Wislounge

Thoughts and opinions on web development

Another Take on Blog Awards

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While it is true that there are good works that never really get rewarded, isn’t it really uplifting to get one for whatever its worth. Sometimes rewards do not even come in material things as they can come with a show of appreciation, respect, and recognition. In the online world where blogs are literally slugging it out for the readers’ attention, of what significant importance would getting an award have on  a blog?

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Recognition

This is one of the most desired results of getting an award. An awarded blog is recognized supposedly for excellence and distinction in a particular area. In effect, readers’ attention can be attracted since there is an accompanying expectation for such recognition.

This is all well and good under regular circumstances where blogs are judged based on certain criteria. There appears to be a gray area when it comes to winnings based on the number of votes of online readers. There are observations that many awards have been reduced to popularity contests.

Added Traffic

The mere nomination of a blog for a certain award already creates awareness and interest especially for blog owners that belong to a particular community or group. Curiosity naturally arises as the need to answer the question as to why a blog is being considered for an award persists. Just imagine the effect of being actually being chosen for an award, especially those that are considered legitimate and prestigious.

Although it is true that many organizers of award-giving also hope to gain advantage in the effort through exposure and increased traffic, it is also right to say that the required interaction can actually help build an online community as they are often wont to say. In essence, it becomes a win-win situation for everybody who participates. The advantage is in relation to added exposure and traffic.

Reason to Do Better

When a blog owner desires to win an award, he or she usually makes an effort to make the blog award-worthy. Those who lose are also provided reasons to do better and improve their blog. What one does with a win or a lose is actually a matter of perspective.

Awards encourage people to constantly improve what they have. Although some couldn’t care less, those who endeavor to improve their blogs stand to benefit from the effort. Award or no award, blogs that observe certain quality standards will gain from the effort. Use a win or a lose to improve a blog and a blog will surely win in the end, sometimes in other forms.

Blog Popularity: Seeing Beyond the Numbers

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Many blogs appear to very popular and they have the numbers to prove it. They have thousands of followers, commenters, social network friends, and just about everything that matters in the online popularity contest. Do blog owners of sites that don’t have these numbers hang their heads in shame or do they move forward and see a goal beyond the numbers?

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Strength in Numbers

The appearance of support in numbers tend to lend strength and credibility to a site. By common interpretation, the higher the number, the greater the strength. This brings us now to the question of whether big numbers actually translate to quality blogs. Unfortunately, this is not so.

Many sites are able to muster the numbers by the strength of social interaction which is actually not a bad thing. Convincing other people or sites to like a post or subscribe to the blog is not easy. It is not uncommon however for reciprocal agreements to exist between people that will enable each one to accumulate a considerable following.

Measuring Quality

Blog owners are always advised to provide quality content in their blogs to obtain high ranking. Many are discouraged when they see sites ranking so well without the said quality content. Some will turn to strategies that they think will provide their desired ranking.

In every aspect of life, quality is usually attained in the course of time. Nothing can be hurried or artificially expedited. This is also true with blog development.

Maintaining Quality

Blog owners will just have to believe that quality blogs will be recognized in time. Once they give up on this idea, they will settle for mediocrity and seek comfort in the strength of numbers. It is true that algorithms of search engines sometimes fail to distinguish between quality and poor sites, sometimes ending up rewarding the latter instead of the former.

This can be very discouraging for those who seek to abide by the standard of quality. For what does one do with quality if it continues to be ranked much lower and remain anonymous to the searching public? They will just have to be contented with the fact that continued updates of search engines seek to find them. In the same way that high ranking is not always synonymous to quality, low ranking is also not always synonymous to lack of quality. Legitimate site owners will just have to believe that quality will outlive numbers.

About the Author:

Teresa is a researcher-writer who covers a wide range of topics in search of useful information to offer to her readers. She currently maintains four personal blogs.

The Driving Force Behind Media and Technology Users

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There is a driving force behind every media and technology user. One force that has risen to extraordinary heights is the blog. It ventured where no other form of media has dared entered and made its mark as a writing form that will not be ignored.

What Drives You?

Media has traditionally been a driving force in people’s action. With the advent of new and innovative technology, these two have been jointly breaking grounds to make the user experience more productive and positive. Media in all its forms has recognized that they cannot afford to be left behind in terms of technological development both in presentation and operation.

