The other day I Googled…

Do you remember that one time, before auto correct and Google there were such things as dictionaries? I remember as child I would look up words I’d read if I didn’t understand the meaning of it. It’s something I still do these days. Unlike my younger counterpart who made use of dictionaries, I now turn to Google for this.

I teach my kids to do this too. Although I don’t always send them to Google. Can’t exactly guarantee that they won’t get lost on the search engine. It happens to me all the time and I end up reading articles that has nothing to do with what I initially searched for so imagine any kid on the worldwide web.

You’d think that I’d know how to spell a simple word like “enough”, and I do, but got it wrong a while ago and spelt it “i-n-u-f-f”. For the life of me I couldn’t get to the correct spelling. Nope, I’m not into all the tricky online abbreviations to have my mind muddled by it. I’ll stick to “LOL”, if that’s ok. Besides spelling and getting my Google medical degree (that I have subsequently relinquished), there are so many other things you can search for too.

For practical reasons, namely BIS and the fact that I can’t deal with touch screens, I am one of those old school Blackberry users. Just last night I started commenting on another blog and accidentally touched the “post” button and my fingers made a fool of me, so touch screens really is my ultimate nightmare. Then I’ve got another phone for making calls with a contract sim card that serves as an “In case of an emergency” phone. The other day I forgot my “calling” phone at home and had no airtime on the Blackberry which meant I had no way of calling Keith. He’s not really into Whatsapp and is quicker to respond to a “Please call me” from a random unknown number than to check his Whatsapp messages. What’s the haps with that? Anyway, after him not responding to my Whatsapp, I wanted to send him a “Please call me” and realised I have absolutely no idea how to send him one. Like, no cooking clue. For a while I felt like an idiot until I realised that I can Google it. So I did.

Just my luck he didn’t respond to that either. His phone was off and on charge. At least I know how to send a “please call me” now but I’d much rather remember to have my phone on hand. At least I now know how to send a “Please call me”.

For those of you who don’t know, here’s how:

Vodacom:

Dial *140*(recipient’s cellphone number)# and “call”.

MTN:

Dial *121*(recipient’s cellphone number)# and “call”.

Cell C:

Dial *111* (recipient’s cellphone number)# and “call”.

Telkom Mobile (8ta):

Dial *140* (recipient’s cellphone number)# and “call”.

*An SMS (no matter which network) will be sent to the person, with your number and the words: “Please Call Me”.

You can personalize it as well, but one lesson at a time here people 😉

Oh and then I ended up reading AccessTech’s Useful USSD codes for South African Mobile networks. The site gives you short codes for accessing services from balance enquiries to airtime transfers and checking your own number. How cool is that? I know quite a few people who don’t know their own numbers but hey, it’s not like they call themselves. I’m still catching up on other articles on that site so I’ve bookmarked it. See what I mean about going getting lost in my search engine…

What have you Googled lately?

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Testing 1… 2

I’ve been struggling for a while to add images to my posts using the WordPress for Blackberry App. Everytime I add media and click ‘post’ I receive an “Error 301” code. My first instinct was to Google and see what’s the haps. Apparently the WordPress for Blackberry App no longer supports that function. What a bummer because I think through my fingers and what better way to blog?

Not one to give up that easily, I would add images to my media library on WordPress via my tablet then create a new post and save it as a draft. I then go back to my Blackberry App, ‘write’ the post and Bob’s my uncle.

I loathe touch screens and only use the tab for Pinterest, E-reading and on occasion Facebook and Twitter. Even though Blackberry is soooo 2000-and-late, I still prefer it as my primary point of contact for just about everything. Data gets a bit expensive for the amount of stuff I do on the interwebs.

Today I went back onto WordPress because I wanted to see what the “Post by email” was all about. For those who are not aware, you can email posts to your blog by enabling that feature on your account.

Anyhoo, this is my first email post to test whether or not it works, adds media and in which order, to check if tags are added, and also to see if I managed to get my category sorted as well.

