General

And our life as bloggers, my friends, is about to become a lot easier.

Here are some of the exciting new features as told by Matt:

A customizable dashboard, multi-file upload, built-in galleries, one-click plugin upgrades, tag management, built-in Gravatars, full text feeds, and faster load times sound interesting to you? Then WordPress 2.5 might be the release for you.

What’s even cooler is that Jeffery Zeldman is the man behind the dashboard redesign. This explains the way-too-cool new interface WordPress developers couldn’t have put together all by themselves.

More info and download WordPress 2.5 RC1 here.

OK, I usually don’t post about software updates and stuff on Blogging Bits, but WP 2.5 got me so excited I couldn’t resist.

Currently playing with WordPress 2.5 on my local machine.

Boy – that sounds sweet to the ears. 17 K visitors in two days!

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Getting your information from social media ensures that you never think about the dreaded information overload again.

So there is this thing called information overload that threatens to engulf our brains and rob us of our ability to make sound judgments. And there is this internet that helps this giant get even bigger.

If you ask me, this is all bull. Information never comes in such huge quantities that it becomes impossible for us to assimilate it all.

But yes, there is a lot of noise that accompanies the real information and gives us an impression as though it were all endless streams of information.

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Shana discovers how everything is suddenly becoming 2.0 and how web 2.0 has changed education, outlining differences between education and education 2.0. Must read.

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Jacob Cass is giving away $5000+ worth of prizes in a graphic design group writing project. Be sure to participate in it.

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Brian Clark and Jon Morrow release a keyword research guide for bloggers. It’s not just another guide from SEO perspective. Brian goes into detail as to why keyword research holds tremendous value for bloggers and helps them choose profitable blog subjects, identify content topics that are in high demand, and spot monetization methods that work.

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Looking for a new web host? Matt has a guide that will help you find your dream host (not Dreamhost).

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Steven Snell launches a new blog about internet marketing and social media that is already chock full of great content. Subscribe to it right away!

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Naomi Dunford shares her strategy for pricing her freelance services and the reasoning behind it. Really well done as always.

Why do blogs have similar layouts, similar content, and similar approach to writing?

Bloggers claim to be an innovative and creative lot, but honestly, I currently don’t see many bloggers challenging the blogging traditions. When I visit blogs in a particular niche, I get the impression that I am reading the same blog over and over. Other than some of the experienced bloggers, who manage to write an insightful post or two now and then, everyone else acts like a member of a huge mob.

Combine this with the blogging advice from the so-called expert meta-bloggers that puts emphasis on following the same ol’ rules of content creation and promotion, and you’ve got a situation that stifles innovation in blogging.

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I’ve made a guest post over at Copyblogger where I explain why Why Cutting Clichés From Your Copy is as Easy as Pie

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Important: Do you have a spare dollar? You can help Holy out – a 21-year-old wife and mother who has a genetic condition called Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2) – get an Auditory Brainstem Implant (ABI). Please do donate a dollar (or more if you want) and help make someone’s life better.

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You think you are real good at SEO? Mani of Daily SEO Blog wants you to prove your SEO link building and offsite optimization skills on his new blog, and have a chance to win $250 in prize.

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Aaron tells us that there are times when it doesn’t pay to be frugal. and gives six examples where the costs outweigh the savings.

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Michael shares his best Tips to Rock Out Your Band or Musician Blog.

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Daily Blog Tips tutorial writing project has ended and it’s time to announce my favorite three tutorial from the 72 submitted tutorials.

1. A 5-Minute Method to Redirect Your Affiliate Links by Muhammad.
2. Make Money With a Poor Mans BANS (Build a Niche Store) by Guy Patterson.
3. 5+1 Ways of promoting your Blog/Site/Brand name in your college by Ashfame.

And, of course, I liked my entry about Best WordPress SEO Tips and Tricks too!

Edit: Oh wait, I think it’s too late to cast votes because the winners have already been announced. My bad guys. I may have deprived you of the chance to win the contest.

Remember my previous free backlink experiments? Well, I am back with a new one. This time keeping things simpler, easier, more organized, and more beneficial for you.

However, as always, you have to take the required steps before your can submit your link.

1. First, subscribe to Blogging Bits by email or RSS.
2. Then, submit your link through link submission form and enter the link code found at the bottom of any post in your feed reader..
3. Wait. It will usually take up to 24 hours before your link appears in the sidebar.

That’s it!

Here are a few more guidelines to keep in mind when submitting your links:

• Submit only one link per domain per week (this will allow your link to stay in the linkroll for longer)
• Please submit only relevant links to Blogging Bits general topics (blogging, design, life hacks, writing, internet marketing, SEO, tech in general etc.)
• And, of course, submit only high quality stuff.

Head over to link submission page to submit your link.