I am finally ready to announce my new blog.

Online IT Guide is my new blog.

It is computer advice and blogging for people who have a life. I’ll be sharing computer advice to help with everyday computer problems. I have a very heavy emphasis on handling viruses and malware there right now (there has been so much lately that I think it is a priority).

I’ll also be talking about blogging.

Initially, my emphasis will be on building a blog or website for a small business, although much of that will be applicable to anyone starting a blog. I see a lot of local small business that have a terrible website (if they even have a website). Many barely rank for their own name, much less typical search engine searches that they need to. I’ve grown tired of searching for a local business and finding the typical citysearch type directory instead. I’m looking to help them develop a site that they can change on their own without having to fork over a couple thousand dollars to a developer when they need to change something.

My goal at Online IT Guide will be to make the information understandable to everyday people.

Information like:

• What they need to do to keep their computer safe.
• How to maintain their computer.
• How to back up their data.
• How to set up WordPress for a business site.
• How to create content on a business website that will bring in paying clients.
• When it is time to find an expert to handle the situation.

Again, I am going to try and present this information so anyone can understand (I know I’m doing it right if my mom can follow it).

I will be putting nearly all my blogging effort and time into Online IT Guide.

Much of the blogging topics I would cover here will be covered there. I won’t be making much effort to post here anymore. However, there are some things I may want to post that will not fit into the topic there. Those posts may find a place here. For the most part though, Digital Key is not going to be much of an active blog.

For those that have taken the time to read, follow, and comment here over the years, I thank you. I think you’ll like the new site too. I personally think that everyone you know should subscribe to the site so you know if there is an important update or malware you may need to be concerned about (and there is a lot at the moment).

Head over to http://onlineitguide.com because you’re going to like it!

I’ll be removing the top commentator and making some other changes here but for the most part this site will still stay the same. It is just not going to get the same priority. Who knows, it work out better than it did before.

Google wrongly labels Alphatrends.net and blocks author’s access.

Is your blog safe?

Alphatrends is the BlogSpot home for Brain Shannon’s financial videos.

His analysis of stock trading videos are some of the most subscribed financial videos on YouTube. He has over 600 videos and over 5000 YouTube subscribers. He posts a video on stock analysis daily at his blog. Here is an example:

Friday, I got a message through MyBlogLog that he was unable to update his blog because Google was blocking him as a spam blog.

My first reaction was "You’ve got to be kidding." One look at Brian’s videos will show you they are not spam. The is quality content. In fact, most of it is a bit over my head, but I want to learn about stocks and subscribe to his blog because, eventually, I’ll understand. His blog consists of his daily videos and an occasional post about something related.

Alphatrends is not a site you would think could be labeled as spam.

Brian has a PR from Google of 5. He has an Alexa rating of 159,700. This is a financial blog, not a blog that is going to attract lots of readers with an Alexa toolbar. In other words, Alphatrends has good links and decent traffic. I think it is from the content and not from Brian working hard promoting his blog.

Brian is back up on Alphatrends.

Usually, Google is quick to fix these situations. It still takes time. If your label as spam by Google, you get no warning. You are guilty until proven innocent. That can take a couple days. I noticed that while Brian was not able to update his blog, AdSense was still advertising. What happens if your AdSense account gets labeled as spam also? You would not be able to remove it from the blog as Google blocks your updates and still keeps the blog showing. You better hope they let you back in.

I think this is a good example of why any blogger should look into their own hosting.

Brian has a domain name already Alphatrends.net. All he would need is hosting and he would not have been cut off from his blog. With your own hosting, even with a bad host, you should at least have a warning before something like this would happen. In Brian’s case, I doubt if any host would have considered a complaint against him valid.

If you are using WordPress.com or Blogger/Blogspot you are adding an unnecessary risk with your business.

If you are looking into stock trading, Alphatrends is a blog you should look at.

Brian Shannon does not give investment advice. He teaches how to understand stocks and evaluate them technically.

For Alpahtrends.net maybe hosting might be a good investment at $10/month.

Jim Kukral is demonstrating some great internet marketing ideas on his blog.

In fact, he has a video on his blog that he could use to market 3 different products effectively in one video.

