Aussie Bloggers

If you want to have a snazzy button to link to the Aussie Bloggers Blog and Forum, and don’t have the time to make one up on your own, we have a selection of 29 different buttons - in all varying sizes from the “antipixel” (80×16px) all the way up to photograph size, which, of course, you can resize to fit your own needs.

They also come in all different colours from green and gold, to the colours of the flag, and even black-and-white. Most of the images feature a map - some have Tasmania, some don’t, but can always add them back in, right?

As another part of the celebration of six months of existence, we present to you the Aussie Bloggers button collection, suitable for posting on your own site, but remember that you should host it on your own site, as displaying the images as hosted on here is considered hotlinking, and you might wind up facing a surprise.

To help you out with getting the images hosted on your own site, here are a couple of tutorials, the first designed for those with access to their own site’s FTP, and the second for those who don’t have access at all to upload files to their own blog (i.e. Blogger users) -

• How to upload files using FTP
• Host images online for free? Yes, you can!

Before showing the images, you can download all the images by simply saving this Zip file and choosing the one you want out of the selection.

And now, without further ado, here are the 29 buttons that make up the Aussie Bloggers button collection:

Over the last 6 months the Aussie Bloggers Forum has become a large community of bloggers, and a busy forum. One of the most important elements of a successful forum like ours is the Moderators. These are the volunteers who work behind the scenes to make sure that everything is running smoothly. They remove spam, keep an eye on the forums to make sure the forum rules are being followed, write posts for the Aussie Bloggers blog and make decisions on the direction that the forum will go in - everything from adding a new forum to discussing what the rules should be and much in between.

As we approach the 6 month anniversary, we have some people who will be stepping down as Moderators, but will remain members of the Forum. As of midnight tonight (AEST time) they will be no longer be moderators. We need to say an enormous thank you to the following moderators for their efforts and contributions over the last 6 months:

Bettina
Christine Parfitt
John Lampard
Mike
Miscmum
ShadowKnight
Squadron
StephenCronin
Trib

We all have busy lives. People can’t neglect their work, family and friends for a set of forums on the internet and sometimes people have to make difficult decisions about what they can be involved in - it is mostly a time factor. While we do try to make the job as easy as possible there are a large amount of posts on the forum every day and a time consuming part of the job of a moderator is to read the new posts in their assigned forums and make sure nothing breaks the rules.

We would like to thank these Moderators for their efforts during the last 6 months. Their dedication has helped the Forum become the friendly, helpful place that it is. They all embraced their volunteer roles with enthusiasm and a great level of devotion. Whilst we are sad to see them stepping down as Moderators, we are very hopeful that they will stay active members of the Forum.

These “ex” moderators will become a part of a special usergroup which is a reward for their dedication and service to the forums. They are also *always* welcome to return to the mod room if life gets less hectic and they find themselves with more time on their hands. Their input, wisdom and humor will be greatly missed by their fellow moderators.

While on the topic, we have recently given members of the forums an opportunity to nominate themselves to become moderators - you can read more about that here.

So we would ask you to join us in a moment of appreciation and applause for a job well done. The comments section is open!

An Australian pastime seems to be extracting pure delight, by taking anything available, and then adapting it to whatever we need/want it to be. This is no different when it comes to song parodies. In honour of this great site, and blogging, I’ve taken 2 of what would be our most well known songs and “modified” them enough to get a laugh, but just short of butchering them totally.

When I decided on this as my first post, I thought “Easy! How hard can it be? I’m an intelligent woman”.

Man was I in for a rude shock! After dozens of drafts in Word, and much muttering and mumbling over the keyboard {all whilst my husband looked at me as if I’d grown a 2nd head} I’ve come up with these versions of the songs in question. I stopped at 2 for my own sanity!

Feel free to sing these words the next time you’re out having a few cold beverages with your mates. If these mates include people from other countries, even better. We really can’t showcase this wonderful country, the forums, or our amazing hobby too much can we?

The Bloggers song {Vegemite tune}

We’re happy little bloggymites,

As bright as bright can be,

We all enjoy our blogging fun,

For him and her and me.

Our spouses say we’ve lost the plot

When all we do is blog

Because we love our blogging pals.

We all adore our blogging pals.

It puts a post in every day!

