LilacsNDreams New Blog Address Reminder

Hello to ALL who have landed here to visit with LilacsNDreams! I know for some this has been confusing at times when coming to my blog to visit. Most of have adapted to the changes, but there are still some who are landing here, and I am sure it is confusing. For this I deeply apologize to you. 

Early in the year of 2012, there was an issue with blogger, this blog address, it was missing, blocked, or whatever had truly happened. I was not getting any answers so I started a new blog right away with No hesitation. It was heart breaking as I had been working on this blog, spending time with it, learning as I went, and trying to continuously improve things. Since I had learned some things, and kept notes it did not take long for me to get the other blog going for those to come visit, and follow with me again. Still using the same name of course of LilacsNDreams, and with the new blog I have done pages for it again, and spent more time with setting them up too. 

Anyway, I have seen from some of my analytics that some are still landing here, and I wish I was more of a computer tech to understand how I could get my feeds to go from here to the new blog, and convert things over to make it better for everyone. You know, make it that you were automatically landing over at the other place. I have tried a few things, does not seem to be working yet, but it is a working progress, and I hope to have something more established with it to make this easier for everyone. I do truly apologize for any inconvenience that this has been, and I feel bad about it. Things happened, was not getting any answers, and I did what I knew to do at the time to be the best thing to do. 

So, this is a friendly reminder about the new blog address that I have which is:
                    http://www.LilacsNDreams2.blogspot.com
                              OR something easier to remember is to use my domain address which is:
                    http://www.LilacsNDreams.com

When you get a chance hop on over to the New Place for my blog. I would be happy to have you come over, visit with Me and everyone else there, and to give me a follow again. Thanks again for your understanding, and cooperation with this unbearing issue everyone. I appreciate it, and hope to see you again soon. 

Thanks for sharing your time with LilacsNDreams, and hope to see you again real soon! Take care. . .

Visit LilacsNDreams New Blog Blogger Come on Over

Reminder of LilacsNDreams new addy to visit which is http://www.LilacsNDreams2.blogspot.com  OR  also http://www.LilacsNDreams.com. Same place, but whichever one is easier for you to click with:)

Things are moving along smoothly at the new blog, gaining some watchers, and the views are coming in pretty good too. Hope everyone had a wonderful Wednesday, and wishing you a great Thursday! Ya'll take care, and come on over to the "new" blog to visit, and say Hi....I know who to come visit if possible then:)

Thanks for sharing your time with me here today, and see you over at the new place. Take care. 

Reminder LilacsNDreams Has Moved to New Blog Please Follow

Reminder that LilacsNDreams Has Moved to a New Blog, and asks you to Please Follow there. Hi all, and hope this gets to everyone. Due to circumstances I am not going to keep repeating....LOL:) I have started a New Blog. I am asking everyone to please follow me over there. Same name, still using blogspot, but without upsetting things too much I had to start a new blog. So, when you can, come on over to the new place, and would LOVE to see you there. LilacsNDreams Blog  OR  LilacsNDreams, and also LilacsNDreams Shoppe Blog  OR  LilacsNDreams Shoppe. 2 main pages to the blog, but as you know there are also other pages that I have there as well as I did here. 

So, hop on over, give it a read....I am working on redoing the same posts for over there too. That way those following can bookmark, and note again with them as they wish. Sorry for the inconvenience, but would be happy to see you there!:)

Have a super Tuesday everyone, and see you at the New Blog!:)

 

Ruby Lane and Ruby Plaza Changes by End of Year

Ruby Lane and Ruby Plaza Changes by End of Year, have you heard?


Hello, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Always a pleasure to see you dropping by. For those who sell vintage, and antiques you know about the market place called Ruby Lane. At some point they had made a sister site which is called Ruby Plaza where you could sell your items of new, and not vintage. There are many sellers who were enjoying having both sites to work with, and sell with too. Well, it is now being announced that Ruby Lane is going to be closing it's sister site of Ruby Plaza. The site will still be active, sellers can still sell there, the sellers there are also given some options for moving their items into Ruby Lane, and for those who sell there...it is best to see this detailed information from the site so that during the process of discussing this there is no misinterpretation of what the rules, and changes are for you. 


Like any other site when this happens you have questions of what do you do now? Where do I put my items that are not considered vintage, some are new, and some are thrift store finds too. One place I am going to suggest watching different sellers with is at the Social Network of Vintage Rising. This site is a sister site to the Vintage Village, and with the announcement of Ruby Plaza closing Lora the site owner, and administrator of the Villages had an idea, and has gone to work with it too. Vintage Rising started out as a social network where others could share about their items handmade, altered, vintage. Items that had been repurposed, and upcycled using vintage components of sorts. With this new announcement Lora is adding more to this site. Sellers that are members there will now be able to show their items from Thrift Store Finds also. Items of new, gently used, and things you would find in Thrift Stores. On the site this is will be called Thrift Store Alley. How neat of an idea this is too! Here you contact the seller themselves about purchasing the item of interest, and they will direct you how to pay by either sending you an invoice directly, or some may choose to have you purchase through a venue of choice they have chosen too. 


Things are being worked on with the site, and Lora is moving fast to get things accomplished for sellers already there to use, but I would suggest keeping an eye on this place for purchases of interest within the categories of Thrift Store Finds. How fun is that going to be, and how convenient by doing this too...don't you think? I am excited myself to have another place that I can show some of the items I have to offer without worrying about the venues of choice that would, or would not allow such items to be offered for sale. 


