Micro-blogging and Twitter clones
If reading or writing online snippets of under 140 characters is your thing, you will love the inanane chitter chatter micro-blogging diary-gone-mad phenomenon of Twittering.
Twitter, our savior
Like we couldn't live without another Web 2.0-ism! Thank you Twitter for bridging the gap between manic text messaging on cell phones, (an unbearable and inordinately complex and wasteful pastime), and blogging.
But I jest, of course. Twitter is a new online communication paradigm suitable for instant messaging on phones and PC's and any other device you hold dear. Embrace!
Nowadays, to chuckle at your sister's private smitten kitten ramblings about boys, all mixed in with I hate my nosey brother comments, and every step of her trip for coffee, just find her Twitter name and track the conversation.
Hi all my best friends I saw an hour ago, I am going to the toilet now and then I am off to Starbucks. Aren't you pleased I am sharing that with you in real-time? What else do you need to know? Twitter / Jaiku me, ciao. XOXOX.
Anyone else at Starbucks? Jinx.
If that boy with the earring and weeping blue mole is still serving mocha at Starbucks, who wants me to say hi to him? Be quick, I just opened the door.
Oooh, it is cold in here. I asked them to turn down the a/c. They said, no. What should I reply? Quick.
I borrowed a coat. Mocha tastes like mocha. Is that how it is supposed to taste. Help.
Likewise, there is no need to even wait till tomorrow for words from your favorite blogger. Twitter and micro-blogging enable us to access and read blow-by-blow accounts of the life of any blogging Twit (Or not, in this case of Leo laporte jumping ship to Jaiku! ) It is sooooo cool - also not!
Chris Bailey is equally unimpressed, or is it bamboozled by the whole idea, likening Twitter to stalking! (Unfortunately it is almost impossible to get arrested for stalking, so I doubt Twittering will ever be outlawed.)
The good in twitter
I am cynical and ignorant. However, if internet gurus like Paul Boag or the guys behind MyBlogLog are behind Twitter, there must be a reason they talk it up?
In Mr Boag's case, I heard he doesn't really understand why it is so popular in his world.
My theory is, he met the founder of twitter who probably sounded credible enough to convince him that there must be something unique (and currently intangible) in this micro blogging idea.
One day, oh Web 2.0 warrior, Twitter 11.7 will be of use to the mainstream. One day it will save your life, so why not give it a go.
The satire in twitter
After doing a 180, and looking past Twitter's non-ruby related growing pains, I think the good may well outweigh the bad and bewildering aspects. For instance, how cool that you can pretend to be someone else, like this Condoleeza Rice imposter twittering as if (s)he were at the White House. Thanks to Open for that touch of twitter satire.
Or you can relive historical moments like the Hindenburg disaster!
Sign me up for that sort of creative misuse of a new technology. Rather like back in the 60's, using a trendy typewriter for a doorstop, so wrong, but if needs must...
In conconclusion
Micro-blogging is currently a fairly elitist tech pastime, but one day, it will evolve into the consciousness of every grandmother and aging uncle on earth, somehow, some day. Meanwhile check out another Twitter clone mentioned here, plus Jaiku and Tumblr.
Live a bit - under the microscope.
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MyBlogLog clones
27 May 07 Filed in: Blogging
Are you aware of the madness that sees 120,000 new blogs launched every single bloody day of the week? Cwazy talk. And how do these people keep in touch, network, interact, improve the world of blogging? Via MyBlogLog clones, that is how!
MyBlogLog is the primary Web 2.0 social community site for bloggers. It brings some sort of order and cohesion to a potential 70 million strong army / community of writers.
Once one person provides a service, others follow and improve and become known in this field of endeavor as MyBlogLog clones. Social community sites for bloggers all share a common theme - they are everywhere, but nowhere, baby! The only evidence they exist is via the bloggers' avatars that inhabit sidebar widgets galore.
