25 Tips for Marketing Your Blog.

With so many blogs being created every day, it’s a mystery to many bloggers how to make their blog stand out. There are many types of blogs or purposes for blogs and a certain number of tactics are applicable to just about all of them, so here is a “short” list of tips for marketing and optimizing a blog:

1. Decide on a stand alone domain name www.myblog.com or directory of existing site www.mysite.com/blog. Sub domain is also an option blog.mysite.com. Avoid hosted services that do not allow you to use your own domain name!
2. Obtain and install customizable blog software – WordPress and Moveable Type are my favorites.
3. Customize blog look and feel templates – aka design.
4. Research keywords and develop a glossary – Keyword Discovery, WordTracker, SitePoint, SEOBook Keyword Research.
5. Optimize the blog:
   • Template optimization – RSS subscription options, social bookmark links, HTML code, Unique title tags, URLs, Sitemap
   • Add helper plugins specific to WordPress or MT
   • Create keyword rich categories (reference your keyword glossary)
6. Enable automatic trackback and ping functionality.
7. Create Feedburner Pro account and enable feed tracking.
8. Setup Google acount for Sitemap, validate and prep for future submission.
9. Identify authoritative blogs, web sites and hubs for outbound resource links and blogroll.
10. Format archived posts, related posts.
11. Enable statistics for tracking – Performancing, Google Analytics, ClickTracks.
12. Submit RSS feed and Blog URL to prominent RSS and Blog directories / search engines.
13. Engage in an ongoing link building campaign.
14. If podcast or video content are available, submit to Podcast and Vlog directories.
15. Submit blog url to paid directories with categories for blogs – Yahoo, BOTW, bCentral, WOW, JoeAnt.
16. Optimize and distribute a press release announcing blog.
17. Request feedback or reviews of your blog in relevant forums, discussion threads. If you have a resourceful post that will help others, point to it.
18. Research and comment on relevant industry related blogs and blogs with significant centers of influence.
19. Post regularly. If it’s a news oriented blog, 3-5 times per day. If it’s an authoritative blog, 3-5 times per week, but each post must be unique and high value.
20. Monitor inbound links, traffic, comments and mentions of your blog – Google Alerts, Technorati, Blogpulse, Yahoo News, Ask Blogs and Feeds.
21. Always respond to comments on your blog and when you detect a mention of your blog on another blog, thank that blogger in the comments of the post.
22. Make contact with related bloggers on AND offline if possible.
23. When making blog posts always cite the source with a link and don’t be afraid to mention popular bloggers by name. Use keywords in the blog post title, in the body of the post and use anchor text when you link to previous posts you’ve made.
24. Use social networking services, forums and discussion threads to connect with other bloggers. If they like your stuff, they will link to you.
25. Remember when web sites were a new concept and the sage advice to print your web address everywhere you print your phone number? The same advice applies for your blog.

Of course if you don’t want to do it yourself, you can always have a blog consultant do these things (and more) for you, but I realize that there are quite a few personal bloggers as well as small business bloggers looking for this kind of information. I hope it’s helpful.

Child sex in Kenya: Kenyans are the biggest customers.

THIS POST HAS BEEN MOVED TO : http://myafricatoday.blogspot.com/2007/05/child-sex-in-kenya-kenyans-are-biggest.html

Mubarak’s son denies Presidential ambitions.

It is widely believed that the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, has been smoothening grounds for his son, Gamal Mubarak, to succeed him to the throne.

Gamal Mubarak, the youngest son of the Egyptian leader, has throughout remained tight-lipped over the issue. He has now flatly denied harbouring plans to become the next President of Egypt.

The young Mubarak broke the news to ‘Orbit’, the Arabic satellite TV channel. He said assumption that he intends to run for President is a mere fabrication.

Mr Mubarak’s denial came few days after he had married the daughter of a wealthy business tycoon.

The President’s son is among the key political kingpins in the ruling party. He heads the government’s economic liberalisation programme.