Keep in mind that many still use ebay, and complain of the fees, and the changes they keep having too. There is also ecrater where people can offer payments through paypal, or google checkout. Some are using Facebook, and using yardsellr through there too. I have also looked at this place too since I am still working on downsizing my inventory myself:)


Hope this bit of information can be of help to some of you who do online sales. At least if you did not know about it you do now, and are able to visit the sites to find out more about all of this too. Keep in mind there are still many venues out there that are still be used too. Along with that some are using their blogs to sell with....see something you like, contact me, and I will bill you directly through paypal, google checkout, or amazon payments myself:) Some people also have their own websites too. Whatever the case is there are many online sellers of many things to be offered to You. 


Hey, thanks for visiting with LilacsNDreams everyone. As always I enjoy the visits, the comments, and everything that others share too. Ya'll take care, and see you again real soon. Have a super weekend!:)

Social Media Tools Include Social Bookmarking

Social Media Tools Include Social Bookmarking too!

Hello, and Welcome back to LilacsNDreams everyone! Sorry, I know, I know....been missing in action here lately again. Life...sometimes will throw a curve now, and then at us....know what I mean?:)

Looking things over a bit here, and wanting to get back onto track of things to finish what was started too. I have been periodically discussing different things involving Social Media, some tools to use, and trying to briefly explain some things too. As I look things over with my notes it looks like I should be able to finish some things up today with this topic. I want to cover Social Media Bookmarking, and give you some ideas with this that are also used too. Again, remember there is much more out there from what I am telling you, but I hope to be covering some of the basics to give you an idea.

Social Media Bookmarking

According to Wikipedia this involves a Method for Internet Users to organize, store, manage, and search for bookmarks of resources online. Many online bookmark management services have launched since 1996. Tagging is a significant feature of Social Bookmarking systems. Enables users to organize their bookmarks in flexible ways.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_bookmarking  Here is the link of where I have copied what is below, and noted above from them as well too.

Unlike file sharing, the resources themselves aren't shared, merely bookmarks that reference them.

Descriptions may be added to these bookmarks in the form of metadata, so users may understand the content of the resource without first needing to download it for themselves. Such descriptions may be free text comments, votes in favour of or against its quality, or tags that collectively or collaboratively become a folksonomy. Folksonomy is also called social tagging, "the process by which many users add metadata in the form of keywords to shared content".^[1]

In a social bookmarking system, users save links to web pages that they want to remember and/or share. These bookmarks are usually public, and can be saved privately, shared only with specified people or groups, shared only inside certain networks, or another combination of public and private domains. The allowed people can usually view these bookmarks chronologically, by category or tags, or via a search engine.

Most social bookmark services encourage users to organize their bookmarks with informal tags instead of the traditional browser-based system of folders, although some services feature categories/folders or a combination of folders and tags. They also enable viewing bookmarks associated with a chosen tag, and include information about the number of users who have bookmarked them. Some social bookmarking services also draw inferences from the relationship of tags to create clusters of tags or bookmarks.

Many social bookmarking services provide web feeds for their lists of bookmarks, including lists organized by tags. This allows subscribers to become aware of new bookmarks as they are saved, shared, and tagged by other users.

As these services have matured and grown more popular, they have added extra features such as ratings and comments on bookmarks, the ability to import and export bookmarks from browsers, emailing of bookmarks, web annotation, and groups or other social network features.

Some Social Media Bookmarking places you might know are:

Stumble Upon - This discover engine find, and recommends web content to users. They then discover and rate different web pages, photos, and videos based on personalized preferences.

Digg - Social content site that likes technology related content. The promotion of your own blog aggressively on Digg is not a good idea.

Delicious - They allow you to share bookmarks. This is used for thought leadership with link sharing.

Reddit - This is a social news website that users submit content, and other users will vote the submission up, or down. This ranking determines the position on the site's front page, and pages. 

Another popular thing used for others to visit, and see what you have to say, what you are sharing, and etc is with RSS Feeds.

RSS:

Feedburner - is one of the popular ones known to use. This provides feeds, and management tools bloggers, podcasters, and other web based content publishers. 

Google Reader - also another well known one to use. This is a web based aggregrator capable of reading Atom, and RSS Feeds. 

Technorati - This is an internet search engine for blogs.

I hope that with these few postings I did of the topic with Social Media Tools that it was able to help you a little bit, and give you some ideas of how big it is and becoming. Also, to better assist you with which areas you would like to focus with in your journies of your business, hobbies, and just things in general. If you know of anything, or can think of anything you would like to add to this, or past posts....Please, do so. You are always welcome to share, and visitors often look forward to reading from what others have to say too. 

Thanks again for visiting with LilacsNDreams, and glad you stopped by! See you again soon everyone. 

 

Social Media and Network Photo Sharing Applications

Social Media and Network Photo Sharing plays a part of Social Network, and Social Media too. 

Welcome to LilacsNDreams everyone! Still trying to carry on with Social Networking, and Social Media with this break down I had started. I do hope it has been helping some of you, and is helping you to see how big this is, and how much is really out there too. 

Photo Sharing is another tool that you can help share, and market with for your Vintage, Handmade, Homemade, Market Places, Venues, and so on. I will not be covering all of them offered, but I will be sharing a few with you. Don't forget if there is more you would like to see, or learn about that you can always Google it as well for the information, and links.

Photo and Video Sharing:

You Tube - This is a video sharing website where the users can share, and can upload new videos. With this site you can also put together pictures, some music, and different things to make a little video of your products to be shared with others on their blogs, websites, and so on.

Flicker - The website is for hosting images, and videos too. The community of members here can share, and make comments on the media viewed here. Through google searches I have also seen pictures from here that ranked enough to be seen with search engines.

Picasa Web Albums - This is another free photo sharing website that is connected with Google. It's a free Google Tool for Online photo sharing, and photo editing too. It has been noted about the simplicity here, and the free picasa software for photo organization, editing, and uploading too.