Handsome authors gurn at blog readers all around the globe from widgets laid out to varying degrees of complexity. Click on an avatar and you go through to a profile page where you see a little community in action. Clickety click keep on discovering new bloggers and communities, leave messages, spam strangers... It is sweet.
Yahoo catapaulted MyBlogLog to the top of the tree with its recent buy out and has clocked up well over 100,000 blogger members. Meanwhile, a new kid on the block, Blog Catalog, is making waves because of its clever interface, and then there is Wavumi, a start up with noble intentions, but a long way to go still.
This innovative site now backed by an 800lb gorilla may be too simple for some, but I think the basic premise is still intact. I check out the 10 face widget in my sidebar and I go to my MBL home page from time to time to check for messages and the sites of new wannabe contacts. That is pretty much all I need. I guess I should drop the Log part and call it MyBlogPlace? To be honest I have a life that can't incorporate infinitessamal studies of every visitor stat and examine the log of every visitor's manic path to my site. I am too busy reading Google Analytics already!
Having said that the site is pretty simple, I should add that there is some messy stuff in the sidebars sometimes, and recently I also noticed some new clutter, tag options. Oh well, nothing is perfect and I will get used to those oversights one day, I guess.
Of course the greatest aspect of MyBlogLog is the popular MyBlogLog Sunday here at The Pisstakers. It is fast becoming the home of gummi bear addicts and bloggers seeking witty-ish mini reviews. Call by Sunday 10 - 11 am and you may get in on it yourself.
At the other extreme of the development cycle is Wavumi, a MyBlogLog clone created by Patrice, a brilliant Belgian. The idea is simple, I think. An author of a web site is likely to visit the web sites authored by its visitors Looking at the quote every which way, it seems to make sense, but just in case you share my doubts, I will play safe and adopt the MyBlogLog approach, offering their tag line Connect with fellow readers. Phew, that's a lot more straightforward for a non-Belgian mind to grasp.
Over the months since its release, Patrice, the author, has been keeping us informed, via his blog, of progress fine-tuning the code and beefing up the server. As a result, he has acquired 26 members, 4 of whom have installed the widget. It is all very bare bones, but nothing a multi-million cash injection into the marketing and graphics department couldn't solve. Contact Patrice for all investment offers, or the code for his widget.
Zooming into sidebars at an alarming rate is the widget from Blog Catalog. They claim it is a few stages advanced on MBL in terms of usability and usefulness. (Less the clone, more the evolution?)Taking a spin through it, you seem to have the same facilities as MyBlogLog, plus a chance to have proper discussions and a neater way to see your latest blog posts.
Whether it is better laid out overall, I am not sure, although I feel the need to repeat that the latest tag box addition in MBL doesn't add to the clarity of that site! So maybe yes, Blog catalog is an improvement. Of course the real benchmark, user numbers, indicates a big gulf between BC and MBL, but time will tell. I suppose it wouldn't kill yahoo! if their MBL project ended up number 2!!
The cynic in me says that it is a great system for spreading a warm deluded feeling that real people actually call by other bloggers' site for a long read! I am sure many bloggers use these community network gizmos for a quick show of heads plus inspiration for ideas, but I am only half right there! In its purest form, this is a great networking idea for the power house of the internet, the bloggers. You meet new folks, get new ideas, and bring new material to your own readers. Not too shabby a result.
At the end of the day, as long as the widget loads fast, the rest is detail!!
If you like the safety in numbers of MyBlogLog, go for it, and if you want to do more stuff with it, check out the SoloSeo guru for inspiration.
BlogCatalog is more feature-rich out the box, but if it isn't so popular with bloggers, that makes networking a bit less efficient than it should be.
And Wavumi, let's here it for the small guys and get behind them, mention the site in a blog post, and even install the beta widget somewhere. (It is in the sidebar of my Blogger homepage.)
So, who do you think will rule the roost, or is there room for even more players?
Who are these clones cloned from?
