Monthly Archives April 2010

Blogger beware of content scrappers

For over a year now, I have been seeing ping-backs coming to my website from people linking back to my blog posts. A lot of them are from websites that are scraping content from multiple blogs for each of their posts. Typically, they use RSS feeds and go from there. They always link up to my post and put a line or two of my content. This bothers me, but at least they are not taking all of my written words and are linking back to give me my traffic for the content. If you are a blogger you have no doubt experienced this.

Now let us go to the Darkside of scrapers . . . cue the Darth Vader music.   (Note: now an Update on the bottom)

Recently, I have seen a slew of ping-backs from Ubervu. I have to admit that I did not put much thought into it, I just assumed it was like the other RSS scrappers out there. Apparently, I am quite naive and many of you may be as well. Thursday, I saw the light. Thanks to Christina Gleason (aka @Cutestkidever on Twitter) sending out a Tweet with a link to her latest blog post called Ubervu Steals Your Blog Posts AND Your Comments. When I read her post, I was angry. How dare they think that just because our blog posts and comments are online that they do not have to abide by DMCA laws (FYI – DMCA =Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998)..

It quickly got worse. TechyDad helped me to check out what they had taken from me. He did the following search on Google to check:

Ubervu search TheAngelForever.com

Before my eyes, I saw that there were at least 43 mentions of my blog and Ubervu. I went back to Christina’s article to figure out what to do. Clearly, I did not want to allow them to steal my material and make money off of content they were directing back to their website and not mine. I went and submitted a request to have Ubervu take off any content/comments/links to my website. I reminded them of infringing the DMCA and started to re-Tweet to everyone to let them know about this new scraping phenomenon.

TechyDad also found the following items and sent out Tweets:

I have to admit, my blood was boiling at this point, especially when I read how they were defending that they were stealing from people.  Taking attention away from my content and pulling it up for you on Google – NO THANK YOU! Of course, to make matters worse the following ping came through at the same time:

UberVU ping

Yes, while I was fighting back against them, they were stealing more of my content. So, if you are a blogger – please check this out and protect your writing. Also know that Ubervu has profiles that link up your comments on blogs and Tweets. We need to unite as a blogging community to make sure Ubervu stops and others know we will not tolerate this.

So my question to you this week:

Do you check ping-backs to your blog? Have you seen anything from Ubervu before and will you let them know that they are stealing from you and going against DMCA.

Please pass along this information to other blogging friends to check out. We must stand up against this so others know not to steal like Ubervu. 

TheAngelForever

UPDATE: I wrote this post Thursday afternoon and since that time a lot has happened. Ubervu has replied on Christina’s post. They explained what their intent was and are working on fixing items as quickly as possible. I know that my links/comments are now giving 404 error messages, but my profile on their search is still there. What Ubervu is quickly realizing is that their idea may have worked had they asked bloggers/Tweets if they wanted to opt into this service. Autopilot grouping people into such a service is the WRONG way to do this. I will give the person on Ubervu’s Twitter account credit for replying to things and watching the Tweets as things have progressed Thursday into Friday.

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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the MckLinky there if you are participating.

Aloha Friday by Kailani at An Island Life

Aloha #97

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Shining Example NY

Last week, we celebrated Earth Day on Thursday, but more and more people are trying to make energy friendly decisions in their homes on a daily basis. In our home, we are using at least 95% energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). We started off slowly, and then with time made changes in more of our rooms. These days, you can find CFLs that are made for three way light switches, fan lights and many other options. So much has changed with CFLs over the last few years alone and I am very happy with that.

CFLs for the Fan at our house

Thanks to Global Influence, I found out about a great program that is taking place in New York State. Shining Example NY is trying to help New York State residents to make the switch from regular light bulbs to Energy Star qualified CFLs.

Shining Example NY

Here is more information  from Shining Example NY about their program, along with the video and essay contest running until April 30th.

Right now, all over New York, people are becoming "Shining Examples"  of energy efficiency by changing all their old-fashioned light bulbs to ENERGY STAR® qualified CFLs that use 75% less energy, save money and last up to 10 times longer.

Our goal is to help New Yorkers reduce their energy costs, and encourage them to make changes at home that will help the environment. To spread the word, Shining Example NY is sponsoring a video and essay contest, and we are currently looking for more video submissions. We invite you and your whole family to become a part of this movement by submitting a video to the contest that demonstrates why you have made the switch, or are going to make the switch, to ENERGY STAR qualified CFL bulbs. Check out the great kid videos we’ve already received by going to www.ShiningExampleNY.com, clicking on Enter our Video Contest and then click on View Entries.

