If you’re looking for an effective solution to help get your blog noticed then the Contextual Partnership Plugin for WordPress bloggers could be well worth consideration. Perhaps the most attractive aspect is that there is no cost involved.

According to the developers the plugin is designed to;

Drive more targeted visitors to your blog (or blogs) by strategically linking your blog to and from other bloggers participating in the network. The exact method used to achieve this remains confidential but apparently it’s not a basic reciprocal link exchange – nor the more common 3 way linking arrangement often seen between bloggers.

Enhance the user experience for your blog visitors by providing them with links to other high quality blogs for further information on subjects of interest (and it can do this without you actually loosing the visitor which is a great feature).

Indirectly increase your search engine rankings by building highly relevant incoming links to your blog for keyword terms you define, related to your own niche market.

Not a bad indirect benefit at all.

To better understand how the network works, first you need to know what a “contextual link” actually is. A contextual link is simply a link “within content” of a blog post and “within context” of specific keyword terms in that post. For example the term “dog training” found within a blog post becomes a link out to another blog (related to “dog training”) within the network. Contextual Links are found all over the internet – bloggers interlink their own pages contextually, there are paid advertising programs that allow you to place contextual advertising links and earn per click, and bloggers naturally link out to other websites they find useful “contextually” as well.

This is the key to the “Contextual Partnership”. When you install and setup the WordPress Plugin, you’re asked to provide the URL’s you wish to advertise on other partners blogs, and the keyword terms you want those blogs to use to link back to your own. When a match is found within the network for the keyword terms you provide (and assuming it meets with the Contextual Partnership’s strategic linking methodology), a link back to your blog is assigned, and your account has a credit removed.
The amount of credits your account holds appears to be directly related to the number of links you’re providing to other partners in the network for the keyword terms they themselves are looking to use to advertise. Apparently for every link you provide for another partner, you earn 1 credit. That 1 credit is then “cashed in” to assign a link back to your own blog from other partners whenever a match is found for your own keyword terms. So if you already have 100 posts in your blog, and each of those pages finds a match to provide a link to another partner, then technically you could receive 100 incoming links to your blog as soon as you’ve been approved to participate in the partnership. You also continually earn more points and incoming links as you continue to blog and add more posts just like you usually do.

That’s the basic overview and you’ll find more specific information on the plugin website including details of many features not mentioned here (like the ability to select specifically which blog posts you want to include – or nor include in the network)…

http://www.contextualpartnership.com

Uptake by the blogger community seems to have been extremely good and this new service looks to become very popular. In the first two weeks of launch the partnership already had over 54,000 individual places to place links throughout the network, and within the first 4 weeks over 10,000 advertising links had been allocated between network partners. This is most likely a result to how easy it is to actually setup the plugin and participate – it literally takes 5 minutes to install and setup – although approval can take anywhere from 24-72 hours depending on the moderation queue as only high quality blogs are accepted to participate to keep out the splogs and spammers.
This seems to be one of those services worth giving a shot for a few months, and by the looks of things the developers have some exciting new features in the pipeline to make things even more effective for partners in the future.

You can find out full details and download the plugin below…

http://www.contextualpartnership.com

Or alternatively you can download the plugin directly from WordPress…

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/contextual-partnership-link-exchange-plugin/

Written by Debbie Weil, the book’s full title is The Corporate Blogging Book: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know to Get It Right. Indeed, this book not only provides you with the knowledge you need about corporate blogging but also gives you practical tips on how to do things the right way.

I like how Debbie opens the book with 20 questions that any corporate executive would probably have with regard to blogging. With this kind of opening, the book is perfect for the business man who has heard tons about blogging and yet does not really understand the whole concept. In this manner, Debbie provides quick knowledge and quickly eases the fear of the unknown at the same time.

It does not end there, however. The book provides in depth analysis of the issues that a business might face if it, indeed, decides to join the corporate blogging bandwagon. In addition to that, readers would find tools and ideas on how to go about the business of blogging for the corporate setting.

Just because something is not fresh off the press does not mean that it is old and outdated. The Corporate Blogging Book is a good place to start if you are still vacillating on whether or not blogging is the way to go for your business.

While a number of topics are currently being discussed in the United States, one of the most controversial is that of the right to privacy. This hot button issue is made more complex in a post 9-11 environment. We struggle to find and maintain a balance between personal rights and public safety.

Most people would vigorously defend the right to privacy, feeling that the accessibility of too much personal information is not only an invasion, but morally wrong, and unconstitutional. After all, prior to September 11th, the United States had not been subjected to the overt terrorism that had plagued other countries.

The events of September 11th pervaded our false sense of security and caused us truly question if the enemy was in a far off country or our next door neighbor. In our post 09/11 world, the government’s responsibility to protect Americans has taken on new meaning. In an aggressive effort to protect us from the threat within, the government has adopted a “by any means necessary” approach even if that means listening in to phone calls, reading emails, reviewing library records or scouring through websites. The recent foiled plot of airline bombings in Britain is an example of how invasion of privacy can in fact keep us safe. The individuals stopped for this heinous crime were discovered first by a tip but second from police monitoring private activity which included phone calls.

