Recommended Web Tools Archives

Essential Websites You Should Read

I just added the equivalent of a blogroll to this site. It has been a long time since I have had anything resembling a blogroll on this site. On all Post and Page pages, there is now a section of the sidebar called “Essential Websites”. The list is short; only seven. If you want to get started in the blogging/website/tools/writing/seo space, then these 7 sites are must have resources for you!

Website Revenue with the Shoe – Shoemoney Blog Review

Looking to learn more about generating revenue from your website(s)?

Surf on over to Jeremy Schoemaker’s blog, “Shoemoney“, where he covers various aspects of website revenue generation.

Shoe has had a tremendous amount of success is monetizing websites and uses the blog to share his insights and opinions. Shoe also hosts, Net Income, a weekly show on Webmaster Radio.

If you read Shoemoney for any length of time, you will notice one undeniable aspect: a strong (and frank) opinion. Shoe is not afraid to call BS when it needs to be called. While you may not agree with him, having a non-sugarcoated
opinion is refreshing in many ways.

What can the beginner learn from Shoemoney?

First, one can gain a vision for website monetization. I often look at my website and think “How can I better monetize?”. Read Shoemoney and you will gain enough thoughts and ideas to realize how your website can begin to generate income.

Second, you can learn from his mistakes. While he has had tremendous success, he has also failed. In fact, my favorite post over the last year was his “My Top 10 Worst Ideas to Make Money“. The post reveals not only some inherent insanity on his part, but also his willingness to be creative and risky. The post is must reading for anyone who wants to try and earn a quick buck. The post itself has entertainment value: you will laugh your butt off when you read it.

Third, you can learn from his successes. Beginners need to pay attention to those who are able to earn money from the Net fulltime. As a part-timer, I don’t have the time to test ad placements or new ad programs. However, people like Shoe have and will share their opinions with you. Take advantage of their knowledge. For starters, read his “5 Ways to Generate Revenue for Your Website“. His top recommendation may surprise you.

How can Shoemoney improve his blog for beginners?

Shoemoney went through a period of time where every post seemed like a series of “Here is the link to my most recent Net Income show” posts. It made me disinterested in reading his blog. Thankfully, he has gotten away from this. While he still posts about his Net Income show, those posts provide a lot more content that actually entice me to go and listen. I have also noticed a renewed effort on his part to provide substantial content filled posts. It seems he has been posting more regularly since the beginning of the year.

So what could he improve?

- more “why this is good, why this sucks” kind of posts. People want a good recommendation whether it is a restaurant or an ad program.

- more practical posts. I know webmasters are always afraid of giving away their tightly guarded secrets. They don’t need to give it all away, but I have found that providing 75% of an answer keeps people coming back to read more.

- Create his own info product. Given his prominence in some circles, how well do you think “The Shoemoney Guide to Website Revenue” would sell? His blog could then support his ebook ala Aaron Wall and SEO Book.

- Make his RSS feed more prominent. It is hard to spot buried way down on the bottom of the page.

So take Shoe for a whirl and see how his insights may help you think differently about your website. Add his feed to your RSS Reader and continue to build on your web education.

Disclosure: Paid Review

Small Business should learn to leverage Google Maps and Yahoo Local

Google Maps and Yahoo Local Search are powerful tools that often go unnoticed beyond their ability to give directions.

However, for the small local business there is a tremendous amount of advertising power by getting your business listed.

Where is the best place to go to learn about these tools? Head on over to the Understanding Google Maps and Yahoo Local blog.

In particular check out these two posts:

Best Practices for Local Success

Which business classes benefit most from Local Search

These posts will help you generate ideas for getting your brick and mortar business listed on Google Maps and Yahoo Local Search.

[tags]google, yahoo, maps, local, search[/tags]

RSS Marketing Blog Review

The posts maybe few and far between, but each post on this blog packs a punch.

For those interested in getting the most out of their RSS feeds, this is the place to start.

Topics covered include:

• RSS Publishing
• RSS Marketing
• RSS and SEO

For the beginner, a site like this casts a vision for what is possible, a benchmark to work towards.

If one takes the time to look through the archives there is a wealth of information: What is RSS?, How to create a RSS Feed, Using RSS feeds, etc.

Even for advanced users, the RSS Marketing blog is a must read for keeping up with the world of RSS.

[tags]rss, marketing[/tags]

Lorelle on WordPress Blog Review

Lorelle. Lorelle. Lorelle.

