Recently I had an internet business ideas from a text sent by a friend.

This is exactly what he sent.

Bust, how far, o boy e no easy o: I de Port Harcourt, trying to look for any sign that reads-architect for hire.

How are things at your end.guy, if you hear anything, hook me up. I will buzz you this night for yans.

It was written in a mixture of English and Pidgin English and basically said, it’s not really easy with me, I am in Port Harcourt looking for an architect’s job. If you hear of any opening where you are, let me know.

This text got me laughing especially the part that said, I am looking for a sign that reads –architects for hire.

I could imagine my friend moving on foot or driving around in a cab while stretching his neck to look for words on signs boards that read–architects for hire.

A few minutes after that, the entrepreneur in me jumped in.

Architects for hire?

Is there a website like that?

Right there, I knew I had an internet business idea.

What if I started www.ArchitectsForHire.com ,a market place for young architects looking for jobs and firms looking for architects to employ. Would it not have been easy for my friend to search for a job there and get hooked without any stress?

And he could have searched for it in any state of the federation.

I thought of other professionals in other fields?

Would they need a service like this?

Can I have www.DoctorsForHire.com , www.EngineersForHire.com and others? This would be a similar business idea from the first internet business idea.

What if I asked them to load their CVs and applications on the website?

What if I asked the doctors to pay a little sum to register or pay for text or email alerts when a new job position is registered on the site?

What if I asked the employers to do same?

What if I had a premium service that made a few people see the job positions before others by paying a little monthly fee?

That text my friend sent me just gave me a business idea.

An online business idea worth investigating.

I didn’t go on with the investigation but this post is just to explain how an offline problem can be solved with the internet.

And the different ways money can be made from it.

I would be much easier for job seekers to find a job if their employers and jobs were in one place online. (easy to find)

If there was such a service like www.ArchitectForHire.com , my friend would have easily searched the website for a job opening in any part of the country in minutes.

Fortunately, this idea can work for anything you normally search for offline.

So just think of something you usually search for offline, and then think of how you can make it easier for people to find it by creating a market place online for it.

by connecting demand and supply.

This is an online business idea from the problem of searching for a job.

Do your due diligence and research to see how viable the venture will be.

Please drop a comment.

Thanks.

I am sure you have seen that orange looking button similar to the one on this post on some websites, tool bars and blogs. If you do not know what it is then you have been missing for so long.

I bet you have been wondering what it is.

Well, that symbol is the standard symbol for RSS or RSS feeds-meaning really simple syndication.

(Before I continue, let me quickly reveal that this simple tool you have been ignoring can do the following for you)

1. save your time on the internet by letting you read or see all the post on your favourite websites in one place
2. keep away unnecessary emails and spam mails from your email addresses
3. keeps you updated on any new post on any website or blog without you going to the site in question

And much more.

Now let me give you the details.

So what is RSS?

According to wikipedia, RSS is most commonly translated as really simple syndication but sometimes rich site summary, and that it is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works –such as blog entries, news headlines, audio and video- in a standardized format.

They also explained that an RSS document called a feed or web feed or channel includes full or summarized text, plus metadata such as publishing dates and authorship.

They gave some of the benefits of the tool as helping publishers syndicate their content automatically and also to help readers to get timely updates from their favoured sites by subscribing or to aggregate many feed of their favoured websites into one place.

Usually RSS feeds are read with software called RSS readers, feed reader or aggregators. There are many feed readers you can use. Popular websites like Google, yahoo and other have feed readers you can use.

ADVANTAGES OF USING RSS

We have already listed out the many benefits of using RSS subscription.  I will give the typical scenario of how many people stay updated and leave you to decipher the benefits.

Some people have more than one email address; maybe 3 or 5 in all. The first 2 is their private emails, the remaining 2 or 3 is used to subscribe for newsletters. They go through all this trouble to keep spam mails and unwanted mails away from their personal emails and then use the other emails to subscribe for whatever they want or like.

Those who have only one email address have it hard. They go through the daily trouble of deleting mails sent automatically by the auto responders of the different website where they subscribed via email for more information about a product or information they were interested in.

This is usually a time waster and very annoying.

So for days if they don’t check their mails, the unwanted mail could grow up to 50 -100% of the total unread mails.

That is an awful lot of deleting and time wasting activity on your hands.

