Blogalicious Meetup- No rain but rocks and wine!

After spending Friday night stuffing swag bags, obsessively checking the weather report, and hoping that the rain would hold off until after our Blogalicious meeup, Mother Nature cooperated with a great fall day.

If you have ever wanted to a local vineyard but have had qualms about taking your children, Black Ankle Vineyards was the perfect family outing. Black Ankle’s vinters, Sarah O’Herron and Ed Boyce are parents themselves and have made the winery extremely family friendly. The climbing rocks out front, pebbles that are part of the landscaping, visiting the cows and chickens in the barns, being able walk among the rows of grapes, and seeing where the grapes are processed, made the day as fun for the kids as it did for me. Sarah and Ed were very welcoming and had absolutely no qualms about families coming to the winery because “kids can’t hurt anything here.”

Knowing that my kids were having a great time playing made it easy for me to relax and enjoy the company and award winning wine. I loved sitting in the rocking chairs on the back porch of Black Ankle’s tasting room with my Bedlam while I watched Little Miss Techie and Captain Computer play in the rocks!

If you weren’t able to join us on Saturday, next weekend Black Ankle celebrates their one year anniversary. Enjoy live music, complimentary hor d’ourves, and of course, fantastic wine. Stop by on Saturday, October 3 (12-6 pm) or Sunday, October 4 (12-5 pm) and say hi to Sarah and Ed while the kids play and you enjoy their delicious wine.

Huge thanks to Black Ankle Vineyards for hosting today’s event and the fabulous companies who sent each family home with a great selection of products.

Special thanks to the amazing Amanda from Scholastic answered a last minute plea and sent two huge packages to me when I was worried I wouldn’t have any giveaways. Families took home items from Scholastic that included the current issue of Parent & Child Magazine and The New York Times Upfront, WordGirl magnets and comic books that delighted Little Miss Techie, MythLopedia bookmarks, On Our Minds Post-Its, and a Weston Woods DVD with stories like ish by Peter H. Reynolds, T is for Terrible by Peter McCarty, Roberto the Insect Architect by Nina Laden, Stars! Stars! Stars by Bob Barner, and Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert

Attendees also took home items donated by the following companies:

• Guardian Angel Bracelet IDs
• Boogie Wipes
• Mixed Chicks hair care products
• Boojee Beads eyeglass holders and ID badge holders
• Karito Kids Travel Charmers Bracelet
• Care4Hire.com gift certificates for a month of service

Also, thank you to Lands' End for outfitting me for this event!

25% off and Free Shipping During Lands' End Friends and Family Event

This weekend enjoy a generous 25% discount off regular priced items from Lands' End and free shipping with the promotion code: LEFAMILYW and PIN: 00008697. No minimum purchase is required! This offer ends September 28, 2009 and cannot be combined with associate discount.

I love that Lands' End considers me a friend and wants me to share this weekend's Friends and Family Event savings with you. I hate paying full price for kids' clothes and use coupon sites to avoid shipping charges on my online purchases whenever possible.

Free shippping and the 25% discount is a great incentive to purchase the things I know the kids will need later this fall. I'm going to order Captain Computer a pair of the Kids' All Weather Mocs in the next size up since his feet are growing so fast! Regularly $29.50, the 25% discount makes them $22.13! Little Miss Techie needs a pair of striped tights for her Halloween costume (she's going as a fancy witch!) so perhaps a pair of these will fit the bill.

For those of you heading to the Blogalicious meetup at Black Ankle today, you'll find me wearing a Shaker Hooded Toggle Cardigan Sweater and these flats!

Happy shopping and saving!

Disclaimer: As a Lands' End brand ambassador for Blogalicous, they have provided my wardrobe for today's meetup and the conference. This is not a paid post.

Sporty's Teaches About Baseball and Sportsmanship (DVD giveaway)

Baseball season is coming to a close and if your child is mourning the end of the season, Sportys is a fun DVD for ages 3 and up to watch in the off season about the ins and outs of America’s favorite pastime while teaching important lessons about sportsmanship.

We loved watching Stitch the animated baseball as he imparted messages of teamwork, good sportsmanship, and playing fair while encouraging young children to take risks and try new things. Academy Award nominee Michale Clarke Duncan from The Green Mile and Kung Fu Panda is the voice of Stitch who is brought to life with other characters created by Dan Yaccarino, illustrator for shows like Oswald and The Backyardigans.

Win your own copy of Sporty’s signed by Evan Longoria, of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and also the spokesperson for Sporty’s by leaving a comment about the thing you will miss most about baseball season and your email address. A winner will be chosen in a week.

