SuperPost Sunday – Weekly Roundup #8

news SuperPost Sunday   Weekly Roundup #8Hello my lovelies,

You’re gonna have to forgive me this week for not being as active online as I usually am. I don’t mean to boast or tease, but I’m on a snowy vacay :)! And although I would love nothing more than to spend my entire holiday glued to my laptop, I have a” cool” reputation to maintain lol ;).

But if it makes you feel better, I’ll have you know that I’ve had that guilty lump stuck in my chest all week for my lack of TLC vis-a-vis nittyGriddy.

Needless to say, that with all the walking, shopping, eating and… I didn’t get much reading done, and these few articles are what I was able to squeeze into my semi lazy and action-packed days. Well, better these few, than none at all – I suppose.

Now, some of you already knew that I was taking a little trip, but for those of you that didn’t know – damn! I just gave you a reason to make fun of the girl who goes on holiday only to take her PC with her. So sad!

But in my lame-ass defense, I couldn’t possibly leave you without a SuperPost Sunday to enjoy ;)! Talk about dedication eh? Conclusion: passion trumps passiveness every time!

My New Guest Post

On another note, I have a new Guest Post that’s out at Traffic Generation Cafe. It’s a bit long – obviously. It’s entertaining – of course. And it’s loaded with useful information – undoubtedly. So once, you’re done here make sure to go visit the awesome “Tzarina of SEO” – Ana Hoffman who was kind enough to host my latest article, Blog vs Website Faceoff – 8 Simple Reasons for Why Blogs Kick Ass.

And so…

“Without further ado and blah blah,” here are this Sunday’s SuperPosts on Social Media, Blogging Tips, SEO, Internet Marketing, Traffic Building, Online Money Making Tools and more.

There may be less than usual this week, but they still kick ass!

HAPPY READING :D!

Social Media

I want to tell you a quick story about a blogger. Like a lot of bloggers, this blogger wanted to get better and make more money. So, he did what any blogger would do – read other people’s blogs about making money blogging…

I’m not really sure how all of these guys are going to make a living, but there sure as hell is no shortage of innovation in social media. The torrent of new digital tools and gadgets makes Sharper Image, SkyMall…

Blogging Tips

The biggest lesson I have learned in the past three months is, you can’t succeed if you don’t plan ahead before putting your blog. Like planning for a trip, you don’t know what will happen in the future. On the road, your tires may…

Before I get into the topic I just wanted to say to any new visitors to my site: “apologies if you were expecting a post on all things lavender”. There are plenty of articles related to lavenders that you can peruse.  So you can…

Listen Up and Say Ahhh… Okay, before any of you go into a web frenzy and begin to thrash my title and protest, let me explain… First: Yes! We all know that a blog is a website. No argument here. Second: The invisible yet operative word is – OFTEN…

Online Money Making Tools

My post last week: 10 Reasons Why You’re Not Making Any Money Online Yet seems to have struck a raw nerve with many of you. It has been a while since I have had so many people say that a post really got them to take action – so I am very…

SEO

I was just sitting here going through the monotonous exhilarating task of building backlinks to my niche site (Best Baby Car Seats & Covers Here Folks!) when it occurred to me that this little trick I use is not something I have shared with you…

MishMash

Yesterday, a reader emailed me this: Ok. I’ve added you to my “HEROS” list on Twitter because you’re absolutely one of the people I’ve come across that I want to emulate in some form or fashion (sans the dress and overseas love affairs with men)…

Ok, you want to be successful. You think you’re trying your hardest. Dammit you are pretty sure you’re gunning for it, really hard! But here is the truth: You’re not. In every industry, there is an edge. In your business or personal life, it doesn’t matter…

Last weekend I read a post by the fabulous  Ingrid Abboud also know as NittyGriddy in which she reveals 17 things about her that probably only few people in the online world knew. She usually keeps her blog purely professional…

I did a talk at BrandsConf in New York City last week on a topic that’s near and dear to me. It’s definitely one that will continue to grow in importance amid the convergence of the professional and personal web. And it’s one I live and breathe…

[image credit: via The University of Nottingham]

Special SuperPost Sunday – Weekly Roundup #7

paper boy news flash Special SuperPost Sunday   Weekly Roundup #7Hello my lovelies,

Are you guys getting bored with that little line? Because to tell you honestly, I make it sound different every time I write it – in my head lol!

I’ll tell you what…say it out loud a couple times and change the emphasis you put on each word every time. Now try saying it with different accents. I’m serious, try this!

Isn’t it crazy how I can have you talking back to your computer screen lol? Let me guess, you went the “Hellooo” didn’t ya? And how many of you tried the British, French, Strine (Aussie) or Southern accents? I thought so ;).

Okay, enough of the madness.

It’s Sunday, it’s a beautiful day in and it’s time for nittyGriddy’s SuperPosts!

But first, I have a few very important and super cool things to share – obviously!

Three Rockin’ Punks and a Little Lady

husband and wife on twitter Special SuperPost Sunday   Weekly Roundup #7

There’s a rumor floating around the blogosphere…

It seems that I’ve been making quite the name for myself as that “fabulous, stunning, intelligent, charming, sarcastic, witty and adorably funny girl who leaves uber long comments”. Okay, so maybe I added a few embellishments here and there, but still. I’d like to clarify things right now…It’s TRUE! I proudly am and do all of the above hehe!

Gini, please refrain from laughing out loud, I can hear you. I installed a WP plugin that allows me to tap in on all smiles and snorts around the windy city area. LOL.

Danny, was that a snarky cough I just heard? I know it must be frickin’ freezing where you are. You should really get that taken care of Mister ;).

Tory, sorry I mean Troy – I can see the smirk on your face. Are you planning to wipe it or are you just picturing yourself wearing Danny’s shabby toupee and singing “She’s a Lady” while dancing around a Bonsai? ROTFL.

For all of you reading this who agree about my charismatic commenting skills, please hold out your thumb and smile (that goes for you 3 awesome punks  as well as you @antwizzel). For those of you who look clueless but are laughing all the same cause you think I’m on crack (sigh), you’ll understand everything soon!

Alright, now that that’s off my chest, I can get back to the business of Social Media – IN A BIT!

A Little BIG Thank You!

I had the great honor this week of being featured 3 different times in 3 different places!

I know…can you believe it? I’m just lovin’ all the Griddy luv :D!

  • Can You Say Kikolani?

So here I am eyeballing my Twit stream to see what goodies I can read next, when I notice a flock of @Kikolani Retweets from folks I follow. And like any other Kristi fan, I rush to her blog (because you know that whatever she writes is always worth reading) only to see that I was included in Kristi Hines’s list of 125 Fearless Female Bloggers. Needless to say that the news pretty much made my week. I’ve been showing off my whities (teeth not undies) and gloating since Monday :D.

So, this is my special and very loud shout out to the awesome Kikolani for her notable mention of me…Thank You Kristi!

Now I think everyone and their mother knows who Kristi is, but just in case you don’t live in the blogosphere, I strongly recommend that you go see what that brilliant Internet Marketing Specialist and her highly ranked blog is all about.

I also want to congratulate a few of my fabulous gal pals who made the list. Thu, Kiesha, Michele, Ana, Gail, Tia, Ching Ya, Patricia, Ann, Gabriella and Ileane as well as all the other 113 fearless writers. Nicely done ladies!

  • An Ode to Gini

There’s this fabulously funny, friendly and smart blogger lady that I absolutely love reading, tweeting and commenting with. And it should come as no surprise when I tell you that it’s Gini Dietrich. Yes, the same Gini I was referring to earlier.

So here I am casually tweeting away 3 nights ago when @GiniDietrich pops up and asks me whether my ears are burning. Talk about getting my attention! Personally, I think she was stalking me, but then again she tends to do that – ask Danny or Troy lol! But alas…that brilliant writer has a way with words and so I replied in less than 5 seconds asking her, “why, where you talking about me?” She goes on to capture my attention even more by replying “something better” and then proceeds to tease me further by telling me that I’d find out tomorrow when I wake up.

Are you kidding me, Gini? How on earth do you expect me to sleep now?!

And boy did I find out! Gini spoiled the hell out of me by writing an entire post about ME, my Blog and I! I think I even blushed a bit but shhhh don’t tell her that ;)! Somehow, through her very funny, persuasive and complimenting words, she managed to convince a bunch of amazing folks to follow my blog and tweets and I simply can’t thank her enough! She even made ME want to follow ME lol!

“Gini, you simply rock the hell out of fabulousness! I’m honored to have met you and to call you a friend. And if you weren’t a gazillion miles away, I would hug ya right now lol.”

At this point, I really don’t think I need to tell you to frantically stalk Gini and her kick-ass blog, Spin Sucks – The Fight Against Destructive Spin. I should have had you at my first few words! But just in case, let me make an official announcement:

“Fellow bloggers of the blogosphere, if you you want to learn all things Marketing, Advertising, Social Media and more…if you want to laugh till your jaw hurts…and if you want to talk and be heard…then take your digital hiney’s over to Spin Sucks!”

  • Boys, Troys, Browns and Bonsai’s!

If you’ve been living in the Catacombs of Rome, then you’ve never heard of “Social Media Bad Boy Danny Brown”! Well, him and his wickedly witty, goatee-sportin’, Marketing and Business Development Pro of a partner, Troy Claus, co-founded this ‘uberly’ cool and creative Interactive Marketing company called Bonsai.