Photobucket - This is yet another free basic account to be used. There is also a paid account that can be used too. Here you have photo sharing albums you make. You can also displays, and customized galleries, and slideshows. Some of them you might see on different blogs, or websites as well.

Twitpic - This is a website that users are easily allowed to post pictures to Twitter. Being among one of the top rated Social Networks they should have something too, right?:)

Instagram - This is an iPhone application that allows users to also share photos. The phone applications are another big thing being used by many. Sorry, I have not quite advanced that far yet, but it is coming:)

As you can see this is a growing thing by using photos, making your photos clickable, using videos, etc. It is all good for social networking with others. Another great way for you to share things, and to show items that you make, or sell too. 

Hope this little segment was of use to some of you. Sometimes it is the little things that we do not think of, or that we put together without realizing it  is all useful to us for many reasons. Thanking you all again for visiting with LilacsNDreams. Hope you enjoyed it, and don't forget to visit some of my other site pages too. My LilacsNDreams Shoppe page shows pictures of items I have done, have found, that I offer, things sold, and sometimes you will see treasuries or collections that have been done too. Take care, and see you all again soon!:)

Blogs and Blogging Are Social Media Tools Too

Blogs and Blogging are Social Media Tools to use as well too. 


Hello, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams everyone. This is another discussion from what I have started earlier about Social Media Tools. This post will be about Social Media Tools that include Blogs and Blogging. There are many places out there to blog with, and to use their platforms for blogging. Please remember this as you read what I have to offer to you. 

Blogs And Blogging:

Wordpress - You have wordpress.com and also wordpress.org. One is more detailed with a paid domain, different plug-ins that can be used to better assist you with all you would like to do with your wordpress blog, and etc. Wordpress is one of the popular blogging tools, and content management systems that are used. 

Blogger or Blogspot - This service is another popular platform used that allows multi user blogs, and has time stamped entries with it too.  This blog publishing service allows private blogs, or you can also have multi user blogs too. Also, this is a Google Tool as well too. 

Tumblr - Has become more popular over time. They have a social networking website with a blogging platform allowing their users to post to a short form blog. 

Type Pad - This blogging service is targeted to those non-tecnical users. This service also has photo albums, mobile blogging, and also includes a multiple author support too. 

Weebly - This place is also free for a website, and for a blog too. They have threaded commenting that went live in Dec. of 2011. When you comment on a blog post you have the ability to directly respond to other comments, and have your reply appear in the line below the original comment. 

Windows Live Writer - This is something that is nice to have. This is an offline editor that is to work with all platforms.

Everyone has their own preferences to how you blog, and where you blog as well. That is great because remember what one person might like, or maybe what works for them will not always work for everyone else either. Some have found with their own websites that they can add a blog with it. Some of your Market Places have a blog that you can use with your store. Also, some of the social networks also have blogs with their sites, and for others to be involved with too. 

I know there are more out there. If you know of one that you would like to share about, please do so. You are more than Welcome to comment, and share with us all here. Hope everyone had a super Easter Weekend, and thanks again for visiting with LilacsNDreams. See you again soon.

  

Social Media Tools to Use For Vintage Handmade and More

Social Media Tools to Use For Vintage Handmade Homemade and so much more!

Welcome to LilacsNDreams everyone! I started a discussion a few days ago about Social Neworking, and Social Media. Very similar, but slightly different too. I wish to continue on with this thought, and hopefully help you a little bit more too. 

In this posting I am going to mention a few of the more popular, or used places out there that others are using. Keep in mind that this list is not all of them as there is much out there to see, and be a part of. It all depends on your interests, the business you have involving it, your personal thoughts and feelings, your goals, and so on. Hope this will again help you, and give you some ideas as where you would maybe like to go, and for future goals too. 

Social Media Networks to consider:

Facebook:  This is a Social Networking service that allows its users to upload pictures, and text to be shared. Facebook Pages is usually the best place to start, or one of the first thoughts people will have to join. Facebook Pages allows you to collect Fans who can better follow you, and your updates to things. 

Google+:  This is another Social Networking service that is newer than Facebook. Here you can also upload pictures, text, and videos that you would like to share. Upon sharing such things they are done publicly, or you can direct them to show with specific circles. Circles are organized by you which are groups of people you wish to share with. 

Google+ Pages:  These are organized by groups, organizations, and business that set up profiles for posting information to other groups of interest.

LinkedIn:  This is another social networking sight that is focused a bit more with business relations.

Ning:  This is a social network that is designed by you the administrator with your needs in mind. It includes having forums, blogs, photo galleries, a place for others to collect to and share about themselves, and their businesses. Another great way for others to collect to, and be active with. See a few of my links in my side bar to get an idea.

Pinterest:  This is another form of social networking that is done by using pin boards. Here you use a photo sharing technique of things you find of interest which include vintage, collectibles, repurposing, handmade, homemade, blogs, websites, etc. Great way to organize some thoughts, and is another way to bookmark things you find of interest. 

Wanelo:  This is yet another form of social networking that is done by using the pin board idea again. Here you again pin, or save photos into collections you organize yourself. The difference with Wanelo is you are allowed to self promote yourself here.

Please, remember there is much out there to be seen and viewed. These social places I have mentioned are not all of the Social Networks. I am amazed some days how I can still find more, and see more when I am roaming the internet. The ones I have mentioned here are those that are used more, or have become popular for many to use. Next time I will cover a few more things with Social Network Media Tools to use.

Hey, if you know of others, have found others, or have joined with others that are not mentioned here...Remember you are always Welcome to share with us here. Thanks so much for visiting with LilacsNDreams today, and always happy to see you. Make sure to say Hi so that I can come visit with you too. Take care, and have a Happy Day everyone!:)

   

   

Social Networking and Social Media Connecting What is It

Social Networking and Social Media Connecting for fun, pleasures, and business too. 

