The To Do Wish List Group Research Project

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Last week I had a mini brainstorm as I longingly looked at my To Do list, wishing I had the time to research all of the great marketing ideas, site promotional tools, and fantastic free services that I simply don’t have the time to research.

Then the idea struck me.

I bet there are lots of other people who wanted to learn about these things too! Why don’t we take a mass ‘mastermind’ approach and just plain split up the work?

You guys liked the idea too. I was very happy about that.

The To Do Wish List Officially Launches

Here are the things that we all want to learn more about:

Putting together a Squidoo Lens
1. Andrew Flusche on Building a Squidoo Lens
2. Joanne on her Squidoo experience
Learning how to get somewhere on Reddit
Learning how to get somewhere on Furl
Learning how to get somewhere on BumpZee
1. Steven Welton on BumpZee
Learning how to get somewhere on Newsvine
1. Easton Ellsworth on Being a Good Newsvine User
Learning Stumbleupon start to finish
1. Ponn’s Stumble Upon for Computer Dummies and StumbleUpon Addiction for Business Research
Building out a strong profile and socializing on MySpace, and why would someone want to do so?
Building out a strong profile and socializing on Wallop…
Building out a strong profile and socializing on CafeMom.com
…
Creating a Google Toolbar icon to get gazillions of subscribers
1. Dennis’ post on creating the Google Toolbar Icon
Taking the time to submit my best articles to the article submission sites
1. Ponn on Article Submission Made Easy
Determine whether ads & affiliate marketing might reduce the value of my blog to my readers
Find a good way to find & offer to be a guest blogger
1. FromProBlogger:
  How to be a Good Guest Blogger
  How to Get Guest Blogging Jobs
Compare phpBB2 and SMF to determine which would make a better forum
Learning to re-vamp my front page to show off my back catalogue better
Figuring out whether video is worth it
Social bookmarking and media strategy
Social bookmarking plugins
Conducting and recording weekly training conference calls
How to build a CafePress shop with some nice graphics/design
Favicon creation, setup and justification
1. Jordan’s post on Favicons
2. Char’s post on Favicons
Choosing and reading web stats packages
Setting up the Related Posts plugin
Theme switching systemization for WordPress
1. Chris Gray on Theme Switching along with a newly developed plugin for it - how cool is THAT?!
SEO for specific keywords
Amazon affiliation (integration?) on WordPress
Customizing themes for usability
How to start Podcasting
3D site buttons (esp. for RSS feeds)
1. Shaz has two (1-2) tutorial suggestions for this:
Set up Google Webmaster Tools for a domain
How to write a press release
Make your own little search â€œadditionâ€ to the built in search in Internet Explorer 7 and FireFox?
1. Asked and answered by Matt

The individuals who have expressed interest in participating are:

So we have at least 19 people, 21 if the people I was unsure about decide they want to participate. And we have 31 28 (and counting) information requests. There was a lot of crossover between people who were offering to write on specific topics.

Claim a topic, do the research, write a post, fulfill a wish

Please jump in on the comments and claim a topic (also claim the topic number to keep things clear).

I really don’t care if some topics get more than one post, let’s just try to keep things as even as possible. Write your post this week by Friday Noon CDT (GMT-5 for you international folks). I’ll post a roundup with links to ALL of the posts written for the To Do Wish List Group Research Project Friday afternoon - giving you ALL Memorial Day Weekend to sit back and read, read, read!

I have had a post in my drafts for #17: Social bookmarking and media strategy for weeks, and it’s high time I completed it! So I call number 17!

PS: And thanks to Irish Eyes for the great dandelion photo! Use it!

PSS: If you want to join in, YOU ARE WELCOME TO DO SO! You can even add to our Wish List!!!

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Discussion

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Comments

1. On May 21st, 2007 at 10:24 pm, Jordan said:

I can cover #6 Learning Stumbleupon start to finish and #23 Setting up the Related Posts plugin!

2. On May 21st, 2007 at 10:48 pm, Stephen Welton said:

Well learning something new was something I just wrote about so I will put my hand up nice and high for Bumpzee which would be item #4.

