This post is part of a weekly series, Fetching Friday, featuring the resources mashup, #FollowFriday recommendations, PageRank updates & SEO stuff, and previews for next week’s posts on kikolani.com.
The Resources Mashup
Here are some of the best articles I have stumbledupon this week.
Blogging / Design
- WordPress 2.8: Upcoming Features and Enhancements
- Insert your post title in read more links easily
- WordPress theme development frameworks
- 40 exceptional cms enabling plugins for WordPress
- 36 eye-catching Jquery navigation menus
Social Media
- 12 people you don’t want to meet on Facebook
- 20 Linked-In groups for freelancers
- 3 reasons I like FriendFeed
- 18 social media resources for developers
Internet / Technology / SEO
- The biggest SEO mistakes
- Website just got hacked – 3 tips to minimize downtime
- How to get indexed in Google in 48 hours
- Is Wolfram Alpha evil?
Personal Development / Growth / Self Improvement
- Why should we overcome fear?
- Exceptional articles on forgiveness, happiness, productivity, and success
- The productivity map
- 100 online brainstorming tools to help you think outside the box
- Persuade someone in 5 steps
#FollowFriday Recommendations on Twitter
Here are my #followfriday recommendations.
- @morpheas7887 of Stratos.me
- @1stwebdesigner of 1st Web Designer
- @kwbridge of Anti-Social Development
One more shout to last week’s recommendations: >Earl Twitition, @iamkhayyam, and @ariherzog.
Also, if you enjoy this post and my tweets on blogging, social media, photography, and more, be sure to give me a shout out as follows:
RT @kikolani Fetching Friday Resources, #FollowFriday, PageRank Updates & SEO Stuff > http://bit.ly/LBKzJ
Related News
PageRank Updates & SEO Stuff
It seems that the magical PageRank updates have come around again. Kikolani has maintained the overall PR 4, and some of my articles gained PR 3 & PR 4 as well, including:
- Butterflies at the Desert Botanical Gardens – PR4
- Chihuly Glass at the Desert Botanical Gardens – PR3
- How to Make Social Promotion Easy – PR4
- Fetching Friday – Resources Mashup, #FollowFriday, Facebook Humor – PR3
Interestingly, a while back I read an article about the new rules of SEO, and one of the tips was to forget about the Meta Description – Google would grab it off of your page for you. Taking my social promotion article as an example, here is what actually happens if you have an empty Meta Description.
- When I look at the page source for that article, it pulls in my custom excerpt for the article as the meta description, complete with the javascript code for the Digg button, link html, and more:
<div style=”float:left;padding-right:4px;padding-top:8px;padding-bottom:3px;text-align:center;”><script type=”text/javascript”>digg_skin = ‘compact’; digg_url=’http://kikolani.com/how-to-make-social-promotion-easy.html’;
</script><script src=”http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js” type=”text/javascript”></script></div>While there are many ways to <a href=”http://kikolani.com/9-ways-to-use-social-networking-for-blog-promotion.html”>promote your blog articles through social networks</a>, I have noticed an increase in messages via emails, groups, and forums formatted with options to push an article via a variety of sites. They go beyond “here’s my latest article about this topic,… - When I Google How to Make Social Promotion Easy, I find that the description is pulled from the article, and says:
Here is my latest article on how to make social promotion of your articles and webpages easy to use. If you find it useful, please share it on your …
- When I search the same on Yahoo, I find:
Main Article: http://kikolani.com/how-to-make-social-promotion-easy.html … Twitter: How to make social promotion of your articles easy > http://bit.ly …
- Probably the best result is through searching Live:
While there are many ways to promote your blog articles through social networks, I have noticed an increase in messages via emails, groups, and forums formatted with options to …
In any case, none of these include useful information for the description to my article. So although the meta description doesn’t have anything to do with gaining PR, I think I will go back to including my own description, and hope that one pulls instead of some random piece of the article, which may not be that helpful in the search result listing.
Preview for the week of 25 May 2009
As always, I have saved the best scenic honeymoon photos for last. Next week, the shots from our first day at Coronado Island Beach, plus an amusing little story to go with it.
Next week, keeping on the SEO kick I am on due, I have a guest post on SEO and social media.
