Your Commute

Environmental awareness will be a key issue for the coming years, and the most mundane use of fossil fuels is our daily commute to our place of work. I am lucky enough to work within walking distance of my home, so I walk to work twice a week during the Summer months and less often in the Winter - how about you?

Go with the flow

Recently I have talked about maintaining a style and keeping an 'audience' with consistency, but the truth is that sometimes a complete re-think is required. Although we should not be slaves to ranks and visitor figures, RSS feeds and the like, if something is blatantly not working, then the knife has to come out. If you decide to cut off the 'rotten fruit', then do so swiftly and with purpose. Personally I like to give a project every chance to succeed, but sometimes you have to just let go.

I have seen sites very successfully transform from a blog into a forum overnight. Of course, this does not really happen overnight and an awful lot of thought and planning went into the switch beforehand. When the change was made, the planning paid off as the forum looked already totally established because the webmaster had put so much planning into the project.

Once your decision has been made, act on it - start your planning for your new project immediately. Maintain the 'old' project until you are ready to switch to maintain what audience you have, promote like mad and when you are ready (My second rule of blogging is that you are never really ready...) make the switch and don't look back.

Overweight and Impotent?

Each time I get spam emails I learn about medicines that I never knew existed, you can now apparently have Phentermine no prescription why would I want a medicine without prescription? Well apparently it’s a slimming drug… Obviously the email senders can’t know what I look like otherwise they wouldn’t try getting my attention with slimming drugs!! In fact if spam is targeted then I have been mistaken for someone who is both overweight and impotent – rest assured neither is the case!

Using character and voices

I realised while I was creating a previous post that I had wandered into an area that requires further explanation. I talked about remaining true to yourself or your 'character'. By character I am referring to blogs that are written in a specific style which is not the writers natural style. I know of one blogger who has written posts on a blog assuming a specific character, when I visited another of his blogs, the style of writing was so refined in contrast that you would not know it was the same person. The writer had assumed a persona for the purpose of writing on a specific blog.

Building a character helps to build an interest in your blog, in the same way that a 'shock jock' builds up his listeners. You don't have to use 'shock' tactics, though that might be appropriate... you can use any sort of style you want, but retaining that style will be essential to maintain your audience who will grow to expect consistency. If they were to 'hear' a different 'voice', they may feel that they have been misled or their interest in the blog may wane. I have never actually tried this tactic personally, though I have been tempted. I would love to create a blog with a truly obnoxious personality but with a lot of humour... Don't be surprised if this turns into my next project...!

The Rock | xTended

Joseph Rey Sator is an IT student and a blogger from the Philippines . His blog ‘The Rock | xTended’ has the subtitle: extending information through speeding highways and has a very impressive ‘night and day’ contrast theme which in itself is worth visiting this blog for alone… Jospeh has spent a lot of energy reviewing sites and presumably getting reciprocal reviews if his technorati ranking is anything to go by.

I counted over 40 categories on this blog, so we are talking general rather than niche blogging here. The categories are as diverse as comic strips, current affairs, fashion and movies.
The posts are generally well-written, the blog has a very nice layout and was easy to read. I liked the idea of mixing up blog posts with songs, the way these have been integrated into the posts really works well. Searching through the posts I found some interesting comments on blog hacking, but the majority of the posts are site reviews. Overall a very pleasant viewing and reading experience.

8 things I don't buy...

I saw this post at Suburban Wife's Daily Dollar Diary and thought I would pick up the Theme/Meme... Here are my list of things that I don't buy compared with the Suburban wife:

1. Alcohol — Well technically I do buy alcohol, but I never buy beer as I can't stand the stuff so I'm going for Beer...
   
2. Tobacco — I am so with you here... I never buy cigarettes, they are truly a waste of money if ever there was one - I am not saying I have never bought them... just that I don't now.
3. Coffee — Oh dear, I am a coffee guzzler I am afraid, so here's my first original one, I don't buy Coke (the cola variety or powdered for that matter...) I used to enjoy fizzy cola when I was a kid, but that stuff is so sugary... and I know people who appear to be addicted to it (and their teeth don't look so good!) - briefly refreshing maybe, but all-in-all NOT a good thing...
   
4. Fabric Softener — I wouldn't, but I think my wife does...maybe I should mention the environmental effects to her... so, time for another one of my own. Gravy powder or Pasta Sauce, the things that you can make yourself, but the supermarket has in a packet - I think packet gravy is an abomination compared with the real thing and people are losing the skill of cooking through these convenience foods
   
5. Make-Up — OK this one is not really fair, I don't buy makeup but then I wouldn't be expected to. Even in the days of new romantics I never got further than using coloured hair mousse... My equivalent is all those 'man potions' you can get now, wrinkle cream, moisturiser for men and all that cr**. No No No, never.... C,mon grow old gracefully men for goodness sake...
   
6. Jewelry — I am not big into jewelry, and that is something men do buy in larger quantities nowadays. Diamond encrusted ear-rings are the norm for younger men wishing to emulate their soccer heroes. I have the one ring (wedding) and that's it. I wore my Grandad's signet ring for a while until I lost it - I found it again by extreme good fortune, and that was my lesson - I haven't worn it since.
   
