Guest blogging has gained in importance since Google increased the value of original content over time. Duplicate content went down in value, article directories went down, backlinks for the sake of backlinks went down. Useful, original content went up, and with it, the value of a guest blog post.

It’s a win-win-win situation: The blog owner wins because it helps bring in fresh new content. The blogger wins because it’s a quality backlink as well as exposure to a new audience. The audience wins by getting a different perspective on a favorite topic. If you’d like to use guest posting to expand your message and reach new audiences, there are a few common best-practices to keep in mind.

1. Write for the blog’s audience.
2. Send an original post that appears nowhere else on the web (unless the blog owner specifically tells you different).
3. Link to your own website in the resource box, and don’t use affiliate links anywhere in the article. Most bloggers accept informational links in the body of the article, but clear it with the blog owner.
4. Do your best work and correct grammar and spelling errors before you send it off.

That’s pretty much it. Different bloggers will have different instructions about how to contact them, how to get your blog post to them, the length and so forth. These rules are all to help you write a post that fits their blogs, and so take them as friendly advice from someone who really wants to be able to publish your post.

Here are 41 great blogs on a number of topics that invite accept guest posts. They’re not by any means the only guest blogging opportunities around, but if you want to get started in guest blogging, you can probably find a few candidates here that are looking for the kind of writing you do.

About the list:

Each of the items in the list includes the name of the blog and a link to the page detailing guest post submission guidelines. And then there is a brief description of the topics covered in the blog.

I also include Google’s PageRank and the Alexa rating for the comparative power of the blog. Google’s PageRank affects how high a site will appear in search engine results for a keyword it covers. Higher is better. The Alexa ranking is based on traffic in the home country, and "1" is the top. If a site has a ranking of 459, that means 458 sites get more traffic than it does in its country. The numbers are good for a general reading, but they can fluctuate wildly, and they’re always out of date. So if you see a site that is a really good fit, go for it. Don’t be dissuaded by the numbers.

Blogger Forums

• Blog Engage PR 4, Alexa 8,675 Blog Engage is a bloggers’ showcase, where members either post to the site or link to a post on their own site for other bloggers to rank it and give feedback. There are also occasional blogging contests with cash prizes.
• My Blog Guest PR 5, Alexa 4,977 My Blog Guest is a community of guest bloggers and bloggers who need guest columns. Put an article in the forum, and a site owner can come and use your post, giving you credit. Or site owners can tell bloggers what kind of post they’re looking for, and you can write to fit the bill. There is also a forum offering paid blogging opportunities.

Business

• Copyblogger PR 6; Alexa 2,972 This powerful media company started as humble blog. The blog provides some of the best copywriting and content marketing advice around. A guest post in Copyblogger puts you in the top tier of bloggers.
• Successful and Outstanding Bloggers PR 5; Alexa 86,828 Successful and Outstanding Bloggers wants success stories and information about small business, big brands, social media, writing and entrepreneurs.
• Phil Simon Systems PR 5; 680,495 The Phil Simon Systems blog focuses on technology, management, social media, publishing, consulting, Enterprise 2.0, and the like.
• Bigger Pockets PR 4; Alexa 14,428 Blog giving tips and news for real estate investors, homeowners, agents, mortgage lenders, other real estate professionals, real estate press and bloggers.
• MT Herald PR 3; Alexa 221,969 The MT Herald is a blog for medical transcriptionists and includes topics relating to the health information field, as well as personal investing and financial planning.
• One Woman Marketing PR 4; Alexa 292,792 One Woman Marketing provides marketing tips for solo preneurs and small business owners.
• Everyday EMS Tips PR 4; Alexa 1,923,074 Everyday EMS Tips is a blog supplying information for emergency medical servcies professionals and students. The site owners encourage guest bloggers who are EMS professionals or students. Those not in the industry who want to write for the site are asked to donate to the National EMS Memorial Bike Ride before submitting.
• Geek Business PR 5; Alexa 1,496,065 Geek Business describes itself as "detailed tips and information to webmasters on how to combine being a successful geek and successful business person simultaneously."
• Career Alley PR 4; Alexa 702,109 Career Alley focuses on career, job search advice, and job search site reviews.
• Small Business Trends PR 6; Alexa 9,250 Small Business Trends offers mostly marketing-related topics of interest to small business.
• Fresh Energy PR 5; Alexa 2,514,626 Fresh Energy is a site dedicated to "fresh energy issues," such as clean energy, energy efficiency, transportation and land use, and global warming.

