Joomla Chrome and Template Overrides

When you developing a template for a new site you often get stucked, and hit your head against the wall: the code outputted by Joomla sometime severely limits your ability to format the output as you wish. This is true not only for Joomla 1.0.*, but partially for the Joomla 1.5.*. Yes, partially, because you can do things here - and you can do a lot. Searching for a solution for a problem I had run into developing a template for one of my clients I fount this great tip of Jonathan on his blog on http://www.beckettwebdesign.com:
 

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While working on a client project recently, I had to delve further than ever before into the templating engine within Joomla, and thought recording some tips may be beneficial both for the community and for myself - because I will most likely forget everything I learned.

The Problem - Overriding Joomla Module Styling

If you have looked at building your own Joomla templates, you may have tripped over this already. Overriding the HTML template for a module (such as mod_newsflash) only replaces the list part of the module. It doesn't replace the "container" - the heading, and surrounding HTML elements.
It turns out the containing HTML, or "wrapper" is called Chrome in Joomla terms, and can be overridden too - although in a different way than normal template overrides.

A Worked Example

First, we will imagine we have our own Joomla template, and that it has a position within it called "latest-news" - the code within the template may look like this:

Normally, we would just make a folder within our template, and make a modified version of the existing component view file. The core file would come from here...

/components/mod_newsflash/tmpl/_item.php

... and put the file (with your changes) in ...

/templates/[template_name]/html/mod_newsflash/_item.php

As discussed earlier though, this only changes the internal contents of the component - not it's title, or surrounding HTML elements.
To do that, we have to make or modify the "modules.php" file in the template html subdirectory. The "modules" file sets out the Chrome used by Joomla to wrap components with. All will become obvious once you see the new function we will write within the modules file.
We make the following text file (if it doesn't already exist)...

/templates/[template_name]/html/modules.php

... and within it, we write the following...

function modChrome_foo($module, &$params, &$attribs)
{
if (!empty ($module->content)) : ?>

showtitle) : ?>
title; ?>
content; ?>
}
?>

The trick here is the name of the function. Notice the "foo" bit? If you change the position in your original template file to have the style "foo" instead of "xhtml" as follows:

... and you suddenly have complete control over the wrapping of modules (through the modules.php file), as well as their content (through the template overrides).

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All kudos are going to Jonathan who published the tip on his blog at  http://www.beckettwebdesign.com

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Register Globals-Joom la Tips

Many of you probably had seen already the red warning in Joomla's admin interface, that you need to have the Register Globals set to "on", otherwise your site is exposed to security treats.
And also many of you haven't a clue how to do it...
So, let's see what an average webmaster can do about this problem.
Joomla! has always featured the ability to emulate PHP's register globals setting. However, controlling this feature has always been one of the more difficult aspects of configuring your Joomla! installation because it required manually editing a core file.
Namely you needed to edit the globals.php file from the Joomla root and change the line:

define( 'RG_EMULATION', 0 );

to

define( 'RG_EMULATION', 1 );

For Joomla! 1.0.13, all that is history. Joomla!'s register globals emulating controls have been moved into the Global Configuration settings to allow for fast and easy control over this feature. The advantages of this change are two-fold: 1) it will be easier to secure your Joomla! powered website and 2) disabling register globals emulation will help you identify some extensions that will not work in Joomla! 1.5.
But even if you're running earlier versions of Joomla you can avoid to edit a core Joomla file - which is not recommended anyway.
One of the simplest ways to do it is to set server side the corresponding variable to the needed value. This can be set by your webserver's administrator globally or you can set it locally, using local php.ini or .htaccess files, if your server allows that.
The needed line in the php.ini or .htacces file is simple, just insert:

php_flag magic_quotes_gpc on

in a standalone line.
If you're using Plesk, howewer, this may not work. Basically, if you are on a shared server that uses plesk, you will not be able to access the php.ini and generally you're not allowed to use local php.ini files. And, on Plesk by default, magic_quotes_gpc is set to off.
To set magic_quotes_gpc, you will have to edit your vhost.conf. The vhost.conf file will need to be located in the conf directory on your site's ftp. Inside the file you will need the following...

 php_admin_flag magic_quotes_gpc on
 
 

Don't forget to change the path in the Directory directive to your server's actual path to the web directory.
Once this has been placed into the conf directory, run from the command line...

# /usr/local/psa/admin/bin/websrvmng -a -v 
 

Once run, the last thing you will need to do is restart apache.

# service httpd restart

On other servers there may be easier ways to do it. If you're on one of Dreamhost's servers, for example, you have in the hosting control panel the chance to do some of needed settings. If your domain is running PHP4, that has register_globals set "on" by default, and you don't need to do anything.
If from some reason you need to, you can change your domain to use PHP5, which has register_globals turned off. To do this, go to the Hosting Control Panel -> Domains -> Manage Domain screen and click the "edit" link under the "Web Hosting" column. Modify the choice of PHP to use for your domain in the provided "pull down" selector and save the changes. After a few minutes, when the change is complete, you will be running PHP5 with register_globals "off". And you need to fix the situation using some of the above solutions.

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How To Track Your Advertising Campaigns

Often we spend good amount of money on advertising but fail to convert the incoming traffic. One of the reasons is almost nil meaningful traffic analysis that is so vital for any successful advertising campaign. With the advent of new and improved web analytics services there are plenty of options at our disposal, provided we identify and utilize them in a correct way. Let's see how to track and improve our advertising campaigns that can give us maximum returns in limited budgets.

