Green Inventions Central: May 2010

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Foretelling the Future

Day 21, and I'm supposed to breathe new life into an old post.

Um, who has time for that when secret tunnels are just waiting to be discovered?

The End. :)

---

Okay, for all those who are disappointed in this post, I give you permission to declare it a post-in-future-need-of-rebreathing. Then someday, should I truly find myself with nothing better to do, I know right where I can start my CPR efforts.

RELATED POSTS
LL's Day 1: Bambi in the Database, Day 2: The Dalai Lama Effect, Day 3: Darren Rowse, Please Link to Me, Day 4: Oprah, I Wanna Be Like You, Day 5: Email a Blog Reader, Day 6: Shakespeare and Company's Top 24 Blog Tips, Day 7: How Do I Love Thee, Let Me Link the Ways, Day 8: Entertaining Aliens, Day 9: Meet Me at the Mother Ship, Day 10: My Dog Ate Darren Rowse's Google Alerts, Day 11: Hey, Darren, It's My Turn, Day 12: Darren Gets on the Scale,, Day 13: I Will Not Be Swayed by Sales on Boxer Shorts, Day 14: Update a Key Page, Day 15: Honk if You Like, I Prefer Cake, Day 16: Buy a Velvet Couch, Day 17: Pretend Your Blog is a Barbie, Day 18: Gesundheit! Day 19: Maureen, Hope You Don't Mind, Day 20: Leave Comments on Other Blogs
ProBlogger's Day 21: Breathe Life into an Old Post
Paul's 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Project

Would you like to follow Bambi's efforts at better blogging? Here's a button, if you like :)

Red Cross Blog photo by L.L. Barkat.

Labels: 31 Days to Build a Better Blog

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Leave Comments on Other Blogs

Day 20, and I'm supposed to leave comments on other blogs.

Today I am going to be obedient.

Really.

No, REALLY.

See?

I already left comments on other blogs...

First, I visited Marcus...

Then I visited Glynn...

After that, I stopped by Tweetspeak...

Laura had a really cool post...

Then I ran out of Post It notes. Too bad, I was on such a roll. :)

Commenting on Blogs photos by L.L. Barkat.

Labels: 31 Days to Build a Better Blog, increasing blog traffic, social media

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Maureen, Hope You Don't Mind

Day 19, and I'm supposed to express an opinion. I don't know. This might be a little beyond me.

Take this 31DBB Project, for instance. I think I might be suffering from what he talks about when he says, "Expressing opinions on your blog is like adding seasoning to food. Without it your blog could end up being quite bland and blend into the crowd." Seriously, without expressing an opinion, the way I have been doing throughout this Project, my blog blends right in with other blogs, don't you think?

Today, we must rectify this situation.

(Sorry, Maureen, I know how much you enjoy it when I'm bland, but he is trying to change my ways. Listen, I have a few hankies left over from yesterday, to dry your tears, so everything's going to be okay.)

Anyway. It is time to get opinionated!

Here goes.

I am going to express an opinion.

It's going to be strong, so watch out.

Here is what I think about the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Project. (Maureen, hold on, I didn't even say anything yet. It's okay. I promise. I know this is going to be strong, but I think you'll like it.)

Okay.

The 31DBB is very easy and nice.

Phew!

I am so glad I got that off my chest. Wow. I feel the spice!

Twelve more days of this kind of searing commentary, and I will be on the blogosphere MAP! And you? You were here when it all began. I promise, I'll remember you. (Maureen, tissue?)

RELATED POSTS
LL's Day 1: Bambi in the Database, Day 2: The Dalai Lama Effect, Day 3: Darren Rowse, Please Link to Me, Day 4: Oprah, I Wanna Be Like You, Day 5: Email a Blog Reader, Day 6: Shakespeare and Company's Top 24 Blog Tips, Day 7: How Do I Love Thee, Let Me Link the Ways, Day 8: Entertaining Aliens, Day 9: Meet Me at the Mother Ship, Day 10: My Dog Ate Darren Rowse's Google Alerts, Day 11: Hey, Darren, It's My Turn, Day 12: Darren Gets on the Scale,, Day 13: I Will Not Be Swayed by Sales on Boxer Shorts, Day 14: Update a Key Page, Day 15: Honk if You Like, I Prefer Cake, Day 16: Buy a Velvet Couch, Day 17: Pretend Your Blog is a Barbie, Day 18: Gesundheit!
ProBlogger's Day 19: Write an Opinion Post on Your Blog
Paul's 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Project

COMING TOMORROW
I'm Leaving a Comment on Your Blog, a companion to ProBlogger's Day 20: Leave Comments on Other Blogs.

