Click programs - why I won't be doing it...

It's your choice but I don't think this is a great way to 'earn'

I see lots of people promoting click programs - I will not be doing that here as I don't really like the way that this type of scheme works. A lot of people regard paid to blog as demeaning, and I am inclined to agree to a point. For me paid to click is one step further... after all, you can't say that you have any real positive input into the process.

What's wrong with it - I have a sneaking suspicion that advertising sales people are selling their schemes by guaranteeing advertisers that they will be exposed to a set number of viewers regardless of the 'quality' of the visitor - The client surely doesn't appreciate that their 'visitors' will be people who are paid to click and view their advert with no interest at all in the 'product'. I don't have any inside information, but put it like this:
Logically why would people pay you to click on adverts or read emails..? Because the advertiser thinks they will get a 'return' from their investment in terms of sales revenue. Does anyone participating in paid email or advert-clicking buy the products??? I suspect not, because they are only there to earn a few cents for opening emails and clicking... They have to get through these without wasting time in order to accumulate enough revenue to make it worth while. Does the advertsing company know this? yep - Does their client know this??? The only conclusion I can reach is that NO they don't otherwise why would they participate?
I realise that my view may not be popular, but there you go - it's out there now, I've said it! Please let me know if you have a different view and especially if you know anything about what keeps paid to read and paid to click schemes going...

Microsoft MGX Conference

For the best accommodation for your stay in Orlando, look no further than the International Plaza Resort and Spa which is not only within walking distance of the convention centre, but is also offering a Microsoft MGX Special Rate .
Relax in the plush surroundings and take advantage of the facilities on offer during your stay. This resort boasts palm-tree-line swimming pools, lagoon with a waterfall feature and two children's pools. You will be able to relax in a hot-tub, play miniature golf and dine in a variety of venues. If you are looking to entertain clients, there are conference and business or even banqueting facilities available. For those who like to be on the go, there is a wide variety of equipment in the spacious fitness suite. As the name suggests the Spa is very popular with guests, here you can be pampered and spoiled with a massage, a facial, a chemical peel or a host of other delights on offer...
The special rates on offer include all the standard facilities of this high standard establishment including free wireless access throughout, complimentary transportation to all the major theme parks and easy access to a host of restaurants and all the famous attractions of International Drive. All this for a special price of $119 per night if you book using the code on the Microsoft MGX Special Rate page.

A blog in a million

Rachel's blog explores all avenues of earning online with honest reviews of the schemes and earnings potential. The blog posts are excellently written, clear, concise and helpful. I have used this blog on many occasions to find out if a scheme is worth pursuing as I hope some people might use my blog for the same reason. Where Rachel and I differ is that I have concentrated on paid to post whereas Rachel has explored a wider spectrum of schemes including paid to read, paid to click and even branched out into online gambling (where you are given the money for your first stake so basically you can't lose).
Turn one pound into one million is information-packed for those that are seriously considering going all out for a supplementary online income. Looking at the blog archive, you see that Rachel started out completing an average of around one post per day, in May this year she managed to complete 75 posts and is up to a phenomenal 141 posts for June already. You are assured of quantity AND quality from this blog, so my recommendation is to mark it as a favourite in Technorati as I have done or get the RSS feed to keep up with the steady stream of sound advice.

Post Code Lottery in NHS (UK)

Follow the link to the original post here: Please Help - An Appeal to UK Residents only

Please find below a message from a fellow UK blogger, if you would like to help, please follow the links to the petition...

I have just had news that a relation has found out that their baby needs treatment for a large birthmark on his face. The parents have just been told that their local Healthcare Trust won't fund laser treatment of the birthmark because they consider it to be cosmetic, not withstanding the fact that nearly every other PCT in the country will treat birthmarks and it is a well established fact that facial disfigurement can have a serious psychological impact.

They've investigated private treatment and not only will it cost tens of thousands of pounds (at least 6 treatments under general anaesthetic) but none of them will treat him till he's 14 years old and for optimal effectiveness it needs doing as soon as possible.

His parents set up a petition on the 10 Downing St site and can be found by clicking here. Would you do me a real favour and put your names to it and pass it on to other folks who may be like-minded?

Thank you so much for your help and support - you have to be a UK resident to be able to sign the petition.

My Fitness Pal - free dieting site

MyFitnessPal is a diet site with a difference - there are no costs involved - it’s FREE! There is a section on foods and their attributes –this section has a database of different foods and can report on fat content, calories etc…

There’s a section on calories used during exercise – again a database of exercises and a place to enter your weight and the duration of the exercise.

A bulletin board so that you can get involved in their community, post comments and questions for like-minded individuals.

I am not one to be that interested in dieting, but out of curiosity I did look to see how many calories I burned playing football last night (680 apparently…) and how many calories were in the chocolate I ate afterwards (1070…ooops). If I was actually on a diet and used the calorie counter, I could have found out that information BEFORE eating the chocolate.

When you register, you can track your diet, your exercise and your weight count to get an overall picture of your progress. They also have a free newsletter you can sign up for which delivers dieting hints and information straight into your inbox.

I am a firm believer that exercise is an important factor in dieting, so was very pleased to see such importance placed on calorie-burning activities.

Reviewback.com

I came across this new website a week or so ago, and it fits with this months Munny4Hunny theme of getting as many links as possible to build up page-rank. This site is a directory of blogs wishing to exchange reviews. It is free to register, and once you are registered you can browse to find like-minded (link-minded?) bloggers or just wait for bloggers to approach you. I registered and, as it happens I have been approached already and am preparing to exchange reviews.
Once you 'accept' the review exchange, it is up to you to sort out terms between yourselves. I had a quick look at the blog of the person who contacted me and noted that they have fewer posts and no PR as yet. As such I thought it fair that they complete a review for me first as I feel my blog 'out-ranks' thiers. I have emailed them this proposal and will wait to see what happens....
Admittedly, results will not be as explosive as some of the viral techniques I have tried, but this method at least is 'organic' and is true to the proper method of gaining Page Rank through back-links.

http://www.reviewback.com

Viral Favicons are here!

How to join the favicon matrix?

Be sure to fill in the three important parts of your viral icon, which is:

• the source of your favicon or ask Linky Love to make one for you,
• the hyperlink to your blog, and
• the alt text which would be used to help the crawlers identify and associate your alt text with your icon.

———Copy and paste the VIRAL-ICONS and instructions below this line———

Instructions:

Important Update - Please read here!

1) Copy and paste the matrix of “Viral Icons” below courtesy of Ilker Yoldas from The Thinking Blog. (to support Ilker’s quest of launching his own Internet Startup with a student budget, please consider subscribing to the Full RSS Feed and enjoy interesting posts in the meantime. "Knowledge grows when shared!").

2) Upload your non-animated favicon (GIF image of size 16×16 pixels) to href="http://www.imageshack.us/">ImageShack, a similar free image hosting server or to your own server provided by your hosting service if you have one.

3) Substitute the Host Icon and one of the “Viral Icons” in the matrix with your ALT text of choice and your blog’s URL. Maximum of 3 specific keywords for the ALT text are best for it to be effective.

4) When you get a ping back from someone that has your icon in one of their “Viral Icons”, practice good karma by copying his/her Host Icon’s code (automatically the associated ALT tag will also be copied) and paste it over one of your “Viral Icons” below.

5) Invite your readers to do the same and soon this can grow virally.

Host Icon:

VIRAL-ICONS

Rules: No Porn Sites, Only 1 icon per person (i.e. don’t hog the ViralIcons!), and please don’t tamper with other people’s ALT tags, URLs or favicons.

Important: Once I get a ping back from you (I promise to do the best I can), I will add your favicon and the associated code you designate as “Host Icon” here, replacing one of the “Viral Icons” from the matrix above. Feel free to drop a comment here with your blog URL, ALT tags and favicon URL (we don’t mind if it is the same all over the blogosphere).

Optional: Display the “Viral Icons” badge on your sidebar and promote your blog. As more and more bloggers copy and paste the “Viral Icons” from the matrix above, the more backlinks you will have with your ALT text, and in turn the more promotion your blog with get. The sooner you participate, the more link love you will receive!

———Copy and paste the VIRAL-ICONS and instructions above this line———