The Top Blogs In the World?

Over at Valleywag, they've done a beautiful post summing up Time Magazine's article on the World's Best 25 Blogs.  Somehow, they managed to limit it to one page.  Nicely done, Valleywag.

Noted are blogs such as:

The Huffington Post,
Lifehacker
PostSecret
Engadget
Freakonomics

I'm proud to say that I read those already, along with several others on the list.  However, I ALSO noticed that POW - The blog is not on the list, nor is Single Dads.  Perhaps I should endeavour to make that so.  What do you think?

Oh, and check out the article.  There's some pretty decent reading there.

Want To Radically Improve Your Blog? Here's How

I'm always looking for ways to improve my blog, so you can imagine that I was pretty excited to hear that the guy from Zen Habits quit his day job to become a full-time blogger . How will this affect you?

Well, it got me thinking. In his post he lists 10 things that he calls the stepping stones to his liberation. Quite the list... and in that list were a few things that I haven't thought about in quite a while. I want to focus more on content, because content is king. I want to give you more value, and I want to interact. In fact, everything that he says in Zen Habits in this post is something that you should be doing, and something that I intend to do, or continue, or improve on.

I appreciate people continuing to come around, and don't hesitate to drop me a line sometime. I started writing this for myself, but now, I do it for a lot of people. Thanks!

A Halloween Shout Out To My Fans

I haven't done a shout out to my fans for a while, so while I'm in the midst of doing yet more changes (as you can tell by the various updates on my sidebars), I figured that I'd do a little shout to some of the fans that I've got out in the world. So, hello to:

Colorado:  Denver, Westminster, Fort Collins, Grand Junction (Go Rockies!)
Massachusetts:  Randolph, Lawrence, Woburn, Boston (those New England Patriots are crazy good, aren't they?)
Tennessee:  Madison
British Columbia:  Victoria
Ontario:  Newmarket, Hamilton
Arizona:  Phoenix
Nevada:  Las Vegas
California:  San Luis Obisco (Hi, Kim!), San Francisco, Mountain View (say hello to Google, everyone!), and Upland
Ohio, Urbana, Columbus, Perryburg
Juarez, Mexico (been there, done that.  If you go to college in Texas, this is a stop for you)
Washington:  Redmond and Seattle (waves to MSN)
Florida:  Leesburg, St. Petersburg (I dated a girl from there, a long, long, time ago), Miami, Melbourne, Sanford, and Vero Beach
Georgia:  Augusta and Hot-lanta
Minnesota:  Minneapolis
New York:  Manhattan, Huntington Station, Saratoga Springs, Mastic
Tel Aviv(!)
London, Loughborogh, Glascow
Paris (oh, how I must go to the Louvre )
Bredene and Brussells
Indiana:  South Bend and Bloomington
Bangalore and Calcutta (no, I'm not kidding)
Providence, RI
Texas:  Carrolton and Dallas
Gatton and Sydney, Australia
Pittsburgh and Erie
Virginia:  Richmond
Orland Park and Oak Brook, Illinois
and finally... Kansas City, Kansas. I have relatives there.  I love you all.

Thanks for all your continuing support, people.  I, and POW, appreciate it.

Grade Your Website (And Justify Your Existence)

Over at How To Change The World, Guy Kawasaki ( you know, the Mac guy) tossed out a post about a tool called Website Grader. This free tool gives your website a SEO "grade" based on a few criteria that you enter into the site. Being that I'm always interested in the reach that my website has, I entered in this site's information and was given, within minutes, a score and a few items where I can improve my site reach to my audience.

It would seem that I have a lot of room for search engine optimization improvement. In other words, my scores were…lacking. I definitely will be working on that presently behind the scenes. Successful networking is certainly something that I am all about these days.

How are you working on SEO? Feel free to email me, or drop me a note in the comments.

Popular Podcasts On POW

Last night, I had this crazy dream that I added some of my favorite and more popular podcasts to this blog.  Imagine my surprise when I actually got up this morning and did it, changing my sidebar yet again.

Yes, I've added podcasts.  Not my own, mind you (I'm not that crazy yet), but if you have an iPod or some other device that can accept podcasts, a few of the more popular ones are located on the right hand side of this page.  They'll change frequently.  Let me know if there are any particular podcasts you'd like to see listed, and I'll try to put them up.  Enjoy!

