As’salaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakaatu,

Dear brothers and sisters in Islam – the questions listed below deserve our attention right now. and are worthy of a serious discussion by fellow Muslim bloggers – both the experienced and the new.  Every question on this list has the connecting thread of La I’laaha Il’lallah, but our servitude to Allah through our blogging may be expressed in different ways.

To a certain degree, you have to take yourself out of the picture to answer these questions honestly.  For just a few moments we need to forget what we like doing and think about if it is worth doing.

The first time you comment, please place a link to your blog with a brief ( <25 word) description so that others can connect your reflections with the type of content you are writing.  Here are the questions.  I look forward to a serious, mature, and respectful discussion in the comments section below.

1. Is blogging really the most productive thing I could be doing with my time?
2. How has this really increased my relationship with Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’aala)?
3. Are the posts and topics I write about really what we, as Muslims, need to focus on?
4. To what extent should we share our views?
5. Where is the line between open discussion and speaking without knowledge?
6. What practical effects should Taqwa have on our blogging?
7. Am I responsible to filter comments?
8. When does blogging become vain talk?
9. Will I be able to explain why I spent my time blogging on the Day of Judgment?

If you have any suggestions about additional questions that Muslim Blogger MUST ask themselves then please share it.

(Photo: Oberazzi)

Some of these plugins make changes to the design of your blog or add tools to make the experience on your blog better for readers.  Others enhance the back-end and make the writing process and SEO functions much easier to deal with.

So what are the 11 must-have plugins for your WordPress blog?

1. Akismet - This helps to prevent spam and is unbelievably good.  It comes standard with all WordPress installs but if you don’t have it for some reason or deleted it, get it now.
   
2. All in One SEO Pack – Optimize your blog for search engines to find and index you quickly
   
3. Google XML Sitemaps – Another plugin that does an amazing job in the world of SEO
   
4. TinyMCE Advanced – 15 extra tools available to you when writing a blog post
   
5. TweetMeme Button – Make it easier to get your posts retweeted
   
6. WordPress.com Popular Posts – A simple way to get a widget with your most popular posts.  You can also customize how that list is made.
   
7. WordPress.com Stats – In addition to Google Analytics, this is a quick  way to get an update on who comes to your blog and the posts they read
   
8. PollDaddy Polls & Ratings – I use PollDaddy for polls and surveys.  They have free and paid accounts but I find that the free one does more than I need at this stage.  This plugin makes PollDaddy easier to use
   
9. WPtouch iPhone Theme – Anyone visiting your blog from an iPhone, iPod Touch, Android, WebOS, BlackBerry, or Opera Mini will see a customized version.  It runs in the background without interrupting anything so there’s no reason not to use it.
   
10. Contact Form 7 – Let your readers contact you with this plugin.  It takes a few moments to set up but once its up, it works as expected
    
11. Simple Tags – Auto-generate tags and edit your posts’ tags in batches with this.  Awesome plugin.

Do you use any of these plugins on your blog?  If so, what is your experience with them?  What other plugins do you use?

Help your fellow Muslim bloggers out.  Share with us the plugins you use to make the blogging experience a better one.

Update: One of the commenters below (Ayaz) asked about plugins for social bookmarking.  Here are links to three different social bookmarking plugins: SexyBookmarks, Sociable, and Social Bookmarks.

This is where the Muslim blogger (that’s all of us) differs from others.  Let’s get straight to the questions of how to pick a topic and niche (audience) for your blog.

Discover Your Passions

Take a few moments to list all the things you are passionate about.  Don’t stop to think about each one at first – just take 60-120 seconds and keep writing.  Later on we will go back and filter it out but, for now, don’t underestimate the importance of this step.  This will help you organize your thoughts, provide you a more comprehensive list of your interests, and set you up for the next step.

Remember that your readers will know whether or not you are actually passionate about your topic; it will be reflected in your writing.

Start filtering

Look through the list you just created and begin crossing off the ones that you merely enjoy reading or learning about.  What should be left are topics that you are knowledgeable about – topics that you are willing to put in time to research about.  The list should also be narrowed down to a topic you see yourself writing about for (at least) the next few years.

