If you find yourself anywhere on the Internet today, you’re either going to get bombarded with articles about the Apple iPhone 3G or free Slurpee day. To help you find a little reprieve from that bombardment, I have decided to cast both of those topics completely aside for this week’s edition of In The Sphere. You won’t find anything about the iPhone in this post. On with the show!

Problogger Darren Rowse has been doing the Plurk thing for one month now and he seems to be enjoying the micro-blogging service very much. In fact, he says that Plurk is a more effective source of traffic than Twitter. Are you Plurking yet?

Killer Startups is still all over the Twitter bandwagon, recognizing that many people may hold multiple accounts. How can you possibly manage them all? Enter Matt. More specifically, enter TheMattinator, an online tool that lets you log in (and use) as many Twitter accounts as you’d like at the same time. No more need for multiple clients to handle multiple accounts.

Zac Johnson refers to himself as a super affiliate, so I guess he knows a thing or two about that kind of game. As such, his opinion on Top Affiliate Challenge went wrong is one that carries a fair bit of weight. I wonder if the TAC execs are paying attention for their next Internet reality show…

Tyler Ingram recently celebrated a six-month anniversary with Robyn. No, they didn’t go on an exotic trip to Cancun. Instead, Tyler and Robyn happily enjoyed a Vancouver sunset dinner cruise. You get a decent meal and a refreshing tour of the Vancouver harbour area. Looking sharp there, Tyler!

Kevan Gilbert learned a lot of things from the most recent Pixar animated movie, but the single greatest lesson that we can take away from Wall*E is that we should stop wallowing. With the whimsical curiosity of a child, Wall*E teaches us to open our eyes for the first time.

For this week’s edition of In The Sphere, we take a look at local bloggers from the Metro Vancouver area. As you may already know, Vancouver is quickly becoming quite the hub for technology, blogging, and the Internet.

John Chow is perhaps best known for being a dot com mogul, but he’s currently in Nebraska participating in the Top Affiliate Challenge. No, he’s not there as a contestant. He’s bigger than that. John is one of three Internet gurus leading teams of would-be top affiliates. Will his team come out on top?

Buzz Bishop is totally in tune with the latest happenings on the net, so when a new social network pops on the scene — especially one that is based locally — you know that he’s all over it. Move over Facebook and MySpace, because Kinzin is much more friendly to the less tech-savvy crowd. That’s because you can have those posted pictures automatically printed and mailed to grandma.

Darren Barefoot has just had a revelation. The population is getting older and now the average age of a TV viewer is 50. We’re already starting to see many more advertising campaigns catering to the older population and in the next few years, I foresee this trend continuing. Just don’t confuse Fox with Fox News Channel.

John Biehler is as ticked off as anyone over the announced plans for the iPhone through Rogers. There has been a lot of pressure on Rogers to budge on their pricey plans and now Rogers has revised its terms. The wording is a little sketchy, so you’ll have to take this “revision” with a grain of salt.

Mostly Lisa celebrated Canada Day the only way she knows how: by creating a video that parodies Canadians. Happy Canada Day, eh!

With so much great content out there, it can be tough to choose just five blog posts to highlight each Friday. It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Buzz Bishop is totally in tune with the latest and greatest that the technology world has to offer. As we prepare for barbecue season, Buzz has compiled his list of the toys of summer. Are you flipping out for the Flip or are you more inclined to rock out with Rock Band?

Fat Man Unleashed sees a lot of people out there who say that they are going to get in beach-ready shape for the summer, but far too many of these people fall short of their goals. He says that it’s about time that these folks cut the B.S. and get fit. No excuses! If you’re going to get in shape, then get in shape!

Stoney deGeyter recently put up a great tutorial on how to move to a new domain with minimal ranking loss and downtime. If you’ve been meaning to move to a new domain, but are too concerned about the potential loss of traffic and search engine juice, Stoney’s article is well worth a few minutes of your time.

Darren Barefoot isn’t really bound to a single location. He doesn’t necessarily need access to his main computer to perform his daily duties. Allow him to explain why he has (mostly) stopped worrying about data loss. Even if his computer crashes, he has (nearly) everything backed up in some Internet “cloud”.

Tyler Cruz is getting ready for BlogWorld. We’re not talking about a flight and a hotel. Instead, Tyler recognizes the networking potential of the blogging conference and that’s why he got himself some new blog business cards. While the initial concepts weren’t so great, the final product is looking pretty sharp.