Another New Widget - Blogrush

You might have noticed yet another change to my sidebar.  I've added Blogrush, a blog syndication tool featured in Business Blogging Tips.  I've only had the Blogrush widget on my blog for a couple of days, but the service seems to be getting updated continually and I'm wondering if it will be effective in generating additional readers for this here website. 

 

You see, I've been feeling ashamed because I've been devoting so much of my time to my other projects that I feel as though you, my first readers, deserve a little more love.  I like to improve your experience, so I'm always looking for little updates.

 

Take a look at it, and if you feel so inclined, put it on your own site and tell me what you think.

Mining The Internet Gold Mine, From 1 to 5000+

Wow.  Mashable, which I've written about before, has finally lost their minds and complied over 5000 resources to do just about anything that you want on the web.

 

There is way, way too much good stuff there to write about in this small space.  Suffice it to say that it would be quite clever of you to take a look at the article.

 

In other news, you might notice that the look of this site has been changing quite a bit lately.  I've added widgets from MyBlogLog, LibraryThing - where you can see the latest books that I've read - and Criteo, which shows blogs that might be similar to mine.  I figured that it might be time for a change up.

 

I suspect that I'm really going to change this blog up a little bit more, as I've feeling a bit mischievous of late. 

No Respect - No Respect For These Google Products At All, I'll Tell Ya

With all apologies to Rodney Dangerfield, here's a good list of a bunch of Google products that simply get no love.
 

But how many people do you think would discuss being able to set up customised RSS feeds in Google News? Or being able to download source code in Google Code? How many people would know that Google offers various possibilities for users to help improve their products?

Here are some Google services that need a lot more loving (cue Barry White music) :

Makeuseof.com.  I think that I like their website.

 

Everyone here knows that I love me some Google stuff.  Google has it's own category there on the side of the page.  Here's your chance to take a look at some of the things that I'm always writing about.

 

 

Deadbeat Dads Drive Me Crazy

When you are a single parent, frustration is a constant companion, which is oddly enough why no single parent should be lonely for even a minute. Besides the usual complaints:

- your ex, and the mother/father to your children,

- money,

- the nagging feeling that you're doing something wrong as a parent

- money,

- seeing the job as a barrier to seeing your children,

- money,

- finding new companionship,

- the legal system,

- and money,

there are a host of other irritations. Some are much, much worse than others. I'm no exception to that particular mental state.

Lately, though, my biggest source of irritation is deadbeat dads - that is, those dads that have to pay child support for their children, sometimes with one woman, sometimes with several - and don't.

I realize that child support is expensive. I pay it myself. Apparently, though, a lot of fathers seem to believe that they DON'T have to pay it. The way that I see it, this just makes my job as a responsible father much, much harder.

Single mothers, when told that I am a single dad, look at me with guarded suspicion. The legal system looks at me sideways, because I could always just "leave" and leave my daughter high and dry… even if that's something I could never do. I am deemed to be possibly be not as good of a parent in part because of my testosterone level. The prejudice against fathers who want as much custody of their kids as possible is hard enough; add the stereotypical deadbeat dad into the emotional mix, and it creates an unfavorable position for me.

I'm a man working two jobs and a freelance position - none of which I necessarily do for my health. I participate in several community events and donate to several charities. My daughter has never been in any compromising position in my care, ever. I've never even just paid the minimum for child support for my daughter simply because I felt that I could afford a touch more - I give more when I can. I know child support is oppressive, Lord, do I know. I know that child support awards are unfair. I know that the system is bent against fathers. But so what? Work on changing the system if you like or if you can, but concentrate on helping the kids, first, because as dumb as the system might be, you still have your kids to worry about. Pay up, or negotiate.

In short, there's nothing that I can't stand more than a dad who can't, or won't, go out there and bust butt to make sure that their kids are being raised well when Dad isn't around.

Deadbeat dads of the world, get with the program, or get out of the middle of the road. You're slowing us down. And I promise, with my schedule, I definitely have someplace important to be.

Coming Soon

I've been quite the busy man - and quite the sketchy Internet connection as well.

 

Sorry about that.  Look for some interesting news.

Wine Tips

Via The Consumerist, here are some tips on the best wines under $10 from the Dr. Vino blog .

 

Why is it only a list of nine wines under $10 instead of the usual ten under ten? Because I'm grumpy. It's increasingly difficult to find good wines with character under ten dollars. Blame part of it on the weak dollar (though my list here is heavy on eurozone wines), blame it on producer greed–they're all just excuses! Good wines, easy on the palate and on the wallet are what consumers want. Sure, there are lots of great wines for $12-$15 and many more from $15 - 20, but these are out of reach for a lot of people to have with dinner on a given Tuesday. Producers take note of this market opening, ready to be filled! Meanwhile, we can fill up our wine storage areas with this value vino.

