Transiting into the next chapter

It has been exactly two months since I last saw this state:where all earnings are paid. It means that I haven't been able to grab any opportunity from PayPerPost for more than a month :)

This may be the end of getting opportunities from PayPerPost, after my PR was hammered down from 3 to zero in January.

I hope the next chapter with SocialSpark will be a prosperous one :)

An innovative platform for bloggers

I am happy to tell people about SocialSpark! I have been seeing this name for many months, wondering what is it but didn't really read up about it. Finally, I was among the very first people they invited to join in their invite-only Alpha version 9 Apr. Since then, I started to understand better about them through own experience in using it.

They have started the successful PayPerPost about 2 years ago, recently launched IZEArank, and now this latest brainchild ... what's this brainchild about?. After using it, I think I have a much better idea of what is SocialSpark.

There are many community sites such as friendster, and the very recent FaceBook. I think SocialSpark is also a kind of community site -- community of bloggers. Doesn't matter if you are interested in blogging for money, you can too join. As it itself is not a blogging platform, unlike most community sites that also offers a blogging features, you don't need to create and maintain another blog to interact with the bloggers here. You can also list your blogs from various blogging platforms here.

As for those interested in blogging for money, you will like this very innovative place for you to earn, both by advertising for other people, or advertise your own blog or products to increase your revenue.

SocialSpark allows several types of opportunities. Other than normal money paying per post type called sponsored posts, there are also blog sponsorships where you allow a 'welcome mat' and persistent sponsorship banner on your blog for a period of time. Also, there are Sparks, which are free opportunities that serve as ideas/topics for blog posts, but many offer to blog you back if you blog about the suggested topic.

Closing of a chapter, hopefully not yet...

It has been many months since I last saw this state:
where all earnings are paid. It means that I haven't been able to grab any opportunity from PayPerPost for more than a month :)

This may be the end of being paid to blog, after my PR was hammered down from 3 to zero in January. I hope not. Shall see.

Purpose of rules

When each rule is being formalized, it has clear purpose during the time that they were being set. However, circumstances change, and usually more rules are added, or rules are being enhanced to tackle these changes. Similarly, some rules may become obsolete, or doesn't correctly achieve the original purpose. However, due to less urgency to look into obsolete rules, many of these remain and create unnecessary restrictions.

E.g. the 1955 rules about no cycling on pedestrian paths here. Firstly, 1955 is more than half a century ago. Secondly, this nation was underdeveloped then and has been a developed nation for about a decade. Thirdly, the meaning of pedestrian path in 1955 is different from now in many new towns where pedestrian paths are much wider.

Many a times, ... in order not to have these restrictions, the regulatory bodies ignore such obsolete rules, but this gives the wrong impression that the regulatory bodies are powerless or all rules can be ignored.

Actually, the reason that triggered me to write this post is a recent interaction with PayPerPost. My post, Yummy citrus-marinated flame-grilled chicken, was first rejected due to their suspicion that the post before it, Accountable advertising is a sponsored post. Later, they give me the benefit of doubt on my statement that the latter post is not a sponsored post. However, I re-dated the post, which was a remedy action I queried about together in my statement to them, and they didn't warn me that it was not allowed. Sadly, that yummy post was rejected due to this.

I respect their rules, and their need to enforce it by rejecting my post. However, I believe it is clear that I do not have any intention to try to do something that the rule is there to prevent, which I've yet to figure out. I also believe that there isn't any harm done to anyone during the short period when my post was re-dated and again re-dated back to the original date.

This post is triggered by the above incident, but it is not directed to PayPerPost. Rules are good because there are clear and many of them can be enforced by computer. Yet, we are humans. We create rules for us to have guidelines, but not to absolutely follow them. When applying rules, we need to exercise our wisdom, which the computer still lack behind us a lot, to decide if an act is rightfully against the purpose of a certain rule.

PS: A realisation from this. PayPerPost's Customer Love really loves their customers, and bloggers/posties are not their customers, but suppliers.

Accountable advertising

Technology solves existing problems, changes the situation, resulting in new problems.

Wonder how advertising began. Actually no need to wonder, just wiki it and you can read more about it here, where one-way communication of commercial messages and political campaign displays are found in ancient Arabia.

Since it is still being described as a one-way communication, advertisers throughout history have no way to find what happen when their advertisements appear before the recipients. Did they notice it? Did they read it? Did they believe it? May be all these don't matter as it seems that businesses just have to keep advertising regardless of what happen at the recipient end.

I wonder if advertising channels are some kind black hole that sucks money from businesses. Singapore was quite clean in the sense that our streets don't have messy neon lights. However, in the recent decade or so, advertisements are invading virtually every area, underground pass, buses, on top of buses and taxis, bus stops, and etc. I must mention the one that I personally dislike because I ride bicycle: installing a display panel on the pavement that take up 80% of its width, thus blocking my way!

The similar is happening in the cyberworld. Very few businesses, if any at all, can choose not to have a web presence, which I think is quite useless for majority of the businesses. However, something is different here. In the cyberworld, virtually everything can be recorded. Thus, advertisement firms innovate way to give indicators of what happen at the recipient end. So, you may not need to pay for advertisements to just appear somewhere but nobody notices. Cost is incurred only when there is some indication that your advertisement has been noticed. For example, pay per click system such as Google Adsense requires a click on the link, or paid for viewing system such as EmailCashPro requires a minimum period of time that the page is shown on somebody's screen, or looking for blogs and sites with huge or related readership to put up advertisements.