A lot of companies have discovered the wealth of opportunities that lie in keeping up with current trends. In the online world, there is probably no trend or development yet that has surpassed the rise of the blogs in creating authority and driving audience action.  A good example of this is the Media and Technology Blogging Scholarship Contest by Direct2TV. Clearly, blogging has been recognized as an effective means to attain objectives. It is made more relevant when the blogging platform is used to create awareness of opportunities and possibilities.

The Power of Blogs

Blogs have been acknowledged as one of the more potent means of wielding influence.  Before this can happen though, blogs have to establish relevance, credibility, and quality. Once these are established however, everything usually falls into place.

Power does not come overnight.  It comes with much hard work and determination. It comes only to those that deserve it.

To create a powerful blog, owners must be able to adapt their blogs to the innovations happening simultaneously in all media and technology fronts. Blogs are not meant to be created and then left behind to fend for themselves. They are nurtured, managed, and optimized for better results.

Interacting with Technology and Society

Blogging is said to be the ultimate means of interacting with technology and society. The challenges it presents are not merely limited to the technical side but also in creating a positive interaction with humans who make up the audience of a blog. This makes blogging unique from all other forms of interaction.

Technology has become a necessary element of human everyday life. Its use is something that cannot be escaped from. Rather than avoiding it, users will do well to harness the use of technology specifically in promoting human interaction.

What Your Blog Traffic Says About Your Site

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When we speak of blog traffic, we refer to readers and visitors to our blogs.  Is any kind of traffic good for a blog or is there some kind of traffic that can actually work against it.  Have you ever thought of what kind of traffic you are attracting?

What is Blog Traffic?

The simplest definition of blog traffic is the number of visitors a site gets which can be measured for a particular period of time. However, it is not merely information on number that is being offered here but the general profile of what kind of visitors seek or find the site as well as the frequency in which it happens.  Traffic is what every site or blog needs to survive online. Without it, the site or blog is good as non-existent.

Kinds of Traffic

1. Organic Traffic

Organic traffic is the kind of traffic obtained from search engine results.  The higher the ranking of sites or posts in these results, the more probability there is for such sites or posts to be found.  This is a highly desirable kind of traffic since it shows that both the search engine and the user think that the site is able to provide relevant content.  This means that an individual is looking for a specific information and found the site after typing in the keyword and was presented as one of the possible and nearest choices. The searcher will determine the relevance of the site depending on its offered content.

2. Viral Traffic 

Viral traffic is the kind of traffic that is introduced, triggered, and moved by the use of various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Stumble, and Google Plus, among others.  The idea about the site is not obtained from any regular search results but rather from actively participating and promoting the site over social media.  The limitation in this is that sites or posts going viral is not assured since only a very few offer content that is automatically passed on to others without prior request.  This is sometimes referred to as referral traffic.

3.  Paid Traffic

It is just as it name implies.  Traffic may come from paying for advertisements to be placed on other sites.  Success would largely depend on advertising on the right niche as ads irrelevant to a specific audience may not serve the desired purpose.

The kind of traffic  a site gets will provide a clue on what has to be addressed on a particular site.  It would be best to understand its relevance.

Teresa is a researcher-writer who covers a wide range of topics in search of useful information.

Image: ruthalade.com

What Would it be Like Without Social Media?

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What would it be like without social media?  What kind of life would people be leading if there was no such thing to be part of daily living of humans?  Will we be better off or find ways to have them anyway?

Imagine a life that is led in a rather old-fashioned way where they may be computers but no such option as using them for social interaction and networking.  Imagine computers without Internet connection and merely as a modern version of typewriters.  Imagine computers as purely an office equipment, an iPhone only a stylized version of a landline phone, and no other gadgets with Internet capability has ever been invented yet.  Will the term “social media” have a different meaning from that which we know of now?

With all the human preoccupation with online networking where humans are not the only ones connected but groups, business entities, and sites, it is almost impossible to think of how socialization will occur without it.  We must however remember that people have survived before without it.  There might be a big difference though with people who have never experienced it and those who have experienced it and are forced to scale down.  After all, how can something be missed if there is no prior experience about it.

Without social media, humans will definitely find some other way to do something similar.  The advantages people experience today because of technological advancement are quite many. One has to step back once in a while though to appreciate what we have.

About the Author:

Teresa is a researcher-writer who covers a wide range of topics in search of useful information.

Image: mojocreator.com