Ten years of blogging.

Generally, April 15 is my least favorite day of the year (tax day in the U.S.). But, this year, I’m celebrating 10 years of running a Web site.

Ten years ago today, I stepped down a path that has changed my life in more ways than I can count. The site started out as a page on now-defunct Expage.com. I’d made a simple page with shoutouts to all my old high school friends. Little did I know that I’d eventually be earning my income from something that started out with so little substance. This blog has been with me since I was a confused teenager and continues to be an outlet for me as a somewhat less-confused adult.

I won’t bore you with all the details. You can check out the archives if you want to see my journey. You can even start with my first blog post.

I want to thank everyone who has taken this journey with me. In particular, I want to thank everyone involved in the WordPress community for giving me a platform that has allowed me to easily publish my content online for the better part of these past 10 years (it sure beats the heck out of those text files I started with).

I’m looking forward to the next 10. I hope they’re as exciting as the previous years and that you will continue reading and commenting.

I’ll leave you with some of the most popular items from my blog over the years.

Top 10 commented posts

Here’s a rundown of the most popular posts on my blog by comment count. Note that some of the themes are pretty high up there because I didn’t have a support forum back in the day.

1. Structure: WordPress Theme (1,005 comments)
2. Visionary: WordPress Theme (518 comments)
3. Custom post types in WordPress (509 comments)
4. Options: WordPress Theme (506 comments)
5. Get the Image: WordPress Plugin (438 comments)
6. Custom taxonomies in WordPress 2.8 (341 comments)
7. Members: WordPress Plugin (341 comments)
8. Cleaner Gallery: WordPress Plugin (334 comments)
9. Goodbye, headaches. Hello, menus! (334 comments)
10. Adding and using custom user profile fields (249 comments)

Top 10 Google Analytics posts

I’ve only been using Google Analytics since late 2007 and routinely removed the tracking code from my site every time I changed themes (yes, tracking codes belong in plugins), so these numbers aren’t entirely accurate. However, they will give you a good view of my most visited posts on this site thus far.

1. Cleaner Gallery: WordPress Plugin (309,852 views)
2. Custom post types in WordPress (271,448 views)
3. Options: WordPress Theme (231,947 views)
4. Structure: WordPress Theme (220,629 views)
5. Get the Image: WordPress Plugin (178,947 views)
6. How to creae tabs using jQuery (163,296 views)
7. Visionary: WordPress Theme (162,257 views)
8. Goodbye, headaches. Hello, menus! (158,441 views)
9. Members: WordPress Plugin (118,848 views)
10. Showing custom post types on your home page (106,604 views)

My list of goals usually has too many things on it, and those goals change throughout the year. This year, I’m going to try and keep it simple.

Be healthier

I’m steering clear of the “get in shape” line and getting back to what’s important — health. This means I need to eat better and exercise more.

I’ve already dropped nearly 10 pounds in January by just eating better.

It’s not all about physical health. I need to get out and enjoy life more than I did last year. I spent more time than necessary behind a computer screen, and that’s not good for the ol’ social life. Just in case I’m feeling unmotivated, I’ll keep my copy of Yes Man near the TV. That movie always gears me up for a whirl out in the real world.

Become an English teacher

Last year proved to be rough in the job hunting process. I had never walked out of an interview and not gotten a job until last spring. It wasn’t the last failed interview either.

I’ve learned from my experience and have wedged my foot into a few doors over the past year. This time around, I’m going to give it everything I can and land a teaching job.

If you feel like wishing me luck, I’ll take all of it I can.

Build an online empire

Honestly, I want to blog more this year. Of course, I tell myself this a few times a week.

One of the reasons I don’t blog as much is because it becomes tiring. I sometimes spend hours working on a single blog post. Doing that on a regular basis isn’t much fun.

I need to reorganize some things around this site. The biggest change I’ll be making at some point this year will be the incorporation of a few custom post types. This will allow me to build the type of site I’ve been thinking about for the last couple of years and post content in ways that better suit my passions in life.

