Minterest | Blogging, Internet Marketing, Social Media, Tech, & Web 2.0

Over 201 Google Products & Services You Probably Don’t Know

by MAHESH MOHAN on August 14, 2017

First Published: July 24, 2009; Last Updated: Monday, August 14, 2017.

Google may be a synonym for search, but it’s not restricted to that feature alone. If you are not a tech-savvy person then chances are that you are unaware about majority of Google’s products and services.

Anyway, how many Google products and services do you use? The common answers will be Gmail, Google+, Drive, Docs, or an Image Search. But Google is well beyond that.

Over 1 billion Google Search users. Over 1 billion YouTube users. Over 1 billion Gmail users. Over 1 billion Chrome users. Over 1 bilion Maps users. Over 1 billion Android users. Over 1 billion Google Play Store users. That’s the stats of Google.

10 Blogging Years. 10 Blogging Lessons. 10 Blogging Tips.

by MAHESH MOHAN on August 13, 2017

Note: This blog post is an updated version of 7 Blogging Years. 7 Blogging Lessons. 7 Blogging Tips. (published 3 years and 100 blog posts ago).

Yes, that’s right! It’s the 10th Blogoversary of Minterest. I started Minterest (minterest.com) as a personal finance blog in 2006, and later in August 2007, I started blogging about “Money, Internet, Investing” (yes, that was the first tagline of Minterest and now it’s — tech. marketing. mashups.).

To be honest it was literally “Just another WordPress site” and I was simply rehashing topics that were of “My interest“. But there was one thing… I was learning. And the transition from Blogger.com to WordPress.org is simply amazing.

Don’t Miss: Blogger vs. WordPress: The Ultimate Comparison With Pros & Cons

I started creating blogs on Blogger.com back in 2004 and was treating it like a simple publishing tool. I guess the reason why it didn’t impress or motivate me much was its inability to customize things the way I wanted.

When I tried WordPress I liked almost all of its aspects and found out that I liked coding as well. Oh yeah, I’m a software engineer by education but it is not the coding that inspired me — it’s the magic in “technology”. Thanks to Microsoft.

Coming back…

I’m going to feature here 10 blogging lessons and tips that I have… learned, realized, or experienced in one way or the other over the past many, many years.

11 Reasons Why I Love Feedly — And You Should Too

by MAHESH MOHAN on July 3, 2017

I love Feedly and I love it even more now because they have launched features. The first time I tried Feedly was when Google discontinued the Google Reader. I even published a blog post about Feedly to express my gratitude.

I wasn’t a very active Feedly user over the past few months. But recently I noticed that they launched a “Read Later” service of their own. And another feature called “Boards”.

The result? I uninstalled Pocket and moved all my Pocket items to Feedly. So now, I have decided that it’s worth mentioning the 11 Reasons Why I Love Feedly. Just like I did for Dropbox. And Google Photos.

Feedly was NOT for everyone as it was basically an RSS reader. But now it’s for everyone. Meaning, it was useful only for those who understand blogs and RSS feeds (and maybe its purpose as well). But not anymore. Because Feedly is now simple and powerful than ever.

Don’t Miss: 11 Reasons Why I Love Dropbox — And You Should Too

Over 25 Hand-picked Genesis Child Theme (Premium + Third-party) Marketplaces

by MAHESH MOHAN on May 18, 2017

WordPress + Genesis

When I want to start a new WordPress site, the first thing that I do is scan StudioPress to find ‘that’ perfect Genesis child theme. But chances are, I won’t find the perfect one. Then I would scan several other WordPress theme marketplaces, and get disappointed.

At the end of the day, again back to StudioPress itself and pick a Genesis child theme that best matches my criteria. Late realization, I avoid all third-party Genesis child themes and always stick with the ones I found on StudioPress.com.

Over the past few months, I have started paying attention to third-party Genesis child themes and developers (though I still haven’t purchased anything outside StudioPress.com, yet) and have collected a bunch of marketplaces for the Genesis Framework in my Evernote.

By the way, I have already published a list of Premium WordPress Theme Marketplaces in the past that lists over thirty online destinations from where you can buy WordPress themes.

But the problem is, it’s not always a good idea to buy a WordPress theme from an independent developer or a less-known WordPress theme marketplace. In fact, it’s not even a good idea to buy a WordPress theme from Themeforest (unless you really know what you’re buying and doing).

The official StudioPress store has got over fifty WordPress child themes for the Genesis Framework (including third-party child themes). However, it’s very much possible that you still won’t find it enough. I mean, it’s nothing when compared to hundreds of thousands of free and premium WordPress themes available elsewhere on the web, right?

Anyway, first things first.

Why Genesis Framework?

Picking a theme/template is probably the toughest part of setting up a WordPress site. Seriously. You know there are thousands of free and paid WordPress themes out there so selecting one from so many themes can be extremely difficult.

The problem with free WordPress themes is that its developers may not update their themes regularly. And when the codes of your themes are not up-to-date, it becomes vulnerable to attacks in the future.

The same applies when you buy a paid WordPress theme from an independent theme developer (or freelancer). You may get the theme you really like at first, but eventually, the theme will become outdated.

I personally recommend buying WordPress themes from a premium WordPress theme marketplace because they make sure that their WordPress themes are up-to-date. And that’s why they release new updates regularly and even add additional features when WordPress updates its core software.

Out of the premium WordPress theme marketplaces, my personal favorite is StudioPress.com (oh yeah, I am also using one of their themes).

StudioPress themes are powered by Genesis Framework and it’s an industry standard WordPress framework trusted by hundreds of professional bloggers.

