Elite Eternity - Utah Entrepreneurship Blog

When I first started blogging, plugins were sort of a mystery to me. I would read blogs and wonder how people were doing such cool things. How the heck did they get that “share this” function on there, I thought. I figured everyone that had a blog was some master coder with an intimite knowledge of how to customize and theme their blogs. Fast forward a couple of years, and despite the ugly layout of my blog (hey, I keep it simple for the Google Bot) I’ve got some of the amazing features that I only drooled over at the beginning of my blogtacular career. I exaggerate a bit. It really didn’t take me that long to figure out how plugins work, but I am still learning.

I use most of these plugins here on Elite Eternity as well as on most of my other blogs. Listed in no particular order.

1 - WP Security Scan | Get It Here

Sometimes I get paranoid about the safety of my blog content. Heck, I post nearly 5 times a week and that many posts add up! If all my posts vanished, I would be slightly devistated. I just recently found this sweet wordpress plugin that scans your blog for known security vulnerabilities. If you’re not sure how to fix some of the items it suggests, the software usually provides helpful links. If you still can’t figure something out, feel free to ask me.

2 - WP Page Navi | Get It Here

This cool plugin adds the little number row at the bottom of your blog that allows your users (and the spiders) to see your previous posts easily. Example:

3 - WP Post Ratings | Get It Here

You know those little rating stars that you see at the top of every post here on this blog? Well, this is simply a plugin - and a cool one at that. Although people rarely participate in rating my posts, it’s still fun to see what 1 out of a million views will rate your post. It’s completely useless, but it adds a bit of interaction to your blog.

4 - Subscribe Remind | Get It Here

If you’re as desperate for subscribers to your blog as I am, check out this plugin. It adds that little “If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!” plug at the bottom of every single post on your blog. Some find it annoying, so this plugin probably isn’t for everyone. Heck, I find it sort of annoying, but I’d rather have it than not.

5 - Share This | Get It Here

This is that amazing plugin I was talking about in the paragraph preceeding this. It’s not magic, just download, install the thing and activate it. This plugin allows people to share your post to all the major bookmarking sites (i.e. digg, reddit, stumbleupon, facebook).

6 - Twitter Tools | Get It Here

Are you a Twitter user? Yeah, me too. This is a pretty neat tool that will automatically post your latest blog post to your Twitter page. I’ve had quite a few hits from people referred from Twitter. I’d say this is one of those plugins that’s definitely worth getting.

7 - Redirection | Get It Here

You know those annoying 404 PAGE NOT FOUND errors? Welcome to the wordpress Redirection plugin. If for some reason, you change the permalink to a blog post and there are links to that particular post on the web somewhere, then this plugin will make sure that the original permalink redirects to the new one. Still don’t get it? Say for instance I wrote a post called I Am Cool. The link to this post may be http://eliteeternity.com/i-am-cool. Now, I go to my facebook page and place that link. Say for some reason, I  change that permalink to be more search engine friendly. I may change that permalink to http://eliteeternity.com/jeremy-is-the-coolest-person-in-the-world. So if I didn’t have the redirection plugin installed and someone on my facebook page tried to go to http://eliteeternity.com/i-am-cool it wouldn’t work. But since I have the Redirection plugin installed, that page would automatically redirect to http://eliteeternity.com/jeremy-is-the-coolest-person-in-the-world. Make sense?

8 - Feedburner Feedsmith | Get It Here

This is a cool plugin for Feedburner (RSS). 

9 - SEO Slugs | Get It Here

This plugin automatically takes out common words like ‘a’, ‘the’, ‘in’ from post links. Another SEO oriented tool.

10 - SEM Do Follow | Get It Here

Give your blog commentors some link lovin’. This tool adds a do-follow tag to blog comments. In other words, people will want to comment on your posts more because they can get a link back to their blog - and the Spiders will recognize the link.

Do you have some sweet plugins that you think I missed? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks to yoast’s wordpress seo tips for referring me to a lot of these plugins.

