Creating blog posts can take a lot of time. More often than not, we only receive a one time value from each of our blog posts. This is why ProBlogger suggests creating Sneeze pages for your blog posts in Day #18 of the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge. Sneeze pages use your archived posts to create a nice directory of posts all relating to a particular theme, series or time. Creating these posts will show off your archives and improve your Search Engine Optimization. A great way to repurpose your hard work and get the most value from it.
So, without further adue – here is my BlackBerry Storm themed Sneeze post:
Here we are on Day #8 of the ProBlogger’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge. Today’s task is to link to older blog posts within your own blog. This task really forces you to go back through and look at your blog to see just how far you have come. It can be very rewarding experience and also spark new ideas for future blog posts. The SEO benefits, usefulness to readers, and increased page views are also a great set of reasons to frequently implement this interlinking practice.
My very first blog post was an iPod Nano review back on October 15th, 2008. This is when I was very new to the blogging scene and unsure on how to begin. So why not start with a product review on my new iPod?
My blog post about Mike’s Carwash customer service still continues to be my most popular blog post of all time. I was very surprised with the number of views and comments that this post received. This is when I really became encouraged to continue blogging.
And of course my Blackberry Storm month review post in response to a reader’s question. Apparently I made the decision to become the “guinea pig” for several people when purchasing my Blackberry Storm. When I began posting about this phone, my posts received a lot of interested. I found a small niche as an “expert” with this particular device. If you ever have a question about the Blackberry Storm – just ask!
So there you have it. These are some of my favorite posts from the archives of D-Mac’s Blog. Hope you enjoy!
Hundreds of applications are currently listed in the following 13 categories: Entertainment, Games, Maps & Navigation, Music & Video, News & Weather, Personal Finance & Banking, Personal Health & Wellness, Productivity & Utilities, Professional & Business, Reference & eBooks, Social Networking & Sharing, Sports & Recreation, Travel
You may also search and sort by the top downloads. I am still searching for the Pandora app which was on all of the ads for the Blackberry App World, but is no where to be found. Or at least I have not found it within the Blackberry App World yet.
Having only had a limited amount of time to begin exploring the Blackberry App World, I have been impressed by the experience thus far. Everything appears to load and function smoothly with a wide variety of applications available for testing. I will keep you updated in future posts on my findings as I continue to learn more about which applications are most functional. Future posts will also include video for a more hands on experience.
If you have any links, recommendations, or thoughts on this please share with me.
Many people have found my blog due to interest in the Blackberry Storm. I have been using my Storm for over 3 months now and am very happy to report that I have FINALLY found a solid operating system – version 4.7.0.103. I have been using this operating system for over 2 weeks now and have not experienced any issues. This is by far the best performing OS in comparison to all others that I have used (and trust me I have used them all). Yes, I am aware that a leaked version of 4.7.0.109 is available, but due to the superior performance of .103 compared to all others I have tried – I am not in a hurry to upgrade. So, if you have the Blackberry Storm you need to get OS 4.7.0.103 right now.
In doing research and working with the Blackberry Storm over the last 3 months, I have found 3 resources that I highly recommend you check out. I have listed these below and also have a few screen shots in the video above. Check them out and enjoy!
ILoveMyStorm.com
This is easily THE SINGLE BEST resource for the Blackberry Storm. A very plain site with links to the latest OS updates, applications, games, themes, and anything else relevant to the Storm. Trust me you will want to Bookmark this site.
StormGrounds.com The best collection of backgrounds for the Storm. This site has everything from sports teams to comic book hero backgrounds all FREE and sized perfectly to fit your phone. You will have to put up with some annoying advertisements, but it is worth it for this huge collection.
YouMail.com This is a great voicemail management system for ANY phone. YouMail is free visual voicemail that allows management of everything from personal greetings to uploading a voicemail directly to your blog. This is the perfect resource for someone that cannot stand the “regular” voicemail experience. I like YouMail so much that I am going to do a separate blog post discussing more of its features in the next week, so be sure to check back for that.
