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Posted: 14 Nov 2012 01:51 AM PST
Have you ever published a blog post that just sank? Maybe you got one or two tweets and comments … or perhaps nothing at all. The best way to avoid this happening in future is to ask yourself five key questions. Get into the habit of asking these about every post you write – and you’ll get great results every time. The best time to ask these first three questions is while you’re planning your post: Question #1: “Does this post have one key topic?”Your blog posts should have one topic – not several. Of course, you can still make sub-points – but those all need to relate to a bigger picture.In this post, the key point is “improve every blog post you write” and that’s broken into five questions. Question #2: “How will this help my reader?”Rather than just writing about whatever’s on your mind, think about what your readers want. That could be a “how to” or tutorial, or it might be a list of tips or ideas.Even if you’re promoting a product (or service), you can give value by pre-empting readers’ questions, or by writing an article on a related topic that mentions your product and links to the sales page. Question #3: “How will this help me / my business?”Although your readers matter, you should have goals for your blog (or your business) too – otherwise, it’s going to be hard to make progress.A great way to ensure that the post benefits you as well as the reader is to add a call to action at the end (e.g. “click here to sign up for my newsletter and get my free ebook”). This works best when you can tie the topic of your post to the call to action. These final questions are great ones to ask during the editing stage: Question #4: “Have I used formatting effectively?”Your post needs to look attractive on the screen. That means subheadings, bold text for key points, and perhaps bullet-points or blockquotes to help add visual interest and white space.Formatting can make a dramatic difference to whether or not your post gets read: it’s well worth spending a couple of minutes adding it in. Question #5: “Will my title grab readers’ attention?”If readers come across your post through a social network, they may only see the title before deciding whether or not to read it.This means your title is the most important part of your post – and it needs to be engaging enough to grab readers’ attention. Great ways to do that are with numbers and adjectives. Your turn! Which of these questions is the one that could make the biggest difference to your blog? Let us know in the comments … and if you have any great questions to add to the list, let us know those too. Ali Luke writes on content creation for DailyBlogTips. Grab your copy of her ebook Ten Powerful Ways to Make Your Blog Posts Stronger here (along with other great blogging/writing goodies). Original Post: Five Great Questions That Will Improve Every Blog Post You Write |
11/19/2012
Five Great Questions That Will Improve Every Blog Post You Write
Zapd Creates Instant Websites Using Your iPhone
What are your options when you want more than a 140-character tweet,
but have no interest in maintaining a blog or building a website? Zapd, a free app for iPhone, lets people create mini-websites from their phones in about a minute.
The simple, blog-like sites are places to post images, text and links. For example, you can quickly create a “Zap,” a site where everyone at a party can post their own photos and commentary. But you can also use it to chronicle a hobby without the risk of overwhelming friends’ Instagram or Pinterest feeds. A Zap can hold a few hours a few hours’ worth of stories or those collected over a lifetime.
The company recently released an updated version that includes collaboration among friends (the previous version allowed only the account-holder to post), as well as a newsfeed to help users discover sites created by others.
While Zapd’s easy posting features are similar to Tumblr’s, a Zap resides at its own Web address and is unassociated with other users’ content. Sharing is as simple as sending a link to a family member that they can open and view in a single page without having to learn to navigate a new platform. Zaps can only be created on a smartphone, but can be viewed on any Internet-connected device.
While all themes will automatically adjust to the screen they’re viewed on, Zapd has added two groups that scale up better for screens larger than those on smartphones. Six grid themes are available that show a single column of picture and text blocks when viewed on a phone, but up to three column blocks when displayed on a tablet or computer, much like Pinterest. Marquee themes have a large cover image at the top and smaller ones below, similar to a Facebook Timeline page.
There are three post types: text, link and photo. You can take pictures in the app or pull them in from your iPhone’s camera roll. You can do simple edits, such as applying filters and cropping. (Zapd uses Aviary, TND’s top pick mobile photo editing app.) Descriptions can be added to photos or placed in their own text-only boxes. Zapd offers a simple on-off privacy option found under “Settings.” When privacy is switched on, a “cryptic string” is added to the Zap’s URL, which would make guessing the address very difficult to do. Only those you share the link with would be able to view the website. Turn privacy off and the extra string of characters is dropped. When privacy is on, your website URL looks like this: http://kelly-smith.zapd.com/vintage-porschesTy3cFPQtm; turn it off and its shortened to this: http://kelly-smith.zapd.com/vintage-porsches.
