Best Occupy Boston Video - Who's Side Are You On?

Best Occupy Boston Video - Taking a sharp right turn from the realm of internet marketing to political punditry and other things that make money on the web, here's the BEST Occupy Boston Video, part of the Occupy Wall Street movement, on the night they were told to evacuate by 12am OR ELSE!

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How to Piss Off Your Internet Marketing List Members

It's bad enough getting spammed with offers every 3 days, but one of the most insulting and lowest tactics used in an attempt to get people to open emails is to put something in the subject title like,

• re: ORDER CONFIRMATION
• A Paypal Payment Has Been Made
• YOUR DELIVERY NOTIFICATION

Let's see, Charles Mutrie, Phil Mutrie, Matt Bacak, Gary Baker, you're all doing this. It's deceptive. It worsens the work field for the rest of us who really DO have something useful to share with readers. Put your talents to use, if you have them, and come up with a catchy email headline that's HONEST and COMPELLING.

What kinds of email subject headings are you getting that are deceptive, insulting and objectionable?

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Change to Ebay Policy

This stuff usually sneaks up on people so I'm posting it here... nothing overtly controversial but when you end up having your Paypal funds held and don't know why... now you'll know why.

Updates to the eBay User AgreementDear samfreedom,I'm writing to let you know that the eBay User Agreement has been updated to support policy and other changes. The updated Agreement is effective immediately for new members, and on September 7, 2010, for current members.There are two key updates to the User Agreement:

Provisions have been added regarding eBay Buyer Protection. If a seller changes his or her reimbursement method for eBay Buyer Protection cases from PayPal to a new one, the new method will only be effective for transactions not yet paid for, and for future transactions. In addition, eBay may correct payment processing errors made in connection with an eBay Buyer Protection Claim. Please refer to the eBay Buyer Protection policy for the full terms.

Clarification is included about instances where seller funds may be held as pending in their PayPal accounts. eBay has at times requested, and may continue to request, that PayPal hold seller funds to help facilitate smooth transactions. eBay will make such requests based upon factors including, but not limited to, selling history, seller performance, riskiness of the listing category, or the filing of an eBay Buyer Protection claim. PayPal may also hold funds pursuant to their own Funds Availability Policy. As with earlier updates, other changes have been made to keep the User Agreement up-to-date with our product and service offerings.You don't need to take any further action to accept the new eBay User Agreement. If you choose not to accept the new terms, visit this help page for further direction.Thank you for being a part of the eBay community.

Sincerely,
Braden Dong
Senior Counsel
eBay, Inc.

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TWITTER SUCKS - Technical Follow Limits, Hooray!!

Twitter sucks. No, I understand, all too perfectly well how so many twitterers suck it up like crackheads and hyper-focus their attention on the bazillions of tweets rolling by... in lieu of a social life, but Twitter, as in "it's management", sucks.... BIG TIME!

As always, instead of growing a set and making an example out of spammers in a court of law, then publicizing it, they let those handful of bad apples spoil things for everyone. So, instead of taking a little bit of their pot money and holding the CULPRITS' feet to the fire, Twitter is now placing TECHNICAL FOLLOW LIMITS on every account. In other words, I can't follow people any more because of some f*cked up ration that they arbitrarily decided to come up with and impose on everyone.

This is like creating gun laws to prohibit criminials when criminals don't even get the guns legally anyways! And, they'll always find a way to get guns no matter what. So, in the case of Twitter, you have NO IDEA what the formula is that puts you in "NO MORE FOLLOWING" land.

OK SO HERE'S WHY TWITTER IS EVEN MORE F*CKED

So, I just wanted to perform a little test, knowing full well the results ahead of time, and I unfollowed some poor guy, "IPlusMarketing" (go follow him just to make up for this), and Twitter wouldn't even allow me to follow him immediately after. So, be careful of whom you unfollow because it's not like Facebook where you can add a friend back after a dispute. If you're a hostage to Twitter's technical follow limits, and you unfollow someone, it's "Bon Voyage, Mate!" until god knows when.

As far as I'm concerned, Twitter, this was like bringing an aircraft carrier to a knife fight.

Get rid of technical follow limits, and find a way to properly punish, ward off, scare the OFFENDERS and not your LOYAL *FOLLOWERS*!!

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plugin-container.exe: Mozilla vs Macromedia vs Adobe vs Your Mother

In case you haven't heard yet, there's a pesky little Firefox plugin by the name of plugin-container.exe that has bajillions of former Mozilla fanatics screaming bloody murder! The common complaint is that plugin-container.exe is hogging up massive resources for reasons no one seems to know. It all began with Mozilla's release of Firefox 3.6.4, so many an exasperated victim has sought refuge by rolling back to Mozilla's previous version Firefox 3.6.3 which Mozilla forum mods say does not use the plugin-container.exe file.