MyBlogLog is the primary Web 2.0 social community site for bloggers. It brings some sort of order and cohesion to a potential 70 million strong army / community of writers.
Where are these MyBlogLog clones?
Once one person provides a service, others follow and improve and become known in this field of endeavor as MyBlogLog clones. Social community sites for bloggers all share a common theme - they are everywhere, but nowhere, baby! The only evidence they exist is via the bloggers' avatars that inhabit sidebar widgets galore.
How do these clone things work?
Handsome authors gurn at blog readers all around the globe from widgets laid out to varying degrees of complexity. Click on an avatar and you go through to a profile page where you see a little community in action. Clickety click keep on discovering new bloggers and communities, leave messages, spam strangers... It is sweet.
Some clones
Yahoo catapaulted MyBlogLog to the top of the tree with its recent buy out and has clocked up well over 100,000 blogger members. Meanwhile, a new kid on the block, Blog Catalog, is making waves because of its clever interface, and then there is Wavumi, a start up with noble intentions, but a long way to go still.
MyBlogLog
This innovative site now backed by an 800lb gorilla may be too simple for some, but I think the basic premise is still intact. I check out the 10 face widget in my sidebar and I go to my MBL home page from time to time to check for messages and the sites of new wannabe contacts. That is pretty much all I need. I guess I should drop the Log part and call it MyBlogPlace? To be honest I have a life that can't incorporate infinitessamal studies of every visitor stat and examine the log of every visitor's manic path to my site. I am too busy reading Google Analytics already!
Of course the greatest aspect of MyBlogLog is the popular MyBlogLog Sunday here at The Pisstakers. It is fast becoming the home of gummi bear addicts and bloggers seeking witty-ish mini reviews. Call by Sunday 10 - 11 am and you may get in on it yourself.
Wavumi
Over the months since its release, Patrice, the author, has been keeping us informed, via his blog, of progress fine-tuning the code and beefing up the server. As a result, he has acquired 26 members, 4 of whom have installed the widget. It is all very bare bones, but nothing a multi-million cash injection into the marketing and graphics department couldn't solve. Contact Patrice for all investment offers, or the code for his widget.
Blog Catalog
Whether it is better laid out overall, I am not sure, although I feel the need to repeat that the latest tag box addition in MBL doesn't add to the clarity of that site! So maybe yes, Blog catalog is an improvement. Of course the real benchmark, user numbers, indicates a big gulf between BC and MBL, but time will tell. I suppose it wouldn't kill yahoo! if their MBL project ended up number 2!!
Do these MyBlogLog clone sites work?
The cynic in me says that it is a great system for spreading a warm deluded feeling that real people actually call by other bloggers' site for a long read! I am sure many bloggers use these community network gizmos for a quick show of heads plus inspiration for ideas, but I am only half right there! In its purest form, this is a great networking idea for the power house of the internet, the bloggers. You meet new folks, get new ideas, and bring new material to your own readers. Not too shabby a result.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, as long as the widget loads fast, the rest is detail!!
If you like the safety in numbers of MyBlogLog, go for it, and if you want to do more stuff with it, check out the SoloSeo guru for inspiration.
BlogCatalog is more feature-rich out the box, but if it isn't so popular with bloggers, that makes networking a bit less efficient than it should be.
And Wavumi, let's here it for the small guys and get behind them, mention the site in a blog post, and even install the beta widget somewhere. (It is in the sidebar of my Blogger homepage.)
So, who do you think will rule the roost, or is there room for even more players?
Solo SEO - Missing MyBlogLog tools
28 Apr 07 Filed in: Blogging
Below are the last 130 visitors from MyBlogLog to visit The Pisstakers. This pretty rogues gallery is just one example of some clever back-end work from Solo SEO, a programmer making even more sense of Yahoo's blogger community, MyBlogLog.