Blogs about Blogging

• Blog Godown PR 4; Alexa 44,183 Blog Godown features tips for blogging and social media. Instead of emailing the post, you write it directly into their WordPress post box. The blog owner will review and publish it, if it’s a good fit.
• Problogger PR 6; Alexa 2,022 Get your site ready for an avalanche of traffic if you get accepted to this high-powered blog by Darren Rouse. The blog is mostly about how to make money blogging.
• Men with Pens PR 5; Alexa 74,125 Men with Pens is one of the top writers’ websites around. Don’t be fooled by the title, though. Although the target audience is "men with pens," women writers are welcome. In fact, the site owner is a woman who writes under the pseudonum of James Chartrand.
• Quick Online Tips PR 5; Alexa 5345 Quick Online Tips actively solicits guest bloggers to write about tech, advertising, marketing, computers, gadgets, blogging, WordPress, SEO, Google, tips, tricks, hacks, etc.
• Daily Blog Tips PR 5; Alexa 4,458 Daily Blog Tips gives how-to information on blogging and internet marketing.
• JayPee Online PR 4; Alexa 81,822 JayPee Online offers technology news, blogging news, WordPress news and updates, WordPress theme and plugin reviews, gadgets, free software, and tips and tricks.
• iBlogZone PR 3; Alexa 16, s667 iBlogZone gives simple techniques to improve earnings, find small business opportunities, increase traffic, improve conversions, search engine optimization and everything else related to online business or the social web.
• Famous Bloggers PR 4; Alexa 8,257 Famous Bloggers is a site that actively solicits guest bloggers, focusing on business, SEO, marketing, design, social networking, making money online, and blogging tips.
• Kikolani PR 4; Alexa 14,792 Kikolani publishes up-to-date news on blogging techniques and technology, making money blogging, and personal development for bloggers. She periodically closes guest post submissions and reopens when she’s cleared her backlog to keep the information fresh.

Home, Family and Lifestyle

• Money Saving Mom PR 5; Alexa 5,127 Money Saving Mom talks about coupons, deals and money-saving hints for families.
• Small Notebook for a Simple Home PR 4; Alexa 130,368 Small Notebook presents Ideas for simplifying and organizing the home.
• Summer Tomato PR 5; Alexa 88,389 Summer Tomato gives actionable tips for healthy eating and healthy living. Note that for your guest post to be considered, you have to donate $10 to Charity Water.
• e-Patients PR 5; Alexa 457,411 E-Patients is the blog of the Society for Participatory Medicine, which aims to get patients informed and involved in their health care.
• "Cents"able Momma PR 2, Alexa 61,010 "Cents"able Momma offers money-saving tips and ways to earn extra money.
• Twenty-Something Travel PR 4; Alexa 58,788 Twenty-Something Travel is a guide to long-term world travel, exotic destinations and other travel matters for the the footloose and fancy-free.
• Simple Productivity Blog PR 5; Alexa 53, 6518 The Simple Productivity Blog presents ideas for productivity, simplicity, balance and life design.
• Frugal Living NW PR 4; Alexa 60,284 The Frugal Living NW blog focuses on frugal living and homemaking. It follows a series of themes that change every two months. See the editorial calendar for a listing of 2011-12 themes.
• End the Neglect PR 5; Alexa 2,719,232 End the Neglect is a blog dedicated to preventing and curing neglected tropical diseases and and focusing on other global health issues.

Personal Growth and Productivity

• Life Optimizer PR 5; Alexa 71,372 Life Optimizer focuses on personal growth and effectiveness.
• Procrastinating Writers Blog PR 4; Alexa 1,021,462 Procrastinating Writers Blog offers help for creative writers trying to overcome procrastination.
• Head Heart Health PR 2; Alexa 635,037 Head Heart Health focuses on healthy living, mind-body-spirit, and self-esteem for women.
• Real Men Real Style PR 4, Alexa 234,681 Real Men, Real Style teaches men to improve their wardrobe and lifestyle.
• Productive Flourishing PR 5; Alexa 77,105 The tagline of Productive Flourishing is "strategies for thriving in life and business." The blog aims to help people think more clearly, ask better questions, and do the things that will enable readers to flourish.

Technology

• Right Now in Tech PR 4; Alexa 593,325 Right Now in Tech features stories about technology and science.
• 40tech PR 2; Alexa 135,010 40tech’s owner describes the blog as being about "technology, gadgets, the internet, software, and video games for those over 40, but not over the hill."
• Regular Geek PR 4; Alexa 269,988 Regular Geek writes about software development, web development, programming.
• TechSling PR 3; Alexa 69,913 TechSling blog covers news in the computing, mobile, and gaming world.
• Tech Gyo.com PR3; Alexa 51860 Tech Gyo presents news about the internet, Twitter, computer, blogging, WordPress, social media, make money online, search engine optimization.

Placing Your Guest Post

These are 41 sites that present good opportunities to increase your traffic, get good backlinks and spread your message. It’s by no means all the opportunities you could find. For more sites, you can google the phrase "guest post* guidelines" + "YOUR KEYWORD" (filling in the actual keyword you’re looking for).

Alternatively, if you know of a blog you’d like to write for, the owner might accept your post even if there is no "guidelines" page. Simply outline a post that would be a good fit for the blog and email the blog owner, using the contact page information. Explain why you want to write for the blog and the idea you have for an article. If the blog owner sees it as a good fit, you might find a home for your post. The worst that can happen is that you look to place it somewhere else.

Guest posting has become a hot topic, and the practice is not going away. Put it to good use to build a bigger audience for your blog.

This post was written by Jan Bear.  By the way, this blog ALSO allows guest posting.  Just drop us a line if you’re interested.

