How Important is Social Media to a Blogger?

Dear Readers,

Today I would like to introduce Danny Iny of Firepole Marketing, who is known as the Freddy Kreuger of blogging. I have been subscribing to his updates, in order, to some day have a successful blog/online business like him. I particulary liked his take on the importance of social media to a blogger trying to connect with her/his audience. I hope you enjoy his guest video post, and also download his Naked Marketing Manifesto.

I'm an Expat and I Blog!

Dear Readers,

Today, I'm doing a post about a great website, Expat Blog  for current and prospective expats all over the world.

I think its very useful to have a network of support when you are an expat in a foreign land, especially for the first time, it can save you from unecessary hassle and worries and help avoid embarrassing gaffes! You can post questions, make friends, post ads, look for accommodation and even apply for jobs. How to say basic stuff in a new language, basic DOs and DON'Ts all help to make the experience less daunting and more enjoyable.

Check out more information below:

What’s Expat blog? It’s a web portal launched in 2005 by expatriates, for expatriates. Its ambition is to help people living or willing to live abroad, wherever they are from or would like to go. Expat blog is the most active online community of expatriates, with 420 000 members from 206 countries and 400 big cities, a true online global village.
Who is it for? For all the people living or wishing to live abroad. It is a platform of expression and exchange, an information source about expatriation.
How does it work? The website offers various tools to help expats and potential expatriates:
-          discussion forums
-          expatriate blogs directory
-          guides
-          photo albums
-          business directory
-          classifieds.
 

Jizan Credit: Eihctir, Expat blog

New features : Jobs and Housing sections
To meet the demands of expatriates and soon-to-be expatriates in Saudi Arabia, Expat blog has launched two new dedicated spaces: a jobs section and a housing section. They are aimed at helping people in their job and accommodation search, two essential steps when expatriating.
The idea is to get access to job offers in Saudi Arabia and everywhere in the world, wherever you are. You can have access to the Saudi Arabia job opportunities, per job category and job contract. You can also create your CV and contact potential employers. This is a great resource as information about jobs in Saudi is not always available online.
 

Jeddah Credit: Jeddah-boy expat blog

 


The Saudi Arabia Housing section enables you to look for or to offer an accommodation: rental, flat share, flat, house…it’s up to you! You can see pictures of the apartment and get in touch with the person via Expat blog (you need to be a member of Expat blog to post an ad). Real estate agents in Saudi charge alot of money are of little or no use so this is really helpful.

Credit AmiraAlmani Expat blog

Daydreamin24-7.blogspot.com now saudiarabianights.blogspot.com

My old blog address was daydreamin24-7.blogspot.com

I have changed it to the comaparatively easier to remember and more relevant

http://saudiarabianights.blogspot.com

Please be advised, change your bookmarks, subscribe, and follo, you will now won't you? Thanks!

Find me on facebook:
Please become a fan and like the page

https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabiaNights

Follow me on twitter @mishaican

Thank you for being part of this journey so far, and hope you will stay for the ride.

November 2011 Roundup

Dear Readers,

I haven't been posting as regularly as I was last month- I apologise. Like most bad habits, I'm only hurting myself,  as my posts fall my stats fall.

Well, when I'm not working I tend to lose track of the date, something that happens a lot during summer vacations, so today I got a bit of a shock when I looked at the date and discovered it was the 30th of Novemeber! November's over -only one month left for this year to be over, I don't even remember what my resolutions were.. I don't think I made any, I wasn't in a good place this time last year.

Although I haven't been blogging, I've been reading blogs, and I've realised I'm on an average of 10 posts short! So, I'm going to attempt to overcompensate today. Yes, instead of consistently blogging everyday, I'm going to do the blogging equivalent of cramming for exams the night before.

We all know what happens when you do that. That is, if I don't get bored, exhasuted or distracted first.

What will I blog about? Good question!

Well, here a few things which I have been planning on blogging about but just not..bothering, to be honest the time I usually spend blogging has been watching Gossip Girl Season 3- two, three episodes a day. I'm appalled at myself- you don't need to rub it in.

I'll put up internal links once I've actually done the posts..deadline is tonight- or early hours of tomorrow- why am I doing this to myself??!

• The best red velvet cupcakes I've ever had -I don't mean to toot my own horn, but hey it is a great easy recipe, I take no credit, I was eating 3 a day- so definitely I'd recommend anyone and everyone to try it. And-no I'm not fat.

