Squidoo Tips

Want to make a Squidoo?
It's a one page blog on your topic choice. You share in Adsense revenue, and can add affiliates like Amazon. Modules allow you to add options like automatic news feeds which match your topic.

Thanks to Susanna from All Info About Myths & Legends who emailed me the heads up on this. Check out her Legends and Lore Squidoo

Squidoo Tips
Ready to Squidoo? Here are some great tips

Mind Mapping

Free Mind Mapping Software
Great for visual learners. Good for planning and brainstorming, or for collating information and notes.

Cluster Search Engines
These display search results in a mind map format or in clusters

Mind Mapping Links
A collection of mind mapping links from Squidoo

Writers' Guidelines - Women's Magazines

Australian Woman's Day
Woman's Day Fiction Guidelines

Woman's Day (U.S.)
Guidelines for Articles and Essay submissions

Forms

Roboform

Book Industry News, Trends & Observations

The Book Reporter
The tagline is - Where readers and writers click

Fresh Eyes - A Bookseller's Journal

Bookseller Chick

Writing Industry News, Trends & Observations

Write News.com

Writer's Blog

Macromedia Fireworks

Chocolate Text
Fireworks tutorial from Entheos for making text that looks like its made of chocolate... yum!

Marketing - Lessons from Libraries

Library Marketing Strategies can be modified for small business marketing, and of course for authors, in the same way that libraries adapt business marketing strategies

Library Marketing - Think Outside the Book
Jill Stover is the Undergraduate Services Librarian at Virginia Commonwealth University

Libraries & Technology

Libraries have always been at the forefront of new technologies and strategies, for advocacy, marketing, communicating, networking and learning. Check out what libraries are doing & get some tips you can use yourself

Brown University - Evaluating a Website
A useful checklist for evaluating the quality, relevance & authority of a website

Otterbein University Library Site
Looks at e-learning and the future of learning in the digital age

The Shifted Librarian
This site from Jenny Levine, aka The Shifted Librarian, has info on the latest technology as it applies to libraries, community & learning e.g. social networking etc.

University of Minnesota Library
This is a virtual library portal especially for undergraduates

Market Your Writing - John Kremer

Editorial - The First Step in Book Marketing
This article is gold, but if you want more, John Kremer, is also the author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, Do-It-Yourself Book Publicity Kit. He shares tips giving actual author and publisher examples.

He says the book helps you learn how to -

- Edit and design your books for promotional clout
- Open new markets
- Get national publicity for your books
- Advertise your books effectively
- Sell your books direct to your customers
- Get nationwide distribution for your books
- Work with bookstores to sell more books
- Sell books to specialty retail stores
- Sell books to schools and libraries
- Sell subsidiary and foreign rights
- Sell books via the Internet
- Sell to premium and catalog buyers
- Spin off products from your books

He goes on to say
1001 Ways to Market Your Books also includes 200 specific marketing tips just for authors as well as a separate chapter on how authors can capitalize on the increased recognition a book gives their work.

Freelance Jobs

Freelance Mom.com
This site supports mothers working outside the usual workplace situation. It has a forum and posts jobs, including freelance writing and coding

Work At Home Moms Who Write
This forum is part of WAHM.com for sharing tips, leads and tribulations

Amazon Affiliate Tools

Jody's Free Affiliate Tools
Easy Amazon link tools & buy buttons etc

Research Sources

Sixty Sites in Sixty Minutes
Jenny Levine aka The Shifted Librarian, and Susan Skyzinski shared these for the Texas Library Association - good starting points for research and exploring.

Smarter Surfing - Better Use of Your Web Time
Comprehensive list of links and resources from Sreenath Sreenivasan, Professor of Journalism at Columbia University.

