Jun 24 2009

Social Conversation Site

Published by Tom under Blogging, Web Reviews

The following post is a sponsored review.

Blogging is tons of fun and it can be a great pastime. People create blogs for various reasons. Some create blogs as a business venture and to create an income. This is great and can create a nice part-time income. However, some people just want a blog to have fun and update friends and family or to socialize. That is where free blog sites come in the picture.

We all know about the most common ones like Blogger and Wordpress which offer free blogs to users. However, many casual blogger do not realize that there are more options out there. Thoughts.com is one of those options. This site is pretty cool and offers many cool features to add fun and excitement to your blogging experience.

The first time I heard about this site, I thought it was just another free blog site. However, once I ventured into their community, I was surprised at the warm community feeling that it gives off. They allow video uploading, picture uploading, and unlimited bandwidth. This is great to have a free blog that allows these features without having to find a separate host for the pictures and videos. They even host your podcasts and have easy to integrate features to share all of them on your blog.

If you are a novice or a longtime blogger, there is something in this community to attract and keep you coming back. The add a-friend features almost gives it a Facebook like feel.

I suggest you visit thoughts.com and check out what they have to offer and be sure to take a tour to see some of the fine features. Get blogging within minutes and you will be hooked for life!

3 responses so far

Jun 19 2009

New Beginnings

Published by Tom under General Blog Info, Webmaster Advice

Many bloggers and webmasters struggle to maintain their sites when they get busy with their careers and family life. I have maintained well up until this past six months. I have been busy with work and trying to gain a healthy body. Because of this, my sites and blogs have not been updated or maintained to the standards they should have been. The good news is, as all webmasters know, there are always new beginnings and it the new beginning for me.

First on the list is thanking all my loyal readers who have made this blog quite successful. Without readers, there would be no blog. That is key to any successful blog. Any blogger who is not writing for their readers is not a true blogger and wasting space on the Internet. First and foremost, the focus should be to inspire, entertain, and attract a loyal reader base.

If you have a blog or a few blogs and just lost interest or got too busy, it is not too late. This post is all about new beginnings. It is time to dust off the keyboard, sharpen the wit, and inspire the world with your talent and charm. It does not matter what kind of blog or website you have, there is always something to can update or change. Sometimes taking a bot of time off will get the creative juices flowing again and you will reach new heights in the webmaster world. Stay tune for more posts on this blog and I hope my new beginning inspires you to revisit the blog or site you have left unattended.

2 responses so far

Nov 05 2008

Failure is Not Possible

Published by Tom under Webmaster Advice

I see webmasters complaining that their website or blog was a failure. Either it did not make the money they wanted or it did not attract the amount of traffic they thought it should. I am here to tell you from one webmaster to another, there is no such thing as a failure when it comes to blogging or creating websites.

My first every website looked like a 4th grader created it. It was so childish that I am almost embarrassed to think about it. I could not get anyone to visit it, I made no money, and it was lonely all by itself. Did I fail? Hell no! I learned from that website and I improved on my next site.

My next site was better and I learned a few webmaster tricks to get some good traffic. Still, I made very little and the site was still unattractive but I did have some traffic. Once again, I was not a failure because I learned even more from that site. I improved on the site and worked hard and sold it for a little profit.

There are very few webmasters who have stepped into the world of the Internet and was a instant success. The key is to do your best and learn from every success and every mistake. I am still, after many years, far from an expert. I still make mistakes and I still get frustrated over not making enough money. However, I have found that each mistake (no matter how big) is a learning experience that will increase my profits in the future.

Being a webmaster is not for everyone. There is so much competition on the Internet. However, with patience and hard work, you can cut your little piece of the pie and become a winner one mistake at a time. Reading everything you can from other bloggers and webmasters will help you get there quicker by learning from their mistakes.

It is not the fear of failure but the goal of success that drives you to be the best at what you do!

12 responses so far

Sep 05 2008

Imhosted.com Webhosting

Published by Tom under Webmaster Resources

I am always on the look out for quality webmaster resources to share with my readers. One of the biggest problems for new and even experienced webmasters is finding quality hosting for their website or blog. If you have followed my blog, you will know that I prefer quality hosting even if it is not the cheapest.

I recently discovered Imhosted.com which offers great Website Hosting. I decided to check into the different packages and see what they were all about. The first thing I discovered on their website was that they lay it all out in simple and easy terms. What you see is what you pay with no hidden cost.

They offer one shared hosting plan at $6.95 a month. This is not the cheapest plan I have seen but they offer unlimited websites on that plan and it comes with 2,500GB space and 20,000 GB bandwidth. This is a huge package and will be more than enough for any webmaster. They also offer a full 24/7 support system for the hosting package.

On top of the shared hosting package, they offer three different reseller package to meet the needs of hosting resellers. On all their hosting packages, they offer a money back guarantee and they promise a 99.5% up time. Unlike many other hosts who promise that, if they fail to deliver at least that, they will credit a portion of your fee for that month. For the last six months, they have had a 99.998% up time for their servers.

I liked everything I have read and have spoken to a friend who uses them. I would welcome comments on this blog from others who have used their services. I also have provided a link for you to check them out for yourself.

Remember, when deciding on a web hosting company, do your research and look for a guarantee. Be willing to pay a little more to go with a company that offers good support and great packages. Cheap is not always better when your site is always down. I recommend checking out Imhosted to see of they have what you are looking for. If you sign up, please come back and share your experience with my other readers.

One response so far

Jul 07 2008

Finding Good Web Hosting

Published by Tom under Webmaster Advice, Website Creation

Finding good quality hosting is always a challenge. There are many hosting sites that off free or super cheap rates and when you start using them, you end up with slow loading, massive downtime, and no support when you need it. This can be super frustrating. That is why it is important to look for a company you can trust.

The good news is that there areĀ  affordable web hosting companies that will provide excellent service and provide great uptime. The key to finding this is to read all terms of service and read what they promise to you.

There is a limit to everything when it comes to hosting. Packages that promise unlimited everything for $1 a month is the type of stuff you should avoid. Cheaper is not better and you should look for reliability. The company should offer at least 99% uptime and 24/7 support. Problems do not always happen between 9 to 5 weekdays so their support team should be there when you need them.

Be sure that the plan you pick covers what your needs are. How many sites will you have? How much space will you need? How much traffic will you have each month? These are all questions you need to answer and than ask upfront if the plan you choose will cover that. Remember, if you use a lot of big images or loads of video, this will require more bandwidth than just a text site.

Ask everything up front and make sure you know what you are paying for. One thing to consider is who is in charge of keeping back ups of your site. If the host provides back ups, this is a huge plus if anything every happens. You also want to know if the price is discounted if you pay by the year instead of the month. This could save quite a bit of money for you.

Good hosting is out there and with the right research and the right questions, you can find the best for great prices.

4 responses so far

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