3. On May 21st, 2007 at 11:08 pm, Joanne said:

I forgot to claim a topic in my last post. I’ll write about squidoo. I have a lens that is growing and would love to share my experience.

4. On May 22nd, 2007 at 1:39 am, Lucy said:

Hard to choose! I want to know about podcasting, but would be starting from a position of no knowledge. Better to leave that to someone who knows more about it, perhaps.

I’ll go for #26, Amazon affiliation and integration into Wordpress.

5. On May 22nd, 2007 at 4:44 am, Char said:

I wrote a post on how to create a FavIcon a while ago:

http://essentialkeystrokes.com/tutorial-how-to-create-your-own-favicon/

I hope it helps.

I’ll join in, too.

6. On May 22nd, 2007 at 4:47 am, Dennis BjÃ¸rn Petersen said:

I’ll take #10 (kinda cheated on that one). I will take a look at #4 at the same time. I might add more depending on how the week looks.

7. On May 22nd, 2007 at 5:10 am, Glen said:

OK well i needed something to blog about today

Ill do ‘SEO for specific keywords’

8. On May 22nd, 2007 at 5:12 am, Ponn Sabra said:

Okay, I’m taking #11. Article submission sites, I’ve always wanted/needed to research more how to streamline this aspect of my biz. I’ve never heard of ArticleHut.com but know of a top-leading competitor. I’ll try a case study, or something and see how it all pans out.

I’m making great head-way with StumbleUpon, since my 2 posts so I’ll just share the links now (you can chose to use it or not):

Stumble Upon for Computer Dummies, and

StumbleUpon Addiction for Business Research.

Off to work!

9. On May 22nd, 2007 at 5:15 am, Kayecee said:

*waves hand wildly in the air* Ooooooo… Ooooooooo….. I wanna do Cafepress!!!! I’ll try to have something by the end of the weekend!

BTW I love your blog.

*scurries off to start scribbling ideas*

10. On May 22nd, 2007 at 5:16 am, Glen said:

hmm looks like david airey asked and answered his own question :S

http://www.davidairey.com/graphic-design-edinburgh-and-keyword-search-ranking/

11. On May 22nd, 2007 at 5:30 am, Ponn Sabra said:

Ponn again.
WOW! How did I miss that last one on the list!? #32

I’m just working on a eReport to show the difference between Online Press Releases and Offline Press Releases, and the typing is taking so long. So, I thought, why not start posting bits and pieces on my blog to get the job done!

Viola!

Both these projects (article submission stuff) and online press release tutorial: why and how-to, this week!

Thanks for the major push Wendy!

12. On May 22nd, 2007 at 5:36 am, shaz said:

since you have more tasks than ppl, I’ll o the cafemom one… if no one else wants it.

13. On May 22nd, 2007 at 5:37 am, shaz said:

I mean I’ll DO… my D is not working well.

14. On May 22nd, 2007 at 7:30 am, Neena said:

I will take #30 - Setting up Google Webmaster Tools.

15. On May 22nd, 2007 at 7:45 am, David Airey :: Graphic Design Edinburgh :: said:

Glen,

Thanks for stopping by my site.

I made that blog post because I know very little about SEO and would love to know more (I know I’ve only just touched on the subject).

If you, or anyone else, can give a little more detail on SEO for specific keywords I’d be extremely grateful!

I’ll take on #31, or were you, Ponn, referring to that with #32?

Again, great idea Wendy.

16. On May 22nd, 2007 at 7:59 am, Sue Olson said:

I think I recognize #23 as one from my original list SO I pick that one. I will now force myself to conquer plugins. This should be fun since I did not jknow that it was a plugin I needed to get that ‘related posts’ stuff working:) Live and learn and use deadlines to push the ole comfort zone!

17. On May 22nd, 2007 at 8:56 am, Hugh Hollowell said:

I was going to do it anyway, so I will tackle podcasting.

Off to load up on coffee.

