Also Known As: My wife’s JOB: A comedy of errors.

Some of you might recognize the reference to the immortal Robert Heinlein’s work in the title.  For those who don’t, if you are into Sci-Fi or Fantasy, you’ll love the book, which you can find by following the link attached to the image of the cover on the right. It’s a lovely diversion from daily life and I highly recommend it.

As for why I titled this post with a reference to JOB… It’s that life itself has become far stranger than reality television with evil producers who are on a tight budget and losing ratings.  In other words: it’s become a little tiresome for the cast, in this particular case that would be myself and my family.

Every long distance move comes with a slew of challenges. We are aware of these and please let me assure you that I’m not whining about having to get everything ready for a 1,700 mile transition.  I’m more than prepared to make adjustments.  What I’m miffed about is that every single thing we’ve done has come with issues…

The military has had problems completing our paperwork. Our home loan is getting very near to falling through; not because we’re not doing everything we can, but because our lender isn’t talking to anyone, including us. Plans for visitors and last minute get togethers fall through daily, mostly where family is involved and in the midst of all this I’m still trying to get all of the mundane day-to-day things that have to be accomplished on my end completed.

And then there’s work… Which isn’t getting done… But has to be done…

So what do you do when life is stranger than fiction?  Do you fight valiantly onward, forgetting the chaos around you, or do you fold beneath the waves of insanity that come crashing down around you?  Do you tackle one project at-a-time, working steadily towards your goal or do you try to handle everything at once and thus gain a little breathing room?

For me it’s a combination of both methods, depending on the day.  It is a sometimes vain attempt to balance home life, work and parenting with looming deadlines, commitments and other impending calendar dates of doom. I’m not always successful, but I do my best.

What’s your method for dealing with distraction, diversion and chaos?

In the battle of the search engines, Google has long held the top position. Most of the big G’s die hard followers claim it is the simplicity of the tool that keeps them using it.  Another smaller percentage will claim that they would rather eat week old gym socks than to have anything to do with a Microsoft product. In either case, they may need to rethink their stance on search.

Enter Microsoft bing, the new search platform from the software behemoth that has brought the world such mediocrity as Windows 95 and Windows Me along with such utter failures as Internet Explorer and Windows Vista, just to name a few. (Does anyone remember Microsoft BOB? <shudder>.) With a long sting of disappointments and failures under their belt, it would be a fair assumption to immediately class the newly re branded Microsoft bing as one of the many almost-great ideas the company puts out on a fairly regular basis. The only problem is, it’s not a failure at all.

On the contrary, bing works, and it works very well.  Under threat of being ostracized by every member of the “I hate Microsoft Society”, I’m willing to say that so far I’m willing to skip Google as my primary search engines in favor of this new Microsoft tool in most cases.

Wait! Before you get out your torches and pitchforks, let me explain why!

Bing is fast…  Blazingly fast. While Google Search isn’t usually slow, bing just feels faster, and that counts for a lot when you’re in the midst of looking for something important.

Bing gives you options… need to refine your search?  bing hands you a list of suggestions in a manner similar to Apple’s spotlight or Microsoft vista’s Desktop Search.  This can drastically reduce drill-down times. The mouse over quick view of page content can be a lifesaver in rejecting that “almost relevant” page or two in the listings.

Bing listens and tries to adjust to what you’re looking for. Rather than just throwing out a list of keyword specific results that may or may not have the slightest thing to do with what you were actually searching for, bing seems to take the time to put your searches in context.  Google doesn’t bother with little things like this; it deals more with keyword relevance. bing responds a lot more like the original Ask Jeeves, which was my search engine of choice before it was bought out in the early 2000’s

Bing Feels finished… This may be the Mac user and designer in me, but Google’s interface just doesn’t have what it takes to be considered a modern application. It stagnated somewhere in the early 90’s and now relies on iGoogle to make it feel mature.  Bing delivers a modern experience without the need to log in to an account.  In my opinion this is a huge plus.

