Discussion board can be one of the most underrated applications in Facebook Fan Page. It is a mini forum for fans to interact with one another; an excellent area for admin to collect feedback, answer requests and bond with fans in discussions.

However, most of us have neglected its importance due to a huge setback - Facebook does not provide notification for new responses. Fans can either bookmark the thread to check back regularly or have the page admin to send weekly reminders for unanswered threads. Inconvenient and time consuming. Your fans will eventually lose interest and move on.

Why Don’t Just Let the Fans Post on Wall instead?

No doubt we are encouraging an open-posting fan page. However, allowing fans to post on Facebook Wall is a complete different issue than owning an active discussion board. Not only it’s an added value but also a perfect section for new fans to blend in with others. You can easily monitor and trace back the discussions without worrying they be swallowed by busy stream of updates.

While we earnestly hoping for a solution from Facebook, I’m going to share with you how I keep up with the discussion threads:

Google Reader to Track New Responses in Facebook Discussion Board

The main idea is to create a feed from the existing thread and have Google Reader track for new responses. Here are the configuration steps:

1.  Identify the link location for the particular thread you wish to trace.

2. Click ‘Add a Subscription’ to reveal the link box. Paste the URL, click ‘Add’ and a new feed for the thread will be generated.

3. Rename the feed and repeat step 1-2 for other discussion threads. Manage them in a folder for easy follow-up.

4. Once a fan has responded to the selected discussion topic (for example: Fan’s Profile), within an hour Google Reader will retrieve the update as any other regular feed from your subscription.

Now you can head right back to the discussion board and welcome her!

Is it Possible to Receive Updates via Email or Desktop Notifier?

Email notification is not possible for Google Reader. Some third party feed generator services, however, come with delivery options, for example  Page2RSS.com combines with notify.me (email alerts); Feed Notifier is a desktop application as you can see in the image below:

I do need to remind you that time of delivery may differ from one service to another. Google Reader is still by far, my top pick for reliability.

Bonus Tip :

For feed delivery services / notifiers that are unable to recognize / generate feed straight from a discussion thread, you can retrieve the Atom Feed URL for the entire folder which consists of all the discussion threads by following the below method:

1. In Google Reader, go to Manage Subscriptions.

2. Go to Folders & Tags (publicize the feed) > View Public Page.

3. Copy link location for Atom Feed and use it for any feed delivery service preferred. (Make sure the folder feed is ‘publicly viewable’ at all times for the application to work)

Now Is Your Turn …

Do you have a better way to track new responses in Facebook discussion board? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

It has been several days now since I’m out of internet service at home. The area seems to go static with no connection whatsoever while some areas in town are not affected. As a fulltime blogger I find that a little devastating to start my new week. Negative thoughts crept in but I knew my foremost task is to eliminate them for good — by being practical!

Yaro said it, nothing goes right all the time. Funny how pressure can lead you into believing everything is doomed, but it’s not. Just several hours ago I did 7 productive things that put me in an uplifting mood. Here are some friendly references to some of you who are unable to sit quietly through the crisis:

1. Accept Reality and Fine Tune Your Mindset

You are probably worrying over all the pending tasks and the eagerness to get in touch with your contacts online. “Time is money, chances may pass you by; somebody is waiting for your reply at this very instant!” I’ll say these negative thoughts will eat you up alive before you know it! Those words were in my head on the very first day. We have deadline, urge, that’s true. However, never ever push yourself over the edge before dealing with it. There ARE always plans installed for you no matter how tough the challenge may seem. ADSL not working? Use dial up if you must. Phone someone or go to a cyber cafe or hotel lobby that has the connection. If not, then.. read along.

2. Brainstorm Ideas for Future Posts

Let me introduce you to my Blogger First Aid Folder – the inspirational articles I stored over the months from self-development to blogging tips and handy references. As I was having the disconnection crisis, I ran through the First Aid folder and came out with at least 10 new topics that I like to cover for the next few months. Bloggers are thinkers, don’t say you can’t think of anything because you CAN. Kindly refer to the topic of this post.