Divide - Segregate - Segment

Let's start with old principle of divide and rule. Whether you are tracking text links in email newsletters, regular text link ads, graphic banners ads or video/flash ads, the basic principle to track these ads is to separate each group of ads/campaigns and then associating identifiable and unique metadata to them. Let's assume you are planning to advertise about your new twitter marketing ebook. Let's further assume that you are going to use multiple ad formats with different landing pages for selective ad formats. To make it simple, lets say you have four text link ads and four banner ads (each with unique creative and different size).

At macro level, these ads can be divided into two groups. Each group can be further divided into four sub-groups each one containing ads of different size and different anchor/description text. Once you have completed the classification, you are ready to move on to next level. You can use Google Analytics to track your advertising campaigns. It's a powerful web analytics service that is often undermined by large number of users. It's free, simple to use and provides plethora of options to monitor, analyze and improve your web traffic.

Tag it! - Make Intelligent URL's

As I mentioned earlier, associating metadata with your ad links can help you track and analyze your ad campaigns in an effective manner. This technique is called - URL Tagging. Major PPC advertising networks like Google Adwords inherently supports URL tagging for intense campaign tracking and analysis. For other ad types (direct ads, promotional links), you can use the services of Google Analytics URL Builder to tag your ad links. Tagging a link involves associating variables with it starting with (? question mark) and each variable separated by (& ampersand) mark. For example,

http://www.xyz.com/landingpage.php?variable_1=value&varialble_2=value

Google's URL Builder uses 5 variables for tagging links out of which 3 are mandatory while other 2 are optional.

1. utm_source - As the name implies, this variable identifies the source of ad where it is going to appear. This can be an email newsletter, a feed, a page, a search engine or any other similar source. In simple words, it denotes the referrer. For example: (twitter_newsletter_v1,google,bing)

2. utm_medium - Again the name says it all. The ad medium is identified through this variable. For example: (email,banner,cpcflash,video)

3. utm_term - (optional) Generally, it is used by auto-tagging feature of Google Adwords to assist in better targeting of paid ads. Use this variable to identify paid keywords.

4. utm_content - (optional) Another non-mandatory option used to specify the type of ad associated with any ad link. If you want to differentiate ads on the basis of their types, you can use this variable to classify them. For example: (textlink,bannerlink)

5. utm_campaign - Identifies the campaign name. Use this variable to differentiate between multiple promotional campaigns running simultaneously. For example: (twiiter_ebook, seo_320pack)

So let's get started with tagging of ad links of our fictitious twitter marketing ebook ad campaign.

In first example, we have tagged a text link ad that will appear only on home page of site x. This ad will be served on cpc basis and is associated with twitter ebook promotional campaign.

http://www.xyz.com/ebook.php?utm_source=sitex_home_page&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=toc_text_link&utm_campaign=twitter_ebook_promo

In second example, we have tagged a URL associated with a banner ad (of size 468x60) that will be served on CPM basis on twitter ebook review page of site y. This ad is also associated with twitter ebook promotional campaign.

http://www.xyz.com/ebook.php?utm_source=sitey_review_page&utm_medium=banner_cpm&utm_content=toc_banner_link_468_60&utm_campaign=twitter_ebook_promo

Once you have tagged all the links, you can see the reports in your Google Analytics account via 'Traffic Sources -> Campaigns'. URL tagging not only allows you to track visits from a source, but you can further break it down to specific page and specific placement within that page. Combined with the power of goals, you can take it to the next level to get the actual performance of your advertising campaigns.

Analyze and Improve

Every successful advertising campaign is supported by analysis of ad performance data and doing improvisations wherever required. Here are some of the common methodologies that are implemented to improve the advertising campaigns.

Identifying performing creatives - Every creative is different and yield different results irrespective of its placement on the web page. Through Google Analytics campaign reports you can easily identify high-performing creatives. Design similar creatives or replace the non-performers with the other ones. Tip: Even if all your creatives are performing well, consider replacing them with the new ones after some time to help reduce ad-blindness.

Identifying best placements - It's almost similar to finding the best combination of your Adsense ads that gives you the best performance. Again, GA campaign reports can easily help you identify best performing spots within a single page.

Identifying performing landing pages - Some landing pages are like honey pots that inherently have very high conversion rates. Identify these high performing landing pages through GA campaign reports and make necessary changes to your ad links to divert the traffic to these pages. Alternatively, you can redesign the non-performing landing pages leaving the ad links intact without any changes.

Over To You

I would like to know your experience about tracking your advertising campaigns. What other techniques and methodologies you adopt to track your ad campaigns?

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How To Secure Your Wordpress Installation

Security has always been a major issue on self-hosted Wordpress blogs. Hackers look for vulnerable web sites whose security can easily be breached to exercise their evil intentions. With every new version, the core engine of Wordpress is getting more and more secure. Still some extra steps are needed to harden its security to the maximum. There's no silver bullet that can guarantee complete protection from hackers, but we can make sure they get a tough time while attempting any intrusion.

There are three sub-systems that needs your attention to secure it from potential threats viz., blogging CMS, back end database and web server. Normally we have complete control on blogging CMS and database, while web server administration is normally maintained by hosting service provider unless you own a VPS (virtual private server) or have your own dedicated server. Remember, your Wordpress installation is only as secure as your web server. If there is any weak link in the server, all the security measures discussed below will go in vain.

Securing Wordpress Directory Tree

The basic strategy to make your installation secure is to restrict public access to sensitive files and directories. Whenever any CMS is installed, the directory tree is assigned certain access permissions that may vary according to the their importance, functionality and usage to help protect them from unauthorized access. Following is the step-by-step method to protect your Wordpress files and directories.

Assigning directory permissions - Start with assigning correct permissions to your Wordpress installation tree. Here are some of the basic rules to follow.

