What A Slacker!

Large Files Giving You A Headache?

Add comment September 28th, 2007

Ever need to send a large file to someone only to find out it is too big to go through email? I have.

Most email services not only cap the size of the file but they also restrict or automatically remove certain file types too.

If you do not have access to ftp or a web server you could be fresh out of luck or making you resort to snail mail to send out your files. Until now that is. I just discovered a great service called Driveway.

Driveway is a free online service that lets you upload and share the files you want with anyone you want. It really couldn’t be simpler either. You can store and share up to 2 GB of files with each file topping out at 500 MB each, which should be more than adequate for the average user.

Files you upload to Driveway do expire, so this is not a permanent storage solution mind you. You do have 90 days from the last time they were accessed before the files do expired. Some similar services expire after only 14 days, which can make it hard to retrieve the files and may even require another upload if the person you sent them to does not regularly check their email or was on vacation.

Driveway is a great alternative to emailing them when trying to send large files like photos or video to clients, friends or family. Give it a try and start file sharing. It is free after all.

More Creative Ways of Making Money Off Your Blog

Add comment August 18th, 2007

This is part two of my article on making money from your blog or website. In the first part we focused on writing. And not everyone likes to write or wants to write. For these people their are alternatives to the standard blog.

You can try your hand at video blogs. Tape yourself and your friends [get their permission to post it first though] talking about your favorite shows, movies, books, games, toys…whatever. Then upload these to YouTube.com. Once you have the video ready simply post that in your blog and your done. But if you want to make some money for your efforts add affiliate links to the related items in that same post.

Another creative way of making money is to sign up for CafePress.com and create and sell items from your designs right from your site. So dig out those great photos from your trip and make a calendar then offer it to the world via your blog which talks all about that trip. The possibilities are endless.

Make Money With Your Site or Blog

Add comment August 17th, 2007

People don’t realize they can make money [or at least try] with their personal sites and blogs.

First step is to sign up for quality affiliate programs with companies like Commission Junction, but don’t stop there you’ll find almost any store has an affiliate program if you look hard enough. But CJ.com is a great place to start and your few pennies from different vendors start to add up and you will actually see check sooner than individually paid out programs.

Once you have joined get to writing on that site or posting on that blog about what interests you or do product reviews. Then simply combine the two with the links from the affiliate program. Once that is done. Sit back and watch the click thrus and cash come in. [WARNING: This is a very simplified look at making money from affiliate programs and your results will vary from merchant to merchant and program to program.]

Another way of making cash off those blogs are companies that offer payment for linking in a post on your blog. There are quite a few of them cropping up these days and some of the best will payout big money for your well written articles. Top of the heap is PayPerPost. They are hard to get accepted into but once you are you can pick and choose the writting opportunities that are right for you.  The better your blog the better the opportunities for you to make money on them. 

Another way to make money from your writing abilities is to sign up for Helium. This is a writing community were you post your articles and reap the benefits of their advertising. This is not a new model [as I was part of something like this way back in the dark ages [1998] called The Vine], but a nice one.

So your writing skills are not up to the level you would like them to be? Or you just hate writing because it reminds you too much of being in school? No worries you have other outlets for your creativity and we will discuss them at length in another post.

OSCommerce Issues

Add comment May 10th, 2007

I have been trying to fiddle with OScommerce for a website and while it is working and all that. It is just plain ugly. And changing the overall look is not all that easy.

Yes, you can change the very basics quickly but we wanted a whole new look and without paying an arm and a leg to get it.

I did find a free template site on the forums but can no longer find it. They forums are very helpful for most things but as soon as you ask for help with a template they all clam up and point you to the contributions. The template contributions really are crappy [don’t want to tell them that though].

 And everytime I do a google search for free templates I get nothing but the pay sites [google should try to figure a better way of filtering those results].

 Any who if you know any good free templates post them in the comments and I will do the same as I finally find some.

Acceptable TV

Add comment March 16th, 2007

A new series on VH1 produced by funny man Jack Black has a companion website Acceptible.TV where you can watch video episodes and vote for which series will continue. I it a little like American Idol for the little tv series.

 Some of the series are better left unviewed. But here is a little example of one, Planet Unicorn.

The theme song is the best part of this one.

Page Rankings

Add comment March 9th, 2007

So you have a great website but your page rankings are still low. The best way to increase those rankings is to increase links back to your website. One of the more valuable resources you will find in this endeavor is the niche directory.

Take LondonAdervistingDirectory.com. This is small but growing portal to all things advertising in the London Area. So if your site is focused on advertising get yourself linked here. LondonAdervistingDirectory.com is a quality site and if yours is too it will benefit you both to have your site listed there.

Don’t ignore the little guys because they grow. And that growth will only help you. Even if the site is still new it can help you increase your ranking as it adds more and more quality sites to its listings.

One of the best places to locate small niche directories like LondonAdervistingDirectory.com is SelfPromotion.com. Where you can not only submit your site to different indexes, directories and search engines but learn all about what makes a great website.

Web Tips from a Slacker

Add comment February 8th, 2007

While I do not claim to be an expert on anything, I do know one or two things that might just help someone else out. So I will post those little bits of knowledge here in hopes they will find the right people.