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Keeping You Posted
2008-01-18 08:21:00
I won a free ad place A few days ago I participated in a blogging tips game called ‘use a letter, share a tip‘ at Worknplay where Ritu asked readers to provide a tip from A to Z. At the time I didn’t even know that Ritu had offered perks to participate as I didn’t read all of the instructions, one of which was 125 x 125 banner ad space toa randomly picked winner. Well, to my pleasant surprise, I won the ad space and the banner is on display at Ritu’s blog. The banner was developed by Mayank Gupta of ReviewSaurus. You might remember Mayank from his guest post here Should we drop the Paid Text Links or not. Here is the banner that Mayank put together. What dyu say?   CLIQ to discontinue I received an email from CLIQ today that they will be discontinuing their service as of Jan 31st. CLIQ was originally created by Offermatica, Inc. as a way to research and explore the role of content merchandising in Social Media. As of last month, Of...

Are you an introvert or just shy?
2008-01-17 00:33:00
This is the ongoing survey question over at The Mighty Introvert authored by Mark Dykeman.  At the time I saw the survey,  57 out of 67 people had already answered that they were Introverts!  That is 85% - a huge majority.    I am assuming that most of the people visiting Mark’s blog and answering this question might also be bloggers.  I used to think the term Introvert was more applicable to the offline, face-to-face interactions but recently,  I’ve found myself struggling to participate in discussions on twitter and another network I am a member of.  I felt the same feeling that you get when you first start blogging with no readers.  Except, on twitter you already have people ‘following’ you.  That I think contributes to an already shy person’s nervousness even more.   Its almost like you are on a stage and people are watching you and waiting to hear the words coming out of your mouth....

Blogapalooza - What I Learned from 2007
2008-01-14 14:57:00
Okay, that was the first for me too… I mean, I had never heard the word Blogapalooza before either… but this has been a very popular term in the past few weeks at MiddleZoneMusings where Robert held another Group Writing Project called What I Learned from 2007 and you had to pick the posts that taught you something. I am glad I was able to make the deadline as the project ended last night.  Today all the entries are up at Robert’s Blog - Middle Zone Musings. There are some fantastic entries if you are looking for some inspiration. PS:  you are welcome to check out the most commented list to see the included posts as one of the links is messing up and Robert will be fixing it later tonite. ©2008 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved..

Interesting Posts Around the Web - Jan 11th
2008-01-11 23:00:00
This week’s posts range from having fun while blogging to social media as well as some technology tweaks. Enjoy. 1. Use a letter Share a Blogging Tip @ Worknplay 2. Ten Thousand Tweets @ Main-Vision 3. Metaphors to Live By @Coachingwizardry 4. Most Unknown Person of the Year 2007 @ Hari’s Corner 5. Sweetest Fight Ever: Hot Chocolate vs White Sugar @ SEO 2.0 6. The One Word That Helped My Blog Grow To 800+ Subscribers in 17 Weeks @ Self Made Chick 7. Bill Gates’ Last Day at Microsoft @ entrepreMusings 8. How to Make FireFox Run Faster @ Digital Inspiration 9. Filter My RSS @ ShakarGanesh 10. Why FeedDemon is Better Than Google Reader and Bloglines @ Digital Inspiration 11. Classic Corporate Subterfuge: Writing the Email Blog @ Bloggingtips ©2008 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved..
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The Bucket List - Live, Love, Laugh
2008-01-11 06:13:00
Now that I have found my niche, it should really be a piece of cake for me to churn out some wonderful posts, right? Well, as it turns out, I am still feeling overwhelming sadness and no matter how hard I try, I can’t get it out of my mind. What I am feeling these days is, I am sure, a very common feeling and many of you might be able to relate to. Losing someone can do this to anyone. Sure I have laughed and even been to a couple of movies since my friend passed away just before Christmas, but I have felt bouts of sadness and depression in the last few weeks, off and on and as I struggled to come out of it, I felt a strange uneasiness and realized there was no need to try to come OUT of a feeling of sadness when someone is taken away from your life suddenly. Rather I was going to try and take this as an opportunity to reflect upon what my life is all about and truly try to enjoy it as if I had only a short time to live. And as I traveled the web in the past fe...
More About: Love , List , Live , Laugh , The Bucket List