Would you like to follow Bambi's efforts at better blogging? Here's a button, if you like :)

Gesundheit Blog photo by L.L. Barkat.

Labels: 31 Days to Build a Better Blog, increasing blog traffic, social media

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Gesundheit!

Day, 18. Gesundheit!

That's you, saying "God Bless You" to my sneeze, in German of course, because that is way more fun than the ever-wordy English rendition of superstition.

Gesundheit. Gesundheit. Gesundheit.

See? Fun.

Now, if you will kindly look below under "Related Posts," you will see that I contracted a cold very early on in this project and have been sneezing ever since. Because a sneeze page is one where you link to other posts, related to a certain theme, on your own blog.

On Day 32, I will link to ALL of my 31DBB posts, in one grand finale sneeze.

Bring your hankies. And your gesundheits. :)

RELATED POSTS
LL's Day 1: Bambi in the Database, Day 2: The Dalai Lama Effect, Day 3: Darren Rowse, Please Link to Me, Day 4: Oprah, I Wanna Be Like You, Day 5: Email a Blog Reader, Day 6: Shakespeare and Company's Top 24 Blog Tips, Day 7: How Do I Love Thee, Let Me Link the Ways, Day 8: Entertaining Aliens, Day 9: Meet Me at the Mother Ship, Day 10: My Dog Ate Darren Rowse's Google Alerts, Day 11: Hey, Darren, It's My Turn, Day 12: Darren Gets on the Scale,, Day 13: I Will Not Be Swayed by Sales on Boxer Shorts, Day 14: Update a Key Page, Day 15: Honk if You Like, I Prefer Cake, Day 16: Buy a Velvet Couch, Day 17: Pretend Your Blog is a Barbie
ProBlogger's Day 18: Make a Sneeze Page for Your Blog
Paul's 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Project

COMING TOMORROW
Pardon Me, Maureen, Hope You Don't Mind, a companion to ProBlogger's Day 19: Write an Opinion Post on Your Blog.

Would you like to follow Bambi's efforts at better blogging? Here's a button, if you like :)

Gesundheit Blog photo by L.L. Barkat.

Labels: 31 Days to Build a Better Blog

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Pretend Your Blog is a Barbie

Day 17, and I'm supposed to pretend my blog is a Barbie.

Well, sort of.

The real mission is to watch a first-time reader use the blog. What does the reader do? Bend the knees? Pull off the head? Show it to her friends?

You may not know this, but 99 out of 100 American households own a Barbie. This means the toy sort of... succeeded. And it all began when Ruth Handler watched little girls playing with paper dolls. She noticed they weren't drawn to kid-like dolls but rather to grown-up looking paper women that came as part of comic books.

Fascinated, Ruth watched the girls change and change and change the paper clothes and mimic adult conversation. This led her to the theory that "little girls want to be women." And this led her to the idea of a shockingly different kind of doll. One with an undeniably grown-up shape.

Ironically, this doll, which some people see as demeaning to women, is a women's success story. Handler fought tooth and nail to bring it to market in a male-dominated industry.

Okay, enough about Barbies. The real point is that you're supposed to watch how new readers use your blog, because one day it might help you figure out how to have 99 out of 100 households subscribed to you.

(Maybe you should offer a bonus zebra-striped bathing suit, Christian Dior party dress, and pink plastic high heels. It worked for Barbie. :)

---

Total aside... this post is secretly serving as a contribution to Tweetspeak Poetry's Barbies Giveaway and Writing Project. Stop in for a chance to win Barbies at Communion, a new poetry book by Marcus Goodyear, or just write about the Barbies in your life, for a link and possible feature.

