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Winners of the Website Ideas Contest - DailyBlogTips

Winners of the Website Ideas Contest - DailyBlogTips

Winners of the Website Ideas Contest

Posted: 10 Jul 2013 06:06 AM PDT

A couple of weeks ago I launched a contest where readers needed to comment with an idea for a website they wanted to launch. The prize was a paid-up hosting account for 3 years to develop said website. Below you’ll find the winners and their respective ideas (if you are one of them you’ll receive an email from me later today):

Winner 1: Michael P.

I'm a person who believes that learning new things can greatly improve a person's life. I don't just want to create a new site where people can learn new things; in my experience learning how to learn is important too.

Sometimes our schools teach students what to learn — they advise students to study hard. But, not all students has learned how to study effectively. There are various methods which can help students (or any person) learn more effectively, such as these:

-Use of mnemonics to aid in encoding, storage, and then retrieval of information.

-Knowledge of self-development concepts like state control, relaxation techniques, and visualization to help the student in making themselves feel better (important in high-pressure situations like final exams).

-Techniques on how to study reading material, such as books and journals, effectively by using techniques like speed reading and effective note taking.

-Learning concepts like the Pareto Principle (80/20 rule), so the student can prioritize the material that he/she will study, while maximizing results at the same time.

-How to use the internet effectively to aid studying. For example, an online text-to-speech program which turns text to an mp3 file — which is then played on an MP3 player, can greatly assist in reviewing material.

Those are just some of the ideas I can think of for now. But if you ask me on what technique can help a student greatly (to use the Pareto Principe, the 20% that brings 80% of the results), that would be mnemonics. So, I would like to start with that if I'll be given the chance to start a new website about learning.

Aside from teaching the students mnemonic techniques, like the link method, method of loci, and peg system, it would also be cool if students can practice those technique using a web-based app or a local offline program. I know some programming, so I think I can create some of those.

If I would visualize the site, it would have primarily articles or blog posts, written by me or people who might also be interested in helping students learn. Then, it will have some online tests where they can practice the techniques they have learned.

If the site would further grow, then, it may support having personalized accounts, where users can:

  • Bookmark articles or tests that they like.
  • View past test results.
  • Join groups who are interested in learning a certain subject matter.
  • Share useful information with other students via links or posts.
  • Unlock achievements (to borrow concepts from video games)

Winner 2: Hannah

Hello! My name is Hannah, and I am a freelance writer who resides in the United Kingdom. For a while now, I have been thinking about creating a blog promoting responsible pet ownership, focusing mainly on dogs and cats. Prior to writing, I worked at an animal rescue for almost half a decade so I have plenty of experience in this field and a lot of knowledge to share. My blog would include in-depth information on health and nutrition, training and behaviour, and so forth, along with the odd product review and updates on my own dogs: Finley, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross Rottweiler, and Darwin, a Miniature Dachshund.

I think a blog like this would be popular because, well, everyone loves animals, right? I have done extensive research within this niche and feel that there is definitely a place for this kind of blog. Most pet blogs are either written from the perspective of dog or cat instead of a person, or promote toys, food and treats full of cereals and other nasties that could be seriously detrimental to your pets health.

I feel that I could really make a difference within the pet community.

Winner 3: Gaurav Singh Gahlain

I am from India and it is a country hard hit by corruption. I would love to create a website where people can come and share their views about the corruption in their region. While being anonymous, users can put evidences like photos and videos on the site. There will be tight integration with the social networks so that other people might join in.

This being a serious issue, I am not sure whether the evidences will lead to any actions against the culprits, but at least people will learn about them being corrupt and the fear of possible notoriety might put some on the right path.

This site can be popular regionally, and might be expanded to other countries because corruption is an evil that needs to be eradicated. In India, people love to have a say in such things and I am quite sure this idea will gain popularity and will be a small step to bring India on the right track.

Wanna make money with your website?

Original Post: Winners of the Website Ideas Contest
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Why are you spending so much time being pissed off at Google?

Posted: 09 Jul 2013 05:04 AM PDT

Post image for Why are you spending so much time being pissed off at Google?

Hit up any search industry or affiliate conference and you can't walk more than two steps without someone complaining about Google. Whether it's "not provided" data missing from Google Analytics, the demise of the public AdWords keyword tool, getting hit with the ban hammer, or a suspended AdWords or Adsense account, there is always something for people to bitch about.

Then think about this. What benefit does bitching or being pissed off at Google actually do?  Bitching probably won't make you any money – Google probably already took that away if you are pissed at them.  But if people took 1% of the energy they spent being mad at Google and put it into something constructive, like say creating original content or strategizing out a new website or brand, they would be more successful and make more money.

It is not news that Danny Sullivan spends an awful lot of time complaining about Google this and Google that. Heck, he even reported Google to the FTC over the disclosure between paid and free search listings. Looking over anything Danny has written Google related at Search Engine Land, you can see that while he likes to be the celebrity Google expert of the industry (and he certainly is the foremost expert on all things Google search, make no mistake about that), he is definitely spending an awful lot of time bitching about all things Google. In fact, he has made out like a bandit on traffic with his series of "25 Things I Hate About Google" – although it is amusing that some of that traffic is going to his former home, Search Engine Watch.  And if you think that's just Danny's online persona for traffic and page views, then you obviously haven't been around him in the bar at SMX, at least when there aren't any Googlers hanging around.

Hit up the Webmaster World forums, and there are pages and pages and posts and posts from people who have nothing better to do with their time than complain about Google. Even over at the official Google webmaster help forums, it is littered with people complaining about how they hate Google because they dared to penalize their site in the search listings.  Well, if you fuck up and try to fuck Google in the name of higher rankings, you pay a price.

Threadwatch.org, which recently was resurrected, used to be a big circle jerk of fairly well-known SEOs who would bitch and pick apart every little thing they possibly could about Google. Funny how some of those SEOs are no longer working for themselves, but have a good old 9-to-5 job instead.  A fair number are not even working in the search industry any longer.  Could some of that time and energy have been put to better use years ago? You betcha.  While Danny Sullivan likes to soapbox about Google, at least he is making money off of it, something all those editors at Threadwatch never did.

So next time you are focusing so much energy on being pissed off at Google, think about putting the energy into something useful and hey, profitable.  Or, write something is actually constructive about why you are mad at Google, turn it to case study, point out possible solutions Google could do that doesn't involve them waving their magic Google dust over your website so it ranks again, and profit.   There is a reason why all those Panda and Penguin recovery case studies get a shit ton of traffic. But you know what else all those case studies have in common? You guessed it, they turned that energy of being mad at Google into fixing the problem – something that a lot of those people bitching don't do.

Whether you love or hate Google, Google is going to be the one that will make you the money in SEO, so deal with it and instead of dwelling on the negatives, turn it into a positive.   So make like Danny Sullivan and either turn that Google bitching into a money maker, or turn that energy into something constructive.

Trying to increase your Google rank that is like no other?
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