WordPress is urging anyone who has a self-hosted WordPress blog to update as soon as possible. (Your blog is self-hosted if you have it installed on your own domain. If your blog url is something like yourblog.wordpress.com.)

Right now there is a worm making its way around old, unpatched versions of WordPress. This particular worm, like many before it, is clever: it registers a user, uses a security bug (fixed earlier in the year) to allow evaluated code to be executed through the permalink structure, makes itself an admin, then uses JavaScript to hide itself when you look at users page, attempts to clean up after itself, then goes quiet so you never notice while it inserts hidden spam and malware into your old posts.

The tactics are new, but the strategy is not. Where this particular worm messes up is in the “clean up” phase: it doesn’t hide itself well and the blogger notices that all his links are broken, which causes him to dig deeper and notice the extent of the damage. Where worms of old would do childish things like defacing your site, the new ones are silent and invisible, so you only notice them when they screw up (as this one did) or your site gets removed from Google for having spam and malware on it.

For more information, see the WordPress blog.

Technorati Tags: WordPress, blogging

I have a great analogy that I use to explain to people why they should set up their new blog on their own domain. Most of the people I’m talking about already have a website for their business, or are in the process of creating one, but also want a blog to go along with it. They see free blog sites like WordPress.com, Blogger, and others and since they’re easy to set up, think they should sign up. But while free hosting sites can be great for certain uses, I usually encourage people to set their blog up on their own domain (also called self-hosting), along with the rest of their website.

So why should you set up your blog on your own domain?

Think of it like this…

At Christmas time, there’s this one neighborhood where everybody decorates their house with one strand of Christmas lights. The festive lights make for a really pretty sight – it’s one long block of light after twinkling light. And when people walk down the street they take a look at the lights on each house and say “awww…how pretty” time after time after time.

Now, there’s a guy named Joe who lives in the neighborhood and even though he owns two houses on one block, you’d never know it. They’re at opposite ends of the street and just like everybody else, every year he puts one strand of lights on each house.

One year Joe gets a great idea. He decides to skip putting lights on one of his houses so he can put both of his strands of lights on the other house. Now all of a sudden, he has twice as many lights on his house than any of his neighbors! And when it starts getting dark and everybody in the neighborhood turns their lights on, things are a bit different. People walking down the street still say “awww…how pretty” but when they get to Joe’s house, they actually stop! He smiles as he hears comments like “WOW! That’s awesome,” “Look at all those lights,” and “This is the best house on the block!” People spend time in front of his house enjoying the best light show in the neighborhood. And later, they tell their friends about the great light show at Joe Cool’s house.

Now, back to you…

If you’re thinking of doing a website at www.yourowndomain.com and a blog at yourblog.blogspot.com, think about Joe. Then think of your blog as a strand of Christmas lights…you want those lights (your blog!) on your own domain right along with your website!

When you add your blog to the same domain as your website it’s going to add more content (more lights!) to your place online. That additional content will give your visitors and the search engines more to look at. And, since you’ll be updating your blog regularly (uh huh…that’s part of blogging!) that will keep your visitors coming back for more. It’ll also help the search engines notice you more…and who doesn’t want to be noticed by search engines?!

So get your blog on your own domain and turn those lights on!

Still uncertain about the whole  thing? Check out this post- A free WordPress blog can really cost you – at Social Media Therapy.

Just as an aside. . .

I want to mention that doing some additional blogging on other websites, such as tumblr, can be a great way to add to your who social media strategy – but that’s a whole ‘nother post!

If you’re thinking of setting up a blog, but don’t know where to start, let me know. I have a blog setup package that can get you blogging in no time!  Contact me for more info.

Technorati Tags: blogging, blogs, free blogging sites

On Tuesday, June 23 I’ll be doing another teleclass with Kristin Morrison of Six Figure Pet Sitting Academy. This class will be all about blogging!

No doubt you’ve heard about blogs, but do you know how smart business owners are using them to gain more visibility for their businesses? Whether your blog is a stand-alone blog or part of your overall website, blogging allows you to create dynamic content that keeps people engaged. It also keeps your customers or clients coming back for more!

With a successful blog you can:

• Build a loyal following of clients, customers, and business prospects
• Become a recognized expert or leader in your field of business
• Sell your services or products to your clients
• Sell advertising space on your blog
• Build a large list of highly targeted readers
• Highlight specials your business is offering in order to generate immediate cash flow.

Here’s what you’ll learn in this Blogging Teleclass:

• What a blog is and what makes it different than a website
• How to write “Google-friendly” blog posts that help move your blog higher in search engines results.
• How you can dramatically increase sales while spending less on marketing
• The best software to use for your blog
• Why it’s important to have your blog on your domain rather being hosted by a third party
• Why you need the best SEO blogging theme available for your blog
• How a blog can bring many more visitors to your website
• How to use your blog to reinforce your company goals and vision
• How to keep readers coming back for more
• Tips to help you stay on track with your blogging
• Basic blogging etiquette

This teleclass is being hosted by Kristin Morrision of Six Figure Pet Sitting Academy, and you can register for the class there.

Technorati Tags: blogging class, social media, blogging lessons

It used to be that journalists and reporters in main stream media (news papers, radio, and television) were the main sources of news that affected so many of us. That’s not the case anymore.  Chris Brogan talks about how bloggers and others are also getting the news out these days.Yesterday he went to a Panasonic press conference and was tweeting about it as it happened.

There was lots of news from the event. I’m sure it was covered very well by people like Engadget. What I liked, however, was that we, the bloggers, had the scoop on the mainstream press by who knows how long, and further (and this is the super cool part to me), I really loved that I had conversation coming back to me almost immediately about what I was posting.

During the massive pet food recall in 2007, I learned first hand how bloggers can make a difference in reporting news. After receiving emails through my website, PetsitUSA.com, from people asking what they should feed their pets I posted a short list at of food that had not been recalled. Literally overnight, I was bombarded with more emails from anxious pet owners and found myself contacting pet food companies to get answers about their food. As the list of recalled foods grew so did the list on my blog, which was eventually moved to it’s own website, The Pet Food List.

I quickly found myself one of a handful of bloggers who gained a lot of attention for the news we were putting out. Along with Pet Connection, Pet Food Tracker, Itchmo, and a couple others I blogged extensively about the recalls. With the number of dead pets rising, all of us wanted to do what we could to help frightened pet owners. Because of our determination (and obsession!) we scooped the mainstream media repeatedly. In fact, we quite often had the information out there for pet owners before the pet food companies themselves added the information to their own websites, and almost always before the FDA published the recalls.

Bloggers and those who use other social media tools are definitely changing the way we report, and even how we view the news. It’s no longer all about getting news from a sterile, good looking, middle-aged white guy on the evening news!

Technorati Tags: new media, traditional media, bloggers, pet food recall