Kristen's Written Ramblings: My Online Journal
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
The Glass Ceiling Is Held Up by Women
I'm watching the Today Show right now. They're talking to a woman from Us Weekly about Hilary and Obama. Guess what they were they saying...
Hilary is, like, way not fashionable. Like, just look at all these totally ugly outfits she wore. Like, oh my god!
and
Obama is such a wonderful husband, and, get this girls, he does his own grocery shopping. Isn't that amazing?!
Am I the only one who sees something wrong with this picture?
When a woman runs for president, the media wants to talk about the clothes she wore in the 70's and 80's (when, by the way, even the most fashionable people were wearing embarrassing outfits). And then they went on about the choices she made to wear "mom clothes" instead of "hmmm, I think I'll run for president one day" clothes.
Meanwhile, when a man runs for president they want to talk about his family and marriage values and praise him for purchasing a loaf of bread all by his big-boy self.
The thing that makes this worse is that the two people having this conversation were women. Women always seem to complain about the glass ceiling imposed by men, but honestly I rarely hear men insisting that women are inferior in the workplace. I do, however, frequently hear women judging other women's worth and even professional ability based on superficial things, like fashion, weight, and even the quality of their scrapbooking talents. But when those same women talk about men, they tend to focus on deeper issues, like family skills and job responsibilities. I can't help but think that the reason why we still talk about the glass ceiling is because women are holding each other back.
Hilary is, like, way not fashionable. Like, just look at all these totally ugly outfits she wore. Like, oh my god!
and
Obama is such a wonderful husband, and, get this girls, he does his own grocery shopping. Isn't that amazing?!
Am I the only one who sees something wrong with this picture?
When a woman runs for president, the media wants to talk about the clothes she wore in the 70's and 80's (when, by the way, even the most fashionable people were wearing embarrassing outfits). And then they went on about the choices she made to wear "mom clothes" instead of "hmmm, I think I'll run for president one day" clothes.
Meanwhile, when a man runs for president they want to talk about his family and marriage values and praise him for purchasing a loaf of bread all by his big-boy self.
The thing that makes this worse is that the two people having this conversation were women. Women always seem to complain about the glass ceiling imposed by men, but honestly I rarely hear men insisting that women are inferior in the workplace. I do, however, frequently hear women judging other women's worth and even professional ability based on superficial things, like fashion, weight, and even the quality of their scrapbooking talents. But when those same women talk about men, they tend to focus on deeper issues, like family skills and job responsibilities. I can't help but think that the reason why we still talk about the glass ceiling is because women are holding each other back.
Labels: Things that Annoy Me
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Ghosts in the Bookstore
The other week I was at the bookstore (my favorite place to hang out), and I kept following this guy. I didn't really know why I was following him. I just kept ending up in the same aisle with him and looking at the same sections. It just felt really nice to be standing near him. It just gave me that warm, comforted feeling.
And then I realized why I was doing it.
He was wearing the same cologne that my dad wore when he was alive. (He died a few years ago.) Funny how our primal sense of smell can influence our actions so strongly.
As soon as I realized what was happening, I started crying. I had to go hide in the corner of the travel section for about ten minutes, so I wouldn't disturb everyone with my sniffles. (Nobody's ever in the travel section of the bookstore for some reason. I guess all the travelers are out there traveling instead of reading about traveling.)
Then I realized that my dad liked to look at travel magazines, so then I immediately had to get out of the travel section to avoid making myself cry even more.
I quickly headed for the children's book section. That's the section that always cheers me up. But then I started looking a Dr. Seuss books that my dad read to me when I was a kid, and felt even worse.
So I gave up, paid for my art book, and left.
I miss my dad.
And then I realized why I was doing it.
He was wearing the same cologne that my dad wore when he was alive. (He died a few years ago.) Funny how our primal sense of smell can influence our actions so strongly.
As soon as I realized what was happening, I started crying. I had to go hide in the corner of the travel section for about ten minutes, so I wouldn't disturb everyone with my sniffles. (Nobody's ever in the travel section of the bookstore for some reason. I guess all the travelers are out there traveling instead of reading about traveling.)
Then I realized that my dad liked to look at travel magazines, so then I immediately had to get out of the travel section to avoid making myself cry even more.
I quickly headed for the children's book section. That's the section that always cheers me up. But then I started looking a Dr. Seuss books that my dad read to me when I was a kid, and felt even worse.
So I gave up, paid for my art book, and left.
I miss my dad.
Labels: My Life
Monday, February 25, 2008
Where's that Do-Over Button?
It's odd how so many people from my past aren't what I thought they were. Most of the people I wanted to impress when I was growing up turned out to be unworthy of my efforts. And the people I took for granted turned out to be the people I needed most.