It never ceases to amaze me how hard working and humanitarian some people are. Imagine the work required to produce this graphic, plus a way to Compare Blog Visitors, how to see the members common to your favorite community AND you, plus other subsets of subsets of stats to help build a better picture of where you are at in the MyBlogLog world. And all the SEO Solo guy wants is a trip to Yahoo HQ in Sunnyvale. (The 1% of revenue was a joke, right!)
I wonder if, in return for a pound or two of gummi bears, they could do some jiggery pokery over at SEO Solo and produce a neat sidebar widget for MyBlogLog Sunday? Like, display the 11 MyBlogLog members featured on The Pisstakers' MyBlogLog Sunday spot, sorted by the highest referrer of MBL members to The Pisstakers between Sunday afternoon and the following Saturday at midnight.
I know it sounds like a bit of a narrow field of endeavor, but such a widget could form the basis for any number of ideas/contests requiring statistical proof of referrals of MBL members.
The gummi bears await.
It never ceases to amaze me how hard working and humanitarian some people are. Imagine the work required to produce this graphic, plus a way to Compare Blog Visitors, how to see the members common to your favorite community AND you, plus other subsets of subsets of stats to help build a better picture of where you are at in the MyBlogLog world. And all the SEO Solo guy wants is a trip to Yahoo HQ in Sunnyvale. (The 1% of revenue was a joke, right!)
SEO Solo and the gummi bear pay day
I wonder if, in return for a pound or two of gummi bears, they could do some jiggery pokery over at SEO Solo and produce a neat sidebar widget for MyBlogLog Sunday? Like, display the 11 MyBlogLog members featured on The Pisstakers' MyBlogLog Sunday spot, sorted by the highest referrer of MBL members to The Pisstakers between Sunday afternoon and the following Saturday at midnight.
I know it sounds like a bit of a narrow field of endeavor, but such a widget could form the basis for any number of ideas/contests requiring statistical proof of referrals of MBL members.
The gummi bears await.
Blogjuice - to calculate popularity or humiliation?
18 Apr 07 Filed in: Internet
Alexa relies on a dodgy tool bar used (and manipulated?) exclusively, almost, by webmasters, not real people
Technorati was gamed easily in 2004, & the 2000 bloggers trickery continues
Who are Bloglines and who cares about incoming links?
Bah humbug. Funny and popular people everywhere, enjoy your own 100% pulp, I mean Blog Juice medal, and fellow upstarts, relax!
It has been hard accepting that I languish in the nether regions of the Blog Juice funny heirarchy - but I will survive, maybe. Just throw money, that should console me.
Improve your SERP via MyBlogLog Sunday!
17 Apr 07 Filed in: Blogging
Like all clever ideas, which the MyBlogLog Sunday feature seems to be, according to Say No to Crack and MyBlogLog themselves, there may be more advantages to the idea than meets the eye. In addition to gooey link love and prizes, participants get free info that may be useful for SEO and Search Engine ranking (SERP) purposes.
MyBlogLog Sunday was one of many goofy ideas floating around The Pisstakers head (quarters.) The process is:
And on reflection, Ed the klutz is offering one more perk hidden in the mini-reviews
Instead of just looking at participation in MBL Sunday as an extra link in your Technorati bragging rights, treat it as a chance to see what someone going cold to your blog thinks about it. The smart ass remark is based on a fairly serious look around your blog, and may even throw up a word, phrase or angle you never even dreamed of for SEO purposes.
Like Boing Boing but funnier. (SNTC);
A quick-fire colloquial trip around the world of music, film and boobs...(Billion Dollar Baloney)
So a mention on MyBlogLog Sunday provides free info on keywords, taglines and market research about your "blog feel". This is all useful info to improve your campaign for a higher SERP/ place in the google web search heirarchy.
To me it is very cool when I read that other blogs don't think I am associated with urine - or are they taking the piss behind my back and telling people they wouldn't pee on Ed if his blog were on fire! But on fire The Pisstakers certainly were (by my standards and MyBlogLog community stats at least) last Sunday.