No one with a wine storage area should be grumpy.

 

 

POW! Goes The Blog

Quite unfortunately, last night while doing some blog tweaks, I unfortunately lost my blog template, so things might look a bit strange for a couple of days.  If anyone has any ideas on how to recover an inadvertently lost blogger template, let me know.

 

In the meantime, I have much to do, and will try to have this fixed by the weekend.

The Blogging Universe - No Longer Expanding?

Amazingly, according to a post from Valleywag, the number of blogs in existence seems to be stalling out.

 

It's the web media equivalent of the central cosmological constant: does the universe of personal sites expand ad infinitum, or else collapse under its own weight? And we may finally have an answer. The number of active blogs tracked by Technorati has stalled at about 15 million. Now that's still a remarkable number, even before one adds in quasi-blogs, such as pages on social network sites such as Myspace. But, compared with the conventional wisdom -- that every human, and household pet, will eventually have a blog -- the reality is sobering.

 

It's sobering only if your idea of the Internet consisted of a ever growing bunch of people who wanted to blog about their overbearing boss, stalk their ex-girlfriends, or talk in leetspeak.

 

For people that have been writing on the Internet for a while, it's probably not a terrible thing.  Keeping a blog active is kind of a serious thing that is most definitely time consuming.  Being topical on the Internet takes a certain level of dedication.  This I know.  I have a few myself, and you would be surprised at how much time I spend blogging, and I still managed to have a daughter and a wonderful girlfriend, somehow.  And freelance.  And work a couple of jobs.

 

Of course, occasionally I'm a high energy person.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abstinence Only Education Is Wildly Ineffective

To the great surprise of a shockingly small number of people, the most recent U.S. government study has shown that abstinence only education has a negligible impact on actual abstinence among kids.  The rub?  We spent a fortune on this tidbit of common sense.

 

Other than the fact that $87 million a year has disappeared from our collective pockets just as surely as if the money had been thrown into a furnace, the abstinence-only classes might as well have not existed at all.

 

Who?  Alas, A Blog.

 

Youth, hormones and sex go together like toddlers and sugar.  Burying your head in the sand certainly doesn't help the situation.  My idea?  Educate your kids as much as you can, teach them the values that you have, give them the benefit of your experiences, and watch like a hawk.  The world is full of information; let your kids get theirs from you, and maybe, just maybe, you can have a say in the outcome.

 

 

 

 

 

Have An Idea? Get Crackin'.

I certainly hope that you have put that quick and dirty idea that you had to make a million dollars into immediate practice, because now I'm reading about a bunch of startup companies that already have me beat.  I was especially fond of a couple of these:

 

http://www.corporateinterns.com/

When Jason Engen was an undergraduate student at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, he and his friends knew the challenges students faced in finding worthwhile internships. So for one of his business classes, Engen wrote a business plan detailing a concept for an internship placement service--one that would interview and screen students and match them with local companies that needed interns. "We hit a nerve in terms of the marketplace and focused 100 percent of our efforts on students," says Engen. "We started a week after we graduated, and it took off."

 

and...

 

http://www.pickydomains.com/

Can't think of that totally awesome domain name for a new website? PickyDomains is a risk-free domain naming service that got a lot of publicity and 'blogtalk' in Europe lately despite being only two months old. This is how it works. A customer deposits $50 dollars and describes what kind of domain he or she wants. Domain pickers then send in their suggestions of available domain names. If the customer likes one of the domain names and registers it, the service gets $50. Otherwise the money is refunded at the end of the month.

 

Thanks to NicheGeek for the links and info.

'Tis possible to live your dream, people.  Just do something.

 

 

 

 

Shakadoo.com

Recently I've been doing a little guest posting on a website called Shakadoo.com.  What do they do?  Take a look at their first page:

 

Shakadoo is a site written and created for those who love their home. Whether you live in a condo or a castle, Shakadoo has a place for you.

 

Shakadoo has several different "shaks": the LoanShak, WorkShak, ShakYard, Shaktronics, Shak In Style, Shakhammer and the Love Shak, Baby (love that title).  It's an interesting community that they are trying to build there that I would recommend that you check out.

 

However, don't think that my "pro" blogging job will decrease my regular blogging output.  You see, I know how to use Google.  Ah, the Internet is a wonderful place.