But that's a very risky proposition, other afflicted users chime in. They say that Firefox 3.6.4 also contains some security updates which would not only be wiped out by a rollback to 3.6.3, but would never get updated ever again as long as the user remained with 3.6.3, so... what is the solution (see if the second post in this thread works)?

Well, first, just what is this plugin-container.exe supposed to do anyways? Despite the occasional scream that someone's firewall has mysteriously disappeared, the vast majority of Firefox users seem to agree that plugin-container.exe is not malware, so if you've been incapacitated by it, rest easy as far as that goes. What Mozilla support forum moderators have been saying is that plugin-container.exe was meant to isolate certain things which had a history of causing Firefox to crash -- most notably, Flash, Quicktime and Silverlight -- so that if they crashed, they wouldn't take the whole Firefox browser down with them for that session.

Well, it either ain't working, or it's working so damn well that users can't even watch anything anymore that uses those programs. Many users, for example, seem to experience trouble when visiting Youtube (though it's not limited to that).

So, Mozilla continues to say its not their problem and suggests users check with the makers of the plugins. And whilst the problem DID appear with the advent of plugin-container.exe, Mozilla support could be right. There might very well be something in those other programs that had been causing Firefox to crash. And the plugin-container.exe crash protection might just be doing its job so well that something in it might be locking up during Flash play before flash can cause its problem.

And that leads us to the thing that Mozilla's support needs to understand. Even if they are TECHNICALLY not at fault, it appears that whatever problem their plugin-container.exe "solution" was intended to solve was FAR more tolerable BEFORE plugin-container.exe than it has been AFTER.

So, Mozilla, instead of blaming everyone and denying it's your fault, either get rid of plugin-container.exe or make it OPTIONAL so those of us with some hair on our chest and balls can get back to living life on the edge with a couple of youtube-induced browser crashes.

Oh look... here comes one no... (darkness)

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Rip-Off Report: You Will Donate $5 to Fiverr for $5

It all started with my first article, "Fiverr.com: We Will Rip You Off for $5!".

In it, I explained how "the latest rage", Fiver.com has a payout requirement that is virtually impossible for every merchant to reach. I also wrote 2 more articles after it, and this will be the fourth. In a nutshell, merchants must make a min of 8 sales ($40), in order to be able to withdraw their money. Now, that's bad enough, because that means....

EVERYONE WILL HAVE TO MAKE 8 SALES TO CASH OUT!

Those who don't make ANY sales won't lose any money to Fiverr but they'll still be TRYING to make 8 sales. So, everyone is trying to make 8 sales while all the ads from the newest merchants (read: no sales yet), will be forcing down the ads by the earlier merchants (read: 0-7 sales).

Keep in mind, if you are fortunate enough to make, for example, $55, and cash out, well, currently, it just starts over again. You have to make ANOTHER 8 sales in order to get paid (if that changes, please notify me in the comments). Along with all those NEW merchants, AND along with all those who cashed out and have to make ANOTHER 8 sales.

So, Here Are Some Comments I Received

1. Fiverr is great, IF you know what you're doing.

I never said a person couldn't make money. And, I never said a person couldn't make a LOT of money. But, when you step back and look at Fiverr from a more comprehensive view, you can easily see that a LOT of people are going to be leaving a LOT of money in Fiverr's wallet. And, though they say merchants can't withdraw until $40, they don't specify a deadline... so, does that EVER become Fiverr's money? And, if so, at what point?

2. People should read the TOS. It is their own fault.

Rubbish. That is the mantra of a ponzi scheme. And, while I'm not saying Fiverr is a ponzi scheme, I AM saying that it is virtually IMPOSSIBLE for everyone who makes 1 sale to make 7 more. Theoretically, maybe... in reality, no way. Even if people had the attention, and foresight, to read a boring, lengthy TOS to find the payout requirements, Fiverr's payout requirements would still be virtually impossible for the whole of the merchant community.

3. It's no different than Google's Adsense program that has a $100 payout minimum.

Au contraire mon frere... (on the contrary), Google Adsense is passive income. Granted there's an initial setup of your website and maybe a little promotion but, otherwise, you can be on the beach in Maui while your website is passively earning income from 1000s of people who don't have to spend a dime to click on your ads.

But, with Fiverr, merchants have to PERFORM a SERVICE... and, in order to get paid by Fiverr, they've got to perform a service EIGHT times. And, that's if they are even FOUND 8 times. After all, there are many new merchants every day and their ad is forcing earlier vendors ads down the line as THEY try to make 8 sales.

So, unlike Adsense merchants who can sit on their behind with unlimited websites being found by millions/billions of people who don't have to spend any money to trigger a PPC ad, Fiverr merchants are in a constant struggle with newcomers for 8 BUYERS, while their ads all age and fall to the bottom of the list.