Why not join the Pisstakers at MyBlogLog. It's free and easy, and the community is modestly sized, like Ed.
See you Sunday, MyBlogLog bloggers looking to improve your SERP! And those advantages again? Check out the pros in my contribution in Comments Friday
Back up, what is MyBlogLog Sunday?
MyBlogLog Sunday was one of many goofy ideas floating around The Pisstakers head (quarters.) The process is:
- everyone happy.Every Sunday whenever Ed the editor starts blogging, he takes a snapshot of the last 10 visitors on the MyBlogLog widget in the sidebar. He visits each of those ten blogs and does a fun mini-review. Those ten blogs are then eligible to win the weekly prize of the gummi bears and the full blog review. You accomplish that by being the blog to send him the most traffic during the week (MyBlogLog)
And on reflection, Ed the klutz is offering one more perk hidden in the mini-reviews
MBL Sunday mini review aids SERP
Instead of just looking at participation in MBL Sunday as an extra link in your Technorati bragging rights, treat it as a chance to see what someone going cold to your blog thinks about it. The smart ass remark is based on a fairly serious look around your blog, and may even throw up a word, phrase or angle you never even dreamed of for SEO purposes.
Like Boing Boing but funnier. (SNTC);
A quick-fire colloquial trip around the world of music, film and boobs...(Billion Dollar Baloney)
So a mention on MyBlogLog Sunday provides free info on keywords, taglines and market research about your "blog feel". This is all useful info to improve your campaign for a higher SERP/ place in the google web search heirarchy.
Pisstakers and MyBlogLog
To me it is very cool when I read that other blogs don't think I am associated with urine - or are they taking the piss behind my back and telling people they wouldn't pee on Ed if his blog were on fire! But on fire The Pisstakers certainly were (by my standards and MyBlogLog community stats at least) last Sunday.
Why not join the Pisstakers at MyBlogLog. It's free and easy, and the community is modestly sized, like Ed.
See you Sunday, MyBlogLog bloggers looking to improve your SERP! And those advantages again? Check out the pros in my contribution in Comments Friday
We must have been stumbled
10 Apr 07 Filed in: Blogging
I don't know, you mention that Cadbury's creme eggs are getting smaller, and the next thing you know, the place is awash with Stumblers. Must have upset a few folks?Although, Snowman Poop wasn't that sad about their demise.
What is Stumble Upon exactly?
I have to look a little deeper as to how that whole SU deal works, ie just ask,
"Excuse me, does anyone know if there is any evidence to show how so many people first got wind of that particular story on SU?"
If so, and it was anything to do with someone on this week's MyBlogLog Sunday contest, I guess they deserve the gummi bears and then some!
Oh well, back to the grindstone to find the next big thing, which, judging by the stats may be angles on designing a website for mobile devices .
MyblogLog Sunday 3
01 Apr 07 Filed in: Blogging
At 10.24 Eastern coffee time, I took a snapshot of the widget with the10 MyBlogLog bloggers who last visited the Pisstakers. Our homepage will be their domain later on today. Watch out and learn a little something about 10 diverse blogs
What on earth is MyBlogLog?
MyBlogLog is a brainchild of others more talented than I! Ostensibly, it is a widget - a visual log of bloggers who visit My (or your) blog.
More accurately, the widget is a reflection of something bigger. MyBlogLog is Yahoo's newest social network where bloggers meet and interact with each other. via communities
What is bad about MyBlogLog?
On the downside, it is prone to spam. Not much comes my way, but Solo SEO shows an exploit for free advertising on top blogs.
Funny how big some of the holes are (or were) You could pretend to be someone else just by clicking on a member's icon and copying an ID visible in the browser bar! Cool to be Jason Calcanis for a day, if that is your thing, but sadly, no evidence exists of anyone spoofing The Pisstakers!