Now I could talk about these two lads for a few pages – as I’m sure you know – but I’ve decided to spare you more rambling since you’re probably quite familiar with both already. But if you really want to know what I think of them, then by all means check out my 1 year blogoversary post!

In the spirit that is Christmas, the Bonsai Boys have created this awesome little holiday video to thank all their friends and clients. I must say – they’ve set the bar quite high with this one. It’s a refreshing example of appreciation that many companies can and should learn from! It shows off and brings back the human side of doing business in a very humorous and creative fashion.

Oh, and did I mention that WE’re all in it ;)?

Danny’s flaunting his new set of hair; Troy’s being coy; Gini’s stalkin’ Bonsai’s; and I’m doin’ some blogin’ talkin’!

You think I’m kidding? See for yourself!

0 Special SuperPost Sunday   Weekly Roundup #7

It’s always the most incredible feeling to know that your work is being recognized and appreciated and I have all of you wonderful friends, readers and engagers to thank for that. I’m truly blessed!

This is that touching moment where you all say, “Awwwwww” ;)!

cool cartoon 888905 Special SuperPost Sunday   Weekly Roundup #7

Okay, I’ve tooted the horn to death and I’ve kept you waiting long enough. So…

“Without further ado and blah blah,” here are this Sunday’s SuperPosts on Social Media, Blogging Tips, SEO, Internet Marketing, Traffic Building, Online Money Making Tools and more.

I’m gonna’ go out on a limb here and say that this roundup is the best to date. Wait…so was last week’s and the week before and…

Screw it, I’ll say it!

My SuperPost Sunday’s kick so much ass that they make NFL football look like child’s play! That’s how good the articles I feature here every week are, and this week is no different! So find a comfy spot on the couch and snuggle up with your favorite blankie or Teddy, cause these are worth the read! Oh, and you may want to grab yourself a nice cup of cocoa while you’re at it, cause you’ll be here a while.

HAPPY READING nittyGriddy’ers ;)!

Social Media

Social media isn’t just a necessary business thing nowadays. There’s much talk about the benefits it can give to your company and to you as a person in general, but lately I have been thinking about some specific…

It is odd, to say the least, to find a media environment in which being the good guy works to your advantage. Prior to the rise in social media, every medium has rewarded those who push their own agendas, 100% of the time…

Every year brings a few advertising and marketing campaigns that stand out as being far more creative, original, and memorable than the rest of the pack. The explosion of social media, however, seems to have rejuvenated…

As I’ve been able to travel and meet marketers all over the U.S. and in other countries, I am always interested in learning how companies are viewing the value of their social media efforts. Marketing investments should be predicated…

Okay, so I have a weird habit about thinking too much in terms of what the future has in store for us. Thoughts of Web 3.0 plague my mind on an occasional basis. (Yes, I’m weird like that.) Web 3.0… What does it mean? When will it happen…

Blogging Tips

Do you want a free 20-page PDF ebook containing 68 great blogging tips from the true master himself, Confucius? Would you like to know how to easily write an ebook in a day? Then you’ve come to the right place…

I got an email today that asked an interesting question. It was from a new blogger – we’ll call her Jane – and the question was: “How personal should my personal blog be?” The email went on to explain that the blogger was a recovering alcoholic…

Every blogger is looking to develop and establish their niche.  But it’s just not that simple is it?  Before I delve into some thoughts on niche development I want to briefly share my (short) journey…

I like to comment, it is probably because it makes me feel like a part of the story. The story, which started with the article itself and now naturally flows thought the comment section. I like to read other people’s comments…

Several of my social media buddies—smart, passionate people—were debating the value of blog comments on the Web this week. But whether we believe that getting comments is key to a blog’s success or not, most of us like to get them. I love to get comments…

We’d like to think that if we are offering a “How To/Tutorial” on a particular subject that that advice will be taken seriously. Did you know that it often isn’t?  Dare you ask why? The majority of blogs in the blogosphere…

“How do I create the perfect blog post?” That question by a young student stopped me in my tracks. After all, is there such a thing?  I had to dig deep on this question and turned to the qualities of my favorite bloggers to find…

Two of my favourite actors are Joe Pesci and Danny DeVito. Both different actors, yet also so very similar. Pesci is more your serious actor that’s famous for his gangster roles (Goodfellas, Casino, Once Upon a Time in America) although…

Traffic Building

Yes, I said “Less Followers”. It’s not a typo. I’m not crazy and it’s not a clever headline for a post that will turn into the opposite in the third paragraph. Let me first do a formal introduction, this is the second installment of the “Striking Six” Blog Series…

Hello everyone ! This is going to be exciting. With this post I’m going to launch the Striking Six blog series, where 6 kick-ass online mavericks share their knowledge about crafting an inspirational and powerful online presence. All of them are awesome and popular…

Internet Marketing

Happy Monday! Or not. So, today I’m feeling kind of under the weather and not so excited to work on a big frackin’ market research plan that I’ve been putting off since September… which is probably why I decided to write such a pessimistic blog post instead…

I was sitting alone, thinking the other day—which is scary in and of itself for a variety of reasons. Who even does that anymore? I don’t think I know anyone who is able to function without some high-tech thingies stuck…

Online Money Making Tools

As a business owner and entrepreneur you have learned the lessons and developed expertise that has made you successful. That expertise has value for your peers. Sharing your knowledge and passion can position you…

Not too long ago, a guy contacted me asking me how he could make money with his blog.  He needed some answers.  He asked, “Is it really true that you can make money blogging and if so, how much can a person expect to make and how long…

SEO

Google’s search engine has dominated the market for many years, but with the introduction of Bing and plans being instituted by Facebook to compete with Google their domination has come under serious threat…

Not time for fluff; let’s get straight to business. 1. Keyword research. Make sure you start with this step! Determine what your targeted traffic might be searching for. Be sure your content addresses their needs. Pick one main keyword or keyword phrase to…

You may have heard a lot recently about spinning articles as an SEO tactic.  Well, spinning articles is a relatively new concept, and with a rush to make money selling you spinning tools and spinning services…

MishMash

To say Ingrid Abboud is a riot would be putting it mildly. She’s a mess of insanity wrapped up in a ball of fun. I mean, F-U-N! And we all know how much I like fun people. So that is why today’s #FollowFriday is Ingrid Abboud…

When it comes to lists of leaders in the tech industry, there is usually always one person who notes the lack of women appearing in them. And it’s no surprise they notice. I took a look at 14 lists that have come out over the last year for the top bloggers, social media marketers…

If you haven’t already seen my previous post about 100 SEO blogs you should subscribe to, make sure you check it out.  In this collection, I wanted to highlight a number of marketers who really stand out from the crowd and…

I read a post over at Mom Blog Magazine that left me shaking my head the further I read, and reinforced why so many bloggers don’t like PR agencies. Entitled Why PR People Get Paid And You Don’t, it was a post by an anonymous PR…

I’ve been curious about a phenomenon we’re seeing when we interview candidates these days. Their first impressions suck. Not everyone (we did, after all, just hire Megan Beausang), but I’d venture to say 90 percent of them. Why do they suck…

[image credit: News Flash via The Resource Legend]


Harvard’s Guide to Social Media

Earlier this year, I wrote a small (don’t look so surprised lol) yet informative post called Social Media 101 which Marketing and Business Development Pro, Troy Claus, was kind enough to reference to in his very insightful article, “Are You a Wrinkly Shirt?

Although I would love to wittily ramble about all things Social Media, the importance of using it properly and the influence it can have on the world, I won’t.

You see, last week, I posted a very short but spot on Slideshare presentation on how to go about using Social Media like a 6th grader. And as silly as that may sound, it’s actually quite accurate for it boils down the entire process that us grow-ups tend to complicate so much, in 5 simple and measly steps. I guarantee it to be idiot-proof!

But if you’d much rather learn about it from a professional who teaches at the Powerhouse that is Harvard, then I would highly recommend you go through this awesome Prezi slideshow by Nicholas Lamphere of the @HarvardSocial group. It’s his first presentation covering his introductory work-shop about the social web as well as current tools and topics of the trade such as Social Networking, micro-blogging, RSS and more. Needless to say how useful and entertaining it is.

Enjoy!

SuperPost Sunday – Weekly Roundup #6

newspaper boy SuperPost Sunday   Weekly Roundup #6Hello my lovelies and welcome back to SuperPost Sunday here at nittyGriddy :D! Damn, I really sound like a talk show host when I say that out loud lol. Hmmm…maybe I should be?!

It’s been a hell of a hectic week for me but I’m glad it’s over. The weekend, on the other hand, couldn’t have been any lazier. Sure, it was productive because I worked, but I didn’t physically move much while doing any of it. Don’t you just love those special “I refuse to move” days?

If you were here yesterday then you may have read my special 1 year anniversary thank you post which if you ask me, pretty much kicks-ass! But if you weren’t here, then shame on you! Make sure to get your bug eyes and booty back over to that piece right after you finish reading this SuperPost! I realize that this may sound like an order, and it is – kinda; but you have to give me credit for sounding like a funny dictator (minus the psychotic trait) instead of a scary Stalin or horrific Hitler type.

The other reason why you may want to read nittyGriddy is One Year New is that you might just be in it! That’s right, this particular Blogoversary post is not so much about me (sure it is) as it is about many of you.

Alright, enough of me rambling about me, cause I’ve got some seriously fabulous goodies for you this week. And NO, I don’t get bored of saying that every Sunday – I just have to find a new and creative way to put it every time :).