Like their counterparts in Senegal, Egyptian opposition have been living with the fear that President Mubarak has embarked on radical political reforms purposely to smoothen grounds for his son to succeed him.

Senegalese opposition have also been concerned about the rise of Karim Wade, President Wade’s only son who manages some major development projects, including the construction of a new international airport.

During his election victory speech, the Senegalese leader accused some opposition leaders of pedalling what he called “unfounded and groundless rumours.” Despite Mr Wade’s denial, key opposition figures feel threatened any time Karim Wade appears on television.

Karim Wade, a qualified financial engineer, has for not openly demonstrated his political ambitions.

But Gamal Mubarak said he is not interested in holding any execution position in the country.

Nigeria’s native languages to promote science application

Nigeria’s traditional rulers have launched a new initiative to encourage the development of science and technology by using local languages. Using Nigeria’s three main native languages in science aims at making science results more easily applied by the country’s regional and local administrations.

The Council of Traditional Rulers in Nigeria says that science and technology is not perceived as culturally relevant, and is not being used in local situations because development strategies are communicated in English – a language not spoken by a large percentage of people.

The initiative was launched last week – on 20 March – at the UN’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) headquarters in Paris, France. It follows a call by the African Union (AU) to make 2007 a year of developing and promoting science, technology and innovation in Africa.

The initiative will develop teaching and communication materials on science and technology in Nigeria’s three official languages – Ibo, Hausa and Yoruba – to promote a culture of science and innovation for building local innovation systems.

Scientists, engineers and information and communication technology experts will participate in the scheme, working closely with institutes and universities, according to the scheme.

Oba Okunade Sijuade, the Ooni (“King”) of Ife, southwest Nigeria, pointed out that Nigeria constitutes over a quarter of sub-Saharan Africa’s population and that as the initiative develops, the traditional leaders would “reach out to other monarchs not only in Nigeria, but also other parts of Africa.”

An example of this is the plan to establish a science academy – the Yoruba Academy of Science – to promote collaboration throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

King Sijuade added that consultations to establish a Nigerian regional office of the Islamic Academy of Science are ongoing.

Addressing the Nigerian leaders, Koïchiro Matsuura, director general of UNESCO, said, “By promoting science teaching in your mother tongue, you are helping to preserve Nigeria’s linguistic and cultural diversity, as well as expanding access to scientific knowledge.”

“Above all, [you are] working to raise awareness at all levels of the importance of science and technology to national development.”

UNESCO is currently cooperating with Nigeria on programmes to revitalise the national science and innovation system, which has been deteriorating for decades.

This includes a science and technology forum for parliamentarians, the establishment of a high-level science governance structure and a proposal to create a US$ 5 billion endowment fund for a Nigerian National Science Foundation.

Nigeria’s monarchs are representatives of the traditional rulership in Nigeria. Their role in government is mostly representative and reconciliatory; making peace interventions, courtesy visits and negotiations. Locally, their powers may be greater, heading regional courts and religious practices.

By Abiose Adelaja

Will Africans choose Ségolène Royal as France’s first female President?

Will Africans choose Ségolène Royal as France’s first female President? Since the 19th century, many African voters have influenced French polls, but in this year’s presidential elections, only inhabitants of the Indian Ocean islands Réunion and Mayotte are to cast their vote. Campaigning is already fierce. In the two overseas territories of Réunion and Mayotte, people are vigorously discussing who would be the best candidate for President of the French Republic. Should they vote for Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, socialist candidate Ségolène Royal or the centrist François Bayrou? They are the last Africans being able to influence whether Ms Royal will become the first woman to rule France.

Before decolonisation, inhabitants of France’s vast African empire were drawn to the French polls. Although their votes counted less than metropolitan French votes, the African quota of the Paris parliament steadily increased. Several West Africans served as ministers and deputy ministers in French governments, including Félix Houphouët-Boigny and Léopold Sédar Senghor, who later became the fist Presidents of Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal.