Take a look at Jim Kukral’s blog and watch the video about Somethingstore

Can you identify the 3 products that he is selling in the video?

Actually, I think he is only promoting 2. The subject of the video, Somethingstore.com, is just being reviewed and I didn’t spot any affiliate to it. I could be wrong, but you could substitute any product and use an affiiate link.

The real products are the Flip camera and Scratchback.

The video is shot using the Flip video camera.

This is a product that Jim used to test the effectiveness of Scratchback for marketing products. A test that was profitable for him also. My only suggestion is that on the page with the video, there is no real link to buy the camera. A shame, since he does such a great job of demonstrating how useful it can be.

The other product Jim is marketing is a link in the Scratchback list next to the video.

Notice how he uses the graphic of the video to point to Scratchback. While no mention of Scratchback is made, you will notice it. This would be a great place for Somethingstore or any business featured in the video to purchase a link on Scratchback. If you are a truly evil internet marketer,  a great place for a link to a direct competitor to Somethingstore. You could also simple take advantage of traffic to the page and place any link there.

This is an excellent example of internet marketing to follow.

I’ve added Jim Kukral’s blog to my reader list. He has many great ideas for marketing that are simple and easy to follow.

Internet marketing is more than just getting traffic.

Once you get someone to your page, you need to monetize the traffic you have. Otherwise, you will be working for free. While it’s nice to enjoy your work, you will enjoy it a lot more if you make money so you can keep enjoying it. Jim is showing how to get traffic and how to monetize effectively. Here we also see an example of using graphics effectively.

I would suggest you subscribe to Jim Kukral’s blog.

If you are a ScratchBack user, the Scratchback blog would also be a good read. ScratchBack is one of Jim Kukral’s ideas and there are some good things to learn about using ScratchBack there. You will not find the attitude you see on many interenet marketing blogs. Just simple, good ideas and how to use them.

Courtney Tuttle has published a list of posts reviewing Blogging Zoom.

I have simply copied it here since there would be no point in retyping the list with with same links. I wanted to share a link with those that are helping to promote Blogging Zoom.

*Update – Bogging Zoom is no more. The domain is now being used for something else.*

If you have not taken a look at Blogging Zoom yet, read a few of these reviews.

There are some good reviews here and you will see both the good and bad about Blogging Zoom. Most of the posts I have read have seen some good traffic from using Blogging Zoom.

I think you will find that Blogging Zoom is worth the time it takes to use.

Take some time to read some of the posts there and Zoom a few you like. It is off to a great start and continues to improve.

