RSS Underground - RSS Resources - Dynamic Directory - Article MenuFeatured RSS Underground Blogging ArticleBest Blogging SoftwareThe blogging platform wars are getting really interesting and much of the discussion I find myself in lately revolves around what is happening with various CMS systems. The market can essentially be defined into 3 major camps: remotely hosted, self hosted, and community based systems. I have used pretty much every blogging platform available and each of them has its ups and downs. In this article I will cover the best options for each area taking into account price, usability, market share and of course SEO potential. All of these products are either open source, completely free or have a functional free version. Links were stripped from this article so you may want to check out the original best blogging software article at ProfitPapers. Remotely Hosted Blogging Software (Note: I cannot really recommend any of these from an SEO stand point as optimizing a domain you do not own or control is obviously not a good marketing plan.) Blogger Blogger is completely free and currently owns the majority of the remotely hosted user base, but not by a land slide . Bought out by Google in 1999, Blogger essentially fired up the blogging trend we see today. It is by far the easiest overall solution to use and if you are a novice user looking to throw up some recipes or poetry, this is for you. Blogger is completely free and includes some great features like comments, photo blogging, and a basic community feel with user profiles. Because it is so dumbed down there are some features you may not find with Blogger that are only available through 3rd party add-ons. As a side note Blogger weblogs do quite well in the search engines and this was recently exploited with it being the first choice for spam blogs or splogs. A splog is a weblog used for the sole purpose of gaining inbound links or generating thousands of keyword stuffed pages with Adsense and the like. The recent Google Jagger update cleared a large portion of this up. Free. Typepad Released in 2003 Typepad is a product of Sixapart, the makers of Movable Type. it is largely based on MT but there are some major enhancements and differences. Your weblog can accomodate one or more photo albums with auto thumbnail generation. You can easily add music, books, and other media to Typelists, which grab a thumbnail from Amazon and other retailers for easily displaying in your sidebar. Typepad is also a great deal more technical than Blogger so a bit of HTML know how is recommended. On that note editing your weblog to look the way you want it also quite easy and Typepad blogs are known for being very eye pleasing, intuitive and easy to navigate. In Sixapart's business model Typepad is aimed at regular home and small business users while Movable Type is targeted at larger businesses or for internal intranets. Price: Basic, $4.95 a month; premium, $8.95 to $14.95 a month. Xanga These guys originated back in 1999 as a site for sharing book, music and movie reviews. Although it quickly morphed into a full blown blogging tool Xanga still maintains the ability to run a powerful review site. Xanga pulls data from several retailers like Amazon.com including thumbnails, pricing and a cover. The software also is very usable by novices with a powerful WYSIWYG editor allowing for easy HTML editing, adding smilies, links, and other symbols. By using Blog rings it is also easy to interface with Xanga's other 3 million users to share interests, ideas, and of course traffic. Xanga comes in a free and $25 flavor. Mentions: Blogsome, Blogster, MindSay, Multiply,
Self Hosted Blogging Software WordPress WordPress originally began as a mod of an older open source package known as B2. WP is MT's biggest competition and is often the bain of endless Wordpress vs Movabletype style threads around the internet. Although launched just over a year or so ago WP has really taken the blogosphere by storm. And with good reason - Wordpress is completely free under GNU licensing and is packed with many featured you will not find anywhere else. It is also much easier to install and get blogging for novice users and has a very large and helpful community. WP runs on PHP/mySQL and is quite scalable judging from some of the very large and trafficked sites I see using it. It also sports utilities to import files from Movable Type, Textpattern, Greymatter, Blogger, and b2. Wordpress recently upped the ante when Yahoo recently included them on their hosting packages, in addition to MT. I have to admit I am finding myself more and more digging WP and will likely convert Profitpapers to WP as I get time (it can be a biznitch). Wordpress is free. Movable Type Aside from maybe Greymatter (the original open source blogging tool), Movabletype dominated the blogging market share in 2002-2004. Released in late 2001, Perl based Movable Type by Sixapart has maintained a large portion of the blogging market share, due mainly to the fact that there is a free version (supporting up to 3 weblogs) and that it is incredibly powerful, intuitive and easy to customize. Template driven Movable Type also sports one of the largest communities of developers and blogging enthusiasts around, meaning lots of support, idea sharing, and of course plugins. Movable Type can be configured to dynamically generate HTML, PHP or any other kind of pages you like, meaning it is incredibly scalable, fast, and loved by spiders. It is perhaps the most well known blogging software for SEO purposes and it what