Sporty's is currently available for $19.99 but we were provided with a copy for review purposes.

DC Metro Bloggers: Blogalicious Meetup at Black Ankle!

What are your plans for this beautiful fall weekend?

Don't forget that if you find yourself without plans on Saturday, join me at Black Ankle Vineyards for a blogger meetup to celebrate the first Blogalicious conference. This preconference event will be an opportunity to meet other DC Metro Area bloggers and their families before the conference in October.

Since we are an inclusive bunch, even if you aren’t coming to Blogalicious please do join us!


Bring your family, a blanket, and a picnic lunch and sample some wine if you choose!

Wine is available for a $5 tasting fee. You can also purchase glasses or bottles of wine to drink and a cheese plate with a selection of local cheeses is also available.

What: Blogalicious Blogger Meetup
When: Saturday, September 26 from 12-2 pm (although the winery is open until 6 pm and you are welcome to stay as long as you like!)
Where: Black Ankle Vineyards
14463 Black Ankle Road
Mount Airy, MD 21711
Phone: 301-829-3338

Be sure to RSVP and I'll have some great swag waiting for you! (If you RSVPed previously, I have your name on my list!)

Learn While You Wait- Games You Can Play on Any Cell Phone

If you are a kid, waiting can be hard. Waiting while in a pediatrician’s office can be downright horrendous. Especially if you are waiting to get the dreaded flu shot. Yesterday’s family trip to pediatrician’s office for flu shots involved an hour-long wait even with an appointment. Despite being armed with a literal bag of tricks stuffed with clipboards for each child, markers, stickers, books, and snacks, the wait was still unbearable until Tech Savvy Daddy and I gave them our phones.

The novelty of a cell phone never fails. You don’t need a super fancy smart phone to engage your child in some learning while you wait. Here are some ideas that might help ease the wait and help your toddler through upper elementary age child practice some skills.

Toddlers:

• All cell phones have letters and numerals so you can engage your toddler in letter and number recognition.
• Pressing those small buttons involve fine motor skills so let them type away but keep an eye on them to make sure they actually don’t make an international call or one to fire and rescue!

Early elementary ages (grades K-2)

• Since it is important that your child knows your cell number in case of emergency, have them practice reciting it while they type
• Practice spelling using word families. Word families are words that have the same ending. For example, hat, mat, bat, cat, and rat are part of the –at family. Fit, bit, sit, hit, lit, nit, and pit end with –it. Give your child a word family and ask them to type in all the words they know that belong in that word family. Visit Mrs. Alphabet for an idea of word families and a list of words for each.
  

Older elementary ages (grades 3-5)

• Improve spelling by practicing blends and word families with chunks like –ime (dime, slime, grime, chime, prime, crime), -oat (boat, coat, float, gloat, throat, bloat), and -ight (height, flight, plight, fright, slight, might, tight, bright). See Mrs. Alphabet for more ideas of words that belong in each word family.
• If you can recall any of the words from your child’s spelling homework, have them type a sentence using each word.
• Tell the reception staff that you will be waiting in the hallway (where there are less germs!) and call someone who always loves to hear from your child. Not only will you make their day but your child can also practice good phone etiquette.

If you do have a smartphone, check back for reviews on my favorite iPhone apps from trusted names in education like PBS and Scholastic that can also help your child learn with characters from their favorite stories during your next long wait.


If you covet a smartphone, enter the giveaway for the T-Mobile MyTouch here.

Originial Tech Savvy Mama post. No scraping.

Lands' End Love and Free Shipping Code

Lands’ End is a brand that I love. Their products are synonymous with quality and value and are a staple in our household. Last winter I wrote about my pure admiration for their no-iron shirts because as a working mom, I really don’t have time to iron and appreciate the wash and wear nature of these wardrobe staples. The clothes that I buy for the kids are just as fabulous. Little Miss Techie has a collection of jeans with elasticized waists that fit her perfectly in all directions and don’t slide off her slim figure. The Ts are high quality and don't stretch or wear thin like other brands.

I also love Lands' End because of their thoughtful design of products like their Snow Flurry Boots. As a grad student, I taught preschool in New England. Wrestling boots on many pairs of feet for multiple trips outside each day was a nightmare. I love that Captain Computer can put on his Snow Flurry Boots by himself thanks to a wide opening that he can put his foot into and then velcro shut before running off and playing in the first snowfall of the season. They are the only snow boots I have ever bought my kids for preschool because of the easy on and off.