I’ll post more about my thoughts on this (and probably some tutorials on how I’ll be doing it) in a future post. For now, I’ll give you a preview of a possible new home page.

I also want to try my hand at a few art-directed posts, which I hope will keep my creative juices flowing.

No more goals?

Sure, I have loads of smaller goals. While the smaller goals are sometimes just as important as the larger ones, they’re usually steps that lead up to the major plans. So, I wanted to provide an overall outlook at what I want to accomplish this year.

Note that some of these things, mostly the sections covering usage of numbers, strictly abide by the AP Stylebook. There are other style guides, but I’ve found that AP is much better for the blogging world because it is much like journalism.

Damage / damages

A hurricane causes damage, but a plaintiff was awarded damages in the trial. That’s the best way to remember it.

Daylight-saving time

It’s not daylight-savings time.

Decades

As I mentioned in the apostrophe section of A is for affect, apostrophes are tricky when writing about decades. Never use an apostrophe in 1990s; always use an apostrophe before ’90s.

The 1970s were great, but we had the time of our lives in the ’60s.

Different from / different than / differ with

Never use “different than.” Use “different from” instead, which means to be unlike. You “differ with” someone, which means to disagree.

Your dog’s tail is different from my dog’s tail.
I differ with Sarah on that issue.

Dimensions

Always use numerals when writing dimensions. Only use hyphens when the dimension is used as an adjective. I’ll just give you a few examples, so you can see how this works.

The 6-foot-10-inch man is the tallest on the team.
The man is 6 feet 10 inches tall.
The 5-by-12 room is small.
The room is 5 feet by 6 feet.
February’s blizzard in Alabama left 6 inches of snow.

Directions and regions

You shouldn’t capitalize the names of directions but always capitalize the names of regions. Also, capitalize regional names, such as Southerner.

The South will march northward until they’ve taken over the North.
The farther north you travel, the less likely you’ll like the Northerners’ accents.
Many people grow up in the South, but some don’t like being called Southerners.
The wind blew the mobile home east.
I grew up in the Deep South.

Disk / disc

A “disk” is a rotating magnetic disc, such as a floppy disk or disk drive. A “disc” is a rotating optical disc, like a compact disc. (I’d like to get someone to check on this though.)

The compact disc is more common than the floppy disk now.

Discreet / discrete

“Discreet” means circumspect, while “discrete” means separate.

The defendant asked his lawyer to be discreet with his personal documents.
Each department of the university forms a whole but is discrete entities.

Disney World / Disneyland

“Disney World” is two words, and “Disneyland” is one word.

My son loves Disney World, but my daughter likes Disneyland more.

Disinterested / uninterested

“Disinterested” means free of bias or indifferent. “Uninterested” means to lack interest. Are you confused yet? When in doubt, use “disinterested” because it’s usually the better word choice.

A judge must be a disinterested party in all court cases.
Both are uninterested people, but they decided to vote in the election.

Dived / dove

Never use “dove” as the past tense of “dive.” Always use “dived” because “dove” is a bird.

The dove dived dangerously close to its death.

Dollars

Always use numerals when writing about money. However, too many zeroes can get messy. When the amount is more than $1 million, you can write the numeral up to two decimal places.

Will you give me a dollar?
Johnny has $8.
He won $5 million.
The car costs $25,700.
The house is worth $2.5 billion.
Do you have $5.00? (Incorrect, unnecessary zeroes)

Desert / dessert

A “desert” is a hot, dry place. A “dessert” is something that one eats after a meal, which is typically sweet.

He wanted to eat ice cream for dessert, but it would’ve melted in the desert.

Dates

Abbreviate the name of the month only if you give the specific day of the month. Always give the specific date if you know it. You don’t have to write the year in most publications if the date is near the time of writing. Never abbreviate March, April, May, June, or July (these are the five months with less than five letters). Here are some examples:

January in South Korea is cold.
January 2008 was the year my life changed.
He met the love of his life Jan. 17.
On Friday, Jan. 18, 2008, he died from a broken heart.