Hello, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Always nice to have you visit, and passing by. Among many things that are discussed today is Social Networking, or also known as Social Media. I went to Wikipedia to get a more understandable definition of this for us. Social Networking Service is an online service, platform, or site that focuses on building and reflecting of social networks or social relations among people, who, for example, share interests and/or activities and people with similar or somewhat similar interests, backgrounds, and/or activities make their own communities. Social networking sites allow users to share ideas, activities, events, and interests within their individual networks. If you go to Wikipedia you will be able to read what I have printed here, and much more that is said as well too. Don't just the meaning of this, but also see what else is all said as you follow down the page reading. Very interesting. 

Any Website that invites you to interact with the site, and with other visitors falls into the definition of Social Media. We see the word Social Media, and it can mean many things which instrumental is some of our first thoughts. But, as you read further you can also understand how it pertains to the issues of Social Networking too. I found the definition for this to be at http://www.webtrends.about.com/od/web20/a/social-media.htm. Feel free to give it a visit to also read a little bit about this too. 

Social Networking can be a great home on the Web. It can help you connect with people, or reconnect with long-lost friends, and it can even help your career by making business contacts too. Social Networks range from friends-based networks like FB, and My Space to music, and movie networks like Flixster, and Last.FM to business Social Networks like LinkedIn, and XING. I found this little tidbit with http://www.webtrends.about.com/old/socialnetworking/u/list-of-social-networks-guide.htm

Make sure to come back, and visit LilacsNDreams again. My next posting I am working on I am hoping to cover different Social Networks, or Social Medias that are being used, and try to give a brief idea of what they do as well. Thanks for visiting with LilacsNDreams today. Hope this was helpful to you. This is a growing area, and is still growing with questions of what is it, do I need to be involved, what can it do for me, what can it do for my business, which ones should I use, and so on.

See ya'll again soon. Have a Happy Day Everyone!:)

 

Facebook and the Timeline Countdown Begins

Facebook and the Timeline Countdown Begins

Hello, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams! For many who have accounts with Facebook we have been watching different changes over time. Well, the one that is coming at us right now is the new Timeline. Whether you have switched to it, or not it is coming. The Facebook Timeline Pages countdown has begun for this week. 

I myself am still drying to navigate through it, and understand it. I am still not sure if I like the new addition of this, or not. But, whether it is acceptable by us, or not it is mandatory to have it by the end of the week. So, if you have been avoiding it, now is the time to catch up with the Facebook Timeline to work with it, and try to understand it. 

The Facebook Timeline Countdown is On is a link that was shared by Barbara of Out of the Attic 2u with The Vintage Village. Hopefully this will help some of you with some of the things that need to be done, and to learn a little bit about it too. 

Hope everyone had a beautiful weekend, and wishing you all a super week coming at us. Remember, don't be afraid to share something if you have more links, or knowledge of something being discussed. The more, the merrier, and it is helpful for all of us too. Don't forget to say Hi if you visited so that I can drop in on you too. Thanks again everyone. Take care, and see you again soon. 

  

Vintage Collectibles Repurpsoed Upcycled Altered

Vintage Collectibles Repurposed Upcycled Altered are things I enjoy, and am passionate about. I wanted to stop by, and leave you all a small note. A reminder that you all are Welcome to visit with my tabs I have above that would interest you as I try really hard to post with some of my others pages here too. When visiting make sure to say Hi so that I can come visit with you too. Also, make sure to visit my LilacsNDreams Store page tab above too. On that page is where I will share items of interest with the online world of selling. I will show pictures for items of mine, where they are offered, I sometimes will feature another seller with some of their items, and etc. Along with the pictures I show I will share the links to the items being offered. Remember, if you see something you like, have questions about, want to know more...visit the link provided. If you are interested in buying it, and do not want to visit the site contact me to invoice you separately myself. 

I hope all of you are going into having a great weekend. Thanks again for stopping by. Take care, have fun, enjoy, and best of luck with all you do. See you again soon.

 

Happy Monday Bloggers and Blogland Visitors From LilacsNDreams

Happy Monday Bloggers and Blogland Visitors! Welcome to LilacsNDreams, and happy to see you stopping by to see me. Sorry, been MIA again here. Kept busy over weekend with moving things from upstairs to the downstairs, making room for workers, loading car to donate items, and just when I think it will calm down...I change my mind, and decide to donate a few more items. Hopefully this week the plumber gets his part done so then the rest of the bathroom can be completed. 

The weather has been great here! Not a normal winter for us northerners at all! But, I will take it, and enjoy it as much as I can. Sorry to say I did not have much to cover in this posting to all of you wonderful readers. I have some notes made, have a topic in mind, but have not gotten any further with it. So, wanted to stop by here, and say Hello to all of you passing through. Wishing you all a super Monday, and a beautiful week! Thanks so much for visiting, and see you again soon. Take care. 

Facebook Social Media and the New Timeline

Facebook Social Media and New Timeline. 

Hello, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Always glad to have you stopping by to visit with me. How many of you Facebook, use Facebook, have a Fan/Business Page, and so on? There are some people who do not use Facebook, have no desire to, and get along perfectly fine without too. But, for those of you who do use Facebook, spend much time there...sometimes too much, right?:) What do you think of the new Timeline that is coming out? 

Yes, Facebook has yet another change that is, or will soon be taking place as well. They are calling it Timeline. This was being announced back in September, and some were able to sign up, and play around with it then. Since then there have been more who have been able to visit their Timeline, edit with it, play with it a bit, and so on. Once you opt into the new Timeline, your profile page is never going to be the same. This new Timeline reminds me of a diary. With it you will be able to dig back to the time of when you first started with facebook, see things you had noted and posted to everyone, and it attempts to use the data already inside of facebook sort of like a digital scrapbook. 