3. Transform Your Rants into Helpful Solutions

One of the best inspirational moments is to live through challenging circumstances while discovering solutions to the problem. As myself at this very state of mind, I know exactly how people with similar experience would feel. Of course, they won’t be googling about this right now but it’ll help before it drives you up the wall when occurred. Who says ranting cannot be a post? Sure it can but do remember the ‘WIIFM’ (What’s In It For Me) factor. It applies in all types of writings, especially when the blog isn’t all about your personal stories.

4. Write Off Topic Articles to Other Directories

It’s not easy to get my attention off the screen. Sometimes I still like to make up to the time I lost in writing, even if I did all I can, drafted what can possibly be done offline for my social media posts. Whenever I feel like that, I continue to write but off topic articles to other directories or local newspapers instead. For the latter, they have a column for readers where we get to write in and share our thoughts in various topics. I like to do that as an interest and it gives me satisfaction when I get to use my time for a similar activity yet different prospect! Movies? Music? Life stories? Anything I feel like writing. The more expressive I become the more energy I accumulate to deal with negativity.

5. Clean Up & Check Your OS, Backups

I’m keen in making folders. They are easily misplaced and I can find duplicates in different drives sometimes! Those are not intentioned but they really cramped up my memories. I do month-end backups but why can’t I do it now? Ended up clearing 5GB of free spaces, transferring unneccesary files off my working PC. Doubled my backup discs just in case. Feels good when all the tiresome yet important tasks are off my mind.

6. Working on OFFLINE Pending Tasks

Don’t have any? Good for you.

Sadly for me it’s easy to leave offline work piled up unintentionally when you’re working more than 10 hours a day. I went through my closet and tidied up the wardrobe, gave my toilet a cleanup which I was thinking of doing a week ago, sent out greeting cards for the coming Chinese New Year occasion in February. It put me at ease knowing I won’t have to be nagged about those things again. *YAY!*

7. Exercise, Exercise, Exercise!

I know you’re not in the mood for exercise now, but you got to get your negative energy out somewhere! ‘Swearing’ won’t make you healthier or slimmer but ‘Sweating’ will. I got on my bike and paddled for about 20 minutes and it felt good! I know my muscle is going to ache the next day but I’m cool with that.



So Now It Comes to This…
Here I am, sipping my coffee while preparing to give this post a happy ending (at internet covered town area). Maybe it’s another life lesson to break through pressure. Jim seems to be handling that very well even surrounded by cops! I could use some rhumba right now. LOL !

I believe once in a while we all need a little inspiring input. If none of the above helps, maybe these 50 Simple Ways To Stay Productive will. Do share with us how did you overcome downturns and pressuring moments when you can’t blog? We could all use some ideas from one another.

A lot of resolutions been talked about lately. How many of you have set up goals based on what you’ve learned in the past? Now I must admit, initially I have no intention to do a blog review based on performances in 2009. To dig up old archive seem troublesome and it’s much better to save effort for a much productive work, right? Wrong.

Measuring blog success isn’t just about bragging how good you are, but identify how much you could or should have done to improve blog traffic. Bottom line, if you are serious to increase blog traffic, a review is needed for:

• Periodic goal-settings

• Understanding own potentials and ability

• Measuring current blog status and progress

• Knowing parts to improve and avoiding repeated mistakes

• Following up on lost comments & connections

Based on these 6 ways to track blog success, I can have a general idea how my blog survived all the way from March, 2009 (1st post about social media). During the process, I immediately realized the first and utmost lesson is to involve Analytics and Feedburner more in my planning instead of just a casual check monthly.

Popularity and Blog Traffic Review

Results are ranging from 17th March, 2009 to 6th January 2010 (my 1st day of work in 2010):

What I love about tracking comments is to find out which post type attracts the most discussions; what matters to the readers when they visit and the content that stands out from the rest. Engagement is a big deal here therefore I’m blessed to have a group of loyal readers who are taking comments very seriously! May the spirit continues in 2010. Of course, in order to obtain more accurate results, social media strategies and time factor are to be taken into considerations as well.

