I was talking to Ian Ybarra the other day and realized that, although my days and weeks are largely planned out, what about the long term planning? Sure, I can prioritize the little tasks but what about the big picture? Do I know what it is I
I was greeted with an invitation to install the new Facebook Toolbar (Firefox only). I must say, this is exactly what I needed. I wrote earlier about how to eliminate distractions and this is, ironically, a great way to do it. You don’t spend countless times during the day logging in to see if there is something new worth looking at (which means less time mindlessly browsing). In theory, that is…
The “Holdays” (Christmas) are right around the corner and I always struggle to think up some things I absolutely “need.” Throughout the year situations will come up where you think to yourself “man, I wish I had one of those ________ right now.” I do it all the time. Of course, I’ll forget each and every one of those situations when birthdays and Christmases approach. That won’t happen this time. For my own entertainment here are the five gifts I’d love to get.
Apparently YouTube was listed as Time’s Top Invention of 2006. As Nathan so simply explained, YouTube is hardly an invention. In fact, a lot of what we
Since Thanksgiving break is over I figured now would be an appropriate time to talk about being productive (thanks, Glenn). Personally, I just spent a week watching movies, finishing seasons 2 and 3 of Lost, skiing, and napping. Unfortunately there are three weeks of school left before I can remain in this state of laziness.
It’s nearly Thanksgiving and I’ve realized that perhaps I’m thankful for a bit more than my chair, monitors and slippers. Perhaps life is a tad more than the physical objects we own. In fact, take away any and all possessions you have: what’s left?
Do you ever wonder what it is you’re remembered for? What is the one thing people keep in mind after they first meet you? What do your close friends say about you? Any idea what your acquaintances from work and school really thought about you? I wonder about this stuff all the time.
This week is one of vacation for some of us in the states. I have the entire week off to rest, relax, and think about what it is I’m thankful for. Naturally, I wanted to share some of the things I’ve been thankful for this year; without the following I wouldn’t be who I am nor where I am today.
I enjoy reading, it truly expands my knowledge base and introduces me to so many great new ideas. In turn, I enjoy sharing them and talking with others about them. But recently I’ve struggled to find time to read. As mentioned before, I manage my time pretty closely; I fill every hour of my schedule. Unfortunately, work and school take up nearly all of my time lately. When can I find time to read?
How dare they! It’s true though. We all know the blogosphere is not just used to talk about our cats and day at the mall. Blogs are great ways to communicate. Executives can publish one post and have the entire world up-to-date, companies can talk to its current and potential customers, people can share their ideas and stories with friends and strangers alike. Blogs are powerful and extremely functional–people are catching on.
So, why can’t some bloggers make money? A lot of people are full-time bloggers (they may prefer to be called journalists, or writers though). Sure, we can drop a few ad links on your website and make a few bucks a day. Does that really compliment what we’re doing? Hardly. Just like television commercials ineffectiveness: they don’t compliment the medium nor the content. Relevance is important and a few sites have found a way to solve that problem for bloggers.
I’ll only venture forward by stating this post is sponsored by ReviewMe. I agreed to see what this crazy idea could offer me. A few dollars to talk about a website and review it? Don’t I do that anyway? Yes. Should I get paid for it? Why not? Sure, my wisdom and commentary are invaluable but I’m willing to negotiate a price…
Oh, you’re convinced I’m not trustworthy anymore, right? I get paid so I’m no longer impartial? I understand you can’t help but be skeptical as to what I say but that’s nonsense. For starters, ReviewMe doesn’t allow advertisers to mandate positive reviews. In other words, it’s the author’s discretion as to which way their review will lean. Mike likens sites like ReviewMe to PR firms. I think this is a pretty accurate analogy. As I said, I’m the kind of guy who is going to look at sites and give my honest opinion either way. ReviewMe simply facilitates the exchange between advertisers willing to be judged and the bloggers willing to talk about products and services. I hope it can attract the services of some interesting new sites. Obviously, I wouldn’t talk about irrelevant material here so there’s truly no impact on the reader.
So, with that said I’d recommend ReviewMe to anyone. The site’s interface is straight-forward and easy to manage. I had no problem signing up and getting my first review started. Will it be effective in generating honest ‘buzz’ and advertising? I have no way to tell but I do realize that money introduces a new level of motivation. There’s no doubt this will have an interest effect on blogs everywhere.