Archive for thenanablogs
A few fun links…
Posted by: | CommentsOn Fridays over at NanaHood.com, I usually post a “Friday Fun Links” post. This week’s theme over at NanaHood is 4th of July, but I thought I’d do something a little different around here, just for… well, fun!
I was browsing the blog links in our sidebar (over there—–>) and came across several great posts from different bloggers that I thought you might like to read.
- Meditation Monday: Be Still
- Tasty Tuesday – Chicken Salad Recipe
- Megan’s Magical Method
- And Then She Quietly Came To Sit With Jesus
- Drink More Water!!
- They Say Genes Skip Generations…
- These Small Hours
What posts have YOU read (or written) lately that we should all know about?
Re-post – Write for theNanaBlogs
Posted by: | CommentsWe are looking for bloggers! Are you interested in writing for theNanaBlogs?
We actually offer two places where your blog posts can be featured - www.NanaHood.com and here at www.theNanaBlogs.com. If you think you have an article or post that others NEED to read, send an email with your blog link to submissions@nanahood.com
Topic ideas:
- Fun (and affordable) activities to do with (your) grandchildren
- Anything hobby related
- Challenges facing grandparents today (special needs grandchildren, raising your grandchildren, etc)
- Legacy – what do you want your grandchildren to know and value
- Bring on the funny – humorous stories about the grandkiddos
- Reviews – music, movies, art, tv, books – we want to hear your opinion
Please don’t feel limited to our list of topic ideas – if you have an idea, we hope you will share!
Again, the email address is submissions@nanahood.com What are you waiting for??
We reserve the right to NOT publish anything that we deem inappropriate for our website and goals.
Social Networking 101
Posted by: | CommentsFacebook, Twitter, MySpace… you may have heard of them, but you won’t be alone if you confess you don’t know what to DO with them!
In a nutshell, these are “social networking websites”. They are all about relationship, about community, and connecting people together in one form or another.
For today, I’d like to share briefly about two of the more popular social networking websites – Facebook and Twitter.
If you go to facebook.com, you’ll reach a simple landing page that states, “Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life.” The folks there at facebook obviously want to keep it short and sweet (and maybe confusing?), because you really won’t find out much more without joining up.
Once you do join up, you’ll need to start gathering and finding what facebook calls “friends”. Chances are you already know a few people on facebook, so you can do searches for their names and/or email addresses. You have to make a “friend request” and have it approved in order to add someone to your list, or be added to someone’s list.
When using facebook, there are a few key things to understand.
- If you post something on Facebook, don’t assume it will be private. It won’t be! One of the key features of facebook is “networking”, which means everyone is connected – even people you aren’t friends with.For instance, if I post a status update on my Wall, Friend A can come along and write a comment. Now, Friend A might have a Friend B who is NOT one of my friends. BUT, Friend B can see what Friend A wrote, because THEY are friends. How’s that for convaluted?
- So… I repeat – don’t ever write or post anything you wouldn’t want the whole world to know about.
And then there’s Twitter.com. Twitter has been called “micro-blogging”, because just like “regular” blogging, you can write little updates about your day, your kids, your business.
BUT, with twitter, you are limited to 140 characters (that’s letters and spaces) for each little “update” or post. And when you post, twitter displays your updates to all your followers. So it’s more like “one-sentence-maybe-two-live-blogging”.
I mentioned followers. With Twitter, if you don’t have anyone “following” you, no one (but you) will ever read your tweets. (Yes, that’s what they are called). The quickest way to get followers is to follow others.
Here are a couple of informative (and slightly entertaining) articles about Twitter:
- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123638550095558381.html
- http://news.cnet.com/newbies-guide-to-twitter/
- Twitter on Wikipedia
You can follow us on Twitter by clicking HERE
And become a fan of our Facebook Fan page, by clicking HERE
Happy Social Networking!
Grand Magazine
Posted by: | CommentsHave you heard of Grand Magazine? With a huge list of featured topics, articles, forums, and more, the online version of Grand Magazine is a website worth bookmarking and visiting regularly.