The Hunt for Gollum
I thought this was interesting. I was in shock when I saw something on Youtube that was longer than 10 minutes, and for an indie film, it seems quite good. Just for all of you Lord of the Rings fans, and those who wonder what an indie fantasy film with a budget of $5,000 will look like.
Want to be featured in Fetching Friday posts?
Looking for some link love? Articles featured in the resources come primarily from people I interact with in the comments, and on the social networks. So comment away (DoFollow, CommentLuv, and KeywordLuv enabled), and join me on the networks below, and if your article/photo/video catches my eye, it may appear in following Fetching Friday posts.
The Fetching Friday archives – tons of useful resources on blogging, social networking, and more
About Kristi Hines
Kikolani covers blog marketing and blogging tips for personal, professional, and business bloggers to succeed in search and social media marketing. Kristi Hines is a 
Kristi,
You are the bomb and hubby you’re a lucky man, you remind me of a New Yorker friend of mine.
Pagerank on secondary pages is absolutely awesome! And you will see a PR 5 very soon on you main page.
Frank Js last blog post..Do Not Be Fooled By SpywareCease
Hi Kristi, I figure if I can just apply one of your SEO, social media, or blogging tips per week it will make a major difference in a very short time. Thanks for the helpful tips and insights. I really appreciate Fetching Friday.
Thanks for the mention! Love Fetching Friday and love Hunt for Gollum.
Peter Lius last blog post..The White House And The Commons On Flickr
Thanks for the mention Kristi – I really appreciate it. And hopefully I’ll be able to go through some of these awesome links.
Kim Woodbridges last blog post..WordPress 2.8: Upcoming Features and Enhancements
Once again you have showed me all the makings of a good true friend and I’m NOT just talking about the mention above. But from a few other things I have noticed
thanks Kristi enjoy the weekend Friday’s always come fast huh ?
Stumbled
John Sullivans last blog post..Do follow me to the top of the world.
One of my favorite articles to read every week, I always seem to walk away with something. Thank you as always.
Extreme Johns last blog post..2000 Comments
*blink*
Why haven’t I visited your blog as long as you’ve visited mine? We should chat about why you stumble things so much; and whether you find the more you stumble the more people stumble you.
Ari Herzogs last blog post..How a Mayor Resists the Core of Government 2.0
Congratulations on the PR! I was happy this time, too, I moved from 3 to 4 on my main page and one post got a 5.
That’s interesting about the meta description, I just switched to Thesis and I was wondering if I should bother filling in those fields or not. I suppose it couldn’t hurt, but I’m disappointed that it’s not a sure thing that it will be grabbed.
Tracys last blog post..Paying the Piper
Hi,
here is your another fetching Friday with very useful tips. thanks for such nice information.
Excellent selection of links.
reader “Extreme John” says this post is one of his favorite weekly reads. It’s my first visit, but I have to agree that it is great. Tweeted by @_mclaughlin and I signed up for your newsletter.
Macs last blog post..25 Blogs On Project Management
Kristi,
Thanks for the heads up, your Fetching Fridays are becoming more and more informative and useful. Didn’t know about that 2.8 WordPress thing for instance, not to mention the very helpful SEO tips you give here.
As always, I’m honored to be included in the featured list of links, thank you
Dragos Rouas last blog post..The Productivity Map
Thanks for the wonderful post. I’ve been looking around the web for this type of information and finally found it.
DoFollow SEO Blogs last blog post..Pay Per Click (PPC) Online Marketing With Google AdWords
Groovy post Kristi. I noticed the update yesterday..my travel site which is about a month old has a pr1 on the home page and pr2 on the blog.
My other site, Pixelheadonline is still at zero…the Google slap has not come back yet.
Thanks for the Gollum heads up…my son will love it..
Adam@ Travel Sites Directorys last blog post..Chicago Vacation
Thanks for the links. Will definitely check these out as it contains PageRank and SEO related stuff.
Nihars last blog post..Friday Night Links Party – 29 May 2009
I love the Lord of the Rings, thank you for posting this video and for the link to the SEO article, I bookmarked that site and will be reading their first post on their three part section. Thanks for being a great resource!
ciphuns last blog post..Dilemma
The Facebook article is hilarious. Thanks for the great resources.
AJ Kumars last blog post..World-Renowned Persuasion and Speed Seduction Master Ross Jeffries in Los Angeles
@ Tracy – Which post got the PR5
@ Krisiti – Wow, I’ve actually read some of the posts you had listed, maybe some Kristi magis is starting to rub off on me. I had read the Is Wolfram Alpha evil? article and left some of the old Sire magic while I was there.