1. No file or directory should have a permission of 777.
2. No file should have a permission of 666, except those theme files that are edited via built-in theme editor through Wordpress dashboard.
3. Ideally, all files should have permission of 644. Similarly, all directories should have permission of 755.
4. Some servers require permission of 'wp-content/uploads' folder to be 777.

Disabling public browsing of directory tree - Add the following code to .htaccess file to prevent any kind of direct browsing activity. This ensures no one can view the contents of directory by simply typing directory paths in their browsers.

Options All -Indexes

Although the same effect can be achieved by placing blank index.html files in every directory, but it is the most inefficient and least preferred method to disable directory browsing.

Securing wp-admin, wp-content, wp-includes and wp-config directories - Apart from disabling direct browsing of directory tree, some extra steps should be taken to restrict access to important directories.

Add the following lines to .htaccess to protect wp-config.php from unauthorized access. As the name implies, this file contains important Wordpress configuration settings needed to connect to your blog's database. It includes MySQL username and password.

<files wp-config.php>
Order deny,allow
deny from all
files>

Adding following lines to .htaccess will protect wp-admin.php from unauthorized access. This will ensure your admin dashboard is protected from intruders.

AuthUserFile /dev/null
AuthGroupFile /dev/null
AuthName "Access Control"
AuthType Basic
<LIMIT GET>
order deny,allow
deny from all
allow from xx.xx.xx.xx
allow from xx.xx.xx.xx
LIMIT>

Here xx.xx.xx.xx are the static IP addresses used by you or other administrators/contributors of the blog. In case you get a dynamic IP address each time you connect to Internet, this method will not work at all. In that case, you can use AskApache Password Protect plugin to protect wp-admin, wp-includes and wp-content without any need to edit .htaccess yourself. This excellent plugin acts as a firewall and adds an extra layer of security protecting your sensitive files from automated spam bots and hackers.

Securing Database

Hackers often target Wordpress database to insert countless spam links within the posts. Whenever you install Wordpress, by default every table gets a prefix of wp_ regardless of the table type. Intruders use this information to launch certain type of SQL injection attacks on the database. For better security, you must change this default prefix to something unpredictable. There are 3 methods to change this prefix.
Changing table prefix at the time of installation- This is one of the easiest method to provide a random table prefix to your Wordpress database tables.

At the time of installation, you get a chance to edit the table prefix. Choose a random and unpredictable table prefix that cannot be easily guessed.

Changing table prefix manually - This method can be painful for technically challenged. It requires editing of more than one .php files along with execution of multiple SQL queries. However, if you are comfortable with basic blog maintenance (technical) skills, this excellent tutorial shows you how to change table prefix in Wordpress through direct file editing.

Changing table prefix via plugin - Fortunately, Wordpress has large repository of plugins available for almost every requirement. You can also use WordPress Table Prefix Rename Plugin to achieve the same effect.

Regular database backups - Backups are lifesavers in event of any catastrophe that may bring down your entire site. You can use WP-DB-Backup plugin to backup core as well as additional (plugin & 3rd party script tables) tables of your blog's database. Make the habit of taking backups at least once a week followed by saving of more than one copy in two different locations.

Securing User ID's & Login Procedure

Almost every CMS has built-in user access control mechanism that defines a hierarchy of user-types with each type having different set of privileges. Wordpress is no different and supports pretty good user access control mechanism. Hackers target this system to gain complete control of the CMS leaving no chance to recover from the disaster. Here are some methods and safe practices that can help you in strengthening Wordpress access control mechanism.

Delete default administrator account - As soon as Wordpress installation is completed, we get a default administrator account with user id admin and random system generated password. DO NOT use this account for maintaining your blog. Create a second account with administrative privilege and delete the default admin account.

Strengthen login procedure - With the help of these 2 plugins you can make your Wordpress logins more secure and safe. Chap Secure Login encrypts your password to prevent anyone stealing it while it's in transit to the web server. Login LockDown is an excellent plugin that helps prevent brute force attack to guess your passwords. It disables the login function after specified number of failed login attempts within a given time frame blocking an IP range for specified period of time.

Fine-tuning user access privileges - For multi-author Wordpress blogs,
Role Manager plugin is a boon. If you want to exercise greater control over user access permissions, this plugin can help you assign specific rights at granular level.

Role manager can create custom roles with tailor made access privileges that can be assigned to any Wordpress user on your blog. You can even change and tweak the default roles provided by Wordpress, although it is not recommended and should be avoided.

Miscellaneous Steps To Harden The Security

Hide Wordpress version - Older versions of Wordpress have several loopholes that can be easily breached by seasoned hackers. It is always advised to hide your Wordpress version to mask any vulnerabilities (if any) that may exist in the release you are using. The best way to hide this information is placing the following code in function.php file of your theme.

php remove_action('wp_head', 'wp_generator'); ?>

This ensures removal of Wordpress version information while generating html files for client side.

Keep search engines away from Wordpress folders - You'll never want your blog's entire directory tree to be indexed by search engines. This may expose the contents of sensitive directories making it easy for hackers to analyze and find the potential loopholes. Add the following line to robots.txt file, which is located in the root directory of your blog.

Disallow: /wp-*

Adding this line will ensure none of the search engine bots are allowed to index the directory content.

General Safety Precautions

1. Create strong passwords and change them frequently.
2. Keep your plugins and Wordpress release updated.
3. Regularly backup files and database.
4. Create a disaster recovery plan and simulate it on a test blog.
5. Avoid using plugins from unknown sources (may include malicious code).
6. Use WP Security Scan plugin to find any vulnerabilities in your Wordpress installation.
7. If possible, avoid remote publishing via 3rd party publishing tools.
8. Use SSH or SFTP for secure editing of files and directories.