• The second part of the Downton Abbey review- although I might need to watch another episode (I'm midway Season 2) to revive my interest and cleasnse my subconscious from Gossip Girl.

• Product review-Soap and Glory's The Righteous Butter.
• Product review- L'Occitane's moisturisers
• Product review-L'Occitane's shower gels
• The Red Shoes
• Book Review- 
• Islamic post about what prayers to make in times of difficulty-
• Remembering Jeddah Flood 2010
• Five/(whatever number I can remember at that time) amazing blogs I have discovered

I don't think I'll get them all done before the end  of November but if I get them done this weekend its a start.

Take care
xoxo

Fuel My Blog and Light my Fire!

The past few days I have been spending a disproportionate time on this blog. You may well ask what on earth have I been doing as there have been no new posts.
Well after I couldn't find my blog in Google search results even though I was searching the exact titles of my posts. I became a bit disturbed.  Previously, (think a year ago), after a bout of recent posting I could usually find my blog entries pretty high up on In Google search result. Apparently, blogs are growing faster than the world population and mine has been lost in cyberspace due to inactivity.

Hence, I am going through a blog makeover, new templates, new widgets, joined fuel my blog to encourage traffic, and general research on SEO and how to gain followers. I thought I needed a dummies guide to blogger, I discovered  blog like that and I found that even a bit difficult to follow, maybe because the blogger has been upgraded, but it made feel very stupid, once I get the hang of this I'll make a how to blog for non geeks.  Reading what's out there, in terms of writing style, technical ability, and content, both written and multimedia, it seems I have stiff competition.

Although, I can write about what is not being written, I am not sure I have the confidence to do so, and I feel like if by the odd chance an acquaintance comes across the blog they will easily know its me, and I'm not ready for that not yet anyway-maybe when I'm famous. An alternative way is to play the devil's advocate, but that's just not me, and knowing my luck will probably land me in some sort of trouble. 

Its very late so I think  I will just end from a quote from the film, 'Inception':

"Dreams feel real while we're in them. It's only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange." - Cobb

 

 

I'm Back

Hi
In case anyone has been wondering, I stopped blogging due to a very bad internet connection, due to a previous;y unheard of problem with the network card installed on my computer apparently it automatically changed the settings and this resulted in only the first page of any website being able to load if at all. Very strange. Anyways that took some time get fixed and by then I had obviously lost my newly developed blogging habit.
Well as the academic year draws to an end and I go on holiday, and will probably have more spare time on my hands I'll be blogging a lot more. I'm trying to at least get one letter publish in one of the local newspapers. need to actually sit down and write an email and compose before the topic becomes to out of date!

Queen of procrastination is another label that would suit me quite well besides being a dreamer.

I have always wanted to write a book,( 25 years old and I use always with such ease)and blogging was always a way to foray into the territory of literary accomplishment. To hone my writing skills and see what exactly I can write about well. After having read some chic-lits (yes its my guilty pleasure)I feel that I could do better job. Hmm alas maybe the critics or audience wont think so as I probably will shy away from references to sex etc. It would be chic-lit for the global market maybe target at young women living in the middle east/ south Asia brought up more conservatively but still having their own girlie enjoyments and pleasures.--Nothing like 'behind the veil' or whatever it was called ... It would be a breath of fresh air as most of the fiction or dramatized fact titles based on the middle east are banned and not something you would want to read if you were brought up here.Here I am generalizing about the majority.

E-Journalism

I was viewing my last attempt at blogging, well over a year ago, and I realized it was much much better attempt in terms of content, although I failed to promote the blog effectively. The fact that at that time I was busy with my Masters thesis could have something to do with both points.

However, I have decided to make a real effort this time. I had a dream once to be a writer and as I'm only in my mid -twenties its definitely not too late to make an effort, and blogs are the newest ways of getting oneself published.

I seem to be lacking inspiration getting bogged down in the monotony of life and somehow observing human behavior and the different phases of life has left me with a mild distaste for life itself. Don't get me wrong I am not suicidal, but I feel disappointed in the realties of life, somehow the glamour of each thing fades as you grow older leaving behind it grittiness.

As I try to become more religious, and struggle with my "addiction" to tv, again I feel myself give in to the instant gratification of being fed visual chocolate, which dumbs the brain and doesn't do wonders for our spiritual health either.

Watch this space for more ponderings from a perpetual dreamer.