Importance of consistent blogging

written on May 28, 2008 in Blogging, Tips & Tricks

When I started blogging again on this site, I tried to make it a goal to write at least once every two days, if not every day. Why, because I read this article on Problogger about the importance of consistent blogging. I also found a similar article on MonkeyBlogger. I’m not going to go into details about why you should post consistently because I believe that those two sites already do a good job of summarizing that for you. What I will go into is what happened to the traffic on my site when <sarcasm> I didn’t post for *gasp* 4 days. </sarcasm>

The first thing is that my traffic didn’t decrease immediately. As a matter of fact, it went up for a day before returning to the average number and going down again. I’ve posted a screencap of the stat for my site for your viewing conveniences. I don’t know if it had anything to do with the fact that the traffic was high during the weekends, or if something else triggered the increase in traffic.

However, the evident fact is that my traffic did decrease eventually. I still dropped my entrecard, I still returned comments, and I still commented through despair regularly, so the only cause for this drop in traffic is the fact that I slacked off for a couple days, which worries me because I’m going to be gone for 3 weeks from tomorrow, so God knows what’s going to happen then. Also, not only did my traffic drop, my topsite rank dropped as well (I didn’t check my Alexa or Technorati ranks).

So to save my site (and maybe yours) from drowning, I’m here instead of packing for Taiwan. Now you’re probably wondering, does that mean I have to post everyday? The answer is no. I know it might sound like a contradiction to everything I mentioned earlier, but consistent blogging doesn’t always equal blogging many times a day. It means blogging consistently every two days, every three days, every week, or whatever your pace is. Of course, you don’t have to be on mark every time, but fluctuating from 2 posts a month to 15 posts a week is obviously a no no. Try to make a goal of posting at least # times a week, but if you don’t reach it, it’s ok. What’s even more important then blogging consistently is blogging with quality. I much rather read 1 good post a week than read 5 poo posts a day. TheMadHat has a good article on this.

Since I’m trying to build up the content of my site, I make an effort to write more often. It can get tedious because sometimes you run out of topics to post about. But as I continue blogging, I’m beginning to find that there is a lot you can write, from reviewing your must-have makeup item to ranting about stupid people you encounter online. And believe me, you can write a poo load on the latter

So what’s my conclusion? Find a blogging schedule that works for you. Don’t pull out your hair if you don’t always meet the dateline. Don’t force yourself to churn out 10 mediocre posts just because you feel like you have to. Quality > Quantity any day. Error processing request

I really don’t like my hair. It’s naturally wavy, but not wavy enough to actually look good, so it’s just looks sort of bent and poofy. So to make my hair look good, I use to get it straightened every half a year or so for about 2 years. On top of that, I used to dye my hair with those hair dyes you buy in CVS. Obviously, you can imagine the state of my hair after all that straightening and dying and what-not. So the more damaged and weird it gets, the more I straighten it, which just leads to a vicious cycle of crappy and crappier hair. Of course I tried all the creams and conditioners and oils out there, but none of them did half of what they claimed to do.

The one day, I found in my boyfriend’s bathroom a bottle of Garnier Fructis Anti-Frizz Serum, which I found strange because guys don’t usually use things like these. Then he told me it was Steve’s, which explains everything, but since he wasn’t going back to get it anytime soon, I could use it. I did, and oh my goodness, my hair became amazingly soft and sleek, even after I used my straightening iron. I couldn’t stop touching my hair afterwards because it was just too soft! My boyfriend thought I was crazy until he touched my hair, and then you just saw the two of us standing there grinning like idiots while stroking my hair. Since then, I affectionately called the product the “Steve Thingy” and after my friend tried it, she demanded one for Christmas because it was just too good. “No wonder Steve looks so pretty all the time!” she said The only complain I have for this product is that it makes my hair oil easily. I wouldn’t recommend using too much of this if your hair is normal/oily. Also, I recommend only applying it to your the mid section of your hair and below unless you want your head to look like someone fried an egg over it.

