Entrecard Blog Review: Yearblook
No, I haven’t made a typo. The site really is called Yearblook. With an “L”.
From the site:
Yearblook is a contest to find the best blog post of each day. The best each day will be compiled into a book (a real, printed book) that is a record of the year in blogs.
So, what are you waiting for??? Get over there and start entering my posts!!! 
Just Kidding!
This is actually quite a difficult site to review so I’m going to give it more of a “profile” than a review.
It’s an excellent concept and what blogger doesn’t want to have their writing recognised in some way?
You can view entries in order of popularity or most recently entered.
If you’ve read a blog post that you feel is worthy of inclusion, you can do so via their submit/nominate posts page.
If you’re interested in viewing some great posts, head over to yearblook.com and check it out.
Touch Typing
Image via WikipediaEvery now and then, I get people asking me how I manage to do it all. Maintain several blogs, that is. I really believe that the ability to touch type makes a HUGE difference to my productivity.
Depending on the topic at hand, I can spin out a blog post in a matter of minutes. Of course, that isn’t always the case as my thought processes don’t always keep up with my fingers. And I do prefer to read and reread my posts before publishing them.
I was reminded of this while reading “5 minutes to Write a Valuable Blog post” by Suzie Cheel. She was issuing a challenge, to herself as well as readers, to see if a blog post could be composed in under 5 minutes.
I’m yet to take her up on the challenge. I started writing this post about half an hour ago. In between I have written a post for Lightening Online, made some promite on bread for my 4 year old and visited my garden.
Focus isn’t one of my stronger points! 
One of these days I’ll actually get focused and time myself to see how long it really does take me to compose a blog post. Naturally it varies. But it would be an interesting challenge all the same.
Touch typing isn’t just a valuable skill for composing posts though. Commenting and responding to comments is an important part of blog networking. The ability to touch type enables informative comments to be made in a matter of seconds. The faster you can type, the easier it is to fit more comments into the time you have available.
What if you can’t touch type?
It’s never too late. The internet world is a fabulous resource for developing new skills and touching up old ones.
Here are a few sites that enable you to develop the skill of touch typing:
There are plenty of programs listed in google but not all are available FREE.
Even just spending 10 minutes a day developing this skill is likely to pay dividends in the future. It certainly can save a LOT of valuable time.
If you’re someone who plans to blog over the long-term, I’d consider it a time investment well spent.
Just wanted to add:
While Entrecard browsing (when I really should be cleaning ) I came across this post on How Fast Can You Type which mentions the site TypeRacer. Now there is a FUN way to practise your typing AND lose a day or two!!!
The Kids Are On Camp In Lightening’s Blogworld This Week
Image by Jacob.Enos via FlickrIt all started with my post My First School Camp. I had a couple of responses from readers saying they had written an almost IDENTICAL post on their own blogs today. It would seem that this week is “camp week” in several places.
Rachel has written My Baby Has Gone Off To Her First Camp and Kelley has written My Baby Is At Camp.
One of the things I find most wonderful about the blogworld is the sense of understanding and comraderie as we find people going through similar experiences to ourselves.
Forget Making Money Blogging
I’ll happily head straight for the “perks”. I want one!!!! I don’t care what’s in it. I just want one of these “surprise packages”.
Market Leverage, if you’ve lost my address, feel free to get in touch via my contact form.
Other Great Posts This Week
Aaron from Full Tilt Blogging made a brief diversion from his make money online niche to celebrate his 25th Wedding Anniversary with a great post “What I’ve Learnt in 25 Years of Marriage”.
Guera shared the most amazing Arabian Birth Story. I tell you, that woman has an amazing amount of courage!!! I couldn’t even imagine giving birth in another country (particularly another culture) let alone living through a Terrorist attack!!!!
Carole Fogarty from The Healthy Living Lounge published a great post “I Dare You To Quit Participating in Gossip”.