Once you’ve created a Zap, you can choose to send the link to your Twitter or Facebook account, along with emailing the URL to others.
Zapd is available for iPhone in the App Store, and an Android app is under consideration.
The simple, blog-like sites are places to post images, text and links. For example, you can quickly create a “Zap,” a site where everyone at a party can post their own photos and commentary. But you can also use it to chronicle a hobby without the risk of overwhelming friends’ Instagram or Pinterest feeds. A Zap can hold a few hours a few hours’ worth of stories or those collected over a lifetime.
The company recently released an updated version that includes collaboration among friends (the previous version allowed only the account-holder to post), as well as a newsfeed to help users discover sites created by others.
While Zapd’s easy posting features are similar to Tumblr’s, a Zap resides at its own Web address and is unassociated with other users’ content. Sharing is as simple as sending a link to a family member that they can open and view in a single page without having to learn to navigate a new platform. Zaps can only be created on a smartphone, but can be viewed on any Internet-connected device.
How to Make a Zap
No design experience or coding is required to create a Zap. To get started, open the app, tap the three-bar navigation icon and tap “My Zaps.” Choose a theme from one of nearly 50 options, such as a striking black background or one with a folksy gingham border.While all themes will automatically adjust to the screen they’re viewed on, Zapd has added two groups that scale up better for screens larger than those on smartphones. Six grid themes are available that show a single column of picture and text blocks when viewed on a phone, but up to three column blocks when displayed on a tablet or computer, much like Pinterest. Marquee themes have a large cover image at the top and smaller ones below, similar to a Facebook Timeline page.
There are three post types: text, link and photo. You can take pictures in the app or pull them in from your iPhone’s camera roll. You can do simple edits, such as applying filters and cropping. (Zapd uses Aviary, TND’s top pick mobile photo editing app.) Descriptions can be added to photos or placed in their own text-only boxes. Zapd offers a simple on-off privacy option found under “Settings.” When privacy is switched on, a “cryptic string” is added to the Zap’s URL, which would make guessing the address very difficult to do. Only those you share the link with would be able to view the website. Turn privacy off and the extra string of characters is dropped. When privacy is on, your website URL looks like this: http://kelly-smith.zapd.com/vintage-porschesTy3cFPQtm; turn it off and its shortened to this: http://kelly-smith.zapd.com/vintage-porsches.
Once you’ve created a Zap, you can choose to send the link to your Twitter or Facebook account, along with emailing the URL to others.
Zapd is available for iPhone in the App Store, and an Android app is under consideration.
Google Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 Now Available in Australia and Europe
The 8GB variant of the Nexus 4 is priced £239 ($379) in the UK, while the 16GB version costs £279 ($443). The Nexus 10 tablet will set UK shoppers back £319 ($506) if they choose the 16GB model and £389 ($617) if they go for the 32GB variant.
Availability is reportedly sketchy, though, as some variants of the devices have already been sold out in some countries. Furthermore, some users are experiencing very slow load times for the Google Play store.
The Nexus 4 is an Android 4.2 smartphone sporting a 1.5 GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2 GB of RAM and an 8 megapixel camera. The Nexus 10 is a 10.1-inch tablet with a 2560×1600 pixel resolution, a 1.7 GHz dual-core Cortex-A15 processor and 2GB of RAM. It’s also powered by Android 4.2 or Jelly Bean.
The devices aren’t yet available in the U.S. Google Play store, but will likely show up there soon.
11/15/2012
32 Mobile Apps That Online Students Love
It just plain makes sense that students who dig incorporating
technology into their academic pursuits would likely make mobile
computing via tablets and smartphones an integral life component. Taking
advantage of everything these applications have to offer streamlines
the largely autonomous process behind enrolling in an online course.
Some, of course, prove a little more useful than others, but the
following offer a nice enough start!
-
Dropbox:
With one Dropbox account, students enjoy access to their files while on the go, so they never accidentally miss a deadline again … because of computer issues, anyway.
-
Bento:
Available on iDevices (because of course), Bento makes organizing solo and group projects much, much easier by providing users with their own personal databases for storing contacts, drawing up calendars, and taking notes.
-
Blackboard Mobile:
Because so many online courses rely on Blackboard for distributing the necessary materials and conducting the necessary assessments, downloading the app should be essential for remote students.