SocialScope is an application for the Blackberry that combines Twitterberry and the standard Facebook app into one. SocialScope is currently in Alpha review, so I am unable to include a video with screen shots of it actually working live on my phone at this time. I have been in communication with a representative at SocialScope and will be notified when permission is granted to post a full-blown video review. The SocialScope representative also wanted me to make a note that the Blackberry Storm is receiving limited support because they currently do not have a Storm to test it on.
Overall, SocialScope is a great application for any Blackberry user. I am particularly impressed with its performance considering it is still in Alpha. Twitterberry is going to have some catching up to do. Even in the Alpha review the Twitter side of things is seamless and very user friendly. The Facebook side of things leaves a bit to be desired, but I hear they are working hard on that. Watch the video review above for more information.
I ran across a blog post by Kyle Lacy today which is actually a reblog from Ellen Dunigan on Smaller Indiana. The blog post included some good tips for creating a great video blog. As you can imagine, it immediately caught my attention as I tend to include a good amount of video on my blog. I found the article to be so relevant to what I was doing that I decided to give my first REBLOG a try using the link at the bottom of Kyle’s daily blog email. This link took me to Zemanta’s Reblog service where I was able to install the Zemanta Firefox add-on and quickly copy the HTML for the link back to Kyle’s Blog I am including below. It allows you to pick which section of the blog you would like to reblog- a really cool feature.
The article also motivated me to share the reasons why I include so much video on my blog. So here they are:
1. Video Helps Add Personality to Your Blog One key factor to a successful blog is showing personality. You need to be able to connect with your audience and allow them to get to know who you really are. Convince them you are HUMAN. Sure the content that you put in a blog allows you to do this, but video adds a whole new dimension. Your viewers are able to actually see you and hear you as you are expressing your thoughts on a particular subject. This makes it much easier for them to connect. When people begin to connect with where you are coming from, you start to establish a rapport and build a level of trust. This is key in developing your group of loyal followers. This will be the group you can truly benefit from interacting with.
2. Video Increases the Level of Interaction on Your Blog I have noticed that a large amount of my feedback has come from my YouTube videos. Interaction on YouTube is the reason that I know OS version 4.7.0.85 is now out for the Blackberry Storm and that it is in fact possible to use Twitterberry in landscape mode. A viewer saw my videos on YouTube and felt compelled to provide me with information that has been very helpful. Of course this made my videos a bit inaccurate, but this is why I am telling you about it now. I firmly believe that opening up your level of interaction by including video elements you are more likely to get your followers to open up as well.
3.Video Enables A First-Hand Demonstration
My blog so far has included several product reviews. By adding video to my blog not only am I able to write my review, but I can also show exactly what I like and dislike about the product I am reviewing first-hand. This adds authenticity to your review as viewers know that you have actually experienced real life interaction with the particular product you are reviewing. This is a great step toward encouraging others to value your opinion. Because after all, if you opinion is not valued- what good is a blog?
All of that talk about including video on your blog and guess what? I am not posting a video for this blog entry. If you want a new video, I guess you will have to check back later this week!
I have been using my Blackberry Storm daily for over a month now and have been meaning to do this review. Thank you to Dustin McClure for posting this comment on my blog and prompting me to finally get around to it. Check out his comment and my response below. Watch the video too, of course!
As much as I want to love the Blackberry Storm and as much as I do love it on some days…my opinion changes daily. Some days the phone is great. Everything runs perfectly the accelerometer functions exactly as it should. All applications and phone calls are flawless. On these days it is right up there with the iPhone- better for business use than the iPhone I think.
Then there are the days when nothing works right. This could be due to the fact that I have installed a leaked update- OS 4.7.0.83 and the latest version that has been released “officially” is 4.7.0.75. I just had to do it though to see if the phone would perform any better. And it does…on certain days. Other times it will lock up at least 2-3 times a day and take FOREVER to adjust orientation through the accelerometer.