I find it difficult to constantly monitor the world of WordPress among the many other things that I keep an eye on. I don’t have time to visit the help forums everyday. I have found that reading Lorelle on WordPress is a far easier and better way to keep up with that world.

Her posts are very comprehensive and in-depth. While those posts are often lengthy, I find I read most every word. That tends to happen with well written blogs.

She knows her WordPress. She is very active on the WordPress forums and writes for the WordPress Help Codex.

She is always trying, testing and experiementing with new things whether its a new plugin or some other aspect of web development.

If as a beginner, you are not certain which blog software to implement, I would suggest reading her blog for a while. You will get a taste of WordPress and all the cool stuff you can accomplish with it. Her blog is highly recommended.

Plus her name is fun to say.

Lorelle. Lorelle. Lorelle.

Online Auction Blog Review

Sydney Johnston is the queen of Ebay. She has been an Ebayer from almost the very beginning. There is no better place to learn then from a source of real and true experience.

Interested in the web from the online auction side of things? Then her Online Auction blog is an absolute MUST read.

She often discusses issues revolving around Ebay, selling tips and tricks, pitfalls in ecommerce and many other things.

On her site she offers a free ebook which is an excellent primer for the online auction beginner. Check it out.

Librarian in Black Blog Review

It may seem odd to recommend a blog like the Librarian in Black on this site, since it focuses solely on libraries. However, the discussion of technology within the library setting has proved insightful. The benefits of reading about technology used in a particular setting are great. Too often, technology writing, even my own, is divorced from a particular context. It may sound silly, but how a person uses something as mundane as Excel in an accounting office may look very different from the way a library may use it. It is not the library part that interests me as much as how technologies are implemented and the often creative ways they are used.

Often, LIB discusses something about a technology that is often overlooked on other blogs. Since the blog deals directly with practical application in a real setting, there is very little theory or fluff. For LIB, the question always is “Will it work in a library context?”

We need to ask that question regarding are our given contexts. Technology should be contextualized. Too often technology is generalized. When that happens, I think it loses some of its power.

I would like to see more blogs of this nature. Is there someone out there that works for a city government who is head of IT? or someone who is involved in IT for a large retail chain? etc., etc., etc.

Copyblogger Blog Review

Copyblogger has burst on the scene in 2006 as one of the best resources for copywriting help on the Net. As the name suggests, the site is not just about copywriting in general, but specifically for blogs.

The most difficult part of blogging is the writing. For those who need a little help and encouragement I would recommended checking out the Copyblogger resources:

Copywriting 101
Building Your Fan Club
Blog Triggers
Viral Marketing with Blogs

As with all the blogs I enjoy reading, Copyblogger is clear, concise and helpful. Of course, one would hope so since it is a blog about writing!

Domain Name Wire Blog Review

Domain Name Wire is THE place to learn about the ins and outs of the domain name industry.

Andrew (the author) provides helpful reviews of domain name tools and websites as well as commentary on the latest domain name news. He also allows readers to peek into his domain world by providing statistics on his domain names, etc.

While it is always interesting to see how much certain domain names sold for, the greatest value of the blog is reading his commentary. A lot can be learned from even the most indirect comments, especially if one becomes a long term reader.

I have had Domain Name Wire in my RSS reader for a long time, but only over the last few months have I read it more regularly. I became an avid reader when I became convinced about the need to have a diverse portfolio of domain property. Before jumping in and buying domain names willy nilly I would recommend reading through several past months of posts and then reading the next few future months. Remember that the domain name industry is a business, not a slot machine.

[tags]domains, blogs, domain+names[/tags]

Seth Godin Blog Review

Seth is one of those guys that people either love or they love to hate.

I think the reason people dislike Seth is that he looks at things differently than most of us do. But thats the reason I like to read him. Even if you may ultimately disagree with what he says, reading his blog will definitely help those brain cells churn in different and creative directions. What more could you want from a blog?

Things I appreciate about Seth’s blog:

• A different point of view.
• I learn something. As I look over the feeds I read, the ones that are ultimately staying are the ones I am learning from.
• I’m weak in the marketing department and I need all the help and insight I can get.
• Its fun reading.

While Seth’s blog doesn’t directly address Internet Marketing, his overall perspective on marketing is helpful no matter which medium one uses to market.

[tags]godin, blogs, marketing[/tags]

Problogger Blog Review

ProBlogger is another blog geared towards helping the blogger succeed.

Darren, the author, is very prolific in his writing. It is clear he works hard to provide valuable content for his readers. If I have but one complaint, it is my inability to keep up with him!

