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Departing the Entrecard administration
Today marks the end of my time as a volunteer at Entrecard.
I don't remember my exact start date, I think it was nearly 5 months ago. I started as a moderator, and recently became an administrator.
In that time, I've answered a few thousand support emails, and dealt with a couple of thousand TOS reports. I rewrote almost the entire Help section and added new pages for common queries. I've posted hundreds of times in the forums, trained three new moderators, and written 5 posts on the Entrecard Blog (2 before becoming a moderator, 3 after).
I've done all this because I like helping people, as you may have gathered from my blog. However, working for Entrecard is a highly stressful job, and it's come to the point where the stress levels are impacting on my life. Therefore, I think it's time to move on.
I do not plan to stop blogging, not do I plan to stop using Entrecard as a regular member. There are no hard feelings - I appreciate all the support I've been given over the last few months, and I am glad to have had the opportunity to make a difference.
But now, it is time for me to focus on my own projects. I still have an enormous amount of work ahead of me if I'm ever going to convince the world that WordPress is not the only solution for blogs and websites, and that Injader is worth a shot. I also want to get back to working on my other blogs, as well as writing some new music.
I wish the remaining Entrecard staff and volunteers all the best.
New site: Weekly Blogging
After a lot of work, I'm pleased to announce the very first edition of my brand new blogging newsletter: Weekly Blogging.
This project is a combination of a few things.
First and foremost, it's a revival of some of my blogging tips that are useful but were written before I had many (if any) readers, and needed a bit of updating.
But it's also a good way to link a few things together in one place: hot topics, discussions on Plurk, the new blog group I mentioned a while ago, and the blogging forum that I recently relaunched.
To keep me motivated and make the editing process more productive, I've decided to join forces with Stuart from Secluded Habitat so we can work together on the weekly posts.
However, we decided not to include blog reviews in the newsletter, as they would make it too long. This is why I have two outstanding reviews (you know who you are). I will get your reviews done here at benbarden.com.
My blog is not going to completely abandon the web publishing tips focus. It's more likely to focus on news, reviews and interviews with some advertising experiments thrown in.
They say things happen in threes. Well, this post completes the launch phase of three new things I've been working on: Zen Working, my blogging forums, and now Weekly Blogging. I hope you check out all three if you haven't done so already.
Let me know if you have any feedback - thanks!
One killer interview with 10 killer bloggers
Jamie Harrop has just finished a ten-part series in which he interviewed 10 bloggers with the same questions. I'm one of the interviewees. You can read the summary post below:
One killer interview with 10 killer bloggers (jamieharrop.com)
My interview is here:
Blogger Interview Series - Ben Barden
I think Jamie's done a great job of these interviews, and I'm honoured to be a part of the series - my interview sits between ProBlogger and Al Carlton - now that's good!
The weekend is a good time to do some reading, so why not read the e-book linked from the wrap-up post?
Do you still use online forums?
I'm curious to know if you (still) use web forums?
I asked this question in Plurk last month - here are some of the replies:
Do you still use web forums? (on Plurk)
I'm also taking this opportunity to launch my new blogging forum. I've had forums in the past, but that was back when nobody really came to my site. Now I've got a few more people to read my site, it seems like a good time to try running a forum again.
Please go to forums.benbarden.com, register, and start using the new forums!
The freedom of multiple blogs
One of the biggest problems with benbarden.com is that it's gone through several changes. A new design isn't a bad thing (and I'd like to change the one I have now), but a change of topic is a dangerous move. So is writing about not very much and writing not very often.
If you're struggling to write new posts, I wouldn't have thought that starting a second blog would help the situation. But since starting my Zen Working blog, I've found this is not the case. I've been motivated to write more posts, and better posts. There are a few reasons for this.
1. Experience
I've been writing blogging tips for almost a year, but I don't always follow my own advice. It doesn't help that I was running out of blogging tips and starting to rewrite some of my earlier posts.
With Zen Working, I have been able to hit the ground running for a number of reasons:
- I chose a niche that I already know and enjoy writing about (working from home).
- I found a good domain name that relates to my choice of topic.
- I've included an image in almost every post.
- I've kept to a schedule of posting every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. So far anyway.
- I've varied the length of the posts instead of writing a lot of long posts in a row.
- I've prompted a few people to comment by asking questions, and answered them in a reply.
It has been good to learn blogging as I go, but it's much more rewarding to write a blog where I've had clear goals for it from the start.