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I just read Zac Johnson’s blog and it looks like he has teamed up with Motive Interactive. Motive seems to be trying to get the upper hand on some of the other, more popular affiliate networks, so I’m guessing this is their attempt at jumping ahead. They’re giving out some pretty sweet prizes if you sign up with them and crank out some commissions. The contest only lasts until the end of the month, so get on it.

I’m not sure how a beginner affiliate marketer would be able to meet their quota’s, but if you think you’ve got what it takes to make it big in the affiliate marketing game, go ahead and sign up for Motive Interactive and start marketing! EDIT: A beginner could easily make over 1k in commissions their first month. That 1k may not be all profit, but it’s easily possible. I’m not just saying that either.

Prizes per commission

TITANIUM TIER: $300,000 Commissions Earned
Reward: A New Smart Car ($11,990 Value)

PLATINUM TIER: $90,000 Commissions Earned
Reward: VIP Las Vegas Vacation
1st Class Air, Stay at the Wynn for 2 nights , $500 Cash

GOLD TIER: $10,000 Commissions Earned
Reward: 32 GB iPod Touch with $500 iTunes Gift Card

SILVER TIER: $1,000 Commissions Earned
Reward: XBox 360 Elite Package

Good luck and let me know if you have any questions with affiliate marketing. I’ve been doing it for the last little while so I may be able to answer some of your questions. I’ve had some success with Motive Interactive, but as I’ve stated in earlier posts, Market Leverage is my favorite for the time being.

Zac’s Original Post About This | Sign Up For Motive Interactive

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In my hours of searching for Wordpress templates, I don’t know how this site slipped by. I’ve been discussing some things with my new online acquaintance, Paul and he pointed me toward Elegant Themes. He has great photography, and it would be worth your time checking out his blog, but I digress.

If you’re looking for some very professionally designed and very functional wordpress themes, then Elegant Themes is the place to go. Considering the debt I’m in, I couldn’t resist signing up. It’s only a $19.95 annual membership and you can use all of the themes on the blogs you personally own. The owner of the site isn’t trying to jerk anyone around - once you sign up, you get any new themes he develops for free (considering you paid the initial membership).

I usually discourage paying for wordpress templates because most of the time, the templates may look beautiful, but when it comes down to it, it’s the function that matters. And most of the time, the pretty pictures that make you want to buy the theme in the first place will be changed and you’ll be left wondering why you paid for the thing in the first place. This won’t be the case when you sign up for Elegant Themes. The functionality is just as beautiful as the design.

My Favorites So Far

Cold Stone | Get It Here

Who’s Who | Get It Here

Studio Blue | Get It Here

Did I really sign up for Elegant Themes? Yep. Am I going to use one of these themes for Elite Eternity? Perhaps. I sort of have a thing for the current throw-up blue/brown mix, though. We’ll see what happens.

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Perhaps this is a new feature in Windows 7, but probably not - that would be too easy. I’m sure they’ll hold this one off until “Windows 8″ just to make us pay another 400+ dollars to upgrade.

Google Chrome Tab Alternation

Notice how I can move the tabs where I want them.

Windows Static Tabs

Notice how I can’t move the tabs where I want them.

Am I really the only one that would like to see this feature implemented into the next version of Windows?

Wouldn’t this come in handy? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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This top 5 list may be a bit biased, as I am the Co-Founder and CEO of Empire Board Games. That being said, I figured I would give a shout out to some of the other places to buy board games online. 

#1 - Empire Board Games - This is not only #1 because I’m biased, it’s also number one because of the amazing prices and customer support we offer. Empire currently has 43% off all board games (barring a few that we are restricted to discount). I started Empire with my friend at the beginning of 2008 and after a short few months we shut down operations. I implemented our new site and we opened back up around August of 2008. Our customer base has been increasing ever since! Empire is based in Utah.

#2 - ThoughtHammer - Thoughthammer offers a very large selection of board games at excellent prices. This site is definitely worth checking out if you’re a board game addict.

#3 - Pozy - Pozy features a game of the day at a huge discount as well as discounts on all other games. Despite what some people have thought, Empire is not affiliated with Pozy in any way.  UPDATE: Pozy is no longer offering Board Games. You can follow the thread regarding this over at Board Game Geek.