7. Soda Pop, Junk Food, and Sweets — Well, I've used Cola (soda) already, and will admit that I am partial to chocolate but not really any other sweets.. I need another one of my own here... Newspapers - I never buy a newspaper or a magazine, they have nothing to say that I am interested in that I haven't heard on the news/read on the 'net. My neighbour kindly gives me the sports supplement on a Saturday and that is the only time I read a paper of any sort.
8. Electronic Games — Like the suburban wife, I don't have an X-box, wii or playstation of any description... I play the occasional game on the PC (I have freecell open and do enjoy spider solitaire...)

Here's how the suburban wife finishes off her post:

So, if you’re a blogger, consider yourself tagged. Be sure to link back to this post or leave a comment so I’ll know you participated. If you’re a reader without your own blog, please don’t leave without sharing the 8 (or so) things you don’t buy. I look forward to hearing from you.

The rules are simple:

• List the 8 (or so) things you don’t buy
• Feel free to explain why you choose not to spend money on those items or just provide a list

Which just leaves me to say, give it a go - what things do you refuse to buy, and why??

Be true to yourself

If you are becoming a slave to:

1. Your RSS feed reader stats
2. Your daily Adsense earnings
3. Your PageRank
4. Your Technorati Authority/Real rank/Alexa rank

...think again...
My first rule if blogging is that you should be true to yourself, blog about the topics you want to blog about in your own style without compromising yourself to fit in with what you think is required by all these external pressures.
Why? Well for a start, PR hysteresis will change on a whim and there's nothing you can do about it, and your RSS reader figures will also change on the whim of individual visitors.
If you're trying to please everybody, then you're trying too hard. I maintain that if you continue to deliver good quality content, the rankings and visitors will follow. Naturally, you can help the process along with both on-page and off-page tactics, but unless the content is unique and of sufficient quality, there is little point....
There is good reason to use certain 'voices' and 'characters' to get your views across, but equally you will need to remain true to these characters. If you are not certain what I mean by characters, I will discuss it in a later post.

Beer pong?

Every so often, one comes across something (very often on the internet) which just makes you say 'what the...?!?'. Such an event happened to me today when I discovered beer pong. According to Wikipedia, this is a drinking game where ping pong balls are bounced into cups of beer which the opposition must then drink. How quaint you might say, but wait on... that's not the end of it, Oh no... there is a whole industry created around this with official beer pong tables available to buy and all sorts of other paraphernalia. After a little consideration, I think I'll wait for it to come out on the Wii.....

Travel Blog

I have recently launched a new travel blog called 'Really Traveling'. My friends at mmmtalk helped me out with the title as I very nearly chose an English spelling preference 'Really Travelling' with the extra 'L'. I hope you will take a look and leave a comment (do-follow), I will be featuring places I have visited along with my photo's, travel news and travel advice. Eventually I hope to build this into a real resource for travelers and would really appreciate your visit, your comments and your 'diggs'... I have spent some time sorting out the design and trying to get it 'just right' before launch. There are always tweaks and adjustments to be made, but I hope my visitors will appreciate a nice clean blog filled with good quality content.
Building up a portfolio of blogs achieves two useful goals:

1. It allows you an extra stream of revenue
2. It enables you to experiment with different tactics and layouts

You will find that bloggers who are earning from the 'net will have a varied range of different blogs and sites, this brings me up to something like four blogs (two blogspot, two own-domain), two websites with their own domain and two experimental free-hosted sites which I use for development. With a full-time job, I don't think I could take on many more projects...

Anything under the bonnet?

Big flashy wheels, zenon headlights and car spoilers are the typical signs of a boy-racer, but is there any real value in a spoiler?
There's no doubt some value in having decent wheels and tires along with effective headlights, but car spoilers do actually serve a purpose. At higher speeds, the spoiler generates down-thrust keeping the rear wheels firmly on the ground and adding a degree of stability to the vehicle. There is an argument that this can increase aerodynamics and fuel-efficiency, but you might be better off slowing down to a speed where you don't need a spoiler if saving the planet is your aim.
Making an impression is a meld of performance and attractiveness and we can apply that to all aspects of life. If you perform well and look good you're doing OK, if you perform well, but look drab you are doing yourself a dis-service. Worst of all is if you look great, but have 'nothing under the bonnet'....
This can be applied to how you perform at work, how your blog looks or whether your car suits your personality...

Work at home?

Whether you are involved in full-time or part-time work at home, occasional blogging or looking to build a serious second income from the internet, mmmtalk forum has something for you. I have been involved in mmmtalk since Greg Stratz started it about a year ago, and have found it a great way to socialise and learn from other bloggers in a friendly relaxed forum.
It will cost you nothing to join up and start commenting and reading through the information contained in the sections headed: Search Engines, Money & Trade, Web developers etc.... If you are looking for some friendly advice from fellow internet journeymen (and women...) please come along and get involved, mmmtalk wants to give advice and get your opinion too. Tell them 'Livewyre' sent you...

Pay you to Blog?

This blog is here to brig you information (amongst other things) about paid to blog services, and I am now in a position to review PayU2Blog.
The PRO'S:
Simple tasks of usually sixty words minimum with one link with anchor text.
Pay out at bi-weekly intervals.
Easy to complete tasks.
So far I have plenty of tasks to complete
Nice touch - you can tell them when you are holiday and not available for tasks...
The CON'S:
The vast majority of tasks are for just $5
You cannot turn a task down (need to get in touch with admin if you really object to a task)
Have to keep logging in (no email notification).
They don't have a referral scheme, so this info is for free....

All-in-all, this looks like a nice service to add to the portfolio of paid-blogging services, but note that you MUST complete the tasks you are assigned whether they are on topic or not... not for the niche bloggers wanting to keep keyword-related. Also they do not accept blogspot blogs...

