Find A New Blog

Earlier in the month I reviewed Clogs an Tulips, a blog about an American expatriate who is now living in the Netherlands with her Dutch husband.

I check back on that blog quite regularly and today I noticed that there was a little link at the top saying ‘Next blog’.  Unable to refrain from pressing it, I ended up on The Backside of Water blog and was pleasantly surprised at what I found.

Reading the blog title, what would you expect it was about?  Water?  Aquatic animals?  I guess it could even be a bit poetic and feature the works of an up-and-coming writer.

Nope – Disney theme parks.

The Backside of Water blog was set up in 2008 and provides information on a vast array of different topics to do with all aspects of Disney’s theme parks.

For instance, recent posts have covered the new bins that are apparent in the park (which include separate recycling sections, showing a greener side to Disney),  whilst older posts have covered everything from the entrance sign for Splash Mountain to the benches that are near to the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.

The Backside of Water blog might not seem particularly interesting, featuring just tidbits of information about Disney theme parks – but it’s tidbits of information that I like.

And plus, it’s Disney – who doesn’t like Disney?

Firstly, I’ve got to say to anyone reading this review (and apologies in advance to any readers that are into the World Superbike Championship or in fact, any other type of motorbike racing) that I’m not a Superbike (or bike racing in general) fan. Or at least I wasn’t until a few weeks back when I was asked to produce some writing on the World Superbike Championship.

Now I’m addicted.

The 2010 championship started in February and two races in I can’t get enough. It’s because of this that I came across World Superbike News, a blog that provides up to the minute information on SKB (the more common name for the championship…I believe).

Covering the last two years championships, World Superbike News features everything from where to watch the races on television through to videos of interviews with the riders. Most recently there’s a video of Chris Vermeulen, the rider who came off his bike during the opening race of the championship and hit the tyre wall after having his bike follow behind him, missing him by inches.

It didn’t look good at the time and it turns out he’s badly damaged his knee – something which World Superbike News reported on straight away.

There’s no arguing that Superbikes aren’t as popular as other sports in the UK, but if you’re into racing and have even a basic interest in bikes, I’d really recommended heading over to this blog to see if you get as sucked in with the sport as I have.

I was contacted by Miss Tyler-Smith a while ago through the contact page, asking if I would review her classroom blog.  Not knowing what a ‘classroom blog’ exactly was, I was immediately intrigued and began to check out the blog straightaway.

I have to say that the blog is one of the happiest I’ve come across.

As the the title would suggest, Miss Tyler-Smith’s Grade Five Blog is a blog of Miss Tyler-Smith’s Grade Five class, who are a class in an independent school in Cape Town, South Africa.

The blog was setup to allow for the children in the class to have a safe place to share their ideas, which is, in my opinion at least, a wonderful idea.

Featuring everything from information on the ‘Learner of the Week’, to historical resources about parts of history that the class have been learning about and through to pictures of them hard at work (looking like they’re having a really enjoyable time, however – school must have changed since I was there!), Miss Tyler-Smith’s Grade Five Blog is well worth checking out, irrelevant of whether you’re from an educational background or not – I guarantee it will bring a smile to anyone’s face.

The second in the Interview With A Blogger series is with Tamahome Jenkins, owner of EverythingIsHistory.com.

DS: Welcome to Find A New Blog, Tamahome. Tell me a little bit about yourself.
TJ: I’m 28 years old, expecting my first child next month. I’ve never been so excited and nervous in my life. My wife and I live in Asheville, NC, having moved from Fort Worth, TX last year.

DS: Congratulations on the baby!
TJ: Thank you! It really is an amazing time, and I can’t wait to meet the newest member of my family. Maybe she’ll grow up to be a blogger like her dad!

DS: When did you start blogging?
TJ: I decided to start blogging about history in December 2008 when I saw that there weren’t too many sites devoted to the topic. All of them were either incredibly academic (read:boring) or they were copies of Wikipedia or the History Channel. So, I set out to write about history and try to make it interesting for everybody which resulted in EverythingIsHistory.com.

DS: I reviewed EverythingIsHistory a while back and I have to say that I’ve checked back quite regularly since – it’s a really interesting blog. Have you got any plans for future blogs?
TJ: I’m going to start a personal blog/portfolio site this spring because I’ve learned a lot about blogging and I want to share my ideas and experience with other new bloggers. I already have the domain (TamahomeJenkins.com), I just have to start the site now.

DS: Is blogging your main job?
TJ: I’m writing and blogging full-time and I dabble a little in affiliate marketing. I’m not making as much money as I was as a systems admin with the Department of Homeland Security, but I’m much happier and I know this is the best experience of my life. Thankfully, I have a very supportive wife who is behind me 100% and wants me to go for this.