Seriously though, have I disappointed you so far with my weekly roundups? Well you see then…that’s why I keep tootin’ them – in the ‘hype’ and ‘praise’ sense of the word and not the other meaning for it. And shame on you again for letting your mind wander to the gutter!

So, as my favorite saying goes, “without further ado and blah blah,” here are this Sunday’s SuperPosts on Social Media, Blogging Tips, SEO, Internet Marketing, Traffic Building, Online Money Making Tools and more.

HAPPY READING icon smile SuperPost Sunday   Weekly Roundup #6 !

Social Media

There are tools. There are people who use the tools. And then there are people who are tools. Know the difference. Ass-kissing will get you anywhere, but where is that, exactly? Where do you actually want to go from there? Think long-term…

Yup! I’ve been thinking of blogging about the movie on Mark Zuckerberg and his journey to the first 1000,000 friends, ever since I saw the movie. A “MUST” watch cult movie, for sure! However, I was not so impressed…

If you’ve been on Twitter a while, you’re probably stuck in a rut. We all know we’re supposed to engage, share links to valuable information, and re-tweet others. What else is there? If you want to spice up your Twitter feed…

Blogging Tips

“I’m at a point in my blogging career where I just don’t know what I’m doing wrong.” Every blogger reaches a point in time where they find themselves struggling, it’s normal. However, the challenging part of that struggle is finding…

Two years ago I stumbled across the concept of blogging for money.  Instantly it hit me as the perfect thing: sit behind a computer, design a site, write, be my own boss, work from home, what could be better? I knew nothing about traffic…

Ali’s recent post discouraged us from forcing creativity. If you don’t feel it, she said, don’t write. Yet Gretchen recommends sitting down and writing every day, because you’ll get in a rhythm and stay connected to your material. Well, which is it…

There are different types of bloggers with various levels of success. We have the average blogger and the super-successful blogger (often called the A-list blogger). Many new bloggers think becoming an A-list blogger is all about writing content…

There are some realities to being a successful blogger, and failure to realize them can affect the success of your blog. Even though blogging can be done by everybody, not all are successful at it because most people don’t know what it takes to succeed…

Getting started with blogging is always exciting at first. You have a ton of great ideas that you wanna share with people, and you just can’t wait to get started writing. But if you just jump into it without a blogging strategy in place, you’ll quickly…

How To

This is an article I’ve been waiting a long time for somebody else to write. Over the years, I’ve changed how I manage my online projects so drastically that I wished someone would come along and say, “Okay, Glen, this is how it’s done.” Sadly…

Email subscribers are the lifeblood of the online business. We all know we need them, and we all have specific ideas about how to capture them. Ethical bribes, free eBooks, special reports, pop-up forms, Internet radio shows. But if you want to have a truly…

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been watching new bloggers come out of the woodworks and I’ve been learning more from them than anybody. In a recent post on the new rules for winning the blogging game,  my buddy Stanford Smith (@pushingsocial) said…

At some stage in your blogging journey, you’re going to write something that, for whatever reason, brings down the equivalent of Darth Vader, Sauron, Freddy Kreuger and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse onto you…

I have the hardest time saying no. Lots of people do. It’s one of those things we do to foil up our lives quite often. Why? Because we hate to disappoint. Because we think it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Because we want to say yes…

You can easily manage lists, subscribers, follow ups, broadcasts, create web forms very easily and in this tutorial I will show you exactly how to do just that. I have mentioned before that Aweber is my preferred email marketing…

Blog traffic, content engagement, online community, social proof, all key aspects of blog marketing. All easily measurable items. But the ultimate goal is one and today my dear friends, we are going to talk about how to measure…

Let me begin by thanking my good friend Ileane for having me appear on Basic Blog Tips, it is truly a pleasure. I receive lots of requests for Guest Posts and one of the first things that comes to mind is what I will write about and how I will tailor…

Traffic Building

So, I published a post yesterday: Trackback Spam Be Gone: What I Use To Cut Down On Junk Trackbacks. As the comments started to pour in, I realized that I had a bit more explaining to do on the topic. Some of you might know what…

Alex asked me reveal all my deep dark secrets about Backlinking. But the truth is, there aren’t any secrets. You already know what to do, and to be honest, I don’t personally do most of those things that probably you do…

Internet Marketing

Most people hate selling. They hate having to sell things to other people, and they hate being sold to. If you’re the seller, selling can be a frustrating process of rejection. And if you’re the potential buyer, nothing is a bigger turn-off than a blatant…

MishMash

One of the things I enjoy most about SEO is that I get to work with a lot of creative, talented specialists, especially copywriters. For those who don’t know, a copywriter is someone who writes marketing copy. In essence, a website content writer is a copywriter…

Thanksgiving is around the corner. Yay! I have lots to share with you on what I have been doing. There isn’t too much explanation though as this will be a blitz, a giant of a list post for you to peruse. However, they are pretty self-explanatory…

In the United States, today is the busiest air travel day of the entire year. So I figured it was a good time to talk about what’s going on with TSA, the new x-ray machines, and the “enhanced”  pat-downs…

Blogging in such a small niche; is there room for big ideas? I mean who would think of  sharing about  a  single flower??!!   Have I chosen wisely?  Decided I would share the journey I’ve had so far.  Then you can decide…

Believe it or not, it’s been a year since I joined this fabulous and unbelievable blogosphere that has in such little time altered my life, working hours, passions and goals. I’d like to tell you that I’m pleased with my blog’s outcome and progress so far…

[image credit: via Type Set Coin Collecting]


nittyGriddy is 1 Year New! Happy Blogoversary!

1 Year and Still Goin’…

happy blogoversary nittyGriddy is 1 Year New! Happy Blogoversary!

TODAY IS  nittyGriddy’s ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! HAPPY BLOGOVERSARY TO MOI ;)!

Believe it or not, it’s been a year since I joined this fabulous and unbelievable blogosphere that has in such little time altered my life, working hours, passions and goals.

I’d like to tell you that I’m pleased with my blog’s outcome and progress so far – and I can and can’t! There’s a reason for both.

Allow me to explain…

What I Didn’t Know

To be honest, when I first began blogging I had no clue as to what ‘that whole blogging thing’ entailed and what it really meant. Like many others who know squat about blogs, I assumed they were mostly personal, and I certainly wasn’t interested in writing for the masses about my private life or that of my friends. Nor was I too keen on interacting with people I don’t personally know (I actually still abide by that ridiculously hard-ass principle with my personal Facebook account). But at the same time, I knew I wanted to write – more than anything else. And so I did – about anything and everything.

I had read numerous blogs for work or fun but nothing concrete or educational about the rules of engagement, the tips and tricks, the do’s and don’ts…I hadn’t the faintest idea of what being part of the blogosphere included; the new friends and connections that could be made, the silly orangy sign that read RSS, finding super keywords for SEO, traffic building, Meta tagging, the whole Twitter folly, guest posting, pingbacks and trackbacks, permalinks, widgets and plugins, the joys and perks of commenting, Google Analytics, WordPress, StumbleUpon, Reddit and Digg, Seth Godin and Darren Rowse…pretty much the whole shindig and shebang!

I obviously knew what most were – I work as a Copywriter for crying out loud – but I had no clue that blogs depended on all of them to survive (except for Seth and Darren)!

Everyday I read, read and read some more. And everyday, I learned a little more. I did that, until I found my niche. Now I keep reading and I keep learning, but my blog has a theme, a style, a purpose, a mission, a vision, an objective and an engaging atmosphere.

What I Didn’t Do that I Do Now

But here’s the thing, I was stupid! Okay…maybe not stupid – much too strong of a word and let’s face it, I’m everything but! Let’s just say I wasn’t wise enough to know what I wanted yet and what to look for. I didn’t start reading and learning what I should have before I began.

It took me a while to realize the potential that a good and consistent blog could have and the doors it could open. It was only months later, that I took the ‘not-stupid’ hat off and put the ‘wisen-up’ thinking cap on! And only then, did I experience the thrill of being part of this immensely vast and overwhelming virtual society.

So, YES! November 27th, 2009 may be the day I registered nittyGriddy.com (and 4 other names) on Just Host, and published my first blog post, but it certainly isn’t the day that I became a passionate blogger and Social Media enthusiast; one that wakes up every morning wanting to read the next useful article that I can learn from, Tweet and comment on; one that goes through the day searching or thinking about what I can blog about next; one that can’t carry on a conversation without mentioning something about blogging or bloggers.

What I am thrilled about however, is the last few months – which to me have been the differentiating factor as to how my blog and I have evolved. These are the ones that brought me to where I am today. Besides all the positive stats, they brought me to meet all the wonderful peeps that I’ve so thoroughly enjoyed interacting with.

My Reason for Writing this Post

For my 1st anniversary, I was initially set on writing a special post sharing what I’ve learned about blogging so far and what my goals are this coming year. But instead, I thought it more appropriate to mention the sites and bloggers that I’ve met or come across along the way; those that have supported me; those that have taught me more than many of my IV league college professors; those whose words made an impact; those that have encouraged my writing; those that have Tweeted and retweeted; those that have commented till their fingers dropped…It is because of these folks and more that I have come to love and be proud of being a blogger!

This is my version of Thanksgiving :)! This is me saying “thank you, muchas gracias, grazie mille, mille merci, shukran and tausen dank to all of YOU – my fellow blogger friends, readers, commentators, mentors, Tweeters…

I would have loved to tell you all that your checks are in the mail or that your gifts are being Fed-Ex’ed, but then I’d be a shitty liar – much like a shitty singer ;). So instead, I hope you’ll accept my simple yet sincere good wishes.