18. On May 22nd, 2007 at 9:12 am, Teresa Morrow said:

Wendy,

First let me say…great idea for this online mastermind group post.

I would like to claim #19, conducting and recording weekly training conference calls. This is an area that I am familiar with. I will have my post to you before noon on Friday.
Thanks again for this boost to get more information about these topics.
Thanks again Wendy…well, I am off..busy, busy, busy.

19. On May 22nd, 2007 at 9:16 am, Teresa Morrow said:

BTW, I have to say thanks to my friend,
for sharing this with me…she is the one who told me about this post.

Thanks Ponn…this is going to be great!

20. On May 22nd, 2007 at 9:18 am, Teresa Morrow said:

BTW, I have to say thanks to my friend,
for sharing this with me…she is the one who lead me to this post.

Thanks Ponn…this is going to be great!

21. On May 22nd, 2007 at 9:45 am, Ben Yoskovitz said:

I had never heard of the Google Toolbar thing before - I just set it up on Instigator Blog.

Not quite sure how that’s going to result in thousands of new subscribers, but I’m game!

I put a link in the far right sidebar for now while I wait to see if Google approves my toolbar addition into their Gallery…

22. On May 22nd, 2007 at 10:22 am, Deaf Musician said:

I don’t know what #16 meant… but I’ll do “Learn How to Integrate Videos in your WordPress Blog.”

23. On May 22nd, 2007 at 10:27 am, Chris Gray said:

Wendy,

I will take a look at #24 - Theme switching systemization for WordPress. I have been working on a WordPress plug-in that may make switching templates a little easier for those of us who like to tweak

24. On May 22nd, 2007 at 11:14 am, Success Online said:

Pop over for a visit as I have put down my thoughts on the program for your reading pleasure.

Topic was BUMPzee!

http://www.stephenwelton.com/?p=26

25. On May 22nd, 2007 at 11:30 am, Joe Cheray said:

I have cafepress templates on my pc ha ha ha that is one of those things I need to do today. Anyway I will get them together and put them on rapid share for people who were interested in cafepress design information. Also I will put together something of what I know of what looks like good design elements for the merchandise they offer. I will put all this on my design blog.

http://wildheartworks.blogspot.com/

I am going in for an EMG nerve conduction test in an hr so I am not sure what kind of shape I will be in but I will get this done this week.

26. On May 22nd, 2007 at 1:55 pm, Nathania Johnson said:

I’ll do #7 “Building out a strong profile and socializing on MySpace, and why would someone want to do so?”

In fact, I’m going to create a new MySpace profile for my CafePress store this week, so I’ll blog while I do it AND tell you WHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

27. On May 22nd, 2007 at 2:54 pm, Easton Ellsworth said:

I’m all over #5. I know a Newsvine expert. She doesn’t know yet, but I’ll make her spill them beans.

Awesome initiative Wendy!

28. On May 22nd, 2007 at 3:27 pm, Andrew Flusche said:

This is a great project! Somebody mentioned doing a Squidoo writeup (#1), and I recently wrote a really basic tutorial on creating a lens. Hopefully our posts will complement each other.

How to Build a Squidoo Lens

I’m happy to update the post with a link back here, or to the finished To Do List.

Take care,
Andrew

29. On May 22nd, 2007 at 4:22 pm, Ponn Sabra said:

Hi All.

My article submission service post for #11 is all done! Here it is!
On to the next project.

This is SO productive! Thanks Wendy!
~ P

30. On May 22nd, 2007 at 5:15 pm, Chris Gray said:

Hello All,

I just put the finishing touches on my post for #24 - Theme switching systemization for WordPress.

The plug-in is currently available for download if anyone is interested giving is a shot.

Cheers,
Chris

31. On May 22nd, 2007 at 6:18 pm, Easton Ellsworth said:

#5 is done - here it is!

32. On May 22nd, 2007 at 7:39 pm, Joanne said:

Wendy-

Here is my post on creating a squidoo lens:
http://foreverparents.blogspot.com/2007/05/adoption-squidoo-lens.html

I hope someone finds it useful!

