Mrs. Mecomber’s Scrapbook

I’ve been a member of IZEA’s PayPerPost for several months now. The experience with the IZEA community has been nothing short of wonderful. Not only have I made dozens upon dozens of new friends, learned more about the art and science of blogging and web design, and honed my writing skills, I’ve been getting paid for writing opportunities (opps, in the IZEA lingo) while enjoying the community!

SocialSpark is the latest release from this extremely innovative company. It’s been their baby for many months, and they were quick to release it and open it to bloggers and advertisers alike. I’d seen many “behind the scene” videos that detailed the development and the woes of deadlines, technical problems, and exhilaration of this new idea. So, my history with SocialSpark goes back a little ways.

I love IZEA. Do I love SocialSpark? Yes! with a few reservations. I joined SocialSpark in early April. The website, while beautiful and loaded with goodies, is slow and confusing to navigate. I’m trying to be fair and not compare it too much to the minimal PayPerPost experience. I very much like the ease of using the PayPerPost website, so I found the SocialSpark design a shock– a lot like culture shock, lol!

Navigating SocialSpark is difficult. A lot of computer newbies have found it somewhat painful to use. Just to get to my inbox of messages or view opps, I have to click a series of links. It would be a great improvement to redesign the site slightly, with fewer clicks, more options, and many more shortcuts. Right now, the cumbersome design and elongated chain of clicks is a large hurdle that dampens the glitzy SocialSpark experience. But don’t take me wrong– SocialSpark is still very navigable. I’ve been spending a few weeks at the site and can now say I’m becoming comfortable with the site.

Also, there’s a definite learning curve to SocialSpark, with its own unique language– queue, opps, sparks, props. It’s not for the faint of heart! However, IZEA has one of the best– nay, THE best– public forums I have ever seen. The IZEA boards have been my lifeline to understanding everything there is to know about IZEA, and more. And I’ve made a good many very dear friends there. The community is the best blogging community I’ve ever had the pleasure of joining. So that makes the annoying problems sting a little less. So overall, I believe SocialSpark is sorely lacking when it comes to intuitive navigation. But SocialSpark is truly still developing, and there are a lot of things still on the table. And that takes us to the very beauty of SocialSpark. Just the fact that I can offer my input and they will listen to it is what makes you say WOW about SocialSpark.

SocialSpark is exactly what the word means– it’s social. It was created to be a conglomerate mega-pool of users, bloggers and advertisers alike, to share ideas, create ideas, listen, and be listened to. You can create a profile (see mine) and make friends- even with advertisers! You can send and receive messages, share and write non-sponsored opps called “sparks” to get the word out (or to use as an impetus for a bad case of writer’s block)! SocialSpark is the big boy in the social networking neighborhood, kind of like a networked Starbucks. You converse, hash out ideas, and enjoy the refreshments with others. I love SocialSpark for this, and especially for bridging the vast desert land that had existed between blogger and advertiser.

SocialSpark is still a tween, in my opinion. It’s not quite full grown, and is still budding. There are some bugs to be worked out and of course there are tweaks needed to make it more friendly (better clickability and better linking). But I think these will all be resolved. And judging by the incredible support by the people at IZEA and the community in general, I think SocialSpark will absolutely shine in the near future. If you are interested in joining, I highly recommend it.

this review is sponsored by SocialSpark

Boy, reviewing blogs is fun. I am discovering so many great new blogs that I otherwise wouldn’t ever see. A Blessed Life is a very, very cute little blog. It’s kept by Sheila, a Kansas wife and mom who has one adorable son and is expecting another. The little boy is the silent center of the blog (he, uh, doesn’t post anything yet). His cute photos and his presence are detectable all over the blog. Judging by the comments, A Blessed Life is popular with other mommies of little babes.

About the design: it’s a typical Blogger design (”dots” is it?) but it has three-columns. So I assume it is not one of the basic Blogger templates, but a revised theme. The background is very dark and the font so small that it emits a moody atmosphere. This seems at variance with the perky baby in the sidebar. It’s just too dark for me! I suggest a different theme or brightening the room. It would be cute if Sheila could find a baby nursery type of theme, or make one herself. The blog is difficult to read because it is so dark and moody.

