have decided to take down the photos during the ongoing investigation. On Thursday night [Friday morning] at 12:45am EST. I was in my living room working on my computer when I heard multiple “pops” coming from outside. At that point, I had no idea that I was about to become an eye witness to the biggest news story in the country. When I looked outside my window, I could clearly see two people (the Tsarnaev brothers) taking cover behind an SUV and engaging in gunfire. After witnessing shots being fired I promptly ran up the stairs to my 3rd floor bedroom to distance myself a little further away from the gunfire. As I ran into my room, overwhelmed by shock, adrenaline, and curiosity, I jumped onto my bed to stay below the windows but also have a clear view at the shooters and photograph the event. As soon as I was laying safely on my bed I started taking pictures with my iPhone 5 and captured the following images that documented the terrifying shootout with the Tsarnaev brothers, which then led to an overnight citywide manhunt. Here are the two brothers taking cover behind the black Mercedes SUV and shooting towards Watertown Police officers. (Taken at 12:46:11AM) http://urbangrounds.com/2013/04/tamerlan-tsarnaev-radical-islam/ Images Ack.Huffpost. Like this: Like Loading.”

The Result.

TEXT MATCHED

No Matches

2 url submitted:

.http://ramanan50.wordpress.com/2011/02/16/kgb-paid-money-to-sonia-rahul-rajiv-gandhi/

Result.

TEXT MATCHED

No Matches

Essential Rule of Blogging that,

‘you can quote, provide Links, Sources, Credits and make sure your views are original’

        is proved.

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Million Hits Ramanan50 WordPress

The site records its Million Hits on 14 January 2013.

Ramani’s Blog

Started in August 2009,Ramani’s blog reached half a million hits on 17 April 2012 and in ten months has reached a Million.

Two Simple Words W that can not adequately convey my feelings to readers.

Thank You.

I am informed by leading Bloggers that this mile stone is  remarkable considering the time scale and the areas it covers.

“It is also good to see a single contributor posting with out guest blogs .”

On the other hand , my son says that I write my blogs by commenting on News item which are of interest to others any way, and there is nothing remarkable.

May be he is right.

But as I said earlier in my blogs under Pages that I started blogging not with the intention of getting Hits alone and that I wanted to be heard on subjects I love.

What have I learnt?

I am happy to begin with.

I can keep my self engaged and keep my brain active without allowing it to brood over silly things of day-to-day Life.

And yes, it gives me recognition in unexpected places.

Last year when I had been to Chennai I had to go to the State bank Of India to attend to some work to be done there for my sister in Law.

The Counter was busy and there was a long queue.

After about ten minutes, a man came to me and asked me what I wanted  and I explained to him my business,

He  said

” I think you are ramanan50, I am the Branch manager, please come to my Cabin and I will help you’

I went in and he told me he was a regular reader of my posts and asked me to write on Consumer information.

I was happy that I could be recognized purely on the basis of what  I have written.

Last year I attended the Indi Bloggers Meet at Bangalore .

I was  extended a warm welcome and it became very personal when they knew I was writing in WordPress platform and had attained a reasonable Alexa rank

Let me tell you the average age of the group was 26!

And I was the oldest Guy around.

Some of them wanted tips.

I told them that I  was not a professional writer but I promised I would give some facts I learnt once I reach One Million Hits.

Here are some things I learnt.

Write what you feel passionately about.

State your views how ever silly it might sound tho you.

Do not write to please by compromising your views,it shows in the long run that you are not true in your opinions.

Write on a subject on which you have a question or doubt.people are interested in learning the answers as much as you do.

Provide sources for your information and acknowledge.

Appreciate other bloggers when due.

If you find a good post, reblog them.

Tag the posts accurately, it comes with over a period of time.

The procedure I follow is.  (how would I search/Google this  information?)

Write naturally and  do not force key words.

If you write naturally, key words will fall automatically.

Maintain a good text ratio- minimum 15%.

 

Check Recommendations from Woorank.

 

Write the Attributes in for Images.

 

Always provide an image,video  relevant to the story.

If you have posted earlier on the same subject link it to your new post if it is not identical.

Other wise keep updating your earlier posts.

Avoid profanity and abusive language.

If you want to write NSFW, make it Private.

Link with Social networking sites like Facebook,Twitter.

Distribute the posts to StumbleUpon, Digg.

Post comments on News papers,participate is discussions /Forums.

Right now I can recall only these.

Happy Blogging.

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“Indiblogger Meet” Slick,Filled with Levity.Video

As I mentioned in my earlier blog, I attended the Indiblogger meet at The Gardenia Bangalore on 11  November 2012,co hosted by Nokia and Indiblogger.

The Meet witnessed  a large turn out of Bloggers,some three hundred of them( I am told it is a record).

Nokia Apps tasting

Anchored by Rajiv Makhani of Tech Guru and Michelin award winner Vikas Khanna, the event was one those most professionally hosted in a thoroughly enjoyable manner.

It was slickly packaged that, as I remarked to Rajiv ,that one never knew when the Indiblogger ended and Nokia began.

The jibes and counter jibes of Rajiv and Vikas and both of them together with the audience were absolutely top class.

English: untitled 1 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

To those from the South ,especially from Tamil Nadu,who crib that the North Indian Anchors/presenters get undeserved fame and money,watch these guys perform!

The manner in which Rajiv pulled up a blogger on the dais, who interrupted Vikas while was the Quiz Master, I  do not think she would ever think of  interesting any one while they speak!

The interaction time between bloggers could have been more.

Many remarked that it was more of a Nokia Show.

Probably, Yes.

But you do not expect some body to spend so much for nothing.

The Meet on the whole, was a memorable one.

*Blog on Nokia Follows.

#NokiaAppTasting Rajiv Makhni Dancing for Gangnam

Related:

https://twitter.com/search/realtime?q=%23nokiaapptasting

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‘Twitter is Unhealthy’Twitter Co Founder!

Addictive,True, so is blogging.

But some addictions are better than most and Blogging Twittering belong to this category.

“The co-founder of Twitter has urged its 500million users to get off the micro-blogging website and do something else instead.

Christopher Stone said he did not want anybody to spend hours using the site because it is ‘unhealthy’.

Instead he said they should dip in and find what they want – then stop and do other things.

Twitter Addictive.

Mr Stone was one of the four men who created Twitter in 2006 and has remained creative director, helping it become one of the most influential social networks in the world.”

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2105462/Dont-use-Twitter–says-Twitter-boss-brands-spending-hours-site-unhealthy.html

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2105462/Dont-use-Twitter–says-Twitter-boss-brands-spending-hours-site-unhealthy.html#ixzz1neVDgAEe