As a huge fan of Lands’ End, I was thrilled when they graciously offered to outfit me for this Saturday’s Blogalicious meetup and for the entire conference! As someone who borders on a needing a petite size but sometimes finding that regular sizes fit better, I find a consistency with Lands’ End sizes that takes the guesswork out of shopping. The fact that their clothes always fit (yes, even jeans and swimsuits!), wash and wear well, and allow me to express my personal style makes me love them even more. I can't wait to try out the items that are on their way and tell you all about them!

If you are a fan of Lands’ End and are looking to add some items to your family’s wardrobes, take advantage of free shipping with this updated coupon code. Use the promotion code: SEPT@@ and PIN: 2110 when you place your order. The free shipping code expires at 11:59 EST Thursday, September 22.

Huge thanks to Lands' End for providing my wardrobe for Blogalicious!

Chicka Chicka 1-2-3 DVD Winner!

Congratulations to Rachel Posell who said "Oliver loves "5 green and speckled frogs" although counting backwards eludes him thus far... izzy and zac live to sing along when we read the book."

Rachel will receive a copy of Chicka Chicka 1-2-3 for her family!

By the way, have you entered the giveaway for the T-Mobile MyTouch yet???

Super Snapfish Sale- 40% Off Most Popular Gifts!

Whether you are the type who likes to get holiday shopping out of the way early or want to have those digital pictures live somewhere else on your computer, Snapfish is having a great sale on photo gifts this week. I love a good sale and with 40% off the following products, maybe I will consider get a head start on holiday gifts. Check out these great prices:

• Deluxe T-Shirt- $11.99 (reg. $19.99)
• 11 oz Collage Mug- $7.79 (reg. $12.99)
• 5x7 Everyday Book- $7.19 (reg. $11.99)
• 8 x11 Personalized Cover Books- $17.99 (reg. $29.99)
• 8 x8 Personalized Cover Books- $16.79 (reg. $27.99)
• Playing Cards- $11.99 (reg. $19.99)
• Flip Books- $4.99 (reg. $2.99)
• Set of 12 Note Cards- $12.95 (reg. $7.77)
• Custom Posters- starting at $4.19 (reg. $6.99)
• Collage Mousepad- $7.79 (reg. 12.99)
• Mousepad- $5.99 (reg. $9.99)
• Set of 6 Coasters- $14.99 (reg. 24.99)
• Magnets- $2.99 (reg. $4.99)
  

To take advantage of the sale, use the coupon code POSTLABOR at checkout. Prices are good until Friday, Sept. 25. If you are new to Snapfish, you also get 20 free prints when you register!

While you are here...Have you entered my giveaway for the T-Mobile MyTouch yet?

No compensation was received for this post. I just love a great sale!

T-Mobile MyTouch Giveaway!

Here's your chance to win the amazing MyTouch! Go back and read the posts from earlier this week and study up to comment and win!

To enter: Tech Savvy guest reviewer, Joe, mentioned many ways the MyTouch was superior to the G1 in his review. In your comment on the form below, tell me about one of the improvements he mentioned along with your e-mail address.

For additional entries, do any of the following:

• Take a look at the list of 10 Android Back to School Applications. Leave a comment on the entry form telling me what app would be most useful to you.

• The MyTouch is highly customizable. Visit the MyTouch Accessories page and use the entry form to share what featured accessories would help you pimp out your phone.

• Tweet this contest and leave a link to your Tweet on the entry form. Tweet this: @TechSavvyMama is giving away a T-Mobile MyTouch! Read the review (http://tr.im/yOSo) & enter to win here: http://tr.im/yV5P
  

• Join my Tech Savvy Mama Facebook Fan Page and leave a comment that you want to win a MyTouch on the wall. Then fill out the form below, tell me you are a fan, and have commented!

• Blog about this giveaway and link to this post and Joe's MyTouch review. You must leave a permalink to your post in your entry.
  

Thanks for entering and good luck!

Fine print: Each individual has the opportunity to enter up to 6 times. All comments must be received by Midnight on Wednesday, October 7. Winner will receive MyTouch and must provide their own SIM card and T-Mobile service. Winner will notified via e-mail and will have 48 hours to respond with a street address within the United States for shipping purposes. No P.O. boxes will be accepted. T-Mobile MyTouch is provided by T-Mobile and will be sent tirecly to the winner. No compensation was received for any of the posts featuring T-Mobile or MyTouch.

