alexa ranking blogger tips cyber space cyber traffic patrol how to improve google page rank nothing to hide observations traffic statistics using google page rank website demographics

I’ve been meaning to look at my traffic records for a while now … I have looked at them but never got around to actually making ground notes on what my driving skills are … and I’d like to think I’m a wicked driver … I could easily ride with the lads and put some of them to shame ;)

Without further adieu I shall share with you the fine print that the cyber patrol officers have sent my way and perhaps with all your experience you can give your neighbour a hand on the best way forward :)

Alexa Rank Report

A few months ago, I installed the Alexa Traffic Rank button on my blog page after Kaddu talked about  "Traffic"-(k)ing! Or Queen? as my curiosity (and ego I reckon) got the better of me.

When I had originally put it up – my rating was somewhere up in the 630,000 mark …. sounds good eh ? Not really – in fact the way it works on Alexa is that the ‘lower your ranking – the better your web presence’.  Then maybe last month when I checked in on it – I saw that my rank had gone down to the 350,000 zone … progress baby ! And September stats show that I’m down at 260,000 ! Awesome ! 

I also managed to find out how popular my blog is ranked in other countries … My Sporadic Reflections seem to be going down well in India … and when you think about the overall big picture – out of millions of blogs around in Bloggerville – my blog ranking is  28,120 in India and 186,541 in the US

As you can see from the below pie-chart; the majority of my readers are from India and the US – and a tiny 1% readership from Malaysia too … Thanks guys !  Although I’m wondering where are my UK peeps !!!!

If you don’t already have an Alexa Traffic Widget – then you might want to consider trying it.  It’s free and gives you some statistical data about the usage and traffic on your blog.

Google PageRank

I have been reading about PageRanks for a while now but never quite figured out what my own Google PageRank was until I came across some statistics from IndiBlogger – which is a blog community that I am a part of.

Apparently in May I had a page rank of 2 and in June & August a rank of 3 … but September is showing a big fat Zero :(  I still don’t quite understand HOW I can attain a rank or WHAT I can do to maintain a rank … but hell I’m just excited that I even GOT RANKED !   By the way PageRank is measured on a scale of ONE to TEN and assigned to individual pages within a website, not the entire website.

Of course, I’m the kind of girl with ants in my pants and I set about trying to figure out how the hell the Google PageRank system works and came across a few helpful posts.  I’m still trying to figure out How To Improve A Websites Google Ranking – so if this makes sense to you – help me out !

IndiRank by IndiBlogger

IndiRank is a system that allows IndiBlogger to create a ranking amongst Indian Blogs.  Each blog is manually verified before being allowed into the system – however the final ranking process is automated.  Blogs are ranked on a scale of 1 to 100 – and the higher the score – the better the ranking.

Last month I’d received notification from IndiBlogger that I had a ranking of 82/100 … I’ve been a part of the community for a few months – and it was a nice feeling to know that I got ranked :)

Unknown to me was that in May my rank was of 79, and through June – Aug it was at 82 … but September has seen it dip down to 75.   However – I’m not so worried about that … IndiRank gets refreshed every month, so a blog's previous rank will have no bearing on it's present rank.

So there you have it … my cyber records right here in black & white (with some hints of colour) … I did find that I have some funny 'key words’ that seemed to drive traffic to my blog but I’ll go into that in more detail once I’ve mastered the art of the correct use of key words to increase blog traffic !

If you have your own cyber records – why not share them with your neighbours so that we can perhaps gain some tips and tricks :)

nothing to hide personal opinions quiz random thoughts

1. What time did you get up this morning?
Around 8:30 a.m … I was woken by the mesh of obstacles that were obstructing my jogging path in my dream

2. How do you like your steak?
I’m a vegetarian … well an ovo-lacto vegetarian if you want to get technical

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince

4. What is your favourite TV show?
Quite a few even though I’m not much of a TV person … CSI Vegas tops the list; Entourage; and Charmed.  I also like My Wife & Kids; Two and a Half Men

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?

Someplace that can combine the city life of London & Montreal and the lifestyle of Dubai but much much cheaper !  Ideally would want a house overlooking the beach so that I can hear the sounds of the waves crashing against the sands

6. What did you have for breakfast?
Couldn’t eat eggs today as it’s a Tuesday … so had  Peanut Butter & Jam on Toast and a  Banana milkshake

7. What is your favourite cuisine?
I want to say Hot Men but since that’s pretty non-existent in my life right now .. I’ll stick with Italian

8. What foods do you dislike?

Bitter Gourd – otherwise known as Karela in Hindi ! It’s quite nasty ! 

9. Favourite Place to Eat?
Depends which country I’m in … Bento Cafe in London for Japanese Food; Spaghetti Kitchen – Olive – Indigo – Moshe – Penne – Kobe in Bombay; way too many restaurants in Dubai to even start naming; and I forgot the name of this fabulous Greek place on Crescent Street in Montreal.

