The Last Post : Sundown at CommonSense

Sunset - Photo: AlphaTangoBravo / Adam Baker

CommonSense With Markk -- my very first blog launched in early 2006 -- has gone past its sell-by date. The time has come to send it to pasture. This is it, folks! Finito.

I hate to do it but I'm not going to feel nostalgic or sentimental about it after almost two and a half years of blogging on this site which, at one time, was going places. But since the Google PageRank slapfest late last year, things have not been the same like the "good old days."

I felt great with CommonSense when the going was good. It rose to PR3 in about four months after its launch and at one stage it attained PR5 before Goog started the slapfest. As is commonly known, writing paid posts has its downside - and that had incurred the wrath of Big G.

I'm taking this action now because the Google jive has started again and I'm not expecting Big G to show a benign smile on this blog. I've seen the little green thingy fluctuating in the last couple of days. Don't know when it will settle down but now I'm packing up here, don't care much for PageRank now where this blog is concerned.

Although I tried to plod on I found the task too tiresome and it was like a millstone hung around my neck. I soon realized that you can't be running two personal blogs -- the other being The Next Post -- at the same time. As it is, it's already tough for some bloggers to churn out post after post and making sure the stuff you write are not crap or fluff.

There's a lot of disadvantages in having a name like CommonSense With Markk. It's too personal and there's not much you can do to broaden its scope. I don't know what you all think but that's what I have learned through three years of running a couple of websites and a number of other blogs. I supposed if you treat blogging as just a hobby then it's fine to stay with it and continue posting at your own pleasure.

If I had wanted CommonSense to continue, I could, but reality check tells me I have to devote more attention to those other sites of mine. They are going to take up a lot of my time in the days ahead.

From here on, you can read future postings of mine at TheNextPost.

I have taken CommonSense With Markk off of the MyBlogLog site. I would like to thank all those kind bloggers whom I had crossed paths in our blogging journey for visiting this blog, especially those who had entered into some kind of communication with me and came back often to leave appreciated comments in my posts. If you happened to read this and has a blogroll link or any other in-post links to this site, please take the necessary action to avoid broken links.

Also, I have terminated my web hosting account for CommonSenseWithMarkk.com and have switched my URL back to Blogspot where this site will be left to dry under the blogging sun! I'll be doing some "house-cleaning" for a while (don't know how long it will take) and then if the weather is right, I just might press the self-destruct button for this site. Kaboom! Meanwhile, enjoy.

Adieu.

What's The Beef About Blogger Blogs?

Coming across remarks on blogs that say a Blogger blog is "amateurish and ugly" says a lot about the owner of those words.

No doubt, every blogger has the right to do what he/she thinks fit for his/her own blogging space. But to deride another party with caustic, dismissive statement without weighing the argument in a rational manner is certainly unwarranted.

Looking at the bigger picture in blogging, what impression would a newbie get when he/she reads this kind of crap? If not for free blogs, many would not be able to afford to blog at all. The blogosphere would be much poorer for it.

Thanks to Blogger, Wordpress and other blogging platforms for providing and encouraging free blogging. For some of us, we'll upgrade when we feel it's time to have a hosted blog. Not because some one tells you so.

If you go by looks alone, then there's no substance in the blog. We're talking about readable blogs. About editorial content that a visiting blogger would want to read.

Does it matter whether it's a Blogger blog, hosted or free? If the content is worth reading, then it's worth visiting. That's your prerogative.

What kind of criteria is it to conclude that a three-column blog is better in every way than a two-column one? Each has its own function, needs and virtue.

Given the view that blogs should have good if not unique content and be well-designed with the right use of typography and colors, there are many of them out there in blogosphere.

Well-designed blogs can be found on different platforms - Wordpress, Typepad, Blogger, etc. - you name it. And some have great content to boot.

In the same breath, there are just as many bad-looking blogs and crappy content on all the platforms.

So what's the beef about one blogging platform being better than the other one?

