Search engine optimization (SEO) is something that mystifies a lot of bloggers, especially beginners. Many articles can be lengthy and overly technical, but optimizing your content for search engines needn’t be difficult or time consuming.

Today I’m sharing a few easy tips to improve the SEO for your blog without having to sift through a ton of technical articles or remember anything complicated. And the good news is, your blogging software and plugins can do a lot of the work for you!

But first a quick definition of what SEO is and how it works: Search engine optimization is the process of refining your content to raise your position in search engine results. The better your optimize your content, the higher ranking you’ll have with Google and other search engines. You don’t need a lot of statistics to know that most people click results on the first page, so the higher you rank the better! The good news is there are many little things you can do to increase your ranking in Google search results without having to understand all the technology behind it. (more…)

If you have an Apple device, by now you’ve noticed lots of great operating system changes with the latest iOS5 update. One that is getting very little mention however, is one that can save the average user oodles of time and energy. It’s the ability to add “text expansion” short cuts to your device. Most of us type the same things over and over, whether it’s our email address, a quick text message or a brief canned email reply. With iOS5 text expansion short cuts, you can program any word or phrase into your short cut list and make working on your i-device quicker and easier. (more…)

With Blissdom Canada fast approaching, attendees all across the country are busy planning what to pack in their suitcase. But there’s one more thing they should be planning: what to pack on their smartphone.

When you’re attending any conference, chances are good you’ll have a computer or tablet with you a lot of the time. However if you’re an iPhone user, you’ll have that with you all of the time so it’s important to make sure you have all the apps you need to stay connected and share information loaded up before you go.

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Have you ever checked in?

Used an app like Foursquare or Facebook to tell people where you are and what you’re doing?

Many people’s first instinct when I ask that question is to say NO! They then will tell me how they don’t want people to know what they’re doing, where they are, and that apps like these make them fear for their privacy.

I’m here to say “I get it.”

Now I’m going to tell you why I don’t agree :)

What are they?

Let’s start with the basics. Check-in apps are designed to let you tell your personal network what you’re doing. Generally this is done through a smart phone or tablet, but it can also be done on your computer.

In the case of Facebook your check-in is then shared with your friends.  With foursquare it is shared with your foursquare friends and you can also choose to have your updates linked to your Facebook and/or Twitter. (more…)

Inkstagram is third party web application for one of my favourite iPhone apps, Instagram. It ties into the Instagram API and gives you a way to interact with your Instagram friends, photos and feed outside of the iPhone application. I love Instagram, but sometimes I want to share or discover photos outside of the app and at this time Instagram doesn’t offer any type of web interface. With Inkstagram I can:

• view my feed
• view my own photos
• comment on and like (♥) photos
• search by user, hashtag and more
• follow people
• share images via Facebook, Twitter or any sharing service on AddThis (more…)

Gravatar is a service that gives you a universal avatar across blogs and other community sites.  When you see blog comments with photos beside the commenter’s name – like on this blog – chances are it’s powered by Gravatar.

It’s a free service and easy to set up. No crazy account creation screens, just enter your email addy and pick a password. After that simply upload an avatar and you’re done!  You can upload an image from your computer, from the internet or take a new one with your webcam. (more…)