Top 10 Android Applications for MyTouch

If you know a smartphone using college student like Joe who wrote the MyTouch review, here is T-Mobile's list of top 10 android back-to-school applications for the MyTouch:

1. Apartments - College students can use this application to take the stress out of finding a place to live once they move out of the dorms.
2. Glympse - Want your friends to know what new hotspot you've found? You're one e-mail, text message or tweet from safely sharing your location in real time with one friend, or your entire entourage. This application is exclusive to Android Market.
3. Layar - Layar's augmented reality display will make any student's life easier, providing a view through your phone's camera and highlighting locations of interest including popular nightspots, restaurants, shops, and more. This application is exclusive to Android Market.
4. Locale - Don't want to be the person with the Lady Gaga ringtone going off at full volume in the middle of class? Now you don't have to be! Locale lets you change your phone's settings based on your location.
5. Math Alarm Clock - Stop being the victim of the easy snooze button! This alarm makes sure you're awake by testing your alertness with math problems before allowing you to turn it off.
6. nuTsie - Get your iTunes playlist streamed right to your phone! nuTsie allows you to listen to your own music, or mix in some of their recommendations, based on your preferences. Find that perfect soundtrack for the long walks to class, or to inspire you through your workout! This application costs $14.95 and is exclusive to Android Market.
7. PicSay - With PicSay, you can quickly add word balloons, titles and props to the pictures on your cell phone. Enhance them with various color correction, highlighting and distortion effects and then easily share them with your friends and family via e-mail, your blog, or the popular photo sharing sites on the web.
8. handyCalc - You could buy a graphing calculator for $100, bring it with you to every class, and try not to forget it at home. Or you could download this highly-rated, free application on Android Market.
9. ShopSavvy - Textbooks and other back-to-school supplies can take a big bite out of your budget. Save money by using ShopSavvy's barcode scanner to compare prices online and at local stores.
10. StudyDroid Flashcards - This simple and handy tool can be customized with any information you need to study for the next test. Once you've created a deck of flashcards, you can share them online!

This content was provided by T-Mobile for my back to school series. No compensation was received for this post. The MyTouch that was provided for review purposes was returned per our agreement.

T-Mobile MyTouch Review

I love reviewing gadget but sometimes it is more fun to outsource especially when the reviewer is a gadget-loving-tech-savvy-MIT-bound-neighbor who had some time to play with the new T-Mobile MyTouch this summer. Meet guest reviewer Joe Lynch. Joe was the perfect person to review the new MyTouch since he uses the G1, aka Google Phone. Having just graduated from high school, he lends a teen’s perspective on the use of SmartPhones and explains why the new MyTouch is a great choice for anyone shopping for a new device.

The T-Mobile MyTouch is the second iteration of T-Mobile’s “Google Phone”, the first being the G1, which was reviewed by Tech Savvy Daddy last December. If you have ever find yourself swearing off any webmail client but GMail, forgoing more traditional scheduling implements like pen and paper for Google Calendar, relying on Google Maps to get you to and from daily events, or generally finding yourself slave to gLife, then this phone is the perfect candidate for you.

To be more accurate, Android is for you … but other than the G1 or the MyTouch, Android options in the US are slim. Apart from some nice user interface (UI) changes and much needed performance modifications, Android has not changed much from when Tech Savvy Daddy reviewed the G1. So enough about that old news…What about the phone?

What the MyTouch does right:

Right out of the box, the MyTouch gives the impression of being a sleek, snazzy phone that finally gives the iPhone a run for its money in the looks department. Unlike the G1, where I was constantly telling friends not to judge the phone by its cover, I am perfectly content to whip out the MyTouch because I know I won’t get the, “what is that blocky thing in your hand” look. Aesthetics are not the only improvement, however, as the MyTouch also sports a slew of under the hood improvements that will make it a well justified upgrade over the G1, or any other Smartphone for that matter.

First and foremost of these improvements is the battery. Anyone who owns a G1 quickly learns that 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and constantly syncing data comes at a price; for the first generation Google Phone that price was abysmal battery life. Simply put, the battery in the G1 (1150 mAh in case you were wondering) just couldn’t sustain all the electronic goodies within the phone. Luckily for consumers, the MyTouch comes with a better battery (1340 mAh!) which should technically yield ~15% more battery life. What is even better is that in reality the gains appear to be more around 25-30%. What does this all mean? This means that you can forget to charge your phone for a few days – hooray! Don’t forget for more than a few days though, or you will be carrying around a useless 4 ounce block of plastic for the rest of the day.