Along with the amazing Garnier Fructis Anti-Frizz Serum, I also found two products that compliment it well. The Garnier Fructis Style Sleek & Shine Anti-Humidity Smoothing Milk can be considered a less oily and strong version of the serum. When used alone on my hair, it’s not as effective, but it still works a lot better than many other leave-in conditioners. It slightly smooths out your hair, controls the frizz, and leaves your hair with a pleasant smell. For me, I prefer to use the serum when my hair is damp and the smoothing milk when my hair is dry. I also use the milk after I straighten my hair to control the frizz and give it some shine. For people with normal/oily hair, the Garnier Fructis Style Sleek & Shine Anti-Humidity Smoothing Milk will probably work better than the serum, just because it’s a lot less oily, but it still gets the job done.

The last product of this amazing set is the Garnier Fructis Style Brilliantine Shine Glossing Spray. I’ve only used this one a couple times because I kept forgetting to take it back to my dorm when I was home on the weekends, but for the few times I used it, it has proven itself worthy. I like to use this right before I straighten my hair because one, it protects my hair from the heat, and two, it does leave my hair nice and shiny afterwards. As a matter of fact, it’s a lot more effective, not to mention inexpensive, than the sprays that Sephora sells. I have both, and the one from Sephora was absolute poo. It didn’t do anything besides make my hair smell funny while I was straightening it. The Garnier Fructis Style Brilliantine Shine Glossing Spray didn’t do that, but it did leave my hair sleek like it promised. However, I find that when I spray it before I use my iron, it makes my hair sort of clumpy (due to the wetness?) which makes it harder for me to straighten. So sometimes I prefer to use this product last, just to give my hair some extra sheen. But honestly, This spray can be considered optional. I use it when I have time, but if not, I use the serum and the smoothing milk and my hair still looks gorgeous.

So what about the Garnier Fructis Sleek-and-Shine shampoo and conditioner? I’ve used those too, but in all honesty, they’re just like all other shampoos and conditioners. If you want to build up the scent, then by all means use it, but if not, then I recommend getting some other ones. There are definitely better shampoos and conditioners out there (I use Tresemme). But the above three products I mentioned today, especially the first two, are must-haves for those with dry and damaged hair like me. Even if you have healthy hair, you still have nothing to lose and everything to gain from these products. Happy shopping!

Experiencing with different ads

written on May 22, 2008 in Blogging, Make Money

I’ve been experimenting with advertisements on my site, starting from Google adsense to Project Wonderful and soon to self-hosted ads. Google adsense, contrary to what people say, didn’t work at all for me. I had it for about a month and I got 0 clicks. I’m not saying that it’s hence ineffective, because many people still consider it their main source of advertisement income, but it simply didn’t cut it. The fact that ads are ugly and I don’t like Google is besides the point

I tried advertisements similar to Google like Bidvertiser and Adbrite, but they produced similar results. It’s not like I actually tried them out for more than a week, but since the system is more or less the same, I figured there wasn’t the need to. If the grand daddy of CPC advertisements wasn’t going to get me anywhere, I doubt the other would either. I guess my visitors just don’t like ads, or they have the AdBlock Plus for Firefox so they don’t even see the ads. Eh, I’m not too fond of them either.

I also tried some other programs like Chitika and Text Link Ads, and though TLA seemed to be working well at first, fear of being rank slapped by Google persuaded me to stop using them. Now that I’m thinking about it, since I’ve already been slapped into Google hell, I might as well try them again. There are a couple other programs similar to TLA like Linksworth and TNX. I will try them out and let you know the results.

I’m currently trying out Project Wonderful, which allows me to sell advertisement spaces through their auction system. I’m not too sure how this will work out as I have only had it up for a day, but from what I’ve seen, selling the ads by yourself seemed to work quite well, especially for the blogs I usually visit and associate myself with. I might add that soon, depending on how Project Wonderful works out for me.

This concludes my 1 month experience with ads, which really isn’t much if you think about the short time period. However, I will keep updating as I find new methods to generate $$$. If any of you use any sort of ads on your blogs, please share with me your experiences! Look forward to hearing them

Socialspark approved me

written on May 21, 2008 in Blogging, Make Money, Reviews

After writing an angry ticket and an angry email to the customer “love” at SocialSpark, they finally realized their mistake and approved my blog. Well good riddance I say, because I’ve been dying to start!

