I have avoided writing a piece about Alphainventions up to now for a number of reasons. As a former programmer I can see that the site is in danger of crashing, which it has on a couple of occasions already, and I didn't want to be yet another of the thousands of people promoting it and thereby adding to the problem, but i've had a few conversations with Cheru Jackson and I feel he's on top of things, so here goes.
First, a big thank you to mister Jackson for creating the program. I know it took several months, and i'm sure there a log of bugs that had to be worked out. I know the work that goes in to programs like this having written a few myself, so I truly appreciate the effort.
Most of you reading this are probably users of Alphainventions yourself, so I won't bother talking about how it works. For those of you who don't know, I recommend going to Alphainventions.com and seeing for yourself. I've been using it for going on four months now, and I suppose the main thing it's given me, beside thousands of hits a day in traffic, is a much better sense of what's out there in the blogosphere.
There is such an incredible range of stuff to investigate, and I want to give a big hand to everyone who puts in the effort to share with the rest of us. I've encountered many wonderful blogs, several of which I follow on a daily basis. It's no mean feat coming up with new material on a daily basis. Those of us who do, and truly have something to say will understand.
I know many people you meet in your day-to-day life are unimpressed with blogging. There is a range of attitude towards the act, and some people are downright hostile to the idea. I find that those people are generally the ones who have never actually seen a blog and form their opinion based on what they've heard from others, or simply due to not having anything they think is worth sharing themselves. I feel sorry for them; I think they're selling themselves short.
I'm sure there are many, many reasons why people actually blog. For me, it was a way to keep myself writing, which i've been doing most of my life, but tended to get lazy about. Since starting my blog on January 1st. I haven't missed a single day of writing, and i'm on my way to becoming a photojournalist, inspired by the multitude of positive feedback i've received on both my writing and photography.
Getting back to Alphainventions, I have to say i'm mystified by the inclusion of categories. I use the ones relevant to my subject of the day, but I haven't seen any change in my numbers since this was instituted, nor do I notice any change in the traffic that scrolls past each hour.
Speaking of that traffic, what I have noticed is the huge jump in the gigabytes I now use, according to my server. I've had to pay an increase in my monthly fee because of it, but i'm loving the returns I get, so I don't really mind. I do turn it off now when i'm away to try to keep it down.
I'd love to hear from you bloggers about your experience with Alpha, i've read some pieces about it that were rather strange, people calling it a scam, people saying that their traffic only increases when the use it, but falls back when the don't. Folks, if you're not seeing a rise in your return visitors, Alpha is not to blame. I'd be thinking seriously about my content and what i'm offering if that were to happen to me, which fortunately it doesn't. Don't point the finger at Cheru, he's done an amazing job and well deserves the kudos he gets regularly.
So, yes, Alphainventions. A bloggers best friend. Thank you Cheru Jackson.