RELATED POSTS
LL's Day 1: Bambi in the Database, Day 2: The Dalai Lama Effect, Day 3: Darren Rowse, Please Link to Me, Day 4: Oprah, I Wanna Be Like You, Day 5: Email a Blog Reader, Day 6: Shakespeare and Company's Top 24 Blog Tips, Day 7: How Do I Love Thee, Let Me Link the Ways, Day 8: Entertaining Aliens, Day 9: Meet Me at the Mother Ship, Day 10: My Dog Ate Darren Rowse's Google Alerts, Day 11: Hey, Darren, It's My Turn, Day 12: Darren Gets on the Scale,, Day 13: I Will Not Be Swayed by Sales on Boxer Shorts, Day 14: Update a Key Page, Day 15: Honk if You Like, I Prefer Cake, Day 16: Buy a Velvet Couch
ProBlogger's Day 17: Watch a First Time Reader Use Your Blog
Paul's 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Project

COMING TOMORROW
Gesundheit, a companion to ProBlogger's Day 18: Create a Sneeze Page for Your Blog.

Would you like to follow Bambi's efforts at better blogging? Here's a button, if you like :)

Belle Barbie at the Window photo, by Sara B. Used with permission.

Labels: 31 Days to Build a Better Blog, Barbies at Communion

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Buy a Velvet Couch

Day 16, and I'm supposed to solve my readers' problems. If I can solve their problems, they're more likely to come back for more cake.

I am sincerely hoping that the president of BP is not one of my readers. (BP's got problems that'd be a challenge even for the best pastry chef.)

Anyway, if you are a normal reader with normal problems that don't require major industrial cleanup, this might be your place. I promise to take my problem-solving job seriously. So like any good psychiatrist, I'm going to buy a velvet couch. And I will put a box of designer tissues right next to it.

Indeed, I have already found the perfect couch. And this is so cool... It has a matching chair for me to sit in while we solve your problems.

The guards at the Louvre were a little miffed when I asked my daughter to roll around on it, to test its cushion-to-problem-ratio. But I wasn't phased. Only the best for my readers.

So I offered the guards $100 for the couch. It's in the Napoleon section, and goodness knows they've got about 50 more couches just like it. Obviously they need to put a few up for sale. Nobody needs 50 couches that look alike. Not even Napoleon.

Anyway, we are still in negotiations. Because I'm trying to get them to throw in these matching curtains for another $10. Then you and I will be set.

Now, tell me, how long have you had this problem...

Napoleon Furniture at the Louvre photo, by L.L. Barkat.

Labels: 31 Days to Build a Better Blog

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Honk if You Like, I Prefer Cake

Day 15, and I'm supposed to go goose hunting. Did you know (I learned this from you-know-who) that geese can travel 78% further together than alone?

The Blogger Who Maureen Thinks I Should No Longer Mention outlines a few goose hunting reasons, but honestly (ask Cassandra), I think the same thing can be achieved by eating cake.

My favorite kind is a passion-fruit-and-pear-mousse beauty made by our local French bakery. My second favorite is its chocolate mousse buddy that always comes with a little pink rose on top (sorry Sam, is that being anti-testosterone? :)

Anyhow, here are the reasons why team-cake-eating will make you a better blogger. (Honk if you like, I prefer cake.)

Aerodynamics — If you sit next to somebody who eats cake really fast, this will create an optimal air flow, thus allowing you to eat even more cake, which boosts your endorphins so you can be Happy SuperBlogger. Chocolate cake also provides plenty of anti-oxidants, making you a healthy blogger who will have plenty of energy to go the Mall.

Rotating leader — You can take turns serving up the cake. Today it can be Stuart, the next day it can be Laura, and then Dan. The important thing here is, these people need to be able to wield a knife with some alacrity. And they should know how to cut big pieces. None of those grudging little slivers allowed when we're trying to take over the blogosphere through the power of cake!

Dropping out — I know it seems unfathomable, but sometimes you're not going to be able to eat even one more bite of passion fruit cake. There comes a time when you'll need to take a snooze, so you can wake up refreshed and ready... to eat more cake :).

Power of the honk — Why do geese honk? To encourage each other to keep on flying. Why do we eat cake together? Because it tastes good. And besides, people will think you're weird if you honk at them to encourage them to keep blogging.