In short, I think bing is giving users all the options and power of Google Search with the added advantages of intelligent algorithms and a polished experience that far surpasses the competition.  This time Google does have something to worry about, because bing is bringing a new level of search to the table, and one I think deserves your attention.

In short, anything and everything. It’s been a very hectic month for the Russell family in many ways, all of which conspired to keep me from getting much in the way of work done here, or on any of my other blogs and if you will indulge me for a moment, I’ll fill you in on some of the highlights.

Firstly, for those of you who aren’t aware through twitter or my food and recipe blog, we’re gearing up for a move. This is a military move, and one of the more complicated types.  My wife is moving to Incirlik Air force Base in Turkey and my son and I are moving to northern California to be close to family.

The logistics of a move like this are staggering, not only from a family standpoint, but from a paperwork standpoint.  Much of my time has been spent making sure that everything I can do to help my wife get things in order has been done.  After that it’s taking care of my son. In what little free time I have left, I’ve been handling the paperwork for the home we’re buying.

If there’s anything left after all of that, I’m usually content to spend my time mowing down hordes of parasitic alien beings in Resistance and Resistance II: Fall of Man, or creating and destroying cities in Civilization IV. Getting all technical minded just hasn’t been on my high priority list after a day of pushing to get things done.

I’m happy to announce that almost al of the paperwork side of the move is done.  On my side at least, there is little to be done now except wait for the movers to come and pack our things.  We should get word on the house sometime today or tomorrow.  If we got it, great!  If not, I’ll rent in California.  Either way, there won’t be much to worry about.

Now I can get back to work. I’ve been looking forward to it for weeks.

Over the course of the next month much of my blogging will be done from locations other than my trusty Mac, which will be packed for moving by Father’s Day. I can’t promise that I’ll be posting in great length, but blogging from a hotel room or while I watch the kid play in the park will pretty much guarantee a heavy posting frequency.

In any event, this station is now resuming its regularly scheduled programming.  We apologize for any inconvenience that our technical difficulties may have caused our viewers.

Peace. I’m out.

You may have heard of John.  He’s an incredibly talented and successful Science Fiction Writer and former journalist. He’s also the author of one of the most popular blogs on the Internet, a little thing called whatever.

John is very aware of what to do with 40k + readers, because he’s GOT those numbers, and he’s willing to share his experiences with the rest of us through a video stream of a panel he was on at last years Tools Of Change Conference.  The panel also includes such notables as Ron Hogan (Beatrice.com), Patrick Nielsen Hayden (TOR Books) and Tobias Buckle (Self Employed).

John and the rest of the panel do a wonderful job covering the basics of blogging and the importance of community.  I can’t encourage you strongly enough to take the time to watch this video.  While you’re at it, make sure that Whatever is one of the subscriptions in your RSS reader, you’ll be very glad you put it there.

I’m going to be shameless about this.  John Scalzi is one of my all-time heroes. He comes in second only to Robert Heinlein as an author, but as a blogger he’s at the top of the list.  I want you to watch because this man has something to teach you.  The other members of the panel also run very successful blogs.  They know what they’re talking about, and they’ve got the numbers to back it up.

Take the time. Watch the video. Learn.

Peace, I’m out.

Over the next few days I’m going to get as deep into the system as possible and write a detailed report of my findings, both positive and negative.  I’m sure there will be planty of both at this point, since they’re still in the alpha test phases.

My initial thoughts?  The look of the site is a massive impovement over the old PPP, but it seems that they have opted for an advertiser driven system, which may limit the number of opportunities for blogs that aren’t in mainstream niches.  Again, I’ll delve deeper into this subject over the nex few days.

Want an alpha key of your own?  Leave a comment on the PPP blog over at Izea.com and maybe they’ll hook yo up too.

For now I’m off to play with features, get some screenshots and gather my notes.  I’ll get back soon.

Peace, I’m out.