Once you start the Timeline you will have up to 7 days to play with it, edit it, change this, delete that, and so on. You can then click the button to publish it, or it will automatically publish within the 7 days for you. 

Your cover photo will stand out with this. It will draw attention as it will stretch across the page width of facebook. Your facebook profile photo will then become a smaller square. No new information is shared. Facebook is bringing back the old posts. It has been said that the privacy set with them old posts will still be there as well. If it is to be shared with friends only, it will be that way. The Timeline will try to determine which of your posts were the most read, liked, commented with and expand those for you. If you have a post that you want to bring up, and has not been expanded you will also be able to expand it as well. If there maybe are some posts you want no one else to see, you can make it for "your eyes only" as well. 


Now, how does everyone feel about this? MANY mixed emotions, and thoughts have been shared. There are some who are loving it, enjoying playing with it, and so on. There are others who have dealt with enough changes, and do not want to have another one. Also, they are not in favor of this change, and wish that there was the option to opt out of it too. My understanding is that everyone will eventually have this Timeline, that it will be added. If I read correctly it is to be coming out of beta on December 22, 2011...today:)


So, when visiting Facebook if you have not already had your offer it is coming for the Timeline. See what others have to say about it, and play with it yourself too. You will either like it, not like it, or it will grow on you like any other new change does. Sorry, I was not really impressed with it as it is just another page to me. Another confusion to deal with, and will be an adjustment again. Time will tell with this for me, and for many others as well. As one person did comment this was all the more reason they were going over to Google+.

Thanks for visiting LilacsNDreams! I wish you all well, and MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!! Take care, have fun, enjoy, and be safe everyone. See you when you stop by again. 

Social Medias Facebook Google+ Ning Groups

Social Medias Facebook Google+ Ning Groups, and so on. Which ones do you use if any?


Hello, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Always glad to see you visit with me. Social Medias, and their uses. Social Medias, and how many of you use them. Are they beneficial to us, or are they just another thing to spend time with, and fill our days. Actually, Social Media is another good thing for us as Sellers to use, and be involved with too. Did you know that the more you are involved with a place, and the more others get involved, it truly does help the ranking for that site? Also, Google and your search engines will see "activity" happening, and they will go in to check it out, and see if it is time to place it with page rankings as well too. 


I belong to a few Social Medias myself, and I do enjoy them. Not only do they help my rankings with different things, but I get to meet other people selling from the same venues I use, meet others with some of the same interests I have, learn from what others share, offer what I know to others, share pictures of what you sell and maybe projects you are working on too. Generally if there is a question, or a problem with something I can go to one of the sites I belong to for me to read about it, or ask about it as well. Everyone is great in responding back, sharing, and most of all helping too.


At one time I did belong with too many sites, and I had to take time one day, and weigh my options, views, feelings, and remove myself from a few of them. Not that I don't like some of them, but I needed to find a way to better organize my time spent with them, and spend more time with those I seem to be getting more benefit from as well. Some of this is visible when I go to Google Searches. I just go there, and put in my business name of LilacsNDreams, and watch the pages that come up. Once that happens I will start looking through those listings to see what places is helping my name become visible on the internet. Remember, each time you check with search engines rankings for different things can change, what is on page 1 could later be on page 2, and so on. But, some of the places I have learned pretty much where they are staying at, and have noted this so I know where to focus some of my energy. 


The Vintage Village has been a good one for me. Not only does Lora have the Vintage Village that keeps growing with members, but she has also started a sister site to it which is called Vintage Rising. Then there is ESN for Ecrater Store members, and from there you can go to Online Sellers. Another place for some of the crafters, and repurposers to collect at is called Creating the Hive. Some of the other places I also like to associate myself with is of course the big one Facebook, but I have also found I am enjoying the new Google+ too. There is Twitter which I do not sign into much, but do have things being posted there that have been set up from different places as well. So, while I post something at one place, it is not only seen there, but with twitter as well. Along with this one I also am signed with LinkedIn. Another place that is showing up on Google Searches I have noticed when researching with different pieces is Pinterest. That place is very addictive, and when you see something you like that you would like to share with others you "pin it", save it to one of the "albums" you have set at Pinterest, and others will view items, pin them again which others will see, and so on. Very addictive little place to belong to as well.  If you would like to see some of these places make sure to look in the right side bar of my site here, and find the clickable buttons to take you there.


I know that Social Medias seem like such a waste of time to some, but it has been proven that others have gotten higher views from such places, and some have made sales because of some of these places too. The more exposure, the more your name is seen, the more you can benefit from it. Using these places are a great way of promoting your stores, blogs, websites, links to you, and so on.  Remember, I am not saying you have to sign up to all of them, and belong to a long list of them, but associating yourself with a few of them is good for you, and your business. Just like blogging.....google and the search engines like fresh content which helps them to know to crawl there, and check things out. So, next time you are out roaming the internet, and looking for ways to show your name more, keep in mind that Social Medias are a good thing to be involved with.

I want to thank everyone for visiting with LilacsNDreams, and hope I was able to share some things with you as well. If you have any question, would like to comment, and most of all maybe share something with the rest of us, please do so. Love hearing from everyone, and don't forget to say Hi letting me know you stopped by too.

Google Plus Business Pages Opened For LilacsNDreams

+LilacsNDreams Business Page

With Google+ 

Google Plus Open For Business Pages

Hello, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams everyone! If you do not already know about it, or have not seen notices for it yet, Google Plus has opened their next phase for Business Pages. Like anything else when new, a bit confusing till you figure it out, but it really has not gone badly. When trying to work with something new you always seem to hit a slight bump in the road. It happens. I myself do like how these pages are compared to FB. I am having more success with navigating around much easier, and going from a personal to the business page seems to go much smoother than FB too. 