However, with that said, I have found problogger to be not just a site to keep up with the “news” but as a GREAT reference source. With the amount of content he has built over the last three years, his site has become an excellent repository for learning about blogging. I am finding that it is easier for me to search his site for topics I am interested in and do my reading that way, then keeping up with his regular posting.

Beginning bloggers will find most if not all of his posts geared towards them. He has done several series of posts on blogging basics and blogging for beginners.

While the sheer amount of content may overwhelm the beginner, I recommend the reference approach to the Problogger site. Search and read only the posts that relate to your current topic of interest.

[tags]problogger, blogs, blogging[/tags]

Performancing Blog Review

Performancing is home to a group of professional bloggers writing (and developing) for professional bloggers.

At the time performancing first came onto the scene in 2005, it seemed like they made a huge splash very quickly. With Nick Wilson (from Threadwatch) and Patrick Gavins (from Text Link Ada) behind the site, it is easy to understand why. After building a solid team of writers, Performancing has gone on to produce some of the most applicable and helpful articles about blogging.

The Performancing site is run like a business. It should be obvious since it IS a business, but I highlight that point for beginners. Way too often in the web world (and the brick and mortar world too), people are looking to make a quick buck without much work. Performancing is a solid example of good business skills and hard work producing a web site of value. While I don’t know their numbers, I only hope that are indeed a financial success.

One thing I appreciate about Performancing is the reasonable pace of posts. If I dont read it for a few days or even a week, I don’t feel overwhelmed by “make up” reading. It seems to me that they seek to make every word count, for it is often that I flagging their posts in my reader for future access.

Performancing also develops applications to assist bloggers in their blogging. Currently they offer two free products. Performancing for Firefox is a Firefox extension that is a full featured blog editor. Performancing Metrics is a web site statisitical tool created specifically for bloggers. Each of these will be reviewed separately.

[tags]performancing, blogs, blogging[/tags]

Jim Boykin’s Internet Marketing Blog Review

Jim Boykin is the CEO of We Build Pages, an internet marketing services company. This blog is his self-dubbed “solo album.”

Jim recently posted Side 1 and Side 2 of his best posts. These 19 posts make an excellent introduction to internet marketing for the beginner. Actually, internet marketing is probably too broad a term, as these posts tend to focus on link building.

Beginners will find Jim’s site accessible and often humorous. It is always a pleasure to read someone who doesn’t take himself too seriously. There is a wealth of information here, enough to keep one busy for weeks.

[tags]boykin, blogs, marketing[/tags]

JenSense Blog Review

The JenSense blog focuses on contextual advertising news and commentray.

Want to learn about Google Adsense, Yahoo Publisher Network and other contextual ad networks? JenSense is a great place to come up to speed on the latest.

JenSense focuses a fair amount of time on two topics in general: Ad Network Policy and Click Fraud. Beginners need to be aware that there are indeed rules and policies that companies like Google put into place to protect themselves, advertisers and publishers. While everyone should read the policies for themselves, JenSense often retiterates the terms of those policies in language that is more clear. Also, she keeps up on the latest policy changes. Add the JenSense feed and be ensured the latest update (and comments) on the latest policy change will be at one’s fignertips.

With ten-plus years of writing on the Internet, Jen definitely provides the authoritative source for contextual advertising commentary.

[tags]jensense, blogs, ads[/tags]

PC Doctor Blog Review

Looking for tips on maintaining a pc (both software and hardware)?
Want to know the latest take on a Windows update?

All PC Owners can benefit from the tips and commentary from PC Doctor.

The vast majority of the posts pertain soley to PCs. The PC Doctor does cover Mac’s to a certain extent. However, it is limited to critical news about Macs (security threats, etc).

As always, the blogs recommended here are accessible to most beginners. The PC Doctor certainly excels at this. Tips are written with very thorough instructions, often with a screen shot or two.

Recent Topics on PC Doctor:

USB Flash Memory Review

Windows XP Tips

Keeping your PC Clean

PC Doctor writes a weekly set of tips on a particular topic. For example, the Keeping your PC Clean series is a set of five posts, written one a day for a week. Other series are written in like manner.

Of recent interest to me was a discussion about anti-virus software. His comments definitely made me think twice about the protection my pcs receive.

Add PC Doctor’s feed to your RSS reader and be on your way to learning more about that big black box that sits by your legs.

[tags]pc doctor, pc maintenance, hardware, software[/tags]

Gadgetopia Blog Review

While the name would suggest that Gadgetopia is simply one of those high end gadgets blogs, it is about more than just gadgets.