Well, if they had subscribed via RSS feeds they wouldn’t have to have 5. This is because RSS feeds do not your email to function. It only needs a Reader and Readers are every where on the internet.

The popular web mail providers have Readers like Google, yahoo, msn and many others.

All you do is add the feeds from websites you like to the feed reader.

And then whenever you are logged in you can check your reader to see what post are available then you can decide to click on the link to have a full read on the website or skip to another feed.

I personally use Google reader, one of the products of Google.

And I have a feed from my FaceBook account, and many websites and blogs  that I visit every day online.

It pays to subscribe by RSS. Go out and try it out.

Good luck

If you are an avid youtuber, you have probably watched or heard of the character called –ISHATONU.

If you haven’t, then let me introduce him to you.

ISHATONU is a YouTube celebrity who rose to that status in less than a year. He was recently featured on CNN and is one of the most subscribed figures on YouTube.

You can check his channel at www.youtube.com/ishatonu

How did he get that big ?

Great question, in fact the answer to this question is the core of the lesson you are about to learn.

It is the same thing that has made some businesses boom and some doomed.

It can be applied to almost any endeavor in life.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN  FROM ISHATONU

1. Mystery

ISHATONU is a mysterious fellow; he wears a mask that has kept people wondering what he really looks like. This has become his distinct trade mark. This alone has added subscribers to his channel eager to see if he will one day take off his mask.

So how can this help a blogger or anyone succeed?

Well, you may not be able to add a lot of mystery to your blog (it could be counter productive because your readers must trust you-but you never know and depends on what you blog is about) but you must have a distinct style.

You have to be known for something? You have to be distinct in a way? You have to be different from others?

2. Recent , Controversial , Relevant And Current

ISHAT make videos on recent, controversial, public, and current events. Especially, events that are in the news or is making wave on the internet.

This keeps him and his videos current and relevant to people. His subscribers want to hear what he has to say about the next event, the next controversy, the next news.

Added to this, he curses and swears and even seems to insult his subscribers. All of this adds controversy to his personality and style.

For bloggers, you need to also be current. you need to know whats happening around you.You need to use recent events and occurrences to drive home your points.

Cursing and swearing at your readers may not be the best approach —but still you never know -but standing out in the crowd will surely work.

Using other forms of controversy on your blog will stand you out and move you to the next level.

3. Have A Unique Voice

Apart from his ever worn mask, ISHAT sounds very different (his voice), not like T-pain but something close. I have no idea if he uses a computer program to do this or maybe it is his natural voice, but one thing is sure, this has added to his distinctiveness and style.

This still drives home the point that you need your blog to be different and distinct even if it means in a somewhat bad way.

Your unique voice could be your style of writing, your content, your opinions, etc. Just be distinct.

4. Air Your Opinion Without Fear

ISHAT speaks his mind about issues and events; he says how he feels. He says it with curses and swear words. He doesn’t create a video to make you happy or amuse you, he makes it to air his views and people like him for it. Some don’t, but at the end of the day he doesn’t patronize any one and people love him for being himself.

Sometimes he goes out of style and goes very serious, sober and human. All of these still adds up to make him ISHAT.

As a blogger, do you love to follow everyone’s opinion? Do you follow the crowd? Do you wait for others to talk before you react? Are you afraid to air your views? Do you keep wondering what other bloggers or readers might say or think?

Acting like ISHAT, might just be your ticket to success, air your views but respect the views of others.

5. Engages Your Subscribers

ISHAT creates different ways to engage his subscribers. He asks them to do stuff, watch other videos, flag a video etc and guess what? People are happy and are willing to be involved.  It makes them feel like a part of the show.

He also creates competitions and gives prizes… (I personally have to start doing this on this blog).

He gives back to his subscribers. Shocking but true.

As a blogger, do you engage you subscribers? Do you give them tasks and assignment?

Do you have contests on your blog? Do you give back to your readers, maybe be way of links, exposure, recognition or information.

Many tools can help in achieving this on your blog. Do you have these tools or plug- ins?

Is there any other lesson you think we can learn from ISHAT or is there another fellow similar to ISHAT that you know?

Leave a comment to share.

One of the best places to find Nigerian content online is on the only Nigerian bookmarking website… www.sturvs.com

But what is a bookmarking website?

Basically, a bookmarking website is a website that allows users to post links to their favourite websites or blogs so that these websites can be discovered by others.

A popular bookmarking website is www.digg.com

There are many bookmarking websites on the internet.

