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Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Why use PayPerPost
As I said before, I am all for sponsored reviews as a means of monetizing your blog as long as you are honest about what you say. PayPerPost spreads the word about new services and products through blog reviews. I signed up a short while ago and have posted about 4 posts since, all of them approved and waiting to get paid. I have not decided what to do with the money...I will most surely spend it on museums and books this summer.
It is indeed quite easy and fun, as I get to review products and services from a wide range of fields. What I love about it is that you have a choice. You do not like to write positive reviews without a reason, then don't.
Ryan once told me my reviews are pretty sharp. I am really honest and put everything I think and feel about an item on (virtual) paper. But I guess those seeking for reviews are really good at appreciating an honest one.
PayPerPost allows bloggers who have a PayPal account only. And that limits their audience a little bit. But as PayPal spreads around the world, I am sure all those interested will have a chance to soon sing up and get started with reviewing.
As some of you might now, PayPerPost.com is now available as a new and improved version. The release has been made sometime this month and announced properly on the PPP blog.
Who is the top player of this new game? PayPerPost Direct, a new tool to make some money while blogging. The blog advertising related hot feature of PPP allows you to find your own advertiser to buy your reviews. What makes it better than other services?Price, of course. While other such services charge up to 100% of a blogger’s income (justified or not by real costs), PPP Direct charges 10%. They also disclose the fact that 5% is the actual PayPal transaction cost. Pretty good deal, in the end.
Some have stated PayPerPost.com is a no-no for them, as advertisers ask a positive review to be posted. I agree this is somewhat weird. As a review needs to be honest, the “please make me look good” condition is not an option.
They are not the only ones fostering such requirements though. If you look through the bids of Sponsored Reviews, you will also find bids of advertisers requiring bloggers to focus on benefits only.
I have the same strategy for both: select only neutral offers and be honest about what I think of the reviewed blog, service or item. If they are approved, even better. If not, it’s the advertiser’s choice. That is why I will continue using PayPerPost.com and its PPP Direct service.
When I think of crm software, I do think customer relationship first. What AimPromote is suggesting is more of a sales oriented software, as it has more modules treating sales related issues, such as leads, imports, exports etc, with an interest in marketing and web integration on the side.
What AimPromote states to be their distinguishing advantages is the price: lower total cost of ownership, doubled by significantly less time spend learning how to use the software they provide. In what they target, which is sales, reports on your invested money and sales force automation, the software seems to be really complex.
A definition of CRM: Customer relationship management is a broad term that covers concepts used by organizations to manage their relationships with customers, including collecting, storing and analyzing customer information. (More available on Wikipedia).
So if you are running a customer care department, AimPromote does not really seem to cover all your needs. They seem pretty good for Operational CRM (the automation or support of customer processes involving sales or service representatives) though. The Collaborative and Analytical parts of CRM are not really promoted in a way that convinces me. And they seem way to oriented on sales and less on services provided post-sales, such as support (technical or other types of assistence).
1-800-nodrugs.com is a free drug rehab referral service. What they do is find the right rehab treatment program for those calling their toll free number, 1800-nodrugs. Why is there a need for such a service? I guess realizing you have a problem, admitting it and deciding to get help takes a lot of strength. But calling different places offering treatment and comparing pros and cons is not really something you are up to in such a situation.
Besides offering detailed information about how to locate a drug rehab program and how to decide which option is the best, 1-800-nodrugs.com also hosts generic information on different drugs and addictions. While I think it's a great initiative, I would have a personal recommendation: more hopeful colors on their site.
Reality Wired Review is a good place to start if you want to learn more on how to make money online.You can find out everything you like about Google's AdSense program and the issues that come with the territory. The ReviewMe program is also described in detail with its glitches and occasional bugs, therefore your experience won't be limited to the bright and shiny advertising messages.
Occasionally, James Pegram aka Crazy4bass will go another way with his topics and you may see entries such as the one on the Microsoft-Yahoo business talks. In his latest post he describes his attempt at winning a contest with an interesting prize tag to it. He also describes part of this rand as sucking up :)
While I do find Reality Wired Review a great source for those in need of information on making money while blogging, I think a blog focused on just that - making money - is a little too much for me. Most of us run AdSense or write a review or two to get extra money. Not necessarily for the money, it's more of a challenge to prove a blog is good enough to actually generate revenue. But selecting topics and posting with this goal in mind is not fun anymore.
To Scratch or not to Scratch, That is the Question...
