It's Not A Party If All My Friends Aren't Welcome!

My dear friend Anonymous Boxer gave a fabulous blog party a couple of months back and invited all her cool friends. I was honored to be one of said friends, and having never been to a blog party before I didn't know what to expect. FUN! The darn thing went on for a couple of days and while I only was able to attend a small bit of it, I had a blast!

So, AB has set the bar rather high as far as my expectations and while I was blog hopping this evening I came across a blog advertising a big annual blog party. I thought: "what fun, if it's anything like AB's party, should be a good time". As I was reading how the party would be conducted, I got half way down the page and saw no men would be allowed. Huh? Why not, and how do you prevent them from participating?

I think the majority of my readers might be women, but I've got some great male friends, like Bobby, Nick and Herb Urban. I see no good reason why they shouldn't be able to add their wit and humor to a blog party, and the fact that they wouldn't be made me not want to participate. I don't know if these guys had even heard of the party; I stumbled across it myself, but that's not really the point. It's the principle of the thing!

Maybe I'm just getting overly sentimental as I become a woman "of a certain age", but if my friends aren't welcome...well honey, I'm not that girl anymore.

The Niche Has Found Me!

In August of 2007 I was a nubile blogging virgin, wide-eyed and full of questions. I wrestled with things like, how do I make a link? What is technorati? How do I add a picture to my posts? And most importantly, how do I decide what my niche is?

My friend Bobby Revelle is an ethical blogger and always willing to help new bloggers, I asked him how I determine what my niche is, he said that it would sort of happen organically, that the niche would find me. Well, I am happy to say the niche has found me, my niche is: Personal, Want To Make Money.

If you're confused about this niche don't be, because it has been around for a while. You're on a blog in this niche when you're reading about a dog or cat and there's Adsense or some other click ad program on the blog. You're on a blog in this niche when you're reading about how the kids are sick or the job sucks, or "we moved into our new house today" and in between those posts there are paid postings.

So if you find yourself on a Personal, Want To Make Money blog, be kind...we've got to pay for our dogs, cats, and new houses!

I'm A New Mother, I Need The Money!

In September I found out what my blog was worth and that was pretty heady stuff. I was a brand new blogger and the amount was incredible to me. Well now that I'm a whole three months old, the blogging world is my oyster and here's what it's worth now-

My blog is worth $47,421.36.
How much is your blog worth?

Here's what I'd like to say now: SHOW ME THE MONEY! There's a saying that goes: "Every man has his price" and I think $47,421.36 could be mine.

So if you were wondering if you could buy this blog, the answer is: "let's talk". I am a new mother and I could use the money!

An Oasis In The Blogging For Money Desert--Smorty

A little while ago, October actually, I wrote a post admitting that I would like to find a way to get paid for blogging. In that post I related my frustration at having to wait until my blog was three months old before I could begin monetizing it. I have been doing my homework while waiting my magical three-month-old birthday which happened a couple of days ago.

The results of my research have been interesting; I discovered many different opportunities but there was always some weird element; takes forever to pay, has to go through a rigorous approval process; it was getting pretty dismal. I don’t know about you, but when mama wants a new pair of shoes, she doesn’t want to wait two months to get the money for them!

And there, like an oasis in the blogging-for-money desert, was Smorty. Smorty is wonderful, and all the cool kids are signing up. Smorty is a service that allows you to make money from your blog by writing reviews of various services and websites. You can select the campaigns you want to write for. Since my tagline is “putting my two cents in and I’ve got change for everybody” this seemed like the perfect match for me.

Here’s the Smorty process:

1. Sign up with Smorty
2. Submit your blog for approval (takes about 72 hours).
3. After approval, select from the available advertising campaigns.
4. You'll have 3 days to write your review.
5. Submit it, and if it’s approved
6. GET PAID FOR BLOGGING!!!

Smorty pays via Pay Pal so you’ll need to have a Pay Pal account, and the very best part is: they pay weekly! Oooh, I’m even closer to that new pair of shoes!

www.smorty.com

Have I Hit The Big Time? My Content Stolen By A Scraper Site!

Oh I just really want to rant now! The post directly beneath this one concerning the "Unsexy" Celebrities according to a certain magazine is listed on a site I've never heard of and allegedly written by someone I've never heard of.