Other criteria that helped in commenting: Do-Follow, CommentLuv (Reasons To Love), Blog Promoting via Social Media

Top 5 Famous Posts via Google Analytics:

13 Facebook Applications to Promote Your Blog
How To Pick Up From Your Blogging Downturns
How Seriously Do You Take Blog Comments?
16 Social Bookmarking Plugins to Promote Your Posts
16 Misconceptions About ‘Serious’ Blogging

The results are slightly different but undeniably, Facebook is a hot topic here. The post was only written in October, 2009 but it overtook other posts and came first in Analytics. Also, it made me realized which type of posts are search-worthy; which are favored in social bookmarking sites and so on.

My Top 5 Traffic Source in 2009

I’m only active in Stumbleupon after migrating to wordpress in July. SU brought me a lot of new visitors but its bounce rate was still among the highest comparing to other traffic source. In order to capture the right audience in StumbleUpon, do make sure the submitted post is tagged correctly. Here’s a great post of 5 Tactis to drive in traffic from StumbleUpon, old tricks but good tips. As for Google Search that improves to rank #3 out of no where, no doubt that Wordpress plugins such as All In One SEO helped me a great deal.

I believe migrating to Wordpress from Blogger is the smartest decision I made in 2009 to increase blog traffic.

Power of Twitter & StumbleUpon in Promoting Blog Posts

Even though I started to blog in August, 2008, I only switched to social media blogging in March, 2009. Between my first and last social media post in 2009, I found 2 spikes happened in May and September respectively. It was during the time when these 2 posts were published:

a) The Best of Twitter Desktop Clients – Secrets Revealed!

- (61% direct traffic while 21% Twitter.com)

I remembered clearly it was the magic of Twitter that drove in the traffic. Loic from Seesmic tweeted about this post and soon the tweet went viral! You may be surprised why Analytics showed most of the visits are from ‘direct traffic’ instead of Twitter.com, this is because some clicks from Twitter clients such as Tweetdeck, Twhirl etc will not be counted in Twitter.com but as ‘direct traffic’ to your blog.

b) How To Pick Up From Your Blogging Downturns – ( 85% stumbleupon)

I was very surprised with this result but I think part of the reasons is the kind support given by my blogger friends. Could it be due to the Su.pr evolution and easy-to-adapt toolbar for browsers which made stumbling quick and easy? I think so too since I’m also an active stumbler in the same way. Everyone can easily participate in more than one social media sites nowadays so it will definitely help if we manage to assist one another in post-promoting. That’s the beauty of integration and networking.

Now It’s Your Turn…

What is your most popular post and which social media site has been your main traffic source so far? Share your post link and ideas in the comment below.

Are you a prolific blogger who owns multiple blogs and eager to share everything on your Facebook Fan Page? If yes, congratulations! This post is dedicated to you.

We all are aware of how easy it is to autopost from A BLOG to facebook account. You can have plenty of app choices even among the 13 Facebook Applications to Promote Your Blog. However when it comes to multiple blogs, sometimes we are forced to input them manually or rely on combination of apps such as Notes, Social RSS to make it happen. Actually there’s an easier way!

Here’s a request earlier from a blogger friend who posted on my blog’s fan page :

As much Wordbook sounds promising, we know it is not capable enough to post for multiple blogs and to Facebook Fan Pages. Truth is, you don’t have to add any Wordpress plugins. The answer lies in the hand of NetworkedBlogs and I’m gonna show you how:

Register Your Blogs to NetworkedBlogs

First requirement is you need to make sure all your blogs are registered to NetworkedBlogs and you’re following them individually (skip this section if you’ve done that already):

1.  Add NetworkedBlogs to your Facebook application.

2.  Then click ‘Register a new blog’. Fill up the details required.

3.  At ‘Blog Feed’ section, click ‘Pull Now’ to import all posts from your blog. Refresh the page if needed.

4.  Verify your account for each blog (either way) following the instructions given (Repeat step 2 – 4 for your multiple blogs) :

Configure Your Facebook Fan Page For Autoposting

1.  Go to your Facebook Fan Page. Click ‘Edit Page’ to enter management page.

2.  Scroll all the way down to locate ‘Networkedblogs’ and hit ‘Edit’.

3.  All the blogs you’re currently following will be displayed in the Page Settings. Select the blogs you wish to import to your Facebook page.

