Thom Allen Weblog

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Create A Sticky 404 Page

Build A Better Blog Day 29

Today's tip is one no blogger should be without. When someone tries to find something on your blog, say a post or a static page and the web server can't find it, it usually serves up some kind of error, known as a 404. If you run a self-hosted Wordpress blog there is usually a 404.php file in your themes root folder. If your blog is hosted with a service like Blogger or Wordpress.com, you probably won't have the ability to implement this tip. Sorry.

Here are some things you can put on your 404 page:

The last several posts from your blog
Show the last several comments
Show some of your categories or display a tag cloud
Show a list of the Archives
An option to search
Related posts of the key words used

Some blogging software have plug-ins you can use to create a 404 page that has all of these things built in. It requires a little bit of work on your part but once it's running it works quiet well. Try this link to see my 404 page. What I don't have on my 404 page are ads. Some people take this opportunity to throw a bunch of ads in front of you. You can do this, but I would recommend displaying relevant content instead.

Link to the plug-in I used on my 404 page.

ProBlogger's day twenty-nine post: Email a Blogger that Linked to You to Say Thanks

Yes, I’m Participating In NaNoWriMo This Year

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That's right, starting tomorrow I'm setting out to write an entire novel, 50,000 words, in 30 days. Crazy? Maybe. I've been priming myself this past month by writing one or more blog posts everyday and writing small short stories. I'm ready, excited and hope I can get as close to 50,000 as possible. If you've participated in NaNoWriMo before you know what it's like. I'd love to hear your stories. If this is your first year, like me, leave your blog link in the comments and let us in on how you're doing.

Since the average daily number of words I will need to write in order to accomplish the goal is 1667, I hope I can fit a few days blogging in there.

My Build A Better Blog series is almost complete and I have two other series I am researching to write on, but won't be as aggressive as the one I'm just finishing. I'm just having fun writing and hope someday to have a Novel in Barnes and Noble. Wish me luck.

By the way, I ran across this really cool site today called NaSoAlMo. It's the national Solo Album Month. Just like writing a Novel in 30 days, this site encourages musicians to record an album in 30 days. Very cool. If you're a musician, visit the site and give this a try. If you do let us know. Good luck.

Excellent Utah Facebook Developer Garage

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Yesterday was the second Utah Facebook Developer Garage and we had a decent turnout. We talked about a couple new features of the Facebook API, Mobile capabilities and the new Invitation screen.

I want to thank Tim Stay of Know More Media for letting us use his conference room at the last minute. We had munchies, discussed the viability of Facebook and Social network applications, and future Garage events. I think fun was had by all.

I posted a couple of pics on the Facebook group, but I also posted them here for those not a member of Facebook.

Also, thanks to Jess Stay for making sure this whole thing happened.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Thank A Blogger For Linking To You

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Build A Better Blog Day 28

Everyone wants to be recognized and appreciated. Take the time to thank those who make your blog successful. I started a weekly Props to my Peeps post where I write about someone or something that helped me or turned a good deed during the week. I use their name, what they did and a link to a blog if they have one. I always get permission to discuss anything personal so I don't make the person upset or uncomfortable.

This tip doesn't have to be real complicated. Just pay attention to who reads your blog and who creates links to your posts, and honor them once in a while. Here's a great example. Jason Alba from JibberJobber gives out a 'You Get It" award each month. Liz Strauss gives out an SOB award, Successful and Outstanding Bloggers. Come up with your own award or keep it simple with a post thanking them.

ProBlogger's day twenty-eight post: What is Your Blog's Mission Statement