Conclusion about Fiverr

Whether one thinks Fiverr sucks, or Fiverr rocks, is irrelevant. And, I can't say that the owner(s) of Fiverr intended for their payout requirements to be virtually impossible for all merchants and to result in what, in my opinion, could likely result in an "unjust enrichment" violation of law. But, what I CAN say is that it is unethical to have such payment requirements and, in the very least, they should be IMMEDIATELY visible the moment a merchant initiates a public offering.

As for all those who have gushed and praised Fiverr: In your lemming-like zeal, you have, potentially, sent countless others over the cliff. That's right. While it might not be a lot of money, you have potentially wasted a lot of other peoples' time sending them to such a venture. But, I don't stand in judgment of you. I think it's a pitfall that is part of the learning process. But, do understand, it happened because you think like a consumer... a blogger who gives free advertising for businesses in the wish to become popular... as opposed to a marketer who just happens to also blog.
You are the former, I am the latter.

Subscribe Now.

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Hey, Internet Marketers, Need Some Quick Cash?

Ok, so, keeping in mind that you have a hard drive full of programs and software for which you've paid a small ransom, the money's just not yet coming in, is it? Or, is it?!

Well, if you're in the former "or is it?" category, and you're in need of some quick cash, have a look at WalletPop's, "25 (Unusual) Ways To Make Quick Money", then leave a comment below and let me know which one(s) you'd actually consider!

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Is Fiverr.Com Breaking a Law?

Ok, as per the screenshot on the left, never mind the fact that Fiverr has allowed some pretty racy offers to appear in their listings. Isn't sending some a picture of your hoo-hah considered "adult" in nature? There's kids on Fiverr, chrissake...

But, putting that aside for the moment, my big issue with Fiverr, as of late, has been the fact that they don't make it unavoidably clear to potential merchants that their payout requirements are nearly impossible for the bulk of merchants to achieve. And, gauging by the countless articles from people extolling the great, clever virtues of Fiverr, it seems as if I'm the only one who's spotted this so far.

In my 2nd Fiverr article, "Using Fiverr Can Make You A Loserr - Solution Enclosed", I presented a possible solution for what I discovered was Fiverr's virtually IMPOSSIBLE payout requirement ($40 = 8 Sales). The reason it's virtually impossible is because everyone has to make 8 sales to get paid. And while they are trying to make those 8 sales, their offer sinks to the bottom of the list as countless other new arrivals throw their hat in the ring as a Fiverr merchant.

Now, if a merchant doesn't make even one sale, that's one thing. However, the moment they make their first sale, THEIR $5 from the service that THEY performed, is retained by Fiverr until the merchant reaches the payout minimum of $40. It doesn't matter that most newcomers to this marketing phenomenon won't even know anything about a Terms of Service, prompting "realists" to say, "Hey, it's caveat emptor, you know, buyer beware." What matters is that along with nearly impossible payout requirements and an ever-growing number of new merchants, Fiverr is going to end up "unjustly enriched" by the WORK OF OTHERS.

In other words, in a very passive, and quiet, way, Fiverr makes it VERY easy, and VERY likely, that many, if not most, merchants, will leave some of THEIR earnings behind. In fact, it's SO easy, and SO likely, that many, if not MOST, Fiverr merchants will end up leaving THEIR rightfully earned money in the hands of Fiverr, that it would seem to fall under the legal heading of "Unjust Enrichment." Here is a section about it from Wikipedia:

At common law, a claim based on unjust enrichment can be submitted to five stages of analysis. These can be summarized in the form of the following questions:

1. Was the defendant enriched?
2. Was the enrichment at the expense of the claimant?
3. Was the enrichment unjust?
4. Does the defendant have a defense?
5. What remedies are available to the claimant?

QUESTION 1: Do you think whoever is behind Fiverr actually anticipated this? Or, do you think they meant well but only realized it afterwards and aren't yet willing to change it?

QUESTION 2: As per the Wikipedia article, *wrong-doing* does not need to be proven in order for there to be a case for being unjustly enriched (by their merchants good faith efforts). Do you think, therefore, that Fiverr would be found guilty of unjust enrichment?

In your opinion, professional or not, what do YOU think the solution to all this should be? Should Fiverr be penalized? And will you link to this article (or tweet it), as a service to help protect others, just like yourself, avoid such a problem?

If so, thank you. So, your thoughts?

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Using Fiverr Can Make You a Loserr - Solution Enclosed

I wouldn't go so far as to say Fiverr did this intentionally but, by now, those who've read my previous blog post, "Fiverr: We Will Rip You Off for $5!!", understand that getting paid by Fiverr.com, for most people, will be nearly IMPOSSIBLE.