With the French colonial empire having shrunk into a handful overseas departments, African, Pacific and Caribbean voters have fewer representatives in the French parliament, but now at least, their votes are counted on an equal basis as those from metropolitan France. In the two chambers of parliament – the Senate and National Assembly – the two islands are even over-resented compared to their population.

With only 190,000 inhabitants, Mayotte sends two representatives to the Paris Senate and one to the National Assembly. The larger island of Réunion, with its 700,000 inhabitants, has three representatives in Senate and five in the National Assembly.

In the French presidential polls on 22 April, the two African overseas territories will vote as other Frenchmen. The 900,000 islanders of Réunion and Mayotte represent about 1.4 percent of the total French population, and their percentage of the electorate is about the same. In a close poll, therefore, the African votes could indeed make the difference between Ms Royal and Mr Sarkozy – if those two make it to the final round.

So far, islanders are ambivalent about the three top candidates. In the latest elections to the Paris parliament, right-wing and centrist candidates have swept the polls. Only one socialist sits in the Senate and another in the National Assembly, both from Réunion. On both islands, traditions are rather conservative and women have yet to gain their place in politics.

In a normal election, Mr Sarkozy would therefore have the best chances in both Réunion and Mayotte. But the rightist leader has been too tough on immigrants and non-ethnic French in the metropolitan territory, casting doubts over his ability to treat inhabitants from overseas territories as equals. Mr Sarkozy in February nevertheless visited potential voters in Réunion and managed to gather a crowd of 4,000 enthusiastic voters.

Ms Royal, who was born in Senegal, was the first to visit the French overseas territories, campaigning in Réunion in October last year and greatly improving her popularity. She gained big applause after strongly criticising the Paris government’s slow reaction to the chikungunya epidemic, which had jeopardised the island’s key tourism industry. Ms Royal in January also visited the French Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, which have around 600,000 potential voters, and impressed islanders by addressing them partly in Creole language.

Also the centrist candidate, Mr Bayrou, who is closing in on Ms Royal, this weekend went on a two-day visit to both Mayotte and Réunion, where crowds of people listened to his election speeches in Mamoudzou and Saint Denis. Especially in Mamoudzou (Mayotte), large crowds gathered to praise the candidate. He is now headed for the French Caribbean.

In Mayotte, there are two pressing issues that interest voters – immigration and the island’s statutes. Mayotte has seen a surge of illegal immigration from the neighbouring Comoros islands, and by now, a quarter of the population comes from abroad. Islanders want a stricter immigration control and an improved coastguard – something all three candidates have pledged on a French national level.

Mayotte voters also want their island’s status to lifted up from an overseas territory to an overseas department – in line with the situation in Réunion. This would give them more political and social rights. Independence is out of the question for voters, as Comoros has historic claims to the island that are recognised by the African Union. But these claims also complicate a possible upgrading of Mayotte’s status as they could cause a diplomatic headache.

Also voters in Réunion are concerned by immigration, but their remote island is still much less affected than the French mainland and Mayotte. The most important issues in the campaign there have therefore been economic development, social services, education and infrastructure.

So far, Ms Royal seems to have gathered most sympathy in France’s last African territories. According to a telephone survey made among 786 potential voters in Réunion by the journal ‘Ipsos Océan Indien’ one week ago, Ms Royal can expect 44 percent of the Réunionaise vote in the first poll round. Mr Sarkozy stood at 34 percent and Mr Bayrou at 10 percent. In a hypothetic second poll round between Ms Royal and Mr Sarkozy, the socialist candidate would beat Mr Sarkozy by 57 to 43 percent.

But Ms Royal’s position is getting steadily weaker among Réunionaise voters. The same survey was also made in December last year. At that point, Ms Royal would have beaten the rightist candidate with an impressive 70 percent of the vote. In that case, African voters could have made a real difference in French politics.

AIDS killed 193 Tanzanian teachers.