The truly sad part is that you can't go back in time and set things right. You can't stop yourself from hurting the people you truly cared about or hurting yourself to impress the unworthy ones. You can learn from your mistakes; I definitely have, but the consequences of those mistakes never go away.
Now I do whatever I can to avoid making those mistakes. I give people the benefit of the doubt. I'm polite even to people who are terribly rude (maybe they just had a bad day). I take time to figure out who is truly important to me, and I make an effort to let them know I care while doing my best to keep from smothering them. At the same time, I'm very cautious. I've learned that if somebody says "trust me," you generally shouldn't. I've learned that if somebody says they care about you, pay attention to their actions, not their words.
I still catch myself wishing I could press the do-over button, though. Imagine how much easier life could be with one of those.
The truly sad part is that you can't go back in time and set things right. You can't stop yourself from hurting the people you truly cared about or hurting yourself to impress the unworthy ones. You can learn from your mistakes; I definitely have, but the consequences of those mistakes never go away.
Now I do whatever I can to avoid making those mistakes. I give people the benefit of the doubt. I'm polite even to people who are terribly rude (maybe they just had a bad day). I take time to figure out who is truly important to me, and I make an effort to let them know I care while doing my best to keep from smothering them. At the same time, I'm very cautious. I've learned that if somebody says "trust me," you generally shouldn't. I've learned that if somebody says they care about you, pay attention to their actions, not their words.
I still catch myself wishing I could press the do-over button, though. Imagine how much easier life could be with one of those.
Labels: My Life
Antidepressants Are Like Hammers
I've said it before, and I'll say it again...
Medication is not a cure for depression; it's a tool to help you climb out of depression.
At least once per week, somebody tells me how they've been on medication for months or years to combat depression (or anxiety, but mostly depression). They try drug X for awhile, up the dosage, switch to drug Y for awhile, up the dosage, and then combine drug X and drug Y for awhile.
Then they come to me and say, "Which drug did you use to get out of your depression?" (I had been battling depression and anxiety for nearly 30 years when I finally got it under control.)
That's like asking, "What kind of hammer built your house?" Well, yes, I used a hammer to build my house, and the quality of the hammer does make a difference, but the hammer didn't do the work for me. I'm the one who had to build it. The hammer just made banging the nails in much easier.
Likewise, medication is a tool. It can help you stabilize yourself enough to get into therapy, but when you get to therapy, you need to do the work.
If you're just taking medication and not doing therapy, then you're also probably waiting for your fancy hammer to build your house for you, or for your wrench to fix your car for you, or for your computer to do your taxes for you, and you get the idea. (And you're going to be waiting a long time.)
Yes, I took medication for awhile, but it was the psychotherapy that brought me to the light, and it was the daily changes to my lifestyle that improved my daily life. Here's a huge long list of what I did to get out of depression.
Medication is not a cure for depression; it's a tool to help you climb out of depression.
At least once per week, somebody tells me how they've been on medication for months or years to combat depression (or anxiety, but mostly depression). They try drug X for awhile, up the dosage, switch to drug Y for awhile, up the dosage, and then combine drug X and drug Y for awhile.
Then they come to me and say, "Which drug did you use to get out of your depression?" (I had been battling depression and anxiety for nearly 30 years when I finally got it under control.)
That's like asking, "What kind of hammer built your house?" Well, yes, I used a hammer to build my house, and the quality of the hammer does make a difference, but the hammer didn't do the work for me. I'm the one who had to build it. The hammer just made banging the nails in much easier.
Likewise, medication is a tool. It can help you stabilize yourself enough to get into therapy, but when you get to therapy, you need to do the work.
If you're just taking medication and not doing therapy, then you're also probably waiting for your fancy hammer to build your house for you, or for your wrench to fix your car for you, or for your computer to do your taxes for you, and you get the idea. (And you're going to be waiting a long time.)
Yes, I took medication for awhile, but it was the psychotherapy that brought me to the light, and it was the daily changes to my lifestyle that improved my daily life. Here's a huge long list of what I did to get out of depression.
Labels: My Life
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Uuugggghhhh... cough cough
I hate being sick. It's a beautiful weekend, nearly spring, and I'm in zombie mode, trying not to laugh because laughing make me cough. (I miss laughing.)
I'd do a shaman, witch-doctor, voodoo healing dance if I could, but I'm too freakin' tired, and I can't remember all the moves anyhow (I recall something about flapping your arms like a chicken, but after that it's all fuzzy).
I'd do a shaman, witch-doctor, voodoo healing dance if I could, but I'm too freakin' tired, and I can't remember all the moves anyhow (I recall something about flapping your arms like a chicken, but after that it's all fuzzy).