 

There are some single dads out there that I owe a post to, though.  I haven't forgotten about you.  Expect it tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

Note To Employers: How To Tame A Geek

This post is for employers, if any of you are: A Note To Employers: 8 Things Intelligent People, Geeks and Nerds Need To Work Happy.

 

There are many reasons to let geeks work the way they want to work. Today they work in every industry. They are the knowledge base, blood and sweat equity of many businesses. They work harder than most. They work longer than most. Their job isn't a separate "thing they do" while they look forward to going home and relaxing. Geeks *live* what they do. They eat, sleep and breathe it. They are your systems administrators, your IT team, your programmers, your web developers, your designers… and sometimes even your customer service and sales people. Anyone who understands how to leverage todays technology to increase intelligence, productivity and efficiency; anyone who stays up nights working to get better at what they do; anyone whose job is their life - is a geek. These are the most important asset your company has. For this reason, its important to give geeks what they want. Best part is, if you do, they most likely will not leave your company to work for someone who will.

 

Found via Reddit, but blogged, and quite successfully, in my opinion, by Nomadishere, the Seeker of Truth.  He goes on to actually list eight ways to satisfy this distinct personality type at the office.

 

Reading the article, I tend to agree with a lot of the points made; I think the post is an excellent summary.  As an employer, I would guess that following through on several of the mentioned suggestions would make any intelligent, tech-oriented, slightly compulsive but hard-working person pause before vaulting a position. 

 

On the other hand, if you ARE that intelligent, tech-oriented, slightly compulsive yet hard working person, you might find an employer who actually follows the eight steps outlined in the article rather difficult to find.

 

Good suggestions.  Your mileage, however, may vary.

 

 

A Simple Man Shouts Out

Without expecting much, I took a gander at my little blog's statistics, and was impressed, shocked, and humbled at the most recent response to this collection of thoughts and information that I post for you, my humble readers.  

 

I've compiled a short list of the places across the world that have visited POW - the blog over the course of the last nine days.  Here we go!

 

Miami and Crestview, Florida, Fort Collins, Aurora, and Denver, Colorado, Cincinnati, Ohio, Long Beach and Bakersfield, California, Poland, London, Sheffield, Egheim, England, India, Chile, Reston and McLean, Virginia, Long Island, Grand Island, Commack, and Manhattan, New York, Elkhorn Wisconsin, Dallas Texas, Ontario, Canada (along with another Canadian location), Norway, Dublin Ireland, Plymouth Massachusetts, Detroit Michigan, Australia, Chicago Illinois, Germany, Annapolis and Silver Spring, Maryland, Beijing, Guangdong, Jiangmen, and Shandong, China, and Norway.

 

My.  God knows that I left some out.  This leaves a LOT of locations out, but that's to be expected.

 

What's particularly encouraging is that a lot of you are repeat readers.  I truly appreciate this.   It would seem that this side project to which I toss a shocking amount of time and energy into is beginning to catch on.  I can't thank you people enough.

 

Come back often, and stay for a while.  It's great to have you here and it's great to see you.   If you're so inclined, feel free to click on one of my sponsors, on the Charity Network Badge on the left and make a donation, or click on one of the websites listed on my Mess O' Links.   You'll be seeing a lot more changes as I continually make improvements.

 

Do you want to do a shout out?  Feel free to leave your location and websites, if you like, in the comments.

Help Me Blogger, Help Me Get A Post On My Blog

Posts have been blowing up left and right.  Ironically, if you can read this, perhaps things are back to normal.  But perhaps not.

 

It would seem that the switch to New Blogger didn't quite solve ALL the problems yet.  I know that at least two posts bounced.  I don't yet know about the others.  Suffice it to say that I didn't fall off the face of Earth.  Blogger did... for a little while, anyway.

 

Hopefully, you new readers that came to see my new and exciting formatting and brand-new posts didn't run away screaming.

Blogs And Comments

Taking a look at my reader logs for the last several days, it would seem that quite a few more people are taking a notice of my blog lately, which, as you might guess, makes me smirk uncontrollably.  Hopefully you are all enjoying my ramblings and are taking the opportunity to look around. 

 

One suggestion, though - if you read, and you like what you read, or if you have a blog of your own, please feel free to leave a comment.  I tend to take a look at pretty much everyone who has a blog that mentions it somewhere on my pages.  Think of it as a cheap and effective way to blog network.  Show me yours and I'll show you mine.

 

So to speak.

 

So comment away!