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30+ Blogger Widgets And Plugins

Blogger platform has undergone major improvements in last two years. Not only the blogger development team has added several new features to the platform,, but countless new blogger templates are being developed around the globe. Here are some best widgets and plugins for blogger powered blog that can spice up your blog for better reader experience.

1. Top Commentators Widget by BloggerPlugins - This excellent plugin has two versions. One for blogs having small number of comments and the second variant for blogs receiving lots of comments.

2. Translation Widget by BloggerPlugins - This one click install widget add multiple language translation support to your blogger blog.

3. Recent Post Widget by BloggerPlugins - This is highly customizable widget. You can set number of posts to display, post summary and it's length.

4. Recent Comments Widget by BloggerPlugins - A highly customizable widget. You can set the number of comments to display, author name, date and size of comment. You can also use CSS to gel it with your theme.

5. Label Cloud Plugin by phydeaux3 - This is one of the most popular label cloud generation plugin for blogger. You can customize various options after installing this plugin.

6. Archive Calendar Widget by PurpleMoggy - Very impressive archive calendar widget with customizable options.

7. Archive Calendar Widget by phydeaux3 - Another very popular archive calendar widget. Highly customizable for better browsing experience for the readers.

8. Recent Posts Widget by Feed2JS - This excellent plugin makes plugin installation and customization very easy. Just fill in the form and click the button to generate widget code.

9. Recent Comments Widgets by Blogger-Templates - Just fill in the options in the form and one click widget code generation. Excellent plugin which is highly customizable.

10. Picasa Web Albums Slideshow Widget by Blogger Templates Designs - A unique plugin to show photo slideshow from any picasa account. Ideal for personal blogs, photo blogs and web design blogs.

11. Search Form Widget by Blogger Templates Designs - If you want to add site search box in your blog's sidebar, install this plugin.

12. Google Talk Widget by Blogger Templates Designs - This plugin adds the Google Talk client to your blog so that your readers can directly converse with you.

13. Recent Comments Widget by Blogger Templates Designs - Yet another recent comments widget with customizable options and one-click install.

14. Sudoku Game Widget by Blogger Templates Designs - Want to add some interesting puzzle games for your visitors? Then install this plugin to integrate sudoku puzzle game in your blogger blog.

15. Google Translate Mini-Flags Widget by MadToMatoe - Very useful translation plugin powered by 'Google Translate'. One click install with multiple language translation facility.

16. Recent Comments Widgets by MadToMatoe - One more recent comments widget for blogger blogs. Again you can customize the number of recent comments to be displayed.

17. Reactions Mini-Poll Widget by ThemeLib - Want to host a poll on your blogger blog? Install this plugin and get customizable polls for your readers.

18. Alexa Traffic Widget by TechKnowl - Display your Alexa stats with this customizable widget.

19. Snow Flakes Widget by TechKnowl - Add a stunning snowfall effect in your blogger template in the festive season.

20. Popular Posts Widget by TechKnowl - A very simple popular posts plugin using Yahoo pipes to filter out popular posts on your blog.

21. Flash MP3 Player Widget by TechKnowl - This cool plugin allows you to embed flash mp3 player in your blogger blog. The player is very light with custom options.

22. Rating Widget by Outbrain - If you want to integrate rating system with your blogger posts, then this excellent plugin is the best choice. It has rating system plus related posts integration in same widget.

23. Multi-tab TOC Widget by Beautiful Beta - If you want to display multi-tab table of contents section in your blogger blog, then install this widget. Very popular among blogger users.

24. Tab View Widget by Hoctro - The coolest plugin showing tabbed posts with animated post excerpts. A must for your blog's sidebar.

25. Random/Rotating Banner Widget by FreeYaSoul - Very useful widget for displaying rotating banners in your blog's header. You can customize and can choose any number of headers.

26. Social Bookmarking Widget by Lasvak - This is perhaps the most easily installable bookmarking widget for blogger. Just copy and paste a single line of code in your blogger template and your bookmarking icons are ready.

27. Paypal Donation Widgets by Etienne - Integrate different types of paypal donation widget in your blogger blog with ease.

28. Podcating Plugin by Talkr - If you want to integrate podcasts to your blog, register for this service and get free podcasting plugin for your blogger blog.

29. What's Next? Section Widget by eblogtemplates - Integrate a Wordpress style 'What's Next' section below blogger posts with this excellent widget.

30. Twitter Profile Widget by BloggerBuster - Add your twitter profile and twitter updates with this useful plugin developed by Amanda Fazani.

31. Bookmarking Widget by SocioFluid - One of the best social bookmarking plugin for blogger. Big animated icons with one click installation.

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How to make people link to your website

The battle to rank at the top of Google search results is never ending, fierce and mysterious. Nobody can or will unveil all the secrets. Still, search insiders agree that the credibility generated by outside links pointing to your small business site is vital. The more links the merrier, but calibre counts.

Classy links - from sites that the search giants respect - can rocket your ranking. Call the hot leads "link juice" - a phrase that went viral after search engine optimisation (SEO) consultant Greg Boser coined it with a little help from his friends in 2005.

"Initially, it was just a phrase we used amongst ourselves hanging out at conferences," Boser says. "I don't remember the exact point it went mainstream. But I think it was after an episode of SEO Rockstars," he adds, referring to the online marketing show.

If you want to become a SEO rockstar with a wealth of juicy incoming links that convey "social proof", the promotional drive that you run must be tactful. Avoid hitting prospective clients remorselessly, advises guerilla marketing consultant Shel Horowitz. "Be polite and not hypey."

Even if you contact prospects "manually", include an unsubscribe link. Ideally, already have established rapport because the familiarity will boost the kind of "multiple-pronged no-cost marketing campaign" that Horowitz favours. Learn how to pursue one and win tons of so-called "Google love".

