Archive for February, 2009

My Laptop is Dead, Finally My Laptop is Dead

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

I’ve been praying for the moment my laptop would die. It sounds bad, but it was really getting on my nerves.  Since it was still a good laptop I let it keep on living.  Recently cause of my new dead laptop? Unknown.  Won’t start up and just remains frozen at the bootup screen.    Most people would not be excited about a dead laptop.  That would mean running out and getting, gasp, a new one.  Thankfully, if you can be happy with a Netbook, they can be had as little as $240 USD without a problem.

My laptop of choice?  I’m considernig the Acer Aspire One.  They’ve come down significantly in price.  The battery life and the weight limit seem more than enough. 

What I’d Love To Do To My Dead Laptop

Blogging With Adsense in the Economic Crsisis

Monday, February 23rd, 2009

It is the economic crisis and some bloggers out there have felt a hit with adsense.  As I have reported before, I have recieve ahit with my own Adsense income.  My ecpm has fallen and though I have increased my page views, it doesn’t entirely make up for the fallen page view percetnage. Other bloggers hhave also reported significant losses with their Adsense. 

Why is Adsense Failing in the Economic Crisis?
Both Publishers and Advertisers are losing out in Adsense this year. Bloggers are seeing less rlevant ads on their sites due to lesss advertisers.  Many Adsense publishers are switching to other services which means that Advertisers are also getting their ads shown less relevantly which means they too might switch services.  In the end it is a downward spiral just like the current economic crisis.

Options for Adsense Publishers in the Economic Crisis
There are fortunately a few options for publishers in this time of economic crisis.  Adsense publishers could consider switching to ecpm advertising.  However most of these services require websites with a high amount of traffic. Some services include TribalFusion and Advertising.com. These pay not per click, rather per 1000 views so nomatter how many times your ads get clicked you will earn the same amount.

Worst case, time to start eating Ramen Noodles?

How to Meet People Anywhere

Sunday, February 22nd, 2009

One of the biggest challenges while traveling is meeting people day after day to continually build new friendships or risk spending Saturday night in a new city alone on your laptop.  Since traveling I’ve fin that the easiest way to meet people requires a few persnal characteristic changes.  Not only wiill meeting people build your confidence but improve your life i.e. new contact, new friends, and a better outlook on life.

How to Meet People Anywhere
1. Be fearless – Do not be afraid to talk anyone.  Fear is your own worst enemy.  In the process of meeting new people you will get rejected once in awhile, but that’s perfectly ok.
2. Good Conversation Starters – One of the best ways to break into anyone’s life is to nonthreatinly approach them, keep a little distance, and just comment and add your own input.  Build the conversation from there.
3. Pull the Trigger – I used to just let conversations end and never see people again.  This is not the way to go. Rather, invite them to something say an upcoming event, make sure to ask for their phone number, and in the worst case get their full name to add them on acebook.

Places to Meet People
1. Anywhere – there are people lurking everywhere.  Plenty of new conversations can be had everyday with anyone.  The difference is getting these people  beyond the Hello point and into the lets see each other later step.
2. Coffee shops, libraries – These are places where people are calmed, collective and more likely to engage in conversation.

Why Meet New People
New people provide new contacts and opportunities. Most people find their future wife or husband through friends, as well as many new jobs are found just through friends. The bigger the network of people you can create, the more you will be able to take advantage f the oppotunirites out there.