2. Quality vs. Quantity
With a very clear niche for Zen Working, I have felt less compelled to write new content at benbarden.com. This isn't a bad thing - my aim is to only write posts that are worth reading. If I haven't updated in a while, I feel the need to write a new post and it doesn't always end up being a good one.
benbarden.com is still about blogging, but now I have a new blog to post on, I can focus on writing better posts - such as the PerformancingAds interview.
3. The untapped niche
Working is something I do a lot of. I didn't think anyone would want to hear what I've been up to at work, but I thought a blog about increasing your productivity could do quite well. Also, I decided to focus on working from home as it's something I've been doing for 2 years.
I have a lot to say about working, and I actually enjoy working. It's a good idea to write a blog on something you really like.
4. A clean slate
Because benbarden.com has gone through a few changes, I'd amassed a variety of different posts in my archives that simply aren't that relevant anymore. I've also had things like my music taking up a spot on the navigation bar.
With Zen Working, I don't have all this other content on the site. I can start again and only publish content relating to the niche I'm writing in.
A certain amount of off-topic posts can be acceptable, but they can really clog up your archives if you write too many of them. I recently deleted some old posts from my site, and I asked myself a blindingly obvious question: what's the point in writing posts I don't want to keep?
The bottom line
Blogging should be something you enjoy doing. You need to find a topic that you know and like. You'll write better posts, and your readers will be much more interested in what you have to say. You'll also stand a good chance of getting new readers.
If you have a great idea for a new blog, or you want to change your existing blog, my suggestion is to think about whether it's what you really want to do - and to plan it carefully. I think it's a lot better to try a new blog and give it a few weeks to see if it's working out for you, than to change around your existing blog and hope your readers follow you.
What do you think? Have you changed your blog around since it started? Have you tried starting a second blog? Do you enjoy blogging?
What to do when you can't choose a tagline
Make it editable, and keep changing it!
Mrs Ben just updated my banner so it no longer says "Defining Web Jargon". Now I can edit the text without having to ask her to change the image. (I'm not great with graphics.)
So for now, the titlebar of my site says:
"Ben Barden - Web Publishing Tips"
And the tagline beneath my signature says something a bit different. If you're reading my feed, come and have a look at the site.
It'll probably change again when I get sick of this one. So now there's an opportunity for you to make a mark on my site. Choose an appropriate tagline, it doesn't have to be serious, but it should be slightly relevant to me - if I like it, I'll put it up.
Keeping track of multiple accounts
Do any of you find that the number of usernames you have on the web is slowly spiralling out of control?
OK, you could use the same name for all of them, and you could use a "unified" login such as OpenID (which means you can use the same username across multiple sites)... but there's a bigger problem.
Even if I could use the same username for every site, why do I have so many different control panels? Why can't I get some of the following information in one place?
- New posts at a forum (perhaps in a specific forum)
- New private messages at a forum
- New friend requests across multiple networking sites
- The status of orders at sites such as Amazon
- Recent commissions from people clicking affiliate links (e.g. BlueHost)
- My balance at AdSense, Chitika, PerformancingAds, Project Wonderful etc
- Whether all of my websites are currently online
- New email notifications
- Recent posts on Twitter and Plurk
- My PayPal balance!
- New offers on freelancing websites
What I want is one control panel where I can display lots of this information.
I know some of this can be done on "portal" pages such as iGoogle, a place where you can have things like your email, some of your latest feeds, the time, the date, the weather plus various other things... but why can't I grab all of the more useful bits of info, such as account balances? A lot of these sites don't provide any kind of site feed so there's no way of pulling the information out and putting it somewhere else.
I'm not sure if there's a solution that would be totally secure. Having so much in one place seems like a high risk to me. But I am so sick of signing into so many different accounts one by one to check the information stored within.
What do you think? What would you like to see? Is it possible now? Will it be possible in the future?
RSS is for Champs!
Summary: Different solutions work for different sites. RSS has pros and cons. It's far from a waste of time.
Over at SlamBlogger there's a post that claims RSS is for "Chumps". I've heard a few people saying they're not a fan of RSS, but I personally find it to be an extremely valuable resource.
First things first, my subscription FAQ should help explain what RSS is all about. Now let's look at SlamBlogger's points in turn.
1. Reduces visitors and page views to your site
When I first visit a site, it's like I'm giving it a "trial run" to see if I like the content. Sometimes I'm not sure and may revisit in the future to see how the site is going.