Labels: My Life
Making an Honest Living
My little square graphic ad through Project Wonderful on Kristen's Guide has been doing pretty well for a new ad listing. Usually it takes at least a month before I start to see any profit from ad networks (and then it's a pathetic couple of pennies). The revenue from this one is slowly increasing daily, but it's pretty impressive growth for the the first 12 days. (The bids are already at 1/2 of what I used to charge for manual placement of graphic square ads.) I guess it's because I put it in a prime eye-catching position. I placed it right next to the Entrecard widget, so visitors ready to drop cards will readily notice the ad, and anyone reading articles will likely notice it because I don't have many graphics above the page fold, and it's the first graphic ad.
Since that little spot has been so effective, I've decided to try out replacing one of my AdBrite skyscrapers (my most popular one) with a Project Wonderful skyscraper. My AdBrite ads are only making pennies lately, are of inconsistent quality, and dramatically slow down the loading of my site, so I've been on the hunt for something better. Maybe Project Wonderful is it.
Of course, I'd certainly be doing better if I could get more visitors. (Maybe I should get a website pimp.)
Since that little spot has been so effective, I've decided to try out replacing one of my AdBrite skyscrapers (my most popular one) with a Project Wonderful skyscraper. My AdBrite ads are only making pennies lately, are of inconsistent quality, and dramatically slow down the loading of my site, so I've been on the hunt for something better. Maybe Project Wonderful is it.
Of course, I'd certainly be doing better if I could get more visitors. (Maybe I should get a website pimp.)
Labels: Blogging and Websites
Friday, February 22, 2008
The People Who Taught Me
Every day, I'm on the hunt for people who inspire me, but I didn't have to look far to find some of the most influential people in my life.
My Mom, who took care of me and taught me the importance of getting lost in imagination, dedicating yourself to your kids, and making yourself a priority.
My Dad, who made sure I always had food, clothing, shelter, and transportation and taught me how to take care of myself and the importance of working hard, perseverance, trying new things, and doing what you love.
My husband, who loved me and stuck by me (even during the difficult stuff), taught me the importance of laughing at everything, absolutely everything, was always open and honest with me about my talents and flaws, and supported my efforts to follow my dreams.
My children, who are my world, who taught me what's really important in life and that it's OK to be a show-off and make a fool of yourself as long as I'm having fun doing it.
My grandparents, who taught me the importance of good health and creating the life you want, so you don't have any regrets when it's over.
My teachers, who repeatedly told me that I could do anything that I was willing to work for.
Thanks everyone.
My Mom, who took care of me and taught me the importance of getting lost in imagination, dedicating yourself to your kids, and making yourself a priority.
My Dad, who made sure I always had food, clothing, shelter, and transportation and taught me how to take care of myself and the importance of working hard, perseverance, trying new things, and doing what you love.
My husband, who loved me and stuck by me (even during the difficult stuff), taught me the importance of laughing at everything, absolutely everything, was always open and honest with me about my talents and flaws, and supported my efforts to follow my dreams.
My children, who are my world, who taught me what's really important in life and that it's OK to be a show-off and make a fool of yourself as long as I'm having fun doing it.
My grandparents, who taught me the importance of good health and creating the life you want, so you don't have any regrets when it's over.
My teachers, who repeatedly told me that I could do anything that I was willing to work for.
Thanks everyone.
Labels: Inspiring People I Admire
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
She's Very Imaginative but Lacks Creativity and Is Rarely Innovative
I recently flipped through a bunch of books in the self-help section of the bookstore. Most of the books talked about how you can become "great" or "ingenious." Many of them talked a lot about the importance of being imaginative, creative, and innovative. I applaud the efforts of the various authors, and the words they used certainly made them sound smart (which probably helped them get their books in the self-help section), but I honestly think that they don't really know what they're talking about.
Imagination is the ability to have new ideas. It's completely mental. Daydreaming is imaginative. Suddenly having an idea for a machine that will take off your shoes and socks and douse your stinky feet with perfume is imaginative. Trying to picture what would happen if you turned on your garden hose and stuck it in the window of your neighbor's car all day is imaginative. If you have a working human brain, there's a very good chance that you are an imaginative individual.
Creativity requires actually creating something. I just made a cheese sandwich. That was creative (and delicious). Previously, I imagined making a cheese sandwich, and then I created it. (I'm quite the creator, if I do say so myself.) If you're a living creature, you're creative, even if all you create is poop.
Innovation requires creating something new, something different, something not quite seen before. The cheese sandwich I created was quite innovative because nobody has ever made a cheese sandwich quite like it before. The mosaic of cheese that I placed on the bread was an artistic innovation.
