Techmamas

A Search To Understand SEO

I know many moms and parents that have blogs, each has their own ideas on what gold worthy secret is:

How do you SEO optimize your blog?

I am just starting to understand... STARTING! But I have lots of learn..

So I was thrilled that the crowd sourcing Robert Scoble posted the question on Friendfeed "Who has the best SEO/SEM info? Post URLs here": (CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FANTASTIC LISTING OF LINKS TO SEO INFO).

Any others to share - to help a TechMama on her hunt to understand SEO? I have also heard that 99% of what you read about SEO is not accurate...

BlogWorld Posts Have Juicy Info on Blogging..

Not a surprise that those bloggers hanging out at BlogWorld 08 did lots of - well - blog posts. Here are some I have been reading:

• CityMama: Blog World Expo 08: My very brief take plus some thoughts that I didn't get to share on my panel (for the PR people)
• Sparkplugging BlogWorld section
• Guy Kawasaki
• Sheila Dowd of XiaolinMama and Silicon Valley Moms Blog: Blog World Expo Weekend
• Queen of Spain  Erin Kotecki Vest
• Susan Getgood
• BlogWorld Blog

News Flash: Mom Blogger Has Baby - Blog Post Up Soon After

I just have to send my cyberhugs to blogger buddy Stephanie of Adventures in Babywearing. She had a baby girl named Ivy LaRue this morning at 1:40am and already has a blog post up - with a beautiful picture.. Go check it out, if I did not have three boys already that would make me want to have another, she makes it look so easy....

How To Get Links To Your Blog

I started TechMamas as a place to rant about technology. I wanted the process of finding readers to visit, comment or subscribe to my blog to be organic. That way I would be able to post when I wanted to - without the pressure of daily posts. Going full force to move your blog to the next level takes the commitment of having daily posts (or more).  Once you have that, so how do you get people to link to your blog (for that golden SEO rating)?

The blog "CopyBlogger" has a great post titled "Why No One Links to Your Best Posts - And what to do about it". It is such an excellent post, I decided to link to it to give alittle SEO love back... I am searching for other posts that also give juicy details on SEO and links, so I will publish as I find the relevant ones.

Blogging Gov. Sarah Palin and Hurricane Gustav

Today the beginning of a "Palin in Comparison"  meme over at MOMocrats - stop by and read the posts. My post is titled: Not Break a Ceiling, but build a wall".

We have a mom who contributes to the Deep South Moms Blog who shares her thoughts on Hurricane Gustav. Her post is titled: "View of Hurricane Gustav from Hurricane Alley".

Women + Blogs = Influence, VOTE for Our SXSW 2009 Panels

My bloggy buddies helped me find a phrase for this SXSW VOTE button:

   
We wanted to help spread the word on the SXSW 2009 panels we and other bloginfluential women put together. My panel is Moms Who Tech, but just take a look at the other amazing panels being proposed. Please do vote for these panels, the voting process is part open source so community support is very important. The SXSW Interactive Panel website explained the voting timeframe: Voting closes on August 29. SXSW Interactive hopes to reveal the first batch of programming and confirmed speakers in October.

Whitehouse.gov 2.0: Upgrading to Open Source Government
http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/2026

Moms Who Tech
http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/2067

Building Political Clout Online Through Technology
http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/2076

Achieving Balance Between Work And Life (Yeah, Right!)
http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/1324

The Future Of Social Networks
http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/1316

Grokking Bloggers: It's About Love and Underpants
http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/1927

Open Source Disability Gadgets: DIY for PWD
http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/1745

Can Social Media End Racism?
http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/1090

Please VOTE!

Elisa Camahort Page made a post with the panels that were in the first round (mine and some others were just added a week ago...). Check out her post, there are other great panels to vote for!

Lively Discussions Can Happen on Blogs...

Today has been quite busy... Two great examples of the real conversations that happen on blogs is going on at the Silicon Valley Moms Blog and Momocrats (and a related discussion on the Daily Kos).

Go take a look.. If you dare..

List-O-Best Website Statistical Tools

I found this nifty link to the Social SEO.com site that has a huge list of Website Analytic and Web Stats Tools. This is not related to anything a parent needs to know for their kids, but it is a good resource for parents that have websites and want to track stats. I have used Feedburner stats, Google Analytics and Sitemeter, and happy with all of the results - even though each site has is own advantage.

Next Gen Blogs & Sites

It seems that the gen x'ers bloggging is a no-brainer. They have been raised around technology and use it to communicate in a way that those of us growing up when PC's were not in every house (I am aging myself) did not have access to. I do enjoy reading the blogs from the "gen x'ers" - it is a window into their thoughts - something all parents can learn from! My oldest is 9 but already technology is a big part of the social lexicon. Even if you don't allow technology in your home, your child is growing up where technology and socializing are coming closer together - so parents should be reading these blogs. Here are some of the sites I know, please add others that you know of:

• Vanessa Van Petten has a site called "Teens Today"
• Anastasia Goodstein writes for the Huffington Post and has her own site called "YPulse"
• Teen Talkteentalk
• Many college students have MySpace and Facebook profiles, but from my discussions "Facebook" is becoming the social networking site of choice for college students.
• Alltops has a "twentysomething" category

As always, it is important that everyone protect their online privacy. Sites like Safekids.com, Common Sense Media and the FTC have tips. As a parent, I would make sure that even college students that are social networking have read and understand (and USE) the privacy settings. Many sites do have age guidelines so make sure your kids are complying with those. If the next gen can understand online privacy and comply with the privacy/age guidelines for online sites (and NEVER give away personal information online) - then they have a better chance of have a safe experience online.

Disability Blogs

A blogger friend asked me if I knew any bloggers that discussed chronic illness or disabilities. I told her that I know of two fellow Silicon Valley Moms Bloggers who discuss their stories on their personal blogs:

• Thida discusses movement disorders and her general thoughts on her personal blog "Water Owl's Boons"
• Alix discusses chronic illness on her personal blog "Med Mausem Blog"

Blog carnivals are great ways to see a wide range of posts on one topic - so I found a link to a Disability Blog Carnival.  Through my search, I also found a website called "ebility" that lists Disability blogs and weblogs.

Any other disability blogs to add to the list?

UPDATE:
Karen Putz commened on this post. She is an amazing mom of three that finds time to have her own blog called "A Deaf Mom Shares Her World" and other writing assignments. She also was written about at an interesting site called "Diversity, Inc" and mentioned two other blogs: disaboom and doitmyselfblog.