Everyone, check out your Gmail accounts for some really cool and much needed improvements! Some bloggers are calling the improvements Gmail 2.0, and I’m just calling it “a vast improvement of Gmail’s interface”. I’m loving the new functions in the contacts manager, as well as the option to return to the old version of Gmail.

The new version includes:

• Updates to the contacts manager. Now, you can search a lot easier within the contacts manager, insert photos from Picasa and input instant messenger data for many different programs for one user.
• New Information Box for Chat. When you move your mouse over a name in your chat box, you have an option to email, chat or “more” - which includes some of the same features from the previous Gmail version. The chat box itself has not changed.
• Additional options in the “More Actions” drop-down box. You can now “filter messages like these” or “mute” from the drop-down box.
• Message pre-fetching. I don’t have a lot of emails in my inbox, but I have noticed that the speed of emails loading is better, as messages are being pre-fetched.

These updates to Gmail have been available to some users already, and they are gradually rolling out to all Gmail users!

Here are a few of the screenshots I’ve found featuring the new Gmail’s interface and features.

If you are using plugins like Better Gmail or Customize Google, you may want to stick with the old version until the plugins are updated.

Thanks to Google Blogscoped, Lifehacker, Information Week and BioEng Thing for the screenshots and information!

With the latest Google PageRank update, a lot of bloggers with TONS of RSS readers and traffic saw significant drops in their PageRank! However, instead of spending a lot of time whining about it or complaining about the unfairness of Google, take some time to invest in improving your blog’s feed, so that your RSS readers get a more enjoyable experience - AND you can continue to generate traffic to your site and perhaps, with the next PageRank update, you’ll see an improvement!

One of my favorite plugins for WordPress feeds is Full Text Feed, a plugin that prevents WordPress 2.1+ from adding a more link to your website’s feed. Some of the posts here at thepinkc, especially those under Welcome to Soulville are truncated, to limit the amount of scrolling readers have to do for LONG posts.

However, using the tag will truncate your posts in your feed, too! Full Text Feed is easy to implement - download, install and activate - and now, your feeds will display full posts, versus truncated ones, and you can still display truncated posts on your blog’s website.

Another great feed solution is Feed Footer. This plugin allows you to add custom footers to the bottom of your posts in your RSS feed. You also have 10 fields to input information, so imagine the flexibility! You can have ten different affiliate links in your feed footer, such as my link for PayPerPost; 10 different advertisements; copyright notices; contact information or even display information about a contest! It is really up to you what information to put into your feed’s footer!

The Feed Footer plugin administration page also allows you to use HTML, so you can customize to your satisfaction!

Slashdigglicious adds social networking icons and links to the bottom of each RSS post. Now, readers can submit your posts to Digg, StumbleUpon and other social networking websites directly from their RSS reader!

Again, this is an easy plugin to install, and with a little HTML knowledge, you can add more social networking websites to your list, as well as edit the icons. I used a snippet of code border="0" to remove the border from around each icon. Note: When you update this plugin, you have to manually edit any changes to the code you have used previously, as it does not update across versions.

Since earlier this year, I’ve been following a lot of advice from fellow bloggers and even a blog consultant, Adnan to find out how to improve thepinkc. This has meant a minor investment in money, and a major investment in time and patience, but I am pleased with the results.

Some of the Google PageRank estimators said I’d increase from 3 to 5, but as of tonight, I’m holding steady at a respectable 4.

I’m not sure what this change in PageRank will mean in the short term, but in the long term, it proves that some bloggers know what they are talking about!

There are 5 things that I think were most important and instrumental in improving my Google PageRank:

1. I never gave up. Blogging is something I try to do every day, and I’m always looking for new and fresh ideas. Even when my traffic was nonexistent, I never stopped blogging! Even when people sent me ideas complaining about my site, I never gave up. Instead, I kept working to improve my writing, improve my posts and perfect my craft!
2. Money is not my motivator! Some of the loudest complainers about their drops in PageRank are bloggers who have boasted about their online earnings and HOW they make their money online. My point in blogging is NOT to make money, but instead to share information about things I enjoy!
3. Patience. Again, you can put in 20 hours a day on your blog, but if you are impatient to see results, you won’t get them! You have to just “go with the flow” and let things naturally take their course. Did you know that I’ve had this domain for 5 years or so, and I’ve held steady at PageRank 3 for the last year?
4. Research. Every blogger and their mama has advice on how to build a successful blog, but it is up to you to research various methods and ideas for building a successful blog and implement them! Don’t just take Joe Blogger’s word that he generated 1,000,000 visitors by using certain keywords - try it for yourself! Try any ideas and methods, within reason, but don’t go overboard. Too many changes can leave your readers confused, upset and even disappointed! Don’t be afraid to reject mainstream ideas and come up with your own!
5. Make a plan and implement it. You can’t become a successful blogger by just working at it haphazardly. Come up with a plan! I have a “blogging notebook” where I WRITE ideas for posts, contests , graphics, designs, etc., as well as a blogging folder on my browser, where I keep up with trends and ideas in the blogosphere. I add ideas from other bloggers to my plan, and modify them to meet MY site’s mission - to share ideas and have a good time!

These tips may not work for you, or they might, but the most important thing is to remember that blogging may be a job for you, or even a supplemental income, but it is not worth loosing sleep over!