I see a lot of companies (700+) are now taking part in the “1% for the planet” movement, where 1% of sales are donated to saving the environment, going green, etc.

So when I saw the “1 for charity blogger challenge” it immediately caught my attention. Chad from CDF Networks is challenging bloggers to join in and… Give up one of your ad spaces for charity!

It’s a small change that could really add up, so I jumped on board. The first step was to pick a charity, and I wanted something that could relate to this blog, so I went with Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Here’s a quote from their website:

Big Brothers Big Sisters receives 75% of our funding from private donations. Support from individuals like you is vital to provide mentors for children in your community.

And we know they need them. It isn’t easy being a kid these days. In these complex and confusing times, children need a caring adult to be a mentor and a friend — someone they can talk to, have fun with, and learn from.

I think that fits with my blog nicely. Just think… It isn’t easy being an internet marketer these days. In these complex times, there are more gurus than ever before hawking even more worthless products! Everyone needs someone to check these ebooks out and make fun of them!

And here’s the badge I created:

If you want to join in, just place a charity’s banner or text link in one of your ad spots. It’s that simple.

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As you can see, (unless you’re reading this in a feed reader, that is!) I have a new blog design! By adding all this extra junk in the header I have already shot up to A-list status!

Well, not really, but now I can at least pretend that I’m a hot shot!

And my MakeFunOfMe price is up to a whopping $3000! It’s a good value, though - a mere six times more than what John Chow charges!

I even have my own ebook! (Again, not really, because I’m still writing it, but the 3D cover graphic is the only thing that matters, right?)

But best of all, I am now a proud ScratchBack user! Yes, right there on the right is my ScratchBack widget. It’s pretty cool. By placing this one small widget on my blog, I’m hoping to sell a few links so that I can continue posting good stuff instead of shamelessly promoting $47 ebooks that are totally useless (other than a 50% commission.)

You scratch my back by tipping me $3, and you get a link right there! You won’t get any PR benefits, but if your link text is outrageous enough, some people might click through and check out your site!

I think a link like “I Don’t Know How To Make Money Online But Check Out My Make Money Online Blog Anyway” would get tons of clicks!

(Our first tipper, Link Building Tips, did a good job with their tagline. Then the work at home jobs one is even better, so take some hints from these guys.)

And it’s just $3 to get a link that automatically goes to the top spot. With only five links displayed, surely yours will get noticed.

Sound good? (If so, then tip me!)

Just to be clear, you scratch my back by buying a link - I don’t actually want you touching me!

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Maybe it was these five reasons, but some people are putting an end to the whole “numbers in the post title” madness. SMM decided to quit, Patrick Altoft followed suit, and some others probably did too. (I doubt Lyndon Antcliff will join in, though.)

But if you want to join in, here is a list of the top 10 ways to ditch the numbers from your post title. We’ll start with a “top 10″ list and switch it up so it’s no longer a “top 10″ list, but instead, a great article.

Numbered title: “Top 10 Ways to Get More Blog Comments”

To make it fit the latest non-numbered linkbait trend, try these titles instead:

1. “How to Get More Blog Comments”

In this case you just drop the number and use “How to” instead. It’s a time-tested, classic headline.

2. “The Ultimate Guide to Getting More Blog Comments”

Who needs a numbered list when your post is the “ultimate” guide?

3. “Little-known Secrets to Getting More Blog Comments”

Someone might already know the top 10 ways to get more blog comments, but they certainly don’t know the “little-known secrets” for getting more blog comments.

4. “Get Tons More Blog Comments - Here’s How”

Another way is to take the “how to” aspect and place it at the end of the post title.

5. “Boost Traffic and Get More RSS Readers By Increasing Blog Comments”

Now we’re getting serious. Instead of focusing on just increasing blog comments, throw in a few benefits of getting more blog comments to make a really appealing title.

6. “Want To Get More Comments on Your Blog?”

Form your headline into a question where the obvious answer is “yes” and the reader won’t be able to resist. This idea works best when you’re targeting people who watch Jeopardy.

7. “How to Coax Your Blog Readers Into Leaving More Comments”

You don’t just get blog comments out of thin air, so add in a little something about the blog readers that will be leaving the comments.

9. “Encourage Blog Commentators By Making Simple Mistakes In Your Post”

Make some sort of mistake or spelling error and some people will comment about it to show how they are far superior since they caught something you missed.

A great example is posting something like “Google updated PR today” and you’re guaranteed that at least one idiot stops by to say “Actually, Google constantly updates PR. Today was just a toolbar PR update.” (You know, like they’re the only person that realizes that…)

10. “An A-List Blogger’s Guide to Getting More Blog Comments”

Add in an expert’s name to show that your ways to get more blog comments are better than the average post about getting more blog comments.