If I really like the content, I subscribe. Once I subscribe, I am much more likely to read every post from that moment on than I would be if I didn't subscribe.
If I feel compelled to comment, I'm much more likely to do so as a subscriber than a "drive by". This is because I like to keep track of the posts I've commented on without subscribing to every post by email. I do this by starring the item in Google Reader. Then every week or two I go back to view all of the starred items from the last week or two to see if anyone replied to me.
This actually leads to MORE views than if I didn't subscribe. But I guess it really depends on how you use RSS.
2. Doesn't promote community
When I subscribe to a site and I find a post I like, I click to view the post, comment on the post, and then I revisit and maybe even comment a second or third time. To keep track of the posts I comment on, I star them in Google Reader. Then every week or two I go back and check out the posts I've commented on to see if I have any replies. (this tip was originally suggested to me by Gorilla Sushi.)
If I didn't subscribe, I would never remember to go back to the post. I am sure there are a few comments out there where I didn't get to see any follow-up comments because I didn't think to subscribe. I don't see much point in commenting if I am not going to check back and read the replies.
I wish more people did this as I see so many people who comment where someone replies to them, but they don't come back to add further thoughts. For me, subscribing, reading and commenting are very closely linked. Subscribing is what I do when I care enough to keep track of the community on a blog. This is probably because I used to be very keen on message boards, and on a board more people go back to the same threads to see additional replies. Commenting on blogs sometimes feels similar to replying at a forum, and I like to keep track of the replies.
3. Confused visitors
I'm the first to accept that not everyone understands all of the jargon. However, I believe that if jargon is explained in plain English, people can learn about it much more easily and understand what it means.
I do fully appreciate this point, but if a reason for not using RSS is because people don't understand the benefits, why not sell the benefits to people and make them want to learn about it? It's not just a case of defining the jargon - you have to give people a reason to use something. And while I agree not everyone likes RSS, some people really do find it useful - whether they're technically-minded or not.
Jargon should not deter people from trying something out. If it's not for them, that's OK, but they need to come to that conclusion on their own.
4. A subcription base full of nobodies
I agree that if you run contests just to boost your subscriber count, you're kidding yourself about how many readers you actually have. But of course this only applies to sites that do this.
I once ran a small Entrecard contest where people only had to comment to enter. This was at a time where lots of sites were giving away Entrecard credits, but most of them required you to subscribe, write on your blog about the contest, or do something that required you to jump through a lot of hoops.
Using a simpler approach may not have got my link on other sites or boosted my subscriber count, but it did mean that more people entered the contest. And in doing so, some of those people decided to subscribe to my site anyway.
There really is no need to fake your subscriber count if you have a site that there's an audience for. I may not have a huge subscriber base, but hopefully people subscribe because they like the content - not to win a prize.
5. Most readers don't like receiving daily emails
Agreed. That's why I encourage people to use Google Reader. Also, I don't post every day (although I used to), so I'm not overwhelming people with posts.
Disclaimer
I'm not taking this too seriously, just offering an alternative viewpoint. I fully understand the premise of SlamBlogger - slamming things, basically. At least that's what I thought the site was about. The blogger forgot to fill in their About page, so I wasn't able to verify if my assumptions are correct.
The reason for this post is because I believe there are two sides to every story, and I think most of the above reasons are not really valid. That said, I do see the benefits in having a newsletter, so I may look into this in the future.
What do you think?
Where do you find your inspiration?
Summary: Lists alone do not inspire me. Blogging tips require elaboration to provide value to readers. They also need to be justified so readers understand the context and can apply them accordingly.
Background
This post was inspired by a comment from Ultimate Blogging Experiment. Here's the comment:
No inspiration?
1. Comment on blogs
2. Comment on forums
3. Write at least 1 post a day
4. Use lists in your posts
5. Guest post once a week
Do those and get subscribers plus INSPIRATION!
When I read this comment, my first thought was: won't this take a lot of time to do? However, the comment did inspire me to write a post looking at each of these points in turn. So here goes.
1. Comment on blogs
In the Web Publishing Guide, I have a few posts that look at commenting. In particular you may be interested in my guide to commenting on blogs.
Commenting alone does not guarantee anything. However, writing great comments on other blogs can really make a big difference. I do read a few other blogs but don't always have something to say. In my view, it's important to write something worth reading, which is why I don't always comment.
