New Technology Reviews!.: Quality

10 Essential First Steps When Starting A WordPress Blog

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<img alt="how to start your own blog" class="aligncenter" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/54ed8ba65eatured.jpg.jpg" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/54ed8ba65eatured.jpg.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" />Having created quite a few blogs, I’d like to think that I have a good system down for those essential first steps, and I hope it can be of use to you too. By following these you’ll get a good head start in the world of blogging and hopefully an influx of traffic to give you the motivation to carry on. If you’ve already started, think of this as a checklist as I’m sure there’s a few you haven’t done yet. 
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1. Good Quality Content Is Always The Best Tactic</h2>
I can’t tell you how sick I am of hearing people announce their blog when it has less than 5 posts on it and/or consists of nothing more than YouTube videos and re-posted pictures with a one-sentence commentary. If that’s all you have to say, get a Twitter account or use Tumblr. 
Make sure you have, at the very least, 10 quality posts, but aim for around 30 ideally. By “quality“, I mean 400 words or more of your own original content. Never copy content from elsewhere, like these mountains of autoblogs do with our MakeUseOf content… 
<img alt="how to start your own blog" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ced5871aaflogged.png.png" height="460" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ced5871aaflogged.png.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="500" /> 
Keep your articles focused, grammatically correct and spell checked. If you speak like a valley-girl or have a tendency to write in txtspk, do your best to hide it and take remedial English classes – no one wants to read that, even your best friends. 
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2. Get A Domain</h2>
Spend a whole $10 on a unique, short as you can, relevant domain name – even if you’re hosting your blog on a free WordPress.com or Blogger account. Get this right from the beginning and you will save yourself a world of hurt later. 
Don’t be tempted to make up a “cool” domain unless you have a rock-solid web service and a VC investment to the tune of a million dollars to market it; and absolutely don’t get a free domain like .cc 
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3. Establish A Good Permalink Structure</h2>
Don’t promote your blog if your URLs still look like mydomain.com/blog?id=1324. Take a minute to go the permalink options in your WordPress settings. Something like mydomain.com/my-article is great. 
You might also want to consider installing an SEO slugs type plugin, which reduces the length of your permalink URLs by removing common words such as a, the, or. Shorter URLs are better. 
<img alt="start a blog" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/c0d7e7767aalinks.png.png" height="231" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/c0d7e7767aalinks.png.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="580" /> 
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4. Change The Tagline</h2>
It’s just embarrassing to find a blog that still has “Just another WordPress blog” in the title or on the theme. You can change it from Settings -> General to something more relevant to your site. Apart from the fact that many themes feature the tagline prominently in the header, it’s also often used in the meta-titles of your homepage and therefore shown to everyone who finds your site through Google. 
<img alt="start a blog" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/c422416685nother.png.png" height="211" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/c422416685nother.png.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="580" /> 
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5. Set Up Google Analytics</h2>
Google Analytics is a free traffic report for your website. But what’s the point of installing Analytics if you don’t actually have any traffic yet? 
Well firstly, motivation. If you have accurate feedback that shows a clear, progressive growth in traffic then you are far less likely to give up. Don’t wait until you think you have some traffic – get real feedback, right now. 
<img alt="start a blog" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/f8ff9d5c40lytics.png.png" height="374" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/f8ff9d5c40lytics.png.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="486" /> 
The second reason – to find out exactly what’s popular on your blog; exactly which keywords bring in the most traffic; and make adjustments based on this. Try not to get too caught up in the numbers game yet, but if you find people are coming to your page for a particular topic and leaving quickly, perhaps try to write another post on that topic that’s more in-depth or targeted more specifically. 
My favourite plugin in this area is Analyticator, as it connects to your Analytics account and lets you choose the profile from a drop down list, avoiding the need to copy and paste any fiddly codes. If you have no idea how to read all your Analytics data yet, just start collecting it anyway and I’ll go over the major features in a later article. 
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6. Google Sitemaps Plugin</h2>
This isn’t essential, but as far I’m concerned any helping hand you can give Google to index your blog is a good thing. Get a sitemap generator such as this, set it up correctly to automatically generate whenever you post something, and you’re halfway sorted. 
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7. Webmaster Tools</h2>
This is a useful, free set of tools from Google. It has a number of functions, one of which involves submitting sitemaps to be indexed. It also keeps a track of 404 errors, and alerts you to malware security issues and even if WordPress updates are available. You could get by without it, but it’s a nice tool to have under your belt. 
<img alt="start a wordpress blog" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/7857408ccdtools.png.png" height="259" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/7857408ccdtools.png.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="580" /> 
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8. SEO Friendly Images</h2>
The power of image search should absolutely not be underestimated. Put simply, this plugin will add ALT and TITLE tags to your images. You can do this using the WordPress image uploader, but I don’t know many people who actually bother to do that – so this plugin does it automatically. By adding these to your image tags, you may find a huge influx of traffic from Google Image search. 
<img alt="how to start your own blog" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/62003af077plugin.png.png" height="435" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/62003af077plugin.png.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="446" /> 
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9. Join A Forum</h2>
Find a forum related to your particular topic and establish a presence there. Introduce yourself, make some good quality comments or advice on other threads, help some people out. After that, change your signature to include a link to your website, and repeat. This should give you a small trickle of visitors. 
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10. Social Networks</h2>
Be sure to announce your articles on your own social networks – Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and StumbleUpon – but don’t fall into the trap of promoting absolutely everything you write. Pick one or two of your best posts to promote, and you’ll be far more likely to get a good response and not piss people off in the process. 
Done all that? Awesome, you should start seeing results soon. Got any other essential first steps orWordPress plugins you always install? Let us know in the comments! 
Image credit: Shutterstock 
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10 Essential First Steps When Starting A WordPress Blog