11. What kind of vehicle do you drive?
A Black Honda City GXi named STORM :) I got it a year ago and it’s all mine :) 

12. What are your favourite clothes?
For casual wear – Capri's and a tank top – I practically live in these.  On weekends – I sit in my shorts PJ's as much as I can.

For evening wear – something funky that suits my mood for the night !

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance?
Lebanon, Brazil and Mexico.

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?
Depends on my mood.

15. Where would you want to retire?
In one of those amazing water houses in a sexy remote location

16. Favourite time of day?
I’m a night baby … Love the nights especially the way the moon light trickles into my bedroom.

17. Where were you born?
At the Royal Free Hospital in London, UK at 22:36.  My mom’s water broke whilst she was at the Royal Palms Casino with my grandfather and her two brothers.  My grandfather ordered champagne for all when I was born :)

18. What is your favourite sport to watch?
(English) Football and Men’s Tennis.  The energy that they put into the sport is just fabulous.  Not to mention that there is so much eye-candy on there !

19. Who do you think will not tag you back?
Probably quite a few ! But I’m only doing this for White Sock Girl heheh

20. Person you expect to tag you back first?
Will have to wait and see.  Who’s it gonna be then ?

21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this?
Adolfo, Sumit, Carol, Deft Digits, Dmanji, Crazy Nigerian aka Jollof, Tangerine, Kaddu, YK and of course NC :)

22. Bird watcher?
Nah I rather watch Animal Planet and check the big cats out :)

23. Are you a morning person or a night person?
I can be an all day person – but the nights are when I come alive

24. Do you have any pets?
Not anymore.  I used to have 2 dogs (German Shepherd & Doberman); 4 rabbits; 2 love birds; 2 hamsters; and at some point or the other 2 baby chicks (pink & green colour – don’t ask because I found them like that!); a temporarily adopted kitten for a few weeks; and 2 baby mice that we adopted after their mom got caught in a mouse trap.  I also had another German Shepherd at university who is now with a friend of mine.

25. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share?
I can’t go to work till Monday – so sitting at home – bored out of my skull !

26. What did you want to be when you were little?
Always wanted to run my own business – well initially wanted to take over my father’s garment factory; and then decided I wanted to plan events and own a night club.

27. What is your best childhood memory?
The day I got my first dog – my German Shepherd – Silky.  It was a surprise – my driver was taking us all to the park and we stopped at a building. The driver asked me to help him bring something down and when the door opened – I was greeted by a house full of dogs.  This lady told me I could have my pick of any of the puppies.  In the elevator on the way down, a woman asked me if I was holding a baby – and I let her move the blanket in which I was holding my new puppy and she totally freaked out !

28. Are you a cat or dog person?
Woof woof !

29. Are you married?
Nope. But I am a wedding planner

30. Always wear your seat belt?
Hell yes ! Have you seen the way people drive these days – especially in Bombay ?? It would be a health hazard not to !

31. Been in a car accident?
Nothing major – have had an idiot hit my car at a traffic light !

32. Any pet peeves?
Hypocrites.  Just be yourself !

33. Favourite Pizza Toppings?
Extra cheese margarita pizza is the best.  Other toppings would be with sweet corn, mushrooms and jalapeños. 

34. Favourite Flower?
I actually prefer dried roses of any colour.  Otherwise – Orchids work for me and they last for ages.

35. Favourite ice cream?
So many flavours for a single favourite … Ben & Jerry’s  Phish Food and Cookie Dough; Gelato’s Ferrero Rocher; and the classic Vanilla & Chocolate (or Baskin’s Gold Medal Ribbon) with tons of Hersheys’ Chocolate Sauce

 

36. Favourite fast food restaurant?
Al Reef Bakery in Dubai … my mouth waters just thinking about it  ! Basically oven baked pita' bread with a salted cheese that is melted ! yummm !

37. How many times did you fail your driver’s test?
First time pass on a manual car baby !

38. From whom did you get your last email?
A contact on ASW who would like me to write about his fashion magazine.

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
This is a tricky one … New Look, River Island, Zara, Bershka, and lots of ad hoc stores !

40. Do anything spontaneous lately?
Yeah. I actually responded to this tag immediately !  Hello ! My foot is injured – am a cripple right now – lets not rub it in that I can’t do anything !

41. Happy with your job?
I love what I do. I hate the state of my office unfortunately.

42. Broccoli?
I’m still adjusting my taste buds to it.

43. What was your favourite vacation?
Last year … Israel – spent 10 days there with my girlfriend  and Mauritius – I got to see a hump back whale  !

44. Last person you went out to dinner with?
Wow ! I can’t even remember ! That sucks !

45. What are you listening to right now?
Akon feat. Kardinall – Dangerous ….that’s right – I can be pretty damn dangerous :P

46. What is your favourite colour?
Black – it’s sexy in so many ways

47. How many tattoos do you have?
Nil – nada – zilch.  My boredom threshold is way too low to tolerate a permanent sketch on my body !

