|
|
| By:
|
|
| :
|
3/3/2010 |
| :
|
You've already seen how Beta Blogger looks against a black background. But what if your site has a white, pink or green background? No problem. Click the links in the gallery at left to transform the style of this web page and see how flexible Beta Blogger is. Same blog-only the page style has been changed. The first 3 examples use Beta Blogger Basic set against random OL color schemes:
"Piano"-3 column design with simple colors/white content background
"Espresso"-light gray content background
"Leather"-beige content background
If you'd like a more stylized look, we can customize Beta Blogger to further fine tune it's fit in your site. |
| :
|
|
|
| By:
|
|
| :
|
3/1/2010 |
| :
|
The truth is with a little css knowledge and imagination, you can style your blog anyway you want. Or you can let us do it for you by upgrading to our Premium or Custom packages.
Premium
The last 5 examples in the gallery add simple dimension and color to posts to highlight them within a default OL color scheme.
"Shadow"-subtle gradient background image and borders
"Olive"-soft gray post background with shadow borders.
"Canvas"-light blue background with complimentary shadow border.
"Mint"-Woah!! Contrasting color offsets posts from page, background.
"Spicy"-can't imagine anyone using this, but the blog still looks ok!
Custom (aka "Makeover")
Our Custom package goes beyond the blog and adds a complete analysis and redesign of your site's color scheme. Options included:
redesign/creation of header
redesign of default navigation colors/background images
custom styled blog.
Examples:
|
| :
|
|
|
| By:
|
|
| :
|
3/1/2010 |
| :
|
Everything you need to build a professional looking, seo friendly blog on your Office Live site. We want to make sure Beta Blogger works for you so, in addition to the application, page templates, commenting element and supporting files, you also get 30 days of phone support and unlimited email support.
Back to top |
| :
|
|
|
| By:
|
|
| :
|
2/26/2010 |
| :
|
 Search 101It seems to be conventional wisdom these days that blogs are good for websites because of the site relevant, rich content they add. Search engines LOVE content.
And with Google processing an estimated 200 million search requests a day (that's over 2300 a second!), it obviously makes sense to try and make your site as appealing as possible to the search engines and all the potential traffic they provide.
Saturate your site!So how does a blog help you do that? The truth is there's no way for an OL site owner to predict what keywords a searcher is going to use. And chances are your competition is using the same meta tags as you-besides which for years Google has said they don't pay much attention to meta tags. So it's really a crap shoot-a numbers game. One proven way to increase the odds in your favor is to saturate your site with content relevant to the site's purpose. That's where blogs come in.
 Let's say for example, you sell widgets on your site and you are a widget expert. You publish blog posts about your experience with widgets, the history of widgets, how to use a widget etc.You'll increase the chances of a search engine's algorithms computing that your site is more relevant to the person searching for "widgets, history, experience, how to". than a competitor that is lacking in this type of content-because returning relevance is the name of the game in search. You probably won't shoot up to the first page overnight-but overtime, it's been proven that search engines reward relevance above all else.
The friendly, fresh and fun factorsAn additional benefit of adding a blog is that you can build confidence in your site by communicating your expertise in it's subject. A useful and informational site is more user friendly and engaging-and more likely to attract repeat visitors.
And let's not forget the "fresh factor". By periodically adding blog posts to your site, your content is automatically freshened up- something both visitors and search engines appreciate. And last but not least-the "fun factor". You may find you enjoy expressing yourself about a subject you're expert in and getting some interaction from visitors to your site.
So "bring out your inner blog"-see what it can do for your site!
|
| :
|
|
|
| By:
|
|
| :
|
2/12/2010 |
| :
|
How can I explain the never-ending irrationality of human behavior?
We say we want one thing, then we do another. We say we want to be successful but we sabotage the job interview. We say we want a product to come to market, but we sandbag the shipping schedule. We say we want to be thin but we eat too much. We say we want to be smart but we skip class or don't read that book the boss lent us.
The contradictions never end. When someone shows up and acts without contradiction, we're amazed. When an athlete just does the sport, or when a writer just writes the words, we can't help but watch, astonished at the purity of their actions. Why is it so difficult to do what we say we're going to do?
The lizard brain. |
| :
|
|
|
| By:
|
|
| :
|
2/9/2010 |
| :
|
Structure
We guarantee Beta Blogger will blend in with the size, colors and look of your site. Page templates included cover virtually any variation of site width, navigation orientation and page layout. To demonstrate Beta Blogger's flexibility we built this site 2 ways: 980px/top nav and 780px/left nav. Click HERE to sample the 780px format. [You can close the window to return here or continue reading on the other page!]