So here are the reasons I love StudioPress + Genesis Framework + Genesis Child Themes:

Genesis themes are fast, mobile-friendly, and search friendly.
Genesis Framework follows best coding practices and it basically means that you don’t have to worry about its code quality.
There are no renewal costs for Genesis Framework (or for its child themes).
When you buy a Genesis child theme from StudioPress, you can use it on unlimited websites, and you get lifetime updates and support. Most premium WordPress theme marketplaces charge you on an annual basis and they even charge you an additional fee for the developer version.
There’s no developer version and you can install the theme on any number of websites.
The Genesis Framework is updated regularly and you can upgrade your WordPress site with just one-click (from the WordPress Dashboard).
Genesis offers hooks and filters so you can add your own codes without touching the PHP files of the original theme.
StudioPress offers a Pro Plus All-Theme Package and it gives you unlimited access to all of their (current as well as future) WordPress themes, plus support and updates.
Genesis Framework is compatible with most WordPress plugins.
Genesis developers are everywhere.
Genesis Framework is so popular that its tutorials are also easily available.

The only problem with StudioPress is the support. I’m not impressed with their support as I had to post my queries on their Community Forums to get Genesis specific PHP/CSS help. On the flipside, when you buy a WordPress theme from Themeforest or from an individual owned theme marketplace, you get better support (and it actually includes theme customization as well).

Don’t Miss: 30 Things I Absolutely Love About Your Blog

11 Reasons Why I Love Google Photos — And You Should Too

by MAHESH MOHAN on April 27, 2017

I hated Google+ when it was launched as a social network as it was forcing us to sign up for a Google+ account to use other Google services (like YouTube, Gmail, Picasa Web, etc.). But then I learned to love Google+ because of Google+ Photos.

Google+ Photos was a revamped version of Picasa Web Albums. I was able to explore all my Picasa Web Albums (oh yeah, it was my favorite photo storage service) in Google+ Photos and then there was a handful of powerful features like Unlimited Storage (up to 2048 x 2048 px), Auto-Backup (to backup every single photo on your phone to Google+), Auto-Enhance (a fantastic online photo editing tool), Photo Sharing, etc.

As you probably know, Google dropped the “+” from Google+ Photos and now it’s simply known as Google Photos (in other words it’s now a standalone product).

That’s not all! Google Photos offers free unlimited storage for photos up to 16 MP or around 4,000 x 4,000 px (up from 4 MP or 2,000 x 2,000 px). Voilà! Google Photos is a standalone product and it’s got over 200 million monthly active users. In fact, it’s one of the best Google products ever.

It’s great because Google+ Photos was such a great application for photo storage and organization but was actually hidden inside an ugly social network.

Don’t Miss: Over 201 Google Products & Services You Probably Don’t Know

Why 365 Blog Posts (Or Even Less) Is All You Need To Become A Successful Blogger

by MAHESH MOHAN on March 31, 2017

Keep Up & Blog On Image Credit: Flickr

Ever wondered how many blog posts you need to become a successful blogger? I’ll show you why 365 posts is all you need for traffic & income. If you’re planning to start a blog then people might have recommended you to write once weekly, twice weekly or maybe one daily. Yes, it’s true if you want to make your blog active, engaging, and would like to increase the number of subscribers. But it’s also true that you can become a successful blogger and increase your blog traffic without following any publishing schedule.

Don’t Miss: How Much Traffic Do You Need To Make $100,000 With Advertising

27 Things Before Starting A WordPress Blog

by MAHESH MOHAN on February 2, 2017

Starting A WordPress Blog

Image Credit: Flickr

So you want to be a blogger? That’s great! Blogging is simple and fun but not easy. Definitely not easy. Even though you can set up a WordPress blog in less than 10 minutes, it takes countless hours of focus and patience to make things look the way you want.

When I wrote the blog post You Can’t START A Blog In 10 Minutes. Period., I not only wanted to highlight that it’s not easy to start a blog but also wished to create a series of posts to list everything you need to take care of while starting a new WordPress blog.

First things first. What’s your story? Why do you want to start a blog?

Over the years, I have noticed that almost all full-time bloggers have published a “How To Start A Blog In 10 Minutes” kind of tutorial and they make the entire process sound so simple.

Since starting a blog seems easy, almost everyone today wants to have a blog without really thinking about its purpose. In reality, it doesn’t work that way.

So before you do anything else, think about why you want to start a blog.

(Do I see you putting on your thinking cap? :))

Recommended Read: 15 Reasons I Think You Should Blog

WordPress Customization: 101 Things To Do After Installing WordPress [DIY]

by MAHESH MOHAN on December 27, 2016

WordPress

You can’t start a WordPress blog in 10 minutes. And you can’t start one in 10 hours either. You know why? Because it takes countless hours to customize WordPress and get things done and make things look like the way you want (unless you are a WordPress geek).

And hey, I didn’t even count the time required to actually create content. That’s the real purpose of a blog, right?

First things first.

I’m going to assume that you have already purchased a domain name, web hosting plan, and have installed WordPress (either manually or automatically via your web hosting control panel). If not, you should. ;)

So, I have just installed WordPress at http://www.minterest.in (a demo WordPress site that I have temporarily created to write this very blog post).

And the idea is to reverse engineer Minterest (this blog) — by installing and customizing the WordPress theme and the set of WordPress plugins that I’m using on this blog. However, there are few limitations as the demo site doesn’t have (real) content.

I have tried to replicate as many things as possible from this blog on the demo site so that both look identical.

Don’t Miss: Over 101 Blogging Resources (Tools & Apps) I Can’t Live Without

Main navigation

Why Genesis Framework?