One of the hardest things you can set out to do when building an online community is getting people to contribute useful content.  

The challenges with building community

Twitter rarely generates anything more than cursory comments because of its brevity.  The majority of facebook and blog comments respond to the post rather than add a significant amount of value to the conversation.  Forums are amazing at generating user content, but unless you have critical mass – its far too easy to end up looking like a virtual ghost town of inactivity.

So how do you get people to contribute useful content online to build your community?

One good way is via a public Question and Answers section. 

Where you have people gathering together and answering each other’s questions – you have a collective hive of readers who help each other and in turn – generate a lot of useful content which help other people in the future as well.  It’s easy to find answers to common questions with a system like this.

The thing is – it isn’t really that easy to roll your own Q&A site.  Or is it?

Building your own Q&A site

Enter Answerbase – which is a complete end to end solution.  Using your own customized domain, it is completely white labeled to your branding and provides a solid platform to build your community on.  It has a ton of features and pricing starts at USD15 per month (Free trial available).  A small price to pay for the obvious rewards.  An example of this would be GetApp, a community around business software.

Features & Benefits

There’s a whole slew of features for the service like mobile optimized sites, voting on answers, comment and moderation abilities, and much more.  Features aside, there’s a lot more to community building than just interaction.  Through interaction people build more content for search engines to index, leading to more potential traffic (which you can monetize on by placing you own custom ads – Answerbase has no advertising on your site).  If you’re using this for support purposes, it can also act as a community where people discuss and solve each other’s problems – which means lots of manpower savings for support staff.

Data Liberation – Yes

The first question I asked the guys at Answerbase was if it was possible to port your data out?  My biggest fear about using any platform is that you’re in a real danger of being locked in to their system.  The good thing is that data can be ported out to CSV if you decide to stop the services at any point.

This post was sponsored by Answerbase, but my opinion does not differ from the review.  It truly is an interesting service and a compelling way to build an online community.  Please check them out and let us know your thoughts. Thanks Answerbase for being our sponsor this month and helping keep this blog afloat :)

The last five years have seen two great things being championed and heralded by anyone who has had any measure of interest in the Internet – Social Networking and Apple.

On one hand, the unexpected lightning-fast development of Facebook, Twitter and Zynga to the top of the Internet has inspired even the greatest of companies to stick a hand in the social networking pie. On the other hand, Apple, the company already made relevant by the wildly famous iPod, has generated massive consumer interest in their unveilings of the iPhone. It’s no surprise then that people have put two and two together, and have decided to bring social networking exclusively to the iPhone. Here are 4 of the top choices which you can dive right into right now.

1. Path

Path takes the concept that people want social networking, but they also want it to be personal. Facebook seems like the ultimate offender of this principle, with its wide-sharing features and privacy issues, while Google+ seems to recognize this by providing people with the capability to aggregate their friends into Circles.

Path, which had appeared long before Google+ took the stage, takes this a step further by recommending a social network with only your closest friends. As self-described by its official website, Path is a “simple way to share life and never miss a moment with family”. It only allows you to share your updates with up to 50 of your friends, and the interface behind this activity is clear and seamless enough to encourage it.

Clearly, Path was developed with the intention of making social networking a sweet, enriching experience, as opposed to the social atmosphere that it is today. It is an amazing concept, to say the least, and Path’s burgeoning user base is only proof that people want what they have dreamt up more than ever.

2. Klip

Klip is very new on the social scene – as new as a month perhaps – but it highly deserves a place on this list because of its remarkableness. Klip is basically an app for you to share your videos. That’s right, that’s all it does – share videos you have took with others. The brilliance of it lies in the ability to assign hashtags to your videos, not unlike Twitter, which categorizes the videos according to their nature in the public arena.

So, if you’re a person who likes cat videos, just look up “#cat”, and all the cat videos taken by Klip users show up on your screen! The propensity for its use is just so large in scale; imagine a major event being shared by hashtags – a feature still unavailable on Youtube or Twitter – in a personal space by thousands of individuals. It’ll be like a video version of Twitter all over again.

Klip’s interface is very pleasing, with the small video box giving users the feeling that it was made just for the iPhone. It’s also easy to navigate, and once its number of users grows, the developers will have a goldmine of information sharing on their hands.

3. Pool Party

Google has a tendency for scavenging successful products and making their own version, backed by their enormous resources to take down the existing competition – and it seems like Pool Party is their latest effort yet.

Created by wholly-owned subsidiary Slide (which also created the recently pulled Photovine), Pool Party is an attempt to unseat Instagram, the hipster photo-filtering social app which is presently taking the streets by storm. Pool Party is in its essence a photo-sharing app, where people share their photos into a “pool” with friends in a sort of group album. This creates opportunities to share photos taken from parties, hikes and sleepovers with a select group of people, much in the same way Google+ encourages sharing with Circles.

Pool Party is currently in beta and only accepts invitees, but as with all Google’s products they’re bound to be released to the public soon and gather a quick following. If you simply cannot wait, you can visit here to get an invite.

