This morning I encountered a new blogger on the internet named Greg Hollingsworth. A political and social issue blogger from the USA writing Devil in the Details . His Blog layout is refreshingly simple, different, and easy to navigate. I picked up on this search area containing a widget by ‘Lijit’ and had to check it out.

I am not in need of yet another way to track stats as I like Google Analytics as it allows me to keep tabs on not just my own sites but that of my clients as well. However the search feature sounds promising

“install the Lijit Search Wijit on your blog to give readers the most relevant results from a source they trust. YOU.”

The sign up process allows you to pull all the information from your other Social network and blogging platforms so before you start be sure to sign up with the following services (should they be of interest to you) using the same User ID.

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Here’s where you can find Karrine (aka The almost always organized mom of Her Media) at Blog Her 2008 (Special Thanks to GreatAupair.com)

Friday, July 18, 2008
8:30-9:00 AM
Day One Breakfast  * Yes I will eat breakfast
9:00-9:15 AM
Welcome to BlogHer ‘08
“Speed Dating” for BlogHers

Break-Out Session #1
Who We Are: Introversion, Blogging and BlogHer
MommyBlogging: Is MommyBlogging Still a Radical Act
Break-Out Session #2
Who We Are: Race and Gender: What are the lessons of 2008
What We Do: DIY Content Syndication and Promotion
Break-Out Session #3
Who We Are: Blogging with a Global Perspective
How We Communicate: Video Blogging
Room of Your Own: Funding & Incubation Opportunities and Women Entrepreneurs

Saturday, July 19, 2008
8:15-9:30 AM- Breakfast

9:30-10:30 AM Morning Keynote:
HybridMedia: How we will all work together to build a converged-media future

Break-Out Session #1
MommyBlogging: The Commercial Momosphere: Policies, Ethics and Outreach

12:15PM - 1:45PM: Join us for the BlogHer Swap Meet

Break-Out Session #2
What We Do: There’s More to Monetization than Advertising

Break-Out Session #3
What We Do: Blog to Book Redux

5:15-6:15 PM Closing Keynote: Living the Truman

Sunday
8:45-5:00 PM BlogHer Open Space, the “Unconference”

I will be staying an extra evening

Monday:

In SF until about 5pm - Network anyone ? ?

If you stop by OrganizedFamilies.com you will see I use the ‘ add this ‘ service to help my visitors bookmark the blog. I noticed Blink List on the list of possible options today and though I would check it out while I had my morning cup of coffee.

The sign up was painless, although Blink List lost some credibility for me when they moved into a “co reg” offer section that unless you really read carefully you may assume that you are simply on a second page fo the registration process.

When I realized this, I simply typed the domain back into my browser to be brought to the main page, scrolled down to the bottom to retrieve th blink list button. Which was as simple as dragging the button into my Firefox tool bar

I can see the value in this service (if I can look past the user’s ‘booty icons’ Using the search tool I discovered some great Affiliate blogs, parenting sites, and a few other resources.

This looks like a great tool for keeping your research “organized”.

As a blogger you can feed your links into your page. Blink list also has some social media tools.If you have some time you can check out their video demos.

There are so many social book, marking services out there staying on top of them all can be daunting. Check out the Mashable Blog for more information on blink It and other social book marking tools and news.

Web Site Magazine (get yours for free HERE) had a great article this month about where the mobile web is heading. I devoured the article as this is something I had been reviewing over the last month for my blog clients and even some larger websites I work with.

I am mobile and if you want me to stay on your site don’t exploit my bandwidth ( no unlimited plans in my location) you need to offer a mobile friendly version of your website.

Mobile friendly WordPress Blogs are simple with a Word Press Plug in. (Yet another reason why you should be considering the switch to a Hosted Word Press Blog.)

Other Blog users may want to use Google Reader. You can find some instructions on creating a mobile friendly version of your blog with Google Reader at Digital Inspiration.

Looking for some more information about Mobile web users and how it may affect your blog or business website, check out this months Website Magazine.

Ping ? As a small business owner or new blogger you may be asking why do I need to Ping my blog? What is a Ping ? How do I ping my blog ?

If you want people to visit your blog you will need to promote your blog and pinging your blog posts will notify major search engines that your blog has been recently updated.
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I helped walk a Mom Blogger through moving her blog from a blogger platform and host to her new host with a WordPress platform today and thought I would share the steps with anyone else looking to move their Word Press blog over from Blogger.

1) Ensure all your blog post are backup ed at at your current blog.

3) Go to your new hosting control panel and into fantastico. INSTALL Wordpress to the main directory.
* Fantastico rarely contains the latest version of Word Press.

4) Download the following plugin, unzip it and upload it into the wordpress plugin folder ( you will need dreamweaver or an FTP program for this)

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Entre Card is creating some talk among bloggers lately and I was recently asked if I felt Entre card is worth the time as a tool for promoting your blog.

Let me say that before you start using Entre Card make sure you have a specific blog audience and some quality content on your website. Entre Card may get some new blog readers to your blog, but without some quality content they won’t become the loyal readers you want. Also be aware of the geographical location of fellow Entre Card users. I have a primarily English Speaking Blog and a sudden influx of foreign Entre Card droppers won’t help the overall goals of my blog.

I haven’t placed Entre Card here at Her Media yet, and probably wont for some time. I do use Entre Card at my other Blog Organized Families. It has brought some new readers but what I find most beneficial about Entre Card is the opportunity to network with other bloggers.

If you already take time to read blogs, Entre Card is a great networking tool and will increase your visitors. ( However, you have to take the time to use Entre Card. I really don’t have a lot of time, so I tend to only return the drops of users who really have a blog that looks of interest to me. Which leads me to this:

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