5 Things You Should Know About Blogging

So you want to join in on the blogging phenomenon? Before you get started, there are a few things you should know about blogging. Blogging is a lot like an online journal. There are thousands of bloggers online posting each day. It is a trend that started in 1997 and has continued to grow steadily. If you are interesting in blogging, but have not yet began, read over these five things you should know before you begin.

My daughter is in school now

It's the month of June and as it's the start of the new school year but for my daughter, it's her very first time to be in school and as a parent I was excited that she was also excited to be in school. As usual we had some first time jitters and some "separation anxiety" which is normal for every parent.

As my daughter entered the classroom, she was a bit anxious but later she mingled with the other kids which was a relief. I didn't stay for long as I it was my time to go to work. Later my wife told me later at night that my daughter had a great time as she was very participative. My wife took some pictures and some videos to which made my day. I just wanna say that I am a very proud parent to my daughter. 

What is Paypal?

PayPal is an e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. Online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to traditional paper methods such as cheques and money orders.

A PayPal account can be funded with an electronic debit from a bank account or by a credit card. The recipient of a PayPal transfer can either request a cheque from PayPal, establish their own PayPal deposit account or request a transfer to their bank account.

PayPal performs payment processing for online vendors, auction sites, and other commercial users, for which it charges a fee. It may also charge a fee for receiving money, proportional to the amount received. The fees depend on the currency used, the payment option used, the country of the sender, the country of the recipient, the amount sent and the recipient's account type. In addition, eBay purchases made by credit card through PayPal may incur extra fees if the buyer and seller use different currencies.

Signup for your own Paypal account now

Blogging: Advances In The Numbers

There are many various multimedia advances happening to the good old blog. Although the blog is only a few years old, technology has kept right up there with it. Now, you have the ability to do a number of fascinating things with it. As the blog owner, this can mean huge potential dollars in marketing. If you are just a blog reader, you can now access your favorites online any time that you feel like it.

There are several areas in which the blog has entered the multimedia world. Here are some of them to think about.

• Text. Okay, so this isn't anything new. It is the most commonly thought of type of blogging. Simple writings that are done on the blog.
• Images. This takes it one step ahead. Now, you can send images to your fellow bloggers, your family or your friends.
• Video. Even better, the blogs can now come packed with video from your digital camera or the cell phone that is video enabled.
• Podcasts. The latest feature. It allows individuals to receive the information that they want, when they want it. Very marketable tool here. Podcasts allow you to receive both audio and video over the internet.

But, just because you have the ability to use these various types of blogging, what happens to it? Does it just sit on your website in the hopes that someone will actually want it? The good news is that you can now send these multimedia advances to individuals on their iPods or their mobile phones once they sign up for services at your site. This means instant notification when you update the blog and instant access no matter where they are located. In short, it translates into dollars through marketing.

New advances in blogging are occurring all the time. Learn what is out there and available. Stay connected to your consumers, your fellow bloggers and your favorite blogs. The fact that you can do all of this from your mobile phone; just makes it even better. More than likely, you'll have something to blog right now.

Where To Get Content For Your Blog

Blogs and websites that have rich content are always going to do better than those that don't. I am sure you wondered where these blogs get their ideas, views and opinions. It is easy to write about something you are passionate about- but to do that most days of the week is extremely hard, since you would probably run out of things to talk about or you simply don't have the time. So how do they do it? Where do they get their ideas? Do they get help from tools and other sources available on the Internet?

The best way would be to provide the content yourself, and this is of utmost importance if your goal is to try to create traffic to an affiliated link. You'll definitely want to sell the idea about the services and products beforehand. What that will do is set the stage or the "mood" and give your recommendations authenticity.

Expounding on the uses of a particular service or product, with your own likes and dislikes, achieves this naturally. With an affiliate program, it is a good idea to have a personal anecdote that goes hand in hand with the product or service.

Using private label articles is a viable alternative. PL articles abound in the Internet and you can always buy some that are connected to your central topic and then place them in your blog. One way of maximizing a purchased PLA is to cut it down into several pieces, thereby maximizing its content.