48. How many are you tagging for this quiz?
Since I’m sitting bored at home – I’d like to take this opportunity to tag ALL those who read this  ! Don’t be rolling your eyes – if you have read until here – you know you have to do this !

49. What time did you finish this quiz?
It’s about 00:45 right now.

50. Coffee Drinker?
Does cold coffee or coffee milkshake count ?

blogging trends nothing to hide people's perceptions personal opinions public vs private blogs random thoughts

Morning all … I came across a really cool blog earlier today called ‘The Way I See It’ .. and I could completely relate to it … It’s one to add to the reading list if you don’t already know about it …

My blog title is taken from this blog and a post that really interested me … I consider myself to be a personal and sporadic blogger … I’m not here to make money or change the lives of others with my views – but am here just to get all those extra thoughts running around my head out of my system and leaving a tiny mark out there in the blogosphere.

Blogging is an outlet for me to express myself and my views to an audience that may or may not judge me; to an audience that may actually enjoy what I have to say or to provide a gateway of free thoughts for those who just need to ‘get away’ !

I’ve never been one to keep a diary – and I don’t think I use my blog as a diary per say. I had heard about blogging a few years ago and went on to make my account live in 2007 but didn’t get around to actually writing in it till the June / July of 2008.

I knew when I started my blog – I had wanted to cover certain areas 1) my random thoughts 2) music that I was really interested in and 3) a place to capture the poetry that I had written or read over the years. The smart ass that I am – I set up – not one – but THREE different blogs – and very soon realised that it was not possible for me to maintain those – so I figured out how to import / export all the content to this main blog out here.

So now, as you know this blog more or less delves into various topics – from things that interest me, things and attitudes that bother me, some music, some poetry, and just general rambling of sorts. I like to believe that my neighbours and readers will have an opinion on what I write about, and the posts that go Without comments have been visited by lurkers.

I reckon that in my 27 years, I’ve had a pretty exciting and adventurous life – and should I be able to capture it ALL down – then it would make for a fabulous book =) I am an avid reader – so have a variety of blogs on my reading my list that range from personal, spiritual, all the way to business blogs. I find that I am able to relate in some way to the blogs that deal with personal life experiences.

So … we get back to the original question that Robin had posted. Is what you write about affected by who knows about your blog?

My honest answer to him was …. I've been blogging for almost a year now - and funnily enough - only a 'handful' of close friends know about my blog - and ironically - my two best friends don't even read my blog - its a bunch of other friends who do - who I feel could relate with it and hence I told them about the blog. Mine is not a 'personal-personal' blog - I do write whatever I am thinking about .. sometimes it can be personal (I think) and other times - its a subject that I have a strong view about ... And you're right - there are some family members or friends that I rather NOT have read my blog in case they get all uptight about it ... saying that, there are some topics I do not write about Just In Case someone else I know will get on to read about it ... Although to be on the safe side, I don't use any real names - I stick to initials or nicknames for people, nor have I disclosed my own real name or photograph ...

I prefer it this way … I did for a while upload my blog posts to my Facebook account – and quite a few people used to comment on certain topics but somehow I didn’t like the idea that ‘my friends’ knew about my blog … Weird right ?? Unlike Robin, I’m not a very private person – in fact I’m quite an outgoing person who really doesn’t care much what others think about what I have to say or do (not in a bad rash manner but in a ‘your opinion doesn’t bother me manner') … Ok that still didn’t come out right but you get my point ??

I like the idea that ever since I started blogging – I have found a whole new community of people who are of the same mindset as me – people who may or not have shared the experiences that I have – but they are open minded individuals who are able to pop into someone else’s life and give an unbiased opinion. This community is completely non-judgemental and that’s what I love about my fellow blogger neighbours. They take what you have to say at face value and don’t question the ‘who, what, if, why,’ etc

In real life – some people are too caught up in the notion that everything should be done in XY manner and if it doesn’t follow protocol then it is not acceptable. People are bogged down with societal views and haven’t had the time to form their own personal views.

How “private” is your blog? Do your family and friends know that you write online? Do you care?

advertisements adverts air new zealand blogging blogs nothing to hide perceptions rambling random reflections

 

My friend AM had posted this link up on his FaceBook and I thought it was a pretty cool advert.   I really like the way the producer has made the advert – there’s nothing obscene about it AND doesn’t look like there is anything to hide either =)

 

 

Living in India at the moment also means being subjected to some really bad advertisements on telly – which sometimes are so pointless – it makes you wonder what the brand managers and producers were thinking when they thought of the concept of the advert !!

Considering that there are some amazing creative geniuses in this country – their talent doesn’t always come out to the public – and when it does – it’s to a very select audience.  The majority of TV adverts are made for the masses and very few are actually made for the classes. 

 

If a similar sort of advert was done for the Indian audiences – that would just become the next big headline and cause for scandal !! Lord only knows how many lawsuits might follow !!

 

I will be hunting for some examples to show you guys and will put this together for another post.