The Trade Show Guru turned a year old last week… it was a quiet celebration. When I set up this blog a year ago, I installed the version of WordPress that was available through my web host (2.6.something). Immediately after installing it, I found out that there was a never version of 2.6! Like heck I was going to immediately go through the potential headache of upgrading. And so to continue, for the last year I have lived quite comfortably with my WordPress 2.6.something. But then a few weeks ago I got a notice from my webhost that I needed to upgrade WordPress to 2.8.4 to avoid getting hacked. There was an evil worm spreading by the hour, if not the minute. I remembered that Rudy had upgraded, Mitch had upgraded (Mitch upgrades all the time I think), and so had several other bloggers I follow. I also remembered that JD got Hacked last year, and so I read the warnings this time and took them seriously.

My version of WordPress didn’t have the “auto upgrade” button, so I had to manually delete all my files (except the database of course) and then install the 2.8.4 files. It took a little while, and involved more than a bit of anxiety. But I did it, and more importantly it worked. I also made a few other security improvements while I was at it. Now I have the “auto upgrade” button as well, so maybe next time I’ll upgrade a little sooner. Or then again, maybe I’ll wait until the Trade Show Guru turns two.

From what I read, the threat out there to older versions of WordPress (2.8.2 and earlier) is both real and serious. If you aren’t running Wordpress 2.8.4, upgrade now. If I can do it, anyone can do it. If you don’t, it’s probably not a question of if your blog will get hacked, but when it will get hacked. So upgrade today!

“This is just what I was looking for years ago when I first learned to use the Internet. I am so glad to have found out that you know all about just what I wanted to know. I really love your Theme. Maybe you could install it on my blog for me? I added you to my RSS reader and saved you in my favorites. Keep up the good work! I love blogging best practices.” ~ GrowMap (aka Internet Strategist)

Something I confirmed with my post “Spam My Blog – Win a Free Link” was that many commenters don’t read the whole post, and I suspect, many just read the title and then come up with a comment just to get a link. If I suspect someone is just trying to get a link and isn’t fully reading my amazing, insightful, enlightening posts, I seldom approve the comment… and I very, very seldom approve a comment by anyone that doesn’t comply with my very simple comment policy.

To see how many people actually read the entire post (and pay attention) I included a fairly simple rule in the middle of the post. The rule was this: after your generic comment, you need to show you actually read this post by writing, “I love [your keywords here].” I let my regular readers slide, but new commenters who couldn’t follow this very simple rule did not get their comments approved. I don’t believe in the saying, “rules are meant to be broken” (or ignored).

As I suspected, while several people submitted spammy comments, but only a few included the phrase “I love [keywords].” To reward those commenters that actually read the entire post and  followed the rules I have decided to hand out honorable mentions as well.

Mitch the prolific writer loves gladiators, and wrote this comment:
“Nice blog; I’ll be stopping by often. I love gladiators!” ~ Mitch at I’m Just Sharing

JD at I Do Things loves oxycontin, and wrote this comment:
“Thanks for sharing informations. Looking forward to more stuff. Is this blog updated? Good job my friend! I love oxycontin.” ~ JD at I Do Things

Tim, aka the King of the Rednecks, loves air, and wrote this comment:
“This comment is not spam! Thanks for sharing! I found this site with a web search and this article is exactly what I needed! I love air!” ~ Tim at the Redneck Bar and Grill

Ernie, the other King of the Rednecks, loves Rednecks for beer, and wrote this comment:
“hi, an interesting post by a blogger made me……here what you have posted is really good and interesting i love, you blog, for me the most important to speed up your computer is maintain a good registry maintenance thanks for sharing the information. I love Rednecks for beer.” ~ Ernie at the Redneck Bar and Grill

So there you have it, the winning “spammer” who spammed my blog and got a keyword link (one more time… best blogging practices!) out of it, and the runner-ups as well. But now the contest is over, so please don’t spam my blog anymore!

The comment spam that really bugs me is the sophisticated “generic comment.” These blogging zombie spammers have moved past the easy to spot “nice post” or “thanks for the post” comment to stuff like this:
Author: Romasha
Comment: Thanks it is a good idea!

