Want Your Blog To Display Correctly in IE, Firefox, Safari, Chrome, and Opera?

I recently started using Google's browser Chrome since I was having some some issues with Firefox. Overall, I'm pretty happy with it.

For a few days, though, I was convinced that one of the sites I read regularly was completely broken, because it looked HORRIBLE all of a sudden. I knew the blogger had been planning a redesign, so I assumed she was just in the middle of rearranging. Then I looked at her blog again in Firefox, and it was still just fine. Oops!

It reminded me that I'd bookmarked Workin' it on all browsers from the Official Google Webmaster Central blog a couple of months ago, so I dug it up and read it.

Their first tip for webmasters is "Ensure browser compatibility by focusing on accessibility." I perked up a bit - do they mean what I think they mean? Sadly, no. When they say accessibility, they mean using simpler HTML instead of "fancy features like AJAX."

Their second tip, though, is key both for cross-browser compatibility and for accessibility as we discuss it on this blog: Consider validating your code to ensure it conforms with web standards. The more that websites and blogs are built in accordance with web standards, the easier it is on your visitors who are using assistive technology - and the more likely that your blog will work properly in all modern browsers.

So validating my code is definitely one of my New Year's resolutions for all my blogs. Now if only there were a web standard creating an extra two hours a day in 2009 for all webmasters.

By : Skye

5 Blog Sponsored Review Sites That Pay You to Blog

Aside from advertising and affiliate programs, another popular blog monetization method is to write blog sponsored reviews for any one of the many websites that pay you to blog. Learn about five of the most popular blog sponsored review sites that pay you to blog and start earning money from your blog.

1. PayPerPost

PayPerPost is one of the most popular blog sponsored review sites available. Blog publishers are called Posties, and those Posties join the PayPerPost publishers network and search for open opportunities that their blogs qualify for. When an opportunity is secured, the blogger writes the post based on the instructions provided and is paid based on the current PayPerPost terms.

2. ReviewMe

ReviewMe is nearly as popular as PayPerPost, however, it works quite differently from PayPerPost. When you become a ReviewMe publisher, you don't have to search for opportunities as you would with PayPerPost. Instead, advertisers search for publishers whose blogs and websites best match their requirements then offer those publishers posting opportunities.

3. SponsoredReviews

SponsoredReviews works both ways in that publishers can search for open opportunities posted by advertisers or advertisers can search for publishers whose websites or blogs match their requirements then offer opportunities to those publishers.

4. PayU2Blog

PayU2Blog is a smaller player in the sponsored review market. As a PayU2Blog publisher, you will be given paid posting assignments on a weekly basis based on the blog profile you create.

5. SocialSpark

SocialSpark comes from Izea.com, the same company that created PayPerPost. The goal of SocialSpark is to create a "full disclosure" sponsored review system, so there is no question that the posts written as part of the program have been paid for. Additionally, SocialSpark is a social site where advertisers can handpick bloggers to help them promote their products and services through sponsored reviews or display advertising. If you're interested in making money through sponsored reviews, but you're concerned about losing your Google page rank or search traffic because of the penalties Google often places on blogs and websites that participate in social reviews and paid text link programs, then SocialSpark might be a good option for you.


By Susan Gunelius

Accessibility for Bloggers: This Party's Just Getting Started

At this point, I'm not sure anyone could count the number of blogs that focus on how to improve your blog, usually with the aim of making more money. Wouldn't it be great if there were just as many comprehensive resources focused on making blogs more accessible to people with disabilities? There are a lot of great resources out there on accessibility, but precious few focused specifically on blogging.

In 2002, Mark Pilgrim created the classic Dive Into Accessibility. He combined stellar information about why you should make your blog accessible with specific direction on how to make changes in the most commonly used blogging tools of the day. While the "why" information has held up well over time, the "how" has become somewhat less useful over time - as is inevitable on the internet.

In 2005, the American Foundation for the Blind released How To Make Your Blog Accessible To Blind Readers. It was a good rough draft of a guide for the most common issues that bloggers could address, but a little light on the "how," especially when you consider the wide variation in what options blogging tools offer for editing and customization.