When you start your blog, you are automatically placing yourself as an “expert” in that field.  It is not necessary for you in fact to be an expert in the field.  However,  whatever topic you decide to move forward with should be one that you have a certain degree of experience in.  People won’t expect you to know all there is to know about the topic, but they will expect you to provide some sort of valuable content they can’t find elsewhere.

Connect your topic with the Day of Judgment

There is, of course, a line between writing about something you are passionate about and a topic that may be completely useless.  I’m not talking about whether or not the topic is popular.  This is about us standing before Allah on the Day of Judgment and being asked about how we used our time.

In one way or another, your blog has to connect with worshipping Allah and spreading the message of Islam.  Here are some quick ideas for topics that might not seem directly related to the deen and how we can “Islamicize” them:

Technology
How can we use the latest technology for street dawah?
A list of ways Islamic schools can use computers to enhance their education
Inform parents how to monitor the websites their children are visiting

Productivity
How can Muslims continue worshipping Allah properly during exam time?
What are the different methods that people use to memorize Qur’an?
Share examples of how the Prophet (pbuh) and his companions used their time

Culture
How can we embrace culture without compromising our deen in any way?
Discuss the various cultures throughout Islamic history
Connect the emphasis on good manners in Islam with cultural etiquette

That’s just a few examples of posts for different topics.  Of course, it may not be that simple with all our posts or even the majority.  However, at no time should we forget that our intentions, our writing, and all the time we spent on our blog will be asked about on the Day of Judgment – and we better have answer….for our own sake.

How much time can you dedicate to your blog?

Calculate the approximate amount of time you can afford to put into your blog.  If you don’t have much time to dedicate, don’t pick a topic that requires constant updating (like cell phones for example).  No matter how much you love the topic or how much content you can write, if you can’t keep up with the other competing blogs then your readers will just go somewhere else.

Keep in mind that blogging is a lot more than writing.  You’ll want to take into consideration the time it takes to:

• Edit your posts, participate in the comments section,
• Research and learn more about your topic,
• Connecting with other Muslim bloggers in some way, and taking the
• Time to follow-up with the back-end data (Google Analytics, advertising stats, affiliate programs, etc…)

All of these elements are key to starting and running a successful blog.  The last one on the list varies depending on how much you are tracking.  Many of us are not keeping track of the data simply to check how much money was made from ads or the number of people visiting.  If you use Google Analytics you’ll want to take some time to make lists of your most popular posts, the types of visitors that are coming, search terms that people are using to get to your site from search engines, and other important pieces of information.  If you use AdSense, you’ll want to find out which ad sizes are making the most and where they are placed.

So take all of these factors into consideration when you are figuring out how much time you have available for blogging.

Research your peers (a.k.a your competition)

Spend some time searching for other bloggers (Muslim or non-Muslim) who share your passion and interest in the topic.  Subscribe to their RSS feed, sign-up for their newsletter, read up on what they have to say about the topic, and participate in the discussions if you can.

In a healthy way, Insha’Allah, the blogs that you find are your direct competition.  Find out what topics they are not covering that deserve to be written about.  Connect with them and help each other to become better, more knowledgeable bloggers.   Competition doesn’t mean bashing or avoiding linking to their blogs.  As Muslim bloggers, we are always looking for the best interest of our fellow Muslim brothers and sisters.  As the Prophet (pbuh) said:

“None of you can truly be said to believe until he wants for his brother what he wants for himself.” (Bukhari)

Picking a niche

Once you’ve found your topic, the next step is to pick a specific audience that you want to write to.  For The Muslim Blogger, I selected to write specifically to the Muslim blogging community.  However, you may choose to write towards Muslim youth or maybe just anyone that has an interest in your topic.

Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind is that your blog must be a way to spread the message of Islam for the reasons that will be discussed below.  So if your blog is about business management and it is not geared to Muslims exclusively, don’t leave out words like Insha’Allah or Alhamdulillah.  Rather, use them like any Muslim should and provide a page that defines/explains Islamic terminology.  If there is a relevant hadith or ayah you can place in your blog post, use it.