Financial matters

Insurance is a concept that we don't like to discuss since it generally means something bad has to happen for insurance to pay out, however in essence insurance is all about offsetting the negative effects financially. I had never heard of term insurance before today, but this is like fixed-term life insurance for a pre-determined period of between five to thirty years. This can be effective for instance as cover for your children in the event of your own inability to provide for them until they will be old enough to be independent.
Although we don't like to contemplate it, being well insured shows a level of responsibility, although you should consider each policy very carefully to ensure that you are getting the best value for your investment.

Procurando informação sobre suplemento alimentar?

Um site interessante que nós visitamos hoje é o www.suplemento-alimentar.com, uma ótima fonte de informação sobre suplemento alimentar. Todos os dados que você tem que ver sobre suplemento alimentar voce pode achar neste blog , que oferece artigos diários a respeito de Suplemento Alimentar e fornece novidades para suplemento alimentar. Dados sobre suplemento alimentar na internet é complicado uma vez que nem todos os websites abordam temas como esses Suplemento Alimentar. Encontre mais e registre-se no RSS para obter notícias novas suplemento alimentar. Faça comentários a respeito do que você leu neste blog, sobre o tema de Suplemento Alimentar. Finalmente, nós insistimos em dizer que o www.suplemento-alimentar.com é um site completo que vale a pena a todos as pessoas que querem saber mais sobre suplemento alimentar.

Você pode igualmente gostar de outro portal que publica informação de suplemento alimentar, que e sobre Conscurso!

Faça uma pesquisa noutro site sobre Suplemento Alimentar que pode ser bom também Seguros de Vidas.

And now...

Well now, it's Thursday... so no big surprise there then. You may know that the Munny4Hunny experiment was all about paid blogging and whether money could genuinely be made from it. The obvious conclusion is that Yes you can, but lately it has been getting harder. That said, I have just signed up with a new service that has proved quite prolific since I got involved - I will blog about it once I've worked out if they have a referral scheme!! Suffice to say I have made $60 in 9 days with them and and quite happy that this month will yield a healthy balance as a result. That gives me still only a couple of active schemes since some resources seem to have almost dried up. The fluctuations in PR do not help and there appears to have been some movement, but none good that I can work our from what I hear from other bloggers - even John Chow has a PR 3 nowadays, looks like Google have the knives out for him, but I guess that is the best compliment that you could pay a blogger...
My findings have really revealed that if you are prepared to work at it, you could probably make a living doing paid blogging, but this would probably require a lot of hard work on multiple sites. If you ask me would I be able to maintain my current (non-internet) earnings via the internet if I were to lose my job, I would have to say that it would take most of my waking hours to be able to raise that sort of revenue... On the other hand, is it worth 'dabbling' at the current level of operation? then yes as long as it is enjoyable, then why not get paid for simply writing your thoughts and building new sites - and at the same time explore all sorts of avenues for passive earnings (the 'real' goal). Currently I earn about $100 in passive earnings from advertising of one sort or another (not from blogs) and this gives me a basis from which to fund other sites that I might want to build. Eventually, there is no reason why this income cannot grow to substantial levels.
The mission continues...

Buscando mais sobre seguro vida?

Um site interessante que nós pesquisamos é o www.seguro-vida.org, um site legal para encontrar informação sobre seguro vida. Tudo que você precisa saber sobre seguro vida voce pode achar neste blog , que publica textos atualizados diaramente sobre Seguros de Vidas e fornece novidades para seguro vida. Dados sobre seguro vida na internet é complicado uma vez que nem todos os websites abordam temas como esses Seguros de Vidas. Você pode procurar mais e acompanhe as notícias diariamente para obter notícias novas seguro vida. Pode deixar comentários sobre os artigos, sobre o tema de Seguros de Vidas. Por Final, queremos dizer que o www.seguro-vida.org é um portal essencial e achamos que você deve divulgá-lo a todos que se interessam por seguro vida.

Entre também em outro portal que publica informação de seguro vida, que e sobre Franquias!

Você também pode dar uma olhada em outro blog relacionado com Seguros de Vidas que pode ser bom também Suplemento Alimentar.

Wow it's Wednesday!

It's Wednesday already, where does all the time go? This week (in my 'real' work) I have been involved in a sales meeting for the last two days and I do feel a little like I have been in a time-warp. This feeling was not helped by the fact that we had our annual Christmas(!??) meal last night.....
I hate being in meetings because whilst I am in a meeting I can't get on with my day-to-day tasks, and tasks build up which must all be addressed as soon as I get out of the meeting...
This is a great reason to work for yourself - no meetings... When I 'work' at my online occupations, I don't need to have meetings to work out where I am going, I have those in my head when I take a long walk... Incidentally walking to work (assuming you live within about 5 miles of where you work...) is a great way to have a meeting with yourself. Whether it is to sort out how you will approach the days work, sort out your problems, or plan your domination of the internet - taking a walk and having a good old think is an excellent way to clarify your thinking. You can call all your operators to the meeting, your marketing manager, your workforce, your development team and your accountant - because they are all in your head anyway!

New Smorty feature

I visited Smorty today and noticed a new feature on offer, this is a service to get free reviews in exchange for free reviews... Submit information about your blog, or even a specific blog post that you want people to review, and you can have it reviewed by a random member of Smorty. In exchange, you will have already completed a review for someone else from the Smorty network.
This is a great idea because it uses three-way-linking rather than reciprocal links - read more about three-way-linking here...
If you haven't already come across Smorty, then you should register with them if you are interested in getting paid for blogging...