Sturvs is the only Nigerian bookmarking website (or the most popular) which means it is a Nigerian website that helps in the discovery of Nigerian content, websites, or blogs on the internet. If you are looking for latest gossips, news, Nigerian music releases, movies releases and other entertainment related post, then sturvs.com is definitely a place you would want to visit a lot.

It also has the voting feature found  on  many  other bookmarking websites.

It has different categories where you can submit your links to.

They include entertainment, politics, news, products and more.

Apart from discovering Nigerian content you can also submit your links and also be discovered, meaning that it can also help to drive traffic to your website or blog.

All you have to do is register on www.sturvs.com , and then start submitting your links to the website. As a rule, whenever you make a blog post  on your website, you can submit that link on the website .

This is recommended especially when you need Nigerians traffic on your website or blog.

When you submit a link, users will get to vote on the link. If your link gets a lot of votes, it will be promoted to the front page of the website. This will eventually send traffic to your website and blog.

Before you quickly answer a yes or no to the question above you must first know the meaning of term – copycat blogger.

Who is a Copycat Blogger?

Am sure you have heard of the term, copycat. The term stands for someone who doesn’t do his own thing but copies others. It describes people who try to be like others instead of being themselves.

There are some bloggers who are chronic copycats. They copy what every one else is doing.

These are the bloggers I call copycat bloggers.

He is not different from other blogs in any way and does not strive to be.

He is just another WordPress blog or just another blogger in the blogosphere.

HOW TO IDENTIFY A COPYCAT BLOGGER

There are many ways to identify a copycat blogger, here are some.

1. They Copy From Others

Copycat bloggers like was mentioned love to copy from other people. They go to a blog or website, find what the like and copy it.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there are a few good things you should copy from a blog or websites when you see one but copycat bloggers do it a bit differently.

2. Lack Confidence

The biggest reasons why some bloggers become copycat bloggers is the fact that the lack confidence in themselves .They don’t believe what the have to offers is worth anything.

They look up to others and copy every thing they do or say.

They believe in others more than themselves.

3. Jump Around

Copycat bloggers jump from ideas to ideas, from theme to them ,from niche to niche ,from system to system .They remind you of the Hollywood flick – Jumper -where some people had special powers to disappear and jump from place to place .

They pick something new from another blog, try it out, and do not perfect using it before jumping to another one. They keep going around in circles.

Picking, dropping and picking anew and dropping again.

4. Afraid To Lead

Copycat bloggers find it difficult to get up and lead. Copycat bloggers will make  the rendition of “Tribes” by Seth Godin a complete waste of time because they don’t believe they can lead or have what it takes to lead.

They are contented with being followers. They prefer the leadership of others.

5. They Don’t Stand Out

Because they try to be some else they don’t stand out or make and hence make no impact on the blogosphere or themselves.

They blend well with place with other blogs because nothing really belongs to them

WHAT CAN COPYCAT BLOGGERS COPY?

Copycat bloggers can copy any thing but the most common things are:

1.Ideas

If you have an idea and share it, copycat bloggers will jump all over it.

2.Style

They will try to copy your style instead of adapt or evolve a style for themselves

3.Niche

Copycat bloggers do not want to do a research for themselves. They just want to know what niche works for others and will soon be seen jumping around it.

4.Opinion

They don’t really have an opinion; they listen to the opinions of others and take it as gospel truth.

Now don’t get the concept wrong, we all copy, that one way of learning, but the way and what a copycat bloggers does it makes the difference.

If I saw a plug-in I loved in a blog and used it on mine, I have copied but I am not a copycat blogger because the plug-in always comes with a standard look.

There are so many other things on copycat bloggers we cannot cover here.

So back to the question, would you love to be a copycat blogger.

If you are doing the things discussed above, then you are already a copycat blogger.

And copycat bloggers always end up being unknown, a number in the millions of look a like blogs, a failure and obscured.

Don’t be a copycat blogger. Find your voice, be unique, be yourself and finally-

Be different or die trying.

In my last few post i talked about the bitter experience that i had with my laptop crashing on me.

I had to look for other means of trying to recover my files.

I Googled up some soft-wares and tried them out .

Some were effective some were not.

The truth is ,i could not get back  all my files but i least i  rescued some.

Here is the software you can download for free and use if this evil ever happens to you .