Getting Stuck in the Moderation Queue
2008-01-08 21:58:00
photo by mysza831 So I finally upgraded to WordPress 2.3.2 this weekend but now all of my comments are going to the moderation queue. I have checked the Discussion Options and do not have the option “an administrator must always approve the comment” box checked! What could be going on? ©2008 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved..
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Whether you know it or not, You already have a niche!
2008-01-07 04:19:00
Yes, you may not have realized it but if you have a blog, you may even have a niche already. I am pretty sure you are surprised. I certainly was surprised when this is exactly what I was told by a dear friend Karen Zara of abaminds the other day. I had mentioned to Karen that I was a bit in a dilemma as to what topics I should be writing about since I had no particular niche. But Karen came back with a surprising answer. Karen’s email was filled with some great advice but here is the gist of what she thought my niche was: “Dear Pearl, I spent some time studying Interesting Observations. I noticed your posts tend to vary among “personal development,” “meta-blogging” and “social media,” with some exceptions. In my opinion, you already have a niche. You just don’t see it as such. ;-)” That one statement made me take a re-look at my blog a bit more closely. And sometime ago, I read mention of this blog in a post by anoth...
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Interesting Posts Around the Web - Jan 4
2008-01-04 21:33:00
I want to open my weekly Interesting Posts Around the Web with a link to Blogtrepreneur that I am very fond of but was very sad when Adnan declared that the site was for sale. Well, things change and Adnan has decided that for the time being he will continue to build the site up and posted his Best of 2007 posts. Check out his blog, I am sure you will like it. Top 10 Obscure Google Search Tricks @ Lifehacker Now we all know Lifehacker is filled with cool tips and tricks, but this one is a must if you are still using Google for your searches; don’t forget to read through the comments. Starting the New Year with Death @ pickthebrain Questions to get closer to you @Successful-blog was started in May of 2007 and the yesterday’s questions was: What three words describe your quest this year? How to get Ideas from 66 Lists @ Abaminds (I have to say this is a comprehensive list leading to more lists, leading to further lists) Steven presented 20 Websites with Unique Layo...
More About: Eres

Reality is NOT Stranger than Fiction Anymore
2008-01-04 03:41:00
WOW! Here is a real cool article I want to share with you tonite. I first thought it cannot be true but reading the following lines in the article amazed me! Click on the link to read the article: ‘Kryptonite’ discovered in mine Kryptonite is no longer just the stuff of fiction feared by caped superheroes. A new mineral matching its unique chemistry - as described in the film Superman Returns - has been identified in a mine in Serbia. “Finding out that the chemical composition of a material was an exact match to an invented formula for the fictitious kryptonite “was the coincidence of a lifetime,” he added. ©2008 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved..
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Spreading the Love via Compassion
2008-01-03 06:47:00
I always say that Group Writing Projects are an easy way to blog. Someone else has already done the thinking and picked a topic for you to write your experience or opinions on. And “Spread the Love NOW” couldn’t have come at a better time for me. There are a lots of the things in this project that resonate with me now. One, that the project is to write something about Compassion , a character trait that I saw a lot of recently when my very close friend passed away. Second, because compassion is a trait that I am very passionate about and I feel we can’t have enough of. Third, the project is organized by the three monks, Albert of Urban Monk, Kenton of Zen Inspired Self Development and Wade of The Middle Way, who so passionately write on all of the subjects that are very dear to me such as meditation, Buddhism, consciousness, spirituality, philosophy and self improvement. As I understand compassion, it is what we feel when we see someone else in pain an...

Wishing You a Happy 2008
2007-12-31 06:43:00
  I haven’t had the right state of mind to do my most popular or my favorite posts of 2007  from my blog and from other blogs,  although I am sure I have them linked in various bookmarking sites but I do want to thank all of my readers for sticking up with me and supporting this blog by subscribing to the RSS , commenting and emailing me this week with their supportive messages.   I also want to apologize to all of the friends who have been asking for digg /stumble or Mixx their articles or whose emails I couldn’t respond to,  I promise to do better in the coming weeks and months.  In keeping up with my goals for 2008 ,  I am looking for ideas to add some quality content to this blog, so if you have suggestions, please let me know.   One of the things I did a couple of times in the past and a lot of the bloggers do is the Interesting weekly links,  which I will be starting again.   So, please check often t...
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Faith that Tests
2007-12-29 06:06:00
I haven’t written any posts in over a week. Because I lost one of my very close friends to cancer a day before Christmas. The funeral was on Christmas Eve, Sunday. The experience has been devastating to say the least. Doctors had told us as well as her, that there were only a few weeks left. So, I used to spend a few hours every day at the hospital but that Saturday, I was there by her bedside since 8 in the morning till 11 at night. Around 5pm I asked her if I could leave to return the next morning, she insisted that I stay another few minutes, then again around 8pm I tried to leave but she asked for ‘just 5 more minutes’ and I stayed until 11pm. I left when she seemed exhausted and fell asleep, after waving goodbyes to us - family members and friends. She was happy, giving high-fives and laughing at our jokes, with all her faculties working, remembering old times, sometimes filling in the details herself. We were so hopeful that day. Our families ha...
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Have you thought of your blogging goals for 2008?
2007-12-22 08:14:00
As the year comes to an end, its time to reflect upon our accomplishments and a time to revisit some goals, offline as well as online. I started this blog in April of this year, and at that time I had no idea about how long I would be blogging and didn’t have a clue if anyone would read it let alone become a subscriber of the blog. I loved making connections with people all over the globe and learning about different aspects people shared about their lives, difficulties and successes. But then somewhere along the line, I started thinking about monetizing this blog. Since everyone in the blogosphere is talking about different ways you can make money, I confess I was swayed in that direction and started putting those banners in the sidebar. Without even realizing, I got too hung up on signing up for different affiliate programs and trying different banners, all of which weren’t making any money, zero, nil! Well, because this is not a product blog, this is about int...
More About: Blogging , Goals , Thought , 2008