Header and navigation
The modular design only occupies the editable zones of your pages, so your header and navigation structure won't be affected.
Integrated blog navigation means you only have to add one page to your site's nav to open the blog and give your visitors access to every post. The lookBy default, the module backgrounds are transparent and fonts are gray/orange. If the fonts don't work with your site-we'll update them, no charge. And with a little css styling, you can easily transform the look of Beta Blogger, like THIS-same blog-totally different look!
Flexibility
Beta Blogger is "makeover-proof"! It's designed to effortlessly withstand any changes made to the color scheme, look or layout of your site. Change happens, after all. But it won't affect your blog.
To experience the flexibility of Beta Blogger, visit our interactive gallery where you can see how the blog adapts to a variety of different site styles.
Click here for an interactive demo of more different styles
Back to top |
| :
|
|
|
| By:
|
|
| :
|
2/7/2010 |
| :
|
THIS IS A BETA BLOGGER POST!
 Compare Beta Blogger to Live Spaces. See the differences. This is how a post looks in Beta Blogger-scroll down for the Live Spaces version. May the best blog win.
|
Who wins? |
Live |
Beta |
Comments |
|
Easy set up? |
Y |
Y |
|
|
Simple to use? |
Y |
Y |
|
|
Consistent look? |
Y |
Y |
|
|
Integrated navigation? |
N |
Y |
|
| 'All access' to posts? |
N |
Y |
Have to go offsite to see other Live posts |
| Onsite comments? |
N |
Y |
Have to go offsite to read/leave Live comments. |
| SEO friendly? |
N |
Y |
Only Live posts included on your site can be seen. |
| Customizable? |
Ltd |
Y |
|
| Include images? |
Y |
Y |
|
|
Include video? |
Y |
N |
|
.
You decide!Leave a comment below and let us know what you think. Of course, to comment on the Live Spaces post you'll have to go to another website....
|
| :
|
|
|
| By:
|
|
| :
|
2/4/2010 |
| :
|
Blog choices
Till now, the only way to add a blog to an OL site was to iframe a 3rd party blog or use Live Spaces. The iframe solution can look okay but NONE of the content is exposed to search engines.
Compare the source code of this iframed Blogger blog on an OL page with the source of the page you're reading and you'll see what I mean. Source code is what the search engines see.
Live Spaces blogs are great-but only allow one page of content and redirect the visitor away from your site to see more of your blog or leave a comment. Not good if you're trying to maximize the search benefit of your blog.
Expose yourself!
With Beta Blogger, ALL your blog content is visible to the se's. Visitors can find, read and comment on all your posts without ever leaving your site. So not only is your content "exposed", but your site also gets the search engine credit for every page view and every link clicked.
Back to top |
| :
|
|
|
| By:
|
|
| :
|
2/2/2010 |
| :
|
Keep your visitors on your site
Integrated navigation doesn't interfere with your site's overall nav.
One link in your site navigation gives visitors access to your entire blog.
Consistent blog navigation on every page encourages browsing.
Posts organized by recent, month and category
Subjects are linked so one click takes a visitor directly to the post they're looking for.
Summary page lists all your posts by subject.
Back to top |
| :
|
|
|
| By:
|
|
| :
|
2/1/2010 |
| :
|
 For bloggersBeta Blogger is designed to replicate a traditional blog using only the components available in a standard Office Live website. From a user experience point of view, it's just like a regular blog. The blogger enters posts and the nav links into a form, and the application automatically publishes the post and updates the indexes on the web pages.
Behind the scenes, Beta Blogger uses the business applications area as a database for the posts and different "views" of that database format the modules on the web pages. Embedded javascript and css code handle some of the functionality and the appearance of the blog, so you don't have to.
The only non OL component is the commenting feature which is hosted separately by us and automatically added to your posts. Comments moderation is accomplished by using a unique id that you control, allowing you to delete any undesirable comments.
So the only things a user has to do is create the requisite pages from templates, connect the published lists on the pages to the "database" (by clicking ok a few times!) and enter the posts. Unless you want to change the appearance of the blog, you don't have to know ANY code to operate a fully functioning, great looking blog.
For visitorsThe integrated navigation ensures your visitors have easy access to any of your posts from anywhere within the blog. They can find, read and comment on your posts on a number of different pages, arranged by default as follows:
recent posts = last 5 posts
archive = all posts with summary linked to each post
12 monthly pages
10 category pages
Beta Blogger's structure can also be customized if you have special needs. For example, you may have a category with a lot of posts and you want to provide streamlined navigation for that category page-as we did on this site here. Please CONTACT US with your requirements.
