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DSP Lab-1 Signals in Matlab

Introduction
This lab will describe how to use Matlab for some basic signal representation and manipulation:
• Creating and importing signals
• Sampling and resampling
• Signal visualization
• Modeling noise
• Modulation

Discrete Signals
Time base: t = [0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3]
Signal data: x = [1.0 3.2 2.0 8.5]
The central data construct in Matlab is the numeric array, an ordered collection of real
or complex numeric data with one or more dimensions. The basic data objects of signal
processing (one-dimensional signals or sequences, multichannel signals, and two-dimensional
signals) are all naturally suited to array representation.
Matlab represents ordinary one-dimensional sampled data signals, or sequences, as vectors.
Vectors are 1-by-n or n-by-1 arrays, where n is the number of samples in the sequence.
One way to introduce a sequence into Matlab is to enter it as a list of elements at the command
prompt. The statement
x = [1 2 3 4 5]
creates a simple five-element real sequence in a row vector. It can be converted to a column
vector by taking the transpose:
x = [1 2 3 4 5]’
Column vectors extend naturally to the multichannel case, where each channel is represented
by a column of an array.

c 2006GM
Another method for creating vector data is to use the colon operator. Consider a 1-second
signal sampled at 1000 Hz. An appropriate time vector would be
t = 0:1e-3:1;
where the colon operator creates a 1001-element row vector representing time from zero to
one second in steps of one millisecond.
You can also use linspace to create vector data:
t = linspace(0,1,1e3);
creates a vector of 1000 linearly spaced points between 0 and 1.
Try:
t1 = [0 .1 .2 .3];
t2 = 0:0.1:0.3;
t3 = linspace(0, 0.3, 4);
T = [t1’ t2’ t3’];
X = sin(T)
Q: What does this code show?

