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Google BlogSearch

Google BlogSearch has been out for more than a year, and according to Hitwise, it has surpassed Technorati in terms of number of vistis since December 23, 2006.

For me, Google BlogSearch is not only a search engine, but also a very useful blogging tool. Whenever I want to write about a topic, I first go to Google BlogSearch to see if it has already been written. If my topic has already been written, I will either choose a different topic or choose a different angle to write on the same topic.

I like Google BlogSearch because it usually gives me more up to date information than Google itself. It could be because blog post is easier to index than web page. For example, if you go to Google BlogSearch to search for "Britney Spears blogging", you can see Kumiko Suzuki's post on Britney Spears already. You probably can't find her blog post in Google until next week.

I don't know if Google BlogSearch will ever replace Technorati. However, if you want to search for something new, you should use Google BlogSearch before you use Google.

My new renter

If you look at the right side of my blog, you can see a little section that marked as, "New York Nitty-Gritty". This is the new renter of this blog. I sign up for the "Rent My Blog" program in BlogExplosion, and this photoblog owner decides to rent my blog space.

BlogExplosion is one of the many traffic exchange program in the web. The basic concept is simple. You surf other member's blog to get credit such that you can give credit for other members to surf your blog.

I used to be very keen on BlogExplosion when I first start blogging. However, I soon found out that the traffic I got from it are not very useful. Vistors from BlogExplosion usually stay for a very short time, and they will not click any ad! Furthermore, many people on the web claims that traffic exchange program violates the Google Adsense terms of agreement. Thus, I seldom use the traffic exchange program from BlogExplosion any more.

However, I found some of the services provided by BlogExplosion, like "Rent My Blog", has a lot of potential. At the time of writing, BlogExplosion only let members to rent blog space for credit, but in the future, BlogExplosion can let members to rent out blog space for cash. This could be a new revenue source for bloggers. Google Adsense is by far the most popular advertising avenue for bloggers, but since it is paid by click, the income generated by Adsense is not consistent. A "Rent My Blog" type of service can give blogger a consistent stream of income.

More thoughts on BlogExplosion:

• There aren't many bloggers using the "Rent My Blog" service. I consider this as the biggest drawback.
• There are some web sites that let bloggers to sell text link, but they usually requires a high Google page rank.
• If I start a "Blog rental" service, would anyone be interested?

MySiteProfile

I found MySiteProfile on MyBlogLog. I read Aaron's profile on MyBlogLog, and decided to give it a try. MySiteProfile is a new social community site for bloggers, web site developers, programmers or artists. MySiteProfile has many functions, almost as much as MySpace.com. Not only users can create his/her own profile, he/she can publish a blog, start a group, create a poll, upload image to the gallery, or asks readers to rate a picture.

MySiteProfile is relatively new. It has 141 members at the point of writing. In MySiteProfile, you will not get the kind of exposure as in MyBlogLog, but since it is a smaller community, you also get more attention, and is easier to distinguish yourself. It could be a good channel for bloggers who want to promote their blogs.
If I have to start my own web 2.0 site, I would do something similar to MySiteProfile, although I will target a smaller niche than Aaron did.

You can check my member profile in here: http://mysiteprofile.com/Johnny_Cash

Sitemeter

I have been using mybloglog to keep track of this blog's traffic, until I come across this post from "The Million Dollar Experiment heads down under". Rob recommends sitemeter highly. So, I give it a try. I found it is incredibly easy to install.

Here is a step to step guide:

1. Click "Sign up" here to sign up for a free account.
2. Read the agreement and click "Next".
3. You will come across a page that asks for your blog's URL and the title of your blog. Enter your blog's information and click 'Next'.
4. Then, you will be asked for your personal information. You need a valid email address, your zip code, and the year of birth. You will also need to provide your title (e.g. CEO of Johnny_Cash enterprise), country, gender and your email preference. Click 'Next' when you are done.
5. Then, sitemeter will ask you if you are interested in subscribing any of its newsletter. Click 'Next' after you have finished with your selection.
6. You will come to the confirmation page. Click 'Next' and an email will be sent to your mailbox.
7. Check your mailbox and use the codename and password to log into your account.
8. Click "Manager" tab, and in the "Adding Site Meter to your site" section, click the "HTML" link.
9. Copy the javascript and add this into your blog.

You are done!

I have used ExtremeTracker before. Sitemeter is a lot easier to install and the user interface is much better than ExtremeTracker.

MyBlogLog

I havn't updated my blog for more than a week, but traffic has kept on coming.
Indeed, I have over 300 page impressions during the week. The secret -- MyBlogLog!

MyBlogLog is a social network for blog readers. It let bloggers or readers to create a profile, upload a picture and join community of his favorite blog. Its purpose is to let bloggers to know its readers even if the reader has never leave any comment on the post.

MyBlogLog is launched at May, 2006 and is brought by Yahoo at January 19, 2007 for more than $10 million. Even by the dot-com bubble's standard, MyBlogLog is a tremendous success story!

I think the success of MyBlogLog has a lot of similarity to MySpace. MySpace is launched by Tom Anderson, and is orginally targeted for struggling new artists. The site let artists to post his/her own music, photos, profiles and movies, which gives a lesser known artist a chance to showcase his/her talent. MyBlogLog is like MySpace for bloggers. It is a site for less known bloggers (like me) to get recognized, and provide a place to know other bloggers.

I have added the MyBlogLog avantar on the right side of the blog.