Thanks to so many things going on recently, I have not had a chance to enter the contest. Still, I wanted to share the information with you. All you have to do is send in a 90-second video about how and why you have switched to ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs in order to save energy and money at home, as well as help the environment. Video submissions are posted to the Shining Example NY Facebook Fan page that has over 4,400 fans that have been featured on TV, radio and online advertisements in NY State.

What you can win:

Video Entries – Each of the ten video winner will be eligible to:

  1. have portions of their video appear in the Shining Example TV ad debuting in Fall 2010
  2. receive a FREE Comprehensive Home Assessment through Home Performance with ENERGY STAR to show where their home is losing energy and recommend way to help reduce energy usage  
  3. receive a FREE CFL bulb makeover for themselves and ten neighbors (up to $150 of CFLs per makeover).

Essay Entried – Each of the ten essay winners will be eligible to:

  1. have their essay posted on www.ShiningExampleNY.com    
  2. receive a FREE Comprehensive Home Assessment through Home Performance with ENERGY STAR          
  3. receive a FREE CFL bulb makeover for their home

No matter where you live, I hope that you will make the switch to CFLs in your house. If you are in New York, please think about making a 90 second video and submitting it soon to help spread the word about the importance of using CFLs in your home.

TheAngelForever

Disclosure: I am posting this information as a public service because I feel it is important to get the information out to my readers. Global Influence is helping spread the word about this public service campaign.

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Winnie the Pooh Birthday cake ideas needed

Yikes. . . my baby is going to be three in 16 days! Last year, we celebrated JSL’s second birthday at Walt Disney World. We actually had an extra special meal at The Crystal Palace where JSL began his love for Winne the Pooh, Tigger and friends.

Memories of 2nd B-day

During our first day at Animal Kingdom in February, JSL kept crying to see Pooh Bear. While we tried to go on rides, see animals and have fun with other things….he kept demanding to see Pooh, Tigger and company. After a while, we finally made our way to the area that had Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore (my favorite).

Visit with Winnie the Pooh and friends - Feb 2010

Flash forward to the last month or so. JSL has been beyond attached to all things Winnie the Pooh. Thank goodness, I think we have all of his birthday presents set. Seems like it would be easy to find Winnie the Pooh things right? Well, we thought so until we started to look at stores and found next to nothing. Who knew that getting things having to do with Winnie the Pooh would be so difficult in our area? Of course, not having a Disney Store here does not help matters. Had we known this would be a dilemma, or seen JSL’s fascination continuing all this time, we probably would have bought a few special items while at Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. At the time, JSL bought a set of Pooh Bear characters that he loves and takes all over the place with us (another post on that coming soon – along with the items that we have found).

Later in the week, we have to go out and get a few birthday supplies. Once again, I plan on making JSL his birthday cake. This started with his first birthday and has continued with each subsequent celebration for the boys. Since we are obviously doing a Winnie the Pooh theme, I need to figure out a cake. I was thinking of taking the giant Wilton Cupcake pan and making it into a Honey Pot a la Winnie the Pooh style.

So my question: Do you have any other homemade cake ideas that would go along with a Winnie the Pooh theme. Remember, I am not trying to end up on Cake Wrecks here.

Thanks in advance for any suggstions.

TheAngelForever

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Yoplait Greek Yogurt (Review/Giveaway)

For quite some time, I had heard people talking about Greek yogurt. I have to admit, I did not really understand the hype. I saw that it was quite a but more expensive than the regular yogurt and did not have as many options. Sometime last year, I finally saw the light and looked at the only Greek yogurt that was at our local store. Looking at the label, I quickly realized the powerful punch that it contains.

As a family that is mostly vegetarian, thanks to the extreme cost of kosher meat, we are always looking for high protein food sources. When I finally looked at a container of Greek yogurt I was floored that most contain 12 or more grams of protein. A typical 6 ounce container of yogurt has about 6 grams of protein. To put that into perspective, here are what some other protein rich food give you:

  • 4 ounce hamburger patty = 28 grams
  • 3.5 ounce chicken breast = 30 grams
  • 6 ounce can of tuna = 40 grams
  • 1 cup milk = 8 grams
  • 1/2 cup of most beans cooked = 7-10 grams
  • 1 large egg = 6 grams
  • 1/2 cup tofu = 20 grams
  • 2 tablespoons of peanut butter = 8 grams

My little guy is a VERY picky eater. He does not like most chicken, meat, or fish. He will tolerate yogurt, so this was a perfect way to get more protein into his diet. He loved Greek Yogurt, and so do I. When MyBlogSpark asked us to try the new Yoplait Greek Yogurt, we agreed. While shopping, I had seen it and was curious about how it compared to the brand we usually bought (Chobani).