2. Comment on forums
I'm not so sure about this point. While I do think that blogging forums can help you when trying to network with other sites, I've found that forums can be very time consuming - especially if they're busy.
I have had to cut out the time I used to spend on blogging forums. I did enjoy discussing things with other bloggers, but the threads often became too long and split across too many pages that they were a chore to follow. I much prefer going to a blog and reading the comments than wading through page after page filled with signatures, buttons and other things that I can only classify as "clutter" - especially if some of the comments are just a one-liner.
And unless you invest a lot of time into a forum (time I simply don't have), you'll either find your comments are lost in the avalanche of other replies, or nobody really sees them because the forum is so quiet.
A sweeping statement perhaps, but I find forums far too time consuming for me to participate in more than a very small number of them - especially as a lot of my time is spent moderating Entrecard.
3. Write at least 1 post per day
In the beginning, I tried to write daily posts and I did quite well, but ultimately, I burned out. I am now struggling to keep to any kind of schedule. This is really frustrating but I am trying to maintain a rough pattern, usually in the form of one post every two or three days.
I'd say that trying to write a daily post is what caused me to go for a long time without writing much that was worth reading. Recently, I've been trying to write more interesting posts.
I wouldn't want to write a post as long as this one every single day, let alone MORE than once per day. And I have come across very few sites where I would want to read that many posts.
I think it really depends on the type of blog you're running, and how long your posts are. I feel bad saying this, but I struggle to keep up with ProBlogger because his site usually publishes twice a day. I just can't read and digest that much information on a regular basis, so the posts often pile up in my reader. As a consequence, if I get behind (which seems to happen a lot) I stand very little chance of catching up. I end up skimming a lot of posts even if they are really good tips. It's a huge shame. I guess I shouldn't feel too bad because the site has loads of readers - but does anyone else find the site difficult to keep up with due to the posting frequency? Due to its large readership, I don't think any format would suit 100% of the readers, but I'd much rather see one post per day than two.
On the other hand, a site such as disassociated.com often publishes half a dozen posts every single day. The posts are short and to the point, and they usually just quote someone else's post with a small amount of commentary before and after the quote. At face value this doesn't sound like the kind of site I'd enjoy. But it's surprisingly compelling reading, and I can easily plough through 20 posts in one sitting, sometimes even leaving a comment or a couple of them.
If you really want to write a lot of posts, try my bulk writing guide.
4. Use lists in your posts
This point is something I agree with, but aside from the fact you have to come up with a post that makes sense in list format, I feel that lists are a bit overdone.
It doesn't surprise me really. Whenever a good formula is found and shared, people use it so much, it can become completely ineffective. It's a bit like suggesting that you can make money from ads, so bloggers everywhere fill their entire site with ads and forget to write any decent content.
A simple list of tips needs to be well thought out and well explained if it's going to be of any use to your readers. But if you can think of a post that would work well as a list, go ahead and write it. Just try to make each item worth reading, don't use filler items just to make the list longer or to make it reach a certain number of items (odd numbers are fine!), and order the items in a logical sequence.
5. Guest post once a week
I'm not sure about this one.
I think if you can get a guest spot on a blog and keep writing for that blog then you can build up a good reputation. Similar to on your own blog.
You can also leverage the readership on popular blogs by submitting a guest post to the author. This can help you to get noticed.
However, I'm not sure how best to establish a "semi-regular" frequency. Should you only write one guest post on a popular blog? Can you commit to a regular spot if you get the chance? Or would you prefer just writing a guest post on any blog who will accept it?
Don't spread yourself too thinly. I'm guilty of this, but I try to avoid getting too involved with too many other blogs as I can't maintain a regular presence at every blog. I'd also like to write original posts if I write a guest post, and this can get quite difficult if you write one post for loads of different blogs. How do you keep track and build up some continuity?
Also, what happens to your "twice a day" posting schedule if you guest post once a week? Does this mean you should run guest posts on your own blog weekly as well? If one post out of every 10 is a guest post, the ratio may not seem too high, but having a guest writer every week could quickly develop into multiple guest writers, and then you spend more time writing for other blogs than for your own.
I guess this point would be easier to recommend if it was more specific as to how it would work.
What do you think?
Where do you get your inspiration?
Do you comment on blogs or forums?
How often do you blog?
Do you use lists in your posts?
Do you write guest posts for other blogs? How often? Which blogs?