#4 - FunAgain - FunAgain is another site worthy of checking if you’re any kind of board game fan.

#5 - Boards and Bits - Boards and Bits is all about fun….seriously. Make sure you wander over there and check out their selection and prices.

Thanks to all of the Empire customers for a great year!

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If you haven’t realized it yet, the big G has updated the all too famouse Page Rank (PR).  Cheers to my friend Nathan for tipping me off about it in the first place. Elite Eternity has jumped a massive 1 point on the google scale of fame. I used to be a PR 1, now I’m a 2. Just for the record, the highest is a 10, so I’ve got some work to do. Not bad though. It’s been a fun morning looking at all the PR updates on all of my other blogs and web pages. 

Not sure how to check your blogs PR? No worries. Just download Firefox, then install the Google Toolbar.

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Top 5 List Of Increasingly lame Tech blogs of 2008

These blogs used to be worth checking multiple times a day. Now they are merely an after thought to my daily online routine. Perhaps it’s the fact that most of these sites have had recent design makeovers that I just can’t seem to get over, or the fact that the content has suddenly turned dry.

I don’t know if I’m more tired of the fact that there are so many Twitter related startups, or the fact that Tech Crunch keeps talking about them. It seems that’s one of the only ways to get featured on the big TC. All these twitter posts have me coughing up feathers and dry bird meat.

Let the finger pointing commence:

#1 - Engadget Is Suddenly Super Lame

http://www.engadget.com/

So much content, such little interest. Is it just me or has Engadget turned into a lame place to get tech related information?

#2 - Engadget Mobile Is Also Super Lame

http://www.engadgetmobile.com/

Same goes for the mobile site. Not to mention, most of the content on the mobile site is duplicated on the main engadget page. Sue me, but I find it annoying.

#3 - Tech Crunch = Obsessed with Twitter and Twitter related startups - it’s getting old.

http://www.techcrunch.com/

Come on Michael Arrington. First the crappy new blog design, now crappy content? When will Tech Crunch writers begin writing content that is interesting again? Either there aren’t very many new, exciting online startups right now, or you guys just suck at finding them. Perhaps you should pay attention to the PR firms that you are so annoyed with. I’ve heard so much about Twitter and Twitter focused startups in the last few months that I have had bad nightmares of the albino twitter bird picking me up and dropping me into a large body of water. Perhaps I’m getting too emotional? …don’t cry, Michael Arrington.

#4  - Giz Lamo. Doesn’t anybody believe in exclusive content anymore? This blog features the same run of the mill lame tech news you can find on any other gadget/tech blog.

http://gizmodo.com/

This site is basically an Engadget with a different layout - and the layout is lame. I hate it. This site is also a content overload. I’m usually not one to complain about such an informative site, but the new layout and lame information they seem to be posting about lately has me bored.

#5 - Twitter. And I care about “what you are doing,” why?

Yeah, I’m just as guilty as the next guy, but to be completely honest, I’m not sure why I even have a Twitter account. Sure it’s cool to see what people are up to sometimes, but to be completely honest, this whole micro-blogging thing is overrated in my elite opinion. On that same note, Tech Crunch posts discussing micro-blogging are more overrated than micro-blogging itself - and that’s saying something.

(Somebody, please put the Twitter bird out of it’s missery already.)

What say you, dear reader? I’d love to hear if you agree with me, disagree with me, or despise me for this post. Though not expected, I’d especially be interested in your rebuttal, Mr. Arrington.

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Congratulations to me! 

Apparently I put in for a lottery in Holland-Netherlands and I just won! Forget working. I’m going to buy my dream car!

In all seriousness, let this email be a lesson to everyone. It’s complete BS and could very well ruin your life and reputation if you provide the information these idiots ask for. 