“May you all be blessed with nothing but health, happiness and a boat load of bloggin’ success!”

IMPORTANT Note: These are in no particular order.

Although I would love to name and talk about every single person and blog that I read, admire and learn from – I can’t. So if my early Alzheimer’s temporarily kicked in while writing this post and I forgot to mention you, then my sincere apologies. Truly, deeply, honestly! I beg of you not to hate me or verbally lynch me. Instead, I kindly ask that you add your name in the comments. But if you feel the need to curse me for my short-term memory loss, then please be gentle and sweet; my blog is rather sensitive about her age lol :).

Who I’m Thankful For

monkey thank you nittyGriddy is 1 Year New! Happy Blogoversary!

Mashable – I don’t know you Pete, but besides being pretty, you’re what I aspire to become. Well, not you exactly, but your blog – a Social Media empire with many minions of writers! But with me as Queen Bee :D.

Danny Brown from DannyBrown.me – You, your accent and your insightful (and even snarky) words, all rock! I have learned a ton from you and I look forward to continuing. Both of your blogs have become a part of my daily religious reading! Thank you for being an intelligent, supportive, engaging and encouraging blogger friend :). You’re a wonderful and prime example of an A-list blogger with an attitude that’s not too big and almighty to give the rest of us the time of day. And I for one, greatly appreciate that Mr. Brown!

Hesham Zebida from FamousBloggers.net– I don’t care how non-perfect your English writing skills are ;)! Cause for one – your posts are always useful or helpful in some way or another. And two – you truly are an inspiration to many – including me. Thank you for allowing Famous Bloggers to be the host of my first 2 guest posts! Through your hard work, dedication and friendly nature, you have succeeded in creating an awesome community and I’m honored to be part of it.

Tristan Higbee from BloggingBookshelf.com – I’m gonna’ disappoint you and keep this shorter than my usual novels lol. You’re a fantastic writer who has managed to grasp my attention in every post and eBook you’ve written! Your talented knack to whip up what seem like daily posts is incredible! You’re witty, amicable, engaging and supportive and I thank you for that Mr. Higbee :)!

Thu Nguyen from BloggingFor.info – Every time I visit your blog to read another one of your fabulous posts, I walk away having learned something new. But the thing is Thu, I can never seem to leave your blog having read just one post, somehow you get me to crawl through one page after the next ;). It’s a pleasure learning and engaging with you my very cool and ambitious blogger pal.

Michele Welch from NewBizBlogger.com – Michele ma’ dear, your sweet nature is admirable and your weekly wraps are the epitome of perfection :D. Not only are you kind but you’re also generous and genuine with the information you share. Your posts are always so informative and your writing style leaves us wanting to read more. I have no doubt that your blog and business will continue to boom.

Patricia Millman from LavenderUses.com – Now like I told Tristan, I’m gonna’ make the effort here to not write you an eBook ;). I came to know you before I actually met you. Your comments are not only everywhere I go, but they add real value and portray the kind of person that you are; genuine, interested, unselfish, kind and encouraging. I hope your blog flourishes even faster than those lovely lavenders of yours that you love so much. Your presence and passion are clearly obvious and I think I speak for many when I say, “come back soon and leave another of your super 2 cents :).”

Aaron Lee from AskAaronLee.com – Aaron you Twitter King, you :)! I don’t think anyone needs to tell you how great the Social Media content on your blog is. You wouldn’t be where you are today if it wasn’t. You’re much wiser than you are young and we all have a lot to learn from you. Regardless of the hundred of thousands of followers you have, you still manage to make time to engage and get to know certain peeps. I for one, am grateful for that. I hope that in the process, you were also able to find enough time to study for and ace your exams ;).

Christina Kingston from CtKingston.com – Tina ma’ dear, I could pretty much write an essay about you lol! What can I say? Your genuine and straight-up nature and character are a breath of fresh air. Your writing style is just fabulous – much like you. Your oumph and pizazz make you the rockin’ gal that you are! I’m grateful for our new found friendship and I look forward to continuing our long and humorous discussions :).

Gini Dietrich from SpinSucks.com – My dear Mrs. Spin Sucks. For some reason, I’m inspired to list all the US presidents names here but I’ll spare you the dorkiness ;). To you others reading this, I say, “never mind, you just had to be there.” I love the interesting content you provide on your blog – plus your posts are usually short and very informative  – contrary to the length of my useful ramblings ;). But what I look forward to even more are our amusingly witty Twitter chats and commenting sessions. You are simply an all-round super gal that I thoroughly enjoy learning from and talking to. Stay cool!

Troy Claus from TroyClaus.com– I came to know you through that awesome Danny fella’ and I’m glad I did! I think I’ve read every post of yours since the day you took up blogging. They’re well thought-out and written and always to the point! And although my comments may be longer than your actual posts, I thoroughly enjoy leaving them for you as I always look forward to your amusingly witty replies – see pages 4 and 9 ;).

Mars Dorian from MarsDorian.com – It’s true Mars. The World Needs You! Your positivity, dedication, assurance and energy are remarkable. Not only that, but you’re a pretty cool dude as well ;). You’re always willing to help but also capable of listening and I respect that. You have undoubtedly made an impact in the blogorealm [I’m trying not to be repetitive with the sphere thing lol] and will continue to do so. Your will is inspiring and your posts are always entertaining to read and very much useful. Thanks for spreading your passion and influence. May the force be with you :D.

John Aguiar from JohnPaulAguiar.com – Your story and passionate reasons for blogging are truly inspiring and heart-felt. Sénior John, you were one of the first folks to believe in my blog’s potential when you so generously featured me in your post, “Top 10 Up and Coming Women Bloggers” a few months back. For that, I am super grateful. Your blog rocks the block in content and resources. And on top of that, you’re kind and encouraging and your ego-boosting compliments and #FF’s are always appreciated :D. Salud!

Olin Hyde from OlinHyde.com – The distinguished gentleman entrepreneur whose posts make me feel like going back to internet school and familiarizing myself more with some of today’s web words :D. In Laymen’s Terms Olin, your posts are well thought-out and researched and I often like to read them twice. Not because my brain is below average nor do I have ADD. But because I genuinely want to learn more about strategies and the Web 3.0 – and the detailed posts you provide allow me to do that. You’re an earnest peep with a creative and analytical mind who has a flair for intelligent ideas and discussions. I appreciate your continuous support and interest.

Ana Hoffman from TrafficGenerationCafe.com – If there ever was a Tzar(ina) of SEO, you’d be her, Ana :). When you click publish on a new post, I’m all over it! I never thought that SEO, link building, traffic generation, blog auditing and all those other dreadfully essential tools of success, would captivate me so much. And yet you have found a way to keep my eyes glued to your daily posts of ever-so useful tips and tricks and pools of tools! I don’t know how you do it, but please keep doin’ it. I’m lovin’ my daily dose of Cafe learning :).

Notable Mentions of Bloggers I’m Thankful for

Thank You nittyGriddy is 1 Year New! Happy Blogoversary!

[image credits: Happy Blogoversary via Creative Home Expressions; Thank You Monkey via Picture Depot; Envelope via Show Me Money Biz]

Web Designers vs. Web Developers: The Face-Off

What’s the difference between a Web Designer and a Web Developer? Besides the fact that they’re both web geniuses and pretty shabby lookin’ in a cool way (as portrayed in the comical infographic), do you know what each does and how they work together?

Now, I could give you a boring or technical Wikipedia definition of the two, but I think you’re capable of looking them up yourself. So instead, I thought I’d share this funky infographic that was made for Wix by the rockin’ web geek and writer, Shane Snow.

I just love this guy’s work. Talented – would be a massive understatement for this sci-fi/pizza- loving 25 year old.

You can follow Shane on Twitter or visit his personal website to see more of his kick-ass work that’s been featured in Mashable, The Next Web, Gizmodo, Engadget, Wired, The New York Times, LifeHacker and more.

web designers vs we developers Web Designers vs. Web Developers: The Face Off

SuperPost Sunday – Weekly Roundup #5

funny paper SuperPost Sunday   Weekly Roundup #5The weekend is quickly coming to an end and you know what that means. That’s right, it’s time for my weekly series, SuperPost Sunday!

If you read last week’s roundup, then you saw the little “Note to self” I had left.

Here’s the thing folks. I did speak to the man in charge (up there) about prolonging the weekends and it seems it’s a no go. The weekend vs. weekday ratio will in fact remain the same and Monday will continue to get here faster and faster. Sorry kids, I tried :(. My powers of persuasion are usually more effective, but you can’t imagine all the gate keepers I had to go through to have a word.

But on a brighter note, it means the Holiday’s will be here very soon and it’ll be summer again (for those of us not living in Australia) before we know it :). And speaking of the holiday season, if you’re still looking for tree decoration ideas, you may want to check out a post I wrote last December. Some pretty kick-ass looking Christmas trees – a bit far fetched but definitely worth the peek!

Alright, enough about the holiday’s, we’ll get to them eventually. Plus, Thanksgiving is right around the corner, so maybe I should be directing you to some kick-ass and yummy looking turkeys before trees! So, here’s one and two links to where you can find some turkeylicious recipes.

Without further ado and blah blah,” here are this week’s SuperPost’s on Social Media, Blogging Tips, SEO, Internet Marketing, Traffic Building, Online Money Making Tools and more.

