ListLearn

We’re well into 2006, but it’s interesting to see the top 10 words looked up last year on Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary. Here they are:

• integrity
• refugee
• contempt
• filibuster
• insipid
• tsunami
• pandemic
• conclave
• levee
• inept

How many do you know?

This is another list that will help you market your blog or news website. Robin Good of MasterNewMedia.org has compiled a large directory that will get you started on publicizing your site. Here are a few of the directories he has listed, read the full article for more.

• http://www.syndic8.com/suggest.php?Mode=data
• http://www.newsisfree.com/contact.php
• http://www.newsknowledge.com/contact_us.html
• http://www.guardian.co.uk/weblog/
• http://www.genecast.com/news/create.jsp
• http://www.daypop.com/info/submit.htm
• http://www.feedster.com/
• http://blogdex.net/add.asp
• http://www.topix.net/topix/faq?feedback=1
• http://www.popdex.com/addsite.php
• http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/10/06/134209.php
• http://www.blogstreet.com/bin/addrss.cgi
• http://www.blogwise.com/submit
• http://www.2rss.com/
• http://www.weblogalot.com/Ping/
• http://www.globeofblogs.com/register.php
• http://www.weblogs.nu/
• http://www.blogtree.com/signup.php?
• http://www.bloguniverse.com/radlinks/?id_category=%7BCAT_ID%7D&act=add_new
• http://www.truthlaidbear.com/addtoscan.php
• http://www.memigo.com/feed
• http://www.bloghop.com/account/index.htm
• http://www.blogarama.com/index.php?show=add
• http://www.contentsmatter.com/add.php
• http://www.pubsub.com/add-feed
• http://www.fastbuzz.com/channels/insert.jsp
• http://www.blogsearchengine.com/add_link.html

There are enough to get you started, again, the full list can be found here.

Here’s another list from John Jantsch of DuctTapeMarketing.com. He has an article on the HP Small Business Marketing Toolbox on how to prepare to have a great interview with a reporter. This could be useful if you run a business, are introducing a product or selling almost anything. These are just the titles of the steps, for the full description, check out the article.

1. Set goals for the interview
2. Never wing It
3. Break the ice
4. Redirect to keep the interview on focus
5. Don’t panic
6. Get the last word
7. Prepare a takeaway

I’ve been pondering getting Lasik for a couple years now, while reading around, I found that Jason at 37 Signals is thinking about the same thing. I found this list in the comments on the post where he asks advice on Lasik–it made me laugh… then think. Take it for what it’s worth.

10. If God didn’t want us to vaporize our corneas, he wouldn’t have made us smart enough to make lasers.

9. It sounds pretty darn cool when you describe it to everyone you know. Say it right now, and feel how nifty it sounds rolling off the tongue: “I got … LASIK!� Sort of like, “I got … NIKES!�, but even better.

8. They’re only eyes, fer cryin’ out loud. It’s not like they’re something important, like global warming.

7. Two words: Goggles rock!

6. If your eyesight suffered from an iron deficiency … well, it won’t any more.

5. “Lifting your flap� and “showing your stroma� is a great way to pick up chicks.

4. You won’t get thirsty as often, since your eyes won’t be wasting all that moisture in tear production. (If you’re a woman, you should probably be crying less anyway. If you’re a man, you shouldn’t be crying at all. This so-called “dry eye syndrome� that so many people whine about is actually a value-added feature!)

3. Two more words: Free enhancements!

2. If you thought the buzz you got with the post-orthodontia codeine was good, wait ‘till you try Restasis!

And now (drum roll), the #1 reason to get LASIK right now:
1. Hey, you never know — it just might work!

Generally at ListLearn we’re pretty positive, after all, the mission of the site is to help you become smarter through lists. All those smarts won’t get you far if the Earth is destroyed, so we’re happy to give you a list of ways the Earth could be destroyed, and relieved to say that none of them involve the use of common household items. All of them were thought up or compiled by the incredibly list-oriented Sam Hughes.