He says
Be wary when you surf. Watch for giant waves of misinformation and the jagged rocks of hidden agendas. But there's plenty of useful stuff; you just need to know where to look

Editing

Copy Editing for Magazines
Outline for a Copy Editing course. The Editor says
What follows is the syllabus for my course. I think it may be useful for anyone who wants to teach copy editing skills and also for people who are curious about jobs in publishing

She's not running the course - just offering the outline for anyone who can use it

Web Design Know How

A List Apart Blog
The tagline is For people who make websites. Articles, code and observations from a series of experts are served with a lighthearted touch - very readable

Web Design From Scratch
Comprehensive site includes everything from CSS to Copywriting. Quite a lot to suit beginners

Web Traffic

77 Ways to Get Traffic
Free PDF download from Associate Programs. A good starting point for beginners, and a refresher for others. Definitely worth a look

Freelance Writing Tips

Full Time Freeelancing - 10 Things I learned in 10 Days
Cameron Moll from Authentic Boredom offers some wise advice

Linda Formicelli
Linda Formicelli is the author of The Renegade Writer and also runs online workshops

Article Directories

Buzzle.com

Making Money On The Web

Marketing Tools Blog
Online marketing for marketers and information entrepreneurs. They ask What is in your marketing toolbox?

Online Marketing Blog
In Lee Odden's own words - A blog about the intersection of new media PR, blog and search marketing.
Free tools and web resources include a user friendly
- Social Bookmark Creator and an RSS Button Maker

Quick and Easy Ways to Make Money Blog
Includes SEO and internet marketing tips. Includes useful analogies likening web activities to promoting things (including yourself) in the bricks and mortar world

Self Starters Weekly Tips
A comprehensive internet marketing site and blog

Photoshop Know How

Photshop Support.com
Photoshop tutorials, news and inspiration. Includes a practical and interesting Photoshop Blog

Site Layouts I Like

All Horror Movies
Not too keen on horror movies, but the site layout is clean and well thought out

Ask A New Yorker
Sassy clearly defined sections with a video component. Good use of dynamic scripts for rotating text and images

Cairns Dining
Restaurant directory with tourism links and a newsletter

Chefs.com
Easy to navigate site. Instantly appealing

Christian Women Today
A bit busy, but provides lots of entry points and choices

Chubby Hubby
Gourmet food blog with clean lines and gorgeous photos

Dooyoo.co.uk
Site covers various categories. In the cookbook section an item review is followed by interactive reader comments, ratings and affiliate ads

Diverse Travel Australia
Very professional. Has audio component

Expert Village
Clear categories and a video component

Gleebooks
Informative, easy to navigate site from one of Sydney's most popular bookstores

The Imperfect Parent - Home page
The Imperfect Parent - A site page
Photos cue each article. Random quote at bottom of page

KETV.comA TV Network site which is a bit busy but has clearly defined categories

My San Antonio
Good community portal site

Orenoque.copm

Rat Lab
Rat Lab is a fun science site run by a young scientist. Get over there and donate to keep this non profit site alive. Great use of colour, consistent layout and fun category icons

Symphony Graphics
Clean, simple an elegant. The owner is a web designer, artist & photographer

Web Design From Scratch
Each category on the menu has an icon which is also the header for corresponding site pages - looks professional, consistent, cohesive and easy to follow

Clever Adsense Placement

Chefs.com
Note how the Adsense ads blend into the style, layout and colours of the page. Clean & effective layout too

Hex Colour Codes

Ted's Colour Chart
Try your colour choices on different colour backgrounds

RGB Colour Codes
Lists RGB & Hex Code with colour name and sample

Public Domain Photos

Check terms and conditions for each site. Some are public domain. Only some are free. Free doesn't always mean cost free. It may be royalty free only

Public Domain Photo Database
This Public Domain Photodatabase is a collection of photos released to the public domain by the creator. However, there are some restrictions, and some photos cannot be used for commercial purposes. Read the terms carefully before use

Where to Find Free Images and Visuals for My Blog
A great complilation of graphic resources

Useful Webmaster Forums

Most forum members are pretty patient with beginners as long as you've made an effort to read previous posts asking similar questions. Be specific with what you need to know

Digital Point

Keyword Tools

Adwords Market

Nichebot

Overture

Affiliate Marketing Know How

Associate Programs.com
This site has an active forum. As a commercial venture, it pushes products, but has tons of useful information, articles and a newsletter - for pros and beginners

