The 2008 BlogWorld & New Media Expo is scheduled for September 20-21 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event includes an exhibition, conferences, meetings, networking opportunities and more and is considered the top blogging event of the year.

Whether you write a blog for fun, to make money, or to support your business, the BlogWorld & New Media Expo is a great place to learn, share and grow. You can follow the link to register for BlogWorld Expo.

The blogosphere has been buzzing, or should I say tweeting, about Twitter ever since it launched in 2007. Twitter is a micro-blogging platform that bloggers can use to build relationships and promote their blogs. Do you use Twitter? Why do you like it (or why don't you like it?)? Leave a comment and share your Twittering experience.

If you're not familiar with Twitter yet, take a look at this article that will answer your question, What is Twitter?

If you use Facebook to promote your blog through social networking, then you've probably noticed that you can't control the order in which your friends appear on your profile page. Well, guess what? You actually can change the order of your Facebook friends with the Facebook Top Friends application!

This week, About.com's Guide to Personal Web Pages, Linda Roeder, shared details about the Facebook Top Friends application. For added fun, the application even allows you to give your top friends different awards!

You can follow the link to read Linda's overview of the Facebook Top Friends application.

About.com's Guide to Podcasting, Brian Bertucci, has been putting together some great articles that I think can really help bloggers understand podcasting. Audio blogging is becoming very popular. If want to listen to some podcasts or create your own podcast for your blog, then check out these articles from About.com Podcasting:

• What is a Podcast?
• Planning Your Podcast
• How to Listen to Podcasts
• Recording and Editing Tips for Podcasters

Thanks to Chris Garrett for steering me in the direction of a very cool new Wordpress plug-in, Comment Info Tip. According to Search-this.com, here's how it works:

When you mouseover a commenter’s name you will see a tip appear displaying some information about that given commenter. The tip will display 1 of 4 results:

1. If the commenter has only posted once, then it will say so in the tip.
2. If the commenter has posted more than once, the plug-in will automatically look up the last three posts they have commented in and display links to those posts. This allows you to see which type of posts this user is interested in and easily navigate to those posts.
3. If the commenter has posted more than once, the plug-in will automatically attempt to search their RSS feed and show an excerpt from their last post.
4. If it’s a pingback or trackback, the tip will indicate so.

Follow the link to see a screenshot of it in action and download the Comment Info Tip Wordpress plug-in. I can't wait to try it!

If you've already tried the Comment Info Tip plug-in, leave a comment and let us know what you think.

Here's a great way to monetize your blog (or advertise your own eBay auctions). The PhpBay plug-in for Wordpress allows you to easily add customized eBay auctions to your blog.

PhpBay costs $49, so you'll want to consider whether or not it's an investment you want to make upfront. I have heard positive things from users so far who were able to configure it to work with their existing Wordpress blogs quickly and easily. If you operate a niche blog that has products available on eBay inherently associated with it or if you sell things on eBay you want to promote through your blog, then this might be a great Wordpress plug-in for you!

The PhpBay Wordpress plug-in operates through the eBay affiliate advertising program, so you'll earn a commission on each item sold via your blog.

Have you used the PhPBay Wordpress plug-in to add eBay auctions to your blog? Leave a comment and share your experience!

If you're thinking about starting a blog, then you need to read how to create a free blog in 4 easy steps for free. The blogosphere can be intimidating, but there's no need to wait any longer to dive in. These four steps will show you just how easy it is to get started in under 30 minutes.

Once you create your new blog, play around with the features to see what they do. Don't be intimidated. You won't break anything! And of course, you can find all the information, tips and ideas you need to grow and enhance your blog here on About.com Web Logs.

Take some time to look around. Blogging is constantly changing. Just when you think you know enough, new features are launched! Be patient and keep on learning!

Part two of About.com Web Logs' 3-part search engine optimization tips interview with SEO Expert Gab Goldenberg of SEO ROI Services has been published. The article discusses keyword tracking, keyword optimization, linkbaiting, blog directories and search optimized blog templates and themes. It's a great resource to help you optimize your blog for search engines.

Taking the time to optimize your blog will drive traffic from the many searches people conduct through Google, Yahoo! and more search engines everyday.

You can follow the links below to read parts one and two of the search engine optimization tips interview with an SEO expert:

1. Part 1 - Beginner Search Engine Optimization Tips
2. Part 2 - Intermediate Search Engine Optimization Tips

Subscribe to the About.com Web Logs blog or sign up for the weekly newsletter so you don't miss part 3 of the search engine optimization interview with an SEO expert, which will provide advanced SEO tips!

If you use Firefox, then you might be interested in the free search engine page rank checking tool that will tell you what your blog's page rank is not just for Google, but also for Yahoo! and Microsoft Live Search.

Most bloggers are interested in their page ranks for a few reasons. A high page rank signifies popularity (and an SEO strategy that is working) which can equate to more opportunities in the form of exposure, advertising revenue, and more.

What page rank checker do you use? If you've tried this Firefox page rank checker extension, leave a comment and share your experience with it.

Here's another chance to participate in an About.com Parenting and Family Channel blog carnival. This time, the topic is "road trips". Think you can write a post about road trips for the carnival? If so, you just have to send your link to the About.com Baby Products Guide by May 26, 2008.

You can follow the link to read the round-up from the About.com Parenting and Family Channel's last blog carnival, Kids and Play. Remember, blog carnivals are a great way to drive traffic to your blog, get additional incoming links and find other bloggers!