currently powers Profitpapers and several of my other projects. Moveabletype is either Free with 3 authors, 1 weblog, and no support or $69.95 with unlimited weblogs, authors and full support. Textpattern Textpattern is the brainchild of Dean Allen and was written to ease publishing of content for those not inclined to learn HTML. Like WP and MT Textpattern runs on PHP and mySQL for easy administration, backups, and power. What really sets textpattern apart from the others is the integration of Textile. Textile is a tool for easily formatting content for those who do not know HTML. WP & MT have modules for textile as well but it is native to the Textpattern system. Another bonus of the app is its superior handling of comment spam due to its smaller market share. On a blogs I maintain running WP and MT I often find myself clearing out spam every day, whereas on some very busy textpattern sites I receive only manual comment spam (not bot driven). TP is open source. Mentions: Blosxom, LifeType, Serendipity. Community based Blogging Software Slash Waaaaay back in 1997, Rob "CmdrTaco" Malda launched a web site known as Chips & Dips, supplied via his student account at Hope College in Michigan. In 1999 Andover.net acquired Slashdot. Shortly after, the underlying code was released as open source software called Slash. Like Movable Type and Greymatter, Slash runs on Perl, but it also has established hooks into MySQL and a very strong track record of scaling to enormous traffic levels. To give you an idea, the term 'slashdotted' originated from acquiring a link on this now infamous and very popular tech news web site - and consequently watching your servers melt. If you have never messed around with Slash, you really should as it is quite a powerful platform. Slash is open source. Scoop Another well known Perl based community blogging software is Scoop. Scoop is the software that powers Kuro5shin, DailyKos and many other busy community weblogs. Scoop took the Slashdot idea and expanded on it, making the discussion rather than the news the focus of the application. Where Slashdot entries tend to have a link with added commentary pointing readers off the site, Scoop points to stories written by members of the community keeping the reader within your own weblog. Scoop is also well known for handling large volumes of traffic and a large very technical community. Scoop is free . Drupal Drupal is a well known open source community blogging platform with a very large community of users and developers. Not only is Drupal free but it is damn powerful. Instead of Perl, which is quite hard to decode at times, even if you are a fluent coder, Drupal uses a PHP/mySQL platform. Drupal is also a very community focused application with a built in forum, download area, and hundreds of other home brewed mods and hacks. If you are looking for a lot of functionality give Drupal a check - the project has become quite mature. It is also much easier to use and customize than either Scoop or Slash. Drupal is also another open source project. Mentions: LiveJournal, PHP Nuke. Related: Syndicated Content - Mobile Content Providers RSS Underground Featured Article Author BoxMiles Evans writes for ProfitPapers where he writes essays on organic SEO, SEM, development and other equally fascinating subjects. Is blogging the new media?You here a number of claims that blogging is the new media, and on certain days you can sort of believe it. But on other days, it's not as obvious. It's relatively clear that some sort of journalistic standards would need to be embraced for blogging to develop into a wider distributed and more respected medium. Many journalists are bloggers, which is somewhat ironic, because their industry is the one that's most challenged by a new media. Journalists have long spent time and effort building up their credibility and establising professional organizations. Currently, blogging has very low quality standards, and that causes a credibility gap with the readership at large. In order for blogging to overcome a perceived lack of trust, a great number of steps would have to take place. And there's no guaranteeing that blogging can make the leap. Certain blogs are already considered to be relatively trustworthy information sources by many people, so bloggers who plan carefully can attempt to duplicate their success. But still, anyone can in fact start and maintain a weblog , so the complete lack of barrier to entry causes a stampede of unprofessional bloggers into the blogosphere daily. Unchecked, this eventually spells the end of credibility. So-called "splogs" are sprouting up faster than high-rise buildings in a booming real estate market. Some estimates say a splog is created every 12 seconds! Whether this is true I can't say for sure, but there certainly has been an unending procession of them. The trouble with splogs or other low-quality blogs is that they are many people's only experience with the genre. People who are mislead to a truly horrendous auto-generated splog, are likely to have their trust of blogging diminished. If this happens consistently, the effect is the downfall of the perceived quality in surfer's mind. And the main problem with an event like this, is that there's not much you can do about it. I recently came across an advertisement for a one-minute install of a WordPress RSS to Blog web site. When technologists can make a web site that fast, they will. Even if they make pennies per day, they can run enough splogs to make a living. But in the end, the spam problem will not be the only issue