1. Launch of our new ChicChannel in order you to get even more hot news, trends and events. Now you are welcome to enjoy 3 new blogs about fashion, glam and chic:
   • ChicLooking (our new blog about beauty, makeup and cosmetics)
   • ChicBuying (our new blog about shopping)
   • ChicShaping (our new blog about health and fitness).
2. We made redesign of ChicStories! Now your beloved blog looks prettier than ever!
3. We have new partners (and they are great, we are honoured to work with them!!!). I am talking about Glam.com and Blogads.
4. Monthly number of page views has grown up to 150.000 unique visitors (300.000 page views).
5. General number of subscribers on all blogs is 1000.

   

   Hope, you will like those changes!

   See you

Their themes are even more topical than you can imagine:

• Soccer Days - about soccer world and all the events occurring in it:

  

• Look iPhone - news, reviews, and opinions surrounding all things iPhone:

  

• Gamember - all the news you need to know about your favorite video game consoles:

  

• Bespolit - stunningly beautiful photos of people, nature, places and moments by professional photographer Stas Bespoiltov:

  

Enjoy, please!

• Monthly number of page views on all blogs is 107,877.
• General number of subscribers on all blogs is 443.
• Most popular posts are:
  • Freedom of Abstract Art on Art Style Online;
  • Interior Design Trends 2008 on Art Style Online;
  • Macbook Air Underwhelms Audience, Manila Envelope Not Included on Aware Geek;
  • Spring And Summer Fashion Trends Of 2008 on Chic Stories;
  • The Most Dangerous Roads in the World on Travelling Board as before :);
  • Tata Nano - World’s Cheapest Car on Glam Girl Cars;

Once again, thanks! We wish you all the best!

Oh, before I forget, we are going to launch a couple of new blogs ASAP :).

1. Download and install WLW from the Microsoft’s official site (http://g.live.com/1rebeta/en-us/WLInstaller.exe);
2. After WLW installation, add information about accounts of blogs, that you are running. To fulfill this:
   • Open WLW;
   • On the top toolbar in tab Weblog menu select “Add Weblog Account”;
   • Select “Another weblog service”.

     

   • Next;
   • Enter blog address, your login and password;

     

   • Next;
   • WLW downloads all the necessary information about your blog and adds it account to Weblog menu;
   • Make the same actions with each your blog.
3. Before starting to work, choose from Weblog menu the blog you need (the blog you were editing the last before closing WLW will be launched on default);
4. To publish a post on your blog, press “Publish” in the top menu. If you don’t feel like publishing right now - press “Save Draft” (thus, WLW will save your post in “Drafts”);
5. To edit one of your already published posts, select the tab “Open” on Control Panel, then choose a blog and post and press “OK”. If your post is not there, press the button “Refresh” (near “Delete”) in the top menu of the window “Open”. To delete the chosen post, press “Delete” - and it will be deleted from the blog. You will not be able to restore it;
6. WLW includes 4 types of views:
   • normal - working with text the same as Word;
   • web-layout- the same as Normal, but on the back of blog theme;
   • web preview - visualization of your post on blog, a post looks as it would appear on the final website;
   • HTML code -  write and view your post in html code.

     Be careful! It’s not recommended to copy text from a Word-document. If there is no other way, copy it while you are in Normal view and then edit it in html code view, using exceptionally <ul>, <li>, <br>, <strong>, <p> tags, without parameters and styles.

     Be careful! Please, don’t publish your post, until your are sure it’s ready. The same time you published it, your regular readers are able to enjoy it via email and Feed readers. Use Web preview mode to view your post.

Writing a post…

Heading:

As called ship, so he and board!!!

A successful and perfect title must be bright and catching. Please, pay attention to the following recommendations:

• making a title use such words as: new, top, first;
• launch - in order to draw attention of your readers to this or that event;
• how - while giving instructions, recommendations or explaining how to make something in the best possible way;
• pictures and video - draws attention of many people;
• your title musn’t have any strange signs (if it is possible make it without punctuation marks at all). You can put punctuation marks only using WLW.