5 Easy Ways To Maintain Weight During Holidays
2007-12-19 01:15:00
Every other place you look on the internet, you can find people talking about Losing Weigh t after holidays or as a resolution for the new year. I think we shouldn’t start out the holidays on a pre-supposition that we are going to definitely gain weight. Because when we associate holidays with gaining weight, we also take some of the enjoyment out of the celebrations. Losing weight is not a simple matter as most would agree but there are simple things that can be done to help maintain it . New Year isn’t too far and the holidays are upon us, so how are you going to maintain your current weight? Here are some of the easy to follow “rules“ to remember 1. Exercise Moderation Eat and drink in moderation. Being aware of what you eat and drink will help big time in your goal of keeping fit. The best way to enjoy any party is to stay awake (and not puking) during the whole event. While alcoholic drinks are part of the celebrations, they do add up ...
More About: Holidays , Easy

Better To-Do Lists - Jott yourself reminders
2007-12-17 06:55:00
My struggle to stay consistent with blog postings continue but as you can see holidays and holiday blues have slowed me down! I definitely need to do something to get over holiday blues, may be I’ll try writing about it, and see if that breaks the spell I am under right now.. It must be a spell because no matter what I read and want to write about, just cannot bring myself to do it. I have to say though that despite these shortcomings in the blogging life, I am blessed with so many great friends and meet such nice people every single day that even if I wanted to give up blogging, I wouldn’t be able to, ‘coz the stakes are too high, ‘coz I’d lose too much and I don’t think I could bear that. I exchanged a couple of comments with Steven Snell of Vandelaydesign the other day asking him how he comes up with such killer posts on a consistent basis and he gave some pointers as to writing lot of the ideas in a notepad, and writing most of the posts on...
More About: Lists , Remi

Would You Want to Exchange Social Media Information?
2007-12-13 19:59:00
Does it ever happen to you that you are working on a post and then someone else writes on the same subject? I find it happening to me very often and I end up feeling my post isn’t going to be as good and I won’t publish it! Just recently it happened twice with the same person - JohnTP, who has a post today on exchanging social media contacts. I had this post sitting in my drafts for sometime now but I never took the time to publish it but seeing John’s post, I thought it might not be such a bad idea after all because he took the idea from Daniel Scocco who had done the same thing! One of the reasons I kept it in the drafts folders was that I am not active on many of the sites I have joined. The only sites I check regularly are Stumble Upon, Digg, MyBlogLog and now Mixx. But here are some of the sites you might want to join me on. Leave your contact info or profile url in the comments section so that other readers and I can also join you. http://tyropearl.stu...
More About: Social , Media , Information , Exchange

