Posted October 10th, 2008
by 
admin (Check me out)
Any blogger would agree that Technorati is the leading blog search engine and an authority in everything and anything to do with the blogosphere. Long before Google blog search, there was Technorati- exclusive search engine for blogs. Further, almost all bloggers avail of its services by claiming their blogs for monitoring, placing buttons and widgets and these bloggers (including us!) do take notice on what Technorati has to say.
Time Magazine has this to say about Technorati: “If Google is the Web’s reference library, Technorati is becoming its coffee house.”
While its launching is unknown, it has been publishing the condition of the blogosphere annually since 2004. They have recently released their State of the Blogsophere report for 2008. Based on its analysis, research and survey of over a thousand bloggers, it gives a 5 part presentation of the current state of the blogsphere.
The results are starking. It shows consistent growth boom from tracking 4 million blogs in 2004 to almost 80 million blogs in 2008. It also shows trends and shifts of who are blogging, why and how. It further establishes how blogs have indeed arrived. It’s no longer exclusive to regular people putting out personal diaries online; major recognized brands around the world have put out company and corporate blogs. Journalists, movie actors and singers have one. TV stars maintain blogs. Major newspapers and internet media outlets now have their reporters blogging. Even the US Presidential candidates own blogs.
There is now a crossover of blogs and mainstream media with blogs becoming more and more a major source of information for anything under the sun- politics, entertainment, fun, technology, travels, you name it. The distinction between the two are hazy and even unrecognizable, thanks to the professional looking blogs out there making a name and credibility for themselves. Type in a search for anything you want information and Google and other search engines would most likely give you search results after search results of links and websites directing you to a blog.
The future of blogging is very bright. Despite economic downturn the world is experiencing, more and more people go to the internet to look for information. If anything, the print media is in jeopardy and at risk in all of this happening. While newpapers and magazines maybe obsolete in say 10-20 years, the internet will continue to boom and blogging will be at the forefront.
To read the comprehensive analysis of the current state of the blogosphere, head over to Technorati for their full report.
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Posted July 27th, 2008
by admin (Check me out)
This site recently upgraded to Wordpress Version 2.6 and we’re currently testing the latest feature called “Turbo.” This is a link located at the upper right portion of your Wp-admin or Dashboard.
When you click on it, it will lead you to install a Google (yes, yes another Google product!) application named “Gears.” Gears in a nutshell is a plugin like Flash or Quicktime that “extends your browser to create a richer platform for web applications,” says Google.
It is designed for use with google or non-google websites and if you’re using Google Reader and Google Docs, then you’re already using Gears.
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Posted December 5th, 2007
by admin (Check me out)
Related Post: Update: Google Revises Blogger Comment Page
IMPORTANT FOLLOW-UP ON THE HALOSCAN INSTALL! READ BOTTOM PAGE…
Google, creator of Blogger platform just a few days ago introduced a new setup for its comment page surprising many bloggers and have left them confused. There was no formal announcement on its official blog where its last update made was on November 26th.
The new set up makes it so that only Blogger users can benefit when leaving a comment in another Blogger users page. When a non-Blogger like a Wordpress or Movable Type user leaves a comment, he has 2 choices: to give a nickname or be anonymous, both of which does not allow linking of URL.
This might yet be another setback for Blogger because soon enough other non-Blogger users will no longer leave a comment on a Blogger users posts because they won’t benefit anything. When that happens, you create too many unsatisfied bloggers and Google is giving them no choice but to leave. We know for a fact how important a comment is to a user and to the reader. Both sides benefit from commmenting and it’s enough of a reason for one to change a blog platform.
Is Google intentionally silent and being mum about it, hoping the Blogger users would not notice? OR is it just experimental on their part and will give formal announcements later on? Whatever their reasons for not disclosing such a huge move, it left too many unhappy and angry Bloggers who are about ready to jump ship and migrate their blogs to Wordpress.
If you’re an established Blogger and do not have your own domain name, moving to another platform will be a headache especially if your site already has a page rank. When you move and create a new name, not only do you lose your page rank but you’ll be starting fresh and will be treated as one by search engines! Creating widgets, resubmitting links to other sites can be really tedious and time consuming! It is not really advisable to move if you don’t have your own domain name.
There is a Solution to this!
There are independent Commenting and trackback sites out there offering their services for free. One such website is HaloScan. It is a user friendly commenting page where HaloScan hosts your comments. What’s great about this site is that it is designed for Blogger and installing it is so easy!! Sign up for HaloScan and tell your Blogger friends. Don’t forget to tell them you read it here! 
It is a wait and see for all Blogger users now if it will be a permanent feature or just up for testing. For now, you have a workaround, so install HaloScan on your sites now!© 2007
Follow UP: Updated on 07 december 2007
BEFORE INSTALLING HALOSCAN, PLEASE READ:
Clement, a fellow blogger commented that when he tried to install Haloscan, while it worked fine- all his previous comments do not show up anymore!! We didn’t know about this because we have not really tested the install since we are on Wordpress. However, we relied on our blogger friends’ testimonials on how Haloscan is really working for them! We also went to check the site itself and boasts of close to 500,000 satisfied users and we did not see any disclaimer on previous comments not showing up.
Your old comments are not really gone. It is on Blogger still, it’s just not showing up on Haloscan because apparently, Haloscan’s service do not cover uploading previous comments as they could not get the data from Google itself. Before your install with Haloscan, they have asked you to back up your template. WE ASSUME THAT YOU DID! If you want to preserve the old comments for the time being we’re looking at a fix, kindly return to your previous template and your old comments will show up again.
In our initial finds, some bloggers went back to their old template and then copied the old comments on a notepad (name, URL, comments). After which, reinstalling Haloscan and then pasting the old comments on it. This works ONLY if you have few comments to fill in as this manual fix is very tedious and time consuming. So far, that is the fix other bloggers are suggesting.
We are probing into this issue right now and will find a work around on it if we can. We deeply apologize for the inconvenience it may have caused you installing Haloscan upon our suggestion. We meant well and meant no harm. We will update you all as soon as we find something. Thank you for your patience. © 2007
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