Utilizing RSS feeds to post on blogs is becoming very popular, although not everyone is familiar or willing to learn about RSS feeds. The advantage to an RSS feed is that your blog is automatically updated with fresh news and content. The disadvantage is that it is not unique content and that anybody interested in the feed will likely click out on a story that appeals to them.

Putting in your very own content is the best way to go. One way to find fresh ideas is to look for an appealing news article and then do a summary write-up based on it. It's not as easy as it sounds, but you and your readers will find it the most rewarding way. If you feel that you just don't cut it as a writer or you genuinely don't have the time, then hire someone else to do it for you. There are many services out there who provide a "blog service" which includes daily posts of unique, engaging content and you can instruct these content writers as to where you want the links in your blog pointing to- so that any burden of cost in terms of hiring them should be offset by the gains in your increased visitor base, the marketing of your other websites and earnings from your affiliate programs.

These are the best ways to generate content for your blog. It is advisable not to be going with the automated path. If you do decide to do that, you will probably have plenty of content- but the substance of the text is unlikely to increase traffic for you. Putting in some good, old-fashioned content work will yield better results for you. As the expression goes- "you get out what you put in…."!!

5 Things To Overcome The Tough Parts Of Blogging

There are times when a blogger, like any other writer, will 'loose the muse.' Every idea that comes to mind seems either trite or dull or, worse still, no ideas come to mind. What's a blogger to do? Here are five tactics that just might clear away the cobwebs and allow you to find an inspiring idea for another great post:

Start with the news! Open up your favorite news page or open a newspaper and see what catches your attention. What are the politicians up to today? Any pending legislation that worries you or flat out scares you? Or perhaps someone is running for office or proposing a law that you may want to publicly support. Some celebrity is sure to be in trouble again; have anything to say about that? Maybe you have an idea about who should be dating or marrying who. Who died? A nice memorial post for a nice person may be in order. What happened "On This Date" in past years? Some past events are worth researching and writing about. Are you into sports? Many bloggers or blog readers are sports fans and they might be interested in your take on the playoffs or the players. Don't forget to check the editorial page and the letters to the editor -- do you agree with the opinions? Tell the world why or why not.

Read some blogs! Start surfing your favorite blogs. What are they talking about? You might have a different perspective on the latest hot topic that might just be interesting to your fellow bloggers or a perspective that might make them mad (BTW, never worry about making bloggers mad -- most of them love having something to gripe about). If you can't find anything that inspires you in your favorite blog, surf through some of those blogs that always make you mad; the ones that seem to promote everything that goes against your lifestyle. Anger is always a good blog motivator but don't get so angry you get irrational. Comment on some blog posts and then expand your comments into a post on your blog. Also try logging onto Blog Explosion, Blog Clicker or one of the many other blog traffic generator programs -- there are lots of ideas out there that are worth writing about from either a pro or con perspective

What have you been watching or reading? Have you read any good (or bad) books lately? Write about your latest read -- recommend it, blast it or even write an abstract for your blog (but don't give away ending). How about movies, the great ones or the pitiful losers might be worth some good or bad words -- you could make movie or book reviews regular features of your blog. The same goes for television shows. Start a series that follows your favorite TV show, there might be quite a few fans of the same show that will be interested in your take and appreciate your summary of episodes they missed. If there is a book, movie or TV show that you thought was great there is sure to be a reviewer who panned it. Find the bad review and write a post countering the reviewer's opinions.

What have you been doing? Your work place, your co-workers, you bosses, your home and your family members are all fair game for your blog -- keep it short and amusing and you'll have a great post. Once you introduce a particularly interesting person to your readers you may want to do some sequels. When was your last travel vacation -- write a travelog about where you've been or do some research on some places you'd love to go to and write about them.

Do you have a special skill? If you can make something that is unique or something that is common but made special because of what you know, there may be people interested in knowing how to do it. Give away tips on cooking, sewing, cleaning, fix-it projects, pet care, child care, beauty secrets, personal care or organizing tips. Make it a regular feature on you blog. If you have a digital camera find an interesting subject, take some pictures and then write something based on the subject. If you found it interesting or comical or sad its likely to interest someone else.