Sampling Signals
Analog signal sources include electromagnetic, audio, sonar, biomedical and others. Analog
signals must be sampled in order to be processed digitally.
Sampling
x(n) = xa(nTs)
x is a discrete signal sampled from the analog signal xa with a sample period of Ts and a
sample frequency of Fs = 1/Ts.
Try:
Fs = 100;
N = 1000;
stoptime = 9.99;
t1 = (0:N-1)/Fs;
t2 = 0:1/Fs:stoptime;
x1 = sin(2*pi*2*t1);
x2 = sin(2*pi*3*t2);
plot(x1)
figure, plot(x2)
An alternative to creating signals is to use a toolbox function. A variety of toolbox functions
generate waveforms . Each of them requires that you begin with a vector representing a time
base. Some of these functions will be described later in this lab.
Aliasing
Digital signals are often derived by sampling a continuous-time signal with an analog-todigital
(A/D) converter. If the continuous signal, xa(t), is bandlimited, meaning that it does
not contain any frequencies higher than a maximum frequency fM, the Shannon sampling
theorem says that it can be completely recovered from a set of samples if the sampling
frequency fs is greater than two times the maximum frequency of the signal to be sampled:
Fs > 2fM
This maximum frequency fM is known as the Nyquist frequency. If the sampling frequency is
not greater than two times the Nyquist frequency, the continuous signal cannot be uniquely
recovered and aliasing occurs. (You heard examples of aliased signals in Homework No.1).
fs > 2fM: Original signal and sampled signal have the same frequency.
fs  2fM: Sampled signal is aliased to half the original frequency.
Try:
t = 0:0.001:2;
xa = sin(2*pi*5*t);
plot(t,xa)
hold on
fs = 15;
ts = 0:1/fs:2;
xs1 = sin(2*pi*5*ts);
plot(ts,xs1,’ro-’)
fs = 7.5;
ts = 0:1/fs:2;
xs2 = sin(2*pi*5*ts);
plot(ts,xs2,’ro-’)
hold off
Q: What is the frequency of xs2?// (There is aliasing here. We need sampling theory.
However can use the fft function on the signal to determine the frequency).
Signal Visualization
• View signal amplitude vs. time index
• Functions: plot, stem, stairs, strips
• Listen to data: sound
Note: the sound and soundsc commands will not work if your computer hardware isn’t set
up. If that is the case, view the signals instead of listening to them.
Try:
t = [0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4];
x = [1.0 8.0 4.5 9.7];
plot(t,x)
figure, stem(t,x)
figure, stairs(t,x)
fs = 1000;
ts = 0:1/fs:2;
f = 250 + 240*sin(2*pi*ts);
x = sin(2*pi*f.*ts);
strips(x,0.25,fs)
sound(x,fs)
plot(ts,x)
plot(ts(1:200),x(1:200))
Q: What does the strips command do? (See ’help strips’.)
Q: What does the .* operator do?
Signal Processing Tool
The Signal Processing Toolbox application, SPTool, provides a rich graphical environment
for signal viewing, filter design, and spectral analysis.
You can use SPTool to analyze signals, design filters, analyze filters, filter signals, and analyze
signal spectra. You can accomplish these tasks using four GUIs that you access from
within SPTool:
• The Signal Browser is for analyzing signals. You can also play portions of signals using
your computer’s audio hardware.
• The Filter Designer is for designing or editing FIR and IIR digital filters. Note that the
FDATool is the preferred GUI to use for filter designs. FDATool is discussed in later labs.
• The Filter Viewer is for analyzing filter characteristics.
• The Spectrum Viewer is for spectral analysis.
Open SPTool by typing sptool at the command prompt.
Try:
sptool
Look at the train signal, FIRbp filter, and trainse spectrum. (You see 3 panes
- Signals, Filters, Spectra. Filter Designer is available through File 7! Preferences. You
can play sounds using the LS icon. When viewing spectra, note that many methods of
determining spectra, including the fft, are available.)
Importing a Signal
You can use SPTool to analyze the signals, filters, or spectra that you create at the Matlab
command line.
You can import signals, filters, or spectra from the Matlab workspace into the SPTool
workspace using the Import item under the File menu.
Try:
fs = 1000;
ts = 0:1/fs:0.5;
f = 250 + 240*sin(2*pi*ts);
x = sin(2*pi*f.*ts);
Import these signals (f and x) into the SPTool and use the tool to examine them.