When the century is less than 10, write the number out. Otherwise, use the numeral. Hyphenate when using it to modify a noun.

The 21st century will be great.
She’s a 21st-century girl.
I can trace my ancestry back to the eighth century.

Daylong / month-long / year-long

You take a daylong trip but a month-long or year-long trip.

He took a daylong trip to the Bible Belt.
She was on a month-long sojourn in Africa.
I’m on a year-long adventure in South Korea.

Academic Degrees

Use an apostrophe in bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and so on. One of the reasons I like AP style is that it removes pompous titles.

Johnny Frazier, Ph.D., gave an interesting argument for transhumanism. (Incorrect in AP)
Johnny Frazier, who has a doctorate in psychology, gave an interesting argument for transhumanism. (Correct)
Johnny Frazier, a psychologist, gave an interesting argument for transhumanism. (Correct)

Dad / dad

Only capitalize “Dad” when referring to your father by name. Lowercase “dad” in all other uses.

My dad has written songs all his life.
Will you ask Dad if he still has that chainsaw we used last year?

Die-hard / Die Hard

“Die-hard” means stubborn. Die Hard is the name of a movie.

He’s a die-hard fan of the Die Hard series.

Drunk / drunken

Use “drunk” after the verb meaning “to be,” but use “drunken” as an adjective before a noun. Also, “drunkenness” is often misspelled.

The drunken man crashed into the police car.
My uncle is drunk.

Commonly misspelled words beginning with “D”

deathbed
day trip
daytime
D-day
debacle
debatable
decimate
diarrhea
dietitian
dilapidated
disfranchise
dissociate
dissociation
distributor
divorcee
doppelganger
Dr Pepper (no period after Dr)
duct tape

Conclusion

Unfortunately, I don’t have any book recommendations for this post. I hope you’ve enjoyed this edition of the ABCs of writing series. These rules may seem a bit rigid, but I promise to give some tutorials on how to break the rules once I finish the “Z” tutorial.

I wrote this tutorial fairly quick, so I hope I didn’t make too many mistakes. Give me your feedback. Ask questions. Call me out on any mistakes. Let’s keep a good discussion on writing well going.

Life

Here are a few of the things about my life outside of the digital world that happened this year.

• Spring semester 2007 & worries
  I began my last semester of college.
• The Singularity is Near
  Soon after, I wrote a rather small review for a book that completely changed my life. I’m not a full-blown transhumanist, but Ray Kurzweil introduced me to a world that I didn’t know existed.
• Amy on American Idol’s photo page
  My sister appeared on American Idol’s photo page, but failed to make it anywhere in the actual competition.
• I am morally without sin
  I witnessed a preacher on a rampage in February. That post became one of my most popular ever, at least at that time.
• Changing my life again
  Decided to change my life.
• Unitarian Universalist
  Was told that I am a Unitarian Universalist by some belief quiz. I’m still not sure what that is.
• The captain of my soul
  Decided to change my life again.
• Guidebook to Dating My Best Friend
  Wrote the ultimate guidebook There were some mixed reviews amongst friends and their girlfriends.
• My last day of class
  Finished my last college class, but I still hope to go back someday.
• Life at 23
  I turned 23 years old. Nearly 1/3 of my life is now gone.
• A life-changing bookshelf
  Pondered over the meaning of life and books.
• Post-graduation week
  Spent a week being lazy after graduation. Those days seem so far away now.
• Seoul-bound
  Moved to South Korea. Yeah, that’s a big change.
• Fukuoka, Japan
  Spent two days in Fukuoka, Japan. It looks as if someone mops the streets every day. I’m fairly certain I could eat off the ground there.
• The milk challenge
  Tried to drink a gallon of milk in 15 minutes. Do not attempt this unless you are a trained professional.
• Wedding war cry
  Saw a Korean wedding. Now, if only American weddings were this eerily passionate would I start believing in the power of love again.
• I spent my first Thanksgiving, Iron Bowl (Auburn vs. Alabama football game), and Christmas away from home.