So feel free to start bragging about how you're so imaginative, creative, and innovative that other people should bask in your glory. (I'm basking in my own cheese-sandwich-making glory right now.) Then write a book about it. Eventually it will end up in a self-help section and earn you a few bucks.
Of course, if you want to be regarded as ingenious, you'll need to actually imagine and create some innovations that will somehow affect lots of people in helpful ways (because nobody's going to compare you to Gandhi unless that cheese sandwich leads to world peace), then find somebody willing to invest in your ideas, and convince the media to talk about how great you are. But that's an entirely different discussion.
Imagination is the ability to have new ideas. It's completely mental. Daydreaming is imaginative. Suddenly having an idea for a machine that will take off your shoes and socks and douse your stinky feet with perfume is imaginative. Trying to picture what would happen if you turned on your garden hose and stuck it in the window of your neighbor's car all day is imaginative. If you have a working human brain, there's a very good chance that you are an imaginative individual.
Creativity requires actually creating something. I just made a cheese sandwich. That was creative (and delicious). Previously, I imagined making a cheese sandwich, and then I created it. (I'm quite the creator, if I do say so myself.) If you're a living creature, you're creative, even if all you create is poop.
Innovation requires creating something new, something different, something not quite seen before. The cheese sandwich I created was quite innovative because nobody has ever made a cheese sandwich quite like it before. The mosaic of cheese that I placed on the bread was an artistic innovation.
So feel free to start bragging about how you're so imaginative, creative, and innovative that other people should bask in your glory. (I'm basking in my own cheese-sandwich-making glory right now.) Then write a book about it. Eventually it will end up in a self-help section and earn you a few bucks.
Of course, if you want to be regarded as ingenious, you'll need to actually imagine and create some innovations that will somehow affect lots of people in helpful ways (because nobody's going to compare you to Gandhi unless that cheese sandwich leads to world peace), then find somebody willing to invest in your ideas, and convince the media to talk about how great you are. But that's an entirely different discussion.
Labels: Fancy Words that Make You Seem Smart
Patting Myself on the Back
Woo Hoo! Kristen's Guide is now ranked at 382,409 by Alexa, ranked at 93,797 by Quantcast, and has a PR5 by Google. My best rankings so far. Plus, I'm up to the 100+k page views per month.
What does all of this mean?
When I first started playing on the Internet, I was thrilled to get 30 visitors per month to my website. I kept thinking, that's like having a whole classroom of people reading my stuff every month. Wow! Now I have at least 30 visitors per hour (and that's on a slow day).
Yay for me.
What does all of this mean?
When I first started playing on the Internet, I was thrilled to get 30 visitors per month to my website. I kept thinking, that's like having a whole classroom of people reading my stuff every month. Wow! Now I have at least 30 visitors per hour (and that's on a slow day).
Yay for me.
Labels: Blogging and Websites
Friday, February 15, 2008
Making Money with Smorty
Sponsored Review
I recently signed up with Smorty (http://www.smorty.com). Smorty is blog review network that allows companies to advertise on blogs by paying bloggers to post reviews about them. With blog reviews, I can make a few extra bucks while doing one of my favorite things, rambling on about my opinion. (Great!)
So far, I'm impressed with Smorty's design. For one thing, it's not clunky, which is always a nice bonus for the eye. In the account main page, all of the stats, including earnings, posts accepted, posts rejected, and the reviewer score, along with all of the currently pending review tasks, notifications, and review opportunities are on one page. GENIUS! (It's something I've been whining about when it comes to other review services. I hate having to click on link after link to find out every detail about every review.)
But here's what I love most right now: WEEKLY PAYOUT! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. (So many companies hold on to your money until you reach a minimum balance or they pay you every 3 months. It's quite frustrating.) I'm happy to see that Smorty is giving bloggers respect by not tying up the paychecks. And payments are made via Paypal; another bonus.
I'm always skeptical about how much money I'll actually make from any "make money online" deal, but after going over the current review opportunities, I'm impressed. I think I might actually end up adding a few pretty pennies to my piggy bank. I'll be sure to keep everyone updated about it.
I recently signed up with Smorty (http://www.smorty.com). Smorty is blog review network that allows companies to advertise on blogs by paying bloggers to post reviews about them. With blog reviews, I can make a few extra bucks while doing one of my favorite things, rambling on about my opinion. (Great!)
So far, I'm impressed with Smorty's design. For one thing, it's not clunky, which is always a nice bonus for the eye. In the account main page, all of the stats, including earnings, posts accepted, posts rejected, and the reviewer score, along with all of the currently pending review tasks, notifications, and review opportunities are on one page. GENIUS! (It's something I've been whining about when it comes to other review services. I hate having to click on link after link to find out every detail about every review.)