The thing I try to keep in mind is that it is a NEW phone and there are going to be some issues. Everyone compares it to the iPhone and the iPhone had several issues in their first generation release as well. I am hopeful that things will get better through time as more updates are released and am excited about the new Blackberry Application Store which is coming in March of this year.
I am going to be patient and stick with it in hopes of it living up to the expectations that were set by Verizon. At times the iPhone can be very tempting, but I think I will be able to manage.
I am sure this is a far longer response than you anticipated, but hopefully it is helpful . If you have any more questions about the Blackberry Storm, you know where to find me.
There are a variety of different applications out there to use with Twitter. You have: TwitterBerry (Twitter for the Blackberry), Twitterific (Twitter for the iPhone), TwitterFox (Twitter for Firefox). Each of these can be very beneficial depending on what your specific needs might be with the phone or browser you are using. One thing we all have in common, however, is the fact that we are using a computer. So how do you better manage your tweets when you are using Twitter on your desktop or notebook PC? The answer is TweetDeck.
TweetDeck is the most efficient way that I have found to utilize Twitter. Simply put, it breaks all tweets down into managable pieces. It’s column view and sorting functionality make it much easier to know who is following you, replying to your tweets, or sending you a direct message. TweetDeck does require Adobe Air to run, but once this is installed your Twittering experience will be a breeze. TweetDeck will ensure that you stay up to date with the people you want to follow, while making it easy to see who is following/replying to your tweets. With TweetDeck you are sure to increase your Twitter Grader score in no time!
The Blackberry Storm finally arrived today via FedEx priority delivery. While I was unable to pick one up the day it was released, I am not going to complain as Verizon offered an instant $50 rebate instead of having to go through the whole mail-in process. I was able to get the phone, a silicone case, a screen protector and car charger all for $202 with a new 2 year contract. This makes the Blackberry Storm a very cost effective purchase.
Having spent some time with the Blackberry Storm today, I can say that so far I am very pleased with the purchase. The functionality of the phone definitely takes some time for adjustment, but I love the clickable screen. It is so nice to hover over something, see what you are going to click before it is registered, then be able to make your selection. The setup was pretty easy as I was able to move all contacts, personal email accounts and media over in under an hour. If you are planning to get this phone, you will want to make sure to install the Blackberry Desktop Manager as there are several device updates already available.
I will admit there are a few areas where the iPhone is much better. The text messaging on the Blackberry Storm, while easier than most phones to manage is not as aesthetically pleasing as the iPhones layout. Then of course there are the applications. The Blackberry Storm does come with a few applications available, including a Facebook app. I really like the Facebook app, but other applications such as Google Maps and Twitterberry are not optimal for frequent users. I imagine Blackberry will roll out some updates for these in the near future. I was able to find a cool site with high-quality home screen images for the Blackberry Storm.
Overall, the Blackberry Storm is a high-quality Smartphone. While it may not be as fashionable as the iPhone and does lack some of the nice features that will come with time…all of the basic functionality that has made Blackberry so successful in the past is there. I am unsure at this point how it is going to compete with the iPhone, but do know that I can’t wait to see what applications Blackberry is going to release in March of 09.
Well good news for us Verizon customers, the Blackberry Storm comes out tomorrow- Friday, November 21st, 2008. While this phone is not getting near the media coverage the iPhone got, it is still making a buzz in the technology community. There are tons of head to head comparisons between the Blackberry Storm and the iPhone. People that like the new touch screen technology and people that hate it, people that swear Apple’s app store will ensure its continued dominance and people that can’t wait for Blackberry to open their app store in 2009. It’s hard to tell what to think at this point until the phone is actually released, but an iPhone tempted Verizon customer that has waited this long can only hope it was worth the wait. Tomorrow we will see…
When you think about all of the different types of cell phones out there, 2 really come to mind- iPhone and Blackberry. Blackberry is set to release its newest module, The Blackberry Storm sometime in November. This poses the question on everyone’s mind: Will the Blackberry Storm be the iPhone killer?
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January 3, 2009 at 3:08 PM How is your Blackberry Storm working out for you now that you’ve had it for a while?Thanks for your review