From the desk of Christine Crosby, Founder and Publisher:
“…Becoming a grandparent has transformed my life beyond measure. So, from the beginning, we at GRAND Media have made it our mission to provide grandparents of all ages and in all stages of life both information and inspiration. Through GRAND Magazine and now, through GRANDmagazine.com, we’ve created a world that celebrates the joys and tackles the challenges of one of life’s sweetest experiences - having grandchildren.”
We here at theNanaBlogs.com are excited to share with you an offer from Grand Magazine for a FREE subscription and access to the online version of Grand Magazine. Click the link below to check it out!
Merry Christmas!
Posted by: | Comments
A Few Ideas for Getting More Traffic
Posted by: | CommentsHere at theNanaBlogs.com, you can build a blog for free and begin posting content right away about your life, your family, your grandkids. And while it can be fun to write for your friends and family, you might just be interested in getting a larger following! (And maybe even figuring out a way to make a little pocket change with your blog)!
Here are a few ideas to bring extra traffic to your blog:
1. Fresh Content – no one wants to visit a blog day after day and see the same posts. We recommend that you update your blog content at least twice a week. One easy way to do this is to write several posts ahead of time and upload them at the appropriate times.
2. Social Networking – these sites are everywhere. Join Facebook, MySpace, Squidoo, Twitter or a dozen others and make connections. You can join groups of like-minded people who are also bloggers, nanas, or even entrepreneurs. (We’ll write in more detail about this topic in another post!)
3. Viral Marketing – this is where you spread the word about your blog. Talk to friends, family and even strangers. You might even consider giving out business cards (or calling cards) that have your blog address on them.
4. Use RSS Feeds – RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication.” Readers can subscribe to your feed and get email updates when new content is posted. It is an easy way for them to keep up with your blog without spending all day online.
4. Submit Blog to Search Engines – doing this allows your blog to be ranked. Google and Yahoo! are two of the most popular search engines you want to crawl your blog pages.
5. Visit other blogs – show your appreciation to those who visit you by also posting comments on their blogs. It is a kindness that shows others you are not just out to advertise your blog alone.
6. Social Bookmarking – submitting posts to social bookmarking sites allows others who are members of those sites to track you back to your blog.
Using any of these ideas will start the traffic moving in your direction. It takes time but you CAN build the readership you want.
And as always, we are here to help! If you need assistance with any of the suggetions above, feel free to use the Contact Form and ask your question(s).
What is this “blogging” thing anyway?
Posted by: | CommentsIf you are brand new to the world of blogging, this post is for you. We want you to be caught up and “in the know” after all!
According to wikipedia.com, “a blog (a contraction of the term “web log“) is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.”
Wow, was that clear as mud?
How about this? A blog is a personal website… an online journal… your own space on the world wide web.
You can use your blog to write journal entries, articles, devotionals, fashion tips, and brag about your kids and grandkids.
You can post pictures.
You can share with the world all your deepest thoughts… or you can keep it simple.
It’s YOUR choice, because it’s YOUR blog.
(Do you want one? You can have one… HERE)
In the “old” days of website design, you had to pay someone (like me) money to design an entire website, page by page, for you. You had to then pay that same someone (or a different someone, in some cases) to update and change your page content.
But no more… in that last five-six years, the blog world has virtually (pun intended) exploded, making it possible for anyone with Internet access to have a personal or even business website. Now changing the design on your site is fairly easy and inexpensive (often free)… and you can have total control over the content of the pages on your website.
Here at theNanaBlogs.com, we make it as easy as possible. We use WORDPRESS, a blogging “software” program that is web-based. (That means you can log in to your site wherever you have internet access).
We provide a variety of different design/themes for the free blogs, so you can have a pretty look with one click (or two) of a button.
And we are here to answer questions as they come up. To help you get started. And to encourage you as you go!
So, if you haven’t yet joined the NanaHood Neighborhood… won’t you click on over and do it now?