But here's what I love most right now: WEEKLY PAYOUT! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. (So many companies hold on to your money until you reach a minimum balance or they pay you every 3 months. It's quite frustrating.) I'm happy to see that Smorty is giving bloggers respect by not tying up the paychecks. And payments are made via Paypal; another bonus.
I'm always skeptical about how much money I'll actually make from any "make money online" deal, but after going over the current review opportunities, I'm impressed. I think I might actually end up adding a few pretty pennies to my piggy bank. I'll be sure to keep everyone updated about it.
Labels: Sponsored Reviews
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Instant Expert: Just Add Quotes
If you want to be an expert, all you need to do is put quotes around things you write and follow it with a -- author tag.
Here's an example:
"Nobody's the big fish in a small pond when we all live in the ocean." --Kristen Brooke Beck
Yes, it's not all that intelligent at all. It's just a random thought that popped in my head (probably because I was watching a documentary about squids last night). But if you stick in quotes, suddenly it seems like I spent hours meditating on the meaning of life and came up with this amazing truth.
You can't just say it randomly, though. If somebody said that to you while commuting to work on the train, you'd smile politely and move to another car. But if you stuck it in some publication (or even wrote it on the sidewalk with chalk), suddenly people would think that I knew what the hell I was talking about.
"Look at that Marge! Somebody wrote it down and stuck it in quotes. It MUST be important."
Here's an example:
"Nobody's the big fish in a small pond when we all live in the ocean." --Kristen Brooke Beck
Yes, it's not all that intelligent at all. It's just a random thought that popped in my head (probably because I was watching a documentary about squids last night). But if you stick in quotes, suddenly it seems like I spent hours meditating on the meaning of life and came up with this amazing truth.
You can't just say it randomly, though. If somebody said that to you while commuting to work on the train, you'd smile politely and move to another car. But if you stuck it in some publication (or even wrote it on the sidewalk with chalk), suddenly people would think that I knew what the hell I was talking about.
"Look at that Marge! Somebody wrote it down and stuck it in quotes. It MUST be important."
Labels: Entertaining Myself
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Strange Google Adsense Drop in Revenue Leads to Project Wonderful
Meanwhile, back on Kristen's Guide...
My Google Adsense revenue has been doing weird things lately. First of all, my ad revenue from Adsense dropped... a lot during the last few weeks. And now it's jumping up and down every day. Some days I only make enough to buy 1 grocery item, and other days I make enough to pay for dinner.
(Notice I don't disclose my actual numbers, so I don't violate the terms of the program. For all you know, my 1 grocery item might be a very rare $1000 bottle of wine, so you have no idea how expensive my dinner would be. Sorry. Wish I could be more specific.)
It doesn't seem to matter what my stats are, not pageviews, not click-thrus, not bounces.
The whole thing is creating cardiac distress. (Dammit, somebody get me my pills!) One day I'm relaxed and the next I'm freaking out while trying to figure out what horrible thing caused my income to drop and wondering what I can do to get it back.
So yesterday, that led me to try out Project Wonderful. I was getting tired of managing my flat-rate graphic ad space anyhow. Now, I'll just have Project Wonderful manage it for me for awhile. I don't have any idea how much I'll earn from it, but I stuck the ad in my most prominent ad position, so I'm hoping that will help. The current bid is far from impressive (only $0.20 per day), but I'm hoping that it's only because I just started. (I'm keeping my fingers crossed and chanting "higher, higher, higher" while clicking the heels of my ruby red shoes and trying to wiggle my nose. Let's see if any of that works.)
My Google Adsense revenue has been doing weird things lately. First of all, my ad revenue from Adsense dropped... a lot during the last few weeks. And now it's jumping up and down every day. Some days I only make enough to buy 1 grocery item, and other days I make enough to pay for dinner.
(Notice I don't disclose my actual numbers, so I don't violate the terms of the program. For all you know, my 1 grocery item might be a very rare $1000 bottle of wine, so you have no idea how expensive my dinner would be. Sorry. Wish I could be more specific.)
It doesn't seem to matter what my stats are, not pageviews, not click-thrus, not bounces.
The whole thing is creating cardiac distress. (Dammit, somebody get me my pills!) One day I'm relaxed and the next I'm freaking out while trying to figure out what horrible thing caused my income to drop and wondering what I can do to get it back.
So yesterday, that led me to try out Project Wonderful. I was getting tired of managing my flat-rate graphic ad space anyhow. Now, I'll just have Project Wonderful manage it for me for awhile. I don't have any idea how much I'll earn from it, but I stuck the ad in my most prominent ad position, so I'm hoping that will help. The current bid is far from impressive (only $0.20 per day), but I'm hoping that it's only because I just started. (I'm keeping my fingers crossed and chanting "higher, higher, higher" while clicking the heels of my ruby red shoes and trying to wiggle my nose. Let's see if any of that works.)