Q: What are the icons to use for horizontal zoom?
Try zooming in using the mouse.
Signal Browser
The Signal Browser tool is an interactive signal exploration environment. It provides a
graphical view of the signal object(s) currently selected in teh Signals list of SPTool.
Using the Signal Browser you can
• View and compare vector/array signals
• Zoom in on a range of signal data to examine it more closely
• Measure a variety of characteristics of signal data
• Play signal data on audio hardware
To open/activate the Signal Browser for the SPTool,
• Click one or more signals (use the Shift key for multiple selections) in the Signals list of
SPTool.
• Click the View button in the Signals list of SPTool.
Changing Sample Rates
To change the sample rate of a signal in SPTool,
1. Click a signal in the Signals list in SPTool.
2. Select the Sampling frequency item in the Edit menu.
3. Enter the desired sampling frequency and cliick OK.
Try changing the sampling rate of the imported signal.
Signal Generation
Signals
• Create a time base vector
t = [0:0.1:2];
• Create a signal as a function of time
x = sin(pi*t/2);
plot(t,x)
Useful Matlab functions
• Nonperiodic functions
ones, zeros
• Periodic functions
sin, cos, square, sawtooth
Nonperiodic Signals
t = linspace(0,1,11)
• Step:
y = ones(1,11);
stem(y)
• Impulse:
y = [1 zeros(1,10)];
stem(y)
• Ramp:
y = 2*t;
plot(y)
Useful Matlab functions
step, impulse, gensig
Try:
Step function:
fs = 10;
ts = [0:1/fs:5 5:1/fs:10];
x = [zeros(1,51) ones(1,51)];
stairs(ts,x)
Impulse function with width w:
fs = 10;
w = 0.1;
ts = [-1:1/fs:-w 0 w:1/fs:1];
x = [zeros(1,10) 1 zeros(1,10)];
plot(ts,x)
Delta function:
ts = 0:0.5:5;
x = [1 zeros(1,length(ts)-1)];
stem(ts,x)
axis([-1 6 0 2])
Sinusoids
Sinusoid parameters
• Amplitude, A
• Frequency, f
• Phase shift, 
• Vertical offset, B
The general form of a sine wave is
y = Asin(2ft + ) + B
Example: generate a sine wave given the following specifications:
• A = 5
• f = 2 Hz
•  = /8 radians
t = linspace(0,1,1001);
A = 5;
f = 2;
p = pi/8;
sinewave = A*sin(2*pi*f*t + p);
plot(t, sinewave)
Try:
edit sine_wave
sine_wave
edit sinfun
[A T] = sinfun(1,2,3,4)
Square Waves
Square wave generation is like sine wave generation, but you specify a duty cycle, which is
the percentage of the time over one period that the amplitude is high.
Example:
• duty cycle is 50% (the Matlab default)
• frequency is 4 Hz.
t = linspace(0,1,1001);
sqw1 = square(2*pi*4*t);
plot(t,sqw1)
axis([-0.1 1.1 -1.1 1.1])
Example:
• duty cycle is 75%
• frequency is 4 Hz.
t = linspace(0,1,1001);
sqw2 = square(2*pi*4*t,75);
plot(t,sqw2)
axis([-0.1 1.1 -1.1 1.1])
Sawtooth Waves
Sawtooth waves are like square waves except that instead of specifying a duty cycle, you
specify the location of the peak of the sawtooth.
Example:
• peak at the end of the period (the Matlab default)
• frequency is 3 Hz.
t = linspace(0,1,1001);
saw1 = sawtooth(2*pi*3*t);
plot(t,saw1)
Example:
• peak is halfway through the period
• frequency is 3 Hz.
t = linspace(0,1,1001);
saw2 = sawtooth(2*pi*3*t,1/2);
plot(t,saw2)
Complex Signals
Periodic signals can be represented by complex exponentials:
x(t) = ej2ft = cos(2ft) + jsin(2ft) = cos(
t) + jsin(
t)
If t is measured in seconds, then f will have units of sec−1, and
will have units of radians/
second.
In signal processing, we associate the unit circle with one sampling cycle, so that a sampling
frequency of Fs is associated with 2 radians, and the Nyquist frequency Fs/2 is associated
with  radians. Values of
in the upper half-plane, in units of Hz, then correspond to
frequencies within the sampled signal.
In Matlab, type:
x = exp(2*pi*j*f*t);
plot(x)
Matlab recognizes either j or i as the square root of -1, unless you have defined variables j
or i with different values.
Useful Matlab functions
real, imag, abs, angle
Try:
edit zsig
zsig(5)
Look at both figures and describe what you see.
Importing Data
An important component of the Matlab environment is the ability to read and write data
from/to external sources. Matlab has extensive capabilities for interfacing directly with data
from external programs and instrumentation.
In this lab, we concentrate on reading and writing data that has already been stored in