5 Star Affiliate Programs
Automatic affiliate data feed

SEO - Anchor Text

Different views on the best way to swap links and about effective Anchor Text links

Link Pages the Right Way.. Duh!
Adam Maywald says to link pages the right way the anchor text should be in the body of the text. He also talks about effective headings

Favourite Writing Links

Poynters Online

Poynters is one of the very best sources for writing know how for anyone in the writing game - professional or just starting out

Public Domain Clip Art

Check yourself, but I believe these links are public domain clip art. Check the Terms & Conditions. More links will be added as found

Christmas Graphics Plus
Not just Christmas. Covers a range of holidays and special events

Hellas Multimedia Graphics
Arranged in themes especially holidays and occasions

JAC Clip Art Archive
A comprehensive themed collection which the site owners believe to be public domain, and originally taken from the University of Kansas Medical Center site - now archived

Public Domain Clip Art Blog
Free isn't always free so read the terms carefully. Includes public domain, royalty free, copyright free, high resolution, images, stock photos and free for commercial use clip art

Wikemedia Open Clip Art

Webweaver
Good selection of free clip art arranged in themes

WP Clip Art
Comprehensive selection of categorised clip art

Search Engine Optimisation Tips & Tools

Ask Kalena
Informative Q & A blog on search engines, optimisation and Google etc updated daily

Organic SEO Wiki
A collaborative effort to bring together SEO resources & tips

Page Strength Tool
Test your page strength out of 10 for free. According to the makers -
- It tells you The Relative Importance/Visibility of a Webpage
- The Potential Strength/Ability of a Page to Rank in the Search Engines
- Data on Popularity, Links & Mentions of the Page Across the Web

Search Engine Watch
Search engine placement, optimisation, marketing and news

Search Engine Placement Tips from Search Engine Watch

Web Feeds

You can subscribe to a blog or website feed to automatically receive updates when new content is added

Feedburner
Those in the know rave about Feedburner. I'm adding it to my Grannybytes list to research when I have more time

Of course you can also offer feeds on your own site, so readers can subscribe to your site updates.

RSS Button Maker
A free easy to use tool from Lee Odden at Online Marketing Blog

RSSTop55Robin Good has a well set out list of his top 55 Best Blog Directory And RSS Submission Sites

Web Content - News Feeds

News Feeds - for when you need to know the latest or to spark article ideas and research. This list will be updated as I come across more news feed resources

RSS, RDF, XML News Feed Resources
A large selection of news feeds compiled by Geeklog - 2 pages

General Web Know How

When I need to find out something about the basics of web know how, these links are where I start. I'll update these as I find more... and as I learn more...

Ask Dave Taylor

Authentic Boredom
Authentic Boredom - A blend of marketing, design and web know how

Hypergurl
Scripts, Tools and free templates

Web Monkey

Webweaver
Web tips, HTML and linking tutorials for beginners. Also has free public domain clip art

Ted Montgomery's HTML Tables
HTML tables tutorials with finished examples. Ted has lots of other HTML tips. I also like his hex colour chart where you can test your colour choices on different backgrounds

Using Word Press for Blogging

Many serious bloggers say you can't go past Word Press. I'll add to this list of useful links on Word Press for Blogging

Word Press & Blogging Terminology

Word Press Tutorials - The Basics

Word Press Advanced Topics

Better Blogging - Useful Links

These links will be updated as I come across other useful blogs & links about sources and and tips for blogging better

List of Blog Networks
This site monitors and ranks over 80 major blog networks and top blogs

Blog Traffic Central
Tracking new advances in blog tools and blogging. Lots of practical tips too

Blogstarter Checklist>
This Squidoo Lens gives practical tips for beginning bloggers. Make your own free Squidoo Lens on any topic

Problogger
Darren Rowse, an Aussie, professional blogger and co-founder of b5 media talks blogging - tips, trends and observations

List of Blog Directories
From Lee Odden at Online Marketing Blog

Successful Blogging
Some useful info and tips about blogging, the web, writing and life in general

How to Write Compelling Blog Posts
by B.L. Ochman

Writing blog posts and comments on blogs is actually very simple. The basic guidelines: keep your copy lively, factual, tight, clear, short and search engine optimized.

