Blogger Reverses Ban On Graphic Nudity After Backlash

My heart skipped a bit when I read from a link at the top of my Blogger homepage that my account may be flout new Google Blogger content policies on nudity and sexually explicit material. In discussing with Atala, I said that it appeared that Google was extending the limits on Blogger about what they think acceptable freedom of speech and expression on their platform.

With the ban, bloggers would have stopped having the freedom to "publicly share images and video that are sexually explicit or show graphic nudity." The ban was to have taken place on March 23. Read the message below

Getting Recognition For Blogging And A Picture For Those Who Want to See Me :)

So I stared blogging back in 2009 as a romantic fiction writer, and for a couple of years, I focused on hyping my books and that of other guest authors. By 2011, I started blogging for money but remained in the romance niche, with topics on relationships and personal stories.

In 2013, there were certain incidents that made me dramatically scale back on personal stories, and around the same time, I decided to increase my earnings from blogging. After reaching out to a few people that I felt could help me build a platform niche in relationships, I found no interest and the only option seemed to be entertainment and news reporting.

Bringing Google+ Comments to Blogger

+Blogger as we know it is changing by the day, and that is because Google, their Oga at the top, is becoming more and more interested in going social. To boost Google Adsense in 2009, they integrated it with blogger, and some insist that sounded the death knell for blogging. I'm not sure it's a bad thing, it's very useful for me, just like this new development may be.The want G+ comments, which will work a bit like Facebook comments, to replace Blogger comments.

After experimenting with Google Wave and Google Buzz, Google+ is now the de facto social site for all things Google, and it's not surprising they want to integrate it with Blogger, another of their strong social platforms. First it was the G+ sharing buttons, then the G+ circles (which killed Friend Connect BTW), and the G+ authorship that boosts your blog's search rankings.

According to the email I received,

Once you enable Google+ Comments, people can share the comments they make on your blog to their circles in Google+, helping you reach people that they know. And there's more: mentions of your posts on Google+ automatically show up right in your blog's comments, so you can see more of people’s public conversations about your content (and private conversations you’re part of).

Change of Domain Name

Hi all. I'm kinda like a bad blog right now. As you may have noticed, the domain name has changed to romancemeetslife.com to match our title and the full direction of this blog. I have been working on this for several weeks now, and more intensively over the past couple of days and today is the culmination of all that hard work. Still, I know not every thing is as it should be. As we sort out all the kinks, I apologize in advance for any inconveniences to you. Please use the comments to let me know of any issues you're having.

Some things you can do to make it an easier transition for you, and for me too.

1. Please update your blog rolls and lists, especially if you added me manually as mynewhitmanwrites.com

2. Please use the social media share buttons to propagate the posts to Facebook, Twitter, G+, etc. This means the new name is indexed more quickly and transition hiccups reduced.

3. If you have linked to me anywhere on your blog recently, please update the posts with the new name. I know this is hard and will understand if you can't do it.

Remind me if I've missed anything. Thanks again.

How to Increase Your Blog Traffic From Google Search

As you can see from the picture, my biggest traffic on this blog comes from Google Search. The google.com search brings traffic three times either those from Twitter or Facebook, my next biggest traffic sources. Then there's also google.co.uk, .com.ng, and other localized results. In fact, Google organic search traffic is responsible for up to 70% of my traffic, and because they are relevant, most of those new visitors end up coming again and again.

 I am not a guru yet, and I have to be honest and tell you increased traffic did not happen for me overnight. It took a lot of luck, chance, and hard work. Not just writing on the blog, but also looking underneath the hood, reading articles on SEO and blogging, making google search my friend, reading the blogger forums, tweaking and re-tweaking my blog template, focusing or widening my niche, etc.

So how do you get traffic from Google? Before you do anything, you have to know that it is imperative that you first have great content on your blog. Also, the more numerous they are, the more chances you have of appearing in Google search results. And the longer your blog has been online, and the more relevant visitors find it, the more likely it is that google will start ranking you high. Before you know it, you will be ranking on the first page, and maybe even at #1. And then the traffic will start pouring in.

Comments That look Real but are Spam Comments

I could also title this post the scourge of the anonymous, but the truth is that sometimes, these spammers come and register blogger profiles, or they fill in a name with their link. But whether they come as Anonymous or as "seemingly" real comments, I'm writing this post to share with you guys how to recognise them and keep them as far away from your commenting section as possible.

So how do you know if the comments on your blog are spam? Obviously if someone post content that's not related to what you posted about, you can consider it as spam. Such comments as "Great Info! I Love it!! Will be back later to read some more. Can I add you to my Xanga group?" may not be unrelated, and will even stroke your ego as a blogger, but it is spam.

Some of the spam comments I just deleted are below

Google Reader is Closing Down - What Does That Mean?