I still call the forums home {I still call Australia home}

I’ve been to weblogs that never close down

From Brisbane to Melbourne and old Sydney town

Then I realise something that I’ve always known

I still call the forums home

I’m always stumbling – I can’t get enough

So I’m always leaving, the topics and threads

But my heart lays awaiting, over the site

I still call the forums home.

All the blogs and bloggers, running round the web

Always away from their family and friends

But as the net gets bigger, and badder it seems

It’s good to know where your journey ends

Now some day we’ll all be together once more

When all of the bloggers come back to the door

And we’ll realise something we’ve always known

We still call the forums home

CHORUS {all together now!!}

I’ve been to weblogs that never close down

From Brisbane to Melbourne and old Sydney town

Then I realise something that I’ve always known

I still call the forums home

A quote from one of the Aussie Forum members “Its all new to me too, I am starting to wonder how I managed before the Forum! Its going to be an excellent learning tool”

If you are a new blogger you may be loath to join forums, or, if you do join, are not keen on posting. (I was the same as a newbie and still shy away from some forums). Posts about issues that are completely new to you, often using terms you have never come across can be complete gobbledygook, their authors seeming to be gobbledygeeks. The presence of experienced bloggers can be intimidating, stopping us posting our own views, experiences or recommendations.

I would like to encourage those new to blogging to participate in forums that are right for them. Why is this?

Reasons for joining forums:

• To learn from those more experienced.
• To get your own specific questions answered.
• To find contacts and friends
• To find readers/subscribers for your own blog via the forums.
• To benefit from the knock on effect of this and gain more exposure for your blog outside of the forums.
• To have fun and enjoy the interaction with others.

What to look for in a forum

• Take the time to browse the topic areas and look for how many comments there are, how many questions get answered and how helpful these are.
• Find forums that are providing answers to the sort of questions you wish to ask and see what sort of response they get. Try and look past the topics that are too advanced for you at this stage although, if you participate in the right forums and ask questions, it will not be long before you understand these too.
• Look for forums that are covering areas of interest to you . If you join a forum just for the sake of it (e.g. to gain backlinks and promote your blog), if the subjects are of no real interest to you, you are less likely to participate enough to achieve your aims.

How to find the right forums

• Join forums recommended by others or those where you already have friends and contacts.
• Do some online research if you do not have those recommendations.
• Look for a forum that also allows for more general friendly chat; to help you get to know more about others than purely the forum subject area.
• Have a look through a forum’s messages, as I suggested above.

How to become part of the forum community

• Introduce yourself. If you are unsure what to say take a look at how others have approached it. You may find, as with the Aussie Bloggers Forums, that you are asked to answer a few questions. This gives you something to write about.
• Find others that are new too, make contact with them and show them support. You will not feel so alone. Leave comments on their posts and make use of the forum’s private messaging system.
• Visit member’s blogs, leaving comments and returning frequently to those you enjoy, getting to know the author and vice-versa.
• Subscribe to the RSS feed of these favourite member sites to keep up to date and as a reminder to return to the blogs.
• Add members to other online communities such as MyBlogLog or StumbleUpon to give you another means of communication and method of mutual support.
• If you are a blogger yourself - Add sites or bloggers you like to your own blog’s blogroll. Refer to them in your posts, where appropriate. This gives them a backlink, which helps them in promoting their own blogs.
• Be a regular visitor to the forums site..
• Ask questions - if you have chosen the right forums site, you will receive friendly useful answers.
• Answer questions when you are able, showing willing to help others too. However basic the question may be there are likely to be others wanting the answer too.
• Join in more general discussion topics, especially those that help you get to know others more fully.

I have been a willing participant in the Aussie Bloggers Forums because I feel welcome there, thoroughly enjoy the interaction and have found valuable information. I have no worries about participating, asking questions or answering them when I can. I have discovered new people, new blogs, new contacts as well as coming across a fair few familiar names. Members have all different levels of general expertise or knowledge in particular areas. New bloggers and newcomers are warmly greeted and their questions enthusiastically answered.

As the Aussie Bloggers Forum has continued to grow steadily throughout its first month, it is now my pleasure, in my new role as part of the Administration Team, to introduce our new Forum Moderators.

And here they are…

Anonymum from The Nook of Oz, an irreverent and funny North Queenslander who has a blog and isn’t afraid to use it.