Juice boost - 10 secrets of making people link to your website

1. Join forces

Partner with a marketing association and a charity. That gives you muscle and an ethical aura.

2. Blitz new media publishers

Write to several hundred bloggers, newsletter publishers, and e-zine publishers - especially any you have a trusting relationship with. Invite them to join in the launch. Offer incentive in the shape of commissions on an upsell membership programme, besides the standard submit-a-bonus-and-get-exposure deal.

3. Exploit social media

Promote your website across a spectrum of social media. Think Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Yahoogroups, Groupsites, Plaxo. Encourage contacts to do so as well. On Twitter in particular, you get pick-up - and retweeting.

4. Enrol as rent-a-quote

Sign up as an expert with a database like Profnet or Haro. Focus on a subject like small business loans, and the media may come to you for enlightenment. If your URL (web address) deftly reflects your speciality, it may well feature in any coverage you get.

5. Write stories

Not fairytales but journalistic features on your chosen subject. Submit them, including your URL to article directories like Ezinearticles.com and Articlesbase.com or a hub like about.com or mashablecom. Ensure your story has a killer headline. Make the content compelling - what's in it for the reader?

6. Shoot for the tube

Turn your stories into videos. Google likes YouTube. So, if you set your stories in motion, you will gain - all the more so because video marketing is a mercurial medium worth exploring.

7. Write product testimonials

If you buy and take a shine to a product, leave a testimonial. Embed your URL in your statement and you should win some traffic.

8. Have your say

Slot your thoughts into comment boxes tacked on to blogs. Make your statement meaningful because, for marketing to work, it must have integrity. Merely paste your web address and you may be treated like a spammer.

9. Sign off

Include your URL in your email signature. That way, every email you send spreads it around. Easy.

10. Take 10

Readers are lured by top 10s and subhead formats generally - whether the angle be myths, tips and tricks or whatever. Remember that, whatever you write.

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7 Usefull Widget for Blogger-Blog Tips

Several days ago, Blogger has launched new functional gadget that is recent comment, recent post, etc. But there's a little lack, because this new gadget by default only has black color, not suitable for dark template. We're still waiting for customizing tutorial.
Fortunately, blogger user have developed functional widget using javascript. Here's the list functional widget for Blogger that really you need.

1. Random Post Widget

This widget is developed by Bloggodown. Random posts widget displays random links of your blog post. This help show content that is neither recent nor popular. The widget displays links in form of link lists. So you can change the layout by changing the css of your blogger template. There are two options, random post list and random post with summary. This widget really easy to install. Just go to author site.

2. Recent Post with Thumbnail

This recent post with thumbnail widget is developed by Bloggertricks . Actually there are several way to show recent post, using RSS feeds, simply javascript, but this is really eye catching widget. Visitor can see thumbnail picture. Need some editing to make this widget display properly.

3. Total Count Post and Total Comment on Post Widget

This simple widget will show your total post and total comment. Maybe you want to showoff blog popularity through show how many post and how many comment. You can get this widget from Bloggodown

4. Related Post Widget

Related post widget really usefull to extend pageview of your blog. Placed under post and will show another post in same category. You can get this widget from Blogspottutorial.

5. Popular Post Widget

Popular post widget show link of most commented post. This widget is usefull as visitor reference which is most interesting post. Get this widget and installation setting on Bloggerstop

6. Recent Comments Widget

Recent Comment widget is helpfull to track newest comment, so you can response it quickly. Imagine if there's no recent comment widget, infact your visitor drop comment on your old post. Get this recent comments widget from bloggerstop

7. Top Commentator Widget

This widget show the most loyale visitor that always drop comment on your post. Show your gratefull by showing their link. Get this widget from bloggerstop

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Great 25 Facebook Tips and Tricks

1. Hide Your Online Status From Selected Friends:

So you want to use Facebook chat but don’t want some people to see your online status? Simply open up the Facebook Chat and click on Friends List. Start creating a new list called BlockList.
Once the list is created, add those friends to the list that you want to appear offline to. When the list is complete, hover your mouse to the little green icon adjacent to the list and click Go Offline. Bingo! You will now appear offline to everybody in the BlockList.

2. View a Friend’s Profile Without Messy Applications:

If you are like me, you often get annoyed by the dozens of silly applications that people have added to their profile. Here’s a Grease Monkey script that allows you to view any profile without all those applications. Remember: the Mozilla Firefox web browser is a prerequisite for running Greasemonkey.

3. Display Your Facebook Status On Your Wordpress Blog:

Want to display your Facebook status updates on your Wordpress blog? There is a plugin that does exactly that. StatusPress lets you display your status updates to a widget on your Wordpress blog.

4. Access Facebook Chat Through Your Desktop:

No need to go to Facebook.com if all you want to do is use Facebook chat. You can do it right from your desktop using clients like social.im , Adium or ChitChat.

5. Update Facebook Status From Firefox:

If you are a firefox addict you don’t need to use any other software to update your Facebook status. Simply install the FireStatus add-on and update your status right from your browser. You can also use the Facebook Toolbar to completely manage Facebook from your Firefox browser.

6. Create A Photo Collage From Pictures Of Your Facebook Friends:

Easily create a photo collage from profile pictures of all your Facebook friends using a simple Facebook app called Photo Collage.

7. Add A New friend But Hide It From Your Status Update:

A great tutorial by Tim Watson walks you through the process of hiding specific actions from your status updates.

8. Schedule Facebook Messages To Be Send Later:

If you want to schedule your Facebook messages to be send sometime in the future, Sendible is a great tool to do that. You can also use Sendible to schedule your status updates.

9. How To Share Flickr Photos On Facebook:

My Flickr is a Facebook application that lets you display your Flickr photos and photo sets on Facebook so your friends can view and comment on them without leaving Facebook.