facing the credibility of bloggers. There are also great numbers of blogs which are strictly commercial in nature, so they can't be seen as being "news" sources in the same way a TV network can. The business model required to monetize blogs requires a cozier relationship, in some ways, than news agencies should have with advertisers. In fact, much content is at least indirectly created with the idea of advertising in the first place. Bloggers have a shot to overcome the credibility gap, and some are. Technology blogs are considered to be great sources of information, and righly so in most cases. In the next few years, a push towards professionalism of blogging is inevitable. Only then can the full potential of the artform be realized. Please visit our Blog Network for more information on blogging. Come Blog with Me and Ride the Crest of The Blogging Wave of Internet Business© 2005 John Woon (Sung-Liang Woon) http://www.johnwoon.com Short description Blogging has been used for some years as a platform for individuals to record chronological publication of comments and thoughts on the web. They usually include philosophical reflections, opinions on the Internet and social or political issues. This article explains how one could go beyond this to capitalise the strength of blogging to enhance one's Internet business.
When I first heard of the word "blog" years ago in the mid 90's, I was puzzled as to why I did not hear it earlier, having been immersed in the English language for more that 4 decades! Naturally, I reached for my half-a-dozen copies of dictionaries on the shelf to check for its meaning but I could not find one. The reason is simple...... the word "BLOG" simply did not exist in my dictionaries including the Oxford Dictionary! A frantic search led me to Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang that eventually gave me a clue. It says "blog noun An Internet web site containing an eclectic and frequently updated assortment of items of interest to its author. 1999-. [Shortening of weblog.] So blogger, noun" Not happy with this half-hearted and vague explanation, I ventured into the Web to do further "research". Lo and behold! I've got some more meaningful citations. Below is a list of these. - Blog is short for weblog. A weblog is a journal (or newsletter) that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or the Web site. - A weblog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a weblog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a weblog is a "blogger." Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the weblog . - A weblog is information that is instantly published to a Web site. Blog scripting allows someone to automatically post information to a Web site. The information first goes to a blogger Web site. Then the information is automatically inserted into a template tailored for your Web site. - A short form for weblog, a frequent and chronological publication of comments and thoughts on the web. They usually include philosophical reflections, opinions on the Internet and social or political issues. - Web LOG is a journal kept on the internet. This journal is often updated daily and contains all information that the person maintaining the BLOG (Blogger) wishes to share with the world. Also applies to web sites dedicated to a particular topic and being updated with the latest news, views and trends. There's no need to go on because I'm now more than satisfied with the definition. Many years have passed since and blogging has come a long way indeed. Not only can you do all the above mentioned, you could now also make full use of it to promote and expand your Internet business. Savvy marketers have discovered that blogging is one of the best Internet marketing methods that is free because you could create your weblog almost immediately at no cost compared to the setting up of a conventional web site. Putting information in your weblog to help establishing your presence in the Web is now a growing phenomenon. Blogging for your Internet business is one surefire way to enhance the visibility of your products and services. With the continuing improvement in software technology, publishing, introducing plug-ins, banners, pictures etc to create a fun and interesting "web site" has become a breeze even to those with old and rusty brains like me. Here is what you could do to improve your Internet online business:- 1) Give advice to your visitors on specific tips, tricks and opportunities related to your own business with the objective to increase awareness not only about yourself but also your business. This will establish you as an authority with customers, prospects and casual visitors through your publications. 2) Encourage readers to leave their comments and feedback. Positive feedback could some times help you to improve your web site design, layout, content and hence your buisness. 3) Make announcement and broadcasting on any new changes or offers available in your main web sites, for instance, new products and/or services. 4) All your postings in your weblog could be kept in an Archive file which is very friendly for retrieving. You can therefore keep track of all your business plans and old but important information. 5) Any articles which you have written and posted could be reprinted by others for their own web sites with your permission on condition that the resource box about the author remains unchanged i.e. with all your important URLs intact. This would link your web sites to other web sites hence exposing your business to more visitors.