In addition to the battery upgrades, the MyTouch includes twice the memory of the G1. The memory hungry operating system that is Android (those background apps come at a cost!) has an extra 256 MB of ROM. This new improvement brings the phone’s total ROM to 512 MB and leaves the same 192 MB of RAM, although if you buy the phone outside the U.S. the phone comes with additional RAM. The increased ROM is very important because it means more applications can run at once and the phone can theoretically accept larger and larger OS upgrades. Although the last big G1 rumor concerning free upgraded batteries turned out to be false, there is a very substantiated (i.e. based on a tweet of course) claim that the G1 will not be able to receive future Android updates but the MyTouch will because of it’s greater memory capacity.

What the MyTouch does wrong:

Overall, the MyTouch did not have too many glaring flaws, or at least they did not reveal themselves during my testing period.

The only real problem I noticed very frequently was that the MyTouch does not have an actual keyboard. Even though the autocorrecting touch keyboard sort of works, it still only sort of works when compared to an actual keyboard like what the G1 and many Blackberrys have.

Some other minor perturbations existed, such as the need for a headphone adapter (what is so hard about having a 3.5mm jack, hmm??), and the accidental phone calls that occasionally occurred when hanging up the phone as a result of the touch screen failing to turn off quickly enough, but nothing too bad.

It also looks like U.S. MyTouch owners possibly won’t be getting a fancy new user interface (UI) that is debuting in Europe and Asia, but the U.S. cell phone market is fairly used to getting ‘worse than Europe/Asia” versions at this point.

For those wondering about all the other features this phone provides, here is a quick run down:

• Camera – A 3 megapixel camera with autofocus; takes decent pictures, nothing to write home. The phone does feature one touch sharing through Picasa.
  
• Outlook Email – Although I could not really test this as I have no outlook accounts, it was nice to see this commonly requested feature added.
• Sherpa – A very cool program that allows you to search your nearby location for dining, entertainment, etc … Pretty cool and very “Google”.
• Video Recording – Same as the Camera; decent, but nothing special. Upload to YouTube with a single touch.
• Bluetooth Headphones – Seems to work fine with no discernable loss of audio quality.
• Call Clarity – I had no problems whatsoever with call clarity. T-Mobile’s network let me down occasionally, but nothing to do with the phone.
• Built in Speaker – Pretty standard for a phone, nothing better, nothing worse.
• Touch screen – The capacitive touch screen is wonderful, but every phone has ‘em these days …
• Applications – Although there are no apps that let you share contact info with a bump (or at least I don’t know of one), the Market does have pretty much anything you actually would need. And now that the MyTouch has more ROM, more apps can run at once!

Summary:

On paper the MyTouch outperforms the G1, all iPhone models before the 3Gs and almost any Blackberry. Even with just my limited experience with the latter two I would confidently say that this assessment is correct, as the MyTouch seemed to easily speed through my daily tasks. This apparent speed is most likely due to the vast advantage in ROM the MyTouch has over other phones, as well as its ability to multi-task (a well known flaw in the iPhone). This additional ROM keeps the “darn computer-whatchamacallit” moments at bay, which I always find to be a good thing. Android also continues to deliver a smooth user interface and OS, but we have come to expect nothing less than this from Google. This Phone has many positives, and a number of noticeable flaws, but overall I would say the MyTouch should certainly be a strong contender in any Smartphone decision, although I am slightly biased.

Come back later this week for a list of the top 10 Android Back to School applications. At the end of the week, the giveaway for the T-Mobile MyTouch will be live!

This review was written by Joe, a current MIT freshman. Joe spent his summer applying his math and science skills to design and build his family a gorgeous new deck featuring a tapered staircase and ipe boards that are held with a fancy but complicated fastening system. Joe probably would have finished his deck much sooner had he not spent lots of time patiently answering all of Little Miss Techie and Captain Computer’s questions as they peered over the fence at the construction.

Joe received a gift certificate from me for his time as a product tester and for writing this review. No additional compensation was received for writing this review. The MyTouch was provided by T-Mobile for review purposes and has been returned per our agreement.

Back to School with T-Mobile

As of today, both Captain Computer and Little Miss Techie have started school! Little Miss Techie is loving the challenges of kindergarten and Captain Computer finally gets to go to the preschool his sister loved so dearly for 3 full days a week!

In honor of the new school year, this week is back to school week with T-Mobile! To entice you to keep visiting all week, here’s a preview of things to come:

• Review of the brand new T-Mobile MyTouch
• List of the top 10 applications for android phones
• Super giveaway of a new MyTouch phone- courtesy of T-Mobile!

After reading tomorrow's review, you will want to stick around all week to enter to win the MyTouch because it is an awesome smartphone!

No promotional consideration was paid for this post.