10. How To Download Facebook Photo Albums:

Ever felt the need to download complete photo albums from Facebook. You can easily do it with either a Windows desktop application named FotoBounce or a great Firefox add-on FacePad.

11. Upload Photos On Facebook From Your Phone:

All the smart phones like iPhone and Blackberry make it simple to upload photos to your Facebook account but how would you do it if you have a regular phone? Here is a great tutorial to walk you through that.

12. Magic Circles On Facebook:

You might have heard about the Konami code that makes red blurry circles on your Facebook page. This might be one of the most popular Facebook hidden tricks. Here’s how to do it:

Press Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Enter key then press up & down & Magic circles will appear!

To stop them simply reload your page.

13. Use Your Facebook Like A Pirate:

Do you love talking like a pirate? You can set your Facebook to appear like a pirate page by going into Current Language Settings and setting it to English (Pirate).


14. How To Insert Cool Symbols In Your Status Updates:
Make your status updates interesting by inserting cool symbols. Simply copying them from this list and pasting in your status updates.

15. Automatically Poke Friends That Poke You:

Don’t have enough time to poke back friends who poke you on Facebook? Automate it with a Grease Monkey script called Facebook Autopoke.

16. Upload Photos From PicasaTo Facebook:

Upload photos to your Facebook account directly from Picasa using the Picasa app for Facebook. You can also upload the Picasa captions and resize your photos before uploading them to Facebook.

17. Search Facebook Like A Pro:

Not everybody knows how powerful Facebook search is. Similar to any large search engine, Facebook search has a lot of advanced options to help you search like a pro. For example if you are looking for a person named John Marsh and filter your results down to only people who are married, you can try name: John Marsh status:married. A complete list of search tips for Facebook can be found here.

18. How To Update Facebook Status From Gmail:

Facebook gadget for Gmail allows you to update your Facebook status right from your Gmail.

19. How To Access Gmail From Facebook:

If you seldom have to leave Facebook just to go check your Gmail inbox, check out Fmail. It is a great application that lets you check your Gmail from within your Facebook inbox.

20. See Facebook Twitter style:

If you love Twitter more than Facebook, you can view your Facebook just like you view your Twitter using this grease monkey script.

21. Import Facebook Friends To Twitter:

FB140 is a simple tool that lets you find all your Facebook friends that are using Twitter so you can easily follow them.

22. Access Facebook From Microsoft Outlook:

This is a great tip for people attending colleges or working in places that block Facebook, but allow you access to Microsoft Outlook. Simple install the FBlook plugin and access Facebook from Outlook.

23. Display Your Facebook Status Upside Down:

This is a cool and fun trick. To display upside down status updates, simply head over to FlipText and type in your status. Then simply click on Flip Text and copy-paste the upside down text into your Facebook status box.

24. Update Facebook Status Using Twitter:

Wouldn’t you love to update your status on both Facebook and Twitter at the same time. Just install the Twitter application for Facebook. Once synced, your tweets including the #fb tag would automatically be posted as status updates on your Facebook.

25. Download Videos From Facebook:

Facebook has one of the largest collection of user uploaded videos.You can download most of the videos from Facebook by using a client like SpeedBit or DownFacbook.

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14 Awesome Desktop Applications For Twitter-zone blogger

1. TweetDeck:

Among the best Twitter clients, TweetDeck is a handy dandy tool compatible with Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X, that helps you stay updated in all your Social Circles. Be it Facebook or Twitter, TweetDeck keeps you informed and allows you to update your status with ease. You can also save your Twitter searches as a separate column and retweet with a single click.

2. Nambu:

Currently in private beta, Nambu is a Mac OS X based Client that provides easy access for multiple Twitter accounts (Here’s a comprehensive list of web apps you can use for managing multiple Twitter accounts). The interface is a creative three- window-view, enabling the user to multi-task simultaneously. A sleek navigation menu on the left makes Nambu a great Twitter tool.

3. DestroyTwitter:

DestroyTwitter is an AIR-based application that enables you to receive updates instantly without having to go online and log in to Twitter. It is a low memory based application and can easily run in the background without putting any load on the performance of the system. It is compatible with all different operating systems.

4. Tweetie For Mac:

Tweetie for Mac is a simple yet greatly functional tool for Twitter. Use of stylized icons instead of words makes this app more interesting.

5. Digsby:

Digsby is another popular desktop based IM client that also supports Twitter.

6. Skimmer:

Skimmer is an awesome Twitter client focused on displaying inline media. It integrates streams from Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.

7. Tweetr:

Tweetr is a sweet application to help the user easily share files with fellow Tweeters. Just drag and drop files and a link is automatically created for your file. You can also upload your newest pics live from your webcam.

8. Twitterlicious:

Twitterlicious is a windows based application that lets you read and write tweets without any hassle. A handy dandy nifty little tool that doesn’t take up much space, and refreshes itself from time to time to ensure you’re up to the mark.

9. Twhirl:

Twhirl is a cute little Adobe AIR based application that notifies the user on any new activity, and manages different social network service accounts in one place. Compared with other similar apps, Twhirl has a rather colorful interface that adds to the overall experience.

10. DigiTweet:

Digitweet is another excellent desktop client app for Twitter. Just hover on a shortened URL and a small pop-up window will display the destination URL.

11. Twunami:

Twunami is another Twitter desktop application that lets you tweet, retweet, super tweet and much much more with ease. It has a built-in spell-checker, workspace customization and a number of other features. In short, it takes a professional approach to Twitter.

12. Twitterrific:

Twitterrific is a cute little  application that is user friendly and very simple. It is designed for Mac OS and is very efficient in occupying screen space.