Before I present my solution to Fiverr's problem, I want to say that if it was unintentional, then it is forgivable, but only if they rectify it. And, for those who still don't grasp the enormity of this problem, here is one more go at it in a short, point-by-point explanation.

1. Merchants (you, and 1000s of others) sign up to perform like a pack mule for $5 per event;
2. You make a sale (yay!), and only THEN do you find out that you must have a $40 balance to withdraw;
3. You attempt to make 7 more sales to reach the $40 payout minimum;
4. Those "1000s of others" are trying to make their 1st-8th sales, too.
5. Whoops, 1000s of more people are signing up because you, and others, are raving about the coolness of fiverr.com (I'll explain this phenomenon in a moment);
6. Now many MORE 1000s are trying to make their first sale, while MANY 1000s are STILL trying to make 7 more sales in order to reach Fiverr's payout requirement;
7. Meanwhile, more people are signing up each day and your offer slips slowly away into the depths of the Fiverr ad abyss.
8. Return to point 4 forever and pray you reach $40 or you get none of it.
   

Ok, First, What Fuels This?

Most of the merchants on Fiverr are not skilled marketers. They have some kind of TALENT but it is not in marketing. So when something like Fiverr.com arrives on the scene, these talented individuals (mixed with a small percentage of clowns trying to exploit the opportunity) eagerly dive in hoping to get some exposure, and/or junior-league bragging rights to their friends.

Because they are not marketers, they tell EVERYONE about how cool Fiverr is and, guess what? By telling everyone, they just increased their competition ten-fold. It's a good bet that many of the people who visit fiverr are going there because they want to see what cool things they can get for $5 - period, so ANY exposure they give Fiverr waters down the opportunity for them.

So, unwittingly, this mix of talented people, and their clownish counterparts, increase their competition and further erode any possibility of reaching a payout minimum.

So, What's the Solution, Sam?

It's rather simple, actually. Since Fiverr takes $1 from every sale you make (something else that isn't readily apparent before you join as a merchant), it adds up to Fiverr keeping 1 out of every 5 sales you make. With the money they have made so far, it should be no problem for them to develop a script that pays Fiverr for the first of every 5 sales you make. Fiverr gets paid directly for the first, then YOUR paypal address should be rotated in for the next 4 sales.... rinse, repeat.

Is there a possible risk that the merchant could take a few sales and not come through? Sure, however...

1. That's a risk that FIVERR should shoulder, or solve, rather than coming up with a payout requirement that's going to leave most merchants with 1-7 sales, uncompensated for their work;
2. The disgruntled buyer can request a paypal chargeback. No legitimate paypal user wants that nonsense on their paypal account;
3. If a merchant gets X complaints of non-performance, Fiverr simply removes them.

But, the burden should not be on the merchant. Otherwise, what you will find is something that might already be happening -- sensing they will never reach 8 sales, some merchants might decide not to finish an order they started.

Please, someone, tell me how most of the people who make a sale on Fiverr aren't going to end up a Loserr?

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Fiverr: We Will Rip You Off for $5!

At first, Fiverr seemed like a pretty good idea. For a mere $5, you can take advantage of someone's desperate need to make $5 and/or get some publicity, and they will do whatever it is they say they'll do for it. I kinda liked the idea... like a five dollar bargain basement.

So far, I've got a cartoon drawing underway and got some fashion tips... cost? $5 each. Cool.

Then I threw my hat in the ring and offered some info for $5. And wow! A week later, someone ordered! Cool, I was gonna make FIVE DOLLARS!! I was really liking fiverr...

until....

until, just after completing my first sale, fiverr.com replied with,

"Minimum withdraw sum: $40 of Cleared funds

You need additional $40 to withdraw"

I'll tell you this, Fiverr might slip that news into an obvious place NOW, but until now, it was nowhere easily found. So, the fact is, they stand to make a LOT of money from people who make less than 8 sales... and with a ton of incompetent jamokes out there trying to sell everything but the kitchen sink for $5, it's gonna be virtually impossible for every person who makes 1 sale to make 7 more.

SELLER BEWARE!! THE ODDS ARE IN FIVERR.COM'S FAVOR THAT YOU WILL NOT MAKE 8 SALES!!

That means the odds are they'll get to keep $5-$35 belonging to YOU!

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Wolfram Alpha not a threat to Google.... YET!!!

Holy brain strain, Batman! Wolfram Alpha has just gone live!

For those of you who don't know, WolframAlpha.Com is a new, computational search engine which some have described as the first real competitor to Google. As a marketer, I try to look beyond that fluffy crap and see what's really behind the statement.

Well, my first impressions of Wolfram Alpha were exactly what I'd expect from most people.... booooooring. But that has NOTHING to do with Wolfram Alpha. It's because, like most of you, I've been conditioned to type all kinds of things into Google and get some kind of pertinent result from which I could continue my research.