Labels: Blogging and Websites
Saturday, February 9, 2008
I Hate the Bush Administration
He sends our military to war, and any veteran who survives gets a "thank you" and is left to put themselves back together.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/96351.php
Honestly Bush, if you can't afford to take care of these men and women when they get home, then don't send them to the other side of the world to dodge bullets and bombs just to protect your assets (the oily kind, anyone who has actually studied it knows that freedom and democracy had nothing to do with this no matter how many times you say those words). It's bad enough that our forces are earning minimum wage (and sometimes even less than that), and now you're taking away their benefits too.
I bet Bush doesn't even pay his waiters the full 15% tip.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/96351.php
Honestly Bush, if you can't afford to take care of these men and women when they get home, then don't send them to the other side of the world to dodge bullets and bombs just to protect your assets (the oily kind, anyone who has actually studied it knows that freedom and democracy had nothing to do with this no matter how many times you say those words). It's bad enough that our forces are earning minimum wage (and sometimes even less than that), and now you're taking away their benefits too.
I bet Bush doesn't even pay his waiters the full 15% tip.
Labels: Things that Annoy Me
No Children Allowed in the Children's Store!
A friend of mine took her kids to a store that sells children's clothes, toys, etc. She brought her kids. (After all, it's stuff for them, so it's usually a good idea to let them pick it out. Otherwise, you end up getting things they don't like, don't use, and don't want. Waste of money.)
Every time on of the kids even put a finger on anything, the owner of the store made a point to say, "Don't touch that! You'll break it."
(I agree with her completely. Whenever I take my kids to the toy store, I tie up their hands with duct tape, so they can't touch anything, especially the toys for children. Children should never touch toys! They might break them. And children's clothes... they're just to decorate the closet. You're not actually supposed to let your kids wear them except during picture day, after which you must remove the clothes immediately and dress them in durable flour sacks.)
There was an unlocked door in the play area. The kids naturally wanted to open it to see what was on the other side. (It was in the play area, so it must be for play.) Again, the store owner barked out, "Don't open that door! It's a staircase that leads down to the basement."
(Kids instinctually know to stay away from dangerous things. Obviously my friend's kid must have been mentally disabled or something. I'm sure any other kid would have known that there was a dangerous staircase on the other side of the door (children can see through walls), and surely they would have known to avoid it.)
Kids in a kids store... geesh! What's next? Cars at a car wash? Food in a grocery store? Computer geeks at a Fry's? Oh the world is just going to hell.
Every time on of the kids even put a finger on anything, the owner of the store made a point to say, "Don't touch that! You'll break it."
(I agree with her completely. Whenever I take my kids to the toy store, I tie up their hands with duct tape, so they can't touch anything, especially the toys for children. Children should never touch toys! They might break them. And children's clothes... they're just to decorate the closet. You're not actually supposed to let your kids wear them except during picture day, after which you must remove the clothes immediately and dress them in durable flour sacks.)
There was an unlocked door in the play area. The kids naturally wanted to open it to see what was on the other side. (It was in the play area, so it must be for play.) Again, the store owner barked out, "Don't open that door! It's a staircase that leads down to the basement."
(Kids instinctually know to stay away from dangerous things. Obviously my friend's kid must have been mentally disabled or something. I'm sure any other kid would have known that there was a dangerous staircase on the other side of the door (children can see through walls), and surely they would have known to avoid it.)
Kids in a kids store... geesh! What's next? Cars at a car wash? Food in a grocery store? Computer geeks at a Fry's? Oh the world is just going to hell.
Labels: Things that Annoy Me
Friday, February 8, 2008
HotMama, this one's for you... Here's How I Make Money from my Website / Blog
HotMama Mathe commented on my previous post and asked if I really do make money from my site.
Yes!
My money comes from my Kristen's Guide website at http://www.kristensguide.com (not so much from my Ramblings). First, go look at my site and notice where I've placed the ads and such (I would suggest opening it in a new tab or window for quick reference).
When I first started out, I was convinced that I wouldn't put any ads on my site because I didn't want to be a sell out. Well, guess what, no ads, no money. So step 1, be a sell out.
I started putting affiliate links on my site (pay per action links). That brings in a small amount of money on a pretty infrequent basis. But something is better than nothing.
Then I put some AdSense ads on the right side column. I earned a whopping steady $2.00 per month (woo-freakin-hoo!). Why? Because very few people pay attention to the stuff in the columns. People think that they're just pointless widgets and ads, so they ignore them. (Banner blindness.)