Not everything is DIY...

When I first moved into our current abode some 12 years ago, I had a go at ‘smartening up’ the bathroom, but honestly didn’t do a very good job. I have given the walls a lick of paint (now peeling off again) and ‘personlised’ the walls with some sea-creature shapes. I made a new façade for the side of the bath and boxed in some pipes. The whole effect was somewhat better than the original décor, but still a little shabby. Since then I have changed the bathroom taps or as you might call them in the US bathroom faucets . I fully intend to fit a shower at some point, but I think I am going to need professional help at some point in the near future. This goes to show that although you can save a lot of moneydoing your own decorating, some jobs may require professional ‘assistance’….

Social Survey

It's all about social interaction - who do you trust for views and reviews? Have we stopped giving, sharing and asking for opinions? Do you Google for everything? - what are your answers??

Golf - the gentle sport

I am pretty active despite my advancing years and like to play football twice a week, but am aware this cannot go on forever as sooner or later I aa not going to be able to keep up with the pace and my aches and pains will be just too severe… So what to do when that happens? Well it has always been my intention to take up golf when I am just too far gone for soccer… and the great thing about this is that I will be able to play golf with my wife (she is not that keen on soccer!!). As I will be a bit older and have a few more debts paid off (maybe even clear the mortgage by then) I will hopefully be in a position to invest in some equipment such as golf bags, golf clubs and all the other associated paraphernalia..

Treasure Trooper

Continuing with the theme of exploring other ways of raising a legitimate income online, I want to highlight 'get paid to' sites, and particularly the most popular one 'Treasure Trooper'. Treasure Trooper promotes a fun atmosphere and on the serious side of things is happy to demonstrate proof that it really pays out. You can be paid by cheque or via Paypal and Treasure Trooper is 100% free. There is no membership fee.
There is a whole subculture to get involved in, you can team up with other treasure troopers and of course they have a referral scheme that can earn you a passive income in it's own right. The premise of the scheme is that you get paid for signing up for offers that are being promoted. The companies promoting the offers pay up and then it's up to you whether you take that offer any further or just take your money and run...
Whether you want to dabble in the offers to make a bit of extra cash or you are interested in signing up hundreds of referrals to make a passive income, Treasure Trooper may well have something to offer you.

New Cashback site

Saving money and making money go hand-in-hand. For me, I decided to make sure that I was saving as much money as I could before I embarked on my making money projects. The return from saving money is immediate whereas making money takes a little longer. There are schemes set up to help you save money with everyday purchases and WePromiseTo Cashback is one of those schemes that has a radically open approach to saving you money. They say that they pass on 100% of the commission they get for referring you to a service, just taking the initial £5 (this is a UK service) that you save as their one-off fee. They can pay you directly into your bank or send you Amazon vouchers (with a 2% bonus) as payment.
You can get cash back on your car insurance, betting with paddypower, Amex or Goldfish credit cards, but opportunities to get cashback are not limited to online buying, off-line purchases can qualify for cashback too.
Looking at some of the offers I might be interested in, I was particularly interested in the 3% cashback on Tesco wines by the case, and even better 5% cashback from Majestic wine. Right next to those offers are some for chocolate retailers, so I’m pretty much covered…
With a little work, you should be able to shave some money of your regular bills by searching through the site to find the best offers on goods and services that you are already using anyway… It’s free to join, so nothing to lose.

Making money

Lately I have been looking into more schemes to achieve what many of us are aiming for ie. to make money online. I have posted about the sort of things that I do personally, but there are a whole load of other types of schemes that although I don't do them myself, are equally viable ways to make money online. There are the schemes that pay you to sign up for something and those that offer cashback incentives for products that maybe you were going to buy anyway. I have said before that saving money is equally as important as making money, there is no point making loads if you are not careful what what you have.
So keep an eye on future posts for schemes that are available for making legitimate income or genuine savings online..

Selling your business

If you are the owner of a small business and have considered selling or have been offered money for your business, you really should have a proper Small business valuation. Even if you don’t plan to sell your business, a valuation will give you an idea of whether your business is growing at an acceptable rate. Protect yourself by being aware of what your business is actually worth including all the liabilities and assets that you may not even be aware of.

Fitted Bedrooms - I wish...

I am immersed in decorating at the moment, we have been decorating (and renovating) our house for the past twelve years so this is not a time-limited task in my long drawn-out experience.
The nice stage is the planning, but we don’t have much money available, so I have to get my hands dirty doing most of the work myself (hence the length of the task…). So far, in the twelve years I have re-wired the house, and gutted and rebuilt the dining room and my daughter’s bedroom, had a little go at the bathroom and got a professional in to do the kitchen. I am currently working on the hallway, stairs and landing, but am longing to get into the bedroom!!
Whilst getting lost in the current task, it is all to easy to dream about how you want the next project to work out, so now I am starting to think about how the ‘master’ bedroom should look. Like the kitchen, this is a room which has be done right so I have considered getting in an expert in bespoke fitted bedrooms which sounds very grand and reassuring…
I have visions of a beautiful wooden floor, simple but finely finished furniture with crisp linen and maybe topped off with a gorgeous sleigh-bed… I can dream, but wouldn’t it be great to get someone in while you were on holiday and come back to a brand new sumptuous bedroom?