To get more ideas click here: http://www.pronetadvertising.com/articles/how-to-write-the-right-title-for-digg.html

Text layout:

• In all views (except html) use the same text editing as in Word;
• While writing a post select bold all important and key-words and words-combinations (avoid using other colors, italics and outline effects);
• Your post must be readable, so make notional paragraphs;
• You are welcome to use all kind of lists (but the most preferable are: bulleted and numbered lists);
• Add videos, pictures, maps, slideshows etc. to your posts.

Pictures:

To insert a picture (in all views, except html), press “Insert Picture” in the sidebar or a tab in the top menu “Insert” and then “Picture”.

Important! Size of a picture file must be smaller than 50 KB. It means that all pictures bigger than 50 KB must be re-saved in 80% quality in any image editor (for example: XnView, etc.)

Be careful! If a picture is big, align it using only one of three positions (left, right or center) - center. And don’t forget to check how it will look after publishing while using Web preview mode.

Before placing a picture in WLW, you have to download it on your PC, so you can create a special folder or something like this for your pictures.

Picture editing and aligning:

• Highlight your picture while in a Normal view;
• In the sidebar you’ll see properties of this picture;
• Setup the following properties:
  • Image->Layout->Borders and then None (it’s obligatory!!!);
  • delete a shadow; 
  • Handy hint! At the foot of the sidebar press the link in order to save these settings as default!
  • Align your picture while pressing Image->Layout->Text Wrapping.

If there are many pictures in one post, you can make a slideshow.

How to make a slideshow:

• Insert a picture;
• In the sidebar select Advanced->Image Size->Small (or choose the size you like);
• Image->Link->Source picture;
• Now, it’s time to select html code view and edit your slideshow. Find a picture in a tag: <a href=”"> write <a title=”description of a picture” rel=”lightbox[unique_symbols]” …><img src=”" /></a> <a title=”description of a picture” rel=”lightbox[unique_symbols]” …><img src=”" /></a> (unique_symbols - is a unique combination of numbers and letters. This combination must be the same for the all pictures of this slideshow);

• Description of a picture. For example, we have a photo of a book «Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows», so in a title we must write Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows.

  In order not to encumber your posts with images Writer  allows you specify a smaller thumbnail to that will link to a larger image. Make the same procedure as in slideshow, but in a tag <a …> insert rel=”lightbox” without index - <a title=”description of a picture” rel=”lightbox” …..><img src=”" /></a>

Requirements while inserting pictures:

• pictures must be of high quality;
• bright and beautiful;
• in accordance with theme;
• maximum width of a picture - 500 px;
• each picture must have clear and nice title; (Harry_Potter_and_Dambldor.jpg, instead of hpandd.jpg). You have to separate words with a break character;
• In html code view you must write alt in each tag for each picture <img alt=”description of a picture”>.

Links:

While writing, use internal (links to your posts and other posts of yaBloggy Network) and external links (to other blogs and sites etc.);

For example:

You still believe that a modern, safe, maneuver, rather powerful and inexpensive car is a myth? You are not right. Frankfurt Auto Show 2007 has changed everything and Toyota presented a car, whose motto is: “Think small!” The new Toyota IQ will hit the markets of such countries as: Russia, Brazil and China. Actually, I came across this car, while looking at the results of the Frankfurt Show and I liked the review of John Neff, so I had a closer look at this car.

Frankfurt Auto Show 2007 - a link to another post of this blog.

John Neff - a link to the post from a blog, that doesn’t come tо yaBloggy.

How to make a link (not in html):

• highlight a word (word-combination), it will be a link;
• in sidebar select Insert->Insert Hyperlink (in top menu - Insert->Hyperlink);

  

• in URL write an address of a post, blog etc.;
• “OK”.

