I have come to the concluscion, thanks to this article on Tech Crunch, that Blogs With Wings is a Mom-And-Pop blog. My blog is a grass roots kind of establishment. I'm not associated with any large government or business power structures. My blog and I are like the diner on the corner, a small time operation trying to compete in a fast food world.

Are you a Mom-And-Pop blogger? I hope so. Can Mom-And-Pop bloggers succeed in the new world order of blogging? Are we out-manned and out-gunned? Should we just fold up shop and allow the fast food mentality to reign supreme? I say "NO". I agree with this article from Bloggers Blog that basically points out that we should not simply give up in the face of increased competition. What about you? Are you going to stay true to your roots?

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The 113 Tidbits blog is holding a commenting/tweeting competition, which officially started on the 1st of March and is set to run for the entire month. They are testing the waters to see how successful the contest is at increasing their comments. If they are successful they are hinting at future contest that might involve cash prizes.

Its a really simple contest to enter. Become the Top Commentator for the month of March 2010 and you could win!

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On the Blogs With Wings header, I've blatantly stated that starting a blog is a leap of faith, a journey into the unknown. If you are going through the pains of growing your blog, you may feel a fairly high level of irritation as you struggle to make headway in what seems like an uphill battle. But this is normal and it's a good thing. Don't look at me like that! It's a well known fact that people are more likely to act when they are irritated than when they are in a state of equilibrium. The growth of a blog is like the creation of pearl. The oyster will never produce a pearl in the absence of irritants. So are you like an oyster? Is your blog evolving into a pearl of great value?

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Image via Wikipedia

I was doing my blogging rounds this morning and I happened to stop by We Blog Better.com. To my delight the author was hinting at running a blog writing contest. She proposed that contestants could write a creative post to illustrate the use of metaphors, similes or analogies. As a real twist you have to use "oyster" as the basis for the literary device used in your post. How funky is that?

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I find some of the most interesting things as I wander the web. So every Friday, come rain or shine, I will publish them here on Blogs With Wings. Here are 21 items you may find interesting, helpful or just plain entertaining.

Social Media News & Views!

• Twitter Stockings Say Follow Me
  Not much surprises me anymore. But a pair of legs that feature stockings with a Twitter bird and the classic "Follow me" text. That gets my attention.
• Facebook Launches "Promote your Post"
  Facebook continues to show it's new found respect and support for bloggers with this new service. They are now giving bloggers a chance to promote their post by advetising them on Facebook.
• New Twitterers and Tweets Slow in February
  There are those who say that Twitter is dead or dying. Could this drop in Tweets and Twitters be an indication that it's true?
• Look for Ways to Manage Your Social Media Time Better
  Social media is the life blood of blog promotion. But most of us fall far short when it comes to doing enough with it. Maybe all we need is better time management.
• William Shatner Lands Role in Comedy Based on Twitter Stream
  Shatner, you old Energizer Bunny, I don't think even death will stop you from working.(He's Canadian eh?)
• YouTube Producer Gets $300 Million Contract
  Wow! Talented people still get discovered in the most mundane ways. I think I feel the need to get my video camera out.
• What Happens to Twitter Ad Networks When Twitter Launches Ads?
  Hopefully, not a whole lot will happen. Cause I'm getting ready to incorporate ads into my Twitter now.

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The last week or so here at Blogs With Wings has been pretty intense. I've been posting about some very heavy topics, such as blog plagiarism. So I figured I needed something less serious to post about, but what should it be? The answer came to me while I was out and about doing my daily blog rounds. My attention was captured by a post on Tycoon Blogger about an online blog personality test.

The site is called Typealyzer and it will analyze your blog's personality type, though I think it's more accurate to say that it uses the writing style it finds on your blog to create a analysis of the writing. Oh oh, might it really be the personality of the author that is getting analyzed? Whatever it is, it's a lot fun. You can see my results below:

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I recently got unexpectedly ill and just as I thought I was recovering, my compromised immune system got slammed with the flu. And there I was down and out for the count again. It was incredibly frustrating as I was unable to keep up my posting here on Blogs With Wings for several weeks.  My blog began to suffer for it, my post frequency became spotty at best and dealing with email,comments, blog backups and other chores became almost non-existent. It's just in the last few days that I've been getting back to normal. But now I'm so behind I just want to crawl under a rock and hide...

This kind of thing can happen to any blogger any time, anywhere. The dreaded personal crisis. It can take the form of illness, personal tragedy, family emergency or any number of other unexpected events. But no matter what form it takes, having to deal with a personal crisis can severely hurt your blog. The most common side effect is that your posting drops off considerably or altogether and leaves your readers wondering what happened to you. Don't let this happen to your blog, all it takes is a little planning and advanced preparation.

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