Easy, right? Google has become a household word and "googling" is now an official verb. So who needs Wolfram Alpha?

LOTS OF PEOPLE!

At first, it's going to seem as if only nerdy, techy-types are going to be the ones going ga-ga over Wolfram Alpha but, MARK MY WORDS:

The more people use Wolfram Alpha the more they will discover some amazing everyday uses for people from all walks of life and the more they will create tutorials to help people learn how to use Wolfram Alpha efficiently. You'll see what I mean... watch the following video as the founder, Stephen Wolfram, demonstrates some of the power of Wolfram Alpha and it's astounding ability to take bits of information and drill down into a myriad of fascinating, fact-filled results which, if you're not careful, can become quite addictive.

Click Here and Watch the Wolfram Alpha Demonstration

Trust me, watch the video. If you just go to Wolfram Alpha and dive in with your "Google-conditioned" mind, you're apt to think Wolfram Alpha is a nerd's boring dreamworld. But, once you watch the video demonstration, you won't be able to help but realize there's a whole lot of power in them there hills!

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When I Say "Test", I Mean "TEST!"

Oh, I meant it. This was really just a test... an internet marketing experiment no, it has nothing to do with me bolidng a line. And I think I shall delete this when it's through. We shall see. ;)

Anyways, if you have any questions, please let me know in the comment section. ;)

Best wishes,
Sam

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SCHMUCK ALERT!! What's So Bad About Marketing on TWITTER?!

WTF? Someone, please pinch me. I MUST be dreaming...

It wasn't even 24hrs ago that I dared to hop on Twitter again (excuse me for a moment while I trigger BIZ STONE 's Google Alert... thank you) after a blessed couple of months away. Now, I know most of you are convinced that Twitter is the greatest things since sliced bread because a few "movers and shakers", coupled with the news-hungry media, (ignoring all possible downsides), keep pounding "the greatness" of Twitter into your vacuous skulls every chance they get (oh, how cool, I Twittered Rick Sanchez on CNN!!!). But, all Twitter is really good for is lining you all up like ducks in a row, or fish in a barrel, for some HEAVY-DUTY data mining so the REAL marketers can "slice, dice and filet" you as they wish.

I know that sounded like a lot to take in, but collect your attention and READ IT AGAIN.

So, I twitted out how disconcerting I found all the "Free CRAP!" people were giving away as inducements to their, most likely, CRAPPY products and programs -- after all, "the fish rots from the head back" so, crappy incentive comes from crappy planning likely leads to crappy products and programs -- and I got a reply from @PeteMoring telling me that I was underestimating people.

Oh Yea, Like That's Gonna Happen...

Folks, with the same unabashed confidence of the controversial Rush Limbaugh, I know greatness when I see it. And, likewise, I know crap when I see it. And the bulk of internet marketing is not about being GREAT because the masses are just so predictably ignorant and demanding. In fact, if I told you some of the stuff that the "big dogs" have said to me behind the scenes about their customers, it'd make your jaw drop.

So, anyways, I told Pete that, perhaps, he was underestimating me because, quite frankly, I don't make such observations lightly.

So Then, What's It About This Time?

Ok, as much as I might sound as if I enjoy doing this, I don't. If a marketer is attempting to over-hype something in a smart-aleck, "I think I'm clever." kind of way, I do. But when SINCERE people smog up the web with crappy marketing, I actually feel a little bad for them -- and this is one of those times.

Alright, I'm gonna cut to the chase...
(and I ain't sellin ya ANYTHING!)

One of the tweets I saw on Twitter read like this:

Please ReTweet this to your IM interested friends. JV invites to pre-launch here: (link removed) scheduled end of the month

Please ReTweet this to your friends? Is that how we market now? Is this what Seth Godin (Google Alert!) meant by "permission based marketing?" You get a whole bunch of people to follow you on Twitter, ignoring the fact that they're probably following 1,000 other people, and then you steadily drip them with mild pleas to annoy their followers who are presumably following 1000s of other people all doing the same thing to each other all the time and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on...

And because some schmuck with a large following and a microphone has better reach than most people, he tells everyone that doing that is the way to go, and everyone does it and what a big ass clusterfuck it becomes where, YET AGAIN, 99% of the clueless schmucks make next to nothing and 1% get lucky enough to get the early bird and make a car payment.

And the program owner, whoever that might be, makes more money than the their followers, but it's still a pittance compared to what GREAT marketing can bring in; yet they're happy with it because they, too, were once a clueless schmuck... except the only thing that has changed since then is that they have a clue.

BUT THEY'RE STILL A SCHMUCK!

