Author Archives: Ileane

Blog Engage Activity for Ms. Ileane Speaks in November

Posted on 11/29/2009 | 57 comments

Vote on Blog Engage

Joining a Community of Bloggers

In early November, I became an active member of the Blog Engage Community and it has been an amazing journey and an extremely rewarding experience. This image represents a small sampling of the bloggers that I’ve networked with since joining Blog Engage.

Members of Blog Engage

I was somewhat timid in my initial approach because I’d heard talk that it is not a good idea to join a lot of blog directories. You know, everyone is afraid of the big, bad, wolf known as Google and what might happen to you if you don’t follow every rule they make to a “T”.  Yet, for every article that talks about not submitting your blog with too many directories, I find another that says directory submissions are the best thing since sliced bread.  So I have to go with my gut, forget all about Google’s rules, and just “do me“.

Building a Social Network at Blog Engage

I looked around the Blog Engage site and right away I noticed something unique. I quickly caught on to the the fact that BE doesn’t look or feel at all like a directory but more like a place to hang out and rub shoulders with some of the finest bloggers on the planet!

Continue reading →

57 Comments

Posted in Blog Engage, Blogging Tutorials

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Introduction: The Blog Engage Community [Video]

Posted on 11/23/2009 | 39 comments

Register Your Blog with Blog EngageVote on Blog Engage

In my last post, Top 5 Blog Topics I mentioned how I am a member of  the Blog Engage community and I urge other bloggers that are interested in promoting their blog to do the same.

In this first screencast, we will visit the BlogEngage.com website and I’ll show you how easy it is to sign up.

New Benefit – Google AdSense

The second video, explores additional benefits of the BlogEngage website and a major announcement from Brian, owner of the BlogEngage website that you simply do not want to miss!

I’m more than happy to answer any of your questions and after you join the community, please let me know so that I can vote on your posts.

You can follow my Blog Engage List on Twitter http://twitter.com/Ileane/blogengage. If you’re a member of Blog Engage and don’t see yourself on the list, let me know I’ll add your tweets. I also recommend that before you get started read 10 Tips for Better Blog Engage Results from Extreme John and check out Brian’s list of articles from Share the love, who’s talking about Blog Engage.

Smooches!

UPDATE: Blog Engage has seen a surge in activity recently including several new members and mentions:

Shvoong review

Whatawebsite review

Alexa Ranking

Add to FacebookAdd to DiggAdd to Del.icio.usAdd to StumbleuponAdd to RedditAdd to BlinklistAdd to TwitterAdd to TechnoratiAdd to Yahoo BuzzAdd to Newsvine

39 Comments

Posted in Blog Engage, Blogging Tutorials, How To

Tagged , , , , ,

Top 5 Blog Topics

Posted on 11/14/2009 | 45 comments

Hmmm. Let’s see, I’m wondering, what should I blog about?Vote on Blog Engage

I’ve been researching several topics recently with the help of Addict-o-matic and here are my options:

  1. Page Rank
  2. Netvibes
  3. StumbleUpon
  4. Forums
  5. Commenting

Continue reading →

45 Comments

Posted in Social Media, WordPress.com

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posterous – Lifestreaming or Not?

Posted on 10/31/2009 | 42 comments

Vote on Blog Engage[tweetmeme source=”Ileane”]I recently created another blog on Posterous but I wasn’t really sure why I would need it. To fill you in on what Posterous is, the tagline from the homepage: “is the dead simple place to post everything. just email us.” And after all, my tagline and the purpose of this blog states:

I’m here to learn, to teach and to connect!

Therefore, I consider adding another blogging platform to my social media arsenal, as a golden opportunity to share the experience with my readers.

Continue reading →

42 Comments

Posted in Social Media, Twitter

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Searching For The Perfect Tweet

Posted on 10/27/2009 | 23 comments

Vote on Blog Engage

Let’s explore how to build the ultimate “Perfect Tweet” together; shall we?[tweetmeme source=”ileane”]

In order to be “the greatest” and go viral this tweet should:

  1. Go out at the best time of day
  2. Reach the perfect audience
  3. Get a high number of retweets for a blog link
  4. Gain new followers

Continue reading →

23 Comments

Posted in Social Media, Twitter

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Do Twitter Backgrounds Attract New Followers?

Posted on 10/08/2009 | 58 comments

Vote on Blog Engage[tweetmeme source=”Ileane”]On the Website Babble Forum someone mentioned custom Twitter backgrounds and it sparked an interesting exchange amongst us babblers. Here’s some insight on the topic.

Why is Twitter so hot?

Twitter is a great way to increase blog traffic, stay in touch with friends, meet new people, and build popularity for a brand. Usage of Twitter has skyrocketed and currently it is reported that there are over 6 million registered users which might double by 2010. And with literally hundreds of Twitter 3rd party services and applications that can accessed via the web or your cell phone it seems there’s always a new tool being introduced to enhance your Twitter experience.

How Do You Line It Up?

Twitter backgrounds are regarded as your introduction to what I like to call Twitterville. You want to make a positive “first impression” and possibly influence people to follow you.

If you use PhotoShop, RC Concepcion of Layers Magazine has an excellent tutorial on PhotoShop User TV episode #205. Don’t have PhotoShop? Then take a look at this article I came across on from Smashing Magazine called Effective Twitter Backgrounds: Examples and Current Practices. This article demonstrates the basic layout and pixel width of the Twitter home page and ways to avoid overlapping the background design with your tweet stream. I actually followed the layout rules in the article to create my Twitter background. It took me about an hour because I keep going back and tweaking it so it would be just right. I was all excited and ready to pat myself on the back.

