Archive for April, 2009

Everyone that gets involved in a program has their own way of looking at things and some are very volatile and vocal in the way they think that program should be used and even go so far as to tell others the right and wrong way that they should be using it. Unless you are violating TOS it’s really none of their business how you choose to use any program. Not everyone has the same objective as them so they really don’t have the right to tell anyone what to do unless they are asked for advice, just thought I’d get that off my chest.

My Entrecard 10 dollar experiment is over and the results are below even though the click through was at 514 for 3 days I received more than that probably because so many were checking to see if they wanted my ad to run on their blog and decided since they were there they might as well click on my widget which was fine with me and made my traffic spike. I have no clue who might have rejected my ad and it really doesn’t matter to me. I cant do those campaigns very often, but it was an interesting experiment.

impressions 43507
cpm $0.2298
clicks 514
cpc $0.0195
ctr 0.0118

I really don’t think regular people other than Entrecard people even bother to click ads unless they see something that interests them. I would hate to see a get rich quick scheme catch someones attention on my widget though because I was a sucker many years ago before I got seasoned with what was going on. I made many mistakes and spent a lot of money I didn’t have because it sounded so good, but we all know if it sounds to good to be true then it usually is.

Almost everyone knew this was coming with the ads, but most didn’t really read up on the whys and why-nots and just assumed they would benefit from the new changes and they will if they decide to sell their ec’s back, I understood this from the start. I am concerned though because no mention has been made about filling out tax forms because they will have to issue 1099 misc forms if people get paid over 400 dollars a year.Perhaps they really haven’t delved that far yet and will make a cut off limit before anyone cashes out after a certain amount.

Who knows what the plan is maybe they really don’t know themselves yet and will change it as they go, but I really think they need to get a CPA and lawyer on board that will advise them of all the legal ramifications if they don’t follow the law. I’d hate to see them shut down before they even get started. I use my credits to back some contests because it gives me backlinks, but no one says they have to keep them after the contest.

I don’t advertise a lot with ec’s, but I do drop for credits and I’m not a speed dropper or whatever they call them. I leave comments, but not on every blog, but I try to read the post of the people I drop on some are of interest to me and some I just skim over especially if it’s long. If it’s just an advertisement I drop and skip right on pass unless it’s a blogger that I like then I’ll type a few words. I had accrued a few credits before I knew that Entrecard was going to buy them back.

I will sell some back, but it wont be a lot especially if the price is really low. I will use them further down the line for more contests and the market place. It really bothers me when people are spewing a lot of sour grapes because they don’t have any ec’s to sell and they think everyone else is evil because they have some and might make a couple of bucks. It is very sad how greedy money makes us and brings out the ugly that the ego tries to hide and cover with a smiley face, but we can see beyond that. I wish the best for us all.

7
Apr

At Least I Got My Taxes Done

   Posted by: jude   in Mature Not Senile Misc

Sundays’ Entrecard Post
I really appreciate the comments and everyone’s view points thanks so much for sharing them with me on the changes with Entrecard. I’m glad I tried out the new ad system because I certainly didn’t have time on Monday to do my regular drops or post and that certainly helped with traffic, I was surprised. Of course since I’m poor it certainly wont be a regular thing, it would be different if I was selling something. I hope the new system will eventually settle down and everyone will be happy again, I’m sure it will take some time though to sort it all out.

Taxes Are Done Finally
I had a horrible Monday only because it took me the whole day to figure out how to file my taxes and fill out all the forms, but at least I did get it accomplished so tomorrow they go in the mail. At least next year if I need to file a 1099 misc I’ll know how and I didn’t have to spend 200 bucks for H&R or buy a 100 dollar tax program for businesses. If I made lots of money that would be fine, but if you only make a couple 1,000 in a year it seems pointless. I’m sure they’ll let me know if I didn’t send them enough money. The mailman helped to make my Monday even worse.

Jury Duty
Guess who got a stupid questionnaire in the mail to fill out for jury duty? I don’t want to pull jury duty so I’m hoping they wont find me suitable. I have to go the beginning of May and I dread the thought of being put in the position to judge someones guilt or innocence. I hope it’s a case where I know the person so I can be dismissed. Not that I want someone I know to be the perpetrator or victim of a crime of course. Last year Bill was called, but since he has asthma his doctor wrote him a note an he was excused, some illnesses come in handy.

People are going nuts at the Entrecard forum because of all the new ads they are having to approve or reject and many are really ticked off because they aren’t getting a percentage for showing them on their widget. It took me quite a while to read all of the threads. I’m sure many don’t check the forums so you can go to your advert settings and click one of the options below:

Allow paid ads only if the ad is for a blog
Allow paid ads only if the ad is directed at your category
Allow paid ads only if explicitly approved by you

I don’t have any of those ticked off so therefore when I check there is a line of paid ads for me to approve which I have except one from myself. I thought I’d give it a try just so I can show support for the idea and see how it works.