Plagiarism is Never Ok

You know that my blog content was scraped...Today I'm over on DC Metro Moms writing about the irony of the situation:

“Plagiarism is never ok. It is never ok to take someone else’s work and write their exact words down on your paper. That is stealing.”

Over the past week I found myself saying repeating those sentences over and over again as I conducted computer orientation to each class of 3-5th grade students in our school and went over the county’s rules and regulations for computer use. Orientation is required for every class and a prerequisite for getting their logins and passwords to use the school computers and certainly before they begin to word process, use interactive games to practice skills, and before using online resources for research.

The irony of the situation was that while I was telling my students that it was never ok to copy what they read in World Book, Encyclopedia Britannica, or any of the other online resources we use, my own work on my blog was being stolen and reposted on another blog.

To read the rest of my post, click over to DC Metro Moms and have a great weekend!

Chicka Chicka 1-2-3 DVD Review & Giveaway

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom has always been a favorite. I first fell in love with in when teaching preschool and love that it has been a household staple for years. The rhythmic language used to teach kids about the alphabet is catchy and fun, especially when all the letters topple from the top of the coconut tree.

For Chicka Chicka Boom Boom lovers, Scholastic Storybook Treasures Chicka Chicka 1-2-3 makes the makes counting companion of a classic favorite come alive. Preschool-age Captain Computer loves watching the numbers race to the top of the apple tree in this delightful version.

Chicka Chicka 1-2-3 is only one of four fabulous stories on the 69 minute DVD. The other stories integrate math themes as well. Little Miss Techie loves David Schwartz’s two stories: Home Much is a Million and If You Made a Million. She's also a big fan of Rosemary Wells’ Emily’s First 100 Days of School because her kindergarten class is keeping track of each day they are in school. For anyone wondering when the 100th day of school is, it typically is sometime in February!

Scholastic Storybook Treasures Chicka Chicka 1-2-3 retails for $14.95 and is geared towards ages 3-8. Purchase Chicka Chicka 1-2-3 from the Scholastic Store and get 15% off your order of $39 or more or win a copy!

To win in your own copy of Chicka Chicka 1-2-3 leave a comment telling me one of your favorite children’s books that incorporates a math theme and I’ll choose the winner in 1 week.

This DVD was provided for review purposes. No compensation was received for this review.

Original post on Tech Savvy Mama. No scraping.

How To Find Sites that Steal Your Content

I’m back! Thanks for dealing with my rant about scraping my site’s content. I’m happy to report the offending site has been taken down all is right with the world. For now.

I’d be naïve to think that this won’t ever happen to me again. Truthfully, blog content is commonly stolen (or scraped). The offenders could care less if you have copyrighted your content or that it is protected through the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). They don’t care if you send leave nasty comments in all caps shouting at them to take down your work at the end of the stolen post. They often don’t have have a way for you to contact them…The About Me section is a dead link and there’s no e-mail address anywhere on the site or any info about the blog’s author. That’s because they don’t want to be found.

Over the past 2 weeks I’ve gotten many suggestions about how to combat blog scraping and also a lot of questions including:


Answer: Google Alerts

When I started blogging, I wanted to know who was linking to me, talking about me, etc. and signed up for Google Alerts. Google crawls the web constantly and by setting up some search terms on Google Alerts, Google e-mails me every time my search terms pop up elsewhere on the web. Note: You can also have the alerts delivered via feed to Google Reader.

There are currently 6 types of alerts that you can set up- news, web, blogs, comprehensive, video, and groups. The most useful ones to me are web, blogs, and comprehensive. A web or blog alert comes when the search term you have entered come up in results from a Google Web or Google Blog search. A comprehensive search pulls results from news, webs, and blogs and provides maximum coverage. You determine how often you want the alert to come. I prefer daily but only get an e-mail if a search term is found.

What search terms should I have Google search for when I set up an alert? Anything and everything related to your site. Include your URL, site name, names of your kids if you use them on your blog, etc.

Is Google Alerts perfect? No. Since I have search terms with multiple words (Tech Savvy Mama, Little Miss Techie, Captain Computer) it will return results when a post or any news article contains all three words in a single piece or writing. Sometimes I will get an alert from other sites that feature my button or when one of my posts is featured in Widgetbox on someone else’s site. I don’t mind the extra e-mail though since I prefer to know what’s out there that might relate to me.

Not exactly what I was looking for but still interesting. Sort of.