But like the doctors always whine…PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE

Preventing  data loss or backing up your files is better than struggling to retrieve back your files from a crashed system.

Here is one free software you can use.

1.Recuva

There are many others you can buy  too.

so just do a search and enjoy.

In my last post I talked about the terrible loss of data on my laptop when it crashed on me.

It forced me to do a bit of research about different simple ways I could have backed up and saved my documents.

Here they are:

1. Partition Your Hard Disk Into 2 Parts

This in my opinion is the simplest and wisest things to do to back up your files. The basic idea here is store your documents in another drive other than the one running the operating system.

If your drive C runs the operating system, get another drive partitioned for you by a techie and use that to save your files.

If you save your file on the drive running the operating system and it crashes on you, you will likely lose all the data and be frustrated like me.

2. Save Your Files In More Than One PC

This is another simple thing to do. If you have more than one PC, you can save your important files on all of them just in case one crashes.

The only problem here is the problem of exposure of your important documents to others. If you want to use this method, think of security of your files. You can password your documents and files using security software.

3. Burn Them To A DVD or CD

If I had occasionally burnt out my files to a DVD or CD, I would have been fine.

I suggest you do this. Depending on the amount of work you do, you can burn out important files once a week or once a month and so on.

This method may be a bit costly but is a cost well worth it.

4. Get an External Hard Disk or Flash Drive

An external hard disk can save you from the trauma of a crashed system. Dump every thing important here and take good care of the hard disk.

Unfortunately, external hard disk can crash too so be careful not to drop it. Another problem with external hard disk is that it is vulnerable to file corruption by virus attack so be careful where you plug it.

5. Use Google Docs

Google doc is a free product and service provided for free by Google. It is another very free way to back up your files. You can upload word documents, PDF files, eBooks and presentation documents on Google docs.

There is a size limit to the data you can load at a time but this should not deter you. You can divide you files to smaller chunks and still upload them.

To use Google docs, register for a Google account or if you already have a Gmail account then you are legible to use the service.

If I had done any of these I believe I would have averted my frustrating situation.

You can avert this from happening to you.

Back up your files.

Is there another you back up your files or any software that could help? please share.

Some days ago, I powered on my laptop and this is what I saw on the screen.

“Error loading operating system”

Not knowing what that meant, I put off the laptop and powered it on again. Right on the top right corner of the screen, that same error message appeared.

After a few more trials, the error message kept showing up, it then hit me “my laptop may have just crashed”.

And guess what, I had no back up for my important files and projects,

I was about to loss everything on the laptop.

I rushed to the internet using another laptop, Googled  up the error message and discovered that over,1 million searches were made on those exact  words-meaning many other people had the same problem.

The solution -from the search- talked about upgrading BIOS and doing some sundry things.

I am no techie, what I read made no sense to me (what the hell is BIOS anywhere, it sounds like a prefix for a biological specimen).I took my laptop to a techie, a laptop technician and  instructed him to retrieve as much data as he could get and not to format the drive on the laptop.

To cut the long story short, he could not retrieve any data and had to eventually format the system.

This was a very terrible experience for me, I wouldn’t wish on anybody.

So that you can understand the gravity of my loss, below is a list of what went with the crash.

WHAT I LOST

1. Over 200 e- books (free and paid for). I have no idea where I will get them now
2. 2 finished books –I loss 2 finished unpublished works and 3 in progress works
3. Music files –I had over 1500 music files and over 100 beats (I make beats on fruity loops as a pastime) they are all gone now.
4. 2 e -books – I was a few pages from concluding 2 e- books I planned to give out free. They went with the crash.
5. Other very important files-project work, graphic work and others

CARDINAL LESSON FROM THE INCIDENT

My story is truly sad but has a GREAT lesson for me and you. Remember-

A wise man learns from his mistakes while a wiser man learns from the mistakes of others.

Don’t make the same mistake I made.

THE LESSON IS -ALWAYS HAVE A BACK UP

This might be the best advice you will receive this month, I and urge you to take it seriously. I don’t care if it is a 1 bit file, if it is important to you –back it up.

If I had backed up my files, I wouldn’t have been in this mess.

Keep your backup in as many formats and places as possible.

Remember Computers and laptops can be very helpful but can also frustrate you.

I did a little research on how I could have backed up my files.

In the next post I will reveal these 5 cools ways of backing up files and projects.

