Lo SieNto NaBloPoMo

Visit NaBloPoMo
I ambitiously signed up for National Blog Posting Month's (NaBloPoMo) November challenge.  All that was required of me was to post something every day.  I made it to day 22, when  I literally had nothing to say.  Yes, that surprised me, too!  For the other NaBloPoMo participants out there - keep it up, and good luck!

TechnoMeg: Link Love

According to Bloggosary, Link love is linking, usually unsolicited, to a site you enjoy, admire, or find useful.  Many bloggers think that Link Love (particularly if it is swapped) is beneficial - it improves traffic, is free advertising, and may improve your Google PageRank.  While Google apparently no longer considers PageRank to be of paramount importance, many advertisers may still regard it as an important indicator.  So why not share the love?

If you would like to swap image button or hyperlink links with me, just grab my button (see below) or URL (http://www.EcoMeg.com) and leave a comment for me in my latest post telling me 1. the location of where you've placed my link and/or button and 2. the HTML of your button or the hyperlink you want me to include, and I will post it (or them) here.

Many thanks!






<br/><center><a href="http://www.ecomeg.com"><img src="http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae214/ecomeg/9jn0jl-1.jpg"/></a></center><br/>

Want to know how to create a button like that?  Read here.

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Text Links:
The Self Love Project
Green Organic Energy

Button Links:

TechnoMeg: LinkWithin - Related Posts with Thumbnails

 

Every once in a while, I come across a blog that has a really nice feature and I do what I can to incorporate it in my blog, too.  Last week, I noticed folks adding Related Posts with Thumbnails, by LinkWithin.  It pops up below each blog entry, pointing readers to other posts of interest.  This is certainly a nice feature to promote longer visits on a website.  It's really easy to add it to a Blogger blog.  I can't speak for other blog platforms.  Just visit the website and follow the instructions.  It doesn't involve manipulation of HTML - you just add a widget.

Happy Blogging!

TechnoMeg: How to Automatically Greet Your New Twitter Followers

Want to be polite and greet your new Twitter followers but don't have the time?  Social Oomph is a free service that will automatically greet them for you, using a message you create yourself.

It also automates a number of other functions.  Check it out.

TechnoMeg: How To Add A Favicon To Your Blog

Do you see the tiny flower on the EcoMeg tab and address bar of your browser, above?  As you might have already surmised, it's my logo.

In this teeny tiny (16x16) form it is called a FAVICON ("favorite icon").  It adds a bit of flair and professionalism (wait, do those to together?) to your website.

Note: to add a favicon you will need to modify your HTML code in Blogger.  It is always a good idea to save a copy of your code before you make any modifications.  To do this: from the Blogger Dashboard, click Settings, Basic, Blog Tools, Export Blog, and save a copy.

Now, here is how I made my favicon:

1. Chose my image.
2. Uploaded it to www.Photobucket.com
3. Resized it to 16x16 (click edit, then resize, then enter 16x16, save)

How I affixed it to my EcoMeg tab and the browser address bar:

1. Still in Photobucket, looking at your flavicon, click Share, then More Options, then Get Link Code.
2. Copy the Direct Link for Layout Pages (the URL in that pale yellow box, below) and paste that URL into the following code:
   
   
   
   

   <link rel="icon" href="favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" />

   <link rel="shortcut icon" href="favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" />

   <link rel="shortcut icon" href="YOUR FAVICON IMAGE URL HERE" />

    <link rel="icon" href="YOUR FAVICON IMAGE URL HERE" />

   
   
3. From your Blogger Dashboard, click Layout, then Edit HTML.  Find the following line of code and paste the code from #2 right above it:    </head>
4. Click "PREVIEW" to see how it looks.  If your Favicon is there, click SAVE TEMPLATE and you're done.

Notes: a) You can also build a favicon and enjoy free hosting of it at ICONJ.  b) Examine the head section of your html to see if blogger has embedded its own favicon - if it has, you can substitute the url for your own favicon. 

TechnoMeg: How To Add A "Grab My Button" Image/Box

These things seem all the rage (see mine below and in my left column).  I'm not sure who would want mine but it's fun to have one and they are easy to create.



<br/><center><a href="http://www.ecomeg.com"><img src="http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae214/ecomeg/yaCLHW.jpg"/></a></center><br/>

From your Blogger Dashboard, click Layout, then Add A Gadget. Choose HTML/JavaScript.  Type your title (e.g., GRAB MY BUTTON!).  In the Content box below, paste the following code and modify it for your blog as indicated.  (Note: I've found http://www.photobucket.com to be a good host for my online images - a good image size for this is 100x100)

<center><img src="YOUR IMAGE URL HERE"/></center>

<center><textarea rows="5" cols="20" wrap="hard"><br/><center><a href="YOUR BLOG URL HERE"><img src="YOUR IMAGE URL HERE"/></a></center><br/></textarea><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></center>

(PS - For those of you who want to post similar how-to's through your Blogger blog, you will notice that you cannot simply paste your HTML/JavaScript code into a widget and have it post as regular text.  I used a super site called Postable to overcome this obstacle.  Many thanks to Tips-o-Tricks for pointing Postable out to me!)

TechnoMeg: How To Post An RSS Feed Of One Blogger Label

Highlight a particular label in your blog by giving it its own box, just like I did for my TechnoMeg label (see the left column on my blog, top box). 

I found this PIPE by Ro Zanchetta.  Just input the label name, your blog's URL and the number of posts you want displayed.  Click RUN PIPE.  Then click GET RSS FEED and copy the URL of the RSS Feed.  To add this to your Blogger blog, from your Blogger Dashboard, click Layout, Add a Gadget, scroll down the Basics until you find the FEED gadget.  Paste the URL into that gadget. 

Voila!

TechnoMeg: Adding An Amazon Store To Your Blogger Blog

Adding an Amazon Store to your website is an easy way to earn commissions off of the sale of products you highly recommend.  The best part of it is that you don't have to handle the order-taking, fulfillment, shipping, billing or returns - Amazon does that for you. 

You choose what products appear in your store.  You can add products as links on your blog, a link to a standalone site or in a widget box so shoppers don't feel like they are leaving your website to do their shopping.  You can also choose to add a category banner.

This is what a aStore can look like (this is my aStore).

Just set up an account with Amazon.com Associates and follow the instructions.

Introducing: TechnoMeg

Let me introduce a new label on my blog: TechnoMeg (completely tongue in cheek here, folks).  Blog posts with this label will detail how I built my Blogger blog.  You will have the benefit of reading about the solutions I found without having to listen to the many expletives I muttered while working on them.

If you have any questions about these posts, I am happy to answer them.  Just leave comments and I will do my best to promptly reply.