Bettina from Dances To The Beet Of Her Own Drum, a SAHM from rural NSW who promises she doesn’t bite. Much.

Goatlady from Kay Lives Here, a partner in an award winning Perth-based web design and development business.

Ian from My Big World of Crap, an Canberran with a quirky sense of humour who works in Info Tech but says he’s not a techie type.

Mike from Tech Ticker, an escaped Los Angelean who can now be found in the Blue Mountains feeding chickens and, occasionally, wearing an elf costume.

Riayn from Dancing About Architecture, a self-confessed 30-something geek from Sydney with a strong interest in social networking and online media.

Sephyroth from Sephy’s Platzish, an Aussie-in-Training from Wisconsin with a weakness for Tim-Tams and a wealth of knowledge.

ShadowKnight from SCHWOIT - Gardening and Geekdom in the Urban Jungle, another Sydney IT geek but he has a keen interest in gardening so he occasionally gets some fresh air.

They have all been enthusiastic and helpful forum members and we are really happy to have them on board as part of the Moderation Team.

A big thank-you and a warm welcome to each of them!

The Aussie Bloggers Forum had a soft launch on 30 December at 6.00 pm, when the three administrators Andrew, Snoskred and I synchronised posts announcing the project.

Social Networking helped with the launch - Twitter, Bloggerati, StumbleUpon, Sphinn, The Blog Link and the like.

By January 5 we hit 100 members, and doubled that on January 17. We’re now up to 219 members.

It’s been a very busy (but exciting) three weeks for everyone involved, that’s for sure! I for one underestimated the level of activity the forum would attract. By the time this is published we’ll have had over 7,500 messages posted in 690 topics.

Every forum attracts spammers, and we’ve had a couple, but these have been dealt with swiftly and for the most part every one is extremely well behaved. Co-operative, friendly, supportive… just the vibe that we had hoped to create.

The moderators have been doing a wonderful job and many will be contributing here. We’ll also be taking guest posts, so feel free to contact us with any suggestions, or join the discussion in the forum.

The Hardworking Moderation Team

• Lani (LaniGiesen) from Blogging Personal
• Lightening (Lightening) from Lightening Online
• Kelley (Kelley) from Magneto Bold Too
• Sue (Sueblimely) from Blogging Sueblimely
• Karen (miscmum) from Miscellaneous Adventures of an Aussie Mum
• Jen (Jaycee) from Semantically Driven
• Colin (clutterbells) from Adelaide Green Porridge Cafe
• Stephen (StephenCronin) from More Than Scratch the Surface
• John (John Lampard) from Disassociated
• Christine (ChristineParfitt) from Semfire Search Engine Marketing
• Squadron (squadron) from SEO Blog
• Martin (Martin Neumann) from Small Office Australia
• Cellobella (Cellobella) from SultanaBlog
• Gavin (servantofchaos) from Servant of Chaos
• Steve (trib) from AcidLabs

The Early Adopters

We’ve had many participants who have enthusiastically embraced the community spirit. The following are links to some of the wonderful blogs of our most active members.

Swollen Pickles
SCHWOIT - Gardening and Geekdom in the Urban Jungle
Dancing About Architecture
Dances To The Beet Of Her Own Drum
The Nook of Oz
My Little Drummer Boys
Boneblower’s World
Wellbeing and Health
kay lives here
Koobarra
A Roaming Aussie Mum
Our Great Southern Land
Joh Blogs
A Clayton’s Secretary
A Byootaful Life
All About Me - And Then Some
Quit Your Day Job
Lizzie’s Home
Masey
The Peasants are Revolting
My Big World of Crap
Smack Dab in the Middle
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
Careful What You Wish For…
pureCaffeine.com
Road Less Travelled
Nomesque Fiction
Cherry Blossom Adventures
OzBargain
Sephy’s Platzish
The Super Whites Blog - about life downunder
Abundance Highway
How to Live
Three Ring Circus
Guide To Blogging - Let’s Learn Together
The Road To Madness
Picklebums - and other curious creatures
Tall Poppy
Home of Slightly Cracked Dreams
All for Women
3 Minutes
ProBlogger

We’d like to thank everyone for their questions, assistance, tips and general discussion.

Hope to see you there soon.