Also, the posts, which are rich in content, suffer from what I call “Stream of Consciousness Formatting.” in other words, the content of the post is all in one huge paragraph, with no visual break. Here’s an example, if I may:

Feb. 3, 2008 Sunday- My husband called from Florida and little Noah wanted to get the phone from me. As soon as i handed the phone over to him, he said “dada”. I asked my husband if he heard it, he said “no”. Maybe because he was talking to him at the same time. So, I gave the phone back to Noah. He said “dada” again” then “dade” the third time. It surely made his Daddy’s day. We had been watching Baby Mozart a hundred of times this weekend as if it’s the only show on earth. There’s a part where the green snake would say “Blah”. Noah, as soon as he saw the snake, said “aaaah” in a growling way just like how the snake said “blah”. It was funny coz he surely knows it’s coming. Noah has been doing a lot of discovery with his toys. Whenever his toy phone rings, he would give it to me then I would pretend his friend Marky from the daycare was calling him. I would give it back to him and he would say “hi” or just blab. He knows what Cheerios are this time. Yesterday, I said Cheerios and he looked at the top of the cabinet where his Cheerios are located. This morning, it’s fascinating coz he gave me his little book of numbers. I counted and pointed to him 1 kite, 2 pancakes, then 3 balloons. As soon as he heard the 3 balloons, he turned his back and looked at the 3 balloons I got for my birthday few weeks ago. He even stood up and compared the balloons on the book to the real balloons. It’s amazing how his thought process is working at this age. Last Thursday, he was eating his Cheerios form his toy box and the big cow was at his back. he manaeged to sit on it while eating and without me telling or helping him to get on it. He knows how to put his toys in his box. He is just so amazing. He is getting smarter as the day passes. There was a loud thunder this morning and he cried. He got scared. Of course, mommy comforted him immediately. He already knows how to share. Whenever we say “share mommy”, or share daddy”, he would raise his hand and put food into our mouth. Last Friday, it was funny coz he stood behind his kyeboard and started playing it wit his butt. He was having fun doing it. Wish i took a video of that. Baby Kaeden, our soon-to-be-born baby had been kicking last Friday. I felt his kicks when I placed my hand on my tummy while lying on bed. I had been feeling him move the past few days (as if there’s a goldfish swimming inside me ), but had not really felt it with my hand. This time it was real. Can’t wait to see and hold him in my arms. Thank you. Lord, for another baby.

OK, that’s all in one paragraph. That’s much too tedious and takes too much effort to read. Break things down. I was a mom of little babies, too (I had 3 under age three for a while), so I know how hyper one can get! Take a breath, Sheila! LOL.

Now don’t take this too hard. The posts are really interesting to read. But the format makes them too hard to read. Only friends and grandmothers are going to stay that long to slog through the lack of readability. And that’s fine if that’s all you want to read your blog. But if you want people to come back and read your content, the design must encourage it. The cluttered posts, coupled with small font and a very dark background, will repel more readers than draw them in. The posts are interesting– the one about the tornado warning was absolutely gripping– so there’s a lot to work for. Of course, young moms don’t always have the time to reconfigure their blogs! There are free Blogger templates out there; consider looking around. Pay attention to other people’s blogs as you surf, too.

The sidebars are rich in content and display Sheila’s personality. I like that in a blog. The sidebar content is balanced. But again, the font is so tiny! And there is no header at the top. this actually isn’t necessary, as long as you have a very clear indication of your blog’s title and it’s general description somewhere at the top. Here, the title is in the sidebar above the profile, which is OK, but it is dull and not very reader-friendly.

So overall, A Blessed Life has a lot going for it! I’m sure the posts will continue to be very entertaining in the unique way that having a houseful of children will provide! Put more effort into the blog design and watch this blog shine.

Thanks to Entrecards, I’m becoming very familiar with the multitudes of bloggers out there! I’ve visited A Hand Me Down Life several times dropping Entrecards, and have become familiar with it before I even considered reviewing it.

The very first thing that I notice is the dark colors of the blog. I have to wonder if this theme reflects Sue’s  blogger personality. The theme is a little drab, although it has a FANTASTIC Javascript capability with the Archive page. I wish all themes had that! But the theme is dry and uninteresting. Also, some of the sidebar content spills out into the background, and it looks sloppy.