I don't often have to use Google Reader for the blogs I follow, I check out the summaries on the Blogger dashboard, and go on over to the ones that catch my attention. But I do use it to organize my subscriptions, to remove those I'm no more following, or those who aren't blogging anymore. Also, if I'm only with my phone, I default to GR than doing blog rounds. So imagine my surprise when Google said they were shutting it down because not enough people were using it and it didn't make financial sense to keep it. The announcement from Google read;

We launched Google Reader in 2005 in an effort to make it easy for people to discover and keep tabs on their favorite websites. While the product has a loyal following, over the years usage has declined. So, on July 1, 2013, we will retire Google Reader. Users and developers interested in RSS alternatives can export their data, including their subscriptions, with Google Takeout over the course of the next four months.

I'm not happy about this development because I know a lot of us here in blogsville use Google reader to follow blogs we love. I still follow about 600 blogs, and have more than 2000 followers on the Google Friend Connect, many of whom I'm sure read my posts on their GR. BTW, the Google Friend Connect has also been rested and I guess it may be time to take it down, no matter how much I like those numbers. Feedburner too may be on the way out.

I Got the Very Inspiring Blogger Award

I was nominated by Nana Prah, author and blogger at Loving Romance, Loving Life. Nana is also a member of the Romance Writers of West Africa and the author Love through time, a romance novel to be released later this year by Black Opal Books. I really enjoy Nana's writing and it's always great to be recognized. Thank you, Nana.

So the rule of the award is to state 7 things about me.

1. Since moving to the United States, I have visited 12 states, about 6 of them during our road trip in 2011. America is a very big country, and it has been a great experience seeing what I have of it.

2. I love taking photographs, and writing, but I think you can guess that from this blog.

3. I started wearing my hair unrelaxed a couple of years ago. Though I call it natural most times, I feel funny doing that when I use shampoo and hair creams I know not what goes into them.

I'm #10 in the Top 100 Relationship Blogs To Follow In 2013

Coupon Audit is a site known for putting together infographics that can be useful to people who use the interwebs regularly to know who to follow on social media and the top blogs and websites that are worth their time to read. Recently, they made one for the Top 100 relationship blogs to follow in 2013, and I showed up at #10!

Thanks to Coupon Audit for including me.

I also see some of the sites I visit on the list, along with a few that made me go huh? LOL... there’s definitely something here for everyone. Check it out below...

I am Looking For Bloggers For Lifestyle Blogging

I need about 5 writers for this blog and a new lifestyle website I'm building. This is an opportunity for people who are serious about writing and blogging long term to get into a prime internet property at the ground level. Have you been blogging without any monetary returns and would like to get rewarded? Do you keep yourself updated with current events in various segments of society? Would you like to write about your personal activities and life on a daily basis, and earn something for your efforts? If you have been thinking of blogging in a big way, but wasn't sure about going it alone, then you may have found a team.

Here are the requirements:

A minimum of 2 and no more than 10 posts daily Mon - Fri are required.
A passion for the category you select is a BIG plus
SEO and keyword knowledge is desired but not required.
Blog posts must be at least 300 words long. This can be less for posts with larger/more pictures.
Submit your posts anytime you want, I will schedule.
Above average writing is required as minimal editing will be done.
All posts must be unique content.
Non-anonymous bloggers willing to write from a personal place are desired, but not compulsory
Those who are familiar with posting on a Blogger will be considered before others but I am open to teaching writers how to post on Blogger.

If you’re interested please send an email to myne@mynewhitman.com with the following:
Subject: Savvy Nigerian - Category Name
A brief paragraph of why you’re interested in this opportunity
A 300 – 500 word article/blog post sample OR
A link to your current blog, if you have one.

How to Remove the Blogger Word Verification

I know I'm not the only one who finds this word verification frustrating, the picture above sparked this post. I've seen other posts and comments calling on bloggers to take it out. Especially with the the new word verification captcha system that has two words, and sometimes even numbers in a box! On a few occasions, it takes me 2 or 3 tries to get it right and I've even lost one or two comments because I couldn't get it right or I decided to move on and leave no comment.

For The Love of Books, Blogging And Meeting Bloggers

With reporter for Moment News - Afoke

I will be speaking at two events today in Lagos. At BookN'Gauge I'll be discussing my love of books and my "undying passion for promoting literary arts." LOL...that is directly from the press release by the organizers. I do love books. I also love blogging and meeting bloggers. So, I will use the opportunity after this event to interact with those interested in blogging. Book discussion is between 2 - 5 and from then to 6.30pm, I will be answering questions about blogging.

Dynamic Views Now Supports Limited Blogger Gadgets

Profile Gadget

Blogger's Dynamic Views were introduced as a way to catch up to the new direction of the internet - something to do with HTML5 or something like that. I don't know much about these things, but if you've noticed, a lot of web property are adopting a stripped down look which is supposed to make the web faster and all. If you use Google a lot like me, you would have noticed it in Gmail, G+, Youtube, Blogger; and I noticed Amazon is the doing the same, and in their corner, so is Microsoft. Anyway, Dynamic Views was Bloggers front end answer after premiering the new backend sometime last year.