DS: How long did you work as a Systems Admin for?
TJ: I started as a help desk tech back in 2005 and I loved it. I quickly moved up the ranks to systems admin, and I enjoyed it, but it was too political. I enjoyed working with the technology, but sometimes people’s egos would get in the way of actually getting stuff accomplished.

DS: What made you leave the corporate world?
TJ: After 4 years, I just started to get burnt out and knew that I wouldn’t make it another 30 years in the corporate world. Besides the creeping burnout, I also am a historian by trade. My degree is in history, but I entered the IT field because the pay was really good. I knew that now was the right time to get out of the corporate world, before I had too many attachments and responsibilities. I knew if I didn’t try it now, I never would.

DS: EverythingIsHistory has been going for a while now. What are your plans for the future in respect of your business?
TJ: I plan on releasing a couple of history-related trivia books this year. They’re going to be big and flashy, like something people will want to keep on their coffee table or in their bathroom. I’m also going to start marketing for my cousin’s diaper service business here in Western North Carolina. That will at least get the bills paid for now while my wife’s on maternity leave.

DS: You mentioned about writing – is this for clients, yourself, articles, news stories, education books, etc?
TJ: I write mostly for EiH (EverthingIsHistory), but I plan on guest posting about my experiences with blogging this spring. I’ve also started writing creatively; mostly for myself and my friends, but we’ll see if that turns into anything.

DS: How big of a part does writing play in your business life?
TJ: Writing is the core of EiH. Information can be found anywhere, but you need to give people a reason to come get it from you. This has opened my eyes to a whole world of marketing and how the human mind works. This, in turn, has helped me with my affiliate marketing efforts.

DS: How did you get into affiliate marketing?
TJ: I got into affiliate marketing when I got tired of Google paying me 5 cents per click! It was tough to get into at first, and I got discouraged early, but I’m glad I stuck with it. It’s definitely a better long term method of monetizing your blog than traditional ad networks.

DS: Have you learnt anything in particular in respect of blogging / writing / affiliate marketing that you wish you knew when you first started out?
TJ: I knew that the traffic wouldn’t start pouring in just because I was writing something, but I wish that I knew how slow that trickle would be! It was definitely discouraging to see 20 visits per day after a month. I guess that means that I wish I knew more about SEO. Also, I wish I knew about StumbleUpon. I know a lot of people don’t like it, and I understand why, but I often get extra 1000-2000 visits per post from them.

DS: Have you ever thought about giving up the writing work and heading back into a more secure / salaried job?
TJ: I’ve thought about it, but I quickly banish the thought when I realize that I do most of my work in my PJs or at the park. Money comes and goes, but at the end of life all anybody wants is time. When I start to freak out about money, I just remind myself that being self-employed is the best time investment, and renting your time to someone else is a poor investment.

DS: Are there any avenues that you want to take in the future in respect of business and / or personal life that people may not expect you to or that you think ‘I’d really like to try that in the future’?
TJ: Since moving to Asheville, I’ve discovered the outdoors, and mountain biking in particular. I want to start riding competitively and eventually open a bike shop.

And that concludes the second in the Interview With A Blogger series. Thanks to Tamahome for taking the time out have a chat with me and make sure you check back early next month for the next in the Interview With A Blogger series.

Dan

There are some occupations that everyone is aware of and understand the effects that they can have.  A Doctor, for example, is someone who is known by all and everyone realises what a Doctor does.

There are other occupations, however, that are relatively unknown but which can have a substantially positive impact on your life.

Michelle Whaite currently practices in one of those occupations and is a fully certificated LifeSuccess Consultant.

Starting off by training as a Life Coach at Newcastle University in the UK, Michelle progressed to become a business partner of Paul Martinelli and Bobby Gill of LifeSuccess productions.

The aim of Michelle’s work is to ensure that, in essence, everyone can unlock their true potential.  It may sound like a bit of a cliche or a bit cheesy to some, but a lot of what Michelle says and practices is very true and that everyone, to a certain degree, can achieve whatever they set out to – as long as they receive the proper advice and guidance to be able to do so along the way.

There’s a lot of interesting information on Michelle Whaite’s blog, include a podcast entitled ‘Think and Grow Rich!’.  Whether you feel that Michelle’s work is fatnastic or not, a lot of the resources, including this podcast, are completely free and so the blog is worth five minutes of anyone’s time.

I said last week that I would be posting two new blog reviews one day this week as I only did four that week.

Well, unless maths isn’t your strong point, you’ll have realised that there have only been five reviews this week – things have just been ever-so-slightly busy this week and I didn’t find the time to get up another blog review.

It looks like things are going to be busy for the foreseeable future, so I might be dropping the blog reviews down to one every other day.  Not fully decided, but I’ll just see how things go.