Teach people that whatever the topic is, Allah’s religion has a position:

“This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islaam as your religion” (Al-Maidah:3)

Of course, we still need to recognize and stay within the limits of our knowledge when including ahadaith or ayat- but as Allah tells us Ibrahim said in the Qur’an:

“And who is better in speech than the one who calls to Allah, and does what is just and right, and says ‘Verily, I am of those who have surrendered themselves to Allah’”? (Fussilat:33)

Follow the series:
Blogging 101 [Intro]: The Complete Guide to Muslim Blogging
Blogging 101 [Part 1]: Starting in the Right Direction: Pray Istikhaara
Blogging 101 [Part 2]: Selecting a Topic and Niche
Blogging 101 [Part 3]: Coming Soon…

It’s easy to get caught up in picking a domain name, a webhost, a blogging platform(WordPress, Blogger), the template, and all the other factors that come into play when launching a blog.  More often than not, however, we forget to turn to Allah to ask Him about the decisions we want to make.

There is a specific du’a the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) taught us to say before making any decisions; this is called istikhaara.Turning to Allah through istikhaara is a crucial step that cannot be left out.  It’s a step that should be there before switching templates, picking a topic, or any other single decision that you may make.  If you aren’t familiar with it, you can learn how istikhaara works here.

With the right intention, this du’a will do one of two things:
1) Make the blog the exact thing you need to come closer to Allah
2) Push you in the opposite direction towards something more beneficial for you.

Never forgot that Allah is Al-Hakim (the Most-Wise) and that we are His slaves and servants.  We are turning to Allah to make us from those who have an understanding of the Qur’an/Sunnah and how we can apply it to our blogs.

So what is the first step to becoming a successful Muslim blogger?  Pray istikhaara about starting a blog.

Follow the series:
Blogging 101 [Intro]: The Complete Guide to Muslim Blogging
Blogging 101 [Part 1]: Starting in the Right Direction: Pray Istikhaara
Blogging 101 [Part 2]: Selecting a Topic and Niche
Blogging 101 [Part 3]: Coming Soon…

Being a Muslim must have a direct impact on our blogs.  At no single moment should we ever forget who we are: the slaves and servants of Allah.  As Muslims, we must find out how to become successful bloggers while fulfilling our purpose in life.  That is the question The Muslim Blogger tries to answer so that, Insha’Allah, our efforts to serve Allah will not go to waste.

Blogging 101: The Complete Guide to Muslim Blogging is a series that will cover everything you need to know to get your blog started and keep it going.

Each post in the series, Insha’Allah, will be practical and easy to implement on your own blog.  Here are just a few of the topics you will learn about:

• Starting your own blog
• How to write compelling posts
• The best tips to get more traffic
• Ways to keep your readers engaged
• Where to find the best themes
• And so much more

It’s important for every Muslim blogger to follow this series of posts and contribute by commenting, offering to write a guest post, or getting the word out on your own blogs and social networks.

One thing I ask from everyone though is to please contact me if you find that I have said or indirectly encouraged anything that may displease Allah.   I ask Allah to make all of us have the most pure of intentions in our hearts, to use our skills for His sake in the correct way, and to make this series beneficial to all of us.

Follow the series:
Blogging 101 [Intro]: The Complete Guide to Muslim Blogging
Blogging 101 [Part 1]: Starting in the Right Direction: Pray Istikhaara
Blogging 101 [Part 2]: Selecting a Topic and Niche
Blogging 101 [Part 3]: Coming Soon…

Update (01/2010): Neither logo is being used since TMB redesigned the site/layout.

The new TMB logo is up compliments of an awesome designer: Saad Tasleem from www.saadtasleem.com. Now the question is – what do YOU think about the new logo?

I placed a poll in this post to make it easy.  If you want to leave any additional comments, the comments section is down below.  Jazakumullahu Khayran to Saad Tasleem for designing it and to all the readers of The Muslim Blogger.

The old TMB logo

The new TMB logo

I follow about 30-40 blogs using Google Reader.  Among them are Engadget, Gizmodo, Write to Done, LifeHacker, and  others.  But, I also keep up-to-date with a number of Muslim blogs.