I learn something new every day in the blogosphere and so far it's been pleasant, this however just chaps my hide! The little bit of research I've done leads me to believe there's not much I can do about it; the copyscape logo wouldn't do much because these sites rarely have anyone that can be contacted.

If anyone has had experience with this sort of thing I would love some advice. I am just fit to be tied!

End of rant...for now.

Blogging: The Ability To Connect With People

In early September I wrote a post entitled: "More Alike Than Unalike" which, on the surface, was about a reality show but was really about the similarities amongst people looking for love.

The notion of "more alike than unalike" is something that I have been observing more as my journey through the blogosphere and the process of blogging continues. It is also this notion that I believe my friend Bobby Revell from Revellian.com had in mind when he began his Blogging For Friendship Project. Bobby is one of the first friends I made when I began learning to blog, he is always willing to help and places a high value on friendship; indeed he freely admits he blogs for people as opposed to money. Bobby's friends, the team of NAFASG©™ , created the incredible badge shown here to illustrate the message.

Maya Angelou wrote in her poem, "Human Family"

...We love and lose in China,
we weep on England's moors,
and laugh and moan in Guinea,
and thrive on Spanish shores.

We seek success in Finland,
are born and die in Maine.
In minor ways we differ,
in major we're the same...

Blogging did not exist when Ms. Angelou first wrote this poem yet today, with a couple of pecks on the keyboard, you could be developing a friendship with someone in China, Guinea, or Spain.

I don't think I'll be going to Malaysia in this lifetime, but my friends Nick, Nessa and Conan-cat have painted vivid pictures of life there.

• Nick has barbeques with friends, boredom at work, cuddle time with his wife.
• Nessa has amazingly funny children and loves to shop.
• Conan_cat is concerned about school and has a lot of wisdom locked in his young mind.

Not so different from lots of people I know right here in the States.

• Gypsy is in Australia, and has mentioned the big spiders they have there, her love for her beautiful young daughters, and the colorful times she had back when she was single.

And then there are my friends in the States, who I may not necessarily know which state they're in but are my buddies just the same.

• Anonymous Boxer-has a wonderful little dog that sometimes shows up in her posts wearing boxing trunks and gloves. She also really does box, but has an unfortunate Starbucks addiction.
• Maria-has a great little daughter who's an old soul inhabiting a child's body, and some of the most colorful relatives you'll ever want to meet.
• Frank-sometimes shocking and inappropriate, but so tender and sweet when talking about his wife and children you'll forget he's shocking and inappropriate.
• Josie-always a kind word for everyone, but racy and spicy and sometimes soul-searingly honest.

These are just a few of my friends. Others that I haven't written of because I'd really have a post way too long, but please know I appreciate and value you all. The real point of the matter is that these people exist not only in the blogosphere but also in the real world. If anything were to happen to them, I'd be undeniably impacted. This is the funny and amazing thing about blogging, the ability to connect with people you might not have before.

And Now A Word To All The Lurkers

There are as many types of people in the blogosphere as there are on the planet. There are funny people, happy people, angry people, depressed people; there are extroverts and the introverts and there are people with opinions about everything and people who keep their opinions to themselves. I just want to take a moment to speak to the last group I mentioned; in the blogoshpere we call them Lurkers.

Lurkers are the people who visit a blog, maybe frequently, but do not leave a comment.

Yesterday, I was reading a blog where a comment was submitted from a long time Lurker. This person said when they discover a blog with a lot of comments, they often won't leave one because it seems like there's an established community already and they wouldn't fit in.

I don't know if you can consider this a blog with "a lot" of comments, but we tend to get a little silly around here, like friends playing nicely together, and I'd like you to join in the fun, if you like.

And even if you decide to stay a Lurker, please know that I appreciate you. Thank you for reading what I have to say, know that you are welcome here and anytime you want, you are invited to play!

Blog Matchmaking

Last week I gave out some awards to some of my blogging friends. The reason I did this is because I wanted to let these people know how much I enjoy their writing or how much fun I have when I visit their site. SO asked me if it didn't devalue the award if so many are given out; my answer to that is no. I think if people didn't care about their writing being appreciated, they'd write in a notebook and call it a day.

If you're anything like me, you probably have your favorites and you visit them frequently. Because I do visit my favorites frequently I kind of know who regularly comments. I was a little flattered when I noticed a comment from someone familiar to me, but not someone who'd previously commented on that site, that said they'd come there because they discovered them on my award post.

