Author Archives: Ileane

Chrome Extension For Improved Readability

Posted on 03/26/2010 | 27 comments
Image representing Arc90 as depicted in CrunchBase

Image via CrunchBase

The Google Chrome Extensions library is filled with many of the same add-ins that FireFox users have enjoyed all along. My favorite Chrome Extentions Zemanta, Diigo, Chome SEO and SEO Site Tools. [tweetmeme source=”ileane”]Vote on Blog Engage

I recently installed a Google Chrome extension called Readability Redux. I learned about this plugin from Bruce Ganek in Making Webpages Easier to Read – The Readability Bookmarklet. Here’s  the installation demo from the developer Arc90, and here’s a closer look at Readability in Episode #021 of  Ms. Ileane Speaks Podcast.

I hope that using this tool will address the concerns of some website owners over the unfair use of browser adblockers. With Readability users will catch a glimpse of the ads served on monetized sites before switching to an uncluttered ad-free, sidebar-free view of any blog post. You can also email the post to others from the Readability view.  Why don’t you give it a try?

Do you have favorite extension for Google Chrome?

UPDATE: On June 15, Arc90 announced 2 features have been added to the Readability extension for Chrome:

  1. Converts links in text to footnotes
  2. Keyboard Shortcuts

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Posted in Blogging Tutorials, Google Chrome, How To

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Diigo Extension for Google Chrome Browser

Posted on 03/06/2010 | 27 comments
Image representing Diigo as depicted in CrunchBase
Image via CrunchBase

[tweetmeme source=”ileane”]I have a great blogging tip for you, If you haven’t tried using the Google Chrome Browser, I highly recommend that you do. The free Chrome Browser has a reputation for being the fastest browser available.Vote on Blog Engage

Several developers have created extensions for Chrome and the Diigo Web Highlighter and Bookmark is one of my favorites. In this screencast you will see how Diigo works.

How-to Download the Diigo Chrome Extension

Google Chrome and the Diigo extension are two powerful tools for any blogger, educator or student who wants to organize a collection of all the resources they find on the internet. You can learn about the articles relating to using the WordPress.com blogging service in a collection and group called WordPress.com Diigo Group. It’s a great idea to join or start your own Diigo group for your favorite subjects.

I also recommend using the Zemanta Extention for Google Chrome and you can learn more about it in a guest post I was featuered in at WeBlogBetter.com called Blog More Efficiently With The Zemanta Chrome Plugin. Find out about 9 Life Saving Chrome Plug-ins for Bloggers in this post from Gordon Cindric.

Will you please share your favorite Google Chrome extension?

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Blogging Legacy – Have You Considered Yours?

Posted on 02/22/2010 | 11 comments

[tweetmeme source=”ileane” style=”compact”]This is a guest post from Jimi Jones. Jimi is an Internet Entrepreneur and his blog is Jimi Jones Dot Com and on his about page he states “My focus is Online Business Start-ups and Branding.“Vote on Blog Engage You can also find Jimi on Blogging Wire at Jimi Jones.

As bloggers we are often too close to the content we produce to realize it’s true value, not in a monetary way, but from a historical aspect.

When we think about our ancestors there are often huge voids in the timeline of their lives and we turn to family Bibles and old photo albums in an attempt to fill in those gaps and have a better understanding of who these people really were and what life for them was like.

For many, we only know of the stories shared by family elders at reunions, cookouts and those sad final goodbyes.

In today’s technologically advanced world we can leave a full and complete story for future generations. Passing on our life’s values and stories can more accurately depict the times in which we live.

The written word is an all powerful thing, communicating ethics, religion, love for family and yes, even the negative aspects of the times. But these things are more valuable than any fortune of money.

Have you considered your legacy?

As a blogger we write with great regularity about tips and techniques, ways to broaden our social footprint and a host of other topics. We should also write for those beyond the audience of our blogs, those yet to be born into the world.

Think ahead 75 or 100 years, what would you like for your descendants to know about you and the quality of life you experienced? Would you like to be more than a long ago placed photograph in the family album?

Legacies are extremely important and are influential to those who are a part of the family bloodlines. Everyone wants to know where they came from and what drove their ancestors to be who they were. It is a powerful thing to know your family history and for far too many, this history is incomplete.

Our blogging skills can be a tool of rediscovery, a way to close the gap. Legacies are a gift to be handed down to future generations. Our legacies are gifts that reward today and tomorrow. You benefit now while building something for future generations.

Step back from the keyboard for a moment and think about your family members that you will never meet in your lifetime. Think about what you could do to contribute to them.

We are all somebody so be somebody not only today, but well into the future.

Keep Blogging!