• CashQuests.com | Blogging Zoom Has Increased My Traffic.
• SuperBloggingTips | Do You Want Your Blog’s Traffic ZOOMING Through The Roof?
• Blograters | BloggingZoom.com
• Jason Clark | The BloggingZoom Backlink Participants 1-10
• Jason Clark | The BloggingZoom Backlink Participants 11-20
• NewsNotion.com | Zoom Your Traffic With BloggingZoom
• LocalRef | Get Your Prospects To Call You Using The BloggingZoom Tool
• MakingSalesMakingMoney | BloggingZoom New Social Network Increases Traffic
• Blendworx | Blogging Zoom for small to medium blogs
• EasyWordPress.com | Courtney Tuttle Launched Blogging Zoom
• Ejcross.com | New Social Networking Site Launched
• Ejcross.com | Pros And Cons of BloggingZoom.com
• JennyLens.com | BloggingZoom Empowers Bloggers Kudos Courtney Tuttle
• The Monetizer | Blogging Zoom – Explode Your Blog Traffic
• YourWebsiteProfit.com | Zoom It: A Blogging Zoom Review
• Ask The Admin | Blogging Zoom finally a social site for self promotion
• Rich Gilcrest | BlogginZoom – Very Cool New Blog Promotion Pligg
• TheNextPost | Is BloggingZoom Headed For Boom Time?
• MakeMoneyForBeginners | Blogging Zoom, A New Traffic Source
• Make Money For Beginngers | Blogging Zoom Stats – It Works
• Howtospoter.com | What Is Rocking Blogosphere?
• Zelixy | BloggingZoom.com-”Digg 2.0″?
• Tatraplan.com | Bloggingzoom – Bloggers Self Promo Paradise
• TheHonestWay | Shiny New Button
• Tellinitlikeitis.net | Blogging Zoom Launches New Social Networking Site For Bloggers
• StevenWilsonMarketing | Blogging Zoom
• Court | Blogging Zoom – The Blogger’s Coup Against The Mainstream Media Monsters
• Court | BloggingZoom Day One Recap
• EricSocia.net | BloggingZoom: Get Zoomed And See The Difference!
• FreedomIdeas | Never Got Dugg? Then Get Blogging Zoomed!
• Localref.com | BloggingZoom – Tool for bloggers
• BloggingNotes.net | BloggingZoom: I’m Going To Keep Using It
• PabloTheHat | BloggingZoom / User / Pablothehat / Submitted
• TheCaymanHost | Blogging Zoom First Submission Goes HOT
• TheConsumersCorner.net | BloggingZoom – A Blogger’s New BFF?
• Jason Clark | BloggingZoom – First Week Review
• Blackysky | A real blogger or a Bloggingzoom spammer
• Digitalkeyto.info | Using Blogging Zoom To Get Traffic To Your Blog
• Mcgrath.ca | Blogging Zoom: Did It Do The Job?
• HowToSpoter | BloggingZoom Sucks More Than BlogRush
• AllTipsAndTricks | How Much Is Your Blogging Zoom?
• Jasonaclark.com | Easiest Way Ever To Get A Backlink From A PR4 Website!
• Zybron | BloggingZoom
• Infektia | Getting More Traffic with BloggingZoom
• YourWebsiteProfit.info | Zoom It: a BloggingZoom Review
• HomeWithHeather | Awesome New Place to Display YOUR Content
• TheNextPost.com | Is BloggingZoom Heading For Boom Time?
• SlyVisions | Blogging Zoom Defines What Self-Promotion Is All About
• Court | Blogging Zoom Zooming
• JennyLens | Bloggingzoom by Courtney Tuttle
• CutieGadget | BloggingZoom : Blogger’s new best friend!
• MDailyDouz | Courtney Tuttle creates BloggingZoom
• Monetize-Your-Blog | Want Free Traffic To Your Blog? Try BloggingZoom
• Monetize-Your-Blog | Blogging Zoom – 5 Tips To Get Your Next Post Zoomed
• Continuing Adventures | A new type of Social Networking – Blogging Zoom
• Ageeksjourney | Blogging Zoom – New Kid On The Blogging Block
• TechnoMoney | How Effective Is Blogging Zoom And StumbleUpon? Take A Look!
• Technomoney | BloggingZoom: A Revolutionary Idea
• OnARidge | Blogging Zoom – A New Social Site
• BetShopBoy | Bloggers Of The World Unite!
• MyExtraBucks | Do you know Blogging zoom?
• Jason Clark | BloggingZoom – Week 2 Review: Traffic Surpasses Google
• BloggingNotes.net | BloggingZoom Sends the Traffic
• Digitalkeyto.info | Why I Am Saying Goodbye To BlogRush And Text Link Ads And Switching To…
• Blackysky | BloggingZoom Problems
• Monetize Your BlogspotBlog | BloggingZoom 5 Tips To Get Your Next Post Zoomed
• CarloSelorio| Want Free Traffic Try BloggingZoom
• SearchForBlogging | See How Easily You Can Increase Traffic
• TheWritersManifesto | BloggingZoom Review

The Ultimate List Of BloggingZoom Reviews | Internet Marketing | Strategy & Services

I think you will enjoy reading some of these reviews. I have really enjoyed using Blogging Zoom and look forward to its continued success.

Many thanks to Courtney Tuttle for the list and to both him and his partner Vic for their incredible work on Blogging Zoom.

Courtney Tuttle’s fantastic idea is a great resource.

It was a challenge to join Courtney Tuttle’s Internet Marketers Group Writing project.

This was a fantastic idea. I believe he has created an excellent resource for anyone interested in making money online. I have not even been to all the articles yet, and I have added many of the blogs to my reader.

If you are new to Internet marketing or blogging, check these articles first.