There you go. A good ‘top 10′ list to tell you how to quit doing top 10 lists!

The question is, will you actually quit writing “top 10″ lists?

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This just in! Breaking news from MyBlogLog!

To maintain their status as the top social network/widget/blog whatever service, MyBlogLog is launching an exiting new feature. It’s called “New with Me” and will be a new part of your profile that displays aggregated updates from you and your friends’ online activity.

In a couple weeks, we’ll be launching a new feature called New with Me. This feature will use the URLs on the Services tab of your MyBlogLog profile to aggregate your latest activity on sites such as Twitter, Last.fm, Digg, and YouTube. As a result, your profile page will look different - publicly available updates from the services you have listed will be merged with your existing information. Your latest Flickr photos, Last.fm tracks, and YouTube videos, will all be in one place. Updates from your contacts on MyBlogLog will be merged and available as well. Simply put, the New with Me feature will transform your static profile into a dynamic one.

(Quoted from a recent email.)

In other words, it’s an exciting new feature!……. that Facebook did a long time ago.

But unlike Facebook, MyBlogLog is actually alerting users to the upcoming change and allowing us to opt-out if we prefer to keep our privacy. At least they learned something from the Facebook fiasco…

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There are a number of ways to block spam. If you have a blog, you’ve probably tried a few. If you’ve ever commented on a blog, you’ve probably seen a few in use.

I’ve been using Akismet since I started blogging, and I’ve been happy with it. But there are other ways. Captcha images, math plugins, questions, and more.

For now it’s “Is fire hot or cold?” and “What is the sum of 7 and 4?” but who knows what the future holds. Someone out there is probably working on an anti-spam plugin that requires you to solve physics and/or calculus equations!

Before you can comment, we have to make sure you are qualified as a rocket scientist. Just answer this simple question and your comment will be approved:

What is the cosine of an ultraviolet wave traveling at a velocity of 27 kilojoules with a frequency of 3, as it extends perpendicular to the angle of inference, in an isotonic solution?

While the grad students go try to figure that out, let’s look at what the people with street smarts are doing: WP-SpamFree

It’s simple. Few spam bots can process JavaScript, and few can process cookies. Ever fewer can process both. However, 99% of your visitors will have no problems with either JavaScript or cookies.

So they made a plugin that uses JavaScript and cookies to block the bots while avoiding the need for captchas and math questions. It’s not rocket science - it’s better than rocket science. I prefer to use the term practical.

I’ve been using it for a week or so and it has blocked 100% of comment spam, giving Akismet a well-deserved vacation! The only thing that has made it past WP-SpamFree was trackback spam, but Akismet caught that with no problem.

WP-SpamFree gets Sucker’s Seal of Approval!

Photo credit: IRRI Images

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Last week I submitted my How To Make Money Online By Exploiting Your Grandma tutorial to the DailyBlogTips.com writing contest, and now I have to choose my favorite entries from the 71 entrants. My favorites are below:

How to go from $0 to $7000 per month and back to $0 again by Patrick. This one gets my first vote because I loved the tutorial before I even knew about this writing contest. (Consequently, it was this post that lured me in to the contest!)

Absolute Guide to Losing Readers by Ronald. This might just be my number 1 favorite! Highly recommended for all my loyal readers!

Fussy’s Handy Ways To Ruin Your Marriage by Mrs. Fussypants. Another light-hearted post for your enjoyment.

A tutorial on mastering Digital Photography in minutes! by Praval. Tons of good advice for photography, which is much more fun than internet marketing!

Possessive vs. Plural: Getting it Right by Corner Scribe. Just because I’m a grammar nazi.

Those are my five faves. If I was programming myFaves into my T-Mobile phone, those would be them!

——————
Thanks to DailyBlogTips for holding the contest, thanks to everyone who voted for me, and thanks to the make money blogging carnival for including this too.

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You know the little 16×16 favicon images you put on your website? They’re ok, and you have to do one for each site, but they don’t really stand out.

Now, thanks to a new thing called BlogIcon, you can add an 80×80 image to your blog that’s like an avatar that follows you around.

“Like a favicon but bigger” you could say.

You might be thinking, “wait, can’t you do this with MyBlogLog or Gravatar?” The answer is yes, but then you have to waste time signing-up for those stupid services. With BlogIcon, you just upload an image to your site. That’s it!

If you want to learn more or see some examples, take a look at this post at BlogStorm.

But the point of this post is to say that BlogIcon is now installed right here on InternetMarketingSucks, so add a BlogIcon to your blog and it will show up with each comment you make!

(Please add a blogicon on your blog and leave a comment here so we can see how it looks!)

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