4. Heywire

With the multi-capabilities of the iPhone, many people seem to have forgotten that the iPhone is primarily a phone; but Heywire’s creators aren’t one of them. Realizing the potential for a worldwide-based, affordable text messaging service, they have created a working, effective version of the Messaging app which bypasses all carrier costs. As long as you have access to the Internet, you can text message to any number from 45 countries, from anywhere in the world.

So how is this different from Whatsapp, Facebook or MSN Messenger on the iPhone? Well, Heywire not only provides you with a Heywire account, it also provides you with a temporary US number which others can reach. This means that even those without the app, or friends using Blackberries or old-school Nokias, can communicate with you by not only receiving but sending text messages to your temporary number, all without incurring the extravagant carrier costs usually associated with international travel.

This post was written by staff writer Aaron Pek

Money – it changes people

One of my favorite Q&A sites on the web has to be Ask Metafilter.  The quality of answers you get there usually far surpasses that of most Q&A sites. 

Why?

Two reasons. 

One, you only get to post one question a week.  This results in very well structured and well thought out questions.

Two, and most importantly, because you have to pay a one-time USD$5 signup fee to join the community.

This last rule is good enough to eliminate almost all comment trolls, because people who troll, don’t seem to want to pay money for it.

So what about prizes again?

While Ask Metafilter is a service where you pay for the right to ask questions, Prizes.org is a service which pays you for good answers.

So here’s how it works:

People post a problem they have, and assign a monetary prize to it.  For example:

1. You are too busy, but you want to plan a holiday travel itinerary to Greece. 
2. You create a contest telling people you need a holiday travel literary to Greece.  You assign $50 as a prize. 
3. People see your contest, and can either vote on entries they like, or answer the question
4. At the end of the contest period you pick the winner.   (You don’t need to follow the popular vote)
5. Winner with best answer takes back $50

Simple. 

If you’re in need for quick outsourcing – it’s great…

…If you just want to voice your opinion to help someone, it’s great – plus you get the chance to win some cash.

…If you know someone who could provide a good answer – refer them and you get a 10% referral fee

…and if you spot an interesting contest, and you just want to get updates on it – you can just follow the idea with one click.

Try it!

Would you answer questions for money?  Tell us in the comments :)

TWO whole days of video are uploaded to YouTube every MINUTE.  With that much content going online, you want some easy ways to filter out only the cream-of-the-crop videos so you don’t waste time, but instead enjoy the most entertaining YouTube videos out there.   Here are the 5 best tools to do that.

1. How to watch and understand the context of the best YouTube videos

KnowYourMeme is a website dedicated to providing history and context to all types of viral content – YouTube videos making up a large portion of the site.  Light hearted, and yet comprehensive, it gives you a proper understanding how these funny videos came about, some researched history, and how the videos are going viral – which I must admit is just as much fun as watching the videos themselves. 

Meme’s get submitted here quite regularly, and are vetted properly, so if KnowYourMeme gives something a ‘confirmed’ stamp of approval, then you can watch it and be fairly confident that it’s a video worth watching.

2. How to get the latest viral videos emailed to you

If you’re the sort of person who lives in your inbox then you’d probably appreciate VideoInbox.  As its name suggests, it emails you a list of the 5 best viral videos of the day.  If you visit the site you’ll also note that it has some great facebook integration going on, and it’s really easy to re-share your content with just a click.

3. How to let YouTube decide what videos to show you based on your taste

A lot of people don’t actually login to their YouTube account.  They just watch videos.  If you’re one of those people, try logging in.  Aside from the ability to ‘like’ a video, share it with your friends, and participate in the conversation, what you’ll discover that YouTube has a recommendations tab which recommends you some channels you’d like to subscribe to, and it will also show you a list of videos based on

4. How to find the hottest upcoming videos 

Mag.ma is a tool which monitors the virality of videos across different sources and provides real time stats.  Pound for pound, it is one of the easiest ways to spot an upcoming viral video before it goes mainstream.  Fantastic for trend spotters.  It’s also done by the same lovely people who do Rocketboom.  Watch this video to understand more:

5. How to get YouTube videos delivered into your phone via podcasts

If you’re always on the go, you can consider subscribing to the ‘Best of YouTube’ podcast.  This is also especially useful so you don’t have to stream videos of mobile data – which can be a bit flaky at times.  So just keep synching your phone, and every days, a new episode is released, and you can do your catching up on the mobile.

Bonus Infographic:  How videos become viral [Thanks Mashable]

If you’re on Google+, and you’re using the Google’s Chrome browser, here are some lovely browser extensions which will help make your Google+ experience an even better one!  If you’re not on Google+ just request for an invite in the comments below.

1. How to handle your Google+ notifications without being on Google’s properties

One of my favorite Google+ features was that black bar on top which enabled you to receive and respond to your Google+ notifications anytime you were using any Google product like Google search or Gmail.  This feature makes it so much more convenient to continue conversations you have on the network.

The ‘Surplus extension’ however takes this one step further and just embeds your Google+ notifications directly into your browser so you can now handle notifications from anywhere.  Not only that, you can also update your status on Google+ and share links to your networks with one click as well. 