Kin from Home of Slightly Cracked Dreams came up with a brilliant and simple way of introducing pocket money to her young children.
News From The Aussie Bloggers Forum
The forum has surpassed 500 members which I think is a wonderful achievement in just 4 short months.
Discussion over the Asus Eee PC have been revamped with news that a new, improved, larger screen model is due to be released soon.
We’ve discussed the benefits of shifting to self hosted wordpress.
Favourite search term of the day continues to be a popular thread and a discussion on Big Brother has been quite active as well.
It’s a fun and friendly forum to be part of and you DON’T have to be an Aussie in order to join. Head over to the Aussie Bloggers Forum today. 
And that wraps up yet another busy week in Lightening’s Blogworld. Hope you all had a good one!!!! 
Make Money Blogging
Image via WikipediaMaking money through blogging is a bit of a touchy topic at the best of times. I understand this. The more I read about Internet Marketing, the more I can understand people’s reluctance to go anywhere near the field. It’s a minefield full of SHARKS looking to make a quick buck of any unsuspecting victim.
Does this mean it’s all bad? How can it be? So many people are making a successful income from Internet Marketing. There is a DEFINITE marketplace for it so naturally people that tap into that market correctly will be successful.
I seem to be vacillating back and forward on this very topic. I started blogging for fun. Only I didn’t realise how MUCH fun it was going to be. When I first realised people were making an income from blogging the cogs in my brain began to turn. What if I could make an income from blogging. Since I LOVE it so much, wouldn’t that be really cool??? After all, they say the best thing to do is find something you LOVE doing and earn an income doing it.
BUT, my hesitation lies in the suspicion surrounding many online marketers (of which the “make money blogging” niche is a small part). Do I want to earn money in such a way that might associate me with “sharks” and the like????
While a select few seem to make significant money via their blogs, many online marketers are simply using their blogs as a tool to assist with their online marketing techniques. They’re not necessarily making a LOT of money through the blog itself.
Where am I going with this post? Well, I feel like I need somewhere that I can “think aloud” with my thought processes over all of this. Not to the extent that it consumes me but just occasionally. I still intend to pursue the avenue of “blog monetization”. Not aggressively. More as a sideline to my blogging efforts rather than a focus.
So I intend to start writing semi-regular “make money online” type posts. At this stage I’m hoping to use Thursdays as my “make money” post day. I have no intentions of turning this blog into a “make money online” blog. There are already plenty of them to go around.
BUT, it is a blog about what is happening in MY Blogworld and given this is something I’m casually trying in my blogworld, it seems to fit with the purpose of this blog.
What you’re unlikely to find is a “I made 20c from adsense this month” type posts. I’m thinking more “this is what I’ve tried and this is how it’s working out for me” type posts. I don’t really have a desire to completely humiliate myself just yet. My blogs are small in the scheme of things so I expect my earnings to be “pocket change”. Still, if I saw a dollar lying on the footpath, I suspect I’d take a minute to pick it up.
I hope if this is not your “thing” that you’ll simply bypass these posts and continue to read the rest of my content.
Blog Profile : Zen Law of Attraction
I started this morning feeling a little low. As I made my way through a few posts in my bloglines reader, I decided to visit “Zen Law of Attraction” which is a new website written by a precious internet friend, Suzie Cheel.
Suzie writes one of my regular reads “The Abundance Highway”, a blog which often inspires and uplifts me. Her “Zen Law of Attraction” site builds upon The Abundance Highway and is also part of her stepping toward her dream of going to Canada for a conference in June.
As I was reading through the posts she has posted on this new site so far, I came across a post titled “Be Inspired, Don’t Give Up” in which Suzie has posted a youtube video of the most amazing poem I’ve ever come across in my life. A poem that in fact, contributed to SAVING my life as a teenager.
Please pop over and read what Suzie is up to and rejoice with her in her journey. You’re bound to be inspired and uplifted by her posts.
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