So start sharing the Muslim blogs you enjoy reading with others in the comments section.

If you want to share and promote your blog  – head over to Post Your Blog Address.

(Photo: brentdanley)

Recently, I covered the question of how often you should update your blog. That post didn’t come from some idea that I had floating in my head.  It was written based on my own personal failure to really think about and look into the topic.

In this post I want to cover 6 more points that we all need to be aware, and stay aware, of.

_________________________________________

1. The Title – Crafting a title is more difficult than I imagined it would be. But know this my fellow bloggers – the title is one of the most important factors in determining the success of a particular post. Usually, I come up with 3-5 titles before publishing and even then I may not be fully satisfied.  The changes won’t necessarily be major ones.  For this post, I made 3 minor changes to the title.  I’ve included them here for you to take a look at.  The changes made in each are in red.

• Things I’ve Learned Since Starting This Blog
  
• 6 Things I’ve Learned Since Starting This Blog
• 6 Things I’ve Learned Since Start The Muslim Blogger
  

2. The Intro - The first sentence, maybe first paragraph, of your blog should almost always be deleted when you’re finished. Rarely is the sentence you started with in sync with the rest of the post. As a matter of fact, I ended up deleting the first three paragraphs of this post before putting it up for you to read.

Just so you know, this isn’t necessarily something bad.  From time to time, you may find yourself so stuck on constructing a great introduction that you never get around to writing the post.  A good writer recognizes a mental/creative block and works around it.

Be sure you closely examine the intro of your post before presenting it to your readers.  And be sure to ask yourself whether your opening is actually contributing to the post.

3. The Wording - Focus on the wording later. Before you start worrying whether you communicated the idea correctly, figure out what it is you want to communicate.  Readers come to your blog to learn something.  While they do appreciate good writing and quickly frown upon the opposite – the wording of your post should not be your priority at this point.

Write your ideas down and draft your post. When you go back to edit or proofread, that’s when you start focusing on how you said it.

4. The Organization - Staying organized cannot be underestimated. This I knew and expected but what I’ve learned is that if you want to take blogging seriously then staying organized is not an option. Allowing yourself to lose control can quickly turn into a nightmare

Your readers will also know if you’re not an organized blogger.  That doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t continue to read and appreciate your work – it doesn’t mean that at all.  However, if you want to truly give back to your readers and entice new people to visit (and revisit) your blog then you have to be on top of things.

5. The Numbers – Don’t allow the numbers to affect you. Some of you might use Google Analytics, the built-in WordPress stats app, or some other method of gathering statistics about visitors to your blog. All of these are great tools that can give you a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t, the type of posts your readers are interested in, and how to maximize your ad revenue.  However, if you decide to use those then do not let the numbers become an obsession that drives your writing.  What drives you and gives you the desire to write should be the passion you have for a particular topic.

6. The Readers – Respond to your readers. Since the start of The Muslim Blogger, I’ve received multiple e-mails asking me for quick advice or to take a look at their blog and give them feedback. Others have been asking about blogging or writing in general. Whatever the case may be, be responsive.  Responding to personal e-mails from your readers is just as important as interacting with them in the comments section.

________________________

These are a mere six lessons learned I thought would be useful to share.  Without a doubt, there will be countless more in the future.  But that’s just me.  I want to hear about you. Some of you are new to blogging and others of you have been active in the blogosphere for quite some time.

So newbies and veterans alike I ask you – what lessons have you learned since your started your blog?

(Photo: oskay)

At the beginning stage of our blogs, we tend to post updates very often. Not only are the posts that we put up at the beginning full of content and energy, but we ourselves feel great when we write them. Soon enough though, we lose that initial rush and we begin to do two things: write posts that are of lesser of quality and sometimes we even have to force ourselves to write anything at all.

I myself fell victim to this and eventually burned out. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing though. As a matter of fact, I learned a great deal from it. Today, I want to share with you what I’ve learned when it comes to how how often we should be updating our blogs.

There is no universal blogging standard as to how often you should update your blog. Let’s go through a couple of pointers that can help your blog grow – even if you just started:

There is no standard

Different blogs will update at different intervals. This point actually requires that you do some basic research. Look at some other blogs in your niche to discover how often they are updating. Remember, you are not basing your decision purely on how often other blogs post – but it is part of it.