1. Fissioned - Essentially splitting every atom on earth to hydrogen and helium.
2. Sucked into a microscopic black hole - Pretty self explanatory, right?
3. Cooked in a solar oven - Using a lot of mirrors to reflect an array of solar energy onto the Earth.
4. Blown up by matter/antimatter reaction - Detonating an extremely large bomb.
5. Sucked into a giant black hole - Similar to number 2.
6. Meticulously and systematically deconstructed - To be done by a “mass driver” which is basically large electromagnetic railgun.
7. Pulverized by impact with a blunt instrument - in this case a large rock will do.
8. Hurled into the sun - aain, self explanitory
9. Ripped apart by Jupiter - similar to number 8, but you’d only need 38% of the energy.

Also found on Sam’s site is a list of 6 fall back methods, 9 less-scientific methods, a video of him describing one method of destroying the Earth and a good list of things that wouldn’t destroy the Earth.  I wish they’d taught me science like this when I was in school.

So, you have a blog. You’re pretty sure you know everything about getting traffic to it, right? I’ll admit, I thought I was–until I read this article. It’s an insightful piece with useful tips on how to get traffic to your blog written by Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff on eZineArticles.com. Here are a few of the steps, check out the full list here.

• Set up a feed on MyYahoo.com so your site gets regularly spidered by the Yahoo search engine (see tutorial on http://www.biztipsblog.com)
• Read and comment on other blogs that are in your target niche. Don’t write things like “nice blog” or “great post.” Write intelligent, useful comments with a link to your blog.
• Submit your blog to blog directories. The most comprehensive list of directories is on this site: http://www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55/
• Put a link to your blog on every page of your website
• Include a link to your blog as a standard part of all outgoing correspondence such as autoresponder sequences, sales letters, reports, white papers, etc.
• Print your blog URL on your business cards, brochures and flyers.
• Write articles to post around the web in article directories. Include a link to your blog in the author info box (See example in our signature below).
• Make a commitment to blog everyday. 10 minutes a day can help increase your traffic as new content attracts search engine spiders. Put it on your calendar as a task every day at the same time.

John Jantsch of DuctTapeMarketing.com posts a list on the HP Small Business Marketing Blog on why handwritten notes are better than notes that come off a printer. He describes the process of writing by hand as almost “almost mystical or spiritual.” Here’s the list.

• Stand out from the crowd (nobody does this anymore and that’s what makes it so powerful)
• Say, I care enough to take the time to do this
• Can’t help but write something that is personal in nature (computers stink at that)
• Make a connection with another form of communication (email, phone, web site, blog, note - you need them all)
• Have the ability to make the person who receives the note feel special (if you can’t figure out why that’s a good marketing thing, I can’t help you)
• Will begin to receive more referrals (your clients will tell people about your unique habit)

The end of his post has a great bit of advice as well: “And while you’re at it, write a long letter to your spouse.”

If you use a Mac and don’t use Quicksilver, what are you waiting for? Here are 4 of 6 tips from Merlin Mann at 43 Folders on how to squeeze a little more out of Quicksilver, to see the other two, check out his article:

1. Cl1p Upload - Lets you upload selected text to Cl1p.net, a service for sharing clipboards between computers. (more)
2. Image manipulation - Change an image’s type, size, and more from inside QS. Check the plugin’s info pane for more on the neato syntax. (more)
3. Abracadabra triggers - Associate a mouse gesture with any command. Seems especially cool for people using pen and tablet. (more)
4. Constellation Menus - Love it, hate it, or just find it wildly geeky and beautiful, this is kinda A1c0r’s version of right-click on graphical steroids. (more and more)

Garrett Ross quotes a list from John P. Cotter on the advantages of learning for your entire life and posts a list of how to keep doing it:

1. Risk Taking: Willingness to push oneself out of comfort zones.
2. Humble Self-reflection: Honest assessment of successes and failures, especially the latter.
3. Solicitation of Opinions: Aggressive collection of information and ideas from others.
4. Careful Listening: Propensity to listen to others.
5. Openness to New Ideas: Willingness to view life with an open mind.

Check out Garrett’s entire post for additonal suggestions.