Then I offered flat-rate ads. Those only do well if you have good Page Rank, traffic, etc., but even if I only get one person to pay for a single month flat-rate ad per year (I used to charge $10 for a text link, now I charge $15), well that's enough to pay for the domain name registration for my site.
Then I learned that if you put ads around the content (which people are coming to actually look at), visitors will be more likely to see it and click on it because it reduces banner blindness. That brought me up to $20.00 (enough to turn a profit after paying for the domain name, electricity, and hosting).
So after moving all of my Pay/Cost-Per-Click (CPC) ads to the content area, I had freed up some space in the columns. So there I put in some Pay-Per-Impression/Cost-Per-Thousand (CPM) ads in those areas. So even if people don't click on those ads, I still earn money from them. That added another $5-$10 per month in income.
Then I noticed that CPC ads placed near areas where people already expect to click, like navigation, had the highest CPC rate, so I started putting them near such places. And if you blend your ads, rather than having them stand out, you'll get an even higher click thru rate (CTR). Eventually, that brought me enough income to start paying off my credit cards and paying my bills and such.
Then I started selling products of my own (and there's lots of ways to do this). This brings in a small amount of money, but every little bit helps.
I also added a donation button / tip jar, which gets me about $10-$20 per year in donations. (I love those tippers.)
Of course, the more visitors I have, the more money I make, so increasing my traffic is important too. I'm always trying new things. The stuff that works, I write about on my site. Click here to see how I've increased my website traffic.
Another thing I did to expand was to modify my site so that it's a site/blog hybrid. I have to admit, I'm not a big fan of the traditional blog style, looking at posts in chronological order. I like things categorized, so my site is categorized, but I also have a blog (through Blogger) that I incorporated into my site. So if you look at my home page, it's much like the home page of a traditional blog (items posted in chronological order) set inside of a static website. This allows me to get in "blog" communities as well as traditional "site" communities. Plus, it gives me lots of control over everything in my site (and I'm a control freak, so this is important to me).
Now with paid blog posts, I also make a bit of money from posting sponsored posts, but I do this on my Ramblings blog. I don't put paid posts in my Kristen's Guide Updates because I know that readers don't want to see that, and it will likely drive them away. They just want to know what's the latest update at Kristen's Guide, nothing else. (Whenever I put something non-update related on that blog, subscribers start dropping off like flies in a room with a bug bomb.)
I keep branching out into new things because DIVERSIFICATION is the key. The more places you get money, the more money you'll make, and the less painful it will be if one of those sources of income disappears. (Think about the wealthy people in the world. They all diversify.)
I'll be sure to create a more thorough article about all of this and post it at Kristen's Guide when I have more time, so sign up for the updates there.
Yes!
My money comes from my Kristen's Guide website at http://www.kristensguide.com (not so much from my Ramblings). First, go look at my site and notice where I've placed the ads and such (I would suggest opening it in a new tab or window for quick reference).
When I first started out, I was convinced that I wouldn't put any ads on my site because I didn't want to be a sell out. Well, guess what, no ads, no money. So step 1, be a sell out.
I started putting affiliate links on my site (pay per action links). That brings in a small amount of money on a pretty infrequent basis. But something is better than nothing.
Then I put some AdSense ads on the right side column. I earned a whopping steady $2.00 per month (woo-freakin-hoo!). Why? Because very few people pay attention to the stuff in the columns. People think that they're just pointless widgets and ads, so they ignore them. (Banner blindness.)
Then I offered flat-rate ads. Those only do well if you have good Page Rank, traffic, etc., but even if I only get one person to pay for a single month flat-rate ad per year (I used to charge $10 for a text link, now I charge $15), well that's enough to pay for the domain name registration for my site.
Then I learned that if you put ads around the content (which people are coming to actually look at), visitors will be more likely to see it and click on it because it reduces banner blindness. That brought me up to $20.00 (enough to turn a profit after paying for the domain name, electricity, and hosting).
So after moving all of my Pay/Cost-Per-Click (CPC) ads to the content area, I had freed up some space in the columns. So there I put in some Pay-Per-Impression/Cost-Per-Thousand (CPM) ads in those areas. So even if people don't click on those ads, I still earn money from them. That added another $5-$10 per month in income.
Then I noticed that CPC ads placed near areas where people already expect to click, like navigation, had the highest CPC rate, so I started putting them near such places. And if you blend your ads, rather than having them stand out, you'll get an even higher click thru rate (CTR). Eventually, that brought me enough income to start paying off my credit cards and paying my bills and such.
Then I started selling products of my own (and there's lots of ways to do this). This brings in a small amount of money, but every little bit helps.
I also added a donation button / tip jar, which gets me about $10-$20 per year in donations. (I love those tippers.)
Of course, the more visitors I have, the more money I make, so increasing my traffic is important too. I'm always trying new things. The stuff that works, I write about on my site. Click here to see how I've increased my website traffic.