Not sure where to find really cool cake eaters? I've got just the little bakery in mind...

RELATED POSTS
LL's Day 1: Bambi in the Database, Day 2: The Dalai Lama Effect, Day 3: Darren Rowse, Please Link to Me, Day 4: Oprah, I Wanna Be Like You, Day 5: Email a Blog Reader, Day 6: Shakespeare and Company's Top 24 Blog Tips, Day 7: How Do I Love Thee, Let Me Link the Ways, Day 8: Entertaining Aliens, Day 9: Meet Me at the Mother Ship, Day 10: My Dog Ate Darren Rowse's Google Alerts, Day 11: Hey, Darren, It's My Turn, Day 12: Darren Gets on the Scale,, Day 13: I Will Not Be Swayed by Sales on Boxer Shorts, Day 14: Update a Key Page
ProBlogger's Build an Editorial Calendar
Paul's 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Project

COMING MONDAY
Buy a Velvet Couch, a companion to ProBlogger's Day 16: Solve a Problem.

Would you like to follow Bambi's efforts at better blogging? Here's a button, if you like :)

Passion Fruit Cake photo, by L.L. Barkat.

Labels: 31 Days to Build a Better Blog, social media and community

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Update a Key Page

Day 14, and I'm looking for my keys.

Where the heck did I put them?

I looked on the Front Page (in my first impressions closet, over on the sidebar, in the header and logo, under my objectives and call to action). No keys.

I looked on my About Page. No keys.

I looked on my... wait a minute... no Contact Page to look on. Definitely no keys there.

I looked in my Lentil Soup (a High Traffic Page, where I'm supposed to have a subscribe invitation and links to other posts on this blog, like maybe my Oprah post). No keys.

Shoot, has anyone seen my keys?

Amusement Key illustration, by L.L. Barkat.

Labels: 31 Days to Build a Better Blog

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: I Will Not Be Swayed by Sales on Boxer Shorts

Day 13, and I'm supposed to go to the mall and ask the following questions (not to other people, just to my notebook)...

• Who is there? Who are they with?
• What are they doing?
• What are they buying? What products are particularly in demand at the moment?
• How do they make their buying decisions?
• What are the retailers doing to get people’s attention and stand out?
• What messages are they using in their marketing?
• What colors/design techniques are in at the moment?
• What other things are ‘hot’ or in fashion?
• What sales techniques are sales staff using?
• What are retail outlets doing well? What are they doing poorly?

There is no way I am going to the mall. Because the mall is just plain tiring. And I can be sleepy and cranky on my own, thank you very much.

Besides, have you seen what the world has to offer lately? No amount of chewing gum on the marble floors, smoke in the entry ways, sales on boxer shorts, or chances to be stopped just for a minute for this brief poll could drag me to the mall. Even if it promised to make me a better blogger.

But you might expect this from a woman who just wrote God in the Yard. (I suppose someone else is going to have to write God in the Mall. :)

RELATED POSTS
LL's Day 1: Bambi in the Database, Day 2: The Dalai Lama Effect, Day 3: Darren Rowse, Please Link to Me, Day 4: Oprah, I Wanna Be Like You, Day 5: Email a Blog Reader, Day 6: Shakespeare and Company's Top 24 Blog Tips, Day 7: How Do I Love Thee, Let Me Link the Ways, Day 8: Entertaining Aliens, Day 9: Meet Me at the Mother Ship, Day 10: My Dog Ate Darren Rowse's Google Alerts, Day 11: Hey, Darren, It's My Turn, Day 12: Darren Gets on the Scale
ProBlogger's Take a Trip to the Mall
Paul's 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Project

COMING TOMORROW
Shoot, Have You Seen My Keys?, a companion to ProBlogger's Update a Key Page on Your Blog.

Would you like to follow Bambi's efforts at better blogging? Here's a button, if you like :)

Girl in the Field photo, by L.L. Barkat.

Labels: 31 Days to Build a Better Blog

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Darren Gets on the Scale

Day 12. Supposed to make my editorial calendar for the week. Exhaustion setting in. But my magic markers still work.