external files.
Files come in a variety of standard formats, and Matlab has specialized routines for working
with each of them. To see a list of supported file formats, type:
help fileformats
To see a list of associated I/O functions, type:
help iofun
Matlab provides a graphical user interface, the Import Wizard, to the various I/O functions.
You access the Wizard by choosing File ! Import Data or by typing:
uiimport
The Matlab command importdata is a programmatic version of the Wizard, accepting all of
the default choices without opening the graphical user interface. You can use importdata in
M-files to read in data from any of the supported file formats.
Matlab also has a large selection of low-level file I/O functions, modeled after those in the C
programming language. These allow you to work with unsupported formats by instructing
Matlab to open a file in memory, position itself within the file, read or write specific formatted
data, and then close the file.
Try:
help fileformats
help iofun
jan = textread(’all_temps.txt’,’%*u%u%*[^\n]’,’headerlines’,4);
[data text] = xlsread(’stockdata.xls’);
plot(data(:,2))
legend(text{1,3})
Explain how the colon operator works in the preceding plot command.
I = importdata(’eli.jpg’);
image(I)
which theme.wav
uiimport
Browse for:
theme.wav
soundsc(data,fs)
Save and Load
Two data I/O functions are especially useful when working with Matlab variables.
• The save command writes workspace variables to a binary Matlab data file (MAT-file)
with a .mat extension. The file is placed in the current directory.
• The load command reads variables from a MAT-file back into the Matlab workspace.
Although quite specialized, save and load can be used for day-to-day management of your
Matlab computations.
Try:
doc save
doc load
t = 0:0.1:10;
x1 = sin(t);
x2 = sin(2*t);
x3 = sin(3*t);
save myvars
clear
load myvars t x3
Note the list of variables in the workspace tab in the upper left of the Matlab window.
Modeling Noise
To model signals in space, in the atmosphere, in sea water, or in any communications channel,
it is necessary to model noise.
Matlab has two functions for generating random numbers, which can be added to signals to
model noise.
Uniform random numbers
A = rand(m,n);
generates an mxn array of random numbers from the uniform distribution on the interval
[0,1]. To generate uniformly distributed random numbers from the interval [a,b], shift and
stretch:
A = a + (b-a)*rand(m,n);
Gaussian random numbers
A = randn(m,n);
generates an mxn array of random numbers from the standard normal distribution with
mean 0 and standard deviation 1. To generate random numbers from a normal distribution
with mean mu and standard deviation sigma, shift and stretch:
A = mu + sigma*rand(m,n);
Random numbers from other distributions
Random numbers from other distributions can be generated using the uniform random number
generator and knowledge of the distribution’s inverse cumulative distribution function.
Random number generators for several dozen common distributions are available in the
Statistics Toolbox.
Adding Noise to a Signal
noisy signal = signal + noise
y1 = x + rand(size(x)) % uniform noise
y2 = x + randn(size(x)) % Gaussian noise
Example:
Add Gaussian noise to middle C.
fs = 1e4;
t = 0:1/fs:5;
sw = sin(2*pi*262.62*t); % middle C
n = 0.1*randnsize(sw);
swn = sw + n:
Try:
edit noisyC
noisyC
strips(swn, .1,1e4)
Zoom in on the strips plot. (Note: you might have to cut and paste from the noisyC script
to generate swn.)
Pseudorandomness
This number:
0.95012928514718
is the first number produced by the Matlab uniform random number generator with its
default settings. Start up Matlab, set format long, type rand, and you get the number.
If all Matlab users, all around the world, all on different computers, keep getting this same
number, is it really “random”? No, it isn’t. Computers are deterministic machines and
should not exhibit random behavior. If your computer doesn’t access some external device,
like a gamma ray counter or a clock, then it must really be computing pseudorandom
numbers.
A working definition of randomness was given in 1951 by Berkeley professor D. H. Lehmer,
a pioneer in computing and, especially, computational number theory:
A random sequence is a vague notion ... in which each term is unpredictable
to the uninitiated and whose digits pass a certain number of tests traditional with
statisticians ...
Random number generators proceed deterministically from their current state. To view the
current state of rand, type:
s = rand(’state’)
This returns a 35-element vector containing the current state.
To change the state of rand:
rand(’state’,s) Sets the state to s.
rand(’state’,0) Resets the generator to its initial state.
rand(’state’, sum(100*clock)) Sets to a new state each time.
Commands for randn are analogous.
Try:
s = rand(’state’)
format long
rand
rand(’state’,sum(100*clock))
s = rand(’state’)
format long
rand
Resampling
The Signal Processing Toolbox provides a number of functions that resample a signal at a
higher or lower rate.
y = downsample(x,n)
decreases the effective sampling rate of x by keeping every nth sample starting with the first
sample. x can be a vector or a matrix. If x is a matrix, each column is considered a separate
sequence.
y = upsample(x,n)
increases the effective sampling rate of x by inserting n−1 zeros between samples. x can be
a vector or a matrix. If x is a matrix, each column is considered a separate sequence. The
upsampled y has x  n samples.
y = resample(x,p,q)
resamples the sequence in vector x at p/q times the original sampling rate, using a polyphase
filter implementation. p and q must be positive integers. The length of y is equal to
ceil(length(x)  p/q). If x is a matrix, resample works down the columns of x.
y = interp(x,r)
increases the sampling rate of x by a factor of r. The interpolated vector y is r times longer
than the original input x.
y = decimate(x,r)
reduces the sampling rate of x by a factor of r. The decimated vector y is r times shorter
in length than the input vector x. By default, decimate employs an eighth-order lowpass
Chebyshev Type I filter. It filters the input sequence in both the forward and reverse
directions to remove all phase distortion, effectively doubling the filter order.
Try:
load mtlb
sound(mtlb,Fs)
mtlb4 = downsample(mtlb,4)
mtlb8 = downsample(mtlb,8)
sound(mtlb8,fs/8)
What are the sizes of mtlb, mtlb4, and mtlb8?
(If sound doesn’t work, plot the signals.)
t = 0:0.00025:1;
x = sin(2*pi*30*t) + sin(2*pi*60*t);
y = decimate(x,4);
subplot(211), stem(x(1:120))
axis([0 120 -2 2])
title(’Original Signal’)
subplot(212), stem(y(1:30))
title(’Decimated Signal’)
Modulation and Demodulation
Modulation varies the amplitude, phase, or frequency of a carrier signal with reference to a
message signal.
The Matlab modulate function modulates a message signal with a specified modulation
method. The syntax is
y = modulate(x,fc,fs,’method’)
where:
• x is the message signal.
• fc is the carrier frequency.
• fs is the sampling frequency.
• method is a flag for the desired modulation method (see table below).
Method Description
amdsb-sc or am Amplitude modulation, double side-band, suppressed carrier
amdsb-tc Amplitude modulation, double side-band, transmitted carrier
amssb Amplitude modulation, single side-band
fm Frequency modulation
pm Phase modulation
ppm Pulse position modulation
pwm Pulse width modulation
qam Quadrature amplitude modulation
The demod function performs demodulation, that is, it obtains the original message signal
from the modulated signal. The syntax is:
x = demod(y,fs,fs,’method’)
demod uses any of the methods shown for modulate. The signal x is attenuated relative to
y because demodulation uses lowpass filtering.
Exercise: High and Low
1. Create a signal equal to the sum of two sine waves with the following characteristics:
• 3-second duration
• Sampling frequency = 2 kHz
• Sinusoid 1: frequency 50 Hz (low), amplitude 10, phase = 0
• Sinusoid 2: frequency 950 Hz (high), amplitude 1, phase = 0
2. View and listen to the signal using an M-file
3. Import the signal into SPTool and view it. Listen to the signal.
HAND IN:
ANSWERS TO ALL QUESTIONS STARTING WITH THE LETTER Q IN
FRONT OF IT.
(The material in this lab handout was put together by Paul Beliveau and derives principally from
the MathWorks training document “MATLAB for Signal Processing”, 2006.)