-
TED:
While classes themselves might not use TED as a supplement to lessons, students (both online and off) undoubtedly benefit from tuning into what the experts are saying about the latest ideas and innovations.
-
Evernote:
Never forget an important project point with Evernote, an amazing scrapbook application for keeping everything organized and on hand, no matter the medium.
-
Instapaper:
Perfect for online students who just can’t recall the websites consulted for research purposes, this resource saves pages so they can read them anywhere and everywhere.
-
Wikipedia:
Because everyone uses Wikipedia, even if they aren’t supposed to admit it in an academic setting. Don’t cite it in a bibliography, but definitely check out the sources used and start researching from there.
-
Wolfram Alpha:
Forget Google. Wolfram Alpha works as an amazing search and computational engine specifically for scholastic pursuits, bringing back returns regarding pretty much everything students need to know about their desired subjects.
-
Google:
We lied about forgetting Google. Don’t forget Google. Especially since its mobile app allows for voice searching.
-
Wi-Fi Finder:
Obviously, online students should probably know where to look for wireless Internet in their areas — especially if their connections at home go all kablooie.
-
Quickoffice:
Create and edit Microsoft Office documents from anywhere and, most conveniently, see them saved across all linked devices when paired with a cloud application.
-
StudyBlue:
Create, store, and share notes and flashcards online and via a mobile application perfect for studying from pretty much anywhere.
-
Dictionary.com:
An indispensable resource for online students needing both a dictionary and a thesaurus. There’s even some fun little word games available as a welcome distraction!
-
myHomework:
Even though an online education grants more autonomy than the traditional classroom structure, students still need to stay organized and on top of their homework assignments.
-
Cliqset:
Social media forms a major component of many online classes, and Cliqset makes it super duper easy to update and keep track of them all in one convenient spot.
-
Kindle:
Download and read books and textbooks teachers may require for the class, conduct research, or receive a little extra help on the side.
-
Dragon Dictation:
This speech-to-text program helps students take verbal notes, send e-mails, and work on projects on the go without wearing down their thumbprints.
-
GPA-mE!:
As one can probably glean from the name there, online students can use this application to calculate their grade point averages as they go along rather than waiting on their teachers.
-
Howcast:
Learn how to do pretty much anything thanks to detailed step-by-step videos; they offer up information on multiple educational topics, meaning students will likely pick up some interesting tidbits here.
-
Astrid:
One of the most popular productivity apps available acts as a veritable personal assistant, with to-do lists, reminders, and organized collaboration.
-
Zwoor:
If a research project or a class requires any sort of polling, Zwoor makes collecting the data from friends, family, and total strangers a breeze.
-
Pulse:
Stay on top of relevant blogs and other online reading resources needed for projects through simply organized lists on iDevices and Androids.
-
Study Tracker:
Presented by McGraw-Hill, Study Tracker makes it cake for students to keep track of their grades and time spent on assignments and create comparisons for better academic management.
-
Mint:
Online and offline students alike definitely need to keep track of their personal finances, especially if they’re taking classes requiring tuition.
-
CourseSmart:
Another popular option for students who prefer purchasing and reading textbooks digitally rather than lugging one around.
-
Documents To Go:
This full Microsoft Office suite allows for creating and editing files while out and about without requiring a cloud to sync everything up.
-
SimpleMind+:
Online students in possession of an iDevice use SimpleMind when mapping out papers and projects before getting started.
-
iAnnotate:
iAnnotate provides iDevice users a painless, easy method of marking up and taking notes on PDF files needed for classwork.
-
Cash4Books:
Use the iPhone or Android’s barcode scanner and learn how much those textbooks and other reads will fetch when sent over for other students to buy and use.
-
Quora:
When stuck on a critical research question, some students (and even professors!) head to Quora and directly ask experts about their fields.
-
Chegg:
Rent the necessary textbooks from the comfort of the iPhone (sorry, Android and Blackberry users!) through this popular money-saving service.
-
Open Culture:
Who said online students have to enroll in formal classes to learn something? Open Culture provides one of the Internet’s largest repositories for free educational materials – especially open source courses!