Sam
ps. CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT! What follows is the specific page that inspired this blog post. http://90percentattitude.com/index.php?action=affsignup I have no affiliation with it, whatsoever. But, if you can tell even one thing that is drastically wrong with it, I will give you a choice of helpful products for free...

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WooThemes Wordpress Club Premium Wordpress Themes Sale Is Here!! MUST SEE!!

When it comes to developing AFFORDABLE WORDPRESS THEMES, WooThemes Wordpress Theme Club continues to prove itself the undisputed Wordpress Theme Club leader. In fact, I was so stoked about WooThemes Halloween Sale that I took advantage of it then.

But now, WooThemes has done even better...! WooThemes Wordpress Themes Christmas Sale offers a WHOPPING 4-FOR-1 SALE! And I've taken advantage of it NOW, too!

Click the Picture to See for Yourself!

Yea, that's FOUR PREMIUM WORDPRESS THEMES FOR THE PRICE OF ONE!

Read my lips:
*** NO-BRAINER! ***

Click Here to See What 4-for-1 Costs!

I'm not one for threatening "doomsday" or "regret", but let me just say that I have a very, very, strong appreciation for an irresistible deal, and this one is, so clearly, the quintessential "no-brainer" that if, for some reason, you do not TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS NOW, you are certifiably OUT-OF-YOUR-MIND!

Even if you're not ready to start a Wordpress blog today, to have FOUR PREMIUM WORDPRESS THEMES LICENCES FOR THE PRICE OF ONE is that "perfect deal" that so many Wordpress bloggers often dream about.

Let me repeat that one more time: FOUR PREMIUM WORDPRESS THEME LICENSES FOR THE PRICE OF ONE!

CLICK HERE to See These Fresh Wordpress Themes Now!

And Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to All!

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What Is Working and What Is Total Bullshit?

You have to understand, if you haven't yet subscribed to my humble little, unprofessionalized, blog, it's your own fault. Here, I dare to say things and ask questions that almost no one else will do for you -- at least not in the way that I do it.

That being said... subscribe.

Today's blog is to ask you two questions,

1. HAVE YOU FOUND ANYTHING THAT REALLY WORKS?

From

• Ryan Deiss', "Continuity Blueprint";
• to Alex Syseof's, "Expert Wordpress" ;
• to the Rhodes Brother's, "Traffic Drill";
• to whatever Mike Filsaime is selling this week,
• to Liz Tomey's, "I'm Giving You Everything and Won't Stop Until You Make Money" programs,;
• to John Delavera's, "Turbo HaHa You're Hooked Now!" memberships...
• to "I'm Just Copying Everyone Else But With Crappier Products" programs...
  

what, in your humble experience, has been working for you?

Which leads us to your second question,

2. HAVE YOU FOUND ANYTHING THAT REALLY DOESN'T WORK?

Normally, I won't say anything too disparaging about a marketer and his, or her, product/service/offer. As one (behind the scenes) myself, I completely understand just how difficult it really is to take a product from idea to launch. It ain't easy, folks. But that doesn't excuse anyone from making either false, or hyped up, claims and, as my email box shows, the claims a-still keep a-comin'....

More and more products... more and more services... day after day... week after week...

So, What's the Story Folks?

Are any of you experiencing success? Or, when a person experiences a little bit of success, do they become cult-like, zip their lips, and start blending in with all the other mediocre success stories at the sacred seminars? ...never to be heard from again...

(SERIOUSLY FOLKS, WHERE ARE YOU GONNA GET BLOG POSTS LIKE THIS?)

SUBSCRIBE!
(opens in a new window)

So, what works? what sucks? what have you got your eyeballs on? who do you think is full of shit? and who do you think should be tarred, feathered and run out of town?

Don't hold back... this is my blog... and this is your moment...

...and you have a right to be heard!

Sam

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What a Bunch of Bull Backlink Contest!

Think like an internet marketer -- as opposed to a mere consumer. The first person to correctly guess HOW I ended up watching the following video wins a month-long backlink from this site and a quick mention in my next post.

Hint: It was NOT for recreational purposes.

Rules: You only get 1 guess. And, at my discretion, I may award multiple prizes if more than one person guesses the same thing. Also, I reserve the right to reject any site I deem offensive, or just plain garbage.

So how might I, in the course of "make money online" type WORK, did I end up viewing that video? Good luck!

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Hey Dude, Where's My Fucking Candy?

Halloween is now, officially, over. We do not need to wait for Obama to win the presidency to begin, as good citizens, implementing his wondrous and generous policies. Starting now, you can teach your children all about socialism by dumping out all their Halloween candy on the bed and explaining to them that since there are poor children in the neighborhood, they have no choice but to give them a portion of their candy.

Tell them this is not a choice. You are mandating it. Explain that "sharing" is a good thing so you are forcing it on them for their own good.