2. How to reply directly to the original person who shared content on Google+

Another awesome feature of Google+ is that if you reshare a post, it still gives credit to the person who originally shared it.  What the ‘Replies and more Extension’ does is it augments the reply options of Google+ so you’re able to reply the source directly, which is good if you’re trying to provide encouragement or feedback. 

3. How to de-clutter your comment stream on Google+

The +Comment toggle extension is a lifesaver when it comes to quickly scanning your Google+ stream.  What it does is it rolls up comments and only displays them when you want to have a look at them.  This means less scrolling, and it becomes much easier to quickly find and interact with content you’re interested in.

4.  How to +1 ANY web page

If you look to your left, you should be able to see a +1 button which I’ve put into this blog.  Click this button enables you to tell people on your Google network that you like this post.  Which is great when a page has a +1 button built in, but lots and lots of web pages do not have this functionality yet. 

So if you do want to +1 a page quickly, just try out the ‘Plus-One-Anything’ extension and you’re on your way.

4. How to instantly view full sized images in your Google+ stream

If you’re looking for a faster way to view your photos in your Google+ stream this is it.  No need to click on photos, or visit albums.  Once you install the +Photo Zoom extension, you just need to hover your mouse cursor over the picture, and you get a full sized image.  Perfect for quickly scanning your stream and looking through your friend’s photos.

5.  How to display your Google+ notification count on your chrome browser tab

Another one of Google+’s awesome features is that it supports real-time live updates without having to refresh your browser.  So, technically you could just keep your Google+ running in a background tab.  What you don’t want however, is to keep checking it unless you know you have a notification waiting for you.  The G+ Count extension displays the notification count on your tab so you can always stay on top of things.

6. How to tweet directly from your Google+ stream

It’s early days in Google+, so you may choose to share some of that great content you’re reading on your stream to twitter.

The ‘Helper for Google+’ extension allows you to share a post on your stream on Twitter directly from Google+, but bear in mind that it shares the Google+ link, not the content link.  Which is also good in a way, because it encourages other people to add you to their Google+ circles.  It also comes with a button to translate any foreign languages on Google+ as well.

7. How to soup up the keyboard shortcuts in Google+

Google+ already comes with a few keyboard shortcuts, but G+ Extended adds a ton of functionality like the ability to instantly expand older comments, or sharing a post with just a keystroke.  This is perfect if you’re in a rush and want to move faster.

It’s going to be an exciting time as Google+ continues to evolve, and I’m sure we’ll start seeing more and more of these awesome extensions in the future.

Still don’t have a Google+ invite?  Drop a comment asking for one, and I’ll pick a few random people to get a cool invite from time to time:)

One of Google+’s main advantages is privacy management by way of organizing your friends into different circles.  While this makes perfect sense, this idea isn’t as intuitive as you might think because of the years of Facebook and Twitter habits ingrained in us.

As it is a new concept, some people feel circles are cumbersome and tedious to manage – but it doesn’t need to be that way.  Not at least, if you follow these essential tips:

1. Don’t feel obliged to add someone into a circle

Unlike facebook and just like twitter, you don’t have to approve people who want to connect with you on Google+ .  This also means that lots of people may add you, including people you don’t know, or don’t care too much about.  This may include people who just think the stuff you’re sharing publicly is useful and interesting. 

So the rule of thumb, if you don’t want to listen to this person’s stream, you probably shouldn’t add them to any circle at all – not even your acquaintance circle. 

This greatly lessens the burden of managing circles, and dramatically cuts down on the noise you get in your stream.

2. Organize your circles based on what you share, NOT how you know people

People you know probably come from different groups.  You have your neighbors, your old school friends, your ex-colleagues and more.   Sorting people out exactly by how you know them can be hard, if you mix with many groups of people.

Organizing broadly based on what you share, and placing people within multiple circles makes much more sense, because

1. You don’t have to think much about which circles to put them in
2. You don’t have to think much about which circles to share your posts to

So basically here’s an example of how I would do it (This of course is a recommendation, not a rule of thumb)

A: People I want to share my general status updates

B: People who share a very specific interest which no one else may want to see, but I still want to share my general status update with

C: People who share a very specific interest which no one else may want to see, and I don’t want to share my general status updates with

D: Everyone, including people not in my circles.

If the above his hard to understand, I’ve made a diagram to explain :)

3. Mute posts to avoid irrelevant notifications from beyond your circles

The Google+ stream is displayed based on activity, not in chronological order.  While this is amazing at encouraging interaction and conversation, at times you just want say something or +1 a post in agreement and not be notified about the topic anymore or what other people comment.  This is especially true when you’re commenting on a public post where a bulk of other comments following yours would be from people you don’t know, nor care to know their opinion.

The solution? Mute the post using the dropdown menu at the right side of every post.

This way, you can still have lots of interaction but don’t have to get bothered by too many irrelevant notifications, and it clears up your stream.