Online earnings

It is becoming harder to legitimately make money with blogs and on the internet generally, so I will offer an update on the schemes that are working for me at the moment on various websites and blogs. First off, Adsense is about to pay me out for the second time this year which I am quite happy about, my average earnings with Adsense have risen steadily over the months and I hope to be able to make this work for me in the future. I have used a couple of fixed advertising schemes such as The Ad Network and , and am buildinging a small but regular income from these. Small amounts are available from dNeero surveys, low payout at $20 which I hope to make soon - this is a much better return that other survey schemes that I have used. I am using PPP and smorty as well as payu2blog and Creamaid, but this type of scheme is becoming harder to exploit.

Another use for Botox

OK, we all know that Botox is basically for those who want to look more beautiful that they have a right to, but today I discovered that there has been a helpful side effect for those who have had Botox injections around the eyes. Of course when you think about it, there is some logic... Botox relaxes the muscles that cause the lines around your eyes, and can also relieve tension in those muscles, alleviating headaches and migraine. The new discovering is that Botox for migraines is a viable treatment and is now been offered by the medical profession.
Thankfully, I hardly ever get headaches and I am already quite beautiful...!

Scarlet??

Who is Scarlet? seems to be the question on the lips of those with their ear to the ground for breaking news on the latest TV shows to be hitting your screens soon. David Nutter, producer of such TV classics as Smallville, Sleepwalkers, Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles ... to name but a few is THE TV producer of the moment bringing his midas touch to our living rooms via the medium of television.

More Storage

I bought myself an external hard drive more than a year ago, and it has been invaluable for back-ups. After about a year, I discovered that I had used about 80% of the capacity, so I spent a few hours archiving all the material that I could onto DVD’s and now am back to just 30% capacity used. Having the external hard-drive has allowed me to free up a lot of my internal hard-drive space. Currently I have a 160GB and a 300GB drive on-board and a 250GB external drive.

blog to earn

If you are someone who blogs to earn, you can post a link to your favourite articles over at the blog to earn carnival. The same organisation gets involved in carnivals for ALL types of blogs so whatever floats your boat, these guys have a blog carnival going. At the very least it's a free link - and someone may even visit your blog as a result of the carnival. Check out the link and submit some of your posts for the very next carnival...

Spring Cleaning

It's that time of year again..time to grab your microfiber mops and sweep the place clean. In fact I am also decorating at the moment, so the mops, brooms and dustpans are seemingly following me around the house as I create the mess for others to clear away...
Spring heralds new life, more daylight hours and a new willingness to create change and cleanliness all around us. On the other hand it snowed quote a bit today, so maybe hibernation is not such a bad idea after all...

New Laptop

I badly need to get a new laptop for work. Every time I fire up my current laptop, it makes a noise like a tumble-drier (and actually gets about as hot as a tumble-drier). It is about two years since I had this laptop, and that seems to be about the lifetime of a laptop (I still have a desktop that is 10 years old). Laptops naturally do not last as long as desktops and besides, there is so much technological advance in two years that it is almost a necessity to get a new one.

Bidvertiser?

For those who have fallen foul of Google Adsense TOS and had their accounts closed, other schemes such as Bidvertiser and Adbrite are mooted as replacements, but how do they compare?? Well I can't use Adbrite because as far as I am aware, they only relate to US sites, and am UK-based, but I have tried Bidvertiser.
I got frustrated with supposedly contextual ads from Adsense persistently showing non-related ads, so I removed my main Adsense banners probably about a year ago and replaced it with Bidvertiser. Initially earnings were extremely slow and then just were non-existent bringing in a total of about $1.30 in 12 months. I left a single Adsense banner at the top of my blog during this time which has brought in nearly ten times as much.

I have found Bibvertiser awkward to use, each ad has to be constructed for each different site in a way that does not lend itself to be widely used across a number of sites in the same way that you can with Adsense.
The upsot is that I have forgiven Adsense for showing non-contextual ads and reinstated them as my advertising banner of choice in my sidebar. there was no way I was ever going to reach the $10 payout with Bidvertiser, so they can keep their crummy $1.30 and I for one will bid them Adios!
I am about to be paid out my second adsense payment for 2008, so I am more than happy to put my advertising eggs in a single basket (please note that the vast majority of my adsense earnings do NOT come from blogs!!). If you're considering an alternative, my advice is only do it if you have been dumped by adsense. Once again, Google is the Daddy...

Which acne cures work?

Acne is a problem for people of all ages, and can occur in various degrees of seriousness. Fortunately there are acne treatment options available for those that require them. Ever wondered what the best five acne treatments might be, how they are assessed and how they compare to the hundreds of products on the market? My research revealed the following five options:
Zyporex
Acneticin
Orovo Acne Kit
Oxycerin
Asso Gold Cleansing Bar

Major house price falls predicted

A leading economist and industry expert has predicted that house prices in the UK could fall by as much as 20% over the next two years, which would take the average house price to £160,000 from £200,000. The bold but gloomy prediction has been made by Professor David Miles, who is a senior economic adviser and Morgan Stanley and was a former advisor to the government. If his prediction comes true then many homeowners in the UK could find themselves facing problems.

Whilst homeowners across the UK will not be happy about the latest prediction relating to house price falls, industry professionals have stated that not everyone will be unhappy – first time buyers, for instance, who have not been able to afford to get onto the property ladder since property prices boomed, will now be able to consider purchasing if house prices fall to a low enough level. This move would allow easier access to mortgage loans.