You will learn nearly everything you need to know. More than you would find in any guru ebook. It is knowledge given to you for free. Many of the contributors spent extra time to make sure they contributed quality articles. Courtney has a very good resource in just his own blog. I suggest you ad his site to your RSS feeds if you don’t have it already.

Court has already organized the articles into groups so I decided to just quote his list.

There is also a link to his site and the original post at the bottom. There are now 45 articles in the project (the page is titled 44). Courtney has a very good resource in just his own blog. I suggest you ad him to your RSS reads.

Getting Traffic To Your Website

• The Smart Way To Get Traffic And Links: Creating A Prospect List For Bloggers by Maki at DoshDosh.com
• Finding Blog Topics That Will Bring You Traffic by Sean at WarriorBlog
• The 25 Best Ways To Increase Traffic To Your Blog by Marco at MarcoRichter.net
• How To Increase Traffic To Your Website by Frederick at SEO.Geekz.us
• How To Get Instant Free Traffic To Your Blog by Bruce at DayJobNuker.com
• How To Stay Visible Inside Of 70 Million Blogs by Ken at Blogs.MySites-Advisor.com
• Blogging In Real Life by Theda at CrayonWriter.com
• Why Back Links Work by Paul at LocalRef.com
• How To Optimize Your Blog Images For Google Image Search by Etienne at EtienneTeo.com

Developing A Website

• How To Choose A Topic For A Blog by Vic at Bu.Bulicio.Us
• Here’s How To Get MORE Subscribers To Your Dazzling Blog! by Mark at ProBloggersMatrix.com
• How To Gain And Lose RSS Subscribers by Simon at Pingable.org
• Blogging Burnout: How To Avoid It To Achieve Blogging Success by YC at InternetMarketingMind.com
• Eight Ways To Write A Successful Newsletter by Carlo at CarloSelorio.com
• How To Decide How Often To Post On Your Blog by Derek at DerekSemmler.com
• Finding Good Keywords For Your Niche by Caroline at Caroline-Middlebrook.com
• The Anatomy Of A Link by Sutoco at Blog.YourWebsiteProfit.info
• How To Use Google Webmaster Tools – And 5 Reasons Why You Should by James at DigitalKeyTo.info
• How To Secure Your WordPress Blog by Fab at FabNetRevenue.com
• Common Internet Marketing Mistakes by Bryan at UtahSEOServices.com
• Ultimate List Of Free Blogging Platforms by Fred at NewestOnTheNet.com
• How Do You Build Relationships With Your Blog Visitors? by Pearl at Fresh-Perspectives.net
• The One Thing To Know When Writing With Keywords by Simonne at AllTipsAndTricks.com
• Upgrading Your Theme For WordPress 2.3 by Karthik at IAmKarthik.com

Making Money With A Website

• Start Making More Money And Sell Your Own Ads by Tay at SuperBloggingTips.com
• Methods To Make Money With A Website by Genesis at AtHomeMomBlog.com
• Balancing Affiliate Marketing And Relationship With Your Readers by Meg at CenterOfMuse.com
• How To Sell Ads On Your Blog Despite Its Size Part 1 by Casey at NewsNotion.com
• How To Sell Ads On Your Blog Despite Its Size Part 2 by Casey at NewsNotion.com
• How To Sell Ads On Your Blog Despite Its Size Part 3 by Casey at NewsNotion.com
• Day One: Affiliate Marketing by Roberta at RobertaFerguson.com
• Throwing Away Visitors For Fun: Wrath Of Advertising by Fabien at SmallFishBigMoney.com
• Why People Don’t Make Money Online by Adebola Oni
• Effective Email Marketing by Matthew at BlogAboutYourBlog

Writing Copy

• How To Write Content That Makes A Difference For People by Bobby at Revellian.com
• How To Become A Better Writer by Pat at PatBDoyle.com
• Why Bloggers Should Be Better Writers by Nate at GrateMedia.com
• 12 Reasons Why Bloggers Need To Become Better Writers by Karen at KarenZara.WordPress.com

Getting Better Website Rankings

• How To Increase Your Alexa Rank And Why You Should by Don at AffiliateWatcher.com
• Case Study: Ajax Edit Comments and Technorati by Ronald at RaProject.com