That comment felt like a compliment, but after it happened four more times I began to think something was up. I realized that what I had done was a fine bit of blog matchmaking because; those folks seem to be regular commenters on each other's blogs now. I couldn't be happier; it's so much fun when your friends like each other.

How Addicted To Blogging Are You?

SO enjoys telling me that I'm addicted to blogging (which is somewhat accurate). Imagine my delight when I discovered a way to actually quantify it.

Um 65%, that's not so bad right? Right?

So what about you? How addicted to blogging are you?

65%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

JustSayHi - A Free Dating Website

A Little Better Than Kathy Griffin

Have you ever watched Kathy Griffin's show, "My Life On The D List?" If you have seen her tv show or standup comedy routines you'll know her gimmick is all about the fact that she's not an A-List celebrity like Tom Cruise, Oprah or John Travolta. She is not the first celebrity sought out for events in fact, she's way down on the list, she's on the D list.

I must say that Kathy has made that D List thing work for her. She is probably the hardest working woman in show business; the range of events she'll do goes from prisons and obscure business conventions, all the way to headlining in Las Vegas. That woman has range, and not a lot of pride. I dig her!

So I'm surfing the blogosphere, which I have gotta tell ya can be like smoking crack: the time just dissappears in a puff of smoke! Anyway, I'm surfing the blogosphere when I run across this little gem: Are You an A- List Bloglebrity? You just enter your URL into the box on the site and through the magic of Technorati, they'll tell you where you rank in the blogierachy.

It seems there are no end to the words that can be created if you place the word blog in front of it, but I digress.

Below is what I am after a little over 30 days in the blogosphere: Do you think I'm I proud? You bet I am.

And of course, it means I'll get the call before Kathy Griffin.

No Dreams of Memes

Before I entered the World of Blogging, I'd receive them in my email inbox: "chocolate or vanilla?", "coke or pepsi?", and a lot of other trivial questions from friends. The arrival of these emails would always be met with a groan and most probably a delete, occasionally if in a beneficent mood I'd answer them and send them on to at least "five other friends". Now that I've entered the blogosphere I find that these little questionnaires have an actual name-meme.

I will admit that the first couple of times I saw the word meme I was perplexed. Huh? WTF? Thank goodness for Wikipedia. Wikipedia has a wealth of information about the subject however, I was able to find a simple definition by psychologist, Susan Blackmore: Whatever is copied from one person to another person, whether habits, skills, songs, stories, or any other kind of information.

Another confession I have is I don't really care for memes. In the short time I've been blogging I've developed a list of folks I visit everyday, their writing makes me smile or think or reminisce. Not all of these people write daily, but I check anyway because I need my "fix". When I go to a blog and I find a meme I feel let down; as if I've gone to see a much anticipated Broadway show and found the lead being played by the understudy. The lines may be the same but something is lost in the delivery.

Does that make me a curmudgeon? Certainly, better and more eloquent bloggers than myself have participated in memes, maybe they're able to let down their guard a bit more.

I will also confess that when I was recently "tagged" for a meme by my friend, Conan_cat I was pretty close to answering it. My young friend said he'd tagged me because "technically, you've haven't reached your menopause yet." How could I not love that? Why, I felt rather like one of kids chosen first for a team in school.

I mentioned to SO that I might be answering this meme and was met by an ominous, "remember, what you write remains forever on the internet." While SO can occasionally be in possession of large, pointy, needles to insert in my balloons, I can't negate the statement. What I write, how much information I give directly stays for all to see and I guess, I'm not ready yet.

So I'm memeless for the moment. By the way, it's chocolate, and coke.

I Heart The Internet -Part 2, The iReply Movment.

Since I began this blog a mere three weeks ago, I have been visiting blogs like crazy and having a blast. There are as many kinds of blogs and reasons for blogging as there are people on the planet.

Some blogs have a party atmosphere, some are soothing, funny, angry, sad - you name it. When you find a blog that expresses like-minded ideas or touches you in some way, it's fun to leave a comment and let the author know that you've appreciated their efforts. What isn't fun is when the comment just disappears into the cosmos; "did they read it?", "do they care?".

This article from "Brown Thoughts", fully describes the iReply movement, a movement that would have bloggers reply to their readers comments. I am joining that movement because I want to say thank you to people who are reading my blatherings. If you are interested in joining the movement too, read the article at "Brown Thoughts", grab the logo, and respond to your readers.
If only everything were that easy!