The last one is similar to putting advertisement on magazines, but different in the sense that not all of them need or want advertising revenue. Also, even some welcome such revenue; it is too much a hassle for a business to communicate with many individual publishers, or for an individual publisher to invite many businesses. Thus, as usual, when this situation arises, someone starts to play the agent role. The first one I joined is PayPerPost, which I think is probably the first one in the industry and the best of the few I have come across.

Getting back to the problem of knowing what happen at the recipient end, the first two solutions are obvious, but the last one doesn't seem to address the issue. Indeed it didn't, but the issue is addressed from another angle, by considering the bloggers the recipients, it is very likely that they need to visit the advertiser site, read it, learn more about the company/product/service, then blog about it.

Thus, advertising in the cyberworld is moving away from a one-way communication, where advertising agents are expected to produce some kind of accountable indication of the advertisements. Currently, the soon to be launch PayPerPlay is under fire regarding how would they know if the 5 seconds audio advertisements are being heard. I think they can know if the audio is completely played. May be they can negotiate for the rights and trusts to determine if volume is not muted. May be they can even find out if the speaker is making sound by getting ways to receive a feedback from the viewers/listeners' microphone, provided there is one. Yet, they will never know if somebody's ears are attentively listening.

Have anyone question the TV station how would they know if anyone was watching the screen when their advertisements were broadcast? Of course yes, but TV commercial is still here.

Just as Internet became more secured, when there are demands for it. I speculate that there will be better techniques to find out more about what's happening at the recipient end of an advertisement.

Another uninteresting post

Skip this if you are not interesting in my money making story.

I just want to note down some significant time points in relation to my blog for money adventure.

Today, I have received my first payment from the SponsoredReviews that I joined 2 Jan.

Already mentioned, my earnings from PayPerPost exceeded USD100 yesterday.

Exceeded 100!

My earnings from blogging exceeded USD100!

If by IZEA (aka PayPerPost) alone, it would be another 4 more days. However, when including earnings from Smorty, this date is being brought forward to today!

Is this a too good an Alexa rank?

I hope this isn't an error, either technically, or my wrong understanding, but... This blog Alexa rank is 12! I seriously suspect something is wrong.


Arrrgh, after checking at the Alexa site, it is not a technical error, but my misunderstanding. This is a computed number from the average number of reach and pageview. Now I understand.

Moving into 2nd gear

Almost exactly 4 months into payperpost blogging, I am now moving from 1st gear into 2nd gear in money blogging by signing up into some more similar systems.

Advertiser companies have benefited quite a lot from the additional advertisement space in cyberspace. Now, as in many areas, individuals are given such opportunities to create their own assets: advertisement space on their blogs.

I've the power

I just reserved and abandoned a PayPerPost opportunity.

It feels good to be able to choose not to earn by choosing not to take up an opportunity to promote things that are not aligned with my views.

This blog's Google Pagerank is 2

According to my payperpost records, this blog has achieved a ranking of 2 at Google Pagerank. I'm not sure what exactly that means, but surely it is an improvement from zero! :)

My first incoming money!

My PayPerPost venture is working! The first two payments have been made into my paypal! More are lining up behind! This is fun!

If this inspire you and you wanna join, please consider going through me :) There is a sign-up form on the left.

I received a vote!

Hey, this blog has just received a vote in the PayPerPost!

I am happy :)

My third money earning post approved!

Hooray! 3 approved posts so far! 1 pending. More to come!

It is so easy! This will be the most money I am earning through the Internet.

I'll not mentioned about the subsequent approval, but more on the actual money into pocket :)

My second approved blog entry in PayPerPost!

Hooray! My second PayPerPost entry is approved! So far seems OK.

Indeed, it seems not too easy to grab opportunities. Need to improve and promote my blog more!

First payperpost approved!

Hooray! My first PayPerPost is approved!

So far seems OK. Only worry is it seems not too easy to grab opportunities even though recently they prevented people from using robots to auto grab.

My first PayPerPost for the PayPerPost!

The other day I just announced my blog being qualified for posting blog advertising entries under the PayPerPost. This is my first try on it! What I love best is the newness of it, being founded on June 30, 2006 (according to wikipedia entry), and I came to know about it while casually surfing some random blogs. On my first visit to its website, I sensed its simplicity and felt it should work, and immediately I signed up. Sadly, my blog was not qualified because it has not been active as it had just been revived at that time. This rather encourages me as it shows seriousness of them to have a working and meaningful system, by selectively including suitable blogs.

I think this is a win-win arrangement. Through it, I can get ideas to write on, besides the opportunity to earn some extra money, I believe it will also indirectly promote my blog.

By the way, it is simple too, which this posting will prove as it will be a one-go no editing submission.

I am looking forward to putting my out-of-box thoughts/views/reviews on products and services! I was raised up believing that all ads are lies to ask people to buy their products, but now I am going to advertise for others because in payperpost, true and neutral views and opinions are being sorted for!

PayPerPost qualified!

This blog has just qualified to host payperpost blog entry!
Actually, it is nothing great, yet.
Only that I've somewhat consciously waited for this day.