Gadgetopia covers a variety of topic about technology including gadgets, software, programming plus other commentary on the affects of technology upon peoples lives.

Three things are appealing about Gadgetopia over other “gadget” blogs.

First, the posting pace is manageable. With an average of 4-5 posts a day, it is a blog that is easily kept up with. Other blogs throw a tremendous amount of content at a user. Those have been deleted from my reader since it is virually impossible to catch up.

Second, it has more of a homegrown/grassroots feel about it then others. There is little pretension or self importance.

Third, it is well written and easy to read.

I was worried at first when Gadgetopia joined one of the blog networks. I had hoped they would not succumb to a corporate mentality and lose the homegrown/in-touch commentary that makes it appealing. To date, that hasn’t happened (crosses fingers).

Recent topics have included:

Thoughts on CSS

Thoughts on elevators

Thoughts on PHP

Altruism and the Internet

Thoughts on Large Ships

[tags]gadgetopia, gadgets, blogs, technology[/tags]

SEOMoz Blog Review

SEOMoz is a helpful resource about search engine optimization. The SEOMoz blog, of all the SEO blogs, is probably the most accessible to beginners. It is clearly written and well thought through. While it may take beginners a while to get used to some of the SEO lingo, I found that the learning curve was not nearly as long at SEOMoz as it was at other blogs.

Readers of SEOMoz can expect the following from Rand and the other contributors:

A tell it like it is, no punches pulled, honest look at SEO as exemplified in this post about nefarious SEO firms. For beginners, there is no better way to learn then watching some of the debates that go back and forth about ethical SEO.

Examples of bad SEO

Examples of good SEO

Excellent commentary in general, in this case, about the world of web design

Personally, I like their forthrightness and candor. It has help me sort through the chaff that exists out in the SEO world.

The SEO world can be very confusing to beginners and SEOMoz is a good place to start.

SEOMoz is also the creator of the Beginners Guide to SEO.

[tags]seomoz, search engine optimization, blogs[/tags]

Tipmonkies Blog Review

Tipmonkies is a technology blog dedicated to a wide range of topics. As the name implies, most of the posts revolve around “tips”. The tips are about various technology whether it is software, hardware, websites, etc. Their posts cover items for Windows, Linux and the Mac. What I appreciate the most about Tipmonkies is their desire to make technology (and discussions about technology) accessible to everyone. So as someone who writes for beginners, I recommended Tipmonkies as a blog beginners can enjoy and understand!

Here is a sample list of topics:

Google Safe Browsing Firefox Extensions

Habits of Del.icio.us users

Guide to Yahoo Services

Yojimbo Review

Yahoo Maps with Traffic Reports Review

This tiny selection is only the tip (pardon the pun) of the iceberg. Looking for an easy and accessible way to learn about the computing world? Tipmonkies maybe the next feed to add to your RSS Reader.

[tags]tipmonkies, beginners, computing, blogs, technology[/tags]

Virtual Handshake Blog Review

We are all part of a virtual community whether we know it or not. By simply having a website, every webmaster is part of THE online community. We are now part of the Web 2.0 age where connecting to each other online is becoming more and more the standard and practice.

The Virtual Handshake is a site about social networking software. The site is essentially a means to continue the discussion started in their book: The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online. The site offers continuing insight and advice on how to connect in the virtual world. Their insights are not only for internet marketers or business people. Anyone interested in the way the Web shapes our culture and our world can benefit from their knowledge.

While there are a wide variety of resources on the site, but the point of this post is to point people to their blog. The Virtual Handshake blog offers the following information:

• Ongoing discussion about their book
• Posts about social networking software
• Reviews and critiques of sites that use social networking software
• Insights into Internet Marketing in the Web 2.0 age
• Interviews with those shaping the Web 2.0 world

The web is a powerful resource to connect to other people. While we hear on the news about the downside of such “connectability” in the form of spam (email and comment), hackers, and stalkers, all of which makes us paranoid about internet security and privacy, we forget about the other side of the coin. The web does indeed have the potential to allow people to expand their horizons, make new business connections, and have a voice in any of a variety of narrow or broad online communities. For example, this blog is a “voice” in the web tool “community”. Albeit a small voice, in its humble beginnings I have seen an impact on a number of users and software makers. It is really quite incredible.

Check out the Virtual Handshake and see how the web can not only expand the horizons of business, but expand the horizons of each individual. Get ready to connect!