4. Learn to disable re-shares so your sharing does not go beyond your circles

Whenever something is re-shared on Google+ , it gives credit to the person who shared it first.  In most cases this is great as it provides attribution, but there are times if you’re sharing more private or sensitive information, that you don’t want people to reshare it.  What you can do is to go to your profile and disable reshares you stop anyone from resharing your content beyond your original circles.    You can even disable comments on any if you’re tired of monitoring comments. 

5. How to copy one circle into another

You can add multiple people to a circle by going to the Circles page, and when you click on them in sequence – they will be highlighted in blue where you can then drag them to one of your circles.

To copy one circle into another circle just:

1. Go to Circles
2. Click on a circle
3. Click “View circle in tab”
4. On the top right click “More actions” then “Select all”
5. Drag everyone from one circle into another circle

6. How to see who your friends have shared their posts to

If someone shares content, you can always click on the link next to the date on the stream which would determine who they shared it to.  This is a great way to understand how your friends are sharing information.

6. Show or hide your circles

Go to your Profile and Privacy tab under Google+ settings

Go to network visibility and click the ‘edit network visibility’ button

This should the take you to an options panel where you can select what you want other people to see.  Be it people in your circles, or people who have you in your circles.  Bear in mind the actual circles you place your friends in will be completely private.  This just shows people who among your friends are in ANY of your circles.

There you have it.  Now you should be able to handle Google+ circles like a pro and enjoy your experience even more!

If you’re looking for Google+ Invites, leave a comment saying you want one.  Every once in a while Google+ will open up for invites, and I’ll select a few random people from here to come onboard :)

On it’s surface Joliprint looks like a very ‘So what’ service.

It saves web pages to PDF.  But seriously.  Who cares?

Once you look a little deeper though, you’ll understand what’s so cool about it.

• Want to create an instant ebook on the go?  Just email a few URLs and it’ll grab the web pages, format them nicely, sent back to you as a compiled downloadable PDF.
• Want to convert any article to PDF from any interface using twitter?  One tweet.
• Want ANY part of your Google Reader items (starred items/ tags/ whatever) compiled into a single beautiful PDF for easy reading on your tablet on the go?  One click.
• ‘Read it Later’ and ‘Instapaper’ reading lists to PDF to use on your eBook readers?  One click.
• Want to use this on your iPad/iPhone/Laptop/Whatever browser you’re using?  Easily. because it’s extremely cross platform friendly.

In short, Joliprint has taken a very basic feature and souped it up to such an extreme, that you can’t help but be impressed.

Very impressed.

A good story can brighten your day, change your outlook, or make the time fly by. Movies are nice, and reading is great, but hearing rests your eyes while letting your imagination set the scene. Audio books are good, but they can be expensive to buy or inconvenient to borrow. Here are 11 free sources of audio fiction and drama to download and enjoy.

These are stories delivered by podcast — radio at your convenience. It comes to your computer, and you can download it to a smartphone or MP3 player or record it onto a CD.

Most of the stories in this list are speculative fiction — science fiction, fantasy and horror. If that’s not your favorite, you’ll find some mainstream and nonfiction in the list — but you might want to give a listen to some of the science fiction and fantasy podcasts anyway — it may not be the rockets and ray guns you remember.

You’ll find audio dramas — with actors and sound effects — and readings — one person reading the story and performing all the voices. With the right cast and production, either one will put you in the middle of the action.

1. EscapePod

EscapePod is a weekly science fiction podcast featuring short stories by top authors in the genre. Most episodes run about a half hour. Escape Pod has been around since 2005. Eventually, there were enough listeners and enough stories that organizers spun off two sister podcasts — Podcastle and Pseudopod.

2. PodCastle

PodCastle is a sister podcast to Escape Pod, offering weekly fantasy stories. Episodes usually run around a half hour, with an occasional flash fiction (shorter) or giant episode (longer) thrown in.

3. Pseudopod

Pseudopod is the third of the Escape Artists podcasts, along with EscapePod and PodCastle. Pseudopod features weekly horror and dark fantasy stories.

4. Decoder Ring Theatre

Decoder Ring Theatre is a weekly drama podcast from a troupe in Canada featuring two alternating series: The Red Panda and Black Jack Justice. Both of these dramas capture the liveliness and enthusiasm of Old Time Radio from the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s without sinking into either nostalgia or parody.The Red Panda is “Canada’s greatest superhero,” and Black Jack Justice is about a hardboiled Ontario detective and his partner, “Trixie Dixon, Girl Detective.”

5. Drabblecast

The Drabblecast is a weekly podcast featuring “strange stories by strange authors for strange people, such as yourself,” as host Norm Sherman explains in his weekly introduction. Each episode has a short story, a Drabble, which is a 100-word story, and a Twabble, which is a 100-character story, along with thought-provoking commentary. And if you can’t get enough of the Drabblecast’s off-beat stories, subscribe to the B-sides, too.

6. Starship Sofa

Starship Sofa is a weekly science fiction podcast featuring interviews with authors, occasional science news for SF fans, a weekly story, and an occasional work of flash fiction or audio drama. Starship Sofa runs longer than most podcasts, and the ones on my iPhone right now have lengths from 45 minutes to over 2 hours. There’s an index in the lyrics pane, though, so you can skip to your favorite part if you like.