Thanks for putting this together. I’m looking forward to reading everyone’s submissions.

33. On May 22nd, 2007 at 9:59 pm, Matt said:

How about how to make your own little search “addition” to the built in search in Internet Explorer 7 and FireFox?

I wrote this Tutorial back in March:

http://mattsblog.ca/2007/03/19/add-your-search-to-internet-explorer-and-firefox/

34. On May 23rd, 2007 at 3:09 am, Homemom3 said:

Am I too late to join? I’d love to take part in this.

35. On May 23rd, 2007 at 8:04 am, shaz said:

some tips on the rss button…

here’s a good tutorial for making your own rss button: http://www.blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/tutorials/create-a-vector-rss-icon-with-illustrator

and here’s
a general technique for 3d effects:
http://www.talk-mania.com/showthread.php?t=26575

36. On May 23rd, 2007 at 8:21 am, Chris Gray said:

Wendy,

I am not sure if my previous comment made it through…

Here is my post for #24 - Theme switching systemization for WordPress:

http://www.seoladder.com/2007/05/22/wordpress-theme-switching-made-easier/

I hope someone will find this plug-in useful!

37. On May 23rd, 2007 at 11:20 am, Wendy Piersall said:

Hey Homemom (What’s your first name again?!), feel free to jump in - this is an informal Get-It-Done sort of thing!

I also just updated the post with some of the ongoing submissions. But I’ll post a roundup later this week too.

THANKS to everyone who has jumped in and participated in this - the quality of the posts is amazing!!

38. On May 23rd, 2007 at 12:45 pm, Jordan (MamaBlogga) said:

I have #6 done: StumbleUpon start to finish

39. On May 23rd, 2007 at 12:46 pm, Jordan (MamaBlogga) said:

Oh, also, I wrote about SU months ago on Marketing Pilgrim: Is your site StumbleUponAble and Should You Use Paid Inclusion for StumbleUpon?

40. On May 23rd, 2007 at 3:23 pm, Lucy said:

OK - I said I’d look into Amazon/Wordpress and I have:

Getting the best out of Amazon

I hope it helps someone else - I’m certainly going to look into some of the plugins listed …

41. On May 23rd, 2007 at 11:03 pm, Michelle said:

If I can submit posts that fit but were written in the past month or so I have two on figuring out Technorati:
http://scribbit.blogspot.com/2007/04/biggest-technorati-tip-in-world.html
http://scribbit.blogspot.com/2007/04/biggest-technorati-tip-in-world.html

One on improving your SEO:
http://scribbit.blogspot.com/2007/01/blogging-101-ten-seo-tips.html

One on figuring out Stumbleupon:
http://scribbit.blogspot.com/2007/01/stumbleupon-in-five-easy-steps.html

And one on using a custom search engine for momblogs:
http://scribbit.blogspot.com/2007/03/custom-search-engine-for-momblogs.html

If any of these would work for the writing project please let me know, I will link to it.

42. On May 24th, 2007 at 8:55 am, shaz said:

More Rss buttons…
All different colours and styles, and even empty boxes to make your own!

http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup/communication/communication_technologies/broadcasts/3119381_feed_icons.php?id=3119381&refnum=pbmistry

43. On May 24th, 2007 at 9:07 am, Sue Olson said:

Here’s the link to my adventure in getting the realted psot feature to work. #23 on THE LIST!

http://momeorganizer.com/2007/05/24/wish-list-project/

44. On May 24th, 2007 at 10:28 am, inspirationbit said:

I’ve just found out about this project.
I have written two posts that cover Social Bookmarking plugin: http://www.inspirationbit.com/handy-wordpress-plugins/
and
Favicons creation - http://www.inspirationbit.com/how-to-make-your-site-recognizable-with-a-favicon/

I’d like to ADD to this to DO list and find out “How to Not Get Banned by Search Engines”.

I’ll see if I can find time to write a new post for some other To Do items on the list, the deadline is a bit tight for me. Thank you.

45. On May 24th, 2007 at 12:16 pm, David Airey :: Graphic Design Edinburgh :: said:

You’ve probably guessed by the trackback, I’ve published an article about writing press releases.

