Category Archives: Contests

My Problogging Setup

Computers

Desktop
Antec Sonata 2 Computer CaseOddly enough, the system I use the least is also my most powerful. My desktop computer was put together by me, and includes an Antec Sonata II case, Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 processor, two gigabytes of DDR2 ram, and 750 gigabytes of hard drive space. I use a wireless HP keyboard, a super cheap Logitech optical mouse, and have a reasonably decent 19-inch Samsung LCD. I have both Ubuntu Linux and Windows Vista on this computer, and I spend about equal time in both operating systems now.

Laptops
MacBook ProI have two laptops, though one has become my wife’s more than mine. I have my MacBook Pro which I do almost all of my work on, and then a IBM ThinkPad T43 which I check out web development work using Windows XP. The MacBook Pro was purchased just before the most recent update in its specs, meaning mine is a 2.16GHz model with a single gigabyte of ram. Of course I use OS X 10.4 on the MacBook Pro, but I hope to update to Leopard as soon as certain important things are fixed.

Camera

Canon PowerShot S1 ISMy camera is a few years old now, but it is one of the first free gadgets I received from my blogging work with Bloggy Network. It is a Canon PowerShot S1 IS and provides me with a whole 3.2 megapixels of resolution, and a 10x optical zoom. What I like most about it is its movie mode, which allows me to still use the optical zoom. I would love to upgrade to the S5 IS which has an 8 megapixel sensor, and 12x optical zoom, but that’s still a rather pricey endeavor, and my wife would like me to puchase something more compact and portable next time.

Podcasting Microphone

Samson Q1UFor the myriad of podcasts I do, I have my trusty USB microphone, the Samson Q1U which I ordered off someone on eBay. It is a very professional feeling microphone and works really well for podcasting. For the most part, any sound degradation you hear in the podcast is usually due to my incompetence as an audio editor.

External Drive

Something that too many people forget to do, especially bloggers, is backing things up. I would be lost without my data, and I am pretty religious about backing up my desktop and my IBM laptop. I haven’t yet got into the habit of backing up my MacBook Pro yet, but that will come when I upgrade to Leopard.

I currently use a nGEAR external 3.5″ case to house a 250GB Western Digital IDE hard drive. It was a fairly cheap option and works well for me. I can remove the drive and add another one whenever I need, unlike some of the prepackaged drives you can pick up from the hard drive manufacturers.

Leisure

Nintendo WiiTo help me unwind or just to keep me happy, I have my two consoles, the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii. I consider these to be some of the smartest purchases I have made, despite also being the most tempting distractions.

I can load up a game on the Xbox 360, get some frustration out, and then hit the computers for some more blogging, or WordPress work.

Do You Need All This?

Of course you don’t need all these things in your blogging setup, but I highly recommend getting some good equipment if you plan on doing this long term. There is nothing worse than the computer freezing and crashing in the middle of a post, horrible audio quality in a podcast, or a cranky writer not adding anything valuable to the web.

I highly recommend having a laptop, especially if you want to move around. I find moving to different locations in my house, or outside my house can quickly and easily refocus and refresh myself.

What is your blogging setup? Let me know, and the best response will earn a 125×125 pixel advertisement for the rest of November (please let me know if your comment should be entered into the contest, end date is the seventh of November).

Coverage
Check out the great post about the contest at My Blog Contest and Contest Beat.

Originally posted on November 3, 2007 @ 5:27 pm

$54,000 in Prizes for the ProBlogger Birthday Contest

Darren Rowse has finally tallied up the dollar value of his blog’s birthday contest and it is going to rank as one of the biggest blog related contests ever. If you haven’t won in previous contests, I’d hate to think what your odds will be in Darren’s contest, but no doubt the prizes will be amazing.

Here is a bit from his post on Problogger.net:

There are 115 sponsors (give or take a couple that we’re finalizing) – some are offering multiple prizes (one is offering something for up to 500 of you – which pushed up the prize pool value). Prizes range from getting theme songs composed for podcasts/videos (something I wouldn’t mind winning myself), to iPods, to logo designs, to magazine subscriptions, to books, to cash and vouchers and so much more. Prizes values range from just a few dollars in value to thousands of dollars.

I consider myself to be fairly unlucky when it comes to contests of random chance, but having won advertising on The Blog Beat made me a happy blogger, and I think I will watch Darren’s contest from the sidelines. Good luck to all those that enter.

Originally posted on October 1, 2007 @ 10:15 pm

Blog Beat Advertising Contest

If you are hoping to get some free advertising on a prominent blog, The Blog Beat has you covered as they run a contest to earn one of two 125×125 pixel advertising spots on their site. eXtra for Every Publisher is entering the contest in hopes of increasing its audience, and if you have a blog that could use the highly focused traffic The Blog Beat brings in, I suggest you enter as well.

Here are the details:

You have the opportunity to be entered to win one of two advertising spots on The Blog Beat for the months of October & November.

Where Are The Ad Spots? The advertising spots are the banner after the first article and a 125 pixel x 125 pixel image on the right side of the blog. One winner will get the banner ad for the first month while the other gets the 125 button ad, and then switch for the second month.

How Do I Enter? Simply link to The Blog Beat from your site. This link could be to The Blog Beat homepage or an article, it just needs to be a link. When the contest ends, I will randomly pick two winners.

With some great tips, and imagery in their posts, The Blog Beat is a great site, and one I highly recommend for bloggers learning the ropes. Check out their full site as well as their archives, and if you are interested in entering the contest, you only have until September 23rd.

Originally posted on September 6, 2007 @ 10:50 pm

David Airey’s $4000 Blog Anniversary Contest

David Airey, who does amazing logo design work and someone I have been trying to get to know better, has set up an absolutely amazing contest for his blog’s anniversary.

He has set it up to include some great prizes from a variety of different people and amassed an amazing number of products and services for the prize draw.

His Gold Award package makes me super excited as it includes:

The other prizes include USB Thumb drives, telephone conversations with some amazing people, and advertising.

The advertising prizes interest me as well, especially since Xfep is still very young. The advertising opportunities include:

The great thing is that anyone can enter David’s contest, and getting one entry is as simple as subscribing to his RSS feed or e-mail feed, and then contacting him with a secret code that you’ll find within.

A great contest, and good luck to everyone that enters.

Originally posted on September 2, 2007 @ 4:46 pm

Free Logo Service for Bloggers

College Startup Logo Logo Design Works has a great marketing technique that is ongoing. They have a contest where bloggers can win a logo for their blog. The logo package is their bronze package which is worth $197 US dollars.

Branding can be quite difficult so a good logo can set you apart from others in your niche.

There are three requirements for entry:

1. The blog must be at least 6 months old and should have at least 10 posts in the past 30 days (from date of application) and should be in English.

2. The blog should be related to design, small business, marketing, SEO, blogging, freelance, productivity and related industries ONLY

3. The blog contains a link to http://www.logodesignworks.com/ in its blogroll

If you want to find out more information, check out Logo Design Work’s site.

Xfep.com doesn’t qualify for the program, but I have had friends who made it as part of their August round, and Logo Design Works created some amazing designs for them. I highly recommend the service and company.

Originally posted on August 26, 2007 @ 3:30 pm