The Twitters are at the top, then the search bar, categories, and the recent posts. Then there is some colorful content (the MyBlogLog widget, blogroll, Entrecard widget, etc). The Energy PopMeter splays out beyond the sidebar. The button and badges are unevenly spaced. I use Firefox browser, so perhaps this is a browser issue…. but the blog gives the immediate impression of a poorly-designed theme and not much effort. It looks unprofessional.

However, Sue, don’t lose heart! These things are very easily remedied. It is the CONTENT of a blog that really matters. The posts are thoughtful, and some are downright fun. I LOVED seeing the rubber claws for the cats, lol! (Wouldn’t the cats eat them off?!) and I loved the Nippy Deviled Eggs recipe, mmm. Plus, a week ago I’d read the post I’ve Always Wanted to Start My Own Militia, and thought it was a wonderfully creative way to write that opp. So there’s a ton of creativity just bursting to come out, but unless a reader is very persistent, it’s hard to get past that boring theme and delve deeper. The theme functions well; I suppose Sue could even keep the basic theme and tweak it. A lot. If she knows coding. A new header, a wider sidebar or small widgets, a different background, better title fonts… it can be done, if ya know how and have the time. But then again, there are loads of themes out there that would require less work…

Another few things– there’s no little button for an RSS Feed. That’s a very important feature on a blog now. And it needs more personality, like Flickr photos, or ??? or something. This is a personal blog, so it needs more things that make it personal. Consider adding some content that will let the reader know more about you and your likes and dislikes. I’d sure like to know more!

I look forward to seeing this blog develop. It’s still relatively young, so there’s a lot of growing space. And I’ll be back tomorrow, to drop my Entrecard and read the latest post!

I haven’t tried this out yet, but it looked so interesting and I have some readers who love graphic design that I thought I’d give you a heads up on this. There’s a little 3D modeling and animation program available for download called the Anim8tor. It looks really nice! I’ll bet kids would have a blast with it. The author says it’s not “professional” grade, but it’s free and it looks like a ton of fun. He put a lot of time into it and I think it’s great when developers offer their creations for free.

There’s texture support for bump maps, soft shadows, spotlights, fog, and more, for graphic files such as .BMP, .GIF, and .JPG formats. It looks like a great beginner’s tool. I know my young son, who loves creating graphics on the computer, would love this. I intend to download it and try it out. Soon. I hope. My son has a math book to finish, and that’s really the only reason why I haven’t tried it yet! LOL.

One quick reminder: when you download files–any files but especially executable files like those that run programs– always be sure to run a scan through your anti-virus. and always make sure your anti-virus is updated. Almost all software is safe, but it definitely pays to check and double-check. hotel deals are nice to have, but you don’t want them popping up in browser pop-ups, all over the place, because you didn’t scan and now you have spyware! Be sure to always scan your files.

I’ve pulled away from Blogger for the most part (at least for the blogs I monetize), but I do still have a few blogs with them, and I do still pay attention to what they are doing. The latest feature just released is the ability to pre-schedule posts. Wordpress has had this feature for a long time, and I’m glad to see Blogger take it on. It’s a wonderful feature, and I use it a lot with Wordpress. This is from their news release post:

Scheduled post publishing, which we talked about testing on Blogger in draft last month, is now live for everyone. If you set a post’s date into the future, Blogger will wait to publish until that time comes.

Have you ever wanted to announce something on a certain date but knew you wouldn’t be at a computer to make a post? Or you wanted to keep posting regularly but knew you’d be on vacation for a few weeks? Scheduled post publishing is here to help you out.

There are a few extra steps to take for “bumping” posts, but anything is an improvement here.

I kind of lost repect for Blogger after hearing that Google was arbitrarily deleting or suspending accounts they didn’t feel were “worthy.” Sure, some sites were probably spam– I’ve come across a lot of them– but not all of them were! If you had a harmless blog about the wonders of wood shutters and dared to monetize your blog without Google’s AdSense, you risked deletion. With a week after I heard about Google’s actions, I hopped on over to Bluehost web hosting and Wordpress. The transfer from Blogger to Wordpress was agonizing, but the risk of losing a year’s worth of posts just because I monetize my blogs was too great.