I’m sure I don’t need to tell you again that this is a kick-ass roundup of articles. I think you know that by now. So put your reading caps on and get ready to devour some amazingly written and very insightful words from fantastic bloggers.

HAPPY READING my lovely nittyGriddy’ers :).

Make sure to leave your thoughts in the comments. I always looks forward to reading and replying to them.

Social Media

Are you a wrinkly shirt? I’m guessing no, so then why allow yourself to be taken to the cleaners? Over the last couple of months I have noticed an ever growing population of “posers” and to be honest, it’s becoming really annoying…

Over at Chris Kieff’s blog today, there’s a post on how to evaluate a social media expert in 9 ways. It offers tips on how to spot if your social media person is an expert or not, and uses the likes of Twitter lists, Google, Klout and Facebook fans…

Many small businesses and solo entrepreneurs dive into social media marketing strategies without visualizing a bigger plan. What ensues is usually far from what they had hoped. Instead of attracting more leads and sales, they end up wasting…

Hopefully your nonprofit is pretty far down the social media strategy rabbit hole at this point. While it’s easy setup a Twitter account and start tweeting, it’s much more difficult to tie that activity back to outcomes. That’s why it’s important…

Traffic Building

I’d like to welcome to the introductory lesson of what’s called the “Get More Blog Traffic Blueprint.”  This will be a weekly course on how to skyrocket the amount of traffic your blog gets on a daily basis.  As you already know, every online business needs web visitors…

Blogging Tips

Two blog posts caught my eye recently. The first was The Art of Blog Commenting by Arik Hanson, and the other was The Time for Location-Based Marketing is Now by Gini Dietrich. Two different blog posts…

A blog that sucks is a blog that is unsuccessful. If your blog isn’t successful, it might be because it sucks. That can be a hard pill to swallow, but it doesn’t mean that the unsuccessful blog itself is inherently, automatically crappy. It just means…

We often ask “How can I attract more traffic to my blog?” without giving enough thoughts on “How can I grow the number of audiences on my blog bigger?” We’re searching for ways, day and night, to increase the traffic to our blog, from link…

These days blogs are far more than a personal diary and people create them for a variety of reasons. In most cases in first place is the intention of making some extra cash – affiliate programs, AdSense, Chitika, you name it! Whatever the reason…

The awesome thing that happened over the weekend – this blog is now under 100k according to Alexa. Yay! Which means I’m well on the way when it comes to monetizing this blog if I wanted to. As readers of this blog…

I built my first blog back in 2005, and today a large part of my online income is generated from my blogs. Over these years I made many mistakes and figured some things out. Below you’ll find 15 of them…

We all know that one of the biggest challenges online business owners face is organization.  By putting systems in place we can help minimize our struggles with organization and help our business run more efficiently…

There’s a lot of misconception about blogging that’s running rampart across the net; everyone buys into them. Who’s fault is it? The originator or the countless people that propagate the information? Whichever it may be, there are more…

MishMash

In the year 2012 Twitter will be rolling out features that are far advanced in the world of science and technology. None of this has been released to the public, until now… Here’s a look at five spectacular new New Twitter features…

What questions do you ask yourself every day? Believe it or not, the kind of questions you ask determine the kind of life you lead. That’s because your questions trigger its own set of answers, which lead to certain emotions, which then…

If you received a link to this page via Twitter, odds are, you’re a giant douchebag. The banner you clicked on to get to this page promised “Free info that will change your life.” And hopefully, it will. We have taken the time to break down…

If you’re arrested and found guilty of a crime, you might think that a prison sentence is the end of your life, or at least your goals of succeeding in society. But as these famous inmates have proved, getting an education in prison is possible…

[image credit: Colorado College]

Social Media – How to Use it Like a 6th Grader!

Social Media According to 6th Graders

So how hard is Social Media really?

Well, according to this 6th grade method- not that hard! It just seems that us grown ups seem to complicate things when the whole thing can be boiled down to just 5 simple steps.

A friend of mine directed me to this rather simple, silly, cute and somewhat accurate Slideshare presentation by Kyoo Slides about how to use Social Media like an 11 year old. And what do you know? These little bubbly pre-pubescent twinkies may just have a point.

This post has got to be the shortest I’ve written to date lol. But hey, once in a while, it’s good to share something that’s quick and fun :D.



SuperPost Sunday – Weekly Roundup #4

PaperBoy extra SuperPost Sunday   Weekly Roundup #4Hello my Lovelies,

Welcome back to SuperPost Sunday here on nittyGriddy!

Strange. I could have sworn that the weekend had just begun. Talk about blink of an eye.

Note to self: Speak in kind and persuasive tone to whoever is in charge (up there) about prolonging Saturday’s and Sunday’s. The weekend vs. weekday ratio needs to be equalized :).

First and foremost, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you who stopped by to read and comment on My Special Bday Post, 17 Things About Me, if You’re Curious to Know. Your sweet wishes and thoughtful notes were super appreciated. And yes, I had a awesome Bday – as usual – thanks to my fabulous friends! Oh, and if you didn’t get the chance to read it, then please do. I’m gonna’ toot my own horn here and say that its pretty frickin’ good – and entertaining!

Second of all, I gotta’ tell ya – I’ve come to love writing this weekly series. The only reason I actually look forward to Sunday getting here so quickly is that I get to share some interesting and wonderfully written posts with you.

For some reason, I’m inclined to ramble less this week (again) and get straight to the goodies – after all, that’s what you’re obviously here for!

So…

Drum roll please…

“Without further ado and blah blah,” I present you with this week’s top articles from around the blogosphere on Social Media, Blogging Tips, SEO, Internet Marketing, Traffic Building, Online Money Making Tools and more.

I think this is a kick-ass roundup of some fabulously informative and insightful posts by some rockin’ folks. And I know I say that every week, but it’s true! So, please do yourself a favor and take the time to read as many of these as you can. You won’t be sorry.

HAPPY READING :D!

Don’t forget to share your 2 cents in the comments. They’re always appreciated and of course will be replied to.

Social Media

This is my metaphor. Just something that I thought off. Don’t kill me for it. Social media or social networking sites like twitter or facebook is like learning how to fish. It takes time and patience. I’ve received a lot of emails and direct…

Social media is plagued with intrusive advertisers spamming their message across their profiles. Fortunately for users of these networks, people can pick and choose who to follow and who to block. This means that those who are constantly…

Blogging Tips

Truth be the told, the original title for this post was going to be. “Dude! Your font is WAY too small.” But I thought that might offend some people. Every time I write something a little borderline, I can literally hear the sound of Twitter followers hitting…

One of the things that I love most about being a blogger is that I get to do a lot of different things. Sometimes I’m an artist, sometimes I’m a businessman, sometimes I’m a writer, and sometimes I’m a salesman…

Stephen King’s book On Writing is a very good read. It is targeted towards writers and wanna-be writers, but it is a very inspiring book for anyone. As bloggers are writers, this book can teach you several lessons and can inspire…

Have you ever had writer’s block? Sure you have. You know that feeling; you’re sitting at your computer/pad and you want to write something, you really, really do, but nothing comes. The frustration can last a few minutes, hours…

Maybe your blog isn’t growing fast enough. You may be getting a little frustrated with your lack of comments or retweets. Or you may be drowning in all of the social media chores that you “must do” to have an A-List blog…

SEO

If you have used Google today then you might have gotten a taste test of their newest feature, Google Instant Preview.  This feature allows users to preview the results right on the search engine results page by displaying a screenshot…

The semantic web will fundamentally change the way we process information. Ecommerce will be one of the first areas to change –and especially search engine optimization (SEO). Semantics is the process of using natural language…

Online Money Making Tools

A few bloggers tend to publish monthly income reports. However, this is not my favorite kind of information to share in a blog post – not because I am against it, but because I am still at the “spending money” stage, not making real money yet.  So…

Traffic Building

Hi, I’m Tyler. I created a blog in June, 2010 called Advanced Riskology and, by September, more than 2,000 people had decided that they liked it enough to make it a part of their daily lives. That makes me feel incredibly good and I want…

I’ve revealed my niche site backlinking strategy before, but never in this much detail. Ever since the niche site I created for the Niche Site Duel started to rapidly climb the ranks of Google, eventually landing on the number one position, people…

When leaving a comment on a high trafficked blog with dozens or maybe even hundreds of post comments, standing out is very tricky. However, it’s a very important traffic generation strategy to increase your blog traffic and should…

MishMash

When I began blogging my aim was to provide quality content, relate well to visitors on my site and give honest appraisals of products I could eventually offer to my customers. I visit a lot of blogs in a day.  I love to learn from others; bring a newbie’s…

I love the communities that I’m a part of online.  Not only do I love the interactions and friendships that are developing here on the Smart Income Blog, but also in the blogging world, in general. I’ve made lasting friendships with other bloggers…

I recently got an email from someone whose comments aren’t going through on that other blog I write for. I let him know that the spam plugin Akismet was probably snagging them, and he responded to let me know that was a “piss poor” answer…

Custom tabs can be one of the greatest inventions for facebook page. It brings a page to life, allows content enhancement to impress and capture attention. Setting up a custom tab can be easy (DIY) or complicated with…

You’ve likely heard of StumbleUpon. But do you really understand how to use its full power? StumbleUpon is a social bookmarking and rating site where people can “Stumble” their favorite web pages, write reviews and share their…

Many of you regularly read Men with Pens (as I do) because of the great information and tips about writing and creating stuff that sells. So what, pray tell, is a marriage and relationship guy doing here…

This was my mindset before Danny Brown said, “Just try it.” I used to see blogs as something I enjoyed reading, but writing one wasn’t worth the time. I thought it was something that I couldn’t commit to and wouldn’t have time…

There are times in life when you may want to connect with somebody more “famous” than you. I mean famous relatively speaking. It could be a blogger, business person, government official, or even maybe just the hot girl/guy you…

[image credit: newsgratr Twitter account]

17 Things About Me, If You’re Curious to Know – My Special Bday Post!

my bday blog 1024x829 17 Things About Me, If Youre Curious to Know   My Special Bday Post!TODAY is MY Birthday! I’m officially one year YOUNGER ;)!