Here are basic blog style guidelines to follow:
Adopt a direct style. Declarative sentences are good. Web readers demand them.

Go to Marketing Profs.com to read more. They also have a free newsletter.

Writing For the Web - Freelance Job Links

This list includes telecommuting writing and editing jobs. I will add new links as I discover them

All Readers.comWrite Book Reviews

Deb Ng's Freelancing Writing Jobs Leads
Part of the Writers' Row site - forum and articles

Freelance Work Exchange

Freeelance Writing.com Jobs Board

The Golden Pencil
A b5 media blog with jobs and writers' resources

Life Tips
You can apply as a research guru, expert guru or celebrity guru

Love To Know
A Wiki site covering a range of topics from Weddings to Travel

Sun Oasis Jobs
Includes freelance and telecommuting

Write Jobs

Writer Find Jobs
Freelance & telecommuting jobs

CMS Made Simple Demo Site

Now you can experiment on a demo CMS Made Simple site without downloading anything. Take it for a test drive.

Thought about trying CMS Made Simple? It's my favourite CMS (Content Management System). It's Open Source and it's Free!

Mark, a poster on the CMS Made Simple forum has very generously set up a demo site running 1.0.1 "Oahu". He invites anyone who wants to "play with it" to login and try it out. Thanks Mark.

CMS Made Simple Demo Site

Name: adman
Password: adman

Visit the CMS Made Simple Forum - a dynamic and helpful community.

Social Bookmarking Options

I will update this list with new social bookmarking discoveries

del.icio.us
digg
diigo
furl
ma.gnolia
listible
listible
spurl
stumbleupon

Social Bookmarking Tools

Social Bookmark Creator
From Lee Odden at Online Marketing Blog

New Ways of Bookmarking Favourite Sites

I will update this list as I come across new options

Rather than bookmarking favourite sites, and ending up with a huge never ending list, there are now some more effective ways of achieving the same thing.

Blinklist
Here's an example from a librarian's collection of links.

Cluster Search Engines - Favourite Links

I will update this list with new cluster search engine links as found

Once upon a time
Long long ago in the days when there were just a few standard well known search engines, luddites would ask tech types "Which is the best search engine? If you'd used Alta Vista, Lycos or HotBot, and a handful of others whose names escape me, you could consider yourself "up" on the latest in search engines.

Different place, Different Time
Today it depends on what you want to use the search engine for. Different search engines operate in different ways. What you want to use it helps to determine which type to use.

I've discovered some Cluster Search Engines -

Clusty
Kartoo
Mooter
Vivisimo

Use Wink To Port Open Source Templates to CMS Made Simple

How To Change (Port) Any Open Source Template to CMS Made Simple Compatibility & Upload It

Would You Like Some Mint Chocolate With Your CMS?
Mint Chocolate welcomes you to the world of screencasting. This little clip is excellent. Made with Wink, it's done as a mini video. You see the cursor moving to each step in the sequence. A bit too fast for a slow granny though. Play it again Sam.

CMS Made Simple - Free Templates

I'm a big fan of Content Management Systems (CMS) and in particular, CMS Made Simple. Thanks Ted, Elijah and the gang. :) I'm also a big fan of Open Source, so when the two worlds come together with open source templates ported to CMS Made Simple, you've got my attention.

I'm not advanced (or game) enough to actually try them, but like the kid in the lolly shop... I still had to have them... the links... that is... so I can go window shopping... look but don't touch...

Thumbs Up:
The CMS Made Simple Site has a small but growing range of free templates - all open source and ported to CMSMS. Tech savvy people can add their own, so keep checking back for additions.

Thumbs Down:
As a beginner and born again luddite, I wish they were all viewable (only some are) as something bigger than a screenshot. Id like to see if I like the look of it first, before I decide whether or not to download it.

