by danu on March 16, 2008
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I've been getting a few questions about the ads on this site, especially since I mentioned the other day that I get paid if you click on them. How does that work? How much? Is it really that easy? Isn't it easy to exploit? To help answer these and other questions, allow me to present a brief explanation of Google.
These days everybody has heard of Google. Nobody Yahoos stuff, but we all 'google' things from time to time. It's even in the Oxford English Dictionary. Google today is almost synonymous with search engine. Most of you may not remember the heady days of the internet in 1996 when we used InfoSeek to find things before Disney bought it and it became Go.com. What about AltaVista? Hotbot? Dogpile? Does anyone remember when they could AskJeeves? My how things have changed.
Back in those days, people making websites used to assign 'keywords' to them to let people know what sort of content they might expect to find. Search engines like the ones I just mentioned would serve you results that matched the keywords you typed in. That's still what most people's understanding of search engines is today, but much has changed since then. [click to continue...]
by danu on March 13, 2008
I'm having a good time writing this blog. Soon I will start writing some original articles in addition to posting links to other sites. Writing is something I've always enjoyed but have never really pursued, so no time like the present I say!
Recently I've come to realise that with the sorts of projects I want to pursue, my current situation and long-term goals in mind, it makes sense for me to try to earn a living online. I'm well used to working for myself already but surprised at how comfortable I am with the online world. It's matured a lot now and it is actually possible to support yourself with a professional website, so I figure if anyone should be able to make a go of it, I should.
To that end, you'll see more changes to the blog for the next little while. You'll already have noticed I've changed the title and theme a few times and have been playing with putting ads around the place. Those ads earn me money when you click on them. Not much, but plenty if a lot of people are visiting my site. The ads are also designed to be relevant to whatever you're reading about. That doesn't always work, but I'm learning more about it all as I go. I'm also trying to find the right balance so the ads aren't too intrusive.
I like the way the site looks at the moment, it's easier to read and looks more professional than the previous theme I was using. However now that I've been using this one for a while I've discovered there are some limitations from my point of view, mostly to do with layout once I start putting up some of the content I'm planning to. That means you can expect to see another redesign shortly.
Finally, I would really appreciate any feedback on the site - what you like, what you don't, too many posts, not enough, interesting, boring, suggestions, etc etc. That sort of feedback is invaluable to me while I'm working out where to take this thing, so please feel free to leave a comment if you have something to say.
I have received some feedback that the blog would be easier to read if the colour scheme were a little different, especially on those long posts. I have also been giving some thought to the purpose of blogging and where I would like to take it. Therefore over the next few days I will be making some adjustments to the design and structure of the blog. Just letting it be known in case anybody turns up one day and finds it all looks different.
by danu on February 27, 2008
I started blogging mostly as a therapeutic way of getting all the swirling mess that goes on in my mind out of my head and into some sort of cohesive form. The fact that people seem to be reading it is a welcome bonus!
In working out how to pick myself up after last year's fall, I feel I have had all the pieces for some time, but I'm still moving them around trying to make them all fit. Every now and then another piece locks into place and I think by now I have all of the corners and most of the edge bits.
Here's what I know so far: [click to continue...]
by danu on February 6, 2008
Welcome! Lots of people tell me I should write more often, so as you can see I've finally started a blog. I've been doing a bit of writing already on Facebook and have decided I'd like to make it a regular thing, but I've already outgrown the fairly limited feature set of the application I was using.
What can you expect to find on here? Quite a mish-mash really. News, clips and interesting tidbits from around the web, rambling philosophical essays, profiles and possibly interviews with interesting people, whatever I feel like sharing really.
Anyway it won't be long before this post gets buried in the archives never to be seen again, so let's just get on with it shall we? [click to continue...]