For example, if you love technology and decide you want to enter some niche in that area, you’ll soon find out that you have to update often a lot. Technology-related blogs require up-to-date information and succeed usually on how fast information gets out. Consider blogs like Engadget or Gizmodo that do live-blogging of events like at MacWorld. Those blogs don’t just release information when it gets leaked to the press, they are also at the events writing about it as it happens.

What you need to worry about is how to develop your own style. In the meantime, one thing you have to do is…

Be consistant

The majority of blogs (such as this one) cover topics that are not time-sensitive. What I mean by that is that a post I write today can be just as relevant 5 years from now as it is when you first read it. I picked a niche that, for the most part, has information and tips that don’t “expire”.

Look at your life and see what a realistic number of posting per week is. If you are a college student who has a job, then it’s probably not a good idea to try to write a post everyday. Remember that successful bloggers can recognize their limits and then efficiently use the time that they do have.

Create a schedule

Being consistant is important, but in order to be consistant you must create a schedule. It’s not necessary that you sit down and prepare a physical schedule (although I would recommend doing that). But, you should have an idea in your own head which days you will sit down to brainstorm, write, edit, and post.

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How often you update your blog ultimately comes down to achieving a balance between what you are able to do and what you have to do to keep your blog rolling. I’m wondering how often you guys update your blogs. Have you fallen into the same hole as me – the burnout? If you have, what tips do you have for the rest of us?

(Photo:gadl)

I’m going to be taking a break from blogging for the last 10 nights of Ramadan and the first few days of Eid.  Jazakumullahu Khayran for coming and I look forward to coming back in about 12 days.

In the meantime, here is an e-mail I received about exherting ourselves during the last 10 days of Ramadan.  I ask Allah (swt) to enter this person into the highest levels of Jannah, forgive all of their sins, and provide them with the best of this life and the next.  And now, the e-mail:

______________

“Assalamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatu,

As the last ten nights are upon us, and Allah has blessed us to reach them, I thought I’d share this following article and in it are beautiful reminders, which incite us to truly take advantage of our time, be immersed in the worship of Allah ta’ala, and rush towards goodness during these last ten days. May Allah ta’ala accept our fast, our salaah, and all our good deeds, and make us of those who are engaged in increased worship in the coming days. Ameen

EXERTING ONESELF DURING THE LAST TEN DAYS OF RAMADHAAN
‘Abdullaah bin Saalih Al-Fawzaan | Ahaadeeth As-Siyaam: Ahkaam wa Adaab (pg. 133-135)

Al-Ibaanah.com

‘Aa’ishah (radyAllahau ‘anhaa) said: “When the last ten days (of Ramadaan) would come, the Prophet (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) would spend his night in worship, wake his family (at night), exert himself and tighten his Izaar (waistcloth).” [1]

This hadeeth is proof that the last ten days of Ramadaan have a special virtue over any other (set of days), in which one should increase in obedience and acts of worship, such as prayer, making dhikr (remembrance) and reciting the Qur’aan.

‘Aa’ishah (radyAllahau ‘anhaa) has described our Prophet and role model, Muhammad (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), with four attributes:

1. He (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) would “spend his night in worship”, meaning he would not sleep during it. Thus, he (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) would remain awake throughout it in worship and he would liven his soul by spending the night in sleeplessness. This is since sleep is the brother of death. The meaning of “spend his night” is that he (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) would spend all of it in the state of qiyaam (night prayer) and performing acts of worship that are done for the sake of Allaah, Lord of the worlds. We must remember that the last ten days of Ramadaan are fixed and numbered.

As for what has been reported concerning the forbiddance of spending the entire night in prayer, which has been mentioned in the hadeeth of ‘Abdullaah Ibn ‘Amr (radyAllahau ‘anhu) , then it is in regards to someone who does that consistently throughout every night of the year.

2. He (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) would “wake up his family” meaning his (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) pure wives, the Mothers of the Believers, so that they may take part in the profiting of good, the dhikr (remembrance) and the acts of worship during these blessed times.