More Free CMS Made Simple Templates
Mark has done a great job porting open source templates to CMS Made Simple. View them on his site with a cool theme changer.
I can't find any instructions on how to download these from this site, though. Anyone?

Mark also has a template for CMSMS of the popular andreas04. As the original andreas04 is open source, I guess the CMSMS version is open source too.

Help...What Do I Do Now?
Okay, I found the holy grail of free CMSMS templates, but what on earth do I do next? I have no idea. Ah... a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

Clusty - A Cluster Search Engine

Some search engines such as Clusty, group results in clusters, so you can further refine the search.

Clusty Search by Topic
My search term:
search engine
Search Results: over 487 million general results

On the left of the Clusty screen, some key results are sorted into clickable categories.

In this case -

⇨Optimization (53)
⇨Google (16)
⇨Search Engine Marketing (19)
⇨Microsoft (13)
⇨Blog (9)
⇨Images (9)
⇨Category (9)
⇨Watch (5)
⇨Major (7)
⇨Program (4)

You can then click on the general search results or on one of the categories.

Clusty Search by Sources
You can also search by sources. The left category results for my "search engine" search were -

⇨Ask (86)
⇨Gigablast (18)
⇨MSN (84)
⇨NY Times (6)
⇨Open Directory (50)
⇨Sponsored Listings (4)
⇨Wikipedia (10)
⇨Wisenut (30)

The general search results also differ from the original topic search.

Clusty Search by URL Extension

All Results (263)
⇨com (219)
⇨org (24)
⇨co.uk (11)
⇨net (6)
⇨us (2)
⇨ Other

Granny Bytes Verdict

Useful for refining searches or for brainstorming related ideas in the planning stage of a project or research on any topic.

The Right Search Engine for the Job

Google
While the most popular, for some searches the Big G might not be the first or the best choice. It depends on the type of info you need.

Here are a few others to try -

General Searches
Yahoo
The world's oldest search engine

Ask
Used to be known as Ask Jeeves

All the Web
Owned by Yahoo

Teoma
Owned by Ask. Has a refine search function

Hot Bot
Gives results from Google, Yahoo and Teoma

CMS Made Simple Made Really Simple

I'm using CMS Made Simple for two of my sites -








All Info About Tea & Coffee Lifestyle and
All Info About Unusual Travel.


Six Things I Like About CMS Made Simple

1. You can update from anywhere you have a connection. No FTP required.

2. Active and supportive forum. I don't pretend to understand a lot of it, but they're pretty patient with beginners

3. It's Open Source, free and collaborative

4. Smarty Tags (okay I don't know what they are, but they work and they're cool)- something to do with dynamic content

5. Web designers love it as clients can do their own updates

6. It can be used collaboratively by a group, with different user level permissions


My CMS Made Simple Wish List -

Disclaimer - Because of my luddite status, they may already have these things, and I just didn't notice....

1. More comprehensive Wiki... as instructions are pretty scant and a lot of assumptions made of prior knowledge... not good for born again luddites

2. More ways to add dynamic content

3. Not too keen on the news feature as you end up with the same info on 2 pages

4. I'd like to be able to write articles previously and have them "released" on a specific date. Can this be done?

5. More templates and a theme changer (like Blogger)

Granny Bytes Verdict on CMS Made Simple

1. If you are tech savvy you can do wonders and impress yourself and your clients
2. If you can do word processing you can use CMS Made Simple

Granny Bytes Advice for Fellow Born Again Luddites

1. Try it and ask lots of questions. Try it some more
2. If you still need help, pay someone from the forum to set it up or tweak it for you
3. Know what you want to achieve with your website before you start
4. Buy in plenty of beer, chocolates or whatever it is that keeps you going... it's a long haul

Useful Blogger Beta Links

Dodgy memory + Need to access quickly = Time for another list

Blogger Forum
For help with all things Blogger (including Beta)

Testing Blogger Beta
Someone else has done a lot of the hard yards for us. Thanks Peter.

Blogger in Beta - formerly known as Phydeaux 3
Code and comprehensive instructions to add a Blogger Buzz or Label Cloud.

Hackosphere
More great Tips for working with Blogger Beta