Having created quite a few blogs, I’d like to think that I have a good system down for those essential first steps, and I hope it can be o...

Free Nikon Coolpix P300 with Nikon binoculars

<img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="90" src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Nikon%20Coolpix%20P300/free-nikon-p300-with-binoculars-200-200.jpg" width="120" /> Nikon has announced a new promotion entitling customers to a free Nikon Coolpix P300 with an RRP of £300 when purchasing any binocular from their EDG range. Until the 31st August 2011, customers will be able to claim a Coolpix P300 with purchases of one of the 5 models in the binocular range. The EDG binocular range features dielectric high-reflective multilayer prism coating. The Coolpix P300 is a premium compact, packing higher quality features into a small and lightweight body. A bright f/1.8 lens allows for fast shooting in low light. With 4.2x optical zoom and full manual control allow for creative shooting. Customers purchasing a pair of binoculars from the EDG range have until 30th September to file their claim. For more information on how to claim, visit the Nikon Coolpix EDG promotion website.

Free Nikon Coolpix P300 with Nikon binoculars

Nikon has announced a new promotion entitling customers to a free Nikon Coolpix P300 with an RRP of £300 when purchasing any binocular from ...

Fring adds "dynamic video quality"

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTEq2Ae3n7WgfRQRpQfPSUmD4x9SDPPbgCOI5GZlDy6t-XuLQK2fL9RbLiNiXOir0kipvnBspXFt6409FYzRPbZtGjI1xd7pTsPhK9wDmchybxRMLt8CsQUHnDfEIqYz3LUPODPCG1PGQ/s1600/mzl.sutpfuns.320x480-75.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTEq2Ae3n7WgfRQRpQfPSUmD4x9SDPPbgCOI5GZlDy6t-XuLQK2fL9RbLiNiXOir0kipvnBspXFt6409FYzRPbZtGjI1xd7pTsPhK9wDmchybxRMLt8CsQUHnDfEIqYz3LUPODPCG1PGQ/s320/mzl.sutpfuns.320x480-75.jpg" width="213" /></a></div> 
<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=latesttecompu-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B0015TJNEY&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>If you're a fan of FaceTime on your iPhone / iPod touch, but are frustrated with the Wi-Fi only restrictions, then Fring (the voice, video and instant chat app) is most likely your go-to app for video calling over 3G. 
 