One thing I like about a business page with Google+ is that it will be good for SEO, gets your name out there more, and I have seen some business pages comment on how they were being ranked and found with their pages too. Hey, every little bit we can do helps all of us Sellers out, right? Google has many different apps that people work with, they offer free websites, and until I went to process my Google+ Business page....I had forgotten that my business name is registered with Google showing business hours, map, location, and etc. So, the more with Google the merrier right?:) And, let's not forget that Google is also the biggest search engine for general, and for shopping too. So, having these business pages just gives it another kick too:)

When you can stop by to visit my page, see what it going on there, sign up with Google+, give me a holler, and add/invite me to your circles. 

Thanks for visiting with LilacsNDreams. Remember to visit my stores for vintage, collectibles, repurposed, and reused treasures too. Most of the inventory is at Artfire, and I also have a few things with Ecrater. Some of the inventory has been listed with Ebay recently too. Hey, gotta get some of this inventory to move so that I can make more room for other things found, and mostly to make more room for me to work on repurposed and restyled pieces too. 

Take care, and hope to see you again!

 

Facebook, Google Plus, Social Media Which One

Facebook, Google Plus, Social Media, Which One have you chosen? 


Hello, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Glad to have you here, and happy to see you returning to my site too. Big Buzz happening on the internet lately. Mostly has been with Facebook, and with Google Plus. 


Google Plus is trying it again with the social media. Facebook is still being highly used yet, but how do you feel about the changes that have happened recently? Are you signed up with Google Plus? If so, how are things going there for you?


Facebook has done some major changes lately, and I had read where there will still be a few more. One is with the Fan Pages. Prior to the changes FB was really starting to become spam for me. I LOVE conversing with everyone, sharing, commenting, reading, and all of that. I understand people wanting to show their items also being offered for sale. But, when I have half a page that is full of pictures for items for sale, and from the same person, sorry....but that is starting to feel like twitter and the spam that comes with it. I understand social media, it is to our advantage in many ways, but when it starts to feel like spam, when it is no longer enjoyable to visit, I don't have the desire to visit quite as much. Then, some of the things I have read with the changes, and what is being done on FB I can remember thinking "Why do I have my fan page then" or "Why did I work to make my fan page something" So, time will also tell with that. I sometimes get the feeling that I am not getting all of the posts on FB to read like I use to, and it just feels like I am missing out on some things with the changes. Having a harder time getting around facebook again too.


Now, there is Google Plus which I have joined a long time ago with invites from others. When I first joined with them I had my business name, and soon found that others were having issues with their accounts being removed, blocked, or warnings sent to them about this. The Google Plus started out being for the personal accounts, and they are still working with their business part of it for others to soon join. Till then they have asked that you use the real/personal names. So, this I have done.....scary as I do not even know me by my personal name!:) I am so use to my name of LilacsNDreams, or also answering to the name of Lilacs that is was an adjustment for me....LOL:) Anyway, roaming around Google Plus has been quite comfortable for me. It feels like simplicity....which I believe a lot of things need to go back to myself. Google has been a bit easier to roam around with things. I enjoy seeing actual conversations from people, and sharing with them. You accept the people you want within your circles, and you can have many circles to better organize your friends list with as well. Then, when posting things you have the option of having it public, or if you want only certain friends circles to see it too. When accepting someone to a circle, prior to that, it is a bit easier to read about them, see their profile, and on the side of their about page you can see the links they have for stores, blogging, social medias, and different things like that to better assist you as well. 


I might be using my personal name at Google, but my avatar is still with my LilacsNDreams so people can know me, and then follow over to the business part of it when I can get that done, and is available to all of us. I am kind of leaning towards Google+ myself, feels cleaner, not so cluttered, easier to navigate, enjoying the conversations, and so on. I have not had a problem sharing links there, and with some of the links....like with my blog, the picture shows with it as well. But, I am still using Facebook since many friends are still there yet too. Time will tell, and I will be watching myself to see how this all comes out with both places. 


Where are you, what is your preference, and have you tried them both? Google Plus is open to all now, and invites are not needed. Would love to hear what others are feeling about this situation as well too. Share if you wish to.....All are welcome to do so. Thanks for visiting with LilacsNDreams today, and hope to see you again soon. Take care everyone....till the next time:)

Blog Blogging With SEO

Blog Blogging With Seo. Hello, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams. This posting will be in part to my previous blog post about blog, and blogging. 


Reminder that when we blog, and especially if it is for business, we want to work with our Seo. There is On Page Optimization, and Off Page Optimization to work with. ALL Search Engines have a unique algorithm for determining how relevant your blog post is to a given query.


On Page Optimization is for how many words in a post that match up with a search that was just done. Create content that will pertain to your business, or the topic of the post. Try to answer questions within your blog post. Doing some of this will help in your ranking higher with searches. 

• Brainstorm Keyword Phrases. Brainstorm as many keyword phrases, and words
   that you will rank well with, and you fell prospective customers will use.

• Use Keyword Analysis Tools like Google Adword Keyword Tool.
   Also, you could use the Google Analytics which in the report you can also see 
   what keywords are being used to find some of your posts. There are free 
   things out there to use for researching keywords, and of course some are to be
   paid for too.

Tools help determine how many people are searching for your phrases you use, and also gives an idea of how much competition is there for each phrase too.