Improving Yourself

• How To Increase Personal Creativity by Sara at PajamaProfessional.com
• How To Find Answers To Your Marketing Questions by Justin at BlendWorx.com
• Finding The Commitment To Climb Your Private Everest by Nick at BeautifulSummerMorning.com
• How To Increase Productivity While Working From Home by Neena at BlogResourcesOnline.com
• Choose Your Attitude Choose Your Success by Don at MakingSalesMakingMoney.com

44 Internet Marketing Articles That Everyone Should Read: Internet Marketers Group Writing Project | Internet Marketing | Make Money Online | Strategy | Services

I’d like to thank all those that have posted the links on their own sites.

I have gotten many trackbacks to my post and they are appreciated. I feel it is the least I can do to show the posts here also.

I am also adding Courtney Tuttle’s blog to my blogroll. It is a great resource.

I would like to know what articles from the project you found most useful.

No fair saying your own. Although, I hope everyone else learned like I did when making their post.

Sometimes user added content is not a good thing.

Bad Poetry – could it be worse than comment spam?

ProBlogger’s Birthday Bash contest for the day requires an attempt at poetry. And yes, some of it is terrible. My own entry may be one of the worse.

Check it out and write your own poetry for a chance to win the contest.

There will be no judging, so please feel free to write BAD poetry!

Another 24 hour giveaway – Where are the poets?

It does not help when one of the sponsor’s comments on how funny the comments are.

Have fun!

And he has some great prizes to give away!

It’s ProBlogger’s 3rd Year and Darren is celebrating

ProBlogger is a great source on blogging to make money. Even if you are not looking to make money on your blog, Darren can help you make your blog more interesting.

Over the next few days, Darren is going to be giving away a lot of prizes.

There is $54,000 worth of Prizes in the ProBlogger Birthday Bash Competitions! Even if you don’t want to win any prizes, make sure you wish him happy birthday.

Over the next week here at ProBlogger I’m planning to give away over $54,000 (USD) of cash and prizes in the ProBlogger Birthday Bash! (you can see the full list of prizes here).

You heard me right – over $50,000 in cash and prizes have been donated by generous sponsors to this event and every cent of them will be going to ProBlogger readers in the coming 7 days. The prizes will be given out over a number of days through a variety of different competitions.

$54,000 worth of Prizes on Offer in the ProBlogger Birthday Bash Competitions!

Darren’s blog is a great case on how a hobby blog can start to make money.

You can win an iPod

Michael Kwan and Ed Lau are creating a new hockey blog.

They are asking for help with a domain name. Read more about it at Michael Kwan’s Freelance writing blog or Ed’s personal blog. You have to email your suggested domain name and link to their sites.

By the way, they are actually giving away 2 iPods.

Ed and I have run into a big of a snag, however. We can’t think of a cool name for it. We tossed around a few ideas, but most of them were either pretty ridiculous or already taken/registered. Wanna know how you fit into this picture?

We’re giving away TWO iPod Nanos. Yes, TWO. The winner of the contest will receive a brand new 8GB iPod nano in black, valued at $249.99. We’ll hold a random draw for the brand new 4GB iPod nano in blue, giving everyone an equal chance at a stellar prize. What this means is that even if you’re not the big winner, you have a chance of taking home a prize with an MSRP of $199.99!

Source: Freelance Writing blog

I’m giving it a try.

I may be one of the few people left that do not have an iPod.

Not a bad idea for coming up with a domain name.

It can always be a hassle trying to come up with a domain name. Once you think of one you like, it always seems to be taken. The other trouble is coming up with one that is relevant to the content or uses a keyword.

Anyway, good luck to Michael and Ed on the new hockey site

3 Reasons You Should Check Out The Career Ramblings Blog

 Not all blogs are necessarily about making money online. Career Ramblings is about Career Development. This is a great place for advice about advancing your career, entrepreneurship, and other income ideas.

Here are 3 reasons you should check out Career Ramblings:

First, if you are soon to get out of school, you will find great advice for setting out on that new career.

You will find many handy tips that you may not have gotten in school but should have. Check out the following post about the importance of getting work experience.