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Maybe the starting point of a profitable blog is a great topic, but there is definitely more to the business than that. There are two options a blogger has when trying to make the page generate revenue from advertising: either to stay on top of other blogs or provide good-quality material that ensures a high readership. Though the former option may look like the true Internet promise, things are slightly different when you have to achieve a high ad click rate. Let's see the dos and don'ts of blogging when it comes to making money from advertising.

First of all, you need to consider the number of readers you target with the blog articles, and set an average or modest click rate in case the domain you're dealing with is not a very common one. You may get valuable clicks, but they may not be enough to generate the income you need; therefore, always try to maintain a balance between the advertising rate you set for the blog and the amount of traffic you manage to draw by well-researched, informational content. The best Google program to use here is definitely Adsense, but keep in mind that the ads are relevant for the site material and vice versa, hence, focus on quality not quantity.

One of the smartest ways to attract traffic and therefore increase the chances to get more ad clicks is by the use of continuation links. All you have to do is post a link with an excerpt from the blog article and post it on the main page. The whole point is to make it catchy: the reader sees it, interest rises and he or she clicks on the link to get to the body of the story. If you only post the title of an article within the link, you risk that the visitor leave the page without actually minding the post.

Don't make the mistake of linking your blog only to top pages in the business. Yes, there are sites that are considered reference points in the field, and you actually risk of orienting the reader's attention towards a competitor. Links are great tools, but they are not everything for a blog: first comes nice, unique information, and only then should you focus on directing the reader to other similar pages. The best links to use are those that take the visitor to a detailed explanation of the information on your blog, while also allowing the return to the initial page. Good luck!

Blogging 101

Once the secret of blogging was out, the interest in special tips and tricks to make it profitable soon knew a remarkable upsurge. The 101 revealed secrets for highly profitable blogs has actually become a common notion online, since the competition is tight, and achieving good blog traffic becomes crucial for the survival online. If you make a top ten list of the best ways to improve traffic and you simply post it on your blog, you could soon realize there are plenty of people who take it as a rule of the thumb and pass it on like a hot potato.

One such blogging 101 trick is to get links or profiles on very popular websites that have already got a great name in the business. How can you convince them to accept your request? Well, sometimes it pretty much depends on good fortune, but usually, you'll have to email them an intention letter with a detail description of your blog. It would probably be a good idea if you looked for some online marketing tips before presenting the hot features of your web page. Don't worry if you don't get results from the first attempts, try with others, since once you get a link on their site, your blog will profit immensely.

We cannot avoid mentioning the fact that there are all sorts of “hidden” tricks that are nevertheless used to attract traffic and increase rankings. For instance, blog popularity often comes when links to your pages are added multiple times on other sites, not to mention that the creation of a large number of accounts also leads to a higher ranking thanks to the bonus points that are usually offered in return. Some bloggers have used innovative, yet doubtful, methods, such as Google, Yahoo or Microsoft site purchase to increase their traffic and the list of examples could easily go on.

In order to spread the word about your blog, you can always turn to RSS; this is probably one of the best ways to make a special intro for a new blog on the web. Most blog services are also RSS feed generators, in case you lack this tool, you can always turn to FeedForAll software to create the feeds. A site such as www.feedforall.com will definitely be a good starting point for a novice of the blogging adventure, since, presently the RSS is the best means of making your blog popular.

Blogging – What's it all about?

Blogging is one of the most popular Internet-related phenomenon that has incited the curiosity of millions of people all over the world; it represents a great opportunity for those who create blogs and for those who use them. Very often qualified as the trend of keeping personal diaries online, blogging is far more complex owing to the fact that every web log carries the touch of the owner's imagination, interest and wit. The range of topics blogs deal with is incredibly wide: from politics and economics to sky diving and snorkeling. The next very important aspect after blog content is actually the interactive format of the pages that allows users to take action on the site.

Part of the history of blogging includes the very first attempts to run an account of one's personal life, and many of the blog owners liked to call themselves journalists or diarists. In the early days of blogging around the mid-90s, people enjoyed the experience of belonging to the online community that went beyond all sorts of boundaries. This was the time when the very first combination of text, pictures and videos were included in a blog, as the most accurate way of reflecting one's life. Sometimes, bloggers transmitted live images with the help of various portable devices, creating the so-called semi-automated blogging.

At the beginning, blogs were not individual pages, as they mainly functioned as components of larger websites; nevertheless, with the rapid development of technologies, it came into everyone's power to create and support a personal independent web log. The only condition to enjoy a successful blogging experience is to stick to high quality content that makes any visitor return to the site and even take action on it. Creativity and innovation are probably the best ways to define the blogging experience since we can identify a true craze to be seen online.

Presently, you can find guides to creating successful blogs, since, many small business owners perceive the phenomenon as a great chance to promote products and services online. Blogs are presently part of the Internet marketing strategies anyone should use as included within online advertising campaigns; the great advantage of blogging is that it mainly targets potential customers, reducing the number of uninterested users. We could say that thanks to advertising and Internet marketing, blogging has actually become a very promising type of business.