SocialSpark is the brainchild of Izea, the creator of PayPerPost, and offers similar services to bloggers. However, I noticed several different things about SocialSpark that makes it about 10 times more attractive than PayPerPost:

1. Allowing the use of “nofollow”. Of all the paid-to-blog sites I’ve seen and worked with, SocialSpark is the first that allows the use of “nofollow” in advertiser’s links. This means that for once, us paid bloggers don’t have to be torn between god-stomping Google and moolah moolah.
2. Plugging other bloggers. You can now do a non-paid post reviewing another member’s blog or a nonprofit organization. Sometimes the people will offer to blog back about you in response to your free review.
3. Connect with advertisers. Now you can communicate directly with the advertisers. Say your blog doesn’t qualify for an offer, well now you have the choice to appeal to the advertisers and maybe you’ll get lucky.
4. In-post disclosure for every opportunity. This means that every time you write for SocialSpark, people will know it’s a sponsored post. This isn’t always a bad thing, especially since the links are “nofollow”, so Google couldn’t give more crap. They just don’t want you selling links to interfere with the rankings and quality of their search engine results.
5. It’s a community. You can now have a profile with the ability to friend other members, leave them comments, give them props, and much more. It’s not all about you anymore.

The only thing I have to complain about SocialSpark is how long it took them to approve my blog. First they require 20 posts within the past 90 days, which I was fine with. But after I reached it, they accused my blog of being made solely for payment. Later they explained that it was because I had links on my posts, so they assumed that I was doing nothing but paid posts. Again boys and girls, do not assume because it makes an ass out of me and you.

But all in all, SocialSpark seems to be heading off on a great start, and I look forward to their continued growth and expansion. If you haven’t done so, please check out SocialSpark now!

Things to do in Taiwan

written on May 21, 2008 in Life

I’m finally done with exams! You have no idea how absolutely relieved I am to be free of the burden, and it sucks even more because UMD is one of the last schools to get out. Nonetheless, it’s all over now, and I can peacefully enjoy the rest of my summer and fully look forward to going back to Taiwan!

To keep myself on top of things, I’m going to make a list of things to do/get when I go back. I only have 19 days and many of them are booked for family friends and relative dining + sight-seeing. Not that I’m complaining, but it’d be great if I could get time off to do my own things.

• Take glamor shots. For anyone who’s been back there, you should know how famous the glamor/wedding shots are in Taiwan. This is a top priority because I want to get my photos before I leave.
• Get a haircut. Maybe if the stylist recommends it, I might get it permed or straightened as well. People can’t cut hair if their lives depended on it here, so I’m growing my hair out all nice and long just so the stylists in Taiwan will have something to work with.
• Buy clothes. Not the fobby clothes with random English words smacked all over them, but some really cute outfits. Clothes here are either boring or expensive.
• Buy beauty products. That includes make up, skin care products, hair products, body products, you name it. It’s inexpensive, and most of them are formulated for Asian girls. Oh and the packaging always looks nice
• Buy cute stationary. This one is a given. It’s a ritual for me every time I go back to Taiwan, and it’s not going to change. I’ll probably buy some notebooks, pens, more notebooks, a planner, more pens, and whatever else catches my fancy.
• Buy bootleg DVDs. Another given. I’m going to buy so many dvds that I’m starting to worry if the customs are going to confiscate them thinking I’m trying to resell them in the US. So if I can only get one, then Huan Zhu Ge Ge (Princess of the Returning Pearl) 1 + 2 is a must.
• Buy books. More like buy magazines and manga. I’m not into manga as much as I used to be, but there are 2 series I still like: Gals and Crayon Shin-chan, both of which I’ll try to get (maybe just a couple volumes for the latter since it has a total of what, 50+ volumes?)
• Get a new phone. This one is mostly wishful thinking, but just in case the opportunity arises, I don’t want to miss it. Again, phones in the US look like poo and are usually locked. Sometimes I ask myself why I even bother buying things here.
• Eat LOTS of yummy food. Self explanatory.
• Go to amusement parks and beaches. I felt like I need to do myself some justice by making up for the lack of times I went when I actually lived there.
• Hang out with old friends. Might be a little difficult because 1) summer break hasn’t started for them yet 2) I lost contact with most of them 3) I don’t know which schools they attend. Maybe I’ll get lucky? Who knows.

I will add more as I think of them. Meanwhile, does anyone want me to bring anything back from Taiwan? Something small of course, since I’m not loaded Shoot me an email if you’d like a small souvenir!