Will it always find your content in a timely manner? Sometimes. Usually after I publish a new post, Google is great about sending back an alert telling me that they found some of my stuff. I’ve also found that I get immediate alerts sent the same day when a site has published a post linking to me and mentioning my name. However, it was a couple weeks into the month of August before I got an alert that another site was running my content. Better late than never though since I am much happier to have known late than not at all.

How was I able to get the site taken down? Persistence and luck because the offending site was a Blogspot blog. And to make matters worse, a Blogspot ad running Google AdSense. Meaning that offending site was trying to make money from the stolen content. Gah!

Anyways, Blogspot is owned by Google and they frown on copyright violation Google has a form for bloggers to fill out when their content has been scraped.

I filled out the Google form, listed the URLs of my 12 stole posts, and 2 days later I got an e-mail that they had taken down the post. I was thrilled with the speed at which they processed my request but really? 1 post out of 12?!? And 2 had pictures of my kids! I hit reply, started by thanking them for their speed in handling the matter, and then listed the URLs of all of my posts before hitting send. 2 days later another e-mail. Again, only 1 post deleted! This time I replied, again starting with thanks, and then reverted to bad netiquette and writing most of the rest of my email in CAPS telling them it was my 3rd request, listing all the URLs, angry that pictures of my kids were being reposted, and that it was time to take the site down.

And they did. Hooray!

I’d be naïve to think that this won’t happen again. Truthfully, it probably will but for now I can blog without a huge pit in my stomach thinking that whatever I write will be lifted by someone else without my permission.

There are probably tons of other ways or services you can search for your content if you are a blog publisher but honestly, Google Alerts made it pretty easy for me.

If you are a blogger, please feel free to share any tips you have for others! Thanks!


This post was written in the interest of sharing. No compensation was received for promoting Google services through this post.

Original post on Tech Savvy Mama. No scraping!

DC Blogalicious Preconference Meetup!

Love to blog? Do you enjoy great wine? Looking for something great to do on a beautiful fall day with your family?

Join DC Metro bloggers at Black Ankle Vineyards on Saturday, September 26 for a meetup to celebrate the first ever Blogalicious conference. This preconference event will be an opportunity to meet other area bloggers and their families before the conference in October.

Even if you aren’t coming to Blogalicious please do bring your family, a blanket, and a picnic lunch for a fun afternoon with optional wine tasting!

Black Ankle Wine is available for a $5 tasting fee. You can also purchase glasses or bottles of wine to drink and a cheese plate with a selection of local cheeses is also available.

What: Blogalicious Blogger Meetup
When: Saturday, September 26 from 12-2 pm (although the winery is open until 6 pm and you are welcome to stay as long as you like!)
Where: Black Ankle Vineyards
14463 Black Ankle Road
Mount Airy, MD 21711

Free to join us? Please leave a comment!

Also check out the newly discounted Blogalicious registration options!

More Great Blogalicious Conference News!

Haven’t registered for Blogalicious yet? You have only a few more days!

Here’s some great news for anyone procrastinating! Blogalicious just announced new admission specials that include:

• Student Pass- Get $75 off the conference price by presenting current college/university ID at conference check in and have full access to all conference activities. Although you must be 21 to drink.
• 2 for 1 Pass- Have a friend who is going but also hasn’t registered? Luckily a pair of procrastinators can save! Register together and pay $350 for both of you to attend!
• Party Pass- If you are all about networking at the parties, then this is the deal for you. The $65 Party Pass will enable you to enjoy the events on Friday and Saturday nights and access to the Exhibitor Marketplace on Saturday.
• SkipPass- This pass allows you to attend the general sessions for $100. Including in the price is admission to the Saturday Morning Keynote, Keynote Luncheon with lunch, Town Hall Session, Coffee & Snack Breaks (yum!), and Exhibitor Marketplace.

Since I’m speaking at the conference, Blogalicious is also offering my readers 15% off the full admission by using the code “ThanksSpeaker” at checkout. Save almost $40! What a deal!

So don’t procrastinate any longer! Register for these new great conference options here because registration ends September 9 at 11:59 pm! The Blogalicious room block at the W Hotel in Atlanta closes on September 16, 2009 so reserve your room while you are thinking about it!

Press Release: Sony's Digital Edition

This just in…A press release from Sony about their new Reader Daily Edition, an ebook reader like Amazon’s Kindle.

EXTRA, EXTRA: SONY’S DAILY EDITION ROUNDS OUT NEW LINE OF DIGITAL READERS

Wireless 3G Reader Extends Sony’s Commitment to Bring Open Digital Reading to Mass Audience

Delivering on its promise to give consumers a variety of choices, Sony today announced the third member of its new Reader family – the Reader Daily Edition™, a highly-anticipated wireless model with 3G connectivity. The Daily Edition caps its new line of Reader products, joining the Reader Pocket Edition™ and the Reader Touch Edition™ which were announced earlier this month.