Have you had a similar bad experience? Please share.
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If you are new to blogging or have been blogging with wordpress for a while, you will notice that the default wordpress theme and plug-ins usually looks drab.

In fact, without a new theme and some good plug-ins, you will be embarrassed by the look of your blog.

The best way to pimp your blog is to find, upload and use great plug-ins – good quality plug-ins.

So How Do You Find Great Plug-Ins.

WordPress provides and allows you to search for plug-ins to add to your blog using the add new button on the plug in tab found on the dashboard.

But wait a minute, how do you know the right plug-ins to search for?

How do you know the plug-ins just right for your blog?

Great questions but…

Before you add any plug-ins, you should consider and ask the following questions:

1. Will the plug-in work for my blog?
2. What will the function of the plug-in be?
3. Does my blog really need it?
4. What are the benefits of having the plug-in?

It is important to do this so as not to clog your blog with junk and also not to increase the time taken to load your blog. After you have made these considerations you can now go ahead to search and load them to your blog.

How and Where To Find Good Plug-Ins for Your Blog(s)

These are some of the best ways to find good, relevant and great plug-ins for your blog.

1. Visit Other Blogs And See The Plug-Ins Used

This is the easiest and best way to find plug-ins for your blog. Simply go visit other blogs (especially authority blogs) and see the kinds of plug-in they using.

Top blogs and bloggers have tried and tested and will likely be aware of newer plug-ins. So as a rule when you get to any of these blogs, look around you might find a great plug-ins for your own blog.

1. Read Resources (Blog Post Or WebPages) On Plug Ins

Once in a while, you could search for resources on the web about wordpress plug-ins. A search on Google will reveal some of these resources. You may have already used some the plug-ins that will be showcased, but I bet you will find a new one that could be of great benefit to your blog.

1. Search YouTube

There is nothing you cannot find on YouTube. You can also find video resources on wordpress plug-ins you can use. The great thing about YouTube is that you will also get to watch what (names of plug-ins) to search for and how to set up them on your blog.

1. Search Twitter

A search on twitter also can lead to the discovery great, latest or updated plug-ins discussed on blog post, websites and retweeted links.

Remember twitter gives you real time search results so you will be getting recent information about plug-ins.

I hope this post was helpful, now go get that great plug-in.

An Assignment for You

Here is an assignment for you, whenever you visit a blog, look around to see if you can find a plug-in and other resource you can add to your own blog.

Thank you

Have you found a great plug-ins using another way or is there a special way you find them? Please share.

The about page of many blogs and websites is usually a page where the author showcases himself and the other authors of the blog. They usually post pictures of themselves and other personal stuff.

If this is how you have written your about page then you have made the common mistake made by many bloggers in the blogosphere.

WHAT IS THE MISTAKE?

The mistake simply is that you are not going to market your blog with that type of information. The truth is that people read your blog because of what they will get not because they know you or like you.

Of course after a while they will like you –but not because of you, but because of what you blog gives out.

I frankly made the same mistake until I watched a videopost on kissythecutie where I got this vital lesson.

SO WHAT SHOULD THE “ABOUT PAGE” BE ABOUT?

Your about page is not about you.

• It is about the people who will read your blog or website.
• It is about what they will see,
• It is about what they are to expect
• It is about what they are to expect
• It is about what they will get.
• the problems you can solve or the blog can solve

Your about page helps to pick your readers and your niche.

And most importantly, it is an opportunity to market your blog to the new visitors coming to your blog for the first time.

WHAT SHOULD I WRITE THEN?

Your about page should contain a summary of:

1. What your blog is about(the focus of your blog)
2. What people will get from reading your blog( they benefits)
3. The preferred readers and people that will benefit from reading the blog
4. A list of benefits that people who read the blog will get
5. A mission statement or a mission
6. your expertise

WHY DO THIS?

• It helps connect with your readers from the first day they read your blog
• It gives you focus
• It helps your readers know exactly what to expect from you
• Very importantly, it markets your blog to whosoever reads the about page

SO WHERE DO I WRITE ABOUT MYSELF?

You can do that after you have finished writing the important parts- that is marketing your blog.

It can come after doing the above exercise but it should not be too lengthy so as not to overshadow the important parts written above.

You can check out my about page to see how it should be done or check out other good about pages. Like examples 1

For further reading on how to write an about page, go to problogger .

Is there another way you write your about page or do you have a contrary opinion please share.