Since there's no sign of Skype implementing video calling on the iPhone over Wi-Fi (let alone 3G), and no one's yet to turn up to Apple's "open" FaceTime standard party, Fring is left holding the video calling over 3G fort for the likes of us. But they're not sitting back while the others catch up. 
 
Fring has recently updated its app to include, amongst other improvements and enhancements, dynamic video quality, or DVQ, to its video calling. Basically, while always prioritizing audio, the quality of video will be automatically adjusted to the amount of bandwidth you have available at any given time. 
If you're outdoors with a strong 3G signal, your video quality will be good. But if you're indoors with a poorer 3G signal, your video quality will be reduced to compensate for the lack of bandwidth. This will all happen behind the scenes, allowing you to have a cohesive video chat. Audio will remain unaffected. 
 
We've tried it out for ourselves; it seems to work pretty well, though even on Wi-Fi we couldn't get anything near the quality of the video depicted in the Fring promo pictured above. 
 
Fring is available free on the App Store, or go to updates on your iDevice for the latest version. Check out DVQ in action after the break.

Fring adds "dynamic video quality"

If you're a fan of FaceTime on your iPhone / iPod touch, but are frustrated with the Wi-Fi only restrictions, then Fring (the voice, vi...

Blu-ray quality put to test by consumer charity Which?

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//images/blu-ray-disc-200-200.jpg"> Consumer rights bastions Which? have taken a look at some of the most popular movies out on Blu-ray and compared their picture quality with that of DVD. In the test, Which? looked at 17 Blu-rays, all of which were of retro movies, and decided that <a href="http://conversation.which.co.uk/technology/many-blu-rays-no-better-than-upscaled-dvds/">eight of these discs</A> had a transfer akin to DVD – even though they had been labelled Full HD. It's no secret that the quality of retro movies on Blu-rays differs depending on how well the studio has remastered the movie but it seems that the folks at Which? were shocked with the actual gulf in quality between discs in their tests. Although the site explains that all the discs are better in quality than DVD, the do highlight some discs which didn't impress at all. These included Ghostbusters, The Graduate and Gangs of New York. Picture perfect? The test <a href="http://www.which.co.uk/technology/tv-and-dvd/guides/blu-ray-disc-quality/blu-ray-viewing-results/">was conducted</A> on two identical Sony TVs and two identical Blu-ray players (with the DVD and Blu-ray version running side by side) by two experts who rated the picture quality of the movies accordingly. Interestingly, North By Northwest was also in the lowest-quality group – something which <a href="http://hcc.techradar.com/blogs/team-hcc/dvd-vs-blu-ray-does-which-know-which-which-17-11-10">Home Cinema Choice</A> disagrees with. They note that the Hitchcock classic was given an 8k resolution restoration for its release on Blu-ray, so it was very doubtful that no picture improvements were seen by the testers. While we think <a href="http://www.which.co.uk/technology/tv-and-dvd/guides/blu-ray-disc-quality/blu-ray-versus-dvd-/">17 discs</A> is rather low, it is interesting to see a trusted body like Which? challenging the notion that Blu-ray automatically offers picture enhancements to older movies.

Blu-ray quality put to test by consumer charity Which?

Consumer rights bastions Which? have taken a look at some of the most popular movies out on Blu-ray and compared their picture quality with ...

Pure i-20 iPod dock offers quality audio and video sharing

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//classifications/gadgets/portable-audio/images/Pure-ipod%20dock-200-200.jpg"> Pure has announced a new iPod dock – the Pure i-20 – which takes the pain out of linking up your iPod to your audio setup. This is because it allows users to connect to a hi-fi or radio using digital or analogue outputs. At the moment, unless you go down the streaming route or cough up a lot of cash, connecting your iPod to a dock-less hi-fi means you have to use a 3.5mm jack. The problem with this is that the sound gets squeezed. Sound of music The Pure i-20 iPod dock uses PURE Clearsound digital tech to extract the digital signal from your iPod – a method which Pure believes means that you don't have to compromise with sound quality. For those with an analogue setup, there's a Cirrus 4353 hi-fi quality DAC and high-precision low-jitter clock on board to enhance the sound of your tunes. Pure has managed to get its product stamped with Apple's 'Made for iPod' and 'Made for iPhone', so it seems that Jobs himself likes what the audio company is doing. And it will also pump out video content and accepts analogue video formats (component, S-Video and composite), which is a first for a dock. The Pure i-20 comes with a remote control, is priced at £74.99, and is out now.