Nice article, as always. Reckon I’ll wander over to look at some of those photos of yours.
Sire@ Wassup’s Bloggers Forums last blog post..My Passionate Encounter. It’s Not All About Sex
Thank you veeery much Kristi for mentioning me and linking me! I really appreciate it! I am definitely checking out some of the links here
stratosgs last blog post..Insert the post title in your “read more” tag easily
This post is more like a sitemap to me since it only lists list links but with a short excerpt but full of useful tips and thanks for the sharing Kristi, btw is thesis the theme you’re currently using? It looks awesome with this 2 column design
SEO Blogs last blog post..ooVoo Online Video Chatting With 6 Users At Maximum
@Frank: I certainly hope so. Just maintaining is good enough for this time.
@Jonathan: Sometimes that’s the way to go… make one change at a time, so you’re not overwhelmed.
@Peter: You’re welcome!
@Kim: I hope that you find them useful!
@John: Friday’s seem to come fast, and the weekends go by even faster it seems! Thanks for the Stumble & friendship.
@Extreme John: You’re welcome!
@Ari: I’m not sure, but I’m glad you’re visiting now. Would love to chat about it sometime.
@Tracy: That’s exciting, I didn’t know if a post could get higher than the main page. It may not be a sure thing in search results, but it does affect other places.
@Landscapers: Thanks!
@Pallab: Thanks… I like doing a good round up of all the things I’m sent throughout the week.
@Mac: Thanks! I hope you enjoy future Fetching Friday and other posts.
@Dragos: Thanks, and you’re welcome too. 2.8 sounds like it’ll be packed with good features.
@DoFollow SEO Blog: That’s good. Glad to know you find it useful.
@Adam: It’s a great indie flick indeed.
@Nihar: Hope you enjoy them!
@Ciphun: You’re welcome. Glad to be a good resource!
@AJ: It was brought up in a meeting at my office recently, since we do SEO. Definitely a keeper!
@Sire: Hope you enjoy them. My best scenic photos from the honeymoon are coming up this week!
@Stratos: You’re welcome – you have some really useful articles.
@SEO Blog: Yes, this is Thesis with the 2 column setup.
mw following u on twitter.. hope mine any article catches ur eye
Tahnks
Atuls last blog post..Murphy’s Laws on Girls
Hi Sire – it was the Chicken in a Can post, for sure! I have no idea how many other sites linked to it.
Kristi, I hope the PR helps. It kind of miffs be just a bit that other sites that are just linking to my post (or worse linking to a post that links to my post) are above me in the search results. On the other hand, their linking to me and the traffic they threw me was an amazing benefit, so I probably came out the winner.
Tracys last blog post..Paying the Piper
Once again great post… collection of some good and latest information.
thank you kristi
@YogeshGautams last blog post..Get Traffic from Forums
@ Tracy – Yeah, that’s what I thought, and rightly so, it was a really cool post.
Okay, seriously GREAT post and for so many reasons. First off, thank you for the amazing resources; “Insert your post title in read more links easily” is great. That’s my project for when I get home today! Great SEO tips as well and the meta description case was very helpful to me in understanding why I should still use it! And also, the Hunt for Gollum! I just found out about that the other day and I can’t wait till I have time to watch it. I read that all their actors and crew people were 100% volunteer. The only thing they had to pay for was props, costumes, etc. Pretty cool.
Diet Blogs last blog post..Diet Soda – Not Your Best Bet
I couldn’t agree more on the meta-description. I mean, how could it hurt? Having the meta-description on my website has had no negative impact whatsoever and for the search engines that do utilize it, great.
Mark Lewiss last blog post..Getting the Unexpected
Having been away and not being able to get online too much, this post has been great for me to have a catch up. I will be back for more Fetching Fridays.
I had read the same tip you did regarding leaving the meta description alone, and I asked the guy just that very thing, what would the search engines pull over instead, and did I want them determining what my content actually was. I decided ‘no’, so I never went that route. Your test confirmed it for me.
Going to have to check out that Gollum movie; looks interesting.
Mitchs last blog post..Update on WordPress 2.8 Upgrade
Great post, I work in online advertising, so this website is really helpful to me. Thank you