To really sum all this up for you, so you won’t have to read all those posts I’ve listed, I began the year as a lost college student in Auburn, Alabama, and am ending the year as a lost teacher in South Korea. I’ve reevaluated my life several times and have come to the conclusion that it would be much better to be a kid again. Well, a kid that could drive to Wal-Mart at 4 a.m. for ice cream whenever he wants.

Blogging

This blog has undergone quite a few changes throughout the year too. I’m sure most of you reading this post wouldn’t have been reading it in January.

• Time to leave Yahoo?
  Took the first steps toward leaving the crappy Web services offered by Yahoo, but I’m still contemplating another move in the future.
• Make your MySpace profile look like Facebook
  Became tired of the ugliness that MySpace had to offer, so I created a theme that made MySpace look like the much more beautiful Facebook. It’s still one of my most daily visited posts.
• Dark Sunflower: WordPress theme
  Released my first publicly available WordPress theme. Unfortunately, and for good reason, it was not very popular.
• List subpages with descriptions: WordPress plugin
  Released my first WordPress plugin. It was nothing special, but it is still my favorite plugin because it’s the most functional plugin I use on my site now. Of course, my version is heavily modified for personal use.
• New directions: Which path should my blog wander down?
  Decided to change the direction of my blog. I went from an purely personal blog to a blog about life, blogging, and WordPress and haven’t looked back.
• Using WordPress custom fields
  Began a tutorial series on using WordPress’ least-documented, yet most powerful, feature — custom fields.
• Visionary: WordPress theme
  No yearly roundup post would be complete without mentioning the theme that put me on the WordPress-o-sphere map. Visionary is still my most downloaded theme and pulls in hundreds of visitors daily.
• The ABCs of Writing
  My second tutorial series. This time on writing. I figured I might as well do something useful with that English degree I received earlier in the year.
• Structure: WordPress theme
  After completing the Visionary theme, I was a little unsatisfied with the results. So, I set out to make a theme that was much more powerful. I don’t think it will be long before this becomes my most downloaded theme ever. This theme has also landed me several paid jobs (yes, people are willing to give me money for custom work now).

Overall, 2007 has been a great year for this blog. I’m now ranked in the Technorati 3k. I’m fairly certain I wasn’t in the top 50k when the year began. I’ve also went from a Google PageRank of 0 to 4 in the last 12 months. I’ve made many friends online, and others have presented me with some exciting opportunities and projects.

What’s happening in 2008?

I’ll spend my first birthday and many other holidays away from home. I hope to visit a few more Asian countries. My sister should visit me in March; she’ll be the first family member I’ve seen since August. I’m not sure where life will take me. I might even find that soulmate I’ve been waiting on for 23 years.

As far as the blog is concerned, there’ll be plenty of changes in the new year. I can’t reveal every detail of each project I’m working on at the moment because I want them to be a bit of a surprise when I publicly announce them. Here are a few things you can look forward to though:

• WordPress themes
  I’ve got quite a few themes ready for launch sometime in the coming months. I’ve revised my previous plan to release two free themes a month down to one. I’d rather release at least one quality theme a month than two mediocre themes.
• Tutorials
  I want to write more tutorials. Of course, I’ll continue my current tutorial series on writing well and using WordPress custom fields, but I’ve got a few more ideas about to fall out my sleeve.
• E-book
  I’m working on an e-book about writing for the Internet. It’s based off my current writing series, but will have plenty of extras in the finished version.
• Custom Design
  I’ve been working on several custom WordPress designs in the last couple of months. I hope to continue building on this and have a definite business model built on this in the coming year. My goal is to have enough of a steady income to work from home after I leave Korea. This way, I can go back to school and get another degree or do a little more traveling. I don’t want to get ahead of myself though. I’ll just have to see where this goes in the next eight months.
• Project M
  The ultimately-unbelievably-secretly-mind-boggling project I’m working on. No. I can’t tell you what it is just yet, but you can look forward to it in the next couple of months. Hint: It has something to do with WordPress.