(And yes, this post was sponsored by PPP V.4 Alpha)

When an affiliate joins in with an e-commerce merchant of some sort (be it a subscription service, a shopping site etc.) payment is received through referrals done from the affiliate’s website, usually through one of the following methods:

1. Pay-per click systems  basically, the affiliate displays advertisements on their site and is paid when a customer or internet user clicks on the link to that website
2. RSS feeds or blogs – even personal sites can sit under this category. Blogging is fast becoming a staple form of marketing and promotion, and affiliate marketing pairs well with this form of online communication
3. Comparison sites and shopping directories – such as review sites or legitimate advertising sites
4. Loyalty sites – this is when a reward system is in place via a cash back or points back system (or charitable donations).  This is also referred to as Incentive advertising
5. Coupon sites that focus strictly on marketing and promotions
6. Email lists – legitimate email lists to subscribers of the affiliate’s website etc… These should be opt-in lists, NOT spam
7. A registration path – when a person registers with a specific site, be it for a newsletter or subscription, offers from other companies are represented and advertised
8. Networks – there are many affiliate marketing networks. Some even function on a multi-tier or multi-level marketing set up.  These offer more opportunities for affiliates, but also more competition in the marketplace.

Hopefully this little list will help you understand a bit more about the different types of affiliate marketing.  I’ll be covering each one of these methods in-depth over the next few weeks, so stay tuned.

99% of the music I listen to is stored on my computer or my phone so that it’s always with me, but what happens when you hear a song on the radio that you want to add to your playlist for later?  If your local radio stations are broadcasting in digital HD, you can just use the song tagging feature on many newer radios like the Jensen JiMS 525iJensen JiMS 525i and download the songs you’ve tagged that day straight from your iTunes account.

In my opinion this is the best of all worlds.  You still get free local radio (something I’m very much a supporter of) with all the advantages of the digital age and all in a package that’s probably no more complicated than the stuff you’re already using.

So go get a radio, start tagging and get to work.

To put the above statement in plain English, an affiliate marketer sells goods or services for the parent company.  The parent company then pays the affiliate a percentage of the sale for his or her efforts.

Affiliate marketing is a form of revenue sharing or commission-based advertising. The term “affiliate marketing” however, is often associated with network marketing or multi-level marketing (MLM).  This negative connotation causes some companies to use the term “performance marketing” for their ad campaigns, but the process for either form of advertising is identical.

Affiliate marketing is the most cost effective form of marketing a business can engage in, and is actually incredibly efficient. For this reason many companies (especially those that started in the early days of e-commerce) owe a tremendous amount to affiliate marketing. (Amazon.com is a good example.) It has become normal for companies to include affiliate marketing in their sales strategy.

Publishers participating in affiliate programs are generally compensated in one of four ways:

• Cost Per Click(CPC)
  CPC Advertising pays the affiliate based on the number of clicks an ad or link generates.  A famous example of a CPC system in action is Google’s AdSense ads, which generate incredible sums of money for both Google and its advertising partners.

  While this method works well in the arena of search marketing, factors like click fraud and other questionable tactics; most affiliate programs opt to use either the CPA or CPS models for their programs.

• Cost Per Mil (CPM)
  In Cost Per Mil advertising, the affiliate is paid a flat fee for every thousand visitors that see an advertisement on the publisher’s blog or website.  This method is widely used by blog advertising networks and social media sites, but is rarely used by affiliate companies as a means of selling products.
• Cost Per Action (CPA)
  The Cost Per Action model pays the affiliate whenever a visitor to his or her site completes an action such as filling out a registration form or signing up for a newsletter.  This model is sometimes referred to as Cost Per Lead, since the visitor does not usually have to pay the affiliating company any money at first.  They use the ads simply to gather prospective clients, rather than to make the initial sale.
• Cost Per Sale (CPS)
  The Cost Per Sale model works in an identical manner to CPA advertising, but is based completely on sales. In this model the affiliate is paid only when the visitor actually purchases a product from the parent company.  In most cases the company will track visitors so that the affiliate will be paid even if the visitor does not make a purchase on their first visit, though the length of time that an affiliate will be paid after the initial visit varies by company.

As you can see, the basic principles of affiliate marketing are quite simple. If done correctly, becoming an affiliate can generate a significant amount of revenue, both for the affiliate and the parent company.