URGENT CONFIRMATION

POSTCODE LOTERIJ PROMOTION
RESULTS FOR FIRST CATEGORY
Ticket Number: 967/08

This is to inform you that your email ID has won US$1,500.000.00 in the first dip of our computer
ballot email lottery with the said winning numbers giving below;
Ticket number: 967/08
Prized Number: 1656
Lucky number : 7865

To claim your winning,you should contact the OFFICIAL and APPROVED paying bank here in Holland-Netherlands urgently:-

POST BANK NL
www.postbank.nl [I WOULD STRONGLY ADVISE YOU TO NOT VISIT THIS SITE]
Email:postbankclaimdep@aim.com
You are also advice to furnish them with the following information:-

Your Names:-
Telephone / Fax-
Your Nationality{Your country of Origin}-
E-Ticket number-
Prize Number-

Congratulations once again from management and staff of this company,and thanking you for being a lucky winner of our promotions program.

Sincerely,
Marie Christine
NATIONALE POSTCODE LOTERIJ
website: www.postcodeloterij.nl [I WOULD STRONGLY ADVISE YOU TO NOT VISIT THIS SITE]
Copyright © 1992-2008 postcodeloterij! Inc. All rights reserved
****************************************************************

Notice the “copyright.” Wow, that makes it quite official, now doesn’t it? Copyright ©….no, not really. I just did it.

I really wonder if these emails prove to be lucrative to the clever goons sending them. I guess if you get one sucker with a big enough bank account, you don’t have to worry about sending any more out, right?

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I was just doing the rounds on Myspace and I saw a new ad. The ad said something like “An entrepreneur makes $3,000 a month” or something to that affect. Being the jerk that I am, I clicked on the ad to see their landing page (I’m a jerk because this click probably charged the marketer at least $0.30). The ad took me to some crappy landing page, then I clicked on the actual offer that was being advertised. Low and behold it took me to a page trying to tell me that I could make $3,000 on Google fast, free, fun and easy. Lets stop right there.

Nothing in this life that is worth doing is fast, free, fun and easy. Anything of value takes some time, effort, determination and a variety of other words in that genre. I think I threw up in my mouth a little bit when the interactive man on the screen told me this:

“It’s simply not fair. The rich are born lucky and get all sorts of tax advantages from the government, money from their parents, and a social circle which opens up all sorts of opportunities from corporate america. The rest of us working class folks aren’t so lucky. We’ve got to put up with the discomfort of dead-end cubicle jobs. Living from paycheck to paycheck at the mercy of the U.S. government. Talk about life not being fair. After being the victim of so many rip offs and scams over the years, it takes a lot for me to get excited about a business opportunity. But this is a very big deal. Now, for the first time in history the unlucky ones can become lucky. The playing field has been leveled. And I’ve set aside a package for you which reveals the inside secrets on how you could fire your boss and earn 3000 a month using google. And I insist on revealing it to you risk free. So fill out the form below and get started today as I cannot guarantee that I will keep the light on this offer much longer.”

This is the biggest bunch of garbage I have ever heard. While it is true that the rich are typically born into special circumstances and have quite a few advantages, it’s simply not true that everyone making a decent salary was given a golden jet pack. Most of the rich people today went through many of the same things that the “normal” people are currently going through, they just found a way to overcome. I’m not rich right now, but I plan on being wealthy in a few years and I definitely don’t want to be looked upon as “born lucky”, or “given everything from my parents.”

Give rich people a break. Stop complaining and do what they did - work! They’re wealthy because they put in the effort to become wealthy.

Most importantly, don’t fall into these ridiculous marketing schemes. You’re not going to be able to make $3,000 a month fast, free, and easily. At the very least, you’re going to have to put some money down yourself to get started. These marketing schemes make you feel like you are poor because rich people are jerks and made you that way. Lets get something straight: You don’t deserve more than you have. Now get to work and start making your dreams a reality.

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I just got another payment from a company called CX Digital (affiliate company) which reminded me about the goal I posted on my whiteboard. My goal is to earn $150.00 a day, 7 days a week by January 20, 2009. This is a pretty big step as I’m only making around $25 net a day. I know it can be done and goals are a very good step in accomplishing anything. Now I just need to get to work. I’ll give an update around the 20th as to how I’m doing on this. Hold me to it.

Hey, notice that sweet Empire Board Games button I’ve got on my board.

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