10/29/2012
Update Driver Windows 8 for All Laptop (Acer, Apple, Asus, Dell, e-Machine, Fujitsu, Gateway, HP, Lenovo, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, Visio, Microsoft)
Fancy yourself an early adopter, but don't want to shell out the money to buy one of the many new Windows 8
systems offered by Microsoft and other manufacturers? What about those
who bought a new PC recently, and find themselves stuck with Windows 7?
Well, you're in luck, because Microsoft, in an effort to boost Windows 8
adoption, is offering to upgrade eligible systems on the cheap. For
$14.99—15 bucks!—anyone who purchased a qualified Windows 7 laptop after
June 2 of this year can purchase a download of Windows 8 Pro. And for
those who don't meet those requirements, the full operating system can
still be purchased for $39.99 (via download) or $69.99 (on disc).
But not all laptops will be able to make the jump to Windows 8. According to Microsoft, the minimum hardware requirements for running Windows 8 include a processor with a clock speed of 1GHz or more; at least 2GB of RAM for 64-bit systems (or 1GB for 32-bit), 20GB of hard drive space (16GB for 32-bit), and DirectX 9-capable graphics. Most—but not all—PCs running Windows 7 will meet these requirements, but it should be noted that if you purchased Windows 7 Starter Edition, you'll be paying full price.
You should also know that many features integral to getting the full Windows 8 experience require further hardware capabilities. The touch-based navigation that Windows 8 is built around requires a touch screen, though touch-enabled peripherals can make up some of the difference. Purchasing and downloading apps for the Windows Store—which Microsoft expects will be your primary source of apps and software—requires an active Internet connection. And while the operating system will work at resolutions as low as 1,024-by-768, you'll need to bump that up to at least 1366-by-768 in order to use apps side-by-side.
Beyond the basic hardware requirements, you'll also need device drivers to get all of your hardware playing nicely with the new operating system. While most manufacturers are offering driver support for PCs sold over the last year, the cutoff date varies, so check the details for your specific brand below. And if you don't see your brand below, check back over the next few weeks, as we will be updating this story as more information becomes available.
Acer
Acer offers driver support for Windows 7 laptops purchased between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013, as well as offering an upgrade assistant to guide you through the specifics of the upgrade process for dozens of Acer systems.
Apple
Apple is offering no support for Windows 8 at this time.
Asus
Asus offers a free Windows 8 upgrade for qualified systems sold between October 1 through December 31 of this year. It should be noted, however, that the upgrade is only free after a mail-in rebate, and only a handful of systems are eligible.
Dell/Alienware
Dell (and subsidiary Alienware) is supporting upgrades for qualified Windows 7 systems purchased between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013. Offers must be redeemed prior to February 28, 2013.
eMachines
Like Dell, eMachines is supporting upgrades for eligible Windows 7 PCs purchased between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013. Offers must be redeemed prior to February 28, 2013.
Fujitsu
Fujitsu is supporting upgrades for eligible Windows 7 PCs purchased between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013. A list of eligible systems can be found on the offer page.
Gateway
Gateway is supporting upgrades for eligible Windows 7 PCs purchased between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013. Offers must be redeemed prior to February 28, 2013. Gateway also offers a support tool for determining whether or not a system is supported—a handful of otherwise eligible systems fail to qualify for support due to hardware incompatibility.
Hewlett-Packard (HP)
HP is providing upgrade instructions and drivers for all Windows 7 systems sold after 1st October 2011, as well as providing a detailed upgrade guide to help you through the process. For a limited number of eligible Windows 7 systems, HP is also offering a $15 refund to cover the cost of upgrade. Refund information can be found here:
Lenovo
Lenovo is supporting upgrades to several laptops, including ThinkPad and Lenovo B, E, K, M and V series as well as IdeaPad models. The promotional upgrade offer only extends to models purchased between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013.
Panasonic
Panasonic is supporting upgrades for ToughBook computers, with detailed download information listed by model number.
Samsung
Samsung is providing upgrade instructions and drivers for several Windows 7 systems, along with a step by step installation guide. Eligible models are listed on the upgrade page.
Sony
Sony is supporting upgrades for eligible Windows 7 PCs purchased between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013. A list of eligible systems can be found on the offer page.
Toshiba
Toshiba is supporting upgrades for a wide range of Windows 7 PCs , with an upgrade assistant for installing Windows 8 on systems purchased after June 1, 2012. Toshiba is also supporting upgrades for systems purchased between January 1, 2011 and June 1, 2012, with manual step-by-step instructions.