Oh, and in case you’re wondering…

  • YES, those are baby scorpios on the cake since I’m a November child.
  • NO, it’s not this year’s cake and I’m not 29 – there’s a plus sign right next to the 9.
  • NO, I”m not sitting in front of my laptop on my Bday writing this post. Actually, yeah, I am. But it’s only a couple hours into it.
  • YES, I have every intention of having a rockin’ time (hopefully) to celebrate this momentous event.

I’ve been wanting to write a post like this for quite some time now, but I suppose I didn’t build up the courage or better yet, the balls, until now.

Besides the small About Me section on the Home page and the WTH is nG? page, getting personal on nittyGriddy is something I don’t do. But once in a while, it’s okay to make an exception.

I see more and more people doing the personal post in blogs. Actually, I’ve read a few up close and personal style posts lately which encouraged me all the more to write my own and share it with you today. The only difference is, mine wont’ be THAT up close and personal. Not the kind of news that’ll have you calling your BFF at 8 am to gossip. I’m keeping the juice to a strict minimum :(.

Sorry folks, but I’m a rather private person and I live in a tiny country, where like Cheers, “everybody knows your name” [this line sounds much better if you sing it – go ahead, you know you want to :)!]

But, this post is still pretty good, so keep reading!

And here it comes…

“Without further ado and blah blah”, I present you with 17 + personal but NOT SOOO personal things about Griddy.

1. I love AND hate my birthday.

I love the fact that people – even the one’s you don’t talk to everyday and the one’s that live abroad – remember you and always have the kindest things to say.

I love how the checks and presents come rolling in simple smile 17 Things About Me, If Youre Curious to Know   My Special Bday Post! – the checks cause I know the bank won’t call again for at least another month lol and the presents – well, who doesn’t like ripping them open?!

I love that even though I hate the idea of turning a year older, I mean younger, I still make a big bash out of it and celebrate with my XXX closest friends.

I love that I can use “sorry, no can do, it’s my birthday” as an excuse for not meeting with a client on this particular day – as I just did yesterday.

I love seeing all the messages on Facebook that I sit and reply to individually – yes, I actually take the time to do that!

I love that I’m in such denial about getting older – NOT old – that I still open my passport to triple check that I was actually born in 19xx.

I love blowing the candles on my cakes – yes, that’s plural – one at home with my family and one with friends.

I hate how I always head to the mirror to stare at my face just to make sure it hasn’t aged or changed in any way. PHewww, thank God! Still no wrinkles :)!

bday 17 Things About Me, If Youre Curious to Know   My Special Bday Post!

2. When I first started nittyGriddy, I had no clue what it was going to be about.

Really, I didn’t.

And you can clearly see that from my first few posts – the one about my first blogthe one about the pig farting fiascothe one about the donkey being turned into a zebrathe one about the drunk kid and the giraffe…I kinda sound like a commercial for Friends simple smile 17 Things About Me, If Youre Curious to Know   My Special Bday Post! – you know, the one where…

All I knew then,  is that I wanted to write – my passion. And I’m happy I did, because I’ve learned more in a year than I ever have.

I’ve come across and gotten to know some incredibly insightful bloggers, and I’ve learned a ton from them.

I even talk like a Social Media blogger now…SEO this, Plugin that, I should write a Post about this, do you Meta tag, Google Analytics or Alexa, what’s your Klout, follow my RSS, Tweet this, RT that, is your blog Monetized, Garrett or Godin, Mashable or TechCrunch…

All I know now, is that if I continue to put my heart and soul into this blog, it will turn into something great.

3. I may not look it, but I played fast pitch softball for the NCAA’s.

Crazy but true!

I was actually a huge athlete until I graduated college. A jockette if you like.

Sports were pretty much my life since as early as I can recall. I have more All-Star patches from high school than I can count.

I pretty much dominated tennis, kicked ass in soccer and rocked the bleachers at softball. Yes, I had an ego the size of Australia. Why Australia? For one, that’s how far I could hit the ball; and two, it seems all the great bloggers are from there lately lol.

I’ve been playing softball since I was 7 and I absolutely love it. Everything about it. The psychology of the game, the competition, the thrill, the sliding and diving, the fun – just not the early morning practices lol…But unfortunately, I haven’t touched a bat in over 12 years.

So, now I’m just lady like without the glove :).

4. I’m a smoker.

Don’t give me that look! I know it’s a bad and ugly habit.

But in my sorry-ass defense, I first started (way back when) because they told me it was cool. And it was – so I thought.

Just holding that Marlboro outside the campus gates had all the other high schooler’s looking up at me with that famous, popular crowd, head nod that said “hey, what’s up?

Or maybe they were just doing that because I was a Varsity athlete? Hmmm…

I admit that I enjoy smoking. Especially after a meal or with a drink. But I also admit that I’d give anything for enough will power to stop. Not cut down. Cold turkey stop!

It’s by far my greatest if not only, regret. And to tell you honestly, I’m petrified of continuing. No explanation necessary.

But the odd thing is, I don’t like smoking in the dark, or outside if it’s really windy. I don’t know, it just tastes different.

Son of a B@#$%- I’m actually holding one now as I type! WILL POWER, where are you?!

5. I can’t stand being lied to.

Okay, who does? I mean, seriously, do people really think you won’t find out one day? Maybe not today or tomorrow, but a lie can only go so far before it comes back to slap you in the face.

I can handle a harmless little white lie – hell, we all do that. But flat out bullshit straight to your face? No, No!

You see, the thing about me is – I don’t look stupid. And I’m not! Some people just have that stupid look about them but are actually brilliant. I’m plain out smart, and even worse, I’m kinda witty. So please don’t insult my intelligence by feeding me crap. I ain’t buyin’ any!

Wow, tell us how you really feel Ingrid lol!

6. I love my friends more than anything else in the world.

Actually, I treasure my close friends. They’re almost like family to me, and some actually are.

There is nothing I wouldn’t do that’s within my power or means for a good friend. You know why? Because they would do the exact same for me. And let me tell you, I am beyond blessed with some of the most amazing friends a girl could have.

If one is feeling down, I will go so far as acting like a buffoon to make them laugh. That’s the other thing about me which I’m gonna slip in here. I love to make people laugh, especially my friends. I have a good sense of humor and consider myself to be relatively funny, so why not put a smile on someone’s face if I can? After all, I do it for you quite often with my posts :).

I could write an entire book here but I won’t. Instead, I leave you with this quote by William Arthur Ward which pretty much sums up a good chunk of what friendship means to me.

“A true friend knows your weaknesses but shows you your strengths; feels your fears but fortifies your faith; sees your anxieties but frees your spirit; recognizes your disabilities but emphasizes your possibilities.”

7. I’ve watched one too many movies.

You may be thinking – so has everyone. But seriously, I win here.

I’ve watched so many Hollywood’s and Bollywood’s that I practically live in them at times.

I still expect to be swept off my feet one day like Bed of Roses – even though I know deep down that it doesn’t work that way – anymore.

I want to take karate lessons after I see another one of Jet Li’s flicks.

I want to become a lawyer after I watch an episode of Law and Order.

I’d rather not mention what I wanted to be after I saw Pretty Woman lol. Com’on, so did every girl!

I wanted to be a baseball champ after I watched The Natural – and what do you know, that one, I accomplished :).

I wanted to start scuba diving to find the blue diamond the old lady threw overboard from the Titanic.

I wanted to be an archeologist because of Harrison Ford – well, that and I lived in Egypt for many years.

You get my point?

Basically, I wanted to be a shit load of things. But you know what, I’m ME. And bottom line is – I love being ME cause ME ain’t so bad after all – could be much better – but, I’m an okay gal :)!

8. My favorite food is Lebanese food.

No, it’s not just because I’m Lebanese – well, maybe a little ;).

But seriously, have you tried it? I’m not just talking the basics like Hummos, Taboule, Shawarma and Falafel. I’m talking the real stuff. The Kebbe be Labnieh, Bazella w’ Riz, Shish Barak, Kafta ou Batata bel Feren…

There are so many yummy dishes that I could fill up this entire blog with more names you won’t understand or know how to pronounce if you don’t speak the language.

I guarantee you, it’s by far the richest food out there.

Sure I love Italian, French, Mexican, Indian and Chinese. And God knows I could live off Sushi for a month but hands down, Lebanese all the way!

9. I can’t cook to save my life.

It’s not that I suck at cooking, I really don’t know how. Not even rice!

And I’m not proud of it. I actually mentioned this before in my post about the Epicurious iPad App.

What’s funny is that I lived alone for many years and probably should have learned how. But…

I attempted to cook steak many times, but it pretty much tasted like charcoal.