Do you invite guest writers to write for your blog? Again, how often?
A sentence of advice to bloggers
A couple of weeks ago, I answered some questions for an email interview with Jamie Harrop. I didn't know who else was being interviewed until the first interviews went up. Then I saw the other interviews going online.
It was rather humbling to be included in a series of interviews where - let's face it - the list of interviewees reads like the Who's Who in blogging. I'd highly recommend reading the entire series, as there's some really good stuff in there.
In one question Jamie asks for "one sentence of advice to bloggers". Here's what I came up with:
Write what you know and what you like, because blogging should be achievable and enjoyable.
It's a shame this is a bit long for a tagline, because I keep coming back to it over and over again, even though the first time I actually wrote it down was for this interview. Maybe I could distil it and use it to address the unresolved question of what my blog's tagline should be.
Anyway, it's food for thought at least. I should definitely put this tagline in a place where I'll keep reading it to remind myself why I blog. It might help when I'm between posts, and not overly motivated to write the next one.
Now, let's make this a bit more interesting. How about you try answering Jamie's question? Here it is in full:
If you could give one sentence of advice to bloggers, what would that be?
Think of it as a collaborative version of my Quick Tips. Give it a shot!
Why a lot of people still use Internet Explorer 6
I find myself answering this question over and over again. Why do so many people still use Internet Explorer 6 (IE6)?
To the technically-minded, it may be hard to figure out why people continue to use a browser that's slow, buggy, old... etc.
But take a moment to dig a little deeper and you'll see it is not as simple as you might think. Let's look at some reason why people still use IE6 - and whether they are actually valid reasons or not.
1. "It works".
The average user doesn't care whether a web designer has problems getting their site to look right in IE6. If IE6 allows them to view a website, then in their mind, it "works".
Now, I know that there will be plenty of people who say, "But it doesn't work! It's so broken and does things so badly! How can anyone use it?"
The problem is, it doesn't matter if software is good or bad, if you spend a lot of time using it then you just get used to it. That doesn't mean IE6 is great. It just means that a frequent user may get on with it just fine.
2. The IE7 upgrade has too many barriers.
Aside from the fact that IE7 is quite different to IE6 (which is quite a big issue in itself), IE7 is an optional upgrade - and some people may just say they don't want it.
But worse still, IE7 only works on Windows XP Service Pack 2 or above. I know XP has been around for quite a few years now, but you'd be surprised how many people still use Windows 2000, Windows 98, Windows NT or even Windows 95. I can't give you figures, but there are plenty of families and small businesses who may well be using a version of Windows that doesn't support IE7. Upgrading Windows might not be an option if they're on an old computer - and they don't need to upgrade to a high-powered PC, nor can they really afford to.
Also, many people surf while at work, and large businesses can be extremely slow at upgrading anything because they have to upgrade so many computers.
If IE7 was available for older versions of Windows this might not be so much of a problem.
3. IE "is" the Internet.
There are plenty of non-technical people who get to the Internet by clicking the blue "E" on their desktop. They don't think "I need to open Internet Explorer, which is my web browser". They just do it.
It might be easier if a different browser was provided when you buy a new computer.
4. Fear of change.
Some people just don't like change. They're used to what they have been using for years. "It works", so why change?
It's going to be difficult to tell people that an alternative browser is faster, better, more secure etc if those same people would just click "Yes" to installing malware. It doesn't matter how much protection you have if you explicitly allow something dodgy to install on your computer.
Adopting a new browser requires time and effort to learn it. Not everyone wants to figure out a new browser if their existing one works just fine.
This point is a very good reason why an alternative operating system is out of the question for non-technical users. It's not just fear of change, it's that a new operating system is not something that everyone can just jump into and pick up quickly. If you're a technical person and you genuinely believe an alternative operating system is a good option for a non-technical person, try giving some of your friends and family the operating system you recommend and make yourself available for any queries. You might wish you'd never changed them to a new operating system - or you might be able to help them and solve the problem once and for all. Please be realistic, don't suggest this option unless you are actually willing to help people figure out a new operating system from the ground up. And if you're willing - go and do it!
Alternatives to IE6
I'm done with the list of excuses. These reasons should not stop you from trying a different browser. Such as:
I personally use Firefox.
What browser do you use? What do you like about it?
Avoid empty pages
Every now and again I come across a blog that includes one or more of the following statements:
- Under construction.
- Pardon our dust.
- Coming soon.