Vizio
Vizio is supporting upgrades for all Windows 7 Vizio PCs, with both drive updates and a detailed installation guide.
Microsoft
Having trouble finding your manufacturer's upgrade and support page? Microsoft has collected links to the pages of numerous manufacturers.
Referrence: http://www.pcmag.com
But not all laptops will be able to make the jump to Windows 8. According to Microsoft, the minimum hardware requirements for running Windows 8 include a processor with a clock speed of 1GHz or more; at least 2GB of RAM for 64-bit systems (or 1GB for 32-bit), 20GB of hard drive space (16GB for 32-bit), and DirectX 9-capable graphics. Most—but not all—PCs running Windows 7 will meet these requirements, but it should be noted that if you purchased Windows 7 Starter Edition, you'll be paying full price.
You should also know that many features integral to getting the full Windows 8 experience require further hardware capabilities. The touch-based navigation that Windows 8 is built around requires a touch screen, though touch-enabled peripherals can make up some of the difference. Purchasing and downloading apps for the Windows Store—which Microsoft expects will be your primary source of apps and software—requires an active Internet connection. And while the operating system will work at resolutions as low as 1,024-by-768, you'll need to bump that up to at least 1366-by-768 in order to use apps side-by-side.
Beyond the basic hardware requirements, you'll also need device drivers to get all of your hardware playing nicely with the new operating system. While most manufacturers are offering driver support for PCs sold over the last year, the cutoff date varies, so check the details for your specific brand below. And if you don't see your brand below, check back over the next few weeks, as we will be updating this story as more information becomes available.
Acer
Acer offers driver support for Windows 7 laptops purchased between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013, as well as offering an upgrade assistant to guide you through the specifics of the upgrade process for dozens of Acer systems.
Apple
Apple is offering no support for Windows 8 at this time.
Asus
Asus offers a free Windows 8 upgrade for qualified systems sold between October 1 through December 31 of this year. It should be noted, however, that the upgrade is only free after a mail-in rebate, and only a handful of systems are eligible.
Dell/Alienware
Dell (and subsidiary Alienware) is supporting upgrades for qualified Windows 7 systems purchased between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013. Offers must be redeemed prior to February 28, 2013.
eMachines
Like Dell, eMachines is supporting upgrades for eligible Windows 7 PCs purchased between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013. Offers must be redeemed prior to February 28, 2013.
Fujitsu
Fujitsu is supporting upgrades for eligible Windows 7 PCs purchased between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013. A list of eligible systems can be found on the offer page.
Gateway
Gateway is supporting upgrades for eligible Windows 7 PCs purchased between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013. Offers must be redeemed prior to February 28, 2013. Gateway also offers a support tool for determining whether or not a system is supported—a handful of otherwise eligible systems fail to qualify for support due to hardware incompatibility.
Hewlett-Packard (HP)
HP is providing upgrade instructions and drivers for all Windows 7 systems sold after 1st October 2011, as well as providing a detailed upgrade guide to help you through the process. For a limited number of eligible Windows 7 systems, HP is also offering a $15 refund to cover the cost of upgrade. Refund information can be found here:
Lenovo
Lenovo is supporting upgrades to several laptops, including ThinkPad and Lenovo B, E, K, M and V series as well as IdeaPad models. The promotional upgrade offer only extends to models purchased between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013.
Panasonic
Panasonic is supporting upgrades for ToughBook computers, with detailed download information listed by model number.
Samsung
Samsung is providing upgrade instructions and drivers for several Windows 7 systems, along with a step by step installation guide. Eligible models are listed on the upgrade page.
Sony
Sony is supporting upgrades for eligible Windows 7 PCs purchased between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013. A list of eligible systems can be found on the offer page.
Toshiba
Toshiba is supporting upgrades for a wide range of Windows 7 PCs , with an upgrade assistant for installing Windows 8 on systems purchased after June 1, 2012. Toshiba is also supporting upgrades for systems purchased between January 1, 2011 and June 1, 2012, with manual step-by-step instructions.
Vizio
Vizio is supporting upgrades for all Windows 7 Vizio PCs, with both drive updates and a detailed installation guide.
Microsoft
Having trouble finding your manufacturer's upgrade and support page? Microsoft has collected links to the pages of numerous manufacturers.
Referrence: http://www.pcmag.com
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