Conclusion

That’s been my life in the last year. I’m frighteningly peaceful at the moment and haven’t felt this way in a long time. I’m excited about the year to come. I know life will toss me and throw me and spook me in ways I cannot imagine, but I’m ready for the challenges and experiences ahead.

To all my readers, I hope you’ve had a wonderful year in 2007 and that it only continues to get better for you next year. I look forward to the journey of 2008 and ask you to travel along with me.

Until 2008…

A cliché is an overused expression that has lost its original meaning. It’s lost that creative “spice” that was probably evident the first few times someone said it.

Don’t get me wrong, sometimes clichés are useful, but most of the time, using them makes you look like a lazy writer, someone without imagination. They lack any suggestive power or evoke any emotion in the reader because they are overused to a point where the phrases should be removed from the language altogether.

Sometimes, you can get away with twisting or reconstructing the cliché with new words or using some other type of play on words to change its meaning. One of my favorite examples, even though it’s a bit cheesy, is a quote from Quincy in Love & Basketball.

All’s fair in love and basketball. (Movie quote)
All is fair in love and war. (Original cliché)

I’ll never forget that quote, and that’s why it’s a good use of the cliché. It makes it memorable.

Comma

Comma usage is broad enough to warrant its own post, so I might not cover every use in this article alone. Some of the easiest rules to break in English are comma rules, but they’re also some of the best to break when trying to capture an audience.

Comma series

When writing three or more items in a series, there are two ways to use the comma.

I like blogging, Web designing, and playing in the rain.
I like long walks on the beach, bathing in the sunlight and horseback riding.

The latter has become more prevalent, but I still use the former because I like to keep things organized. Occasionally, you might find yourself in a situation where the last comma is needed.

My favorite dishes are frog legs, fish and chips and pork and beans. (A little confusing)
My favorite dishes are frog legs, fish and chips, and pork and beans. (Not confusing)

Always omit the last comma in a business name.

He works for Sanford, Son and Company.

Parenthetic expressions

It is tough to decide when to use a comma with parenthetic expressions. A parenthetic expression is adding an extra or explanatory expression in your sentence.

Ricky’s dad, Joe Bob, completed his first tour of the world yesterday.

A good rule to test is the “which, where, and when” test. Typically, when a parenthetical expression begins with one of these words, you can safely enclose it in commas.

The movie version of Doom, which sucked whale ass, isn’t nearly as great as the video game.
In 1984, when my mother had her first child, some of the greatest movies hit the box office.
The Uptown Creek, where I landed my first kiss, was the place I thought I had become a man.

Independent clauses

Use a comma before “and,” “but,” and “so” if they separate clauses that could stand alone as a sentence.

She’s a girl that’s in love with a boy, and he’s a boy that’s in love with a girl.
I like big butts and I cannot lie, but my best friend likes slender legs.
The bus leaves at 6 p.m., so you should arrive a few minutes early.

Comma splice

A comma splice is an incorrect separation of two independent clauses with a comma. Don’t write these sentences with only a comma. Use a conjunction (and, but, as, because, etc.), a semicolon, or separate them into sentences.

She’s a girl that’s in love with a boy, he’s a boy that’s in love with a girl. (Incorrect)
She’s a girl that’s in love with a boy; he’s a boy that’s in love with a girl. (Correct)
She’s a girl that’s in love with a boy. He’s a boy that’s in love with a girl. (Correct)

Only use comma splices for effect, and do it as seldom as possible.

Rhythm

You can use commas to add rhythm to your sentences. In this instance, you can omit “and” to break from your rigid style of writing.

Autumn brings me back to a place I once knew, gives me a surreal feeling of longing, reminds me of my youth.

Confusion

Make sure phrases at the beginning of your sentences match the subject. Don’t use commas to separate things that would make your sentences confusing. In this example, a reader may be confused about which thing is old and worn out.

Although old and worn out, he bought the car. (What or who is “old and worn out”?)
He bought the car, even though it was old and worn out. (The car is “old and worn out.”)