3. He (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) would “exert himself”, meaning he (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) would persevere and struggle in worship, adding more to his deeds than what he had done in the first twenty days (of Ramadaan). He only did this because the night of Al-Qadr occurs during one of these (last ten) days.

4. He (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) would “tighten his Izaar (waistcloth)” meaning he would exert himself and struggle intensely in worship. It is also said that it means he (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) would withdraw from women. This seems to be more correct since it inclines with what was mentioned previously and with the hadeeth of Anas (radyAllahau ‘anhu): “He (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) would rollup his bed and withdraw from women (i.e. his wives).” [2]

Also, he (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) would observe ‘Itikaaf in the last ten days of Ramadaan and the person who is in the state of ‘Itikaaf is restricted from interacting (sexually) with women.

So, O Muslim brother, strive to characterize yourself with these attributes. And guard the prayer you make in the depths of the night (tahajjud) with the Imaam in addition to the Taraaweeh prayer (which is prayed in the early parts of the night), so that your exertion in these last ten days may go beyond that of the first twenty. And so that you may achieve the attribute of “spending the night in worship” by praying.

And you must be patient in your obedience to Allaah, for indeed, the tahajjud (night) prayer is difficult, but its reward is great. By Allaah, it is a great opportunity in ones life and a profitable thing to take advantage of, for the one whom Allaah grants it to. And a person does not know if perhaps he will encounter one of Allaah’s many rewards during the night prayer, thus serving as assistance for him in this world and in the Hereafter.

The righteous predecessors of this ummah would lengthen the prayer at night, exerting themselves. As-Saa’ib Ibn Yazeed said: “‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab ordered Ubay Bin Ka’ab and Tameem Ad-Daaree to lead the people in prayer with eleven raka’aat. The reciter would recite one hundred verses, to the point that we had to lean upon wooden staffs due to the long standing. And we would not stop until the early parts of Fajr.” [3]

‘Abdullaah Ibn Abee Bakr reported: “I heard my father (i.e. Abu Bakr) say: ‘During Ramadaan, we would finish (the night prayer) late and we would hurry the servants to present the food (of suhoor) for fear that Fajr (morning) would come upon us.” [4]

There are two struggles of the soul that the believer faces during Ramadaan: the struggle by day with fasting and the struggle by night with qiyaam (night prayer). So whosoever combines these two and fulfills their rights, then he is amongst the patient — those who will “be given their reward in full without any reckoning.” [5]

These ten days are the last part of the month and a person’s actions are based on his last ones. So perhaps, he will encounter the night of Al-Qadr, while standing in prayer for Allaah and thus have all his past sins forgiven.

And one must incite, animate and persuade his family to perform acts of worship, especially in these great times in which no one neglects it except that he has been deprived. What is more incredible than this is that while the people are performing prayer and making tahajjud, some individuals spend their time in forbidden gatherings and sinful events. This is indeed the greatest loss. We ask Allaah for his protection.

Therefore, embarking on these last days means entering into the profiting from righteous deeds in what remains of the month. From the unfortunate matters is to see that some people excel in righteous actions, such as prayer and recitation of the Qur’aan, in the first part of the month, but then signs of fatigue and weariness begin to show on them afterwards, especially when the last ten days of Ramadaan come in. And this is in spite of these last ten days possessing a greater standing than the first ones. Thus, one must persevere in striving and struggling and increase his worship when the end of the month draws near. And we must keep in mind that a person’s actions are based on his last ones.

Footnotes:

[1] Al-Bukhaaree (4/269) and Muslim (1174)

[2] See Lataa’if-ul-Ma’aarif: pg. 219

[3] See Al-Muwatta (Eng. Dar El-Fiker): vol. 1, pg 154

[4] Also in the Muwatta of Imaam Maalik: vol. 1, pg. 156

[5] Surah Az-Zumar: 15

–
Whoever prays with the Imaam until he finishes, it is recorded for him that he prayed the entire night

Reported by Abu Dawood (no.1375) and At-Tirmidhee (no. 1806) and authenticated by Al-Albaanee”

(Photo: radiant guy)