Some blog-hacking clever programming types seem able to point a figure at the MBL code and find an exploit. I wish Threadwatch could find the reason why some visitors to The Pisstakers community seem to be taken to a preview version of my latest blog posts. I assume they can't access it, because neither can I, but it would be nice to avoid the false excitement when you see the log boasting dozens of page views, when the reality is, 50% refer to unreadable pages. But I digress.
It seems that MyBlogLog is teetering on the brink of becoming MySpace for bloggers, except that those more talented than I are apparently working hard to plug the holes. Yahooooooo!!1
Who is in MyBlogLog?
Some of the internet's best on-line writers hover and then strike with a swish of the type written word, attracting hundreds of fellow blogging fans to their community. Sickening proof of how the best get better! To be something to all people, though, MBL is an opportunity for many aspiring bloggers to meet and interact with each other.
Joining MyBlogLog?
The Pisstakers MyBlogLog community now consists of 47 bright and witty people who blog about tech and money-making, plus some cartoonists. You could join too, if you are interested.
There are over 90,000 bloggers in the whole MBL gang, and any one of them can be featured in next week's MyBlogLog Sunday. Just get on the widget around 10am - as in, visit the homepage and even read our content And if you are feeling lucky, go mad and leave a comment with your keyphrase for me to include in your one-liner summary if you make the last 10!
Lonely hearts blogmasters looking for inspiration and camaraderie, join MyBlogLog if you dare.
MyBlogLog Sunday honors members of Yahoo's social network golden child
25 Mar 07 Filed in: Blogging
And the point of MyBlogLog Sunday?
This latest must-have feature is my way of saying thanks to the busy bloggers who called by recently to see what we are up to. In return, I am in the process of going to their blogs and finding some interesting and funny stuff to report back on for today's front page. It is a bit of work for me, doing all that reading stuff, but it is rewarding, and it does break the cycle of lazy "Hi and bye" networking. With plenty of linking and larfing and something permanent and interesting to refer to forever in the archives, this is true link love at work, people!
What on earth is MyBlogLog?
In case you didn't know, MyBlogLog is Yahoo's latest golden social network child, geared up for bloggers to meet and interact with other bloggers. Good if you have a website, but so what, say the people with no blog! My reaction was the same.
When you think about it, though, it is a good idea for everyone. The sidebar widget in many of your current preferred sites, identifies bloggers also curious about your preferred sites. Presumably some of them will have written something that will interest you too? So, if you see a widget, go click on them and check their sites out and maybe discover bloggers that really twiddle your knobs with their style and content.
I am not much of a club person, but I do try to push myself to be sociable! You know, BAYB, Brohans, Techboggle are all on-line buddies I have come across at MyBlogLog, else I would never have met them, probably. We like 'em, and can say we knew them before they were famous! I check them out periodically and then tell you guys about any articles that you might be interested in reading. They mention us.... it's a hoot!
Joining MyBlogLog?
On the back end there thousands of groups of like-minded bloggers theoretically interacting, encouraging, critiquing and promoting each other. In our case, The Pisstakers MyBlogLog community consists of about 40 people running their blogs about tech and money-making and humor. They have said hello, joined my gang, and some have even called by here and left a comment, which is a real boost to the flagging spirits at times. You could do the same if you are interested.
And if you want to be featured in next week's MyBlogLog Sunday, get on the widget around 10am!
And here's a bit of useless trivia. Last week, MyBlogLog was the 34th most visited webspace on the internet. Proof that it has plenty to offer surfers as well as lonely hearts blogmasters looking for inspiration and camaraderie. Join if you dare.
Tributes to MyBlogLog bloggers
25 Dec 06 Filed in: Blogging
The Pisstakers have been going a few months now, and after faffing around looking for sites and forums full of like-minded souls, we recently signed up to MyBlogLog. It was divine intervention, finding a star that shines bright in the dark on-line directory-laden skies. We have seen the light, learning the true meaning of a blogging community.
Keep on reading, dude
Keep on reading, dude