Comma / coma

This isn’t a tough one, but I wanted to add it because my Korean students pronounce “comma” like “coma” a lot. I frequently draw pictures of a man in a coma to show them what they’re actually saying.

A “coma” is a state of deep sleep or unconsciousness. A “comma” is a punctuation mark used to separate ideas or parts of a sentence.

Conscience / conscious / conscientious

“Conscience” is your moral guide. “Conscious” means being aware of your surroundings or being awake. “Conscientious” means that you are guided by your “conscience.”

Do you believe that Hannibal Lecter had a conscience?
A man in a coma is not conscious.
He made a conscientious decision to push that man off the bridge to save the others.

Certainly

Remove it from your speech. Remove it from your writing. Seriously. It’s often used to add some “oomph” to your sentences, but it makes your writing look unprofessional.

He certainly cannot move my bed without permission. (Bad)
He cannot move my bed without permission. (Much better)

Compare / contrast

Don’t confuse these two. “Compare” means to point out resemblances, and “contrast” is to point out differences.

His book contrasts the beach and the mountains.
She compared Chevy and Ford trucks in her review.

Colon

The best use of the colon (:) is when writing a list. However, it’s often misused when written before a list. It must always follow a noun.

My favorite snacks are: candy bars, ice cream, and potato chips. (Incorrect)
He gave me three choices: sex, drugs, or bluegrass. (Correct)

Commonly misspelled “C” words

calendar
camouflage
cantaloupe
cemetery
chagrined
changeable
collectible
colonel
column
committee
completely
concede
continuous
controversy
convenient
coolly
courteous

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

One of the books that I’ve always wanted to read is Eats, Shoots and Leaves. By looking at the title, you can see that the sentence will have various meanings if the comma is placed in different places. He eats, shoots and leaves. He eats shoots and leaves.

Most of the reviews I’ve read have had nothing less than praise for the book. I often flip through the pages when I’m at the bookstore, wishing I had a few extra dollars on hand. It’s definitely on my “must read” list.

As always, post your feedback, call me on any errors (this is a learning experience for me too), and add your own ideas to the list.

Do you have any other comma tips? This is a large section and deserves much more attention than it received in this post.

I had to reinstall my hard drive last weekend and put the finishing touches on the Jeffrey Zeldman Presents
I’m not even sure how or why I came across Jeffrey’s site, but I’m glad I did. It’s a beautiful layout that conforms to Web standards. It’s worth checking out just for his style.

Interesting:

This is the dumping ground for other blogs, sites, articles, and other things of interest. Be sure to check out Common Craft’s videos.

• Common Craft
  “We use a simple format and real-world stories to make sense of complex ideas.” The Common Craft team puts together great videos in “Plain English” for use on the Web. Their videos are great for viewing and learning.
• OpenOffice
  I’m sure most of you have heard about this by now, and if you haven’t, you might want to try it out. I’m using it to write an e-book write now (an e-book that’s due sometime in the far away future).
• Why Traffic, Your Subscriber Count and Money Doesn’t Matter
  To me, this is one of Skellie’s best articles. I totally agree with the perspective on “looking” like an authority, even if you’re not one. This article could change how you present your blog to the world.
• Write Your Most Popular Post Ever
  The first tip of this list of 10 says it all — “Time is more important than talent.” This is a great article on how to write popular blog posts.
• Orlando prep school sues mother for criticizing it on blog
  This is an interesting case to follow. Blogger-moms, beware!

As always, you can keep up with my links by following my del.icio.us bookmarks or subscribing to the feed for next week’s roundup.

There are not as many common mistakes with this letter as “A,” but I’ve put together some material to browse. For this new edition of the The ABCs of Writing, I’ll walk you through a few common errors that begin with the letter “B.”

Because / because of / due to

Anyone can make a mistake with these words when writing and look over it when editing. Do not use “because of” or “due to” because they contain unnecessary words. In general, always use “because” because it’s much simpler. You can sometimes use the phrase “because of” effectively. You might have to make a judgment call.