Another week has come and gone, so that means that it’s time to take another look at what the blogosphere has to offer. We’ve gathered up quite the eclectic mix of posts for your reading pleasure, so there should be something here for everyone.

While over in Taiwan, Ed Lau got to experience all sorts of new things. He even ate out of a toilet at one point. Even though he is relatively accustomed to the precipitation in Vancouver, it simply does not compare to Taiwan torrential rainfall. In his own words, it’s like a boiling hot waterfall.

If you are reading this post, there’s a good chance that you like to make money online. Bob Buskirk came across an article in Time Magazine that listed the 50 best websites on the ‘net. Being the online entrepreneur that he is, Bob was much more interested in how these sites managed to make money.

There is an ongoing debate as to whether you should offer ‘dofollow’ links on your blog. Among the group that is all for ‘dofollow’ is RT Cunningham of Untwisted Vortex. He likes offering the link love so much that he’s written an article on how ‘dofollow’ links can help your blog. Give a little, get a lot!

Pictures are worth a thousand words and videos can be worth so much more. Unfortunately, you could run into some legal ramifications as a video blogger like the recent headache that Mostly Lisa had to endure. What are your rights? Do you have to ask for permission first before hitting the record button?

Positive thinking can work wonders. By the same accord, negative self-talk can be the only thing holding you back from ultimate success. Laura Spencer of Freelance Folder addresses this very concern and how it applies to all the freelancers and entrepreneurs in the audience.

Today’s roundup of great posts from the blogosphere provides quite the eclectic mix. We’ve got a little something for the adventurous foodies out there, a little something for people who are interested in making money online, and three other posts that will surely keep you entertained (and thinking) over the weekend. Read up and enjoy!

To kick off this edition of In The Sphere, we turn to Four Reasons Why to learn why you shouldn’t buy a 3G iPhone. Everyone seems to be getting pretty excited about the second-generation iPhone, especially in Canada where it will finally be made available on an official basis, but there are reasons why you may not want it too. Steve Jobs would not approve of this list.

While WordPress bloggers have been able to enjoy in-text advertising for some time, Tyler Ingram notes that Kontera is finally adding some support for the Blogger and Drupal users in the audience. If you’ve been using either platform and have been feeling a little left out, the time has no arrived for your Kontera adventures. Another way to make money online is probably a good thing.

International travel can reveal some rather amazing things. Jon Lee recently found himself in Beijing, a city where he was exposed to some rather exceptional street meat. Have you ever tried crunching on a scorpion? How about a seahorse or a deep fried silkworm cocoon? Those are certainly different than the corn dogs we usually enjoy on a stick!

A major measure of a blog’s success is its number of RSS subscribers. Willly Franzen describes a very simple way to increase blog subscribers by 254%. Wording can go a long way, because less savvy Internet users may not understand the meaning of “subscribe” the way that more advanced users do.

Are you in the market for a new truck? Even though gas prices continue to rise, Optempo still recognizes that some people need a decent working truck. Check out his review of the 2008 Toyota Tundra SR5 4×2 to get the full scoop on what this truck has to offer and why you may (or may not) want to buy it.

As we gear up for the weekend, it’s time once again to see what’s going on in the blogosphere. Some of us will be having a nice relaxing weekend, but there are others who are already experiencing withdrawal symptoms from disconnecting from the Internet.

Mostly Lisa went to see her doctor lately and she was told to step away from the computer and find a more ergonomic work space. The warning was that Lisa would severely injure herself. She didn’t listen and the results have not been very good at all.

Daily Writing Tips offers all sorts of useful information that will help you be a better blogger. One of the recent lessons introduces the English verb. Do you know the difference between a transitive and intransitive verb?

Monika Mundell exclaims that while many people are attracted to the lifestyle that can be offered through entrepreneurship, there are also several things that could ruin your entrepreneur spirit. If you’re in a slump, one of these things could be holding you back.

Free Money Finance came across an interesting article in the New York Times that discusses an emerging trend of 20-somethings moving back home. It’s just not as affordable as it used to be, it seems.

Michael Martine answers the age old question: What’s the best way to make it as a blogger? The way of the Jedi or the way of the Sith? Both sides clearly have their strengths, but which school of thought will lead to your ultimate success?