Let’s see if I’m smarter than a 5th Grader and if I can follow instructions. I must say that in real life I happen to think I am smarter and grasp things very quickly. In WordPress life I’m definitely not.

So here goes. Testing 1… 2

The first image is sponsored by Littlest K and it’s her hand-representation of our family.

The second image is 1st K’s Whatsapp profile pic.

Third image is a little gift idea I got from Pinterest that I would like to get for Middle K since she’ll be going through a different phase in her life real soon. My shattered nerves!

What other WordPress tips and tricks do you know of?

jonkersville

1st ks whatsapp profile pic

gift for middle k

How to Make Love

The information that pops up on the screen when I type the words “How to” in a search engine should not surprise me anymore but it does. Just this morning as I typed “How to” the first sentence that popped up (as always) was “How to make love”. When I decided to start blogging I had this idea that the moment I entered all relevant info on my chosen host, my blog would magically have the settings and appearances I wanted. It’s supposed to be as easy as 1, 2, 3 right? My last figures were 572, 573, 574 and counting. It’s not easy. Well at least not for me. Do you remember that tv ad of a few years back about… Ok, not sure of what product was being marketed but I can clearly see the woman in my minds eye and hear her say: “Blogging, blogging… Mikey set it up for me”.

Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fools do it… But just in case you missed it, I’m not going to tell you how to make love. That kind of post is not husband approved. Oh, and I’m no Dr. Eve either. If anyone knows the Google person who added the text “How to make love” to appear first on the list of “How to” items, please tell them not to distract me when all I’m trying to do is just find out “How to” get my techno geek on.

Quick question though… Does anyone know where I can find the infamous Mikey? I could really do with his help right about now.

Thus far I’m convinced that technology has a conspiracy theory against me and elated that they were discreet enough to call me ‘Dummies’ instead of naming it “How to *insert own topic* for Celeste”. I’ve been seeing some fabulous blogs with stylish headers, organized sidebars, reader friendly navigation and don’t get me started on the widgets. Just typing that last word leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. All this time I’ve been concerned with the content of my blog, while finding my niche and slowly growing my audience that I wasn’t all too concerned about the design. Boy was I wrong. It’s like walking into a 5 star hotel dressed in a tacky outfit. Unless you’re playing the starring role in Pretty Woman, you’re not going to get any serious attention. No matter how good your content, you’re not going to get the response you want if design is not pleasing to the eye and everything is all over the show.

Joining the Facebook groups South African Bloggers and South African Mom Blogs was the best decision I’ve made because I’m learning so much from other bloggers. My blog is in need of a serious makeover and I have started with baby steps because I’m determined to do it myself. It’s my pet project and nothing will give me greater satisfaction than knowing I did it with mine own hands. I’m a DYI Diva like that.

Although I’m still a newbie and have yet to do all of it, I’ll run you through a list of things because I like lists as well as sharing experiences and knowledge. The list is based on my observations of other extraordinary #ProudlySouthAfrican blogs. Not sure of the exact order of arrangement but I’m sure you’ll get the general idea.

1) An eye catching header to make a memorable first impression. Choose good colours to strike a balance and be clear about your theme so that it speaks to your target audience.

2) Your ABOUT page should be your introduction to your readers and your platform to tell them what your blog is all about.

3) Easy to read texts (font) is a definite must.

4) Show your best/most popular post first.

5) A good sidebar that includes categories, social sharing buttons, search bar, RSS feed subscription etc.

6) Make sure your site works on all types of browsers not forgetting mobile. There are many people who take time out on their mobiles to catch up on some blog reading.

7) A good profile picture if you’re not doing it incognito. People want to be able to see the face behind the voice. So smile and say cheese.

And that dear readers is how I make love. By sharing whatever information I know. This is my bit for now. I’m sure I missed a whole lot of nitty gritty details so feel free to add on to this list.