Yoplait Greek Logo

More about Yoplait Greek Yogurt:

Each 6 ounce serving of Yoplait Greek Yogurt contains 12 grams of protein. Yoplait makes Strawberry, Blueberry, Honey Vanilla and Plain Greek Yogurt at this time. Complete nutritional information can be found here. The Yoplait Greek Yogurt has no fat, 15% vitamin A, 20% Vitamin D, and 30% Calcium (based on Daily Recommended Values).

Yoplait Greek Yogurt has a website with more information about each of the flavors. In addition to this, they also have a variety of recipe suggestions for using their product in. They include smoothies, dill yogurt dip, fresh apple streusel pecan cake and more. While there, be sure to print out a coupon to try some Yoplait Greek Yogurt for yourself.

Yoplait Greek Strawberry

What I thought:

As I said before, I am a big fan of Greek Yogurt. On a whole, I really like the thick nature of the yogurt and the much higher protein content. When I opened up a container of the Blueberry Yoplait Greek Yogurt, the first item I noticed was there was no need to mix it. Unlike the other brand that I have had, where fruit is on the bottom, this had blueberry throughout the yogurt and was immediately ready to eat. I really liked this, especially since I had two little boys eager for taste testing.

The boys really liked what they tasted and each asked for another spoon before running off to play. I like the thick custard-like consistancy of the Yoplait Greek Yogurt. It was really smooth and not gritty. Since the fruit was already mixed in, there was a nice blend of the yogurt and never spots without fruit. I also liked that it was not overly sweet since a lot of fruit yogurts can have that tendency.

I would definitely consider buying more of this yogurt for my family and only hope that more flavors are available soon.

Giveaway:

Thanks to MyBlogSpark and Yoplait, one lucky reader will win a Yoplait Greek "Nourish Your Inner Goddess" gift pack like the one I received below. Two coupons for free Yoplait Greek Yogurt are included along with items to help you relax. Please note, the coupons for free cup of Yoplait Greek Yogurt are not valid in some states, including California, Idaho, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Dakota, and Tennessee.

Yoplait Greek Yogurt Giveaway

Rules for Giveaway:

  • MAIN RULE – Answer the following questions: Which flavor of Yoplait Greek yogurt would you like to try the most?
  • 1 Bonus Entry –  What is something that you do for yourself to help your inner Goddess come out?
  • 1 Bonus Entry – Tweet about the giveaway on Twitter. Be sure to include @TheAngelForever and Nourish Your Inner Goddess Giveaway in the Tweet.  Please leave a direct link to your Tweet in a separate comment for each daily entry. Example Tweet (feel free to use):  Chance to win a Nourish Your Inner Goddess gift pack from @TheAngelForever http://bit.ly/cVr6ov
  • 1 Bonus Entry – Subscribe to my RSS feed (or let me know if you already are) in a separate comment.
  • 1 Bonus Entry – Leave a comment on any of my non-giveaway posts from the month of  March/April. Be sure to leave a comment here to let me know which one. This Bonus entry may be done only twice per person.
  • 1 Bonus Entry – Enter any of my other current giveaways (keep checking back – more being added all the time). Be sure to leave a comment here to let me know which one.
  • 3 Bonus Entries – Add my blog button to your website and leave a link with the location. Be sure to give yourself 3 comments for credit.
  • 5 Bonus Entries – Write a post on your blog linking to my blog about the giveaway. Be sure to leave 5 comments about this to get credit for all of your extra entries.

To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. Contest starts today April 26 and ends at 10:59 EST on May 10, 2010. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you for mailing address once the giveaway is over. I will select the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to U.S. residents only. 

TheAngelForever

Disclosure: This review and giveaway was made possible by My Blog Spark and Yoplait.  They provided me with the gift pack and coupon to purchase a package of Yoplait Kids yogurt. The opinions of this review were mine and I received no other compensation.

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