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Posted in Blogging Tutorials, Guest Post, Lifestream

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Tribute to PBS Programming

Posted on 02/17/2010 | 9 comments

[tweetmeme source=”ileane” style=”compact”] PBS is the award winning public broadcasting service that has captured our hearts and minds since the days of watching Sesame Street as a child. As adults, we continue to find quality programming on PBS that rivals cable TV. They currently have a line up of high-quality shows and specials that appeal to every interest. This show is one of my favorites.Neil deGrasse Tyson

NOVA scienceNOW

Hosted by the esteemed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson NOVA scienceNOW is one of the most cutting-edge programs you’ll find anywhere on the planet.  One popular episode teaches us the science behind Auto-Tune, the once-upon-a-time music industry secret used to keep singers perfectly in pitch, and now made widely-popular by Jay-Z in this song D.O.A. [Death of Auto-Tune].

The Story of reCAPTCHA

In September of 2009 Google acquired reCAPTCHA, but in June of 2009 Louis von Ahn was profiled in this episode of NOVA science NOW. You can visit the PBS site and see this very intriguing story of an amazing professor from Carnegie Mellon University who created the software and the huge role you and I play in it. Here’s an excerpt from Neil’s narration during the episode:

You are part of Luis’ master plan to mobilize the largest workforce in the history of mankind, the millions of people who use the internet.

Luis began to work on a project that involved digitizing all the old books that were ever written. The problem is that some of these books are from the 1800’s and they can’t be scanned successfully because they the quality of the type is poor. Many of those old books have begun to fade and become warped, smudged and faded. So he took all the words that can’t be scanned and added them to the original CAPTCHA. That’s why you see two words in what is called a reCAPTCHA. The theory is that if you spell one word correctly (the CAPTCHA) then you most likely will spell the other word correctly (the reCAPTCHA).

Now you can understand why you find reCAPTCHA so gut-wrenchingly annoying.  You’re working on Google’s next project and once again you are not getting paid.

You can look forward to more reviews of PBS programming. What are some of your favorites?Vote on Blog Engage

Image credit: Wikipedia

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WordPress Monochrome Theme for Ms. Ileane Speaks

Posted on 01/23/2010 | 41 comments

Vote on Blog EngageWordPress.com announced recently that a new theme is available for WordPress.com blogs.  It’s called the Monochrome theme and knew right away I was going to give it a try. You can watch the YouTube video Change Your WordPress.com Theme – Ms. Ileane Speaks Episode #013 as I make the transition from Ocean Mist theme to Monochrome Theme.

The monochrome theme is also available for self-hosted WordPress users.

Let me know what you think of the new blog theme. The comments section is on the left.

UPDATE: I’m no longer using the Monochrome Theme on this blog. However, I’m using the theme on The Podcast Blog if you would like to take a look. I’m currently experimenting with different themes here, trying to find the “sweet spot” for Ms. Ileane Speaks.

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Say Goodbye to Family, Friends and A Good Night’s Sleep!

Posted on 01/11/2010 | 52 comments

Goodbye FamilyAs a blogger, you’ll find yourself short on free time. The hours you used to spend in front of the TV guzzling Diet Coke and eating potato chips – Gone. Those romance novels you used to read at night before bedtime – Outta’ here. Those family picnics on the beach or late nights up chatting for hours with your mate – Au revoir. [tweetmeme source=”ileane”]

You’re a blogger which means you sleep, eat, breathe and dream about blogging. Don’t even try to convince yourself this doesn’t describe you. Because just when you’re ready to sit back and rest on the laurels of that fantastic post you just published and submitted to 101 different social sites – along comes 2 new ones that are so compelling you simply can’t resist. Well, at least I can’t resist and when you hear about them I think you’ll want to join me in pulling a few all-nighters to flex your blogging muscles, and perhaps earn some extra cash.

Vote on Blog EngageThe first new opportunity is the latest offering from Brian at Blog Engage.  This is a new site that’s run on software from WordPress known as Buddy Press. Brian has deemed this site Blogging Wire and I jumped at the chance to become part of it. I’ve started 2 new blogs already! Here’s the list of blogs from Brian’s post Who’s Blogging on The Wire.

We got Quirky Jessi

We got Keith Hughes as Dirty Chickens and Dirty Chickens 2

We got the one the only Ms Ileane Speaks

We have Online Marketing Secrets by Benjamin Hübner

We also have the beautiful Karen from Blazing Minds

Once again Ms Ileane with her new and amazing Pod Cast Blog

We also have Element 321 from Evolutionary Designs

The unique blog of Archon Digital

Next, we come to Hesham. If you’ve ever visited the Blog Engage website you’ll find Hesham there being very supportive. He is Vote on MMOSocialNetworkalways shining the spotlight on creative bloggers by offering them interviews, guest posts and memberships in the Famous Bloggers Club. Now Hesham has introduced a network called the MMOSocialNetwork. This is another opportunity you don’t want to miss. Hesham is offering a contest with loads of prizes to commemorate the launch of his new enterprise. They are well worth the effort, see which one you like best.