Another thing I did to expand was to modify my site so that it's a site/blog hybrid. I have to admit, I'm not a big fan of the traditional blog style, looking at posts in chronological order. I like things categorized, so my site is categorized, but I also have a blog (through Blogger) that I incorporated into my site. So if you look at my home page, it's much like the home page of a traditional blog (items posted in chronological order) set inside of a static website. This allows me to get in "blog" communities as well as traditional "site" communities. Plus, it gives me lots of control over everything in my site (and I'm a control freak, so this is important to me).
Now with paid blog posts, I also make a bit of money from posting sponsored posts, but I do this on my Ramblings blog. I don't put paid posts in my Kristen's Guide Updates because I know that readers don't want to see that, and it will likely drive them away. They just want to know what's the latest update at Kristen's Guide, nothing else. (Whenever I put something non-update related on that blog, subscribers start dropping off like flies in a room with a bug bomb.)
I keep branching out into new things because DIVERSIFICATION is the key. The more places you get money, the more money you'll make, and the less painful it will be if one of those sources of income disappears. (Think about the wealthy people in the world. They all diversify.)
I'll be sure to create a more thorough article about all of this and post it at Kristen's Guide when I have more time, so sign up for the updates there.
Labels: Blogging and Websites
Thursday, February 7, 2008
I'm Plagued by Stat Envy
I'm looking at other people's blogs and I'm noticing how some blogs have much higher stats than my Kristen's Guide (http://www.kristensguide.com) site.
Lots of sites are better than mine, so what's the problem?
To put it nicely... the sites I'm talking about aren't very interesting or useful.
I've read their posts. OK, so their dog went to the vet, their kid had a birthday, and they found a cool site about cheese. Nice, but why would I want to subscribe to that?
More importantly, why do other people subscribe to it? Why do they have so many visitors? Why is their Alexa rating so high? And how did they build up that much traffic when their blog has only been up for three months, has only 7 posts, and has only 4 sites linking to it (and they're not even high ranking sites)?
Something's fishy?
While I'm looking at their sites, though, I've been noticing that the layouts aren't exactly optimized for web advertising, and most of them don't even have ads in their feeds (not even sponsored posts). So I suppose they're not making much cash from their sites.
I don't have amazing stats, but my little online hobby is paying me a pretty penny, so at least that makes up for my stat envy.
Lots of sites are better than mine, so what's the problem?
To put it nicely... the sites I'm talking about aren't very interesting or useful.
I've read their posts. OK, so their dog went to the vet, their kid had a birthday, and they found a cool site about cheese. Nice, but why would I want to subscribe to that?
More importantly, why do other people subscribe to it? Why do they have so many visitors? Why is their Alexa rating so high? And how did they build up that much traffic when their blog has only been up for three months, has only 7 posts, and has only 4 sites linking to it (and they're not even high ranking sites)?
Something's fishy?
While I'm looking at their sites, though, I've been noticing that the layouts aren't exactly optimized for web advertising, and most of them don't even have ads in their feeds (not even sponsored posts). So I suppose they're not making much cash from their sites.
I don't have amazing stats, but my little online hobby is paying me a pretty penny, so at least that makes up for my stat envy.
Labels: Blogging and Websites
Friday, February 1, 2008
Ahhh Nightmares
So I woke up at 3 am after having a very bizarre nightmare.
My family and I were hanging out with Alton Brown. (I love that guy.)
Then we got in our minivan (that right there made my heart race, me owning a minivan, it sends shivers down my spine) and drove to our ranch house in Texas (oh dear God, not in Texas!)
When we got in our house, there was a crazy guy who tried to strangle me to death, so my husband got out our gun and tried to shoot him but couldn't pull the trigger for some reason, and it seemed that the crazed man would surely kill us all (me, my husband, my kids, my nieces and nephews, and my sister).
Suddenly, I woke up.
Now I'm scared to go to sleep again because I might have another dream about owning a minivan or living in Texas. (Shudder Shudder)
My family and I were hanging out with Alton Brown. (I love that guy.)
Then we got in our minivan (that right there made my heart race, me owning a minivan, it sends shivers down my spine) and drove to our ranch house in Texas (oh dear God, not in Texas!)
When we got in our house, there was a crazy guy who tried to strangle me to death, so my husband got out our gun and tried to shoot him but couldn't pull the trigger for some reason, and it seemed that the crazed man would surely kill us all (me, my husband, my kids, my nieces and nephews, and my sister).
Suddenly, I woke up.
Now I'm scared to go to sleep again because I might have another dream about owning a minivan or living in Texas. (Shudder Shudder)
Labels: Entertaining Myself
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