I asked my friend to and take a look at my shiny new background. She really rained on my parade when she said – “I’m using Tweetdeck – I never see anyone’s background…”

So I rushed to open Brizzly and then over to Seesmic and sure enough, no backgrounds. I guess I never thought about it before then. Just, take a look at your twitter stream to see where the tweets are coming from. You’ll only find about 2 or 3 that are from the web (and I bet one of them is from me).

Twitter Backgrounds are for the birds!

I truly hope you didn’t spend money on a Twitter background before you read this post, and I hope you didn’t spend an hour (or more) creating a stellar background in PhotoShop like I did. Look at the bright side of things. Having a perfectly aligned twitter background does not make people follow you.  Here are some examples of very popular Tweeples and how their Twitter backgrounds appear on a standard 15-inch monitor. Continue reading →

58 Comments

Posted in How To, Social Media, Twitter

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Professor Walter Lewin – Best Way To Learn College Physics

Posted on 10/07/2009 | 5 comments

[tweetmeme source =”Ileane”]I don’t try to stay ahead of the curve, sometimes I just do.  About six years ago I did some science research.  To be exact it was on February 1, 2003 when NASA’s Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated on re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere killing all seven crew members (may they rest in peace) and altering my outlook on life forever.

You see NASA and the media continue to say how the foam hit the shuttle, and I know it’s just a matter of semantics, but what actually happened was that the shuttle hit the foam.  Subtle difference I know, yet for me an all too important one. This distinction (and the event) sparked a hidden passion inside of me and a desire to learn more.  It was on this scientific journey, this quest for knowledge, that I encountered Professor Walter Lewin and his lectures on Electricity and Magnetism.

Continue reading →

5 Comments

Posted in How To, Walter Lewin

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Maximizing 2 New WordPress.com Features

Posted on 10/04/2009 | 7 comments

Two features were recently introduced for WordPress.com users. For those of you that don’t know the difference, I’ll just call it FREE WordPress.

The Image Widget

The first feature I’ll talk about is the Image Widget. This widget lets you add a static image to the side bar of your blog. When I looked into this I found out that the image needs to be one found on the web and needs an extention that you typically find for images like .jpeg, .gif, .png etc.  I was rather disappointed because I wanted to post an image from my computer, not from the web.

So I gave it some thought and then it dawned on me – I can put this widget to use by adding a Twitter icon which links to my Twitter account.

Follow Ileane on Twitter

Follow Ileane on Twitter

Check it out over on the right. Might not look as great as some of the others I’ve seen on PAID WordPress blogs, but it gets the job done. The link has been clicked 5 times since yesterday which is more than the link I’ve had on my Contact Page for over a month. Don’t miss the second tip!

7 Comments

Posted in How To, Jazz, Twitter, WordPress.com

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Twitter meets Buzzom

Posted on 09/26/2009 | 31 comments

Vote on Blog EngageSomeone posted a seemingly endless list of Twitter apps on their blog, yet there is a new one to add the list and its called Buzzom. Take a look at part 1 on my introduction to Buzzom.

In part 2 of Twitter Meets Buzzom I preview a few of the features that I find most useful.

Please share your comments with me. Remember, Ms. Ileane Speaks, but I listen too!

Smooches!

UPDATE: Buzzom was updated in November of 2009 with new features including scheduled tweets. Visit the Buzz In Social Media Blog for details.

Add to FacebookAdd to DiggAdd to Del.icio.usAdd to StumbleuponAdd to RedditAdd to BlinklistAdd to TwitterAdd to TechnoratiAdd to Yahoo BuzzAdd to Newsvine

31 Comments

Posted in How To, Twitter

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

5 WordPress Secrets You Need to Know

Posted on 09/14/2009 | 33 comments

Learning Online

[tweetmeme source=”ileane”]I currently have a 30-day free pass to explore the entire software training library at Lynda.com. If you’ve never heard of Lynda.com, just trust me this is a HUGE deal.

See here’s the thing, the web is over-flowing with a plethora of amazing websites promising to make you richer, smarter, skinnier, closer to God or to simply help manage your tweets. They all seem intriguing enough but unless I find out that the services offered are FREE, I am totally not interested. Like the old saying goes, The Best Things in Life Are Free.

I’ve known about Lynda.com for a few years now, and if you go to the site you’ll see that you can poke around and view a smidgen of content from each module without paying the $25 monthly fee.  And now that I have access to view all of the tutorials I am soaking up knowledge like a sponge.

WordPress is intuitive

The first module I viewed on Lynda.com is WordPress.com 2.7 Essential Training with Maria Langer. I’d previously watched WordPress tutorials on YouTube and on WordPress.tv and I find the platform very intuitive and user-friendly. I assumed that viewing this module would reinforce what I already knew and perhaps explain a thing or two that I was curious about. I ended up adding tons of new blogging skills to my arsenal and I’m sure you will also. So without further delay, here’s the list of 5 WordPress Secrets You Need to Know.

  1. More tags
  2. The Kitchen Sink Button
  3. Adding or Inviting other users
  4. Understanding Pingbacks
  5. Editing Images

Continue reading →

33 Comments

Posted in Blogging Tutorials, How To, WordPress.com

Tagged , , , , , , , ,