real blogging tips

September 1st 2008 Big Ben Patton’s Place will be proud to present the official relaunch of its blog. To commemorate the fresh look of the site, and the new content which I plan to tackle I wanted to invite everyone to stop by and check out what I am doing here now. This blog has come a long way in the last six months. I have broken every goal set out for this blog since the start. I want everyone to be as excited as I am because not only are you getting the new Big Ben Patton’s Place, and more outstanding content but also Market Leverage has stepped up to the plate and will award one lucky reader of Big Ben Patton’s Place an ASUS Eee PC 2G Surf 7″ Notebook. This is a bloggers dream machine. For the highly mobile that do not wish to carry a full size laptop, or those without the space for a desktop.

Let’s talk about how you can win this awesome blogging device!

OK first things first you must be subscribed to my RSS feed via email.

If you are already do not worry as your already entered. If you are currently signed up via a feed reader please sign up with an email address today. Obviously you can do that right now in my header image.

Next I want to spice this up a bit and give you more of an opportunity to win. Here are some ways to increase your chances in our random drawing:

Sign up to be a Market Leverage affiliate via my affiliate link – the bar below my navigation bar is quickest way to do this. If you are approved you get 100 entries. ( If 10 or More people sign up under my affiliate link I will award a bonus 25 entries to everyone )

Subscribe to my email RSS feed (required) – 10 entries – By subscribing to our email RSS feed, you will be able to get updates when I make a new post. This is an easy 10 entries and is required to be eligible for the contest

Stumble or Digg This Post – 5 entries – This is the easiest 10 entries if you do both besides the ten I give you for being subscribed to my RSS feed via email.

Commenting on a Post – 2 entries -By commenting on my posts, you will receive 2 extra entries in the contest. You can comment as many times as you would like but only one comment per post will count. with over 155 posts, that could mean 310 points plus any new posts!

Blog about this contest - 25 entries – Write a small blurb about this contest. Make sure you link back/ping back to this post so I know about your post. Your blurb must be a minimum of 100 words. You may repost my post verbatim if you wish and still get credit for this. (only good for 1 post per week 4 weeks in September)

Podcast about this contest - That’s right get on the bandwagon and get the word out 15 entries. 30 seconds or longer please.

Video blog about this contest – You knew it was coming here is your excuse to get moving I will award 50 entries to every person who makes a short videolog on their blog about this contest. 20-30 seconds min please.

Put Me In Your Blogroll - 10 entries for any follow on blogroll links that point to this blog (1 link per blog please)

Favorite Big Ben Patton’s Place On Technorati - 5 entries – Easy as pie folks! – As a bonus I will favorite you back!

Mention this blog in any post with a link to the top page – This will get you 2 entries just make sure you link to me using the domain www.benjaminpatton.com easy as that! (allowed 1 time per day)

Put My 125×125 ad on your blog – Easy and a quick 10 entries if you keep it up for a month.
(Ad can be found here 125×125)

Put my 468×60 ad on your blog – Easy and a quick 20 entries if you keep it up for a month.
(Ad can be found here 468×60 )

The contest will run officially from September 1st 2008 until September 30th 2008. The winner will be announced on October 1st 2008! Good Luck!

Ok Now you know how to enter, and how to increase your chances of winning, get to it!

If you have an idea for increasing your chances that is not listed, either email me or post in the comments. If its creative enough, points for you!

If you are not well acquainted with the Eee Pc then let me take this opportunity to show you what its all about:

Get the power of a full-sized laptop in the ultra-compact ASUS Eee PC 2G Surf, which offers a full QWERTY keyboard, 7-inch screen, and preinstalled Linux operating system. (This laptop is also compatible with the Microsoft Windows XP operating system.) You’ll be able to stay connected to email and the Internet easily thanks to the Wi-Fi LAN (802.11b/g). Because it uses flash memory instead of a hard drive (with 2 GB of storage), the Eee PC is optimal for weathering rough handling and sharing space in overstuffed bags. This 2 GB Surf model does not include an integrated Webcam.

With a rapid start-up time, the Eee PC is always ready to get into action.

The Model for our contest is also white!

For the students and professionals, the Eee PC comes with a powerful selection of software to maximize personal productivity–over 40 built-in applications. The Open Office suite of software enables the user to open, edit and create documents, presentations, spreadsheets and databases that are compatible with Microsoft Office. For journalists, photographers and other professionals who need to use a computer in the field to create, to communicate and to collaborate with other colleagues, the Eee PC’s combination of power, extreme portability and rugged build makes it the ideal computing solution.

It’s also a great choice for young students, with a built-in Dictionary that’s great for homework, and it includes two modes of intuitive graphic user interface design to accommodate both experienced and inexperienced PC users. The Eee PC also handles your digital images, movies, and music as well as Internet radio.

No technical manual required with the specially designed, user-friendly, and intuitive graphic interface.

Compact and highly portable at just 32 ounces, the Eee PC 2G has a 7-inch wide color TFT LCD with an 800 x 480-pixel resolution (WXGA). Under the hood is a 800 MHz Intel Mobile CPU with integrated Intel graphics processor, 512 MB of RAM (not expandable), and 2 GB of solid-state flash memory. With the dependable solid-state disk, you get unparalleled shock-protection and reliability. In addition to its wireless LAN, it also offers wired Fast Ethernet (10/100) connectivity and a 56K modem. The Eee PC includes software for Web browsing (Firefox), email, OpenOffice 2.0 for creating and editing word processing documents and spreadsheets, and a suite of other productivity software to help keep you on track.

You get three USB 2.0 ports, a VGA output for connecting to external monitors, headphone and microphone jacks, and a Secure Digital (SD) memory card slot. The Eee PC measures 8.9 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches, and it weighs 32 ounces.

Product Features

• Dimensions WxDxH – 8.86″ x 6.30″ x 0.79″ ~ 1.26″
• Weight – 2.0 lbs
• Processor – Intel Mobile CPU
• Display Type – 7″ Wide
• Display Resolution – 800×480 (~WVGA)

Processor, Memory, and Motherboard

• Hardware Platform: PC
• Processor: 571 MHz Intel Celeron
• Number of Processors: 1
• RAM: 512 MB
• RAM Type: DDR DRAM

Hard Drive

• Size: 2 GB
• Manufacturer: Solid state
• Type: Serial ATA

Graphics and Display

• LCD Native Resolution: 7

Ports and Connectivity

• Modem: Fax / modem

Cases and Expandability

• Size (LWH): 12.1 inches, 10 inches, 3.3 inches
• Weight: 2 pounds

As you can see by the technical stats this thing is born to be free. With no moving parts power cosumption is very low which allows for exceptional battery life.