They comments usually appear on a page with no other content. Sometimes there's a link that goes nowhere - you click it and you stay on the same page.
To me, "pardon our dust" is just a fancy way of saying "I got distracted and didn't finish this".
Readers don't want to find dead links. They don't want to know something will be "coming soon", they want to see the content. Or at the very least, they want a date when the page will have something a bit more useful on it.
If you are still building your site, that's fine, just don't give out the link yet. My blogging newsletter is online, for instance, but I've only shared the link with the potential contributors. There's nothing to read yet apart from a very short About page. So there is no point announcing the new URL yet.
If a page hasn't been built, don't add it to your navigation bar. Readers are much more likely to notice a new link with a page behind it than a link that's been there for ages but only just had some content added.
That's just my view - what do you think?
Four week review of PerformancingAds
Since I announced that PerformancingAds can now be used just with a bit of JavaScript, I've been keeping an eye on my stats and browsing around their site. This post is a short review of how things have gone so far.
Good things
Adding the code is easy: The JavaScript code is a lot easier to include. I am very glad they did this. Requiring PHP was not a good idea, not least because a lot of non-WordPress users wouldn't be able to use the site, but also because it's unnecessarily complex. Now, PerformancingAds is easier to use. Well, not entirely... see below for more.
People have bought ads on my site: So far, I've had a couple of ads. The first one I rejected as I did not consider it to be appropriate, but I accepted the second one. I found that lowering my ad price to $1.00 made a big difference.
The 125x125 ad is unobtrusive: I like the ads in my sidebar. I am glad I didn't have to use an image that didn't fit with my existing ads.
Bad things
The site navigation is terrible: You log in and see the basic info. No issues there. But then try going into your site. Clicking the image allows you to edit, clicking the site text allows you to view the details, then there's links below to edit/delete or view regions/reports. There's no way to edit once you're viewing the site, and clicking the image to edit just makes no sense when there's a separate edit link just beneath the image.
Editing your site allows you to change the name, URL or description, plus the tags and categories your site appears in. How do I edit my price? OK, I need to go to Regions. Editing regions is easy enough, but notice the "breadcrumbs" across the top - they never change. Add a site - Add a region - Exchange Ads. It would be a lot better if these showed you where you were on the site so you could easily jump to different sections. The "Publishers" link just isn't enough on its own.
Affiliates should not be a separate button way over in the sidebar... it should be merged into the upper navigation bar. There are far too many different places to look for ways to navigate the site - this makes the site extremely slow and confusing to use.
For the record, I'm not just being picky... I really found it difficult to get around the site and I often go into every page just to find what I'm looking for - if it's even there.
No overbooking? It seemed odd that I could see a "Book" link on one of my own regions - why would I book an ad on my own site, isn't that what the "Alternative Advertisements" section on Edit Region is for? And why is it that if an ad spot is booked (I only have 1 spot) you can't reserve a spot for when it becomes free?
Confusing pricing: OK, my ad spot is currently set to $1.00 per week. So why do I only have $0.45 in the last month (August)? Was the ad split across two months? Possibly, but then why do I see zero in September? Did they only pay for three days? $1.00 divided by 7 doesn't go exactly so how are the daily prices calculated?
Not enough information on affiliates: When I go to the Affiliates page, I see that I have 2 Total Joins and 19 Total Clicks. The rest of the numbers are just zero. Now I did see in the Help section (I think) that you only get paid if people sign up and then they get bookings on their site. OK... so how much would I get if they book some ads? Would I only get paid once or would I get payments in future if they book more ads? It's not exactly a big incentive for me to push PerformancingAds to other people if I don't know what I'll be paid, or when.
No communication of changes, and no response to support queries: Read the comments on my "now available in JavaScript" post, above. Chewru came to tell me that the code had changed from ads1 to jserve. Furthermore, we only got the code in JavaScript because Chewru pushed for it a lot. When I asked, I never got a reply.
Here's an idea. Firstly, please reply to people who ask questions. Maybe provide a ticket system or support forums, or both. Secondly, if the code changes, put a notice in the control panel and/or send an email out to your publishers.
Using Alexa for rankings is fundamentally flawed: Turnip of Power has a post explaining why Alexa is unreliable. My site doesn't have a bad Alexa rank, but using that measure alone is a really bad idea. I know, the sites in question actually display more than the Alexa rank, but when searching for sites the only traffic option you've got is the Alexa rank. Unless the overall rank is a combination of all the stats... in which case this is a moot point.