Back to top
|
| :
|
|
|
| By:
|
|
| :
|
2/1/2010 |
| :
|
It cost us many late nights, some gray hair, many beers. a lot of coffee, and more abuse from our family than we care to recall. Except for the beer part, we'd've gladly paid $19.99 to avoid all that if we could have. You can.
Beta Blogger packages
Back to top |
| :
|
|
|
| By:
|
|
| :
|
1/30/2010 |
| :
|
5 step set up
Install the application
Set up the month and category lists
Create the pages you want from the templates
Connect the modules to your lists in business applications
Blog!
After initial set up-you won't have to touch your blog pages in the the page editor again!
Complete set up instructions are included within the application. The basic package also includes 30 days of phone support and unlimited email support in case you get stuck.
Back to top |
| :
|
|
|
| By:
|
|
| :
|
1/29/2010 |
| :
|
Form based interface
When you create a new post in the application, you'll see a form based interface like this: [Mouseover the image to enlarge]
Each line item has instructions and a copy/paste example to assist you if a specific format is required. The rich text editor allows you to add images, links and other formatting to your posts. [IE only] You can also create your posts in html-though javascript gets filtered out.
Fill in the form, click ok, and your post will automatically be published to the corresponding pages/indexes.
Perhaps one of the best things about Beta Blogger is you never have to wrestle with the page editor to get the look you want. If you need to edit something, simply open the application and make any changes you want. You're guaranteed a consistent, professional look everytime. That's all there is to it!
Check out the "Try it yourself" demo to see for yourself!>>>
Back to top |
| :
|
|
|
| By:
|
|
| :
|
1/29/2010 |
| :
|
|
Fully customizable to fit your site: |
|
Width |
Columns |
Color |
Navigation |
Link to example |
|
980px |
3 |
Gray |
Top |
|
|
980px |
3 |
Black |
Top/left |
|
|
980px |
3 |
White |
Top/left |
Example |
|
780px |
3 |
Gray |
Top |
|
|
780px |
2 |
Black |
Top/left |
|
|
780px |
2 |
White |
Top |
Example |
|
780px |
2 |
Gray |
Top |
Example
|
|
| :
|
|
|
| By:
|
|
| :
|
1/27/2010 |
| :
|
Interactivity
 Allowing visitors to leave comments is a great way to encourage participation in your site. Sites that allow comments see an increase in traffic and return visits.
Beta Blogger includes a moderated comments feature that opens right below the post and won't redirect visitors to another site like Live Spaces does. Your visitors can conveniently leave a comment and read what others have said. We provide you with a unique password so you can delete any unsavory comments. By default the comments feature also filters out any profanity. Feel free to leave a comment to see how it works!
Back to top |
| :
|
|
|
| By:
|
|
| :
|
1/27/2010 |
| :
|
Many months ago, I asked my readers to send me pictures of people who mattered, who made a difference--people they couldn't live without. The result of that shout out is now published on the inside cover of my new book.
If you didn't get your picture in on time, you can post it, along with a description, links, guest books and more at whoisthelinchpin.com. Even better, post someone else. It's a nice thing to do for someone who matters to you.
Celebrate the linchpins. We need more of them.
 How can I explain the never-ending irrationality of human behavior?
We say we want one thing, then we do another. We say we want to be successful but we sabotage the job interview. We say we want a product to come to market, but we sandbag the shipping schedule. We say we want to be thin but we eat too much. We say we want to be smart but we skip class or don't read that book the boss lent us.
The contradictions never end. When someone shows up and acts without contradiction, we're amazed. When an athlete just does the sport, or when a writer just writes the words, we can't help but watch, astonished at the purity of their actions. Why is it so difficult to do what we say we're going to do?
The lizard brain.
The contradictions never end. When someone shows up and acts without contradiction, we're amazed. When an athlete just does the sport, or when a writer just writes the words, we can't help but watch, astonished at the purity of their actions. Why is it so difficult to do what we say we're going to do?
The lizard brain. Gawd, this guy is full of himself! |
| :
|
|
|
| By:
|
|
| :
|
1/26/2010 |
| :
|
User content zones
Within each Beta Blogger template are well defined user content areas in the left and right columns. These can be used for additional text, images or to give your affiliate ads a clean, professional presentation.
Even better, these zones are already configured so you can simply paste your ad code into the designated area!
Put Beta Blogger to work for you-in no time it could pay for itself! Back to top |
| :
|
|
| | | |