If there is one thing cats never lack, that must be personality. We all know them, saying all of us as means to provide them with food and water, suffering from something similar to a God complex, yet we all love cats for the tender moments they decide to spare once in a while, keeping us company for a few minutes.
Those of us who have had or still have a cat know that they only do things yielding benefits. They do not play cool just to amuse you. So if they decide getting out of the room is what they need, well, then you have cats using door knobs. Otherwise, without a well designed rewards program, you may kiss training them good-bye.
While most of us find it amusing to see a cat nicely making its way out of a room, the results of such actions are not always as pleasant. Cats do scratch everything, it’s a natural impulse. So having all your doors and door knobs showing scratches will end up being a major annoyance eventually. As explained by Lucy Atkinson, you have two solutions in this case: train your cat not to scratch or train it not to use the door. She gives a complete lists of tips and tricks to help you handle your cats using door knobs. Go ahead and take a look!
I hear of Joseph Conrad in a movie. Yes, you can find good tips on what to read next practically everywhere. So on my next trip to the Dalles (Noi) bookstore, I stopped at the English section and looked for something by him. This is how I found "Selected Short Stories".
They are stories speaking of inner daemons, of going crazy, of love, of peasants and aristocrats, of patriots and anarchists, of children and grown ups, of exotic places and strange people, and more often of life on great ships wandering on the seas and oceans of Earth.
Although everything is described in great detail, each shade, each feeling, each glance and word, Conrad's stories never seem to limit the extent to which one can use their own imaginations to build around the stories one is reading. The great waves seem to touch one's skin, the desperation and ultimate joy seem to make room into one's heart. And all the magical colors of distant lands seem to be brought to life.
Escapism. You are no longer in a train, crowded and with all the alarms of personal space invasions screaming in your head. You are traveling in a small boat on a great river, hunting crocodiles and talking to a fierce Malay whose beloved wife is about to die. You are walking free in a world of superstitions, in perfect cohabitation with new ideas. You have haunted friends, acquaintances who wear a daily mask of fortitude.
You see the weak, those fearing their own chances to a better life. And those accepting every challenge with an ironic smile on their face. Those denying nothing and those denying everything. A beautiful, mad world.
About the Author
Józef Teodor Conrad Korzeniowski was born on 3 December 1857 in the Russian occupied city of Berdyczów, Ukraine. He was the only child born to Evelina Bobrowska (1832–1865) and Apollo Korzeniowski, (1820–1869) patriot, writer, and translator of such authors’ works as Victor Hugo’s and William Shakespeare’s.
As a child he dreamed of a life at sea and of seeing the great Black Continent. He grew up to become a master mariner and at the same time a great writer. More on Joseph Conrad here.
I started to read “The Picture of Dorian Gray” because I was curious. I knew a bit about the idea of the novel from school, which was then trivialized by a certain movie, but I thought I should really read the book, as I was sure it bore more meaning than a few details in a school book or a fugitive character in a Hollywood movie. And I was right.
The book reveals views (different, contradictory, innovating, challenging) on everything that matters: life, art, relationships, people, artists, sins, souls. And the quotes I chose open a window into the wonders of this book and will make you want to read it. At least I hope so.
What surprises me most about this book is that it is impossible to loathe or simply dislike Dorian. An innocent, impressionable young man, corrupted by too much flattery, strange ideas and yes, certain books. Subjected to a very cynical idea of life and how it should be lived, his dreamy mind and his pure soul end up loosing everything that is good, turning to way of life too dreadful to be described in detail.
The illusion of youth and beauty, the ability to go on unmarked by what you do and who you have become, all sustained by a society treasuring money and looks only, all of these give him the benefit of doubt.
There is another interesting question: who has corrupted Dorian Gray? The painter who worshiped him and made him think exterior beauty has a very high price? The lord who filled his mind with dangerous ideas and gave him poisoning books. Who also gave him the impression all that is good will not outlast his beauty and youth? Orwas it Dorian Gray, because he never tried to filter the ideas or principles shown to him as relevant? His own calling to be shallow?
Or maybe all of them. As they are all punished somehow. And which is the biggest punishment? Death or living without your dear ones, with the burden of what you have done?
This post will have it's own link on the blog's sidebar as it will be frequently updated (or at least I hope so). It contains a list of the books, each with a link to it's dedicated post. Enjoy!
Name: Alina Home: Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania About Me: "This is my church. This is where I heal my hurts". It's also where I feel free and my preferred means of expression. See my complete profile
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On this blog, I accept sponsored reviews. Expect one such entry every now and then.I am picky about them, but you can contact me for the details.