Email Subscription: What's The Problem?

Spam is the last thing on my mind even though I do get spam emails regularly. I can deal with this problem. I won't lose sleep over it. I just get on with the job.

I've been thinking but not like some of the thinking done by some bloggers.

I think more than 80% of blogs do have an email subscription somewhere on the top right or left corner. Or somewhere thereabout.

I'm not sure how many bloggers ever thought about this. Why not find a blog with good content and information (not necessarily one that belongs to a celebrated blog), submit your email address and get informed of the lastest posting via email. It doesn't cost a cent. At least, you're doing a favour for that blog.

You'll be surprised that many of these "blue collar blogs" have fantastic content. They write well, too.

I've done that with some blogs that I appreciate very much because of their content. I've realized that once you subscribed to these blogs, it's so easy to be informed of new postings by just checking your emails. Even you can see the pictures or graphics if you activate your HTML.

If you like a particular new post, you can archive it (e.g. in your Google email archive) but if that post is not so interesting, just delete it. What's the problem? You can even unsubscribe anytime if you want to have no more of it.

This way, I get the "news" fast without having to surf all over the place to visit blogs that I want to read. And find that some of them don't load fast enough. Only when I want to take a closer look do I make a trip to that particular blog.

I know, I know. Somebody is gonna say "use RSS feed". That's my alternative, but selected email subscriptions are still my preference 'cos I find RSS feed can be slow to load up (correct me if I'm wrong).

Believe you me, reading up your email subscriptions is a time-saver and quite convenient.

P. S. It's tagging time again today for nine visitors to this blog. Spread the goodwill. Here they are:

Jemmille
http://www.jemmille.com
Where else would you possibly want to be?

Daleng
http://dalesworkathome.blogspot.com
A blog on work at home online business and other interesting things online

Blogpond
http://blogpond.wordpress.com
Blogging with an Australian Flair

Pablo Pabla
http://deliciousasianfood.com
Recipes for home-cooked food and reviews of great Malaysian food

Krynsky
http://krynsky.com
Eclectic mix of technology, poetry, guides, and my ramblings

Villager
http://electronicvillage.blogspot.com
The Electronic Village is a 'virtual village' created in the African tradition with an eclectic collection of insights, input and information...

Amycham
http://amycham.typepad.com
Thoughts on interactive marketing, small business, and miscellaneous web findings

Robyn
http://brainbasedbiz.blogspot.com
Refreshing Business through Arts and Mind

Christine
http://les5sensselonchristian.typepad.com
Fenetre ouverte sur le monde du Voyage travers cultures et rencontres, visions de photographes et chroniques de reporters, recits de voyaes par les emotions et les 5 sens ainsi que l actualite du tourisme.

It Makes Sense To Give Link Love

Regular visitors to this blog and my other blog at The NextPost would not have failed to read up my post entitled "When A Little Link Can Go A Long Way."

Now I'd just thought that visitors to CommonSense With Markk should be given the same treatment. A fair deal, if you like.

I'm gonna repeat what I had mentioned over at The NextPost that there's no obligation involved here. Everything is up to you, good folks.

As I write this, there are nine avatars showing on MyBlogLog's Recent Readers list. To show my appreciation for their visits, I'm gonna provide a link back to their blogs.

You know something? It doesn't take much to do this. Eventually, I'll do away with the blogroll on the sidebar or cut it down to size. If I like to link to some blogs, I just give them some mention in a post.

Like I'd said before, you don't have to review this blog to get a backlink. But if you want to do that, there's no stopping you. Just think of this as some kind of linkety fun that hit me in a flash! But please take note that this is not an everyday affair.

Okay, here goes...the Lucky 9:

Goodness Graciousness
Sharing and spreading goodness and graciousness throughout the world by Jennifer Jones

Podnosh Blog: High Fibre Podcasting
I'm not really into podcasting but Nick Booth digs it

House of Virtue
A Christian Information & Resource Sharing Blog

Life Learning Today - New & Improved
Life Learnings about Love, Success, Health, Finances, Wealth, Technology, Happiness, and More! That's what it says.