Anyway, Blogger is introducing new features every few months, it seems. They are doing a good job of keeping up with the big dogs. And Blogger is a terrific place for a beginner blogger. Plus, it’s still FREE!

I am a member of Entrecards (although not for this blog– just my five others, lol!). I thoroughly enjoy the traffic it has brought me as well as the wonderful new blogs and bloggers I have discovered. I’ve made some true friends through the community. I have to admit that I’ve also seen some real doozies out there, too– some use EC to peddle their acne treatments blogs (how can you have a blog devoted to one thing, eludes me!) but most Entrecarders are there for the social networking aspect. I love it! Entirely new blogs, widgets, and tools are being spawned as a result of EC. I was very excited to read about a new toolbar called Sitehoppin, created by an Entrecarder and especially geared toward EC hoppers. It’s in the beta, but I have the honor of being able to beta test it with my Firefox browser. The concept and the style is outstanding. I’ve been waiting for another toolbar to enter the scene to rival StumbleUpon, and it looks like Josh Whitford’s invention may do it. You can read about it and see a tutorial video here.

It still has a few bugs yet (that’s why the call it “beta”!). The toolbar timed out on me a few times. I also notice that there is no category for the Entrecard Home & Garden section. My New York Renovator is in that category, so until it’s fixed, my most popular blog won’t be showing.

But users can submit blogs! There’s just too much to describe here– check out Josh’s site and watch the tutorial. I’m expecting great things from this toolbar!

Looking for window coverings? I found an outstanding company that sells discount window blinds and more. I’m very impressed with the quality of the website. I don’t know about you, but when I did my first several online shopping transactions (ten years ago now!) I was quaking more than a bowl of jelly! It seemed so unreal, typing in my credit card information to buy something I couldn’t tangibly touch or see. After ten years of online purchases, I have never been disappointed. I am more and more impressed with the convenience and safety of buying things online. Of course, I am always looking for reputable, quality companies and I go back to them.

ShadesShuttersBlinds.com has an excellent website. They even have a telephone number and a blog! Talk about customer service! Plus, they have a terrific selection of cheap mini blinds and a gorgeous shade design selection. The Roman shades are exquisite. Roman shades are my favorite. I cannot sew them very well, so I’ve been on the lookout for some good deals. Aren’t these beautiful?

The company will even mail out little sections of fabric for the customer to see it and feel it. Such incredible customer service is unsurpassed, in my opinion- wow! The blinds are also American made.

The blog is very informative. I am in the middle of a huge renovation project on my house, so I have been keen to websites that offer quality products and information. The blog is very readable, and mentions upcoming sales, too.

The Internet has opened up a huge “window” (haha) of opportunity for us. We can literally buy things “wholesale” and at deep discounts, whereas years ago we were at the mercy of the middleman retailer and his “sales.” Finding a quality company is notable. Check out ShadesShuttersBlinds.com if you are in the market for affordable and beautiful window coverings, or check out their blog for information. This is an excellent company, and they will be receiving my business in the future. I’ve gotta get those walls and windows up first, however!

exp. 6/11

If you are as old as I am, you remember that old television commercial for Eggo waffles, where the kids scream at each other “Leggo my Eggo!” Eggo waffles were pretty good. I might even have screamed that at my brothers to get one.

Anyway… I’m quite off the topic, lol. There’s a new cute computer game for Lego lovers (I have two sons who have spent a small fortune on Legos). C|Net does a good review and has a download link. It sounds like a very cute game, and I’m sure my sons will love it. They are quite the Lego fans– they are members of the online Lego Club, too! So now, instead of buying tons of Legos, we can buy a ton of ram to run the new games!

I blogged about the grocery store, Hannaford’s, problem with security a few weeks ago. Hannaford’s is a huge grocery store chain here in the Northeast. I was affected by the data breach (as were most Northeasterners) and had to get new credit and bank cards. I am closely monitoring my statements, still.

To be more accurate, Hannaford’s security wasn’t the real issue; the finger of blame goes (once again) toward credit card companies. You can read more about it here.

But Hannaford’s is to be commended for their speedy response to this problem.