How to make a link in html:

• select html code view;
• in the place where you want to make a link write <a href=”Web address of a page”a>Title of a link</a>;

  For example, Frankfurt Auto Show 2007

  Frankfurt Auto Show 2007
  <a href=”http://glamgirlcars.com/news/frankfurt-auto-show-2007-general-review/”>Frankfurt Auto Show 2007</a>

How to insert video:

• select in sidebar Insert->Insert Video:
• Enter URL of your video and Embed code;
• Insert.

How to insert video in html:

• select html mode;
• insert Embed code in your post;
• <object width=”425″ height=”350″><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/1WCxZ7mKh5s”></param><param name=”wmode” value=”transparent”></param><embed src=”http://www.youtube.com/v/1WCxZ7mKh5s” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” wmode=”transparent” width=”425″ height=”350″></embed></object>.

Everything about tags and their usage:

At the end of each post you must write tags - main key-words (not more than 3) for each post. Don’t write general words (for example, tag CAR in blog about cars).

How to make tags for posts:

1. Choose 1 or 2 general thematic (for this particular site) tags for your post: device, usb (http://awaregeek.com/funny-stuff/usb-missile-launcher/);
2. Select a few key-words, describing namely this article: missile launcher;
3. One tag must comprise of not more than 3 words (such a tag as mp3 media player, can be divided into 2 parts - mp3 player + media player, or its possible to write a more general one - media player);
4. Write not more than 5 tags for each post;
5. In tags use names of manufacturing firms or technologies, for example: samsung, bluetooth in a post  http://awaregeek.com/media-players-accessories/samsung-launches-new-yp-t10-player/ ;
6. On travel site, you can use word-combination with thematic tags: travel, trip, cruise, tour etc.;
7. Recite main movie heroes, genre of a movie, a studio (for example, columbia pictures);
8. Pay attention to the category, where your tag will be placed, may be it’s OK for tags.

Mistakes:

• if you write tags in singular, its no use to mention them once again in plural. For instance, in a post about toys you have already mentioned such a tag as toy, so don’t write toys;
• if your site is devoted to movies, don’t write such tags as: film, movie; and in a post about cartoons, you are welcome to write: cartoon film, animated film;
• avoid tags with particles, articles and prepositions: THE roads, trip TO Australia;
• write orthographically right tags: missile launcher instead of missile-launcher or missilelauncher.

How to define tags:

1. At the end of each post you can write: [tags]Toyota IQ,Frankfurt Auto Show 2007[/tags]. Or…
2. At the Properties menu (bottom of text module) in the “Keywords” field:

   

 Shortening of long posts:

• you have to shorten too long posts;
• thus, leave 2-3 first paragraphs of your post (if they are not too big, not more than 6 lines) and a picture after them and write after them <!—more–> in html code view.

HTML tags:

• <p>Text</p> - paragraph
• <p align=”center”>Text</p> - paragraph in center. Obligatory for big pictures!
• <strong>Text</strong> - bold
• <a href=”url”>Title</a> - link
• <br> - shift
• <img align=”right(left)” alt=”title of a picture” src=”url of a picture” /> - picture
• align - aligning of a picture
• [tags][/tags] - tags
• <ul></ul> - bulleted list
• <ol></ol> - numbered list 
• <li></li> - clause of a list
• <ul>
        <li>first clause</li>
        <li>second clause</li>
  </ul>
• <!–more–> - continue reading

Summary:

• key-words are highlighted bold (no italics and other colours etc.);
• put links to other posts and blogs;
• insert bright, beautiful, topical pictures of high quality;
• don’t forget about aligning;
• make slideshows;
• your post must be readable (make paragraphs);
• posts’ content must be clear, topical, useful and interesting.