Off Page Optimization is how many quality inbound links you have (links from other websites, blogs, directories, etc to your blog and the post done. This is the other 1/2 of the search engine equation. Search engines see inbound links as "votes of confidence"


Variables that will effect how important each link is,


• Linking Site
• Number of links on the referring page. Each page does have a limited amount. 
  Again, you would not want to over due it as suggested with the keywords too.
• Context of the Linking Page. Your blog subject, and if links from that subject.
• Anchor Text. Words in the link are critical. Use words that pertain to your topic,
  and of course what your business is. Such as vintage, collectibles, repurposing
  are words that could be used for me. You then have those words link to the 
  blog post, your website, your store, and so on. 


To get more incoming links to your blog, and the website as many of you work with you can use numbered lists. This was suggested, and it is not something I have done, but there are some businesses that could use it for their way of business. Use How to Articles. Speak of a certain topic, use and give instructions for completion of certain topics, and a suggestion for this would to also be using a video. Yes, videos have been highly recommended as it is seen people do like to view these. Another suggestion for more links is to use  Guest Blog that you can create keyword rich links to your blog, or website. 

Links were mentioned, but don't forget your backlinks too. Not only do you want links going out to places of interest, but you also want the links coming back to you. Preferably they are links from sites, or places that share some of your same interests to be more meaningful too. This will also help you get higher in search engine rankings too. 

Remember, when you blog, find topics that pertain to the audience, customers, followers that you have. Hard to please everyone I know, but do the best you can, and of course topics that appeal to you so that you can show your interest, and personality with it too. 

Publicize your blogs. Do this by sharing them to Linked In, Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Stumble Upon. You will generally see more reactions with this than comments left on your blog. 

Try to show your personality through your blogs too. People can see you, and sense you through your words, how you present yourself, and is good for creating friendships, and business relationships. 

Back to the idea of a topic. If you have a thought, something you want to share, see something that refers you to it being a good topic please make a note of it. It is very easy to grow your topic list this way. Sometimes we might run into a block of thoughts, and ideas too. Sometimes using word tracker can be helpful with ideas from words read.

Try to be consistent, have a schedule of posting, and another thought is you can always post again about a topic you have already done. By doing that you will be adding to it, and refreshing the thoughts and comments with it too. 

Here is to everyone who visits with LilacsNDreams today. Hope you enjoyed more of the Blog Blogging topic, and that is was helpful to you. Remember, you are always welcome to share, comment, and add to the topics as well. Thanks again, and have a great day everyone. 

 

Why Blog, Blog For Business or Pleasure or Both

Welcome to LilacsNDreams Blog Website regarding Why Blog, Blog For Business or Pleasure or Both.

I have been making a list of ideas that come to mind to share here with everyone. Some, most of it will pertain to business, or how things can be applied to the business aspect of things. 


Today I want to talk of the subject Why Blog? Should we blog? Does blogging work for business? 


Why Blog? Many many reasons as to why we blog, and why some of us choose to blog. Great way to express your experiences with different subjects. Some of your subjects could be about vintage, collectibles, repurposed, upcycled, junking restoring, crafting, handmade, collectors, dealers, sellers, store owners, arts, political, business, and so on. As you can see the list could go on forever. Some use blogs as a diary, journal, and some do it for money too. 


I can say from research I found that search engines serve up web pages, not just websites. Now, every blog post has a new page everytime you post something. By making these pages you could do well within ranking for searches.  You know, some of the websites do have a blog on it too. Hmm....that could be a good idea to have. Actually, I had already applied that idea to my website, but have now seen the suggestion while researching blogging. Google likes content, and blogs give a new page all the time with a post, and of course the content with it too. A blog post = web page, and web page = search opportunity.


Blogs can describe things in depth. Blog is a tool that lets you get new content out continuously, or as often as you choose to post, both to your website viewers, and to the search engines. Blogging can be used as a hobby, and for some of us blogging becomes a business venture. Blogging keeps growing, and over time has been realized how it is not just for professional writers, or marketers with a product/service to sell. It is actually suitable for anyone with stories, or ideas to share.

I am just covering a few things with blogging. This post could get very very long if I tried to cover everything. 


3 things you will need for Business Blogging:

• Use the Right Platform
  There are many to choose from, and everyone has their own preferences to what they use too. Many use blogger because it has been known to be easier to work with, and there are quite a few that use Wordpress as well. With wordpress I guess you get more plug-ins to work with to do more with your pages. If you have not decided on a blog platform search it a bit, and again, find one that works for you, and that you like the feel with.


• Own Your Own Domain
  You want to be able to blog from your own property. IF you would ever decide to move to another platform this allows you to retain all of the inbound links that you have gathered too. I seen it suggested to use your .com for blogging. I use my .com for here, and my .net for my store blog of pictures. Go Daddy makes it really easy to direct your domain, and redirect if you want to move it too.


• Be Committed With Blogging
  Takes time to get seen, heard, have followers, comfortable with topics you want to discuss and share, and to find what works for you. Put your own character into it so that people can feel who you are. This is how they get to know you, like you, want to share with you, share your link to others, will become your friends, and also will become customers who will buy from you too.


On an average I have seen it noted that you should try to blog about 2-3 times a week. I know, I know....where do you find the time to do ALL of this? We all go through this, and find our way with it. For me? I still facebook, twitter, and visit different social medias. But, I do not spend as much time with them like I use to. I like blogging, enjoy it, and like to research a little for the next topic that I will be sharing. Whether it is for business, something I learned, or a little about me. A little something shared is better than nothing too. I have been working on my schedule for blogging, and so far have kept it at about twice a week. Sometimes I might drop in a note, or announcement in between too.


I don't always do it, but you should start your post with your post title. Have keywords in the title, and know that the search engines give a little more weight to the 1st 3-4 words. Use keyword phrase through the body of the post. Try to do right away, and then a couple of more times in your post. 