Affiliate marketing is not, like some would have you believe, an easy way to make millions while you sleep.  It takes a lot of hard work and dedication in the initial stages to gain the trust of your readers and entice them to follow through with an action or a sale, but it is definitely possible.

In later articles I’ll cover the best way to choose the right affiliate ads for your site and the most effective ways to promote those affiliate efforts for maximum impact. For now, think about what you write about every day.  Are there products out there that are a perfect fit for your interests?  Would they interest your readers?  If so, you might want to see if those companies offer affiliate programs and if they do, sign up and start writing!

A few weeks ago I wrote about ecto, a blog updating tool for Mac and Windows. At the time I was singing ecto’s praises and while I still enjoy using it, I may have just found a tool I can live without even less, ScribeFire.

ScribeFire is a Firefox extension that can update your blog from your PC desktop in the same way ecto can.  It has all the basic features, such as spell checking, the ability to assign posts to categories, WYSIWYG formatting of posts and the ability to save drafts (or notes, as it calls them) for later editing,  but it has several advantages that I think make it more usable and user friendly than ecto.

First and most importantly, as a FireFox extension ScribeFire is 100% platform independent and runs equally well on my Mac, My Windows Machine and all four of my Linux machines.  This alone would have made ScribeFire worth looking into, but would not have kept me looking at it if it was the only thing it had going for it.

Another plus is that since ScribeFire is a Firefox extension, it’s always ready when you are.  The activation icon sits happily in the status bar waiting for a click from you, at which point Scribefire will happily launch and let you post on whatever topic you like with the page still visible.  If you need to do more research, just click the utton again and ScribeFire falls back to the status bar to wait patiently for you to continue.

Another advantage over ecto is ScribeFire’s ability to edit blog pages as well as posts.  While this might not be necessary all the time, it’s handy if you just want to quickly update a page that you already have posted.

Just like ecto, ScribeFire will allow you to highlight text inside any webpage and launch a new post with that text quoted in the new post.  The advantage of ScribeFire is that the formatting used to do so is customizeable, which leaves you in control of your citations, rather than leaving it completely up to the software.

On the downside, even though ScribeFire will allow you to add tags to your posts, it does not store the tags you already have.  this means no auto tag completion and allows for the possibility of mispelling a tag name.  In my installation, the post preview function is not working properly and ScribeFire has no facility at all for adding custom fields in WordPress. These are small issues to me, but may have more significance to you.

After only messing with ScribeFire for a few hours, I have to say that I’m impressed.  For the moment it’s my new tool of choice for most things, though I’m not quite ready to give up completely on ecto, which is a more mature tool.

If, like me, you prefer to be able tu use left click and right click (CTRL + click) functionality with this litle guy, you’ll find that because of the rigid case design, the Mighty Mouse from time-to-time has issues figuring out which “button” you actually pressed.

It can be quite annoying to suddenly have a menu pop up when editing a crob selection or other photo related task, but it’s even worse when it happens the other way around and the mouse clicks on a link you were trying to copy.

The side buttons may work for some, but I have relatively large hands, which means that I’m constantly dealing with unexpected activations of Exposé when I squeeze just a little bit too hard, or having firefox seemingly randomly jump to the page I was viewing previously.

Each of these hings is a bit annoying, but for me the real deal breaker is the trackball. this tiny little addition which also doubles as a third button is prone to getting tiny particles stuck in it.  Every time this happens (sometimes several times a day, even in a clean work environment) you’re required to clean it by flipping the mouse over and rolling the ball over a damp, lint free cloth.

The loss in productivity from just cleaning the trackbal has cost me more time than the mouse is worth. I’m hoping that Apple will re-think this portion of the Mighty Mouse soon, but from all appearances even the next generation of iMacs is shipping with the same old flawed design.

For me, I’m going to go grab a Kensington bluetooth Mouse later today.  It has all the same features in much the same form factor, but includes an optical trackball that has no moving parts to get gummed up.  If you’re planning to buy a Mac soon, I would suggest doing something similar.

In the end, I have to say that Apple’s Mighty mouse was, at least for me, a mighty big dissapointment.