5 Cool Plugins for your WordPress blog

Posted on September 2, 2010 | No Comments

Wordpress Plugin

I got a lot of comments and great feedback on My Top Favorite Blackberry Apps post that I thought do another one. This time around I’m sharing cool WordPress plugins. I am been using WordPress for a while now and I tend to switch out plugins from time to time trying to find the best fit. I have to say that the more plugins you have the slower your blog may run, so make sure you really need it before installing it. Also if you aren’t using it, go ahead a delete it. I like that you can search, download, and activate plugins from your blog. No more doing it the old way of downloading, uploading thru ftp and logging into your blog to active it.

So here are some cool plugins for your blog.

1) Akismet: This is one of the plugins that automatically comes along with a new WordPress installation. It checks your comments to see if they look like spam or not. You need an API key to use it, which you can get for free. I love this plugin. It’s great with catching all of my spam comments, although once in the blue a real comment gets mark as spam.

2) Contact Form 7: I haven’t used anything other contact form plugin with my blog. This one does the job and does it well. I don’t think have gotten any spam emails, which is a plus.

3) TweetMeme Retweet Button: This is one of the best ways to give your readers an option to tweet out your blog post. It also shows how many times the post has been retweeted. Don’t get discourage if the number is 0, that just means you need you get out there and promote to your post/blog.

4) Audio Player: I been a fan of this plugin for a long time. It’s the only plugin I have every use to add music to my blog post. You can also customize the player with colors to match you blog and have multiple songs in the post. I also like that you when you press play on the second song the first stop playing.

5) flickrRSS: If you have a flickr account I sure you want to share your photos on your blog. I used this plugin to showcase mine on my sidebar. This is another plugin I been using for long time with no problem. There are also different options for how you can show them: square, thumbnail, medium, or large.

What are your favorite wordpress plugins?

Category: Gadgets and Tech
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Blogging for Branding: End Progress Report

Posted on September 1, 2010 | No Comments

Blogging-for-Branding3

Well the month of August is behind us and the 31 days to a better blog challenge has come full circle. I successfully completed 81% of the challenge. I just have 6 assignments that I am in the process of planning out for this month. I want to thank Rosetta Thurman for putting together this challenge. Blogging for Branding has made me a better and more confident blogger in just 31 days. Using Google Analytics to compare the month of July to August, my have made some significant improvements with my blog. For the first time surpass my own personal goal for the number of post per month. My numbers have also increase in the # of views, amount of time spent on my blog and a decrease in bounce rate. Yay! Being a blogger is no easy task. You must love what you are doing and the ideas will flow. I am breaking through and finding my blogging state of mind. Here is my current blogging theme song.

Black Eyed Peas – Imma Be

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My Blog Stats

1. Number of posts: 12 (July – 7)

2. Number of blog comments: 6 (July – 2)

3. Number of blog subscribers: 10 (July – 0)

4. Number of visits: 237 (July – 164)

5. Number of unique visitors: 134 (July – 91)

5. Number of pageviews: 668 (July – 314)

6. Bounce rate: 52.32% (July – 67.68%)

7. Average time on site: 5:37 (July – 2:05)

8. Traffic sources: Twitter is still my top referral with 22.78% (July – 20.73%)

Direct Traffic 45.57% (July – 53.66%)
Referring Sites 50.21% (July – 44.51%)
Search Engines 2.95% (July – 0.61%)

9. Keywords: idesign, blogher and s’mores, Artiatesia, Artiatesia Deal (July – Artiatesia Deal)

10. Basic audience stats from Quantcast (if applicable): no data
11. Most popular posts: My first time at BlogHer (July – My freelance life: Freelancing choose me and Bizx: Business Card Exchange)

Here is another music treat for you.
Jaay-Z Feat. Alicia Keys – Empire State Of Mind

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Category: Just Bloggin
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Live Tweeting from #swaggHamptons

Posted on August 28, 2010 | No Comments

You have been invited to tag along with me today for the closing events for the Merecdes Benz Bridgehampton Polo Tournament along with @prsarahevans and Swagg. (Twitter Hashtag: #swaggHamptons). I am going to be covering the event as NYC Social Media Examiner.

Category: Social Media
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How I use my Blackberry Email and Gmail App

Posted on August 26, 2010 | No Comments

Blackberry Logo

When I first got my blackberry, I couldn’t wait to set up my blackberry email. It wasn’t like I needed another email but I just had to have it. If I remember correctly it was very simple setup and you will end up with the following: “yourname@phonecarrier.blackberry.net”. I never give out this email and I only use it to transfer things back and forth from my phone to my personal email. When I am heading out and need to make several stops through out my trip I use Hopstop to map of my directions and email them to my BB email. On a side note I really like using Hopstop. I try to make sure I everything within the same location so I don’t have to pay the MTA more then one fare. I love it because I can access the email I send to myself while underground on the train.

Gmail Logo

Now you don’t necessarily have to get a BB email. You can have your own personal email send to your phone. This is great for those of you who have only 1 email address. I prefer to get my email using the Gmail App. I am an active Gmail user with several different accounts. Trying to have all those email pushed to my BB would useless. With the App I can manage all of my accounts: write, send/receive, and delete emails. What I really love is that I am write/reply to emails even when I am on the subway underground. Once I get a signal the email will be send out automatically. At the end of the day I love my Gmail App and use it whenever I am out or away from my computer for long periods of time. I only use my BB email when I need to.

So what do you prefer to use (a) Blackberry Email, (b) Gmail App, (c) or having your personal email send to your phone?

Category: Gadgets and Tech
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Help me create a world with more birthdays

Posted on August 24, 2010 | No Comments

On Sunday, October 17, 2010 I will be making strides against Breast Cancer. This will be my 5th year walking in the American Cancer Society Walk. Last year the Brooklyn walk raised 1 million dollars. I want to help them raise even more. Please help by joining or donating to our team: Da Real Deal/Green Striders.

Category: Awareness
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