I hope it is as useful to others as it will be for me when I come to promote my website / services using press releases.

Here’s your advice for writing effective press releases

46. On May 24th, 2007 at 6:11 pm, Joe Cheray said:

Ok my post for Cafepress design and other information I thought was relevant is ready you can find it at

http://wildheartworks.blogspot.com/2007/05/how-to-get-most-out-of-cafepress.html

One thing to mention is since my template folder for my cafepress templates was so huge I only posted a couple of templates in my post instead of putting them on rapid share.

Enjoy, I hope that you learn something.I don’t write how to’s at all so this was a stretch for me.

47. On May 24th, 2007 at 7:36 pm, Kim Dushinski said:

I’m on #14. Post coming shortly.

48. On May 24th, 2007 at 8:57 pm, Kim Dushinski said:

The phpBB vs SMF showdown is published and ready for viewing at:

http://hightechmomsclub.com/33/showdown-phpbb-vs-smf

49. On May 24th, 2007 at 11:23 pm, Teresa Morrow said:

Hello everyone,

Well, I was able to accomplish my piece of the To Do Project:
You can check out my post at
http://keybusinesspartners.wordpress.com/2007/05/25/lets-get-r-done-i-am-a-part-of-the-to-do-list-project-for-the-work-at-home-entreprenuer/

50. On May 25th, 2007 at 5:33 am, Vinod said:

I can take up “Customizing themes for usability” duty!

51. On May 25th, 2007 at 6:05 am, Sue Olson said:

UPDATE for #23
the author of the plugin commented on my blog that he just released a new version. here is the link and I’ll update my post.
http://dev.aizatto.com/2007/05/25/aizattos-related-posts-v05-released/

52. On May 25th, 2007 at 9:06 am, Hugh Hollowell said:

Well, I got mine in.

5 easy steps to podcasting with a Wordpress blog

http://www.hughhollowell.net/blog/the-blog/5-easy-steps-to-podcasting-with-a-wordpress-blog/

Thanks again for this, Wendy!

53. On May 25th, 2007 at 9:44 am, Neena said:

I completed my post on Google Webmaster Tools. Read it here: http://neenmachine.blogspot.com/2007/05/google-webmaster-tools-explained.html

54. On May 25th, 2007 at 10:16 am, Vinod said:

I’ve made a post on 27.Customizing themes for usability .
http://www.vinodlive.com/2007/05/25/customizing-wordpress-themes-for-usability/

55. On May 25th, 2007 at 11:11 am, Deaf Musician said:

As promised… it’s similar to #16, but you decide where you’d like to put it! Thanks!

How To Embed Videos In Your Wordpress Blog
http://deafmusician.com/2007/05/25/how-to-embed-videos-in-your-wordpress-blog/

56. On May 25th, 2007 at 11:13 am, Ponn Sabra said:

Here’s just an addition to David’s Press Releases. I add the difference between Online and Offline Press Releases.
~ P

57. On May 25th, 2007 at 12:54 pm, Nathania Johnson said:

Ok, I finished my post late. But here it is:

http://www.thesemzone.com/2007/05/using-myspace-as-part-of-social-media.html

58. On May 25th, 2007 at 6:56 pm, Chris Brown said:

Wendy, I’m not sure my comment went thru when I tried to claim #31 the press release how to, but it looked like others may have too, so I may be redundant. But either way, here it is:

http://brandandmarket.blogspot.com/2007/05/how-to-write-press-release.html#links

Great idea. I’m looking forward to all the reading.
Thanks,
Chris

59. On May 25th, 2007 at 6:59 pm, Chris Brown said:

I posted for #31 how to write a press release. Hopefully this comment will go through, I’ve had some trouble trying to get it to “take”.

Great idea Wendy. Thanks for organizing this.

http://brandandmarket.blogspot.com/2007/05/how-to-write-press-release.html#links

60. On May 25th, 2007 at 11:25 pm, shaz said:

sorry I missed the noon deadline