Other phrases to watch out for:

• because of the fact that
• due to the fact that
• owing to the fact that

He died because of his sister’s boyfriend.
He died because his sister’s boyfriend hit him with a hammer.

“Because” can be a powerful word when writing. When you use it in sentences, they have more credibility. For example, if you’re telling your readers to read an article you found, tell them why.

You should read “How to Lose a Girl after Three Dates.” (Bad)
You should read “How to Lose a Girl after Three Dates” because the writer lays out the rules for dating in a readable and entertaining article. (Good)

Believe

This is a commonly misspelled word. It’s also one of those times when the “i comes before e,” which is a rarity in the English language.

I believe I can fly. I believe I can touch the sky. I believe I can soar.

Use the phrase “I believe” sparingly. If you’re writing it, then a reader can assume that you believe it. A good exception to this rule is when talking about beliefs themselves (possibly religion). Also, avoid “I think.” Removing “I believe” from your sentences makes your writing more effective. It makes it stronger. In addition, you omit needless words.

I believe Britney Spears is the dumbest person ever. (Less effective)
Britney Spears is the dumbest person ever. (Effective)

Even when writing about religion, you can make your sentence stronger.

I believe that God, the angels, and heaven exist. (OK)
God, the angels, and heaven exist. (Stronger)

Blog

There’s a way to misuse the word “blog”? Yes, there is. If I only had a dime for every time I read a blog post or heard it used incorrectly in casual conversation, well…(Also, avoid clichés when writing.)

Blog is short for the word “weblog.” The only time you can use it as a noun is when you’re referring to a blog itself, which includes all of the blog’s posts. You cannot use the word to mean “blog post.” They are not interchangeable. “Blog” can also mean “to write an entry into a weblog” — blog, blogging, blogged.

I wrote a blog about raccoons and orgasms today. (Wrong)
I wrote a blog post about raccoons and orgasms last night. (Right)
I blogged about raccoons and orgasms this morning. (Right)

Bibliography

While writing a bibliography doesn’t necessarily apply to blogging, it never hurts to learn. I won’t write a tutorial on this because that would warrant an entire post, maybe several posts. Instead, you can read How to Write a Bibliography – Examples in MLA Style. It looks like a good reference for nearly any type of bibliography. You never know when you might need it.

Commonly misspelled words beginning with the letter B

• balloon
• barbeque / barbecue
• basically
• battalion
• beautiful
• beggar
• beginning
• benefited
• bicycle
• Britain
• broccoli
• Buddha
• bureau
• burglar
• business

Bartleby.com

This is a great reference site for anyone that’s serious about his or her writing. It has encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauruses, and much more. You can probably bookmark their site and forget all about reading this tutorial series.

The preeminent Internet publisher of literature, reference and verse providing students, researchers and the intellectually curious with unlimited access to books and information on the web, free of charge.

- Excerpt from Bartleby.com

Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations

A Collection of Passages, Phrases, and Proverbs Traced to Their Sources in Ancient and Modern Literature

Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations is a good book to add to your library. Why not reference the greatest writers of all when looking for some inspiration or an easy way to explain something? This book is something you should not go without. If nothing else, impress your friends by putting it on the coffee table beside your photography book. Seriously, it’s a great read.

Final thoughts:

This edition of the series was a little shorter than the last, but that was expected because there aren’t as many errors with the letter “B.” I’m sure there are mistakes in this post, and I urge you to find them. This is as much a learning tool for me as it is for you.

Subscribe to the feed to know when I write about the letter “C.” I have quite a few ideas on it.

Must-see:

• My MySpace profile
  Yes, I’m shamelessly linking myself this week. I’ll soon release the newest version of the WordPress for Dummies
  If only I had thought of this idea first. It sounds like a good read. I have so many WordPress tutorials and articles bookmarked now, that I’m not sure if I need a copy. I might still purchase one for reference though.
• We Love WP
  I can’t believe I haven’t linked this site before. It’s a great showcase of cool WordPress designs.
• WP Themez
  This is a Digg-like site for WordPress themes. It could become pretty popular soon. I’m trying to do my part in seeing that happen. Go vote for my Visionary theme while you’re checking it out.