The supermarket chain Hannaford Bros. Co. has spent millions of dollars on additional security measures since last month’s revelation that hackers may have accessed up to 4.2 million credit and debit card numbers, it said yesterday.

The grocer, based in Scarborough, Maine, has stores in Massachusetts and several other states. It has started encrypting card numbers from the moment they are swiped at checkout counters. And it has tapped IBM to monitor security for its computer network around the clock.

But Hannaford’s top security executive said some other retailers are probably still vulnerable to similar attacks. “The latest threat wasn’t anticipated,” said chief information officer Bill Homa. “The bad guys are one step ahead.”

Hannaford told Massachusetts authorities it found unauthorized computer programs, called malware, on servers in more than 270 stores. When customers swiped their credit cards, the malware intercepted the data as it was transmitted from cash register to credit card processors.

The malware stored the data - card numbers and expiration dates - on store computers and later sent the information to offshore computers, where it could presumably be picked up by the thieves.

I am appalled– APPALLED– at the complete disregard bankers and companies, and the government, for that matter, have toward us and our data. It has gone too far and we really need to pressure these people to halt their data mining!

Last I heard, there were over 7 million blogs. Holy cow, that’s a lot! I contribute to that batch– I’ve got 7+ going. Hee. Marketing all seven is SUCH a chore. I monetize most of them, so I am always keen for ways to connect with other bloggers, advertisers, and to increase my traffic. I use a variety of networks for these purposes; some work, some don’t. I also am looking for new blogs and bloggers to give me ideas for content, too. So a good, reliable Blogger Search website is crucial for my blogging business. I found another one and this one looks good. I see a few people I know already in the group. It’s Blogoria.com. Registration is easy and- get this!!!– using the website is a PIECE of CAKE! I hate having to hash through reams and reams of ads, profiles, and other junk just to find what I’m looking for. Blogoria is simple, sleek, and looks great! You can search by “channels” (topics), country, blog name, language, etc. And if you have blog(s), list them for more exposure. The more exposure, the better.

I can’t believe it. A month after Wordpress releases their greatest, much-heralded new version (2.5), there’s another update to it already! I am flabbergasted. Updates are major events for many bloggers. I have five Wordpress blogs, so it’s a horrible hassle. Apparently, this new update plugs a few security holes and adds a few new features.

I wasn’t terribly impressed with the change from 2.3.1 to 2.5, honestly. There were some features I liked (the Dashboard organization is good), but some I loathed (not being able to switch widgets from sidebar to sidebar). I am very reluctant to move to 2.5.1… although I know I will very soon.

If you have Wordpress blogs and hate the hassle of updating them (*constantly*), check out a free plugin: Wordpress Automatic Upgrade. Remember: ALWAYS back up your MySQL files and backing up your Wordpress files with their handy exporter isn’t a bad idea, either (Dashboard >> Manage >> Export). And before using any automatic upgrader, it’s wise to deactivate all your plugins manually, even though the upgraders say they do it automatically.

Renate’s Merilin blog, titled Renate’s Merilinatomy, has got the be one of the funniest and most enjoyable blogs I’ve perused. I was absolutely tickled with the writing style. When I clicked the Renate link at the top, I was greeted with:

In Chinese, the sound ‘Renate’ means ‘bite the wax tadpole’.

LOL! OK, you’ve got my attention! What is a wax tadpole, though, ancient Chinese natural acne treatments?? I read on and was enjoying a high level of entertainment with this:

I’m Renate, and I Google everything. I was born on an autumn day in 1982 in the northern regions of Norway, where the hospital had their flag up, because a princess was born… I’m not your average Norwegian. I’m not tall, not blonde and I definitely do not appreciate a good snow day. You won’t find me whooping with joy as I swoop down the skiing tracks. You might find me at the bottom of said track, drinking cocoa and thinking about how my socks are wet, but I wouldn’t count on it.

Renate also studies history– an obsessive hobby of which I am also addicted. So what have we, between the two of us– we both love geekery, history, and humor. And I am of Norwegian ancestry!

Seriously, this is a fine blog for the more literary readers. There are also VERY FEW pictures. I saw NONE on the first page. It’s all Renate’s writing that the reader must connect with. And she does not disappoint! The style is fun, quirky, everyday, and masterful. Is Norwegian Renate’s first tongue? Because she writes like my English teacher: impeccable. This is a terrific blog for REAL readers.