So say hello to energy drinks, black coffee and brand new social networks to infiltrate. I’m taking roll call, and you can leave me a comment to let me know if you are coming along for the ride.

Smooches!

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Google Page Rank on a WordPress.com Blog

Posted on 01/01/2010 | 63 comments

Vote on Blog Engage[tweetmeme source=”ileane”]Using free blogging software from WordPress known as WordPress.com, such as I do here on this blog Ms. Ileane Speaks,  is a great way to get started with blogging.  I discuss the debate about blogging on WordPress.com over other free platforms like Blogger over at Ms. Ileane’s Blog, but using any free blogging software platform has several disadvantages. It’s much better to register a domain name, acquire a web host and download the software for a self-hosted WordPress blog.

I won’t list all of the disadvantages for using WordPress.com here, but one of the primary arguments against having a free blog is the fact that you cannot use plugins or various themes that can improve your SEO and Page Rank with Google, Bing, Yahoo! and other search engines.

For those of us that continue to use the free WordPress.com service you can rest assured, there is still hope.  This morning I checked the page rank for this blog using Google Page Rank checker and I was pleased to see a score of 4 out of 10.

Free PageRank Checker

This is a pretty good score considering I haven’t applied many SEO strategies. I mentioned previously in Top 5 Blog Topics, that page rank has not been a huge concern for me on this blog.

In the upcoming year, I’ve made a resolution to learn more about SEO.  I’m finding some of the SEO techniques pretty easy to do and you can get started today. Here’s a short video from Chuck at CyberSmartMarketing called Link Surfing Your Website for On-Page SEO to give you a hand.

If you are considering the move to a self-hosted WordPress blog or website, contact Chuck at CyberSmartMarketing. You can also follow him on Twitter @MrCyberSmartSEO

In the meantime, take a look at your page rank and leave a comment to let me know where you stand.

Smooches!

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Fun Twitter Promotions for Your Blog

Posted on 12/21/2009 | 78 comments

Vote on Blog Engage[tweetmeme source=”ileane” style=”compact”]Using social media to promote your blog is a must. If Twitter is your social media outlet of choice, it pays to keep up with the latest Twitter tools and applications. Some are better than others, and not to long ago I talked about using Buzzom to manage your following. Here are a couple of tools that I think are fun to try.

Twitter Meets Screenr

The Screenr Website

Check out this short podcast I created and find out how to quickly send video tweets with Screenr, a web-based video recording application from Articulate.  Screenr is surprisingly easy, fast and convenient to use.  You can create an introduction video for your newest blog post, a quick tutorial, or share a slide show featuring scenes from your vacation. Be creative, video is a great way to personalize your blog and add something unique and memorable to your twitter stream.

For more information, check out the review of Screenr that I did over at Shvoong.

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Blog Engagers That Make My Day!

Posted on 12/17/2009 | 56 comments

Vote on Blog EngageDeveloping a quality blog is hard work for some and second nature to others. Yet most bloggers all have one thing in common. We want people to read our blogs. Wether you make money with your blog or have an ad-free WordPress.com blog like myself, it’s nice to know that someone out there is paying your blog some attention and even better if they end up giving it some tender “link” loving care.

Blog Engage Website

I was fortunate enough to find the Blog Engage community and if you are blogging, and you’re not already a member, I encourage you to join today.  I became an instant fan and a huge supporter of the Blog Engage community. I created two introductory videos that can be viewed on Blip.tv and posted a monthly recap of my Blog Engage activity for November.

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Promote Your Blog With a Podcast

Posted on 12/08/2009 | 49 comments

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Podcasts on iTunes

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I’m a self-admitted podcast addict. When I wrote Ode to My Podcasts in September of this year I had over 800 podcasts in my iTunes library. Today I have over 1,000.  Watching podcasts can often be very entertaining but most of the episodes I subscribe to are tutorials and how-to videos created by those that are highly knowledgeable in their given field of expertise.

This video short pays homage to my favorites.

Blog Promotion With Podcasting

Here’s how Apple describes iTunes.

iTunes is a free application for your Mac or PC. It organizes and plays your digital music and video on your computer. It syncs all your media with your iPod, iPhone, and Apple TV. And it’s a store on your computer, iPod touch, iPhone, and Apple TV that has everything you need to be entertained. Anywhere. Anytime.

We all know the powerful and lasting impact that videos can have, but unlike YouTube, podcasts are downloaded and stored by subscribers, who will most likely watch them over and over again.  I encourage you to create videos and include them as a podcast on iTunes. Podcasting can extend your social network and expose your blog to new audiences that otherwise may never find your blog.

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