Then I thought – how hard can eggs really be? Luckily, not so hard. My sunny side ups, I’m happy to say, are eatable.

As for spaghetti, let me put it this way. I throw a string at the fridge. If it sticks, then they’re good to go. If not, then ooops.

Actually, I don’t know why I’m talking in the present tense here. The last time I tried cooking any of the above was when Clinton was doin’ the dirty with Monica lol.

Note to my future husband (one day) – Sorry!

10. I’m a sissy drinker.

It’s true. For some reason, I’m not the biggest fan of alcohol although I really try :).

I’ve been drunk maybe two or three times but that’s about it. I’ve been tipsy a few, but still sober enough to drive and make sense of my words.

My favorite drink is the one most teenagers start off with. The Screwdriver. But mine tastes like watered down orange juice since I always ask the waiter to pour a touch of Stoli or Grey Goose (decor, as I refer to it) and the rest, pure orange juice. Oh, and full ice of course.

As long as I don’t taste the vodka too much, I’m fine and can drink a couple.

I can also do the other and even sissier girly shot – Sex on the Beach.

I’ll drink a few sips of Champagne, just for the toast but I don’t like the smell of it, much like Whiskey.

I pretend to like white wine, but I squirm with every gulp.

As for tequila – been there, done that – but Jose and I just don’t click.

So sad, I know!

It’s not so much that I like being in control of myself, but more so that I really don’t like the taste. I’ll keep trying though ;).

11. I don’t sleep before the wee hours of the night.

To say that I’m nocturnal, is an understatement.

For some reason, I just can’t sleep early. Plus, I need TV. 8 out of 10 times, I’ll wake up to the blue screen.

I’ve been that way since birth I think.

I got used to doing homework at night and realized that I concentrated better when it was dark and quiet outside. That and I was the queen of procrastination; hence the countless all nighters I’ve pulled – till today.

I simply work best under pressure.

Needless to say, I don’t do morning meetings.

I’m useless before 11 am. I’m awake, but my thinking cap isn’t on – unless I’ve been up all night.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not lazy, even though I can be. I work my ass off, especially on this blog, but I just don’t do it at 9 am.

12. I speak 4 languages.

English – obviously, French, Arabic and Spanish.

I’ve been speaking all of them since I was a child.

Where I come from, most people speak 3. And if you’ve been to Lebanon, then you know we mix all 3 in our daily vocab. Actually, one sentence can have a word of each. Totally cool and understandable – for us.

French, English and Arabic are mandatory in schools here. But I grew up abroad and was in the American system my whole life where only English was taught – until high school where a foreign language was required. That’s where I learned Spanish.

French and Arabic on the other hand, are spoken at home, and like English, are also my mother tongues.

Remember what I said about little white lies in #5? Well, here’s mine:

On my resume that I sent out after I graduated college in Boston, it said I spoke 5 languages. I used to include Egyptian Arabic lol. True, the dialects are very different. But it’s still Arabic. So maybe it’s just half a white lie ;).

13. I detest being told what to do.

Okay, so I can act like a spoiled brat at times, but seriously, who likes to be told to do something they don’t want to?

Just let me figure it out and do it on my own.

The more I’m told to do something unappealing to me, the more I’m inclined to do the opposite.

I’m disciplined – at least I used to be much more than now. But please don’t push me.

Not that my parents will ever read this but just in case, SORRY!

On a brighter note, I was a pretty good kid. I never got into any BIG trouble. Probably because I was too scared to pay the consequences lol.

When a client sends me an email requesting if we can meet at a certain time, then yes, absolutely. But when they send me an email telling me the meeting will take place at X o’clock. Then NO.

My college coach once told me to run the mile again cause she didn’t think I ran it under 7 minutes the first time round. Are you kidding me?

I stormed into her office and told her to go @#$% herself. That was probably the first and last time I lost my composure – and my head. And boy did I regret it.

I was running laps like I was training for the Boston marathon the rest of the day lol.

14. I very rarely lose my temper.

I’m as composed and diplomatic as they come – 90% of the time

I can be boiling inside to the point where I want to open a can of whoop ass and shove it down your throat! But I will remain calm and composed and speak in a low and polite tone. Believe me when I tell you that it’s hard as hell.

I learned long ago, that you don’t get what you want by yelling. You don’t get people’s respect by being impolite or rude. And nobody hears you if you’re screaming.

There is nothing more powerful than remaining calm when the person in front of you isn’t.

There is nothing like staying polite and dignified when they’ve done something so shitty that you actually want to swing a bat at them and yet you force yourself to look them in the eyes and speak calmly.

There is nothing like indifference – even if you’re not!

Sure, I can be sarcastic. I do it often under such circumstances and I’m quite good at it. But I’ll try to be sarcastically cool with a disappointed look.

For me to lose my temper would mean that all lines have been crossed, all barriers broken. And I don’t like me when it comes to that.

15. I’m a shitty karaoke singer.

I’m being kind with my ‘shitty’ adjective. I couldn’t carry a tune even if it killed me.

Actually, music is not what you call my forte.

In my car, I sound great. But that’s because I’m the only one listening.

In the shower…well, it’s already raining, how much more damage can I do?

I was a soprano in my high school choir because they felt sorry for me. I stood at the very back.

I played the same song on the recorder (Mary Had a Little Lamb) for 3 years cause I couldn’t read the notes.

The only song I can actually sing, and I’m so embarrassed to say this, is “Ice Ice Baby“.

For some retarded reason, I sang it as a joke once and somehow it stuck. So now, if I must make a fool of myself and sing in public, that’s the one I do.

I pretend to be making fun, but I’m actually pathetically trying to rap my way to rhythm.

My advice to you is EARPLUGS!

16. I love to travel.

Long distance, short distance, doesn’t matter. Love it, love it, love it!

I have visited more countries than I can count and have lived in some of the greatest and most cosmopolitan cities in the world.

I will spend my last dime on a trip somewhere, anywhere! I think discovering new places is one of the most fulfilling things in life.

My greatest asset is that wherever I go, I usually know someone – actually many a one! That’s the thing about my friends, they’re not only great, they’re also everywhere!

17. I’m damn proud of my family, background and education.

More than you can imagine, actually.

My family comes first in everything.

They have offered me a life that others dream of, an education that others fight for and a home that others yearn for.

I owe everything I am and have to my parents who without a doubt have raised me to the best of their abilities for they have instilled the proper values in me.

They have taught me to do what’s right. To be honest, virtuous and kind.

To take responsibility for my actions – even though I don’t always do.

To improve myself and make use of my full potential – even though I ought to be doing more.

To be polite and respectful – even though I should be more towards them.

To strive to be better than they are – even though they’re my idols and I have yet to reach their ankles (an old Arabic saying).

For that I am blessed and grateful everyday.

I could have continued this post for at least another 10 pages, but I’ll spare you the endless reading ;). I hope you enjoyed it none the less.

Your thoughts are always welcome here. So go ahead and share them if you like. And feel free to add a little about yourself if you feel inspired to do so. But most importantly, send some Bday wishes my way :).

SuperPost Sunday – Weekly Roundup #3

extra extra paper boy SuperPost Sunday   Weekly Roundup #3

Hellooo My Lovely nittyGriddy Readers,

Looks like Sunday’s here again! Wow, that was quick!

New Name for My Weekly Roundup Posts

In last Sunday’s Weekly Roundup, I asked my blogger friends and readers to vote on what I should name this weekly series. I was rather hesitant between a couple options and was unable to make the decision for myself, so the good peeps of the blogosphere stepped in to lend a helping hand :).

Thanks a mil to all of you who took the time to leave your comments including Thu, Extreme John and Michele. They were all taken into consideration and were very much appreciated.

As you can see, SuperPost Sunday is the lucky winner!

About That Smart Gini Dietrich Woman

I wanted to give a special shout out to the fabulous and incredibly smart Gini Dietrich from spinsucks.com. Gini was kind enough to give me her opinion as well as some wise SEO advice which I hadn’t thought of. A very BIG thank you to YOU. Oh, and YES Gini, you win lol :-)!

Here are the comments she left for me on last weeks Weekly Roundup.

Gini 1 SuperPost Sunday   Weekly Roundup #3

Gini 2 SuperPost Sunday   Weekly Roundup #3Gini 3 SuperPost Sunday   Weekly Roundup #3

If you’re not familiar with Gini’s uber popular blog, I highly suggest you head over there once you’re all done here. There’s tons of valuable information to take in from the many insightful articles on Communication, Social Media, SEO, Marketing and more.

SuperPost Sunday – The Roundup

I’m gonna’ attempt to do something today that I don’t often do in my blog posts. GET STRAIGHT TO THE POINT without my usual entertaining rambling lol ;). Although, I did a bit of it above, but just a bit!

So…

Here it comes…

“Without further ado and blah blah,” I present you with this week’s links to some of the top articles I’ve come across that revolve around Social Media, Blogging Tips, SEO, Internet Marketing, Traffic Building, Online Money Making Tools and more.

If I may say so myself, I think this is a pretty kick-ass roundup (as usual), so make sure you make a little time to read as many of these as you can. Think of it as constructive homework lol ;). The fun kind, that you won’t be graded and quizzed on later.

Don’t forget to voice your thoughts in the comments.