13. Alert Thingy:

Alert Thingy is your own personal social desktop. Now you can send Tweets, update your Facebook status, upload photos to Flickr, and more. For business users Alert Thingy promises Yammer, Basecamp and Huddle integrations. Talk about being the jack of all trades.

14. Toro:

Toro’s is another simple Twitter client with a clean navigation menu and more than enough features for an average user.
These 14 tools eliminate the need to go online every time you want to use Twitter. Do you use any of these? What other tools do you think should be added to the list?

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White Clean Magazine-Free Template

Introducing new template for business blog. This template designed 3 columns, ads ready, simple, not heavy load. You can set your ads on sidebar, header right, and also 125x125 banner ads.

Demo | Setting | Download

For complete installation setting go to author's site.
-------------------------------------------------
THE CONTENTS OF THIS TEMPLATE IS MADE BY CEBONG IPIET.
PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL AND DO NOT REMOVE CREDIT FOOTER LINK WITHOUT MY PERMISSION.
YOU ARE ALLOWED TO DISTRIBUTE BUT NOT ALLOWED TO ADD ANY LINK ON FOOTER

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Dark Folioz-Free Template

Long time no see ^_^

Introducing my ( & my friend from www.bietemplates.com) blogger template design. 

Dark folioz blogger template, designed multi featured.

             

Demo | Download

 

Description

                                                               Dark Folioz Blogger template features

• Ads ready
• Automatic readmore and thumbnail
• Author profile
• Twitter update
• Tweet meme button
• Share and bookmarks button
  
• RSS Subscribe
• many more

Installation Setting

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To Fix Newer Older Post Navigation

Next week, Im shocked by hidden older and newer post navigation. Actually I dont know why it's happened because my template (also on this blog) display properly since I create it.




Why my newer and older post navigation is hidden or display unproperly? How to solve this? I have tried to edit CSS code. Fortunately, it works.





Follow this step.

1. Open edit HTML
2. Check this section code
#blog-pager {
text-align: center;
}

3. Insert clear:both; code so the code will be look like this
#blog-pager {
text-align: center;
clear:both;
}

4. Save

Hope this work on your template too.

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Tracking Your MySpace Profile Visitors

I know that everyone who is on MySpace has had the same burning questions that I’ve had. How can I see who has viewed my MySpace profile? Where can I find a MySpace Tracker? Since MySpace has become so popular, so have the MySpace profile stalkers. Could be your friends, neighbors, ex-boyfriends or ex-girlfriends, or even someone you don’t even know. We are fortunate enough to have the technology for 3rd party websites to provide the code to allow you to see who visits your profile. Bands on MySpace Music find this sort of technology very useful because it allows them to see who their fans are. Unfortunately, the majority of the code that these websites offer have been eliminated because they violate MySpace’s TOS (terms of service). Don’t get disappointed yet, there are some alternatives.

I still remember the short reign of several very popular websites that tracked profile viewers right back to their profile. Sites like these provided members with a MySpace tracker code they could enter into their MySpace profile which allowed the tracking of anyone who viewed their profile. After entering the code, you could login to Profilesnoop to see everyone who has viewed your profile. It even had their MySpace pictures! This was very convenient for a short while, until without notice, it stopped working. Apparently, this code violated MySpace’s TOS and the code automatically was cut out of your profile. After this, these sites quickly lost fan base. This left millions of MySpacers in question and looking to find another MySpace tracker.

Fortunately, there is new technology coming back that allows you to not only track your visitors, but also view tons of data about what kind of visitors you are getting. There are now several trackers out there such as MyFriendStats that not only allow you to track profiles and find out where the views are coming from. But now bands can even view stats according to their fans and even demographics. You can create charts, browse data, and even understand what your viewers are looking for. Software like this is great for both the casual MySpace user and bands trying to promote their music on MySpace. With this information, you can easily track your MySpace profile viewers, and possibly get more people and potential fans to your site. This is the easiest way to become famous on MySpace.

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Twitter or Facebook?

                         Twitter or Facebook? Or Both? 

The phenomenon of social networking is still in its infancy and it remains to be seen exactly which network might become the 800-pound gorilla in the space. It is reminiscent of the dotcom 90s, when I worked in the search industry; dozens of venture-backed search firms battled for dominance and search appeared to become a commodity, with limited monetization potential, or so we all thought at the time.
There are now so many social networks vying for users that even the most elite “Digerati” have trouble keeping up with the ever-shifting landscape. And most are still struggling to find effective monetization strategies, casting doubt on their long term survival and pointing to massive consolidation at some point.

The Evolution of Social Networking Compared to Search

In the now-infamous dotcom era, Yahoo, Lycos, Excite and others evolved into portals in a desperate attempt to find ways to make money, since nobody had really found effective ways to monetize search. That was, until companies like Goto.com (which became Overture and was eventually bought by Yahoo) and Google invented the concept of paid search and contextual, pay-to-click advertising models. The rest is history and we all knew who won the war.
So it seems today that applications like Twitter and Facebook, while attracting new users at astounding rates have not fully defined their business models and the 800-pound gorilla has yet to emerge. It is still early in the game and, as with search in the mid 90s, the eventual winners in the social networking space may not even yet exist, but I would argue that Twitter and Facebook are emerging as potential contenders to dominate.
The differences between the two networks are substantial and in some ways a direct comparison between the two is actually difficult to make. Twitter is simple and feels like Google did in 1998, while Facebook offers a portal-like interface somewhat reminiscent of Yahoo.