Hopefully they will iron out all the kinks and be able to smooth all the ruffled feathers. I certainly would hate to see Entrecard fold so I hope this works out. I know what I pay a year for just my expenses so I can only imagine how much theirs would be.

Do you absolutely hate this new idea of sharing space on your Entrecard widget or are you like me and go with the flow? The majority that I approved were from the regular bloggers just taking advantage of the cheap exposure. I did notice if you put your cursor on the widget you can see if someone bought it down below the end will read type=paid.

It’s hard to believe it’s April already and it still doesn’t feel like Spring yet even though I do see more green and will probably have to start mowing next week. It’s raining out now so that always puts a damper on things, but it also helps all those beautiful flowers to grow. I need to get in the self-motivation mode and stop procrastinating because I have so much to do. It’s the weekend again and they are coming and going very quickly at least for me.

Everyone is feeling the stress with our economic downfall and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get better any time soon. Everyone knows that stress can cause many health problems because your body causes chemical changes in your brain which can lead to lack of energy, depression, tension, anxiety, headaches, sleep problems, back and neck pains, weight loss or gain, and high blood pressure. We all know the healthy proper ways to take care of ourselves, but we don’t always do them.

We know that smoking, alcohol and drugs are not the way to deal with stress, but they are habits some of us adopt over the years to seemingly help us cope and we honestly know that they are making our health deteriorate which causes even more stress because many can’t even afford to see a doctor, of course if we used that money we spent on all those unhealthy habits we probably could. We know we should get plenty of rest, exercise, and eat well which includes a large amount of fruits and vegetables as well as proteins.

When we feel stressed it’s certainly hard to muster up motivation for ourselves or to help motivate anyone else we are just to tired to even bother. We may be so wrapped up in these stressful thoughts that we fail to even see what is happening to us. There are free clinics out there that offer help for those that can’t afford it and professional help really should be sought when you realize your having sleeping problems due to anxiety, extreme irritability, thoughts of suicide, loss of appetite and noticeable weight loss, and a feeling of isolation or a desire to be isolated from other people.

Okay I’m getting stressed so that’s enough about stress. Sometimes I really think I should change the name of this blog to Immature And Senile. At times I type things that seem to alienate people and cause them to respond negatively or not respond at all and just stop bothering to read because they judge me to be nuts. What motivates us to share personal thoughts with perfect strangers? Can you really express yourself on a blog and be totally honest or do you hold back so you don’t lose readers?

Would it bother me to have my family read my blog and know how I actually think and feel about things? My Mother if she were still alive would probably read it and it wouldn’t bother me, but none of the rest care one way or the other because they all struggle with their own lives and really don’t care, even Bill doesn’t read my blog unless I make him listen to some of my drivel and then he tells me exactly what I want to hear, he’s very diplomatic.

I watched the final episode of Life On Mars last night and I really liked the show and was disappointed that they canceled it. The ending however reminded me of how I view the reality I’m living in this world. I don’t know if many people even watched the show so you may not even know what I’m talking about. The main character played a cop in 2008 and was injured and when he woke up he found him self back in 1973. The idea behind this series was very intriguing for me.

He kept trying to find his way home and find answers and that’s basically what I feel like I’m doing trying to find my way back to my real reality. I have no clue how others feel, but I’m sure you’ve heard this reality called the dream of life and that’s exactly how I’ve always seen it. As in the case of Life On Mars the ending had this group of people waking up in 2035 from time capsules and they had just landed on Mars and they had picked the dream or program to take part in for the 2 year trip there.

I’m sorry the show didn’t go longer and I sort of wanted a different ending, but the dream sequence closed up all the lose ends nicely. At any rate through the years I’ve developed my own belief system about life and have tried to enlighten my mind and make sense of everything and as I’ve mentioned before I don’t believe in Hell and I don’t believe God is a mean and uncaring God. I think we choose our dream sequence and the events that will take place before we reach this plane.

I think when this body wears out and it takes it’s last breath my soul will awaken in the place it has always been and never really left I am not this body and this body is not me. I of course believe everyone has a perfect soul I’m not saying this human ego side is perfect, but I don’t think it actually touches the soul and I simply think the ego in it’s need for separation has created an illusion. For the life of me I honestly don’t know why I would have chosen to have these experiences and leave a place of bliss.

I know in my heart when I do erase this illusion or this dream of life I will be exactly where I’ve always been, safe in God’s loving arms while I slept. Of course I don’t see God in any form or with arms, but I’m sure you understood what I meant and I’ll actually be happy to be free of this human body form and just soar.

Clicky Web Analytics