4.  Grant permission and Save your settings.

Done. Now whenever your blogs are updated with new posts, they will be published on both Facebook page and personal account.

But, what if you wish to prevent personal account from receiving blog updates?

Some people may not like to harass their real life friends with business related info, here’s what you can do:

1.  In NetworkedBlog, look for ‘Feed Settings’ at the right sidebar to change your feed-posting preferences.

2.  At ‘Fan Pages’ section, click ‘Configure’ and mark the ‘Auto-Publish blog posts to Page Wall’ ; whereas for Personal Profile remained un-ticked.

That’s it! All can be done within Facebook Fan Page! Import as many entries you need to enhance blog traffic.

Here’s A Great News…

We reached 100 members today so we got ourselves a custom URL ~ facebook.com/SocialBloggingTracker ! YAY! You guys rock and can’t thank you all enough for the participation. If you haven’t join us, by all means! It’s a perfect place for all readers/social media enthusiasts to meet and get inspired!

Do you find the tutorial useful? If you know a better way to autopost from multiple blogs to Facebook Fan Pages, do share with us in your comment.

You know how social media strategists love to talk about branding right? Well, over the months we have discussed about ways to brand ourselves on Twitter with customized Twitter background and bio descriptions. Now MarketMeTweet offers a new alternative to maximize our exposures through tweet-branding. Meet TweetBrand — a handy and effective tool… oh! Did I mention it’s FREE too?

How Does TweetBrand Work?

Let me make this easy for you, noticed the squared area that’s usually filled by Twitter application names like Tweetdeck, Web or API?

Well, not anymore. With TweetBrand you can now place whatever terms you like: organization or company name, your blog name, your niche subjects… anything that will help to attract like-minded audiences. You can predetermine the landing page of the backlink as well ! Here I place ‘Social @ Blogging Tracker’ as my brand name and a mouse click at it will direct people to my blog. Imagine the benefits I will gain from this tiny modification:

• The ability to brand my tweets with a descriptive name. In this case, Social Media & Blogging related subjects are my priorities.

• Increasing exposure with higher chance to meet with like minded individuals or potential clients.

• Clear niche-identification without being intrusive. Followers can click the backlink at will without me DM them to do so.

• Retrieve the backlink and attention you deserved on Twitter.

I was testing out this application two days ago and immediately it was recognized by my Twitter friends. They are wondering how my blog name can appear on all my Twitter status?

Therefore, do not underestimate a minor change for it may do wonders to your business. Your company or organization name can be spotted instantly on various Twitter platforms, let it be web apps or desktop clients. It’s a chance to stand out from your competitors and be ahead of the game.

How To Configure TweetBrand to Brand Your Tweets

Basically, you need to register a new application to retrieve consumer key codes which later be used to activate the tweetbrand installer (adobe air application). The configuration may be a little tricky but if you follow the instructions carefully, you’ll be tweeting from TweetBrand in no time:

1. First you need to sign up here in order to get the free download file. Upon receiving the email, click the link as instructed.

2. You will be asked to sign in to Twitter in order to get your consumer key and secret code.

3. Register a new application while in your Twitter page. Fill up the required details and save it.

4. Once the application is ready, you will be given consumer key & consumer secret code which will be needed during installation (Step no.6).

5. Now you are ready to download TweetBrand. Follow the instructions and proceed until the app is successfully installed to your PC.

6. Login with your TweetBrand registration details. Paste in the consumer key & secret code (from step.4) before integrating your Twitter account(s).

7. Sign in to Twitter and grant access for the application you created. A Twitter Pin number will be displayed. Copy & paste it to the box and hit ‘Apply’ to finalize the process.

8. Now, you can start tweeting with TweetBrand!

Here are several features you should know:

• Paste the long URL in the tweet box and click ‘Tiny URL’ to shorten it (Of course, you are free to use other shortener services as you pleased).
• Tick ‘Replies’ will reveal the conversations directed to your username.
• Tick ‘Friends’ will display the real-time tweets from the people you followed.

Have fun trying out the application and start branding your tweets today!

Now It’s Your Turn…

What’s your opinion about TweetBrand? Do you have other requests to improve this application? Share with us in your comment below.