GorillaSushi We Eat Blogs
"GorillaSushi is a band of eclectic bloggers writing on every imaginable subject. As many blogs gain attention for their narrow focus, we pride ourselves in our broad subject matter. Satire, movie reviews, trailers, humor, politics, technology and culture." Wow!

Little Lolita
"I'm weird (in a good way). Sometimes quiet. Other times im hyper as hell. Im friendly. Im funny... ," says Perri

Chateau Lalinde
She calls herself Red Shoes and she has this View From A Chateau Window. Good vantage point!

NewSFiX
The largest collective news site on the internet.

Buzzeum
Oui, it's very Frenchie here. ..Les Musees font leur Buzz.

Right On, Let's Get Populated At MyBlogLog!

You never know whom you'll meet in Blogosphere until, by chance or stealth, you bump into someone and discover you've found a new online friend. If both are similarly inclined towards, say, internet marketing and SEO, that would be cool.

MyBlogLog has been working overtime since Yahoo! acquired it. There has been a flurry of activities on this social networking site with more and more sign-ups coming on board each day than you can shake a thumbdrive at!

I see there's a scramble to be "in" at MyBlogLog. Correct me if I'm wrong in my perception. The other observation is that there's a more matured crowd here than say, StumbleUpon. Do we need to mention MySpace? And don't say you haven't seen some notable blogs or familiar faces at MyBlogLog.

Sheesh, this place is getting populated!

There's a powerful current flowing through this neighbourhood. If you had read "The Long Tail" then you'll begin to see a good example here where "amateur blogs are sharing attention with mainstream media."

Coming - New Kid On The Block?

Internet marketing consultant and expert Andy Beal has just posted on his blog Marketing Pilgrim that very soon there'll be another player joining the ranks of ReviewMe, PayPerPost, Blogitive, Blogsvertise, LoudLaunch and a host of others.

All these folks have one thing in common - they'll pay bloggers to review websites, products and services.

So, who's this new kid that's coming on the block? According to Andy, the name is SponsoredReviews, and the parent company behind it is 360 Enterprise, Inc.

You can visit Andy's blog for more details and read what he has to say.

My perception is that love it or hate it, there's no stopping the phenomenon growth of blogs. And marketers know where a huge chunk of their ad budgets are heading.

I'm just wondering. Despite all those ethical debates about blogging for money, how come more marketers are eyeing blogs? Are some of these advertisers testing the waters or do they see that blogs are the new frontier for marketing niches? Possibly a really huge one.

If the trend picks up, there'll be a great divide between those who stay "pure and true" to traditional blogging and those who are looking at it from a business point of view.

Heather Armstrong of "Dooced" fame is making an income from her blog to enable her family to live comfortably. Her blog is an enterprise. Is that wrong?

There are over 800 million Internet users on this planet. In a few short years, the blogging fraternity has hit over 50 million and still rising.

In a special focus on "Blogging for Dollars" in the September issue of Business 2.0 last year, the magazine noted that an increasing number of bloggers have gone from "self-indulgent hobbies to flourishing businesses."

According to web ad agency Organic, ad spending on blogs was about $40 million last year - that's a small market. However, it is expected that web advertising will continue to grow and more ad dollars will come to blogs.

With two new blogs being launched every second, according to blog search engine Technorati, it's not difficult to figure out where blogging is heading.

More and more advertisers are targeting blogs, especially those that are making the noise in blogosphere.

Has anyone ever wondered that a blog is just another kind of website? Maybe running on a different kind of juice. Remember the Blues was once dubbed as "devil's music," but today it's great music for many!


Mississippi bluesman Robert Johnson (1911-1938)

Johnson's songs have
been recorded by artists
as diverse as Lee Roy Parnell
and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.