OK, maybe that one is pretty easy to spot, but how about this one…

Author: damien
Comment: I like your layout. Have your web guy hit me up.

If you google the author name and the comment in quotes like this: [ damien "I like your layout. Have your web guy hit me up." ], you’ll see Google lists 293 results.

Do you really think damien liked the layout on 293 different blogs and just happened to type the exact same word-for-word comment on each one? I think damien should change his name to “devious damien, a spamming zombie”…

Anyway, generic comment spam bugs me, but I decided to try to see the humor it is and have a contest, so feel free to “spam” my blog (on this post only) and maybe, just maybe, you’ll win a FREE high-quality link. I want you to put on your “spammer hat” and write a GOOD generic comment. The purpose is to show how devious you are. You need to write a generic, one-size-fits-all-blogs comment that is NOT obvious and would not be deleted. Think devious! Your generic comment needs to seem to apply to just about everything, so the unsuspecting blog won’t know it is just a generic spam comment.

But, and this is important… after your generic comment, you need to show you actually read this post by writing, “I love [your keywords here].” (note: just write your keywords, do NOT make them a link!) This is where the contest comes in and the fun begins. I’ll pick the best generic spam comment and then write a post titled: I Love [your keywords]! And in the post I’ll include a free link for your blog or website with your keywords as the anchor text (which are in the title as well).

For example, you could write your generic comment and then write, “I love eating vegetables” (remember, just write the phrase and do NOT make it a link). If you have the best generic comment and are chosen as the winner, I’ll write a post called “I Love Eating Vegetables” and somewhere in the post I’ll put the link eating vegetables. Make sense?

There are a few rules:
1. I am the judge and jury. The rules may change. This is my blog.
2. You must follow my comment policy.
3. Your keywords and website must be something that I would feel comfortable linking to.
Acceptable keywords for example would be coffee, scented candles, show displays, and beer for rednecks. This is because I would be comfortable writing posts called: I love coffee, I love scented candles, I love show displays, and I love beer for rednecks.
Unacceptable keywords for example would be Gucci handbags or payday loans, because I have no love for Gucci handbags or payday loans.
4. I have no idea when I will chose a winner and write a post for the winner. Remember I have a problem with my blogging regularity.
5. When in doubt, see rule 1.

So there you go. Put on your “spammer hat” and write your best generic spam comment (and include the statement ‘I love ~’ at the end). Remember the point is not to write the WORST generic comment, such as “I like your blog,” but a tricky comment that would apply to just about any post about anything, and does NOT seem to be generic or spammy. The comment should be able to fool the vast majority of blog moderators. Show us how clever you are! Spam away! And maybe win a FREE LINK!

UPDATE (7/8/09): The Rules have Changed

Yes, I’m changing the rules. If you have an issue with that, see Rule #5 above. I realized that a real spammer might get past my Bad Behavior and Akismet firewalls and might find these “sophisticated generic comments” that you, my faithful readers, leave, and said spammer might use them for nefarious reasons. I don’t wish to contribute to that, so I’m changing the contest. Instead of your BEST sophisticated generic comment, leave your WORST / DUMBEST / STUPIDEST (but not vulgar) generic comment. And remember to follow the rules (how hard is that?).

So far it looks like Will the organic gopher killer and Mitch the prolific writing gladiator are tied… well, actually Will didn’t follow the rules and include a statement of what he loves so that puts Mitch the prolific writing gladiator in the lead!

I suppose it depends on whether you are targeting humans or search engines. I think humans are more understanding. I’d personally rather read a great post on a blog once a month than a forced or mediocre post on a blog every other day. But search engines I am told are different. They want to see fresh content. But how often does a blogger need to post to be fresh? Every day? Once a week? Twice a month? I don’t know. I suspect it is more important what you write that how often you write, but I don’t know. I think if you haven’t posted in a year, that can’t be a good thing. But how often should you post? I just don’t know… any opinions?

I’m just wondering if perhaps the Trade Show Guru’s blog is a little constipated. And I’m wondering if it really matters… I suppose my blogging muse needs more fiber. Or coffee.

Well, that’s it for me. Feel free to let me know how often you think a successful blogger should post, and if blogging regularity really matters, and how much.