About the theme. It’s a Wordpress-powered blog, and the theme is all home-grown by Renate herself. It is very sleek and I love the swirly emblem in the header. However, there are a few discrepancies. I see a very long html code tag in the sidebar, which detracts the eye and ruins the elegant look of the theme. Also, the titles to the posts are not clickable. Clicking the “permalink” link at the bottom of the post enables me to view the individual post, but it is one of those “picky” things about blogs that I personally prefer. And the comments, which I would like to follow, look like this:

Ikkje sånn kjempemange flere timan enn med tog, men betydelig mindre komfortabelt. Og så må æ jo uansett toge til Oslo for å ta bussen, så det hadde vært veldi digg å slippe å veksle så mellom transportan.

I guess I need to study my Norwegian a little more! I’ve been stuck on Swedish Chef Swedish for so long…

Everything else worked well. There is minimal content in the sidebar (reminds me of those Pergo ads I see in magazines– a beautiful wood-looking floor with just a few pieces of colorful furniture). I am used to the big baubles of American and Asian blogs, so the minimalistic Scandinavian look was something akin to culture shock. But I like it.

I like learning about how people live in other countries. Renate’s Merilin blog is wonderful for such a purpose. (And, Renate, I’m REALLY REALLY sorry about your home loan and the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis. It’s not my fault and I have been against the moneylenders schemes, ok?!)

In the mood for some good reading? Try Renate’s Merilin.

I discovered a tutorial on how to disable the caps lock key on computer keyboards. I don’t know about you, but the caps lock being where it is on the keyboard drives me beserk. I am ALWAYS hitting that DURN THING AND THEN I HAVE TO GO BACK A RE-DO ALL THAT I HAVE TYPED. Gr! The computer keyboard is still designed the way it has been, for… what is it now, 100 years? since the typewriter burst on the scene. Very little modification has occurred.

The tutorial, here at the How-To Geek (a good website) is short and sweet. This tweak does require you to tinker with the computer registry. Like the electric circuit panel of your home, you don’t want to be sticking your hands in there if you don’t know what you’re doing. With caution and a backup, you can’t really go wrong, however.

With the caps lock disabled, the Internet will be a quieter place! And now we can go about doing useful things,like blogging about wine racks or something. Heh.

Ever been “scraped”? It’s the name (oh no! another funky new name for something Internet related!) for a blogger whose content has been stolen and that content republished by another blogger. And without crediting the originator. These scrapers surf the blogosphere, looking for content for the specific purpose of stealing it to “create” their own blog or website. It’s a disgusting, heinous practice. Search engines like Google and Yahoo, penalize websites for “duplicate content.” Your website or blog has a decreased chance of getting indexed (and therefore visited by readers) if there is more than one copy of your work out there. So scrapers are the bottom of the pool of scumbags, worse than card-sharks at poker tables.

I came across a great website that tells bloggers how to fight back. Hurray! It may come in useful for you if you are a blogger. You can check it out here. There’s a downloadable pdf form, too. Many thanks to this blogger for bringing this to the forefront! Scrapers should — and now can– be stopped.

Amic Email Backup
I was initially very impressed with this program. It’s is a speedy little program that will backup all your emails, whether it be Opera Mail, Eudora mail, Thunderbird, or the ubiquitous Outlook Express. It will backup all your emails and settings with the click of the mouse. It stores the information in a small file and keeps it in the My Documents folder. You can move it to a safe place (like a flash drive separate from your computer’s hard drive) in case of a computer crash or reformat. I love that you can schedule it to backup automatically (I have mine set to every 2 days but you can backup every month or two or three).

When the day comes and you need to restore, you click on your stored file, and Amic begins. The process of restoring your email is another simple click away. IF IT WORKED. It didn’t work for me. The backup process went smoothly, but when I tried to restore, an error notification popped up telling me the file was corrupted.

This could be a great little program. I use Windows Vista, so perhaps this was the problem. I have not tried it on XP yet. If you are looking for a quick little program to save your email, this is free, at least. If it works for you, please let me know!