Key Elements of Facebook and Twitter

Facebook appeals to people looking to reconnect with old friends and family members or find new friends online; the mashup of features like email, instant messaging, image and video sharing, etc. feels familiar, while Twitter is a bit harder to get your arms around at first.
Most people can very quickly grasp how to use Facebook to connect to friends and family, using it to share thoughts, images, etc. Like MySpace but more geared to adults than teens, Facebook is a social networking Portal; beckoning you not to leave but rather to stick around and communicate within the network.
Twitter on the other hand, encourages you grab ideals in byte-size chunks and use your updates as jumping off points to other places or just let others know what you’re up to at any given moment.

Why People Love Facebook

Facebook appeals to social animals and can be very addicting to people who have an insatiable appetite to stay connected with friends and make new acquaintances. In fact, some people report they rarely use email or IM tools anymore in their online social communications anymore, relying almost entirely on Facebook for email, chat, image and video sharing.
Facebook addicts prefer the social portal model versus having to log into AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Gmail, Hotmail, Flickr, YouTube, MySpace, etc. Instead, Facebook gives them a single alternative to all these applications, with one login and interface to manage their online social interaction needs. This largely explains the explosive growth Facebook continues to experience and why the company reportedly invested $200 million in data center upgrades last year to keep up with demand!

Why People Love Twitter

The usefulness of Twitter is not readily as obvious to some people as Facebook; although it may be more addictive once you get the hang of Tweeting; you get more immediate responses and it seems to live somewhere between the worlds of email, instant messaging and blogging. Twitter encourages constant “linking out” to anywhere and, in that respect, is more analogous to a pure search engine; another way to find people and content all over the Net.
Twitter has quickly built brand awareness and a loyal following, especially among the technically adept; bloggers, online marketers, evangelists, basically anyone with something to promote seem to find Twitter extremely valuable.
When asked why they love Twitter, users say like “I can ask a question and get an instantaneous response”. They crave the ability to “tap into the collective consciousness” of others on the network, bouncing ideas off others with whom they would otherwise have no means of connecting. Twitter addicts claim it’s like the old fashioned water cooler, where people can gather to shoot the breeze on whatever topic is on their minds. Twitter is like a communications stream you dive into for an invigorating swim.

Different Communication Styles for Different Social Settings

Let’s say you go to a wedding or other social gathering where lots of people know each other. The style and tone of communication there will be more like using Facebook; you chat with old friends and acquaintances, mixing and mingling in an intimate manner. In this setting, people tend to feel more relaxed and “in their element”. Conversations are familiar and center on shared experiences and connections.
Now, when you go to a large party or social event where you don’t know most of the people in attendance, you will use a very different style of communication, more like Twitter; you want to meet people and somehow make yourself known, stand out from the crowd, make an impression, self promote and make new connections. Twitter is like getting the podium and not everyone feels comfortable or knows how to stand comfortably in the spotlight.
In fact, almost all of us, when first approaching Twitter, tend to use it to post useless updates like “Going to lunch”, thinking of it as a another tool to communicate with friends, when in fact, it is more like stepping on to a stage, where you are communicating with an audience and quickly find that you need to find a voice and say something useful and interesting or quickly lose the attention of your audience. People refer to Twitter as a mini or micro blogging platform.

So Which Social Network is the Best?

While zealots will immediately point to either Twitter or Facebook as being superior, the truth is that each has its advantages and disadvantages and will tend to appeal more to different types of people and for different reasons. Each can have great or little value to anyone; it really depends on what you are trying to accomplish in a given situation. Consider some of the pros and cons of each network:

Twitter Pros

• Easy to navigate and update, link to and promote anything
• Reach far beyond your inner circle of friends
• One feed pools all users; anyone can follow anyone else unless blocked
• Pure communication tool, rapid responsiveness
• You don’t have to be logged in to get updates; you can just use an RSS reader
• Very interactive, extensible messaging platform with open APIs
• Many other applications being developed (Twitterific, Summize, Twhirl, etc.)
• Potential SMS text messaging revenue from wireless networks (although Twitter states they are not currently getting any cut)
• Potential future advertising and/or enterprise subscription-based revenue streams
• With its “thin” overhead, Twitter is probably more scalable than Facebook, giving it a cost advantage

Twitter Cons

• Limited functionality; find people, send brief messages, direct replies
• Limited to 140 characters per update
• Not all people find it immediately useful
• Over-emphasis on follower counts
• Easily abused for spam and increasing the noise level
• Relatively smaller installed user base
• As yet no readily apparent monetization strategy

Facebook Pros

• Application mashup; find people, make connections, email, instant messaging, image/video sharing, etc.
• Most people can quickly grasp the value of connecting with friends, family and established contacts; some people report they use Facebook instead of email and IM
• More emphasis on deep connections with others vs. who has the most connections
• “True Friends” feature increases your transparency to selected connections; almost like having private and public profiles
• Huge, rapidly growing installed user base
• Inherit stickiness, third party applications, “gift giving” and personal data collection make Facebook a powerful advertising platform

Facebook Cons

• More difficult to navigate and update
• Requires investment of time to realize sustained benefit
• Opt in model requires a user to allow others to connect
• Less immediate responses; unless you stay logged on continually
• Overhead of mashup and “thick” applications could limit scalability, bloat cost structure

The Future of Social Networking

In the end, both Twitter and Facebook are simply communication tools; both will continue to evolve and morph as users find new ways to extract value and either network may or may become a long term winner in the rapidly evolving social networking space. Ultimately, the fact remains to be seen whether either application has a profitable, scalable and sustainable business model or whether the exit strategy is simply to be acquired.
As we learned in the search space, consolidation will eventually prevail. Unless they can find a way to turn all those eyeballs into profits, social networks will lose relevance. It does seem obvious that the venture capitalists are betting they will not only continue to enjoy tremendous growth but will also successfully monetize all that traffic.
But, will either Twitter or Facebook become the next Google or will they fade into the rear view mirror of technological and social evolution? What do you think?

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