EzineArticles Blog Review

I have only begun to dip my toe into ezine article writing and marketing. In my search of ezine article web sites, EzineArticles has stuck out above the rest. Chris Knight has done an excellent job of reorganizing the site to better suite authors and publishers. He has shown interest and concern in the authors who submit articles to his site. While the EzineArticle blog does contain a fair amount of entries about updates to the website and what not (which is understandable of course) there is a fair amount about article writing and marketing in general. If the concept of writing ezine articles is new to you I would highly recommend checking out the EzineArticles blog and subscribing to their RSS feed.

Tech Crunch Blog Review

Tech Crunch provides the latest reviews of Web 2.0 applications.

What is Web 2.0?

Many are still debating the answer to that question. The Web is a constantly changing place. Over the last few years many web based applications have appeared that are the moving the web in a different direction. My novice definition of Web 2.0 would be:

Next generation web applications geared towards creating participatory interaction between people and information.

Examples of Web 2.0 types of applications include: blogging software, social bookmarking, context based advertisting, podcasting applications, etc.

All of that is to say, if you want to know more about Web 2.0, Tech Crunch is a must read.

The application reviews are very thorough. Much more thorough then some of the reviews I provide on this site. Reviews often include a detailed explanation that includes screenshots.

Beginners can be overwhelmed by the amount of information there is on the web. My purpose in recommending blogs is to point out places that do a good job of whittling down information so that is is easily accessible and usable. When it comes to the world of Web 2.0, Tech Crunch does exactly that.

Link Building Blog Review

The founders of Text Link Ads, provide helpful posts on the topic of link building.

The Link Building Blog does not discuss all a webmaster needs to know about link building. Posting once a week, on average, is not enough content to cover even such a niche topic. However, what they do post has been extremely helpful.

The beginner will find three essentials from reading this blog. First, quality posts. The Link Building Blog does not post fluff. You can guarantee either original top of the grade material or highly recommended material from other quality blogs/resources. Second, exposure to a number of other QUALITY blogs. Three, links to tools and information that WILL help any link building effort. Indeed, their post for October 3 is great example.

Robin Good’s Master New Media Blog Review

Robin Good’s Master New Media website and blog is chock full of information for today’s e-marketer, news publisher, and rss users.

Almost all the content on the site is availabe thru an RSS feed. In fact, there are around 25 individual feeds. Each feed covers a particular topic. Example topics include: Online Marketing, Search Tools and Technologies, and Information Access. There is a single feed in which all the content is aggregated together.

Why is this a blog you should read?

The man and his staff are extensive researchers. They are able to dig up the latest tools and provide solid commentary on its usefulness. Through his reviews, advice, techniques, etc. a reader can learn A LOT about online communication in all its facets.

He has been the main advocate for the concept of NewsMastering. A NewMaster is an individual who is able to create news niches based on the aggregation and/or filtering of various news feeds. This topic itself fascinates me. The only area in which his discussion of news mastering is weak is in the area of publishing rights. The key to republishing anything is securing the rights to do so. Though it may be as simple as “asking for permission”, I have found it is a little trickier than that.

I do wish that some of his web pages were a little tidier. They can be a little disorganized in my opinion, especially the interior pages. However, content is king, so it is worth checking his site out and subscribing to his feed.

While a lot of his topics may be over the head of most beginners, they can, at the least, be exposed to a lot of ideas and opportunities that they may not of thought of before. Who knows, maybe something he says will spur on the entrepeneur in you. I think that one thing that is lacking in a lot of discussions concerning web development is vision. What is the vision for a website? What can it be? What can it do? What is the vision for a business? etc. Reading Mr. Good’s blog will provide a whole lot of vision and possibility.

Blogs You Should Read

I am creating a new ‘feature’ on this website. I have created a blog category named ‘Recommended Blogs’. Similar to my other reviews, I will review blogs that are worthy of your time. I will emphasize WHY a blog should be read and HOW it distinguishes itself from others.

I debated whether I should simply create a blogroll. Blogrolls simply indicate that a website owner generally recommends or likes a particular blog. There is no other information about the recommended blog.

I felt it would be far more helpful for users to get answers to the WHY and HOW questions so they could make a far more educated decision about whether a blog should be added to their personal RSS Reader.

I currently spurl websites that I find informative, helpful, etc. I have placed my most recent 15 spurls on my Web Resources page. Blogs that end up in my “Blogs You Should Read” category will also end up being spurled. This acts like a mini-blogroll. On my Other Resources page you will find a link to subscribe to my spurls. Subscribe both to my blog feed and my spurl feed to keep up-to-date with my recommendations. Othewise, visit the Recommended Blogs category to see the latest blog recommendations.

Happy Reading!