Design:

Only one article this week, but it’s well worth the read.

• Understanding Web Design
  A great article by Jeffrey Zeldman on Web design. He talks about what Web design is and is not. He also argues that many of the leaders on the Web do not understand what makes good Web design because they don’t essentially understand the Web.

Articles of interest:

• Never Say Die
  It looks like a few more people are taking Ray Kurzweil and others seriously. This is an article about how some “big money” individuals are investing in life-extension technologies.
• 5 Content Myths and Why They Are False
  Jonathan Bailey gives a detailed explanation about some of the things you can do to fight against those that would dare to steal your site’s content that you’ve put together through hours of hard work and sweat.
• The Forrest Gump Guide to Becoming a Gazillionaire
  This is a funny and informative guide on keeping the cash flowing for your online business.
• How to Write the Perfect ‘About’ Page by Numbers
  I think I might just make a Skellie section on this blog every week. Once again, she finds a way to make sense of everything. Now, I’ve got to go fix my About page.
• Taking the Second Amendment to Court
  The Supreme Court will examine D.C.’s “right” to ban handguns. Oh great. What’s next? Let’s get rid of all 10 amendmants that make the Bill of Rights. When are we going to learn that these rights are not given to us. They’re ours no matter what any government tells us. The Bill of Rights was simply a statement of what rights we have as humans.
• A Nation of Sheep
  Someone from Fox News that actually makes sense. This has got to be some kind of joke. I’ll look more into it.

As always, you can follow what I link to daily by keeping up with my del.icio.us bookmarks or you can subscribe to the feed to have next week’s roundup delivered right to you.

In honor of this site’s venture into the Technorati top 10,000 blogs, I’m kicking off my new advertising campaign. I’m giving away 2 – 3 advertising spots for free. Currently, I’m using AdSense in the far right sidebar. This is where the new ads will go.

Note: These ad spots have now been filled. Thanks to everyone that participated.

I’m a little late on doing this because I’m currently within the top 9,000. I dropped rather quickly, much quicker than I had expected, below the 10K mark and was a bit unprepared. I’m ready now though.

How do you get this free advertising?

Simple. Leave a comment on this post or use the contact page requesting the free ad spot.

I’m not sure how many people might be interested in this, so I can’t guarantee that you will get a spot. Priority will go to sites or blogs in the WordPress, blogging, or Web design niches because that’s the type of advertisers I’d like to have on this site in the future.

I, of course, will pick the sites that get their ads put up. If there’s enough interest, I might run a rotating ad script or something like that.

So, what’s the catch?

There’s no real “catch,” but I would like a little help. I’d like to get weekly reports on what kind of traffic you’re getting from my blog. This is just a little stat-tracking to help me out.

That’s it. Free advertising in exchange for statistics.

I’m not sure how long I’ll run these ads, but am looking at about a month or until I start seeing some more serious advertising proposals. A lot depends on how much traffic my blog’s getting, bringing you, and other various factors.

The only other thing I ask is that you have a 125 x 125 px ad. This is becoming more standard, and I would like to try this out.

Am I crazy for offering free advertising?

To some extent, maybe. I do have some goals in mind. Part of the reason I’m doing this is to see if my site is ready for advertising beyond Google AdSense. I’m also experimenting with ad placement because I might change this site’s layout or theme some over the course of the next month.

It’s all one, big experiment, and I feel like this blog’s still at a point where I can do a lot of experimenting.

No, I won’t make any money from this in the short-run. However, I think this could help draw in a little more traffic and subscribers. I’m looking toward the future to see what my advertising options might be then. There are still a few kinks I’ll probably have to work out with my advertising system, and this experiment should help straighten those out.

Help celebrate my blog entering the Technorati Top 10K 9K by signing up for a free ad spot now!