Remember, if you want me to review your blog, you can contact me.

Also, don’t forget to check back next week – March’s Interview With A Blogger feature will be live.

When looking at moving abroad, away from your home country, depending on who you ask, you will either be greeted with a reply of dread and doom or one of extreme excitement and interest.  Some people take to moving away like a duck to water, whilst others want nothing more than to be within walking distance of Mum, Dad, Uncle Bill and second cousin Jake.

If you fall into the latter category and think that moving abroad can be a particularly daunting experience, what can help is knowing people who come from a similar background to you reporting and providing information on the considerable task that you are about to carry out.

Clogs and Tulips is the blog of Tiffany Jansen, an American, originally from Maryland, USA.  In short, Tiffany met a Dutchman in 2007, fell in love, got married and moved back to his homeland where they have lived happily ever since.

Understanding the importance of helping fellow expats (or wannabe’ expats), Tiffany set up Clogs and Tulips to not only provide information on various aspects of Dutch life, but also to act as a gathering place for those who have moved, or want to move, to Holland (or the Netherlands in general).

As someone who has no immediate plans to move away from the UK, you might think that this blog would be of no relevance to me.  However, it is a particularly interesting blog to read through for anyone, as Tiffany details a range of different points on her new wedded life with a Dutchman.

For those of you who don’t know who Mr Cutts is, Matt is head of Google’s Webspam team and joined the workforce way back in 2000.  He spent many years working and studying in mathematics and computer science prior to his move to Google and is the brains behind Google’s SafeSearch filter.

Now, if you’re not technologically minded, it can be tempting to think that Matt Cutts‘ blog is not for you.  And, well, maybe you’d be right.

OK, so Matt Cutts‘ blog may not be solely devoted to all things technical and he does stray from that side of things occasionally.  However, Matt is a technological Google whizz, so what else would you expect him to blog about?

Matt speaks about all things Google, as well as many different aspects of Search Engine Optimisation, with many of his blog posts becoming instant talking points on a range of SEO and webmaster forums, as a lot of the information mentioned is relatively unknown, particularly expected or simply interesting and discussion worthy.

This blog is definitely worth of visit, especially for anyone who owns their own website.  Just, you know, make sure you’re wearing your techy cap when you do.

Owned by Jennifer Mattern, the same person who owns All Freelance Writing (and who was the guest in last month’s ‘Inteview With A Blogger‘ feature), BizAmmo styles itself as being ‘your small business arsenal’ and aims to provide as much assistance as possible in a variety of different areas for small businesses.

Relatively simple in its design, the main part of the blog is without doubt its seemingly endless content.  With posts dating back almost four years, there is enough resources on the blog to get your teeth into for weeks on end.  Furthermore, although the posts may be initially broken down into nine separate areas, the topics that are covered are extremely vast and varied and range from how not to write a press release through to how to find sustainable green resources from your business.

It must be remembered that everything on BizAmmo is completely free and there are no hidden costs of any kind.  However, whilst there may be no fees involved, this does not in any way, shape or form mean that the content is itself cheap – the posts are provided primarily by Jennifer Mattern herself, who is extremely experienced in small business management and ownership, alongside having a substantial amount of experience in other relevant areas.

Due to various other projects, BizAmmo was put on the back burner after April 2009.  However, it is currently being relaunched and so you should start to see plenty of fresh, new content hitting the blog over the coming weeks – well worth bookmarking, subscribing to the RSS feed or simply checking back regularly.

Everyone wants to save money.  Whether you have to watch your outgoings and pull your belt in because money isn’t particularly in abundance or you can afford to go out on a weekend and buy a new Ferrari,  with cash (…that was in your wallet), we all like to make sure that we’re receiving the best deal that we can.

To help with this, in the UK there are dozens of different dedicated TV programs and specialist features on more general programs that are all about managing your money and nine times out of ten, they will feature a guy called Martin Lewis.

By trade, Martin is a journalist and specialises in the financial aspect, more specifically personal finance in relation to consumer spending.  Running his own very popular website Money Saving Expert, Martin also regularly updates the Money Saving Expert blog, which is a more relaxed look at the financial side of life, compared to the general website which is jam packed full of helpful hints and tips, as well as the latest updates that could have an effect on people financially.

For example, the Money Saving Expert blog has featured everything from the success of that oh-so-annoying advert with the opera singer (Go compare, go compare…) to how you could make £6,000 buying a discounted engagement ring off Amazon.  There’s some more general stuff in there, too, like Martin’s honest take on feeling uncomfortable when handed a blank taxi receipt to the reason why girls don’t go to the toilet for a, ahem, when at work.

A lot of the posts make for some very interesting reading, especially when you consider that they’re from someone who used to do stand-up comedy whilst studying for a degree in law.