But the reality is, it’s hard to really know how well you’ll take to a specific career field without actually experiencing it.

Work experience such as part-time jobs, volunteer work, etc. allows you to experience the working world and develop skills that cannot be fully realized in the classroom, such as customer service, teamwork, and management and organization. Employers look for these skills in potential hires.

Source: Career Ramblings – Students, Get Your Work Experience In

Of course, if you are out of work, a second reason to visit Career Ramblings would be to get some very good advice on your resume and searching for a job. 

There are many posts on upgrading those resumes, but I think the following post on cover letters to get it read may be just as important. It does no good to have a great resume and not have it noticed by the people that matter.

Let go of waiting and hoping.  These four secrets when applied strategically will land you more interviews that bring results! Take charge of your career today by asking for (and getting) what you want. 

Source: Career Ramblings – 4 Cover Letter Secrets To Land Interviews This Week

There is at least a final third reason to check out Career Ramblings, if not more.

They have many great posts about starting a new business. Not just online type businesses, but a typical brick and mortar business where you need to find financing. Take the following post about business proposals.

Some Key things to consider:

• Proposals are written offers to solve problems, provide services, or sell equipment as mentioned above. 
• A Request For Proposal is most often known as a RFP for short.

 

Source: Career Ramblings – Writing a Formal Proposal

There are many other posts with good advice on Career Development and you are sure to learn something.

Sometimes, it is those little things that make the difference between that dream position and the unemployment line. Even, if you are not currently looking for a job, it might be a good idea to update your resume with some of the advice given. Job security is not what it used to be.

Career Ramblings is offering a backlink for doing a review of the site on your site. If you are interested, read the rules post for the review here.

Career Ramblings is the combined effort of John Anthony and Jane May.

Both of whom have an excellent, clear writing style. It is very well presented. Take a look, I’m sure it will become a site you will visit several times.

I think it is Zig zigglar that suggested that the way to get ahead is by helping others get what they want.

Helping others seems to be what Erich at Life Training – Online is trying to do.

His blog is full of motivational ideas and personal improvement  posts.

Perhaps his own site description would be appropriate:

Life Training – Online is about true personal change. Rather than a place that offers nothing but platitudes and feel-good sound bites, it is my desire to help you reach your potential. It’s about training for your life! This site is designed to be as much a help for you as it is a source of growth for me. My hope is that I will be able to share with you some of the things that have helped me, through providing strategies, examples, and ideas that will raise your consciousness, open your mind, bring you balance, and lift your spirits.

Source:http://www.lifetrainingonline.com/

He gives much in the way of good advice.

Some advice is from his personal experience. Some advice is taken form studing others like Steven Covey and others. It is good to see personal applications to different self improvement ideas.

Erich is running a series of 52 PD Books in 52 Weeks.

He is reviewing a new personal development book each week for 52 weeks. I real difficult goal to me. I have been reading one book for about the last 3 weeks.

The 52 book series will be a great resource to others looking for self  improvement books. Not only is he giving a review of the book but how he has applied it. Not only is it good to have this insight, but it makes it much more readable and interesting than a generic review. You can tell he spent some time with the 7 Habits Of Highly Effctive People before he wrote about it.

For the most part, Erich provides very good advice.

He occasionally gets a little overboard. One commenter took him to task for some claims in his article about not drinking soda. Still, his point is good, his sources were just biased. My wife has gotten me to cut down on my soda. (I am about to drink a Mountain Dew LiveWire right now though-probably caffine in its purest form.)

Visually, I like the layout of his site. It is simple and not cluttered. The header is a bit on the dull side with only a large RSS icon to break up a solid background. A few places had text bleeding over borders but it probably looks better than this blog. Very professional and the ads do not distract.

Erich is also running a contest:

To qualify for an entry, all you have to do is link to this post using the words (the links must be intact) “Life Training – Online, a blog dedicated to self improvement and personal development is hosting a free raffle where you can win an 80GB iPod Video! Read this post to learn how you can enter.” As well as any other words you feel you’d like to write.

Source: Link to My Blog and Get an 80GB iPod Video!

Erich has a great site that I know I will be making a difference in many lives.

I plan to visit it regularly myself.