Professor Miles also spoke about the situation, stating that whilst homeowner could be seriously affected there were those that could benefit from the situation. He said: 'I am at the pessimistic end of the spectrum, but I don't think it should be seen as the pessimistic end because there are as many gainers as losers.'

In addition to predictions such as the one made by Professor Miles, recent reports have also shown that many homeowners that are trying to sell their homes are having to accept offers that are way below asking price in some cases, as buyers are too wary about paying too much for a property that could plummet in value very quickly. This situation has increased the use of credit cards that then add to the problem of bad debts. Many homes have been stuck on estate agents' books for some time as a result of this reluctance to buy, as well as due to tighter lending conditions.

Positive thinking

I have found a lot of those who are using the internet to be either ‘followers’ of the ‘Law of attraction’ or at least familiar with it’s concepts. It is about visualising your goals and of course, the perfect place to do that is on the internet where you can almost literally be anybody you want to be. You can read more about it in The Secret by Rhonda Byrne.If you are a positive thinker then you’re half-way there anyway…

dNeero Surveys

'In The News' is the latest dNeero survey - why not check out my answers and have a go at the survey yourself - if you sign up for these really simple surveys, you get paid for each survey and even more if you place them on a blog...
Positive points about dNeero:
Low minimum payout $20
Really really easy surveys, often just 4 or five easy questions
Good referral program
You get paid just for doing the survey, you can earn even more by the impressions that your survey widget gets on your blog.

Laptop upgrade

Some time ago I upgraded my desktop with additional memory, a bigger hard-drive and a new internal DVD writer. Although hesitant at first, I now think nothing of opening up the PC and sticking my screw-driver in there (disconnecting the power first of course). I have not as yet tried to fit laptop memory in my laptop yet, but I definitely need a new hard-drive, so maybe I’ll upgrade the memory at the same time. More memory allows your computer to work faster and do more tasks at the same time.

Looking back on March 2008

All-in-all a much better month for blog earnings this month. Not quite the giddy heights that I have been able to reach in the past, but a fair return.
Actually, this is the third best month I have had and mostly due to earning $55 with a single opportunity.
In the main opportunities remain hard to come by and few PPP tasks have come my way. Sponsored reviews have been more active, one opp in particular turning into quite a bargaining match. My prospective sponsor offered me a much reduced fee, I countered with a new proposal, which was countered again before we finally settled on a figure (I'm glad I didn't settle for the first counter-offer).
New tactics must be sought and tried with the new blogging environment in which it is becoming harder to make cash with blog posts. I have already begun a new blog which when it is sufficiently 'aged' will hopefully be suited to an earnings niche. I am not ready to reveal it as yet, but will announce it properly when it is matured enough to make some earnings.
Here are my tips for doing something similar. Pick a niche that you know something about and with which you can enjoy writing/researching. Find a keyword-linked domain name. Start writing good content and register with all the paid post schemes and social blogging sites you can find. Alternatively buy an 'aged' domain (as long as you don't pay too much) and you may be able to sign up for some schemes straight away...
In case the spreadsheet makes no sense to you... I 'made' $93.18 in March, and got paid out $71.75 - The biggest individual earner for me last month was Creamaid.

Website Review : Scrap Therapy

If you are looking for scrapbook supplies Canada then Scrapbook Therapy is a website which will help you. They sell a huge range of scrapbook supplies and are based in Canada. They have everything you could need from albums and paper, to pens, stamps and stickers. They also have embellishments, brads and cutting tools. They even have books and magazines so you can learn all about the craft and get new ideas for designs. You can get further ideas for designs by looking at their gallery section which has many examples of scrapbook pages. As well as selling scrapbook supplies Canada they also have details of classes and they even have a blog and a newsletter so you can get a host of information too. They have a club which you can join too. The club allows you to get a discount on the products that you purchase online so it is well worth joining if you are likely to be a regular customer.

Recyling for our future

Like me, you must have wondered what happens to the recycled plastics that we send away each week. Today I found out a little about what that plastic becomes, apparently the HDPE plastics (carrier bags and bottles and the like) can be turned into HDPE 'regrind' or Virgin HDPE Granules. When that plastic is re-used the granules are more sought after due to their more consistent quality and color, you can see what the granules look like from the photograph.
Recycling will have to become our way for life for the future as landfill sites become fuller and more real estate is needed for housing. In the future, landfill will become more expensive as sites will have to be created further and further away from towns and cities. If homeowners take care over segregating their waste, better use can be made from the scrap, and better quality products can be produced. If you are not already recycling, bear in mind that every time you throw something away, that piece of rubbish has to end up somewhere. Once it has been taken away, it doesn't disappear....

Shopping cart software

Getting the right shopping cart software is a key part of prospective internet earnings. The market is competitive so you can look for a great package at a reasonable price. here are some key pointers that might be worth investigating:

• Does the service offer monthly payment rather than a large up front payment?
• Does the service offer a free trial period so that you can get to grips with it before you start paying?
• Are pages fully customisable to fit in with your style and theme?
• Is full reporting available as standard?
• Can the service host your ecommerce pages on their own secure servers?
• Is the system simple to use?

My investigations have led me to ASHOP ecommerce software as being a leading world-wide provider of shopping cart software that is both simple to use and feature packed with stuff you didn't even know you wanted!
For instance, did you even stop to consider whether your ecommerce pages were optimised for search engines? (thought not...) Did you consider the uptime and how secure the servers were that will host your pages?? ASHOP even have 24/7 free technical support should you require it.
Making mistakes can be very costly, so get it right first time with ASHOP...

