Zemanta Really Does Help You Distribute Your Content

Image via CrunchBase

As a followup to my July 16th post about Zemanta, I was recently performing a Google search for this site, asktheblogster.blogspot.com. The results were surprising. There were numerous blog entries with a Zemanta link back to that article, and few to one or two others.

It was then that I realized that perhaps the most important benefit of using this product, which is:

Zemanta will really distribute 

links to your content 

through the Zemanta Assistant!

When I first wrote that posting, several things impressed me. First was that I received a comment from Andraz Tori of Zemanta, which thanked me for the post, and then gave contact information for the company. Second, I couldn't believe how easy the tool was to use. Simply click on an Assistant picture or link and they are immediately added to you post.

However, the best benefit was received  after I clicked on the "preferences page" link shown on the Assiatant widget. (I would have privided the link itself, but I believe the response page is tied to directly to an individual blogID).  There I found that I could submit my blogs to Zemanta, and if accepted, they would be included as as suggested sources to other authors. I did just that, and not long afterward, Zemanta was recommending my content to others!

You too can do the same by following these simple steps:

• Add Zemanta Gadget to your blog.
• Start writing a new post.
• Look for and click the "preferences page" link the Assistant.
• Scroll down to the bottom until you see a section titled "My sources". 
• Click the "Add you blog" to Zemanta Index link (just below)
• Enter your blog feed address and  contact email
• Press Submit.

While they say they will contact you and let you know if you site was accepted, I never received anything. Instead, links to my articles just began appearing by Magic.

So if you're looking for ways to distribute your content,  give Zemanta a try. It's definitely working for me.

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VigLink Helps Bloggers Make Money Easily

Without much fanfare, Google Ventures and others, have invested in the startup company:

VigLink

The concept is simple. VigLink associates all your inbound and outbound links with your unique identifier. Then, whenever at visitor traverses from your site to another and buys something, you will automatically be eligible to earn affiliate income on that purchase. According to the company,

Our goal is to increase your ability to
link to new merchants and earn commissions. 

You can quickly and easily join VigLink by clicking on the banner below (or on the right hand sidebar).

Once you enroll, simply add the snippet of javascript code to your blog's template or website. They provide an easy to use verification tool to ensure that you code is active. Then, just sit back and wait. Visit their site regularly to see which links your visitors use.

The great parts about Viglink is that it allows you to

• participate in multiple affiliate programs without having to join the individual programs,
• eliminates the time consuming management your individual memberships and banners,
• both blogs and websites may participate,
• you don't need to clutter your site with affiliate ads or banners,
• their link reporting analytics are superb.

While you may not earn income immediately, you will definitely benefit by viewing and understanding the traffic patterns of your site. So give it a go as there is only upside potential for you!

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Blogger Adds Comment Moderation and Spam Filter

To help Blogger users better access, moderate, and manage their comments, Google has implemented a Blogger comment moderation management tool, which integrates an automated spam filter. Release of this new feature has been throttled to blogs, and is subject to Google's release schedule.

More importantly, this new Feature coincides with Bloggers 11th Year Birthday!

Having been an early recipient of this new feature, I wish to thank  both Google and Blogger of adding such an important tool and giving it to us!

Happy Birthday Blogger! (and thanks again)

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What's a Community Organizer?

Image via Wikipedia

This past year has been quite controversial for our young President, Mr. Obama. Sure, he managed to pressure the Democratic controlled House and Senate to pass his Health Care proposal, get banking reform, take over automobile business, install two liberal Supreme Court Justices and more.

But a quick look at his daily travel illustrates that he bounces all over the country, trying to sell some Socialistic system, and then heads off to a DNC Fundraiser. Wow, pretend that you're working just to have the U.S. Taxpayers pay for your lavish travel and entertainment expenses. Wish we could enjoy some of that free flowing taxpayer cash.

On TV, radio, news, or speeches, Mr. Obama is always pointing fingers, blaming one party or another, but never shouldering the responsibilities himself.

So I we wondered: Is he still acting like a Community Organizer? 

Well, I found a terrific article by Byron York entitled: What Did Obama Do As A Community Organizer? It was published on September 8, 2008, there months before the election. In it , York tells us that:

Perhaps the simplest way to describe community organizing is to say it is the practice of identifying a specific aggrieved population, say unemployed steelworkers, or itinerant fruit-pickers, or residents of a particularly bad neighborhood, and agitating them until they become so upset about their condition that they take collective action to put pressure on local, state, or federal officials to fix the problem, often by giving the affected group money. Organizers like to call that “direct action.”

So, this sounds just like what's going on now. As President, Mr. Obama: goes to the Gulf and incites the residents to blame BP;  then flies to Michigan to incite the unemployed, saying it's all George Bush's fault; next to Congress and the people saying the Republicans are uncooperative; to the black community saying white folks are racial; and so on. Yes, this truely is Community Organizing at its best.

But how does it end? The last paragraph that York wrote predicts the Obama legacy:

And what if he gets it? (The Presidency)  He’ll be the biggest, strongest organizer in the world. He’ll dazzle the country with his message of hope and possibility. But we shouldn’t expect much to actually get done.

And so far it's true.  Lots of speeches about Hope, finger pointing, and Bills being passed. But, little substance, high unemployment, and lavish vacations + entertainment are currently Obama's most memorable achievements.

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