How to Start a Blog and Make Money Online

If you are new to the internet and wondering what an earth this blogging craze is all about, or if you already have your own website and you're wondering why everyone keeps advising you to start your own blog, read on. I'm going to explain to you what a blog is, why you need one, how to set it up, promote it and of course, make money from it.

Blog is short for "web log" and is similar to an online diary or journal. The craze of blogging began in the very late 1990s and has started to become more and more popular over the last couple of years. Almost everyone seems to have a blog these days, from CEOs of large companies to webmasters, from world travelers to teenagers. Even my Dad has his own blog now! A blog allows you to communicate informally with people via an online journal, but it's more personal and unstructured than a website and easier and cheaper to set up than a website.

If you have your own website, but haven't yet started a blog you can easily start one using a free service such as Blogger or WordPress. Try to post to your blog at least once or twice a week on topics related to your website. Blogging will help your search engine rankings and open up the communication channels between you and your visitors or customers, encouraging them to interact with you and give them a reason to return to your site in future.

If you don't have your own website and are looking to set up a blog quickly and easily I recommend opening a free account with Blogger. You can blog about anything you like, for example a hobby, a vacation, your home town, something political, a sport or your business. Just be sure to pick something that you are interested in and knowledgeable about. You can host your blog for free on Blogspot – all you need to do is pick a name that is relevant to the topic of your blog. Once you have set up your profile and chosen a template, blogging is as simple as sending an email to a friend.

There are many ways to make money from your blog, but here are a few ideas to get you started

- Google Adsense - this is free to join and easy to set up. The ads will match the content of your blog and you will get paid every time a visitor clicks on an ad.

- Affiliate Programs – sign up for affiliate programs related to the topic of your blog and display links to related products on your blog. Clickbank, Trade Doubler and Commission Junction are good places to start, or do a Google search for "affiliate program" + the topic of your blog to find more affiliate programs. Whenever someone clicks through your affiliate link and buys a product, you will receive a commission. If you are knowledgeable about your topic you could also write product reviews to help increase your affiliate sales.

- Sell Advertising Space – if you have a popular blog you can charge people to advertise on your blog. This could be in the form of a text link, a banner or a graphic.

You are not going to make money with a blog unless people can find it. As soon as you have started to post to your blog it's time to start promoting it. You can get your blog noticed by…

- Submitting your blog to blog directories – just search for "blog directories" in Google

- Asking other bloggers to exchange links with you – you put a link on your blog in exchange for a link from their blog.

- Writing an article related to the topic of your blog and posting it to article directories. Remember to include an author's resource box with a link to your blog.

- Pinging blog ping services every time you make a new post – pingomatic.com and pingoat.com are two sites you can use to do this.

- Participating in forums related to the topic of your blog. Put a link to your blog in your forum signature.

Finally, once you have your blog monetized and you have started promoting it don't forget to post regularly. The most important aspect of every successful blog is frequent posting, so be sure not to let the virtual dust gather over your blog!

Tinuy-an Falls in Surigao del Sur

If you are planning to go to Surigao for your next vacation, make sure you do not let the opportunity to visit Tinuy-an Falls pass. Accessibility wise, it is just an hour ride away from the center of Bislig City.

Considered to be the widest among the falls in the Philippines at 95 feet, the falls are nicknamed as the Niagara Falls of the country because they look like a miniature replica of the North American pride. However, instead of violent water gush, Tinuy- an falls is much calmer. In fact, you could enjoy a relaxing waterfall massage with one bamboo boat ride near the falls.

The Tinuy an falls, as what most people do not know, are actually four cascading falls. However, from a distance, tourists could only see the three falls as the most obvious with the fourth made conspicuous by distance and the forest. This is the reason why the place is very ideal for bathing. Foreigners and the locals alike are drawn for a plunge into its cool waters. Most visitors usually recommend the second level falls as the most perfect place for swimming. Aside from this, the waterfall area is also abundant with all the gifts of nature as the place is also home to a lot of exotic wildlife. 

If you are from Davao City maybe you could drop by at Enchanted River at Hinatuan Surigao Del Sur and witness the extra ordinary beauty of nature.