Blogging – ten sites you need to know

Now that you are part of the blogging phenomenon that has spread all around the world, or you simply aspire to learn something about the online community, there is plenty of assistance you can find online to help you optimize your own blog the best way you want.

For instance, a host giant like www.xanga.com provides a great chance to start a blog on your own; it is a good opportunity for anyone interested in joining a world-wide community that shares pictures, videos, thoughts and points of view. Furthermore, you'll also get precious information from many domains.

Another such great host site is www.myspace.com where you may register your blog under a variety of categories depending on the theme and topic. There is a wide selection of users and definitely good quality traffic if you make the blog worth visiting.

For those who want to make some money with their blogs, by advertising, I strongly recommend www.adsense.com, a Google-joint program that enables bloggers to make a really good income. How come? On this site you closely follow all the necessary steps to choose the ads (both images and text) that best match your blog content.

It is the same business direction that triggers lots of queries in terms of Internet marketing: you may learn more about the bright or the dark sides of the web by having a look at http://www.marketingquickiesv2.com/ionut/first20.html.

Blogging takes time and effort, and you can definitely avoid some mistakes other pros warn against by permanently inquiring on new stratagems to use with Adsense; after all you have to make as much money as you can. Hence, http://www.marketingquickiesv2.com/adsense-adwords-marketing.html is a site that should teach you something.

You should also need to subscribe to one of the many sites that provide blog lists so that you may be more easily found by interested users. http://www.blogcatalog.com/ is a good choice to promote your blog and create traffic.

In the same listing categories we have to mention the giant http://dir.yahoo.com/news_and_media/blogs/ that is one comprehensive directory where you'll definitely want to have your blog subscribed. The same stays true for http://directory.google.com/Top/Computers/Internet/On_the_Web/Weblogs/ that functions according to the same working principles.

We should also point out to a “blog on blogs” that is definitely worth visiting given the large amount of information on the topic: http://www.problogger.net/. For someone who is just learning the rules of the game, there is much to find out here!

Last but not least, there are all sorts of professional sites that can help you with the tools you actually need for blogging. Here I refer to http://asymptomatic.net/blogbreakdown.htm and other similar pages that may guide and assist you in the attempt to find the software that best matches your blog. Good luck!

Blog Traffic - Web 2.0 traffic tactics

The blogging phenomenon perfectly integrates in the second generation of web services know as Web 2.0 since this is the most convenient platform for all Internet moves. What is there for bloggers with Web 2.0? First of all, the whole aim of the new web-technology is to facilitate collaboration and sharing between users, on the one hand, and increase the usage rate on the other hand. The next legitimate question that rises here touches on the best ways to attract traffic in the conditions of the transition to blogs that are sources of highly functional content.

First and foremost, we need to say here that with blogs web information is no longer centralized in terms of authority, not to mention that the freedom to use and re-use material is limitless. From a certain point of view blogs become a real market, in which content is the transaction environment. Hence, Web 2.0 traffic tactics mainly gravitate around the optimization of blog articles for advanced search on the search engines. Though it may be very tempting, don't aim too high from the very beginning, it is almost impossible to get large numbers of visitors form the first blogging days.

The key to getting good traffic is perseverance and service quality. Content has to be re-freshed every week if not more often; in order to make that an easier task, it is enough to change some of the content, even if you don't replace it all. With the large number of applications available with Web 2.0, you should place a Google search box directly on the site, so that any user may find it comfortable to perform any further search directly from your blog page. What's there for you? You make the user spend more time on the site and, consequently, you increase the chances of his or her returning to the blog in the future.

People are now more interested in blogs that have RSS feeds; well, you'll have to let Internet users know that as soon as you can! Initially, graphics were the best means to indicate the presence of an RSS feed; the great advantage now is that you can adjust the very colors used for this attention sign to the theme or topic specific to the blog itself. The system is created in such an easy to use way that all you have to do is insert the text and the color scheme and then a graphic pattern is generated immediately.