What headline should I give to this post?
2007-12-11 21:08:00
That’s right! I couldn’t come up with an appropriate headline for what I wanted to share with you today in this post. So, I’ll let you decide and share it with me in the comments, of course I’d love to hear anything else you want to share. Below is the account of how I spent my morning today and as I end up spending hours and hours on the Internet, I have less and less time to write good posts or do something constructive! So, I decided to share with you all some of the things I discovered during my online session and came away feeling good. It all started when I stumbled Tad’s post SEO vs SEO 2.0 today. On Stumble Upon, I categorized it as Weblogs and SEO, SEO 2.0. A few minutes later I saw a message from him that the post fits more within Marketing and Search but he couldn’t change or fix it, so I would have to do it. I tried changing the tags by clicking “Edit your tags”, did not work and after a few tries, I realize...
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Thirteen for you giving away $100!
2007-12-10 18:08:00
I’ve been meaning to write this post for days now! and I recommend you follow the links in this post right away and make a post on your blog! why? lets see… theres a very good reason and I’m sure you’ll like it! Diane over at 134u has a very interesting blog on which she writes about blogging, making money, health, SEO, reviews as well as contests! The blog is named 134u (thirteen for you) for a reason, it was started on the 13th, it completed two months obviously on November 13th, and Diane has a lot of #13 lists which are worth reading and she is also holding a contest that ends on Dec. 13th. In this contest, you can win $100 just by following some simple rules: Write a post about this contest in at least 100 words and include 2 links: one to this page and one to my homepage (the link to my homepage will have the anchor “personal blog”) - you will get one entry in this contest; Subscribe to her RSS feed through a reader - you will get one ent...
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Coordination, Cooperation and Collaboration - Lead to Success
2007-12-07 22:18:00
Last couple of weeks have been exciting at this blog as you all know with the Best 101 Lists making the front page of Digg as well as Delicious.   A few friends asked how this whole experience was so here is what my state of mind was and some background leading up to it. About a couple of months ago, I started writing an article and gave it a headline "Cooperation , not Competition, Lead s to Success "  and while I was still thinking how to give shape to my thoughts, I saw Maki's article Your Fellow Blogger Is Not a Competitor and given that his articles are always much more detailed and get a much bigger response from the readers, my idea of that post vanished because he covered more than I ever could.   But the idea kept lingering in my mind because I was experiencing the support and cooperation on a daily basis from so many bloggers, be it in the social media scene or outside of blogging.    As I experienced more and more supp...
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My Best Blogging Achievement
2007-12-04 08:18:00
Simonne asks ‘What is your best blogging achievement?” in the writing project she is hosting!    How can I call any one of the milestones as my best blogging achievement ever?   Each of the events has stood out bigger and better than the ones before and left me completely in awe!   There were times when I was not getting a single comment on my posts and was overjoyed at getting my first comment from Grace of NeonScent!   Since then, I have been showered with so many friendships, so many comments and so much support that I can’t even begin to count!    Looking back at some of the events,  I wonder, could my first guest post at freshblogger, when I was still a “new kid on the block”,  be counted as my biggest achievement?    Or was it when I got tagged with my first meme?    I was really happy to be tagged by Kim and it meant I had gained someone’s a...
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I am, all because of you!
2007-12-02 16:45:00
photo by: face-to-face A leaf fluttered in through the window this morning, as if supported by the rays of the sun, a bird settled on the fire escape, joy in the task of coffee, joy accompanied me as I walked. ~Anais Nin This is exactly how I feel today! Joy, accompanying me as I walk! You’ll see what I mean if you head on over to see some Notes of Friendship! With love to all my readers…. I am, this blog is, All because of you! Note: Check out the What to Look for In List Posts for an update! ©2007 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved..