Explain to your children that if they have under 10 pieces of candy, they not only get to keep it all, but they'll be the lucky ones to get extra candy from all the kids who walked around many neighborhoods and worked so hard at collecting lots of it. If that applies to your child, you just explain that it's not their fault their little legs couldn't keep up with all those bigger, more fit, children. So, their parents will be forcing them to give some of their candy with you.

If your child has over 10 pieces, but under 50, you explain that they just made it in under the wire and that their mediocre effort will be sufficient enough to prevent them from having to give more than 35% of it away to the kids in the neighborhood who suffered from Xbox addiction and were too obese to walk around the neighborhood collecting candy. This is not a choice, it's a mandate. We don't want our neighbors getting too depressed.

If your child has over 50 pieces, calmly explain that he or she is fucked. Try to use gentler terminology when doing so but, as soon as they see their hard-earned candy heading out the door to some lazy, fat fuck who didn't do a single thing for it, it won't even matter what you're saying. The tears and sobbing will drown you out and not only will they not give a damn crap about how "good" it is to share, but they'll hate the concept for the rest of their lives and they'll resent all the lazy bastards who know that by not lifting a finger, they'll end up with your child's candy.

And, soon enough, your child will become one of them.

Everyone who wants to make money online should be concerned,
Happy Halloween!

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Free SimplyPLR Article Marketing Strategies from Simply Total Donkeys

It's not often that you get such an AMAZING display of just how desperate people are for a free membership to a PLR article marketing site, but it's happening -- out in the open, in plain view of anyone who can click a mouse.

But, first, I like to think I've grown up a bit, become a tad more compassionate, than the day I first set foot into internet marketing. Back then, I'd chew anyone a new a-hole for everything from "omission marketing" (leaving out just enough info so that they're not lying yet leaving you vulnerable to a hyped-up imagination), to outright deception, to the creation of shoddy, incomplete, crap-o-matic software.

And I feel like I want to do it again...

Oh, frig, why the heck not...

Matt Callen, creator of Instant Popover and HyperVRE, is soon opening a new article marketing site, SimplyPLR. Instant Popover was junk. It was, basically, a gussied up dhtml script anyone could pick up for free at a place like "hotscripts", but with a few minor modifications to it. Essentially, it was a beautiful demonstration of how a nice website and some good ad copy could sell a bucket of crap.

Then he came out with HyperVRE which, full disclosure, I promoted... and sometimes still explore with ever-longing, hopeful curiousity. My first impression of it was that it was, yet again, a gussied up version of Larry Hall's "Traffic Hurricane" which, if any of you "old-timers" remember, originally belonged to Jeremy Burns. Now, maybe it wasn't literally from that script but it certainly strikes me as if it were.

But That's Not the Main Point

The main point is that HyperVRE started off with some promise to it... but no one in the forums ever seemed quite satisfied. Like every product I've ever seen that was SORELY missing something, people would express a muted complaint and then, either the owner or the cheerleaders, would come up with some calming response about how you're not supposed to "get rich overnight"... but, if you do something like throw up 100s of sites that make $1 per day, then, eventually, you'll be a (millionaire, billionaire, gazillionaire, trillionaire, pick one). Ok? Right? Sure...

But you know what's funny? I mean really, really funny but in a really sad way?

No One Ever Quite Says That in the Ad Copy

Who spends 100s or 1000s on ad copy in order to tell the public that they will have to struggle to comprehend what is the perfect Adsense template that won't result in Google blacklisting $1000 worth of domains? But wait.. what if they don't even tell you about the templates but then try to sell some to you later each and every month.

"Wait, you mean my original payment didn't get me everything I needed to make this thing work AWESOME right out of the box and, ultimately, get me free of my 9-to-5 job like you talked about?!"

It's just so sad...

Now, I didn't quote anyone verbatim and I'm not saying exact promises were made. We all know by now that ad copy is so cleverly written as to not actually make any claims but rather to SUGGEST things and then let your mind quietly add in the "I promise..." part, after each claim is made. But that's what happens, things get hyped to high heaven... yet people seem to end up in holy horrors. Enter....

Matt Callen's SimplyPLR

I have no idea what's going to end up crammed into it. Maybe it'll be an incredible bonanza, but judging by Instant Junkover and HypedUpVRE, one can only pray that things will be different this time. But, gauging by how things are starting out, one must pray...

...and pray hard, indeed.

You see, Matt just made a blog post offering people a chance to WIN FREE LIFETIME MEMBERSHIPS TO SIMPLYPLR. All they have to do is post a blog comment as to how they would use the PLR to get the greatest amount of traffic in the shortest amount of time. Or, let's say (tongue-in-cheek), "just water down your most cherished, guarded PLR article marketing secrets by laying them out in the comment section for everyone to see..." -- best ones win.