Tanzanian authorities are disturbed by the increasing number of teachers killed by HIV/AIDS. According to the latest report, between 1996 and 2006, 193 teachers died of HIV and AIDS-related diseases in the country’s south-western district of Mbeya alone. With a population of 38 million, it is estimated that over two million Tanzanians are carrying HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Adrehem Kayombo, the District Council Education Officer for Mbeya, predicted that the death toll could become higher this year thus negatively impacting on the education sector in the area. The district is said to have registered the highest number of teachers infected with HIV/AIDS in Tanzania.

On average, between 1996 and 2006, 18 teachers died of AIDS-related diseases annually. At the present, the disease has sent 109 teachers to the hospital. Despite dedicating huge amounts of their time for treatment, these teachers are still on the payroll.

Tanzanian authorities are equally worried about the acceleration of tuberculosis (TB), which rose from 39,000 a decade back to over 64,000 in 2005 – a trend blamed on the high prevalence of the global AIDS pandemic.

The Tanzanian Health Minister, David Mwakyusa, said in line with the 2003-04 survey in Tanzania confirmed that HIV/AIDS had become the main contributor to the increase of 60 percent of the TB cases.

He said the fact that more than 30 percent of AIDS patients die of TB, his country’s health sector is limping with its biggest health challenge. TB is easily caught when the body’s immune defence has been almost deleted by the HIV virus.

Health Minister Mwakyusa added that there was now a need for the coordination to wage war against both diseases since they often attack a person simultaneously.

Besides, officials of Mbeya suspect that 106 of the district’s TB carrying teachers might have been HIV positive as well.

Uganda legalises extra-marital sex

Thursday becomes a day of victory for women in Uganda after the Constitutional Court in the capital Kampala quashed a law they claim discriminates married men and women. The court ruled that cheating is no longer a criminal offence in Uganda. “From today, the laws are null and void. They have been inconsistent with the constitution of Uganda,” read a judgment by a panel of judges.

With effect, any spouse that catches his/her partner committing adultery can either seek redress for compensation or file a divorce. This implies that the police do not have the powers to arrest or imprison anybody for committing adultery in the country.

The Law and Advocacy for Women in Uganda challenged the marriage laws at the Constitutional Courts last year, arguing that they were unfair to both women and men.

The women activists have been crying foul that the laws penalise adulterous married women while allowing married men to go scot-free with similar crimes. Uganda’s marriage laws do not punish unmarried men and women who commit sex with married men or women. .

While women activists see the scrap as a victory for justice, the Attorney General said it will succeed in encouraging immorality and promiscuity.

Activist lawyers also called for the amendment of certain sections of the Succession Act, which unequally share the wealth of spouses when they die. This law permits a husband to take all the assets or wealth of his dead wife but is not the case when it is otherwise.

The law allows a father to choose a carer for his child after death, which disqualifies the widow’s right to own him/her.

Niger set to raise uranium production.

Mohamed Ben Omar, the Minister of Communication in Niger expressed his country’s readiness to raise its annual uranium production to at least 10,500 tonnes a year

The West African country is currently producing 3,500 tones a year, but according to Mr Omar who is also the government mouthpiece, his government has already awarded prospecting and exploitation permits that will enable them to produce the target tonnes of 10,500 a year within few years.

Mr Omar has been on tour in the French capital Paris.

He told a press conference that the French uranium mining company, Areva, will continue to be Niger’s strategic partner in the exploitation of uranium.

He said as a sovereign country, Niger is free to diversify its economic relations. He however said the French company will remain their strategic part in this venture.

Communication Minister dispelled the notion from some quarters that Niger is likely going to comply with the rising uranium price of CFA 120,000 per kg and dump the French company. He said Niger will remain with Areva which has agreed to deal with the government during the difficult days.

There have been complaints advanced by right groups that the exploration of uranium would have severe health and environmental consequence on people in the desert country’s northern region. Mr Omar said Niger government was equally concerned which was why it has endorsed the plans by Areva to invest CFA 540 billions to protect the health of residents in the area.

He said Areva has assured them that they are poised to protect the environment as well as the health of people.

By staff writer