For now, it is still optional, but I can imagine that with time, it may become the only choice available. Don't get me wrong, I like it. I love that it has infinite scrolling and is faster for my readers. I also like that the reader can select various formats by which to interact with my blog. My reluctance to move yet is the minimal customization. Previously, the only thing available to differentiate one blog using Dynamic Views from the other was the background and maybe title font. Not any more.

Changing the Title of my Blog

Hi guys, and welcome to February! I promise, I have a new series of love themed posts coming soon. You can also check out the ALR review and my interview with the Africa Book Club. Fellow blogger, Omonaikee was also kind enough to feature me. You can find out which of my books made me cry. :)

Yeah, about my blog. Around when I joined the BlogHer publishing network and began to display ads, I was done with my old look and I wanted to switch things up. Yet I was delayed by procrastination and a small fear of change. Blogger made it easy this year by introducing the reply comments which I had been wanting forever, and so I moved over to blogger templates. I've been tweaking the new look ever since. I know some of you have said you like the blue or pink, but I'm still not fully satisfied.

Blogfest - Critique my Blog

This is part of the blogfest - Critique my Blog by Teralyn Rose Pilgrim and I'll really love some feedback. You can reply in the comments or send an email.

a.      Appearance: Does it appeal to you? Is it too busy, or too plain?
b.      Layout: Is it difficult to navigate? Is it cluttered, or sparse?
c.      Frequency: Does the blogger post too often? Not often enough?
d.      Content: Are the posts interesting? Unique? Are they focused, or all over the place?
e.      Quality: Are the individual posts too long, too short, too sloppy, or too generic?

Thank you.

Blogger now supports Nested or Threaded Comments

According to Blogger Buzz, this "means that it is now much easier to differentiate between whether someone is making a general comment on the thread, or responding to another comment on the thread." Who said Blogger was not a listening platform? As you can see, I've changed my template to take advantage of this development. I can now respond to individual comments without doing the whole omnibus thing with @this or @that. And what do you know, you can too! I mean, you can respond to me, or ask someone else to explain their comments. LOL...I look forward to interesting roundtable discussions going forward.

What do you have to do to enable this on your blog? Maybe nothing. Simply check your comments system and you may already be set. If the reply function is still not available, do the following;

The 2012 Bloggies - Twelfth Annual Weblog Awards

Hello Everyone, This is short notice, but I hope you'll be able to join in. Last year, as part of the Nigerian Blog Awards promo, I asked what is blogging all about? it was a very busy time for me then and I didn't feel up taking part in the process. This year, I'm more like "Bring it on!" I've just heard about the Weblog Awards, one of the oldest blogging awards out there - it started in 2000. A few years ago, the organizers added the African Region to the already wide range of categories covered by the awards, and this is me asking for your votes in that, and any other category you see fit.

How to ensure other bloggers can follow you back

Hi everyone, hope the new week has started well?

Today, I'm sharing a blogging tip. This it is something I had come across quite a number of times and never knew how to get in touch with those involved to let them know. You see, new people join my blog regularly and most times, I want to check out their own blogs and see if I want to follow back. What I usually do is to click on their profile picture in my followers box and follow their linked blog back to them. While the curious part of me wonders why some people have locked profiles, I just assume they do not have a blog most likely.

But I'm really frustrated when the follower is not linked to any blog at all. If it so happens that they've allowed to receive mail from blogger, I'll send them a welcome and thank you message. Depending on how much time I have then, I might also check out the recent blogs the person has joined to try to track them. One thing that makes it easier is when they leave a comment, either on my blog, or on one of the other ones. Unfortunately, I don't have that luxury of time, or the follower just doesn't leave any crumbs for me to follow.

How to improve your Alexa Blog Ranking

In one of the blogging tips posts I did titled "I want more Comments", Amb Caleb commented that he needed some tips on ranking. That got me thinking because I didn't have a ready answer for him. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't as if I hadn't heard of blog rankings before, but, I had never really done anything beyond that.

I had found out about both Pagerank and Alexa earlier this year on one of my blog improvement wanderings around the interwebs. Google Pagerank measures the reputation of your site based on the weight it gets via search engines and is ranked between 1 and 10, the bigger the better. Alexa ranks your place among other sites based on traffic and other indicators and the closer you are to 1, the better. Google.com ranks #1 and some blogs I checked were up to 25 million. When I first checked , I was happy with my Pagerank 4 (both nairaland and Bellanaija are also 4), and though a bit confused by the Alexa ranking of 1.5 million.

How to find out what your blog readers want

As a blogger trying to stay on top of my game, one thing I do is look through my blog stats. They give me an idea about what my audience likes, what brings new readers etc. I have a free account with Statcounter.com that gives some pretty robust figures.

Also, the local blogger stats also tells me where most of my traffic come from (Google and Blogger) as well as what they're searching for (Myne Whitman and Relationship questions). These stats help me decide which of my blog ideas to turn to posts and which to postpone, or simply discuss with friends and family.