And seriously, I think a picture's worth a thousand words. :)

RELATED POSTS
LL's Day 1: Bambi in the Database, Day 2: The Dalai Lama Effect, Day 3: Darren Rowse, Please Link to Me, Day 4: Oprah, I Wanna Be Like You, Day 5: Email a Blog Reader, Day 6: Shakespeare and Company's Top 24 Blog Tips, Day 7: How Do I Love Thee, Let Me Link the Ways, Day 8: Entertaining Aliens, Day 9: Meet Me at the Mother Ship, Day 10: My Dog Ate Darren Rowse's Google Alerts, Day 11: Hey, Darren, It's My Turn
ProBlogger's Build an Editorial Calendar
Paul's 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Project

COMING TOMORROW
I Will Not be Swayed by Sales on Boxer Shorts, a companion to ProBlogger's Go to the Mall.

Would you like to follow Bambi's efforts at better blogging? Here's a button, if you like :)

Darren on the Scale, by L.L. Barkat.

Labels: 31 Days to Build a Better Blog, Darren Rowse, humor

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Hey Darren, It's My Turn

Day 11. I've been very dutiful, giving Darren's name to the world (and you know how much this means to him :), but it's time to turn my attention elsewhere.

I'm hoping he will forgive me, because it's my blog after all. And, besides, I suspect he may not be posting about me today, so I'm going to need to do it myself.

Here's the deal. We're supposed to come up with 10 post ideas, and this is how we're supposed to do it:

1. Put our last five posts in a circle, well, five circles. Start the square dance music.

2. Extend our circles by making them dosey doe with more circles.

3. Extend again, if we dare. (Let's not hurt ourselves. I know all this stretching can be a bit of a challenge.)

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, I've made a little picture (see below). Actually, I used to teach this technique to my English classes. It's called "doing a word web" and is a simple brainstorming technique.

But I like the idea of the square dance music. It seems more cheery than getting all sticky in a web. Also, as you will see, I used little rectangles (and I put them in a lumpy circle, otherwise fondly known as kind-of-an-oval. :) Oh, and I didn't put my last five posts. I put my next one book.

I also did 12 instead of 10, not because I'm an overachiever (okay, that I am, but that's not why I did it; I did it because my book has 12 chapters).

What is my square-rectangle-dance-circle brainstorming web about?

I realized that it might be nice to do a companion book to my new book. Something kind of devotional, or bible study leaderish, that provides passages from the Old Testament, Psalms, and the life of Christ. I'm toying with the idea of releasing this companion book as a free download e-book. Or maybe I'll charge a dollar.

Who knows. But it occurred to me that I might want to begin sharing my ideas over at Love Notes to Yahweh, since that's my spiritual practice blog.

Anyway, Darren, no worries, I'll talk about you again soon. :)

RELATED POSTS
LL's Day 1: Bambi in the Database, Day 2: The Dalai Lama Effect, Day 3: Darren Rowse, Please Link to Me, Day 4: Oprah, I Wanna Be Like You, Day 5: Email a Blog Reader, Day 6: Shakespeare and Company's Top 24 Blog Tips, Day 7: How Do I Love Thee, Let Me Link the Ways, Day 8: Entertaining Aliens, Day 9: Meet Me at the Mother Ship, Day 10: My Dog Ate Darren Rowse's Google Alerts
ProBlogger's Come Up With 10 Post Ideas
Paul's 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Project

COMING MONDAY
Darren Gets on the Scale, a companion to ProBlogger's Make An Editorial Calendar.

Would you like to follow Bambi's efforts at better blogging? Here's a button, if you like :)

Someone Else's Dog, photo by L.L. Barkat.

Labels: 31 Days to Build a Better Blog, getting blog post ideas, God in the Yard

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: My Dog Ate Darren Rowse's Google Alerts

Day 10. One-third of the way back to a life of neglectful blogging. But who's counting? :)

Today's advice is about setting up alerts. I only bother with Google Alerts. But you could also do Twitter Alerts.

Setting up an alert is akin to eavesdropping. Someone talks about you, links to you, you get an email to that effect. And you can act accordingly (some of my friends have discovered whole blogs that were stealing their content, but most alerts are just good news. Like when someone links to my book Stone Crossings, that's good news, and I like to say "thank you" for their kindness.)