Not enough ads: This may not be the fault of the network. Maybe it's because even $1.00 per week is too high for my site, or people aren't finding me, but I can't help thinking the overbooking problem is not helping here. I can hear people saying "add a 2nd ad", but let's face it, you can't put every ad from every advertising network on your site. Nor can you give them all 2, 3 or 4 ad spots each. You have to draw the line somewhere.
Summary
I'm still going to use PerformancingAds for the time being. I haven't given it enough of a chance to determine if it will work for my site in the long run. I'm also swayed by other blogs who have said it works well for them. That gives me a reason to keep using it for a little longer.
However, that doesn't mean I think it's any good. Right now I'm not sure if it'll work for my site or not, but one thing's for sure, the navigation on PerformancingAds is really, really poor. Especially when clicking onto a page, then another page, then wanting to go back without relying on the Back button. It's a mess and it's very confusing.
If you do want to sign up with PerformancingAds, or if you're already using it, let me know how you get on.
Web hosting: don't believe everything you hear
Different people have different needs, and therefore they have different experiences.
Take web hosting for instance - one of the three things you need to build a website.
I used to use A Small Orange. People said they were great. Then the service went downhill and I moved on.
I went to Hostgator. People said they were great, although a few people told me that they weren't so good. One of those people even moved from Hostgator to A Small Orange.
Then I ran into some difficulties with Hostgator and decided to shop around. I am currently using BlueHost for some of my sites. I've heard good things about them... but once again, some people have bad things to say.
Is it time to sigh and give up on ever finding a web host that is reliable? I don't think so - all of the above companies have provided great service to me. The main issue is with shared hosting, where you pay a small amount of money to run your site on a server that lots of other people use too. The alternative is a dedicated server, which means you are not sharing the resources with other sites - but as you can imagine, this comes at a price.
Most sites are simply too small to even come close to needing a dedicated server. But it's a pain to deal with slowness just because someone else is dragging down the resources. So what can you do?
I think one of the biggest problems is with overselling. A typical web host offers you loads of disk space and bandwidth - but if you go anywhere near those limits, do you really expect the company to let you do that for a long period of time? Let's put it another way - if every customer used all of the available resources, the servers would be in trouble.
In reality, most customers do not use a lot of those resources, but that doesn't make it OK to flaunt these ridiculous usage limits that cannot be supported. It's misleading and seems dishonest. I guess I'd never make a good sales guy, I'm too honest for that.
What do you think? If you have a site, which host do you use? What are they like?
When one topic takes over a blog...
Is it cause for concern? Do you stop reading the blog, or maybe start reading it more?
I know what you're going to say - it depends on what the topic is. But let's take a step back for a moment and think of this in general terms.
Imagine you have a blog about music.
OK, I guess we're not in completely general terms, but music is a pretty huge subject. Bonus points if you actually do have a blog about music. (I know I do - should I send myself a few dollars via PayPal?)
Let's say you just started it as a "music blog". Nothing more specific than that. However, as time goes on, you find yourself writing more and more about one particular group.
Is it time to branch out and create a dedicated blog for that group? Would your existing readers follow? Would it kill your original blog? Do you have enough content to keep the original blog going? Would it be better to change the focus instead of splitting into two blogs and potentially having fewer readers on each blog?
Now imagine you have a blog about music reviews.
See how it's already a more specific topic? Need I say more? (a clue: don't say yes, I don't have much else to add!)
Looking at my own blog.
I first had a personal blog (you can be forgiven for not remembering that one). Then I wrote about blogging tips. Now I write about "Defining Web Jargon" but admittedly with a healthy dose of blogging.
In the midst of all the topic switching, I found that I'm good at writing tutorials but I find that the screenshots take too long; I have a lot to say about Entrecard but feel guilty every time I mention it, thinking I talk about it too much; and some of my best posts were completely unplanned and don't follow much - if any - of my own advice.
I realise that by creating one or two extra blogs I'll immediately increase my workload even if I write the same total number of posts across each of the blogs. Now, I could use Injader to put all of the blogs on the one site (as I do with my music blog), but even that requires separate feeds and separate promotion.
The results are inconclusive. Any ideas?
What do you think?
Where do you draw the line between diversity and writing about far too many topics?
If you have a blog, what's your topic mix like?
What's the topic mix like on the blogs you read?