In the instance where a terrorism plot is averted because of the invasion of privacy there can be no argument to the validity of the practice. Yet, we also know that innocent people have had their privacy invaded when they did not pose a threat to national security.

The national debate over privacy has repercussions on a smaller level as well. Corporations and employees struggle with privacy issues in the workplace. Companies also are seeking to protect themselves from a different kind of terrorism – that of legal and financial exposure caused by the actions of its employees, whether innocent or intentionally malicious.

Privacy is legally protected by the Constitution of the United States, and at the very core of America’s existence. As politicians, voters and special interest groups debate these constitutional issues, employees and employers seek to understand the rules of engagement within business.

Does an employee have privacy rights at work? How far can employers go in monitoring the activities of employees to ensure that they are protected from liability?

Employers not only have a right to monitor the activities of employees but a responsibility. Computer activity, including e-mails and phone calls can be monitored by the employer. In fact, some degree of monitoring is recommended. Emails are discoverable in legal action exposing employers to a great degree of risk. Even if the employer has a policy that expressly states that personal emails are allowable, the company still has a right to monitor individual emails.

Phone calls, except those placed on designated “for personal use” phones, can also be monitored. Call center and customer service employees are routinely monitored for quality assurance and training. There are however, federal and state regulations which must be adhered to which in many locations including notifying parties that the call is being monitored. Most employees will need to place or receive a personal call from work at some point in time. However, as a best practice, employees should use pay phones or cell phones when they must conduct personal business during the work day.

As we seek to balance privacy and protection on a national stage, we will undoubtedly make adjustments on a more personal level. We have already become accustomed to much of our lives being monitored through security cameras, electronic tracking and internet use so it is possible that what is now viewed as invasion will simply become normal. In the interim, it is wise to assume that what happens in Vegas, may not stay in Vegas!

c/o-: Richard Hall; Buzzle.com

As an indvidual, a friend, and a leader, I strive very hard to never blog or write anything that I wouldn’t say to the person sitting next to me. Granted, I’m an incredibly blunt individual and don’t leave much on the table. But I try to speak my mind appropriately.

Blogging seems to have raised the criticisms and bluntness of things to an entirely new level.

Want to slam someone? Write it on your blog.

Want to attack someone’s idea? Write it on your blog.

Want to make baseless accusations against someone? Write it on your blog.

Sometimes, I think we all forget that this is a business – and it’s not about emotion or personal feelings, but about what makes money.. and those attacks and baseless accusations – instead of upfront, honest dealing with each other, will eventually catch up with you.

It was October 3, 2006, when Aemilianum Broadcasting Network’s campus radio, broke the odds of silence which momentarily engulfed the city of Sorsogon, courtesy of Milenyo.  It was a momentous day for communication in a city when nothing could be heard but sounds coming from different tounges, which at many times filthy and irresponsible. It was the day when the primitive word of mouth way of communication became the master of information.  Whatever was it, it was a triumph of mind over matter, of one’s ingenuity, this time I am referring to Fr. Paolo Alutto and the batch of wacky but working individuals led by Rosauro Amistoso.  They installed the not impossible but important task of delivering information via DWAM-FM 94.3 mhz, the campus radio turn into an EMERGENCY RADIO.

Eight of them, nine to be exact, to include Fr. Paolo Alutto, this Sauro – led technicians braved the heat on top of ACI’s building fixed, installed what was the Emergency Radio.  Sweatingly on a rotation basis, these students upon instruction from Amistoso did a job they knew will surely be proud of as long as they live.

So, the sound on air began.  It was a sound many thought coming from a different areal location, and turned out to be voices of Manny Daep, et al.  Thus, Aemilianum Broadcasting Network took the gigantic move of delivering news, music and informations to the people of Sorsogon City.  The batteries that never worked before did.  The transistors functioned either through batteries or generator.  People as per text messages rejoiced, thanking Aemilianum for facing a tough odd, for lurking through dark moments of uncertainties.  Yet, it was a deed done, to the benefit of everybody.

One or two weeks, it was only one voice, until suddenly power is slowly restored, the communicators were back one by one.  But history unveiled again the Emergency Radio leading the pack.  Milenyo’s aftermath, its wrath chronicled and talked at DWAM-FM. Leading voices of Governor Lee, Cong. Escudero, Cong. Solis were heard over the Emergency Radio,  their  seething voices of power, of consolation, of comfort, and the people listened and understood.  Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo condoled, the city Mayor cried, Soreco is restored, yet the emergency radio DWAM-FM remained steadily at work.  Even when the giant radio networks resumed operation the lowly DWAM-FM, the campus radio, the Emergency Radio, continued at one time stood tall and delivered giant tasks.

            ONE VOICE, ONE RADIO …. what else?

           Nothing else but the EMERGENCY RADIO, DWAM-FM, 94.3 mhz.

            LONG LIVE!

By  MANNY   DAEP

DWAM-FM  news  director

Visit the Aemilianum Yahoogroups for more Information on Sorsogon’s Leading TV and Radio Network.