(Reading time: 5 – 8 minutes)

Remember the $15 Amazon gift certificate for the 1000th comment here on Website In A Weekend? Lisis scored that one. Actually, Lisis’ son Hunter scored a Lego Manta Warrior from this windfall! Thanks, Mom, you’re the coolest.

Read more Lisis at Quest for Balance. Note well: Lisis takes on the Big Questions. She may well change how you see the world. Perhaps even how you see yourself.

Another blast from the past… Recall “How NOT to Comment on Blogs (Dude, you’re busted).” Here’s more of the same type of commenting shenanigans, now reported by Lee Ka Hoong in Beware Of Comment Spammer In 2010! Some people.

I lurk all over the web. Sure, I comment too, but I do as much lurking as commenting, maybe a lot more really. Every once in a while, this lurking pays off huge. For example, occasional Website In A Weekend reader Elmot runs Pinoy Sounding Board, where he calls out all sorts of political shenanigans in the Philippine Republic. Check this out: Politicians on Pantyliners, The Most Ingenious Campaign Strategy There Is.

I’m almost speechless.

One thing I can say: Politicians seem to be the same everywhere. One of those things makes you unsure whether to laugh, or cry.

More open loops

Marshall Craw & Family report PR 3 for Real Off Grid Energy and Life. So does Walter Yu. If you have a couple of minutes, go visit both sites.

Here’s what they have in common:

1. Tight niche focus.
2. Regular posting schedule.
3. Very few comments.
4. Relevant and targeted outgoing links.

I can tell you for a fact Walter spends about 5 hours per month, maximum, on his web site. He’s got it down to a science. Why do I know this? Because he brings over a bag of groceries for stir fry, picks my brain, and pounds out articles 1, 2, 3.

If you want to pick my brain, show up with a bag of groceries. Just call ahead.

And stay tuned in as we watch Marshall and Walter keep growing.

Updated posts

Probably half (i.e., 100,000 words) of Website In A Weekend is evergreen or pillar content. This means it has to be periodically reviewed and updated. Which is boring, but necessary. With the Website In A Weekend eCourse now underway, keeping articles up to date is more important than ever.

Here’s this week’s crop of updated articles.

Updated Installing WordPress article from Friday Evening. Updated to use Bluehost’s Simple Script system, which I now use myself and recommend. It’s much better than Fantastico, as good as a manual installation.

More WordPress Simple Security: 5 Plugins to help you lock out unwanted visitors. Carlos found a problem. I fixed it. Details in comments.

If you have written a series of articles like Valentina’s MasterMind Power series, check to see whether you have these guidelines covered: Shingle Your Blog Posts To Provide Continuity In Snackable Chunks. If so, get linked!

New articles

If you’ve taken some time off, you might want to check through this bumper crop of really great stuff this last week.

• Help Haiti Blog Challenge: I’m Yours… All Weekend. Here’s the deal: you commit to building your website in a weekend from January 22-24, I’ll personally coach you through the entire process… for $300.
• When B.L.O.G. Turns into J.O.B. – Downshift and accelerate. Sometimes, you just don’t feel it. Writing is hard. Your passion seems to have evaporated. This is exactly when you need to pour it on… read more and see.
• MasterMind Power I: How 5 Boys Achieved Unparalled Success. Read how 5 small town boys achieved unparalleled success by masterminding. If they can do it, you can too. First of a 4 part series, don’t miss any of them.
• Blogging Katamari Style (I’m gonna roll you up!). Let’s revisit Matt Cutts Katamari principle. Never heard of it? Then you need to read, and understand Google expects your blog to be rolling it up.
• MasterMind Power Part II: Napoleon Hill – Father of the MasterMind. Here’s 7 critical principles for growing your MasterMind Power, principles which will return your investment many-fold. Take the time to read and learn.
• DIY WordPress: Thesis Theme Custom Splash Page. It’s easy to make a custom splash page using the Thesis theme for WordPress, just follow the easy steps outlined in this short article.

Upcoming

Look forward to Valentina Bellicova’s 3rd and 4th installments of her MasterMind Power article series:

• MasterMind Power III: W5 Of a Successful Mastermind Group.
• MasterMind Power IV: Some MasterMind Examples.

The Week In Review Series

Last WIAW Week in Review

Lurkers, Saboteurs & Gauntlets… it’s Two Weeks in Review! We flush lurkers into the comment spotlight, discuss self-sabotage and take a peek at one’s man’s step-by-step for launching a product. It’s the Week in Review!

Next WIAW Week in Review

Stay tuned…