Is It Just Me Who Finds This Both Offensive
and Just Plain Weird?

In essence, it's saying,

"Tell EVERYONE your most cherished method of using PLR to get loads of traffic and money and then we'll give you lifetime access to the VERY SAME PLR they'll all be using with YOUR method."

I mean, give me a break...!

Yet People are Flocking to It Like Hungry Lambs on Speed!

But let's reason this out for a second (oh, btw, it's what we do here). If any of those people knew how to market articles, or had the ambition to, they wouldn't need a FREE LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP TO SIMPLY PLR. In fact, they wouldn't even need a free ONE MONTH membership to SimplyPLR.

Listen, save yourself the agony, I know of a PLR membership site that is,

1. LOADED TO THE MAX WITH PLR,
   
2. COMPLETE w/SEO SITE BUILDING SOFTWARE,
   
3. PROVIDE PRIMARY KEYWORD LISTS,
   
4. PROVIDE SECONDARY KEYWORD LISTS (long tail),
   
5. INCLUDE FOLLOW-UP AUTORESPONDER ECOURSE, AND
   
6. INCLUDE AFFILIATE PRODUCT RESEARCH, and have so much more...
   

...without any hype!

And provides a HUGE value without you having to give away all your most closely guarded secrets to your competition.

Look, this PLR article marketing site even has
Continuity Blueprint's, Ryan Deiss', name on it

What more do you need to know than that? But wait...

Before you head over to the BEST content goldmine, article marketing, PLR site with all the training a person could ever need, I want you to do one thing first...

Head on over to Matt Callen's "SimplyPLR" blog NOW, before it's too late, and copy/paste ALL the text from the comments section into a text file to save on your hard drive. They contain everybody's article marketing strategies which are pretty detailed. No doubt, you will find some nuggets of wisdom within...

Then CLICK HERE and get your
REAL PLR content and article marketing training...

Oh yeah, what do you think about people giving away their strategies for free? Is that good for business?

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Sam Freedom to Twitter - We Have a Problem Here...!

I discovered a problem with Twitter a while ago. I just figured that it either wouldn't affect most people, or that it was too minor for anyone to care. Add to that, Twitter's "bug reporting" doesn't seem too readily available or easy to use.

This Problem with Twitter is as Follows:

Somehow, some way, Twitter is capping the number of followers who will appear in your DIRECT MESSAGE dropdown menu.

Normally, you would reply to a direct message by clicking on its envelope icon. But, as some of you know by now, you sometimes get a message saying,

"(So and so) must be following you in order for you to send them direct messages."

But, you're absolutely certain they ARE following you! Even the "D NAME msg" attempt yields the same result. The only workaround is to visit that individual's Twitter homepage and click on their "message" link.

Why Does This Happen? And Why Does It Matter to Me?

It probably happens due to scalability concerns. In other words, it would probably be a logistical, and resource, nightmare for Twitter to populate everyone's "direct message" dropdown box with every single one of their followers. Some people have 1000s of followers and if you multiply that times all the Twitterers a-twittering, it could be staggering.

Instead of populating the dropdown boxes with all those names, they just trust you'll have the ingenuity to find your way over to that person's homepage "message" link. Inconvenient? Yes. End of story? Probably...

So Why Does This REALLY Matter to Me?

Well, right now, this Twitter problem is nothing more than a mere inconvenience; although, across the broader spectrum, it will, initially, leave a lot of people scratching their heads. But the real problem is the potential for all kinds of "unintended consequences."

Take, for example...

Many Twitter users now appreciate the value of Tweetlater. It gives them the opportunity to do things like "autofollow" and send "welcome messages" to new followers. It gives the option to send a welcome message privately. Twitterers use this option for several reasons:

1. They don't want to seem obnoxious sending multiple public auto-tweet welcomes;
2. It gives some of the more ambitious users an added way of directly inviting new followers to their blogs and sites;

So, one can be under the impression that all the new followers are getting private welcome messages but if the cap on the "direct message dropdown" box has been reached, are they getting those messages?

Currently, the answer is yes. Maybe, and this only a guess, because Tweetlater sends the private message via the "message link from the follower's homepage" pathway and not the "D Name msg" pathway from our private message area. But, that is only a guess.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, as stated before, the inability to tweet direct messages to new Twitter users past a certain, unknown, amount, seems, currently, to be nothing more than a minor nuisance. But as more and more 3rd party applications, and all their clever users, come into play, what "unintended consequences" might there be?

For the average person, perhaps none other than a chronic case of mild confusion. But, to the business owners, corporations, political candidates, conglomerates, and, so on (e.g. CNN, Barack Obama, McCain, etc), it could result in serious loss of potential.

Take a look at this list of 3rd party Twitter applications and see if you can envision any problems this "minor inconvenience" potentially presents.

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Find Free