Anyway, here are...

6 Reasons You Should Follow the Internet Grapevine (Set up Industry and Vanity Alerts on Google and Twitter)

1. Recently, my 10-year-old said, "the further the grapevine descendent, the juicier the grape."

She makes me laugh. Darren Rowse gives us five less comically-expressed reasons...

2. Get ideas for posts

3. Be aware of breaking news

4. Build your profile and perceived expertise

5. Network

6. Manage your reputation (some of us are, btw, completely unmanageable)

This is all fine and good, but I just want to say that I think my dog must have eaten Darren Rowse's alerts, because Darren hasn't stopped by even once to say how annoying I am, using his name in vain again and again.

(Darren, this is L.L. at the Google door. Are you in there? Darren? Darren? Oh, Daaaaaaaaaaaarren... :)

RELATED POSTS
LL's Day 1: Bambi in the Database, Day 2: The Dalai Lama Effect, Day 3: Darren Rowse, Please Link to Me, Day 4: Oprah, I Wanna Be Like You, Day 5: Email a Blog Reader, Day 6: Shakespeare and Company's Top 24 Blog Tips, Day 7: How Do I Love Thee, Let Me Link the Ways, Day 8: Entertaining Aliens, Day 9: Meet Me at the Mother Ship
ProBlogger's Monitor What's Happening in Your Niche
Paul's 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Project

COMING MONDAY
Hey, Darren, It's My Turn, a companion to ProBlogger's Come Up With 10 Blog Post Ideas.

Would you like to follow Bambi's efforts at better blogging? Here's a button, if you like :)

Someone Else's Dog, photo by L.L. Barkat.

Labels: 31 Days to Build a Better Blog, set up Google Alerts, set up Twitter alerts

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Meet Me at the Mother Ship

It is Day 9 and if I had a ray gun, I might evaporate this... oh, never mind. Are you getting tired of posting every day? I sure am. :)

Now, while you're feeling this fatigue, is the best time for me to talk to you about joining forces with other people.

ProBlogger (and he is right, again), says that being part of a chatty group helps with:

1. Profile Building (your personal popularity, as measured by being recognized)

2. Driving Traffic (your personal popularity, as measured by stats)

3. Understanding Your Niche (your personal popularity, as compared to other people who you pretend you're not trying to out-blog)

I have recommended being part of a group for some of the same reasons, albeit without the popularity emphasis. But one of my favorite reasons for being part of an awesome group is that it takes the pressure off you to be funny or insightful all the time.

You can let Glynn be insightful, Katdish be funny, Marcus be poetical, and Billy be poignant (when he's not being funny). And, like sitting at the cool cafeteria table when you were in 6th grade, you can just be identified with these people, which is, in my opinion, very nice.

(Another symptom of 31 Day Fatigue Syndrome is the inability to speak in a vocabulary exceeding the 3rd grade. You will find yourself using words like "nice" and "fun," with increasing regularity.)

All righty, back to the Mother Ship— otherwise known as a great chat place, otherwise known as a really cool cafeteria table (in nicer ways than the 6th grade): you might like to join us, at HighCallingBlogs. :)

RELATED POSTS
LL's Day 1: Bambi in the Database, Day 2: The Dalai Lama Effect, Day 3: Darren Rowse, Please Link to Me, Day 4: Oprah, I Wanna Be Like You, Day 5: Email a Blog Reader, Day 6: Shakespeare and Company's Top 24 Blog Tips, Day 7: How Do I Love Thee, Let Me Link the Ways, Day 8: Entertaining Aliens
ProBlogger's Join a Forum and Start Participating
Paul's 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Project

COMING TOMORROW
My Dog Ate Darren Rowse's Google Alerts, a companion to ProBlogger's Monitor What's Happening in Your Niche.

Would you like to follow Bambi's efforts at better blogging? Here's a button, if you like :)

Labels: 31 Days to Build a Better Blog, social media and community

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Entertaining Aliens

I like to think of the Search Engines as aliens. After all, we call them "bots," "web crawlers," "web spiders" and other terms of alien endearment.

