A couple of days ago I noticed a new feature on my WordPress blogs. At the end of each post, there is now a list of “possibly related posts”. I’ll let WordPress explain it (http://wordpress.com/blog/2008/04/25/possibly-an-announcement/):
In a feature we’re calling possibly related posts we’ll now try to show posts related to yours a little section at the end. If we find any posts on your blog that are related, we’ll put those at the very top and in bold. Next we’ll show other posts from around WordPress.com, and finally we’ll check if there’s anything in the mainstream media.
The result is a handful of links that should provide you and your visitors something interesting to check out. On blogs that cover the same topics frequently related posts could cause a 5-10% increase in traffic overnight. You could also start to see traffic from lots of other blogs. It’s a bit of an experiment, and we’ll be tweaking it a lot based on your feedback and the data that we collect once everything is live.
I can’t decide if I like it or not. OK I guess I like my links on other blogs but I don’t necessarily like other links on my blog. If I wanted that link there, I would have put it there. There is a way to remove the feature:
If you want to remove the related posts from your blog entirely, just go to Design > Extras and check the box to do so. But if you remove related posts from your blog we’ll remove you from other people’s blogs, so you won’t get traffic from that.
I have removed the feature from my personal blog (http://10qs.wordpress.com/), but left it on the others (http://byteoftheweek.wordpress.com/). That way I can see if there is an impact on the traffic. (Also I’m not necessarily looking for traffic to my personal site.)
I’m still plugging away on my 23 Things on a Stick. Thing 9 talks about online collaboration Tools such as Zoho Writer (http://writer.zoho.com/) and Google Docs (http://documents.google.com).
Both tools let you save documents online and share access so that many people can help write and edit a document. In fact you can all look at and edit the document together if you want.
I am a bigger fan and more frequent user of Google Docs, so I’ll focus on their service.
You can upload any of the following types of documents:
DOC, XLS, ODT, ODS, RTF, CSV, PPT. You can control who has access to your documents: everyone, no one, or folks you approve.
It is very much like having a shared server to store documents. A slightly upgraded version is Google Apps, which is even more like a share server with shared access for small organizations.
I hope that’s helpful!
Today I’m working away on the 23 Things on a Stick I mentioned a few weeks ago (http://byteoftheweek.wordpress.com/2008/01/30/23-things-on-a-stick/). Thing 8 focuses on how to share files, including slide shows. They mention SlideShare, which I have mentioned before (http://byteoftheweek.wordpress.com/2007/05/23/slideshare-presentation-tool/). SlideShare is a great tool for posting PowerPoint slides. (I love SlideShare!)
I also learned about two new tools: Thumbstacks (http://www.thumbstacks.com/) and Zoho Show (http://show.zoho.com). The nice thing about each is that they don’t require PowerPoint because each tool has a presentation builder.
Zoho also allows for some web conferencing or remote meetings, which is very cool.
Happy Earth Day next week (April 22)!
OK I have a little time today and I’m back trying 23 Things on a Stick. Thing 7 is communication tools. There is a list of communication tools to try, videos to watch and articles to read. Then the assignment is to talk about how we use those tools in the library, so I’m going to improvise a bit.
Email: I live and die by email. If you want to reach me, email me. That is especially true now that I am in Dublin and most of my clients are still in Minnesota. I love it because, its quick, I can address it in my own time, and I have a record of all correspondence – which helps when I get forgetful.
Instant Messaging (IM): I have used IM for more than a year. I think it can be really useful when you are collaborating with someone but I find the problem is that it requires real time attention. I don’t always want to drop what I’m doing to answer an IM.
Text Messaging (SMS): I have to admit that I’ve become more of a texter since I’ve been in Dublin. It is more popular here than back home because it is ridiculously expensive to a make a cell phone (mobile) call here. It is a quick and easy way to convey info. I envision a lifetime of “Sorry. I’m l8” texts in my future as my kids get older.
Web Conferencing: I have presented at a few web conferences and attended even more. I prefer the conference tools that allow you to archive the presentation so that you can watch in your own time. That being said web conferencing can be a great way to offer training to a group that is geographically dispersed. If you haven’t ever attended a web conference, you can check out OPAL (http://www.opal-online.org/progschrono.htm), a great tool for web conferencing. (You can also find a conference to attend from that page.)
Two people sent me the following article for the Byte so I figured I should pass it on:
17 Tips for Getting Bloggers to Write about You
http://tinyurl.com/2mt3sb
First, I’ll add that there are two main reasons you want to get bloggers to write about you. First, a lot of people read blogs so a mention in a blog can bring readers to your site. Second, search engines love blogs so a link from a blog helps your ranking with the search engines.
Two other things I’d add. If you are OK with a blogger using a graphic from your web site, say so. Lots of bloggers will use images anyways, but some will want permission and giving it to them right away helps the blogger skip a step.
Finally, be specific with why they might write about you. Sure, you’re cool and all that – but what’s the connection from them to you. We’re all busy and everyone loves a shortcut.