6) Try adding fresh and quality content to it on a regular basis since search engines like fresh content. As a result, search engines will list your web site in their directories. As soon as you have pages of your weblog in the search engines, you'll start attracting free traffic to your site without having to paying a dime for it.
7) Include links that will fetch back links and subsequently improve your ranking on search engines. Affiliate links in the form of advertisement banners could also be included in your weblog to earn more extra income. 8) You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. You can have some kind of link exchanges with other bloggers for mutual benefits of increasing traffic to your weblog and other main web sites. In summary, there's almost no limit to what you could and want to do with your weblog . You can include your ideas, opinions, expertise in your field of work, resumes, home recipes, pictures, streaming audio or video clips, e-books, poetry, products, services, consultations etc., etc. What are the main differences between a weblog and a web site then? You may ask. Most web sites are relatively permanent with only occasional updating. With blogs, you could post any new content almost on daily basis. Also, web sites are usually less personal as far as their relationship with the visitors is concerned. Visitors to your weblog could leave comment after their visits which sometimes could prompt a follow-up discussion between you and them resulting with both parties learning from each another. So how do you start blogging? There are many host services providers you could join. Among the most popular are Blogger.com and LiveJournal.com. I'm using Blogger.com which I find serving my needs just perfectly. In closing, you must realize that to be successful in running your business weblog , you need to be very passionate about your products and services. Share your ideas, opinions and thoughts to assert yourself as an authority in your field. The visitors who are your customers or potential customers would remember your weblog and keep coming back. COME BLOG WITH ME TODAY and ride the crest of the business blogging wave! Happy blogging! John Woon (Sung-Liang Woon) is a Latex Consultant with about 30 years experience.1) http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-9747 2)http://www.johnwoon.com 3)http://easyhomebiz.blogspot.com 4)http://www.lowpricepharmacy.blogspot.com 5)http://jwconsultants.blogspot.com 6)http://diabetics-guide.blogspot.com 7)http://hypertension2.blogspot.com 8)http://betterstop.blogspot.com Hey, please visit the Internet Marketing web sites:
Recently Added Internet Related Articles: Xml Sitemap - In order for this XML sitemap file on your site to be constantly updated, you need a Generator that will spider your site, list all the urls and automatically feed them to Google. Thus constantly updating your site in Google's massive index or database. Web Content Writing - Content spamming, in its simplest form, is the taking of content from other sites that rank well on the search engines, and then either using it as-it-is or using a utility software like Articlebot to scramble the content to the point that it can't be detected with plagiarism software. Regular Content - Web content management is a subset of content management systems. It consists of a set of programs and equipment that help to manage web-based content. They can be used to efficiently manage the web contents of an organization's internal and eternal web sites. Page Content - The content of a page is probably the most important consideration when building traffic to your web site. Other techniques do gain more traffic but page content and content of your web site in general is most important when producing a good quality site that will naturally build traffic. Web Content Writer - Content writing has become an important task for webmasters nowadays. Literally content writing means writing content for the web. If you’re into web business then it becomes necessary for you to have a web site that has current, relevant, and interesting content. This in return attracts and retains visitors to your site. However, one should always keep in mind that content writing is not everyone’s cup of tea. Content Writing - Advances in mobile phone technology is now moving faster then any other market. Computers may be getting faster, but they have reached there potential - it will be along time before we see something completely different on a computer again. Adding Fresh Content - As you start getting more media-savvy, you'll find yourself coming up with more and more information and ideas to help the public. Not all of these ideas will strike the fancy of your media contacts, but don't let them go to waste--become a media person yourself by publishing an e-zine. Free Blog Software - After a year's worth of research, and a whopping investment of over $79,853.28 -- Derek Gehl and his team have just released a special report that's going to blow the lid off everything you THOUGHT you knew about getting FREE search engine traffic. Keyphrase Optimization - After deciding what kind of internet business you want to do, it's time to start planning the design and content of your business. Many people make the mistake of skipping this step, choosing instead to immediately start work on their web site. Articles on the web
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