The Reader Pocket Edition and the Reader Touch Edition are available immediately, and the Reader Daily Edition will be available this December in time for the holidays at SonyStyle stores and SonyStyle.com.

“We firmly believe consumers should have choice in every aspect of their digital reading experience,” said Steve Haber, president of Sony’s Digital Reading Business Division. “Today, we take another large stride to deliver on that promise. We now have the most affordable devices on the market, the greatest access to free and affordable eBooks through The eBook Store from Sony and our affiliated ecosystem, and now round out our Reader offering with a wireless device that lets consumer purchase and download content on the go.”

A Family of Three Readers

The Reader Pocket Edition sports a five-inch electronic paper display packaged in a stylish chassis and is available in a variety of colors, including navy blue, rose and silver. It is available for the ground-breaking price of $199, making it the most affordable dedicated reading device on the market.

The Reader Touch Edition features a responsive, menu-driven six-inch touch screen panel that enables quick, intuitive navigation, page turning, highlighting and note taking with the swipe of a finger or by using the included stylus pen. It comes in red, black or silver and retails for about $299.

The Reader Daily Edition gives consumers wireless access via AT&T’s 3G mobile broadband network to Sony’s eBook store from just about anywhere in the U.S. Book lovers will be able to browse, purchase and download books as well as select newspapers and magazines when and where they want. There are no monthly fees or transaction charges for the basic wireless connectivity and users still have the option to side load personal documents or content from other compatible sites via USB.

The seven-inch wide, touch screen display provides for intuitive navigation and comfortable layout of content, including newspapers and magazines, whether you’re reading in portrait or landscape orientation. In portrait mode, about 30-35 lines of text are visible, making the experience very similar to that of a printed paperback book. A high contrast ratio with 16 levels of grayscale ensures that text and images are crisp and easy to read. The Daily Edition also boasts an attractive aluminum body with an integrated cover for durability. It has enough internal memory to hold more than one thousand standard eBooks and expansion slots for memory cards to hold even more. It will sell for about $399.

All three models feature Sony’s award-winning industrial design and an E Ink® Vizplex™ electronic paper display that emulates the look of ink on paper. Sony’s eBook Library software 3.0, which now includes support for many Apple® Macintosh® computers as well as PCs, makes it easy to transfer and read any Adobe® PDF (with reflow capability), EPUB, Microsoft® Word®, BBeB® files, or other text file formats on the Reader.

Access to Even More Content at the eBook Store by Sony

In addition to announcing a new family of Readers, Sony has also made several changes and improvements to its eBook Store to provide better access to an even greater variety of ebooks. Earlier this summer Sony announced the availability of more than one million free public domain books from Google, and the company made new releases and New York Times bestseller titles available for $9.99.

Today also marks the launch of Sony’s Library Finder application. Sony, working with OverDrive (www.overdrive.com), the leading global digital distributor of eBooks and to libraries, will now offer visitors to the eBook Store by Sony easy access to their local library’s collection of eBooks. Thousands of libraries in the OverDrive network offer eBooks optimized for the Sony Reader, and visitors can now find these libraries by typing their zip code into the Library Finder. Through the selected library’s download website, visitors can check out eBooks with a valid library card, download them to a PC and transfer to their Reader. At the end of the library’s lending period, eBooks simply expire, so there are never any late fees.

The Reader Pocket and Touch Editions, as well as available accessories such as AC adaptors, cases and covers with reading lights, are available now at SonyStyle.com and SonyStyle stores. Book lovers interested in trying out a Reader in person will also be able to find them for sale at Best Buy, BJs, Borders, Sam’s Club, Staples, Target, Toys“R”Us, Wal-Mart and other authorized retailers nationwide.

This post serves as an informational press release. Review product and/or compensation were not provided for this post.

Post originally published on Tech Savvy Mama.  No scraping content!

Sharebuds Winner!

Congratulations to Alexandra from Momof2Boys who won the ShareBuds MX Twin Stereo Headphones who said her family's favorite items to take on trips include "Tag, snacks, wrapped up dollar toys and lollipops to be used when all else fails."

Congratulations to Alexandra!

If you love Tag like our family and Alexandra's, I'm still running the giveaway for the Dora Goes to School TAG book!  It isn't too late to enter!

Post published on Tech Savvy Mama.  No scraping content!