Social Media

There’s nothing like the basics to help bring things back into focus when you feel lost. In “Marketing 101,” the acronym AIDA stands for Awareness, Interest, Desire and Action. This is the most simple and rudimentary…

The great thing about social media (and blogs that talk about social media and how it can be used for personal, business, blogging, marketing and more) is that there’s a ton of information available on how it can…

I would not describe the hospitality industry as a community of early adopters when it comes to social media. As a specialist in hotel reputation management, I’ve watched hoteliers confront companies such as Trip Advisor…

Online Money Making Tools

AdSense checklist has just been recently launched by Google for publishers that are just starting or interested in improving their experience with the program. The checklist consists of five parts, offering basic recommendations…

In blogger circles, the word “monetize” is a huge buzzword. Everybody is looking to “monetize” their blogs. Typically, you already have a blog and then you think, “Hmmm, how can I make money with this thing?”…

SEO

Link building is one of the most important parts of any good SEO plan. Your success in optimizing your blog for search engines as well as generating traffic to it depends almost exclusively on link building. But, where do you start? How do you…

Rich Skrenta has been at the core of search longer than I have been in the SEO market. He is famous for launching sites like DMOZ and Topix. His most recent project is a search engine called blekko…

MishMash

Whenever I tell people I work from home, this is the common reaction, “I could never do that because I would spend all my time sleeping or watching T.V.” It’s pretty amusing to hear a statement like this because I’m not a very motivated person…

Every blogger has tools they like to use to get different tasks on their blog completely. Doesn’t matter what you need to get done on your blog, there is more than one tool to help you do it…

In the process of building the first mailing list here, it became so obvious what should be more relevant for my daily efforts, content creation. In addition, this goes to say that articles that are evergreen should be something which will always…

I guarantee that just about everyone reading this is a preblogger. Whether you’re getting ready to launch your very first blog or are a seasoned pro busy plotting your next uber-successful online venture, the majority of us are in some stage…

I’ve lost count of the number of guest posts I have written this year but I’m very sure I have written over 270 guest posts. One question I get asked often is that how on earth have I been able to write so many guest posts? How am I able to…

Want some attention from a  twitterer/tweep/twitter user or a person who tweets? Not getting any attention from them? Great! I’m going show you some which helped me to get some attention from other twitter users, whether they are…

Believe it or not, there’s a lot that we can learn from sex and apply it to marketing. You Need to Warm Them Up First. You wouldn’t approach a complete stranger with this opening line, “hi, how are you? Do you want to have sex?” In business…

I have spent a lot of time thinking about diversification within blog posts and articles that I publish on sites like Associated Content. The reason for so much thought on the subject is because every blogger on occasion struggles…

In the ongoing race between the 3 premium WordPress theme titans – Headway, Thesis and Genesis – Headway, in my opinion, has managed to drastically differentiate itself from the others making it the preferred choice for…

[image credit: via PCMA Convene]

9 Free eBooks on Social Media

ebooks logo 9 Free eBooks on Social MediaI’m not gonna’ waste any time or energy introducing you to Social Media. I think by now everyone who is breathing and has access to a computer has a pretty good idea. But if for some reason you don’t, you can either Google it, or click hereherehere or even here – but if you don’t give a flyin’ whoop then this post isn’t for you.

About 6 months ago, I wrote a post called “16 Free eBooks on Social Media”. Seeing how popular it was and how useful the content inside each eBook is, I thought it only logical to present you with a new batch of some A+ eBooks by rockin’ Social Median’s.

Social Media related eBooks are being published left and right. While some of them have been out for some time, others are fresh out of the #SMoven. This is my sorry attempt to add humor to a post that isn’t so much funny as it is insightful. In case you didn’t catch my ingenious play on words, let me break it down for you.

# (Twitter hashtag) +SM (Social Media) + oven = #SMoven :D!

So, without further ado and blah blah, I present you with 9 rockin’, inspiring, insightful and totally FREE eBooks on Social Media. Why 9 not 10? Because I’ll be counting on you to share your #10.

What other good Social Media eBooks have you read or written? Feel free to comment and add on to this list.

Note: These are in no particular order.

1. Social Media Marketing GPS

Social Media Marketing GPS 9 Free eBooks on Social Media

Social Media Marketing GPS is based on Twitter interviews with 40 of the smartest people working in social media such as Toby Bloomberg of Diva Marketing Blog, Ann Handley of Marketing Profs Daily Fix, Scott Monty of the Social Media Marketing Blog, Mack Collier of  MackCollier.com, David Meerman Scott from WebInkNow and many more.

It’s the first business book written on and not about Twitter. Not only that, but the entire book is written in a 140 characters or less, including the questions. The book begins with an explanation of why include social media and moves on to cover ethics, tactics, research, metric, branding, sponsored conversations, blogger relations and even a few case studies.

Download this eBook from Diva Marketing Blog.

2. Four Hour Sleep Week

Four Hour Sleep Week 713x1024 9 Free eBooks on Social Media

The Four Hour Sleep Week is about how Keith Bloemendaal lost his job in 2008 and decided to sacrifice, take action, and become successful. It is a no-holds barred look at how the misconceptions of how it is “easy” to make a living online can steer people in the wrong direction.

The book starts with a closer look at how he transformed from an unemployed father and husband, into a successful internet marketer. What steps he took, and how he did it.

Probloggers like Darren Rowse, David Risley, Daniel Scocco, Nathan Hangen and a few others also helped contribute to this book by revealing what they had to do to build their online businesses.

Download this eBook from Hot Blog Tips.

3. 101 Ways You’re Killing Your Blog

101 Ways Youre Killing Your Blog1 9 Free eBooks on Social Media

101 Ways You’re Killing Your Blog! is an eBook by Tristan Higbee, author of the popular blog, Blogging Bookshelf. Higbee has also written a similar and also incredibly helpful eBook called 101 Ways to Combat Blogger’s Block.

101 Way’s You’re Killing Your Blog! identifies the best and worst practices in building a blog. It’s a kind of Holy Grail of the Do’s and Don’ts of blogging. It’s a very insightful and easy-to-read document filled with 100 plus useful tips based on Higbee’s personal experiences as well as his accumulated knowledge over his 7 years of living and working in the blogosphere.

Download this eBook from Blogging Bookshelf.

4. Communicate Better With Social Media Marketing

Communicate Better with Social Media Marketing 9 Free eBooks on Social Media

Communicate Better With Social Media Marketing by AuthorityDomains.com is intended to help you develop the right strategy, discover the best sites for your industry and use them to get the results you want. The eBook utilizes a hypothetical approach all while giving readers an excellent fundamental understanding of how Social Media can be used to benefit a business today. Topics covered include:

  • Building long-lasting relationships with your customers
  • Driving qualified traffic to your site
  • Test marketing a new idea and obtaining feedback from the public
  • Controlling reputation and improving ROI
  • Becoming more influential in your field

Download eBook from Authority Domains.

5. From Stats to Strats

From Stats to Strats 9 Free eBooks on Social Media

From Stats to Strats is an eBook by Danny Brown’s popular Bonsai Interactive Marketing company. This short and easy-to-follow eBook shares some of the more useful statistics of the 5 most popular social networks (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Blogging), as well as the many ways you can use this information to build a social media strategy into your other marketing efforts.

Download eBook from Danny Brown.

6. Fishing Where the Fish Are: Mapping Social Media to the Buying Cycle

Fishing Where the Fish Are 9 Free eBooks on Social Media

Fishing Where the Fish Are: Mapping Social Media to the Buying Cycle is an eBook by the famous Chris Brogan.

Social media offers tools like blogging, podcasts, and social networks as ways to reach into this buying cycle. Social Media does not work alone and is tied into your traditional marketing plans. This eBook is a brief summary of six different approaches to using social media to influence these transactions.

Also featured in this book are well-known peeps like Scott  Monty, Frank Eliason, Christopher S. Penn and more.

Download this eBook from Chris Brogan.

7. Social Media for B2B: It’s Not As Different As You Think

Social Media for B2B1 9 Free eBooks on Social Media

Social Media for B2B: It’s Not As Different As you Think is one of many eBooks by Radian6.

This eBook explains why the processes for social media program development for B2B and B2C organizations are not as different as most people think. The book walks through some of the aspects of B2B and B2C business that have a direct impact on social media program execution, those bits that might very well be different.

The similarities and stick points of social media strategy development for B2B companies, the tactics as well as general examples to show that social media for B2B and B2C are really quite similar, have intelligently been pin pointed.

Download this eBook from Radian6.

8. The Art of Corporate Blogging
the art of corporate blogging1 9 Free eBooks on Social Media

The Art of Corporate Blogging is another of Radian6’s monthly eBooks.

If you’re interested to start blogging for your business, or already are and aren’t seeing the results you want, then this eBook is perfect for you. It covers everything from figuring out exactly why you want to start a corporate blog to handling some of the challenges you might face after it’s up and running.

There’s also an entire section dedicated to setting goals and objectives and selecting the right metrics to properly measure your blog’s progress.

Download this eBook from Radian6.

9. Let’s Talk: Social Media for Small Businesses V.2

lets talk 9 Free eBooks on Social Media

When used properly, social media can be an effective tool to help your business reach untapped, potential customers and stay connected to the ones you already have. In this updated version of Duct Tape Marketing’s eBook, Let’s Talk: Social Media for Small Business, author John Jantsch, distills the concept of social media into bite-sized concepts.

This eBook will help you better understand how social networking tools can generate new business and more.

Download this eBook from Duct Tape Marketing.

Note: Many of the eBook descriptions located under each image have been taken from the original sites or authors and have been slightly modified/reworded.

[image credit: (top left) via flexcart.com]