Here comes YouTube Mobile

It’s well known that the mobile internet is huge and growing fast; what’s surprising is exactly how fast. According to a recent report, within 5 years more users will connect to the internet via mobile devices than desktop PCs. YouTube consumption on mobile devices has also grown considerably -- playbacks were up 160% in 2009 over the previous year. And we’re excited to announce that YouTube Mobile now receives more than 100 million video playbacks a day. This is roughly the number of daily playbacks that YouTube.com was streaming when we joined forces with Google in 2006.

Google launched YouTube on mobile devices in 2007 with about 1,000 videos available on the mobile site (m.youtube.com). While this suddenly opened up the possibility to access videos on the go, our site, mobile browsers and the hardware had limitations that prevented the mobile experience from keeping up with YouTube on the desktop. Today, more than ever, Google knows that you want to be able to find and access your favorite videos wherever you are. That’s why Google has been working hard to roll out an updated version of the mobile site.

Here's what's new about the new mobile site:

* It's really fast.
* The new user interface incorporates larger, more touch friendly elements, making it easier to access videos on the go.
* It incorporates the features and functionality you’ve come to expect from the .com site, like search query suggestions, the options to create playlists,the ability to designate “favorite,” “like,” or “unlike” videos directly from your device.
* As Google makes improvements to Youtube.com, you’ll see them quickly follow on the mobile site, unlike native apps which are not updated as frequently.

As the world continues to go mobile, Google thinks this is a great improvement for users who want a more consistent YouTube across many devices, no matter where they are. Google is launching in English only today, but will be rolling it out in other languages in the coming months. You can access the latest YouTube mobile site from your iPhone or Android browser. To learn more, visit m.youtube.com to check out the latest improvements and take a minute to watch this demo video:

Blogger in the News - Lunch Box Mom

This article is about Sarah Vander Schaaf - one exhausted mama with a baby that didn't sleep. She started blogging on blogspot about her daughter that didn't sleep. Like many other bloggers she connected with other moms. She did Q and A with moms at the playground and wrote about topics near and dear to her heart ad a mommy. Her blog is now receiving national attention as she is now part of a milk promotion.

Here is a link! Congrats Lunch Box Mom. http://lunchboxmom.blogspot.com/

Paid Search for your Personal Mom Blog

Paid Search for your Mom Blog. Why would I spend money on a personal blog?

You spend money on your mom blog for the same reason you would pay for a web design. I started www.powellmom.com with the sole purpose of becoming a high traffic Mommy Blog. The two tactics that I am using for this blog are paid search and SEO. I promise to do a post later on SEO for the mom blog. But the purpose of this post is to talk about why you should consider Paid Search as a method for gaining traffic.

You could be the best funniest blogger in the world and if no one finds your blog then you won't get traffic. One of the problems with mom bloggers in general is that they tend to play in the same circle. Mom blogs are funny creative and most of them share a common purpose. Once you want to get a real amount of traffic, you need to get bloggers outside of the mom circle to come to your site.

This is where paid search comes into play. Suppose you are a mom blogger that discusses what it is like to live in Chicago. Consider advertising for your blog on a Chicago website. Do you always walk down to the same bookstore for their story hour events? Consider buying an ad for your mommy blog on the site? These are just a few creative ways to make some money on your blog. They are inexpensive but can yield a small local following, which can enhance the reach of your blog.

Blogtimize - Optimize the ads on your blog

Not sure how many people have already read these tips but these are right from Google and so they should help your ads perform. I understand you don't want to have your blog too cluttered so I would not necessarily take every bit of advice, but the concepts are good.

When working with a blog, you're facing some interesting ad implementation challenges: a predetermined page format, highly targeted content, and regular visitors, among other things. To make the most of your readership and content, here are a few suggestions:

Blend ads into your blog

To increase the likelihood that your readers will see and click on your ads, blend your ad units into the background of your blog. Choose a bold color for the ad title to help draw attention to your ads, then make sure that the background and borders of your ads are the same color as the background of the area where the ad is placed.

Experiment with multiple ad formats and locations

In general, wider ad formats tend to be more reader-friendly. Placing an ad unit after the first post will likely catch your readers' attention. Take a look at our sample implementations to get some ideas. Also, consider placing a Skyscraper (120x600) or vertical link unit on the right side of your blog. If you're using Blogger, you can find instructions on placing AdSense code in your blog's sidebar.

Offer readers more options with search

To make sure you're earning the most revenue possible with AdSense, go beyond just ads to use AdSense for search. You can increase your earnings, provide readers with valuable information, and take advantage of flexible formats.

Improve ad targeting

With section targeting, you can target an ad unit to a specific section of your blog, as well as block out irrelevant sections like navigational links. We recommend that only those familiar with HTML attempt to implement section targeting.

Tip for promoting your blog: If you're a Blogger user, activate this setting to notify Weblogs.com, a blog update notification service, whenever you have updated your blog. That means your blog will be included in various "recently updated" lists on the web as well as other blog-related services