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!

Have you ever been confined in your own limitations?

Are there obstacles stopping you from reaching your blogging goals?

Ever thought about quitting?

Some negative thoughts, you would say. In fact, they may hide somewhere inside your mind, waiting to strike once you hit the blogging downturns.

We all have ups and downs in life. No one ought to judge another as each has his/her imperfections when dealing with real life matters. I had visited a few blogger friends recently who are in the process of picking up their paces in blogging; or holding their online passions temporarily due to other matters.. That’s perfectly understandable. I have nothing but respect for their courage and perseverance in continuing what they believe in — “It’s tough but I’ll survive.”

Life is not a bed of roses, what really matters is how you able to withstand the challenges and pick up from what you left off. As a blogger friend of mine, David Doolin said it – beat the blogging blues!

How To Pick Up From Your Blogging Downturns?

1. Prepare Your Mindset

- Believe it as our minds control our acts. We are easily influenced by things we see, hear and feel. Before  you’re getting into negativeness, correct your mindset asap! Don’t let discouragements overrun you. Avoid vulnerability and get warmed up, set your mode to READY- SET- GO!.

2. Restructure Your Site & Blogging Goals

- Treat this an opportunity to rebuild your site with energy. List out steps required for modifications: change your theme, make your blog do-follow, give your presentation a breath of fresh air. Always a good idea to use mind mapping strategy if you’re unclear of your present goals.

3. Reconnect with Readers/Blogger Friends

- Relationships are hard to build, remember those who diligently send you regards and wondering how’ve you been? Reach out to your readers through emails and visit their sites, explaining your comeback and how much you appreciate them sticking around your site while you’re gone. Asking for opinions on what they expect to see in your site’s revival. Spend time doing blog/social networking. To me, that’s just as essential as getting a killer blog post ready.

4. Release your come-back-post with a BANG!

- As any comeback, first post is EXTREMELY important! You may need to explain your hiatus or disappearance but needless to go far with it. Why drain yourself more into negativity? Set it aside and go towards positivity. Either reward your readers with some giveaways, announce new blog plans and what to expect in coming posts etc — but make sure you’re really on to that. Don’t give false promises.

5. Get the Ball Rolling with Momentum

- You may need to do a little bit more to capture the attentions. I would suggest to either increase your posting frequency or give them the killer posts that you used to do! Provide visitors reasons to come back and support you. Remember, continue to build quality networks. A blog is useless without audiences. Return favors and be insightful in your commenting, you’re representing the NEW you and your blog. Don’t underestimate the power of such exposures.

6. Not Being The Forgotten

- Do you used to be active in forums? May be a good time to return and help out in answering some threads. Active in social media sites? Then get right on to it! Listen more to follow up the trends in your niche. Do not get yourself buried. You can even get in touch with your blogger friends and see if they’re willing to help out in a mention for your post in Twitter etc. I believe it’s not too much to ask, don’t get too ‘egoistic’ to ask for a tiny favor. Ever heard of a friend in need is a friend indeed? Time to find out.

7. Patience. And Never Ever GIVE UP!

- To have everything under control you need to first keep away the loser thoughts of ‘I CAN’T!’ as far as possible! It’s normal to get discouraged or horrified with so many ‘extra’ things you need to cover to make a come-back, or when you’re not getting the results you hoped for. However, I can assure you every effort counts! Remember how you started blogging? It didn’t take just a week to get PR 6 right? The condition now is way much better – you have connections, you exist in search engines! With experience and new determinations, you can still go a long way.

An Inspirational Clip That Moves Me

I was deeply moved by the clip below. Came across it while searching for ‘Motivational Video’ in conjunction with my husband’s birthday. I never watched the movie before, but this is truly a valuable find. I dedicate this to all my beloved readers and blogger friends — never underestimate your ability to do something bigger. Throw away the negativity and push to the limit if you have to. Do your best and live with no regrets.

It’s Your Turn…

I would love to hear you ideas on how you pick up from your blogging downturns. If you never experienced one, kindly suggest some relevant ideas on how to deal with the problem in the comments below. You just may help someone who needs them. ^^