Examples of perfect posts:

1. http://curiousanimals.net/animals/husky-dogs-appearance-behavior-habits/
2. http://all4wordpress.com/mimbo-a-free-magazine-style-theme/
3. http://glamgirlcars.com/news/city-car-of-the-future-toyota-iq/

Useful articles:

1. http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/
2. http://www.pronetadvertising.com/articles/how-to-write-the-right-title-for-digg.html
3. http://www.problogger.net/archives/2007/05/23/lessons-on-blogging/
4. http://www.oreillynet.com/digitalmedia/blog/2005/12/10_journalism_tips_for_blogger.html
5. http://www.problogger.net/archives/2007/04/02/blogging-is-about-writing/
6. http://www.problogger.net/archives/2007/04/01/long-posts-vs-series-of-posts/

• yaBloogy was born and gave birth to 12 blogs;
• We found many new friends (Angelique, Michael Humphrey (Mykol), Fashion-O-Lic, Chris, Pawhealer, Ben, Johann, Funepets). They left us comments, support us, wrote about us, gave us recommendations and awards. Thanks, without you we couldn’t be where we are now!
• Wrote really hot posts and they either provoked discussions or got a lot of page views.
  • Fashion Icon - Coco Chanel on Chic Stories
  • Wild, awful…cuties) on Curious Animals
  • The Most Dangerous Roads in the World on Travelling Board
  • Suzuki Hayabusa on Glam Girl Cars
  • USB Panic Button on Aware Geek
• Gained PR and popularity of our blogs. Chic Stories, Curious Animals, on Travelling Board, Glam Girl Cars and Aware Geek are among leaders;
• Monthly number of page views on all blogs is 72 296
• General number of subscribers on all blogs is 680

2008 with yaBloggy:

• In the nearest future we are planning to launch a new blog about WordPress and tell you only hot news about it - All 4 WordPress;
• Increase the number of our blogs and create not less than 10 new blogs;
• Increase the number of subscribers;
• Win Blogger’s Choice Awards no less than one of our blogs (so, please, be so kind and vote, vote, VOTE for us):
  • ChicStories in Best Shopping Blog;
  • CuriousAnimals in Best Animal Blogger;
  • TravellingBoard in Best Travel Blog;
  • AwareGeek in Best Geek Blog;
  • ReadingHarry in Best Celebrity Blogger;
  • IndieSpeaker in Best Entertainment Blog;
  • ArtStyleOnline in Best Hobby Blog;
  • GlamGirlCars in Best Shopping Blog
• Make friends with many people and to provide you with exceptionally hot news, excellent photos, cool posts and good mood!

P.S. And if you would like to make a small present to yaBloggy, please, subscribe to RSS, you’ll never be disappointed!
Congrats once again!

• coloured icons of the following items: e-mail sign, post-tags, pageviews and post comment;

• new design of site-footer layout: logos of all our blogs are located there and you can get to the needed by simply clicking on one of the icons;

• design of post-footer layout was changed as well.

Changed a bit design of our sites. Holidays are around the corner, so you are welcome to enjoy Christmas and Happy New Year headers and RSS button.

How do you like these changes? Don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS!

Happy Holidays!

It is a world map; it is easy to use and nice to view! It depicts 3 colours. Red while pointing at any country, grey countries we are going to visit and blue countries we succeeded to visit! So, it is very useful to readers. For example, if someone is interested in information about Canada, it is possible just to click on it and view the full list of articles about this country.Please, enjoy!

A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since our last meeting but we were not standing at one place, we were developing and speculating day and dark how to make out network: popular, authoritative and worth your attention. And now, we are ready to present you the following results of our work:

• Bullet Finally, Google was updated and we got our first (but not last J) Page Ranks.
• For this day we have a 12 blogs in our network.
• Monthly number of pageviews on all blogs is 130 770.
• General number of subscribers on all blogs is 272.

Till next meeting!

Their themes are up-dated and topical. Language is a little bit sarky, but still easy to comprehend and read. Enjoy!