Now in 2009, Glenda Watson Hyatt is jumping into the field over at her blog, the Do It Myself Blog. Glenda is known as the "left thumb blogger" because she does all her typing with her left thumb - which you couldn't possibly guess by watching her network on Twitter. She is the author of a Simplified Web Accessibility Guide and has plenty of other experience consulting and writing about web accessibility. Encouraged by Lorelle, who has long been an advocate for blog accessibility, Glenda is now stepping up her accessibility evangelism to tackle the blogosphere.

In Combining Two Passions to Build an Accessible Blogosphere, she nails the exact issue I've observed since I started thinking and writing about this topic:

Individuals are attracted to blogging because it is a relatively easy way to share their stories and knowledge and to build a community of like-minded people. However, because many bloggers come to blogging with minimal, if any, web design experience, they are doing small things that unintentionally exclude individuals from their blogs; things that can easily be rectified.

I'm excited to see what Glenda comes up with. She brings a wealth of experience to the table, as well as the perspective of a user with mobility issues - a population that often comes in second to users with visual disabilities when web accessibility is being discussed.

So Glenda, welcome! And perhaps in 10 years, the "accessibility for bloggers" corner of the blogosphere will have multiplied so much that no one person can keep track of it all!

By : Skye

5 Advantages of Blogging You Can't Ignore

There are many advantages of blogging if your intent is to initiate and maintain contact with a large number of like minded people. As the internet has grown so has its acceptance as a reliable channel of communication. It is recognized that the primary role of the internet involves dispensing news and information. It is no wonder that the online methods used to do this have continually evolved to better accommodate user needs.

With the advent of web 2.0 and the ever growing number of social sites internet users have made clear their preference was for more interaction. Even marketers acknowledge this preference and channeled their promotional efforts in this direction.

Blogs have risen to be one of the most popular and widely accepted methods used to fill the needs and demands for communicating amongst today's internet enthusiasts.

Let's review 5 benefits that make blogging so popular:

#1 – The Process is More like Play and Less like Work

Writing for a blog is less restrictive than many other forms of writing. Blogging tends to be more of a conversation as opposed to a formal presentation. There is less emphasis put on grammatically correct compositions. Blog readers are a more 'casual' audience and as a result are more accepting of human error.

Blog entries are 'judged' more on the content of the message then the format in which it is conveyed. Just getting your point across in a more natural style with the use of intrigue, humor, sarcasm, or even shock is more engaging to the readers. If the post is informative, helpful, or entertaining then it is more likely to be received more favorably. The ability to leave comments and receive responses also allows readers to get more involved in the process. This alone makes it more interesting and satisfying for both reader and blog owner alike.

#2 – Blogging is Easy

If you can write in MS Word you can blog. There exist virtually no technological challenges therefore just about anybody can blog. Interfacing with most blogs is mostly point and click allowing you to add graphics, audio or video easily.

Picking and choosing your own layout and theme is just as easy and twice as fun. Your blog look can be changed in a flash and as often as you like.

#3 – Your Blog Can Reflect Your Personality

Your blog layout and also your blogging style can be tailored to reflect your personality or special interests. In fact it is encouraged to do so to help your blog stand out from the other blogs out there, after all there is only one you!

Also by doing this you allow your readers to further bond with you by giving them a deeper insight into who you are and what makes you tick.

#4 – Cost Efficient Advertising

A blog is one of the most cost efficient advertising methods available and a powerful way to gain an internet presence. In a manner of speaking it is cheap. Unless you like to spend money this should be appealing to you. Your only expense with a paid blogging system is the cost of a domain and a hosting service. To establish a blog with a highly respected and popular blogging system such as Wordpress will cost less than $100.00 annually.

#5 – SEO is a Breeze

If you're interested in making your site easier to find within the search engines, blogging is the way to go. By posting to your blog frequently you're encouraging the search engine spiders to 'crawl' your site to look for any new entries. As a result this will inevitably boost your rankings since search engines love fresh content.

Given these 5 benefits we've discussed here can you now better understand the advantages of blogging and reason for its popularity? It is a fun, easy, and economical way to make your presence known on the internet. How can you resist?

TJ Philpott is an author and Internet entrepreneur based out of North Carolina. For additional online success tips and a free guide that demonstrates how to find both profitable markets and products visit:http://blogbrawn.com/