7. Patrick McLean

Patrick E. McLean looks at the world a little differently: A vampire in the attic makes an annoying neighbor; a zombie learns the meaning of life; a supervillain helps build a just society. If you subscribe to his podcast, make sure you go back and listen to the year of stories called the Seanachai. These 10-minute gems were funny, entertaining, with a twist of surprise that keeps you coming back for more. His novels, which are running now, are just as surprising, but in a longer form.

8. Podio Books

Podiobooks is not so much a podcast as a Creative Commons audio bookstore, where you listen for free and donate for the stories you like. It’s a revolutionary business model, where authors read their works and offer them as free downloads (available through iTunes or other podcast players). The site owners give 75 percent of donations to the authors. Even though there is no editor accepting or rejecting books, you’ll find a variety of excellent books for download, including some authors who have used their Podiobooks exposure to negotiate deals with major publishers. The site has more than 500 books in 30 genres.

9. The Classic Tales

In The Classic Tales podcast, actor B.J. Harrison blows the dust off some old literature and shows what exciting stories they can be. From Sherlock Holmes to Bertie and Jeeves, from Mark Twain to Oscar Wilde, his readings bring the stories and characters alive and shows you what makes them “classic.”

10. This American Life

More than a half million people a week listen to the This American Life podcast. Each week the producers put together a series of two or three nonfiction stories centered around a theme — such as “Know When to Fold ‘em” or “Very Tough Love,” about real people and the unique way they handle life’s challenges. Sometimes funny, sad, inspiring or all three at once, there’s a reason the podcast is so popular.

11. Stories Take You Places

Take some of these stories along with you. They’ll be great companions on the journey.

About the author: Jan Bear writes about using the internet to market your book and teaches authors and other small business people how to get started on the internet in a weekly podcast, Marketing Savvy.

I have some exciting news for you!
10 weeks ago BitDefender launched a contest on Facebook, having a BMW 3 Series as the grand prize! Fantastic gadgets such as iPhones or iPads are given away at the end of each week to complete a great œline-up of prizes. The campaign is called œEnjoy the ride and can be accessed via BitDefender’s Facebook page :)

There are 4 more weeks to go. If you sign up now you can still win that BMW 3 Series we know you would love to get your hands on. And that’s not all! With 4 more weeks to the finish line BitDefender assures us there are still plenty of gadgets to be won.
To compete for the BMW you have to enter at least one of the 14 weekly contests! Don’t forget thoughthe more weekly competitions you enter the more chances you have to win the big prize! For more info check out the contest’s official Facebook page :)

It’s easy! Sign in, gather enough votes for the weekly prizes, and win the BMW at the end.
BitDefender is waiting for you. Hop in and enjoy the ride!

As this is a sponsored post, as a reader, you may also show your support for our blog by ‘liking’ the BitDefender facebook page and trying your luck to win the BMW (and sharing this post with your friends). :D

Great news everyone, it’s giveaway day again, and this time we have with us a nifty piece of software which records everything which comes through your computer speakers!

Want to 

• Record your VOIP (msn/skyle/etc) conversations? 
• Backup a DRM song?
• Grab a track from your favorite game?
• Save a slice of Internet radio?

…Well the nice folks at mp3do was kind enough to sponsor 10 copies of ‘All Sound Recorder’ worth USD$37.95 each :)

Want one?

Just drop a comment, and we’ll pick 10 lucky winners… It’s as simple as that so drop your comment NOW

UPDATE: 15/5/1011:

Congrats to the winners – you will be contacted shortly:
Julee, Irene Kong, vicmadz, Shaz, danielee, Ari, Vercas, Shiliang, Curtis, Affan

Being a guy who provides free content online, there’s always a struggle between balancing ads and content.  I hate placing ads which may get in the way of your reading experience, but I won’t lie to you – the more obtrusive the ads are, the higher the payout.  I have however, drawn certain lines For example, I don’t do pop-ups or pop-unders.  I don’t do video ads which play without you initiating it.  Anyhow, I can tell you this much: I’m not the only one who has to deal with this balancing act.

So now, let me tell you about the Readbility Project by the guys at Arc90.  In a nutshell, what they do is they provide a browser plugin which – takes content, strips out all the ads, formats it beautifully – and serve it up to the user for a much cleaner, better reading experience.

What? 

Doesn’t stripping out the ads hurt the publisher?   Quite the contrary.  For Readability to be truly useful, readers pay for the premium version which allows the ˜read-it-later’ function, and mobile reading support.   70% of all fees go back to publishers.  Each publisher gets a cut based on how many times his site has been read using Readability.

So there’s your balancing act.  Perfectly formatted, ad-free content on your desktop and mobile for the reader – remuneration for the publisher.  Everybody wins.

Will this work?

In an age where everyone’s so used to getting everything for free, paying even a low flat fee may seem strange.  Let’s hope a few people do make the effort, because every little bit counts.  Enjoy reading, support writing.

Bonus link: How to install Readability for iOS devices (iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch).