Okay, that is not quite fair. Maybe Search Engines are one up on the food chain from aliens. Some of them, early on, were named after comic books. Seriously. Archie (not so named) was followed by Jughead and Veronica (so named).

Still, today, we're afraid that Google will take over the world, maybe landing its alien ship on the White House before the final Apocalypse. Tell me you have never once considered that possibility. It could happen. The word Google sounds vaguely like the word ogle which has definite connections to the word peer, which, if you think about it is not so far off from the word spy.

I'm telling you. Google is Invasion of the Body Snatchers. (Remember, the pods drifted through space! Google is part of cyberspace! The evidence is all there.)

But I want you to put that aside and think of today's task in nicer terms. Part of your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to Entertain Aliens. Which, translated, means, be nice to the Search Engines by InterLinking Your Old Blog Posts.

If you don't like the idea of being nice to aliens, then pretend you are mounting your own guerilla force within the alien infrastructure. Doing so provides...

1. Usefulness to Readers (they can't get enough of you)

2. SEO (a.k.a. Search Engine Optimization, otherwise known as the world can't get enough of you)

3. Increased Page Views (like I said before, readers can't get enough of you)

If you will kindly notice, I have been in boot camp since the beginning of the 31 Days Project, because I have been interlinking to each of my 31 Days Project previous posts.

Okay, I did not do that on Day 1. This is a sign of interlinking humility. Or the fact that it was the first post. Or just plain laziness. Because I'm not looking back. I will do that on Day 32, when I interlink in one final apocalyptic attempt to take over the 31 Day Project Google World.

(Meet me at the Mother Ship. Bring your links. No ray guns allowed.)

RELATED POSTS
LL's Day 1: Bambi in the Database, Day 2: The Dalai Lama Effect, Day 3: Darren Rowse, Please Link to Me, Day 4: Oprah, I Wanna Be Like You, Day 5: Email a Blog Reader, Day 6: Shakespeare and Company's Top 24 Blog Tips, Day 7: How Do I Love Thee, Let Me Link the Ways
ProBlogger's Day 7: InterLink Your Old Blog Posts
Paul's 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Project

COMING TOMORROW
Meet Me at the Mother Ship, a companion to ProBlogger's Join a Forum and Start Participating.

Would you like to follow Bambi's efforts at better blogging? Here's a button, if you like :)

Labels: 31 Days to Build a Better Blog, increasing blog traffic, social media

Green Inventions Central

31.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Foretelling the Future

28.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Leave Comments on Other Blogs

27.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Maureen, Hope You Don't Mind

26.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Gesundheit!

25.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Pretend Your Blog is a Barbie

24.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Buy a Velvet Couch

21.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Honk if You Like, I Prefer Cake

20.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Update a Key Page

19.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: I Will Not Be Swayed by Sales on Boxer Shorts

18.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Darren Gets on the Scale

17.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Hey Darren, It's My Turn

14.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: My Dog Ate Darren Rowse's Google Alerts

13.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Meet Me at the Mother Ship

12.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Entertaining Aliens

About Me

We did not inherit the land from our fathers. We are borrowing it from our children.
— Amish Proverb

Twice Named a Best Book 2011

Links

Library Books I Return To

French Fixes & Best Posts

The 30-Day Recipes and More

Wild Edibles Recipes

Previous Posts

Archives

Green Inventions Central

31.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Foretelling the Future

28.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Leave Comments on Other Blogs

27.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Maureen, Hope You Don't Mind

26.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Gesundheit!

25.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Pretend Your Blog is a Barbie

24.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Buy a Velvet Couch

21.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Honk if You Like, I Prefer Cake

20.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Update a Key Page

19.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: I Will Not Be Swayed by Sales on Boxer Shorts

18.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Darren Gets on the Scale

17.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Hey Darren, It's My Turn

14.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: My Dog Ate Darren Rowse's Google Alerts

13.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Meet Me at the Mother Ship

12.5.10

31 Days to Build a Better Blog: Entertaining Aliens

About Me

We did not inherit the land from our fathers. We are borrowing it from our children. — Amish Proverb

Twice Named a Best Book 2011

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We did not inherit the land from our fathers. We are borrowing it from our children.
— Amish Proverb