Pure i-20 iPod dock offers quality audio and video sharing

Pure has announced a new iPod dock – the Pure i-20 – which takes the pain out of linking up your iPod to your audio setup. This is because i...

What Are the Causes of a Poor Quality HP Deskjet 3538?

Whether you use your HP Deskjet 3538 ink-jet printer for home or work, you want every printout to be of the highest quality. Monitoring the quality of every page is the best way to spot problems early, when they are easy and inexpensive to fix. A number of things can cause the quality of print on the HP 3538 to drop, so it is best to use a step-by-step approach to finding the problem.Clogged Ink CartridgeA clogged ink-jet is perhaps the most common cause of print quality problems with the Deskjet 3538. When those ink-jet cartridges become clogged, the amount of ink reaching the paper can vary, resulting in bare spots on the page, as well as spots and streaks on the paper. When the ink-jets are clogged, they can also wear out sooner, and that will cost you more money. The best way to clean the ink cartridges is to remove them from the printer and dip the metal connectors in a shallow pan of warm water. Then swab the bottom of the cartridges to remove any ink residue and paper dust. Allow the cartridges to dry completely before putting them back in the printer.Excessive Paper DustOne of the most common problems with the HP Deskjet 3538 is an accumulation of paper dust inside the unit. This is a particularly common problem for printer owners who use poor quality paper, but it can happen even with good paper. The best way to clean this buildup of paper dust is to open the top cover and use a small vacuum cleaner to remove the residue. The kind of vacuum cleaner used to clean <a class="StrongLink" href="http://www.ehow.com/computers/">computer</A> components works best, but you can also use a small handheld vacuum with a small crevice tool.Print Cartridge CarriersEven if the print cartridges themselves are in good condition, dirty print cartridge carriers can cause a deterioration in print quality. Over time, small quantities of ink can leak out of the ink-jet cartridge and leave stains that can be transferred to the paper in the form of spots and streaks. Use a soft cloth to clean away that ink residue and improve the quality of the printouts. References <a href="http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?product=305964&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&tool=" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HP Support: LaserJet 3538</A>

What Are the Causes of a Poor Quality HP Deskjet 3538?

Whether you use your HP Deskjet 3538 ink-jet printer for home or work, you want every printout to be of the highest quality. Monitoring the ...

How to Measure the Quality of Signal Strength on a Wireless Modem

Navigate to the computer's network connections manager by opening the "Start" menu, clicking "Control Panel" and then on either "Network Connections" or "Network and Sharing Center," depending on what version of Windows you use. You should see a listing of all available wireless and wired networks, though on newer versions of Windows you may first need to click on "Manage Network Connections" or "Change Adapter Settings" before you see the connection icons.Connect to the wireless network by right-clicking on its connection icon and choosing "Connect." Your computer's wireless card will now being to obtain all IP information from the wireless network and a subsequent pop-up window should indicate whether or not the <a class="StrongLink" href="http://www.ehow.com/computers/">computer</A> was able to successfully connect.Check the wireless signal strength. Assuming the computer was able to connect to the wireless network, you should see a signal strength rating just underneath the icon of "good," "excellent," "fair" or "limited or no connectivity." This is the computer's approximation of the current signal strength of the wireless network and it will continue to show the estimated signal strength for as long as the wireless network is connected.

How to Measure the Quality of Signal Strength on a Wireless Modem

Navigate to the computer's network connections manager by opening the "Start" menu, clicking "Control Panel" and th...