Random Act of Kindness
2007-11-30 22:03:00
Photo by: Monseteca “All you have shall some day be given; Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors.” Kahlil Gibran We just got done being thankful for all that we have, ate good delicious meals and celebrated! But when was the last time we thought about giving away some of what we have? Giving, without expecting something in return? I used to volunteer at breast cancer walks, heart walks and autism walks but haven’t done that in some time now. Life gets in the way and it is easy to forget to do those things that we don’t depend upon for our daily living. If you need some inspiration to do something of that nature, head over to Zen Habits and read what Leo Babauta has to say. Leo has a way of moving and inspiring you with his down to earth, straight forward, heart felt writings. Many times, I go over to his blog to simply spend a few minutes browsing through different subjects he writes on and pic...
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What To Look For In List Posts
2007-11-28 17:04:00
Group Writing Projects are always fun to participate in that they not only make for a nice linkbait, they also spark new discussions with new bloggers.  Building List s as part of the group project becomes even more enjoyable and useful because they offer how-to’s and best-of’s.  But if you were to pick top 3 from a huge list of participants, what are the things you look for?    That’s the dilemma going on this week at Luciano’s Lists Group Writing Project that I also participated in with my Best 101 Lists.  The task is humongous for Luciano and I have no idea how he is going to handle it.   So, first, here are some of the things that come to my mind when picking the best: (although I may not be able to apply these for my selection)   List should be fun for all readers.  Many times lists are made with each point not clearly different than the one before, which can easily become...
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Best 101 Lists
2007-11-23 22:50:00
Coming up with 101 lists has been a trend these days! I’ve been saving these lists in my delicious account and elsewhere but thought I’d share them with you all in case you haven’t seen them yet! So, here is a Master List of the best ‘101′ lists out there! This is an ongoing list and I plan to add to it as I find more! If you know of some good 101 list and would like me to add to it, please let me know in the comments! or via the Contact Form Enjoy!   101 Self Improvement Resources @ Pick the Brain 101 posting ideas that will make your blog sizzle @ I Help You Blog 101 Commonsense Management Tips @ business Intelligence Lowdown 101 Link Building Tips to Market Your Website @ SEOBook 101 Amazing Earth Facts @ Space 101 Real Estate Blog Topics @ Real Estate Tomato 101 Uses For PLR Articles @ memwg 101 Blog Posting Ideas @ SEO 2.0 Onreact 101 Best Web Freebies You Probably Don’t Know @ JennyHow 101 Essential Freelancing Resources @ FreeLanceSw...
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Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
2007-11-22 06:05:00
Photo: Riptheskull   A very happy thanksgiving to you all!  
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Awards, Accolades II
2007-11-20 20:21:00
I am amazed at the level of encouragement I get from all of you guys. And it is humbling to receive tremendous support from you all via emails, MyBlogLog messages, SU messages and IMs! Some of you have gone beyond my wildest imagination in bestowing upon me your love and support and for that I am grateful! So, without further ado, here is a list of awards I’ve received in the past few weeks… (I’m sure I forgot some and technorati reactions aren’t always accurate so if you remember giving me an award, please email me or let me know in the comments and I’ll update this post). I was completely surprised by Bes’s mention from Reader Appreciation Project that I was one of the recipients of Readers First award! Although, honestly, I do not even remember when I wrote to him.. but then thats the beauty of interacting with your readers… you never know who is reading your blog! My heartfelt thanks to RAProject authors: Simonne, Ronald and...
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Think Different and Overcome Negativity
2007-11-17 06:05:00
When I posted Randy Pausch’s The Last Lecture video back in September, I watched it again and again and was amazed at how much courage this man has, how fearless he is and how happy he was, despite the fact he knew he was dieing. Now look at another clip “The lecture revisited”: Here is another clip that is very inspiring and makes you think a little differently about your life! These are people who found ways to stand out from the crowd. These are people who did not allow their lives to fall in chaos. When I watch their winning attitudes, my own problems and heartaches seem trivial. And my thinking goes something like this: I am not going to obsess about what I do not have, rather I am going to concentrate on what I do have; I will do everything to develop resilience and not let anything break me; What can I do to achieve my dreams? What can I do to be the best? People turn their lives around all the time, especially in the face of adversity. We all...
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Flickr’s Two Billionth photo
2007-11-15 22:06:00
I am not sure if you saw this or not yet, but thought I’d not want to miss posting about such a huge milestone reached by one of my favorite sites. A user named yukesmooks from Brisbane, Australia, posted the following as 2 billionth picture to Flick r. I wonder what the first billionth picture was! Anyone seen that? I don’t even remember if Flickr announced their first billionth or any of these milestones! The picture above is a shot of a gum tree as posted by Flickr staff on their blog! Must be an awesome feeling for yukesmoos getting all that attention! What was your biggest milestone in the on line world?
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I cannot add my Stumble Upon Fans as friends
2007-11-14 15:16:00
Following are some of the people who have befriended me on Stumble Upon but I cannot add them because I have reached my friend quota of 200 Max! I’d like to return the favor even though there are a lot of articles written about befriending only those stumblers you share common interests with! I somehow do not feel comfortable with that philosophy, and I’ll explain below why! There are a couple of reasons why I would like to befriend ALL of the people who added me as their friend 1) The idea behind Stumble Upon is to find new and interesting websites and with over 3 million members now using SU, everyone is bound to have some interesting stumbles collected and for me to dismiss someone just because their stumbles are not about blogging does not make sense to me! 2) I have added a lot of people as my friends but not all have reciprocated it by adding me as their friend and however small an issue this is, it bothers me. So, I can understand how someone might feel if I...
More About: Friends , Fans , Anno

How do you prefer to subscribe? via Email or RSS?
2007-11-12 02:04:00
I’ve been swamped with more and more blogs that are landing in my favorites folder or different readers.   I have used Google Reader, majority of the times but also like to use Bloglines and Netvibes as well as FireFox but lately I have felt inundated with the RSS subscriptions and have been signing up via email subscriptions!  I also have a few newsletter subscriptions albeit very few and they are enjoyable because they bring me to the blog if I haven’t checked what they’ve been doing lately….    Oh, I do employ a lot of the techniques described by the experts to make these readers more organized.  As a matter of fact, I collected some good links in this post Google Reader hacks - repository; but it seems this is an ongoing problem.    I am sure most of you are reading hundreds of feeds and some must also be using more than one means of getting to your favorite blo...
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