Use links to appropriate pages in your blog. Link name to the page on a site where you can buy the item from, link your keywords, and don't forget to anchor text too. Here are just a few examples: Artfire, maybe use the word vintage with a sentence, but note that you also like to repurpose treasures, and adore upcycling too. 


Don't over do it either. I can not find a set limit to watch for, but if you overload with all of it, google will also see it as bad, and you will not make it to searches either. You also want to work on inbound links. Those are links that come from other web pages to your blog post. Preferably from other pages that deal with the same thing you do, involved with same topic you are discussing, and that sort of thing. That will have more weight with search too. 


Ok, I need to slow this down here a bit, and not write a book to ya'll. I am just skimming some of the research I have found with blogging. I can say it is becoming more popular, and sometimes people are turning to that more than just socializing too. Work with it, takes time, but I have seen many who have made their blogs into their websites too. It all depends on your goals, what you want, where you are going, and so on. 


In conclusion, things to work with in blogging to help with your rankings and searches are:
• Perform a keyword analysis to know keywords that drive qualified traffic to your site


• Put keywords in your titles, content, and through out your blog post. Remember do not over load the keywords as that can be looked at as bad too.


• Create content that will encourage people to link to you, to your blog, and want to share your blog with others. 


Time for me to sign out. Late night here for me, but wanted to get some kind of a post done for ya'll to read, think about, and work with if you wanted to also. I want to thank all of you for visiting with LilacsNDreams, hope you enjoyed your visit, and stop by anytime. Remember, welcome to leave comments, share with us, respond to comments left, and you get the picture. Take care everyone, and have a wonderful super relaxing enjoyable weekend. Be safe!

Website Hosting Domains Shopping Carts, Do I Need It

Hello everyone, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Glad to have you here!


Time to have another topic for ya'll to read, share some opinions, and offer what I have read too. Websites, should I have one, do I need one, so much work, is it necessary, and boy those things cost too. Yes, you are right, they can be costly. Depends what you all want to do with it, what your goals are, and how much you would like to spend with it too. 


No matter how many storefronts a person has it is good to have a website. The website can serve as your home base, links your web presences to one another, and serves as your "hub" that will direct visitors to your stores, your blogs, and serves as kind of an online business card. 


Before jumping into this I recommend searching around a bit. Do searches about them, see what others say, and suggest. Calculate how much you would like to spend for the website. Cost of hosting, your domains, the shopping carts, and do you intend to advertise to get your website out there too? A lot of things to consider. 


What is the best Host, and what should you consider? You need to consider it needs to be affordable for you. I know Hostgator starts about $3.96 a month, and I see that one mentioned often by others using. The host needs to perform well for you, and your visitors. You need to be able to draw traffic. Does it give you the option of setting up a shopping cart, or is it included maybe? Make sure you have support staff that is available 24/7, and that it has the tools to let you edit the site yourself too. And, this one I like myself, it should provide for a blog if you would like to have one too. Another thing is can you do the domain with them, or do you need to go some where else for that? 


Having a website is great for business cards. You use your main domain name on the card with the URL, and it will lead people to the website. From there they can view, and click to where they prefer to shop at. Your traffic can come from your host, and also your business cards too. 


Now, there are some websites that are free to use too. Depends how much work you want to work with it yourself, what you are knowledable with, and where you feel comfortable at. 


I have one. Actually on my 3rd, 4th, or whatever I had signed up with. There are different free ones out there. Some I have liked, and some I do not like as well. Google has one you can set up as many pages as you want, it's free, and takes a little work. But, I am not all computer literate so sometimes anything will take a little work for me. Check google for  sites.google.com/?? Or, just go to google, and search it there. There is  Microsoft Office Live,  FreeWebstore.org, Webstarts.com,  Wix.com, and  Weebly.com. I know you can get one at Vendio, don't let the ebay thing bother you as it can be done without ebay, and I think that one was free? 

There is also Pro Stores that can be used, and I do believe that starts at about $30 a month. I have heard others mention it, and they like it.  I have been noticing some websites being done with vistaprint.com, and do not know the cost for them. Yahoo has business sites/stores that can be used, and not sure of their cost. Just a lot all there, and no way I could mention them all. Search google for many of them, read forums with sites and social medias to learn of some, and just roam the internet to find them too.


As I mentioned I have my website free, and that is with Weebly.com. Through bannerfans.com which is also free, I have made my banners, avatars, and such that are used with the site. I have set a tab that is a blog on my website...free, and I could add it in if I wanted to. I have directed 1 of my domains to this website. I got my domains through GoDaddy.com. I have never had an issue with them, pay a small yearly fee for the domains, and that cost is sooo small compared to paying fully for a website, and all the extras with it. 


I do not have a shopping cart on the site, although I could, or I could use the buy it now buttons as weebly does have that. Instead I use my rapid cart from Artfire, My widget from Ecrater, and for Addoway and the other stores I also have my RSS Feed going to the pages for them. 


I have chosen to use my website, and my blogs as my landing pages showing my links to the stores I sell with, links to all the blogs, link to my website, and so on. Maybe at some point I will add the shopping cart, and sell either with my blog or website. But, for now, for me, I am comfortable using them as landing pages, and making an internet presence that way. Please, visit my LilacsNDreams Website, and have a look around. It is not perfect, I am sure there is much more to do with it, and different ways to do things, but I am comfortable with it, and it works for me. Great support at weebly, and they have been getting used by quite a few too.


I hope this has helped you with the issues of a website. I know I have not covered everything for you, but hope I was able to give you some things to think about, consider, and research with. Thanks again for visiting with LilacsNDreams, and visit with me here anytime. Always welcome with the visits, comments, sharing, and so on.