Hi everyone,

We’ve managed to snag another lovely UNLIMITED product giveaway to thank you for being Friedbeef’s Tech Readers.

Our kind sponsors this round are Digiarty Software, and they’ve sponsoring unlimited copies of the ‘WinX Bluray and DVD to iPhone’ ripper so you can bring your movies everywhere you go (also works for ripping movies on your iPad of course).

What’s so special about this lovely piece of software?

For starters it’s blazing fast, and about double the speed of a typical Blu-ray ripper (approx. 45 mins for a 2 hour movie), it also supports basic DVDs if you’re not one of those lucky folks who own Blu-Ray dics.

Normally USD29.95, now FREE for EVERYONE who goes to the exclusive giveaway page from 3rd to 5th March 2011 ONLY. So go to the page, and download it now while the offer is still on!

Tell your friends about this giveaway and this blog. The more we get, the more we giveaway :)

ps. Oh yeah, we trust that you’re using these rippers for legit backups and not piracy. kthxbai

Thanks again for reading our blog
Best regards
The Friedbeef’s Tech Team

The everyday problem:

You have numerous short movies, and want to combine videos into one file BUT don’t know how.

The simple solution:

Freemake Video Converter is a free tool that can easily combine videos into one file. It also works with merging different formats, AND it can also help download parts of online videos hosted on different portals and combine them together.

Step 1.

After you install and launch the software, add video parts you’d like to join together by clicking the œ+Video button or go to File > Add Video.

Step 2.

Establish the right sequence just using a drag-and-drop method.

Step 3.

In the upper right corner tick the option œJoin videos.

Step 4.

Choose the output video format – just click the proper button at the bottom. We recommend AVI, MP4, WMV, MKV. Select a preset (better similar to source resolution) and click œConvert.

…And that’s it! You’ve found a dead simple way to combine videos!

1. XKCD

Xkcd is the brainchild of Randall Munroe, an engineer-programmer for NASA turned comic artist who has successfully garnered the praise of readers worldwide for his highly entertaining web comic. Perhaps as belied by his background, Randall’s comics appeal to the student within all of us, using a complex assortment of topics ranging from love, math, politics and all manner of science to inspire our intellectual side while tickling us in the pituitary gland at the same time.

Xkcd differs from most mainstream comics in that the comics don’t try to make you laugh – they are always fresh and genuinely funny, and the perspectives from which the author considers when writing often provokes you to think twice and acknowledge its brilliance something which, unfortunately, is sorely lacking in the practices of our present-day commercialized industry. If nothing else, the comic is drawn with stick figures. Who doesn’t like stick figures? :)

2. The Oatmeal

The Oatmeal is a highly satirical and abundantly sarcastic web comic which tastefully crosses the line of political correctness and makes you cringe while agreeing with everything it says. The comic was started in 2009 by Matthew Inman, and as with most indie creations, brings with it the rawness of personality that only an individual artist not tied down by deadlines and salary demands can command.

While it shares its spirit of newness and innovation with Xkcd in many ways, the similarities between the two comics sharply end there. Where Xkcd tries to impress with its intelligence and coaxes humor through understanding of a deeply meaningful topic, The Oatmeal bluntly pushes its way into everyday life and tries to extract laughs out of the little things which we all already know but don’t usually say out loud, which makes it all the more funny in its own unique way (i.e. the quirks of Facebook). This actually works out, as both comics arrive from such distinct directions that they can be enjoyed by the same people, at the same time – and are bound to create gaggles in your office or dorm room amongst your mates.

3. Dilbert

Dilbert is a slight departure from the two comics above, in that it has been around for a long time and is highly recognized by even the man in the street – but that isn’t to say that it’s not funny in the least. The long time proponent of satirical office humor often sends readers into a cackle, and while the drawing style reminiscences the old-school nostalgia of the 90′s, it delivers the antiseptic atmosphere of the office environment with such accuracy that white collars should easily be able to relate Dilbert’s many office troubles with that of their own.

The web comic doesn’t detract from the print version in any way, and the full color strips are sure to please the eye of many an office boy or girl. Covering situations from what a boss would say if he was truly honest, to acting on impulse over conflicting decisions with co-workers, Dilbert is sure to delight readers by offering a window into the honest thoughts of the office worker and what they would do if they were allowed to act without restraint on them.

4. Penny Arcade

Penny Arcade is a highly acclaimed web comic by the tech community, mostly because it delves into topics which most in the community are already familiar with. It pulls the leg of famous games and new device releases, and it’s always enjoyable when something we can relate to is delivered a dose of sarcasm and humor over its obvious quirks and flaws.

The web comic is drawn in a sharp pencil style, and the attention to color and detail is remarkable relative to most other web comics, comparable even to some of the more famous established comics in the wild. If you can appreciate the approach and culture which it hails from, you’re sure to have a blast catching up with the antics of the characters in Penny Arcade.

Bonus Link: The little Red Reviewer also puts in her 2 cents about her favorite web comics

This post was written by Aaron Pek.  If you’d like to become a writer for this blog, just contact us :)