Got a problem?

We probably all know someone who has a problem with drink or drugs, even though we would probably never address the issue with them face to face, we should probably try to point them in the direction of some good drug treatment. Problems of this nature can be personally devastating but also have serious consequences for friends family and colleagues too. Everybody benefits if you have the courage to confront somebody about their problems.

Website Review : Best Real Income

If you are looking for a home based business then Best Real Income is a website which can help you. They have a whole host of ideas for how to run your own business from home with ideas such as home staging business, VOIP home business, toy rental, home typing and many other ideas. Sometimes it can be hard to make ends meet and working from home can be the only option if you have small children or other dependents needing your constant care. This site is useful as it will allow you to find out the type of job that is available to someone who is working from home. It will help you to be able to fit your skills with the available work that it out there and enable you to be able to earn a few extra dollars or make a good living depending on how much time and effort you are prepared to put into it.

Make Money From Home

Many of us are looking to make money. Whether it is to pay bills, pay off debts or a mortgage or to be able to afford a holiday or luxury items, it is always great if we can get a little extra coming in. Most people go and get a job in order to do these things but there are some people who would rather work at home. This could be due to having children or elderly relatives at home to look after or just because you would rather not go out to work or because you want a second job in the evenings to supplement your income. It can be tricky, however, knowing how to make money working at home. This is where the website Make Money – Work at Home can help. It has articles explaining all about setting up a work from home business as well as tips for earning and explanations of how you can make money from blogging.

Website Review : Make Money with Paid Surveys

There are many ways to make money online and some are more difficult than others. Many people enjoy doing surveys and like to make money online with paid surveys as it is fun and can pay quite well. It can be difficult to know which companies to use to do this. Make money with paid surveys is a website which can tell you exactly how to do this. They have a list of companies which offer paid surveys as well as articles about how to make money from doing surveys online. There is information on how surveys work and you can make money from them as well as policies when doing surveys and the benefits of earning money in this manner. There is quite a lot of money available for filling out surveys online and it is certainly well worth finding out more about the best way to make money doing this.

Free Web Domain Hosting

Many people choose to use free web hosting rather than paying for a hosting service. There are advantages and disadvantages to doing this. If you do not have much money or are not prepared to pay for this service then free domain hosting is a good option for you. However, many businesses choose not to use free web domain hosting as they feel that it looks more professional to have a site which they have paid for. It makes it look as though you are prepared to invest some money into your business and hosting is not really that expensive compared to many other business costs. If you are an individual with a personal web site then it is well worth having a free hosting company as it does not matter what other people think. So it is important to think carefully about who your website is aimed at before you choose whether to use free domain hosting or not.

Website Review : Top 100 Web Hosts

The Top 100 Web Hosts is a website which has lists of top web hosts. The top 100 hosts that they list are split into ten categories : top ten Windows hosts, top ten Unix hosts, top ten reseller hosts, top ten VPS hosts, top ten dedicated hosts, top ten Wordpress hosts, top ten PHP hosts, top ten ecommerce hosts, top ten business hosts and top ten email hosts. There are also useful articles about how to choose between the top hosts for your site. There are a number of articles on the subject of web hosting – giving you enough information to calculate what criteria you should be using when deciding on a top web hosting company, what questions to ask your potential hosting company and how a good web host can help improve your search engine position. They have even nominated a best hosting provider for 2007/2008 so you can find out which company they rate above all others.

Website Review : Web Hosting Geeks

If you are looking for a new company to supply you with web hosting then it is a good idea to look around and see which company might be the best. You may be just looking for a cheap company or you may be more interested in the services that they can give you for your money. It is a good idea to take a look at several companies and compare them to see which can give you the best value for money. This is where Web Hosting Geeks can help you. They are a company which review sites which provide hosting. They have a list of their top ten hosting companies and have a hosting review for each company so you can learn more about the company before you decide which to join. You can even sign up to the company directly through the website if you decide to sign up to one of them.

Work At Home With Paid Surveys

Every day internet users are looking for ways to work at home. Whether users are looking for extra money or a whole new way to make their income, a method for them to look into is paid surveys. Paid surveys is considered to be one of the easiest ways to make money online. One of the best things about paid surveys is that users can work at their own pace and make as much money as they want. This is great for people who may be in debt as they can quickly knock down debt by doing paid surveys. There are many different sites that offer the chance to work from home with paid surveys including sites that are free for use or sites that offer access to higher paying surveys after receiving some kind of pay. With that type of selection, users can be sure they site they chose is a real moneymaker. This website will help users select the survey site that works best based on what kind of income they want and what their needs are. If you're looking to make an extra shopping trip each month or you want to quit your old brick and mortar job, this site will make sure you've found the site you need to make your monthly income. Whether you want to get paid up to $150 per Paid Survey or $250 per hour in focus groups, this work at home with paid surveys site will make sure you've found the site you need to make your monthly income.

Did you know what Hoodia is??

I keep getting these spam emails which are only too eager to discuss the size of certain body parts (sometimes with pictures..), or to sell me viagra or hoodia…
Now up until today I had no idea what hoodia was, but apparently it is an appetite suppressant obviously for those who take their slimming seriously. My advice to anyone who thinks they need to shed a few pounds is to consider doing more exercise before thinking about taking steps like this. However there are those who are seriously overweight and for whom vigorous exercise is not a viable option, in cases like that there is probably a need for some drastic intervention.
Either way, don't ever reply to or click o those spam emails even if you want to try viagra or hoodia, go see a medical specialist..

Enjoy Cooking Games With Your Kid Today

There are numerous cooking games for children on the World Wide Web these days but are they even near to the real thing? Does it actually matter if it’s still pleasurable for your child? Kids like to copy grown-ups’ everyday chores such as mowing the lawn, driving a car and you got to bet cooking is one of them too! Of course we don’t actually find it pleasurable doing them but they are out of the ordinary experiences for children who may be “checking” them out for their very first time. And of course parents don’t usually permit their kid to do the original thing for obvious reasons but rather use replacements such as toys to simulate these activities for him or her. Place your child in front of the PC and watch him or her turn into a little chef!

There is a variety of cooking games available on the Net which are often free to play. The ones with the least hassle are directly played on your browser. Interaction is derived from using the mouse, keyboard or a combination of both. As some games can get rather large in size, broadband is certainly recommended for a more speedy loadings.

One cooking game that caught my attention is about making breakfast- the most critical meal of the day. In the game, the player must beat the eggs by dragging the egg beater with the mouse in a circular motion. He or she then proceeds to churn out an omelet out of it on the cooking pan. This is one excellent of what a kid could learn- “Now I know how mum makes them!” Another sort of cooking game worth mentioning integrates the fundamentals of managing a café. Players have to cook and serve the food to the customers in a timely manner and also satisfy a preset sales requirement for the day.

Playing cooking games prepare a child deal with the actual thing when he or she gets to an older age. He or she could even help you out in the kitchen. Some kids find it amusing to cook a meal for themselves and ultimately would be more eager to finish up their food. Psychologically, it’s the sense of satisfaction that they are looking for. This method is great for parents who have kids that are very selective with their food or have poor appetite.

Most often, these cooking games are in Korean or Japanese - Only God knows why these people make very good games. Luckily, it’s not a problem at all as most of these games are generally easy to understand that your child will be baking a cake in no time.

Make this an enjoyable experience for you and your child today.

Funny streaming video clips

Topyoutubevideos.com is a website dedicated to finding the best youtube videos on the internet. They search through thousands of videos and only upload the best onto the website. They include the funniest and strangest videos on youtube. They update the content all the time so you won’t be bored when you're watching the videos because they're always new. They also include information and news from around the world on the Youtube Corporation this is ideal for marketers using youtube because they will know what the company is always up too around the world. It’s a must see website if you're into utube videos or business.

All about Facebook

Palhajs.com is a website that provides information about Facebook.com. Face Book is the leading the social networking race. With Palhajs you can learn the basic information for opening an account to many advanced features. Using a proxy helps to keep your identity private. So there is much less possibility of your information being traced by anyone. Social networking is the favorite topic being used at the moment. Many schools and companies have blocked Facebook to ensure their students and employees don't waste their time in these sites. But this can be easily overcome by using the proxy network.

Website Review : Essay 911

If you are looking for a custom essay, research paper, report or term paper then Essay 911 can help. They can provide you with your article in only 4 days at a cost of $10.55 per page. If you want it quicker then the price is more expensive, for example for a two day turnaround the cost is $18.55 per page, for a 24 hour turnaround the cost is $24.55 and for 12 hours the cost is $34.55.

Essay 911 has a range of experienced writers and editors specialised in many subjects such as literature, geography, history, art, advertising, business, accounting, communication and media, education, sociology, psychology, politics, religion, English, finance, government, computer technologies, philosophy, marketing, management, business, education, law, Internet, economics, health, environmental issues and many more. They will provide you with custom essays so there is no chance of plagiarism and they are available all the time so that you can get the work done even at the shortest notice.

Need a Contractor?

I found this really handy site that helps internet users find home remodeling contractors right online. Users can search by entering their zip code or by clicking on a map. After doing this, the site searches their database and digs up the best contractors in your area for the job you need done. Then on the search results page you can use the site's nifty contact form to contact a local home remodeling contractor. If you want a quick and fair estimate, this is definitely the way to go especially if you're looking into kitchen or bathroom renovation. This clean, friendly ad-free website is the way to go when looking for a contractor who is qualified to do remodeling work the correct and safe way. Forget the old method of picking a contractor out of the phone book at random and find the right person for the project whether you're looking for a Yonkers contractor or an Anaheim contractor.

Website Review : Top 10 Webhosts

If you are looking for a new web hosting company but are not sure where to start then it is useful to look at some reviews of various companies to find out which suits your needs the best. You will need to example what services each provides and whether these services are things that you need from a web hosting company. Top 10 web hosts is a site which could help you with this. They have reviews of various top webhosts and have a list of their top 10 webhosts with a small amount of summary information and a link to the web hosts main page containing all of the information about the company and the services that they can provide. The website will give you a start in deciding which web hosting company would be best for your needs and whether any of the websites that they feature can provide a service that is suitable for you.

Website Review : Best Website Hosting

Best Website Hosting is a site which helps users to select the best hosting company for them. They have reviews of a selection of the best web site hosting companies. They even have awards for the best web hosting sites. The award categories include best budget hosting, best blog hosting, best forum hosting, best Unix hosting, best email hosting. Best reseller hosting and best ecommerce hosting. They also have some useful webmaster resources such as information on domain hosting and web hosting deals. The home page also features ten web hosting companies which best Website Hosting have named as the best companies of 2007. These have a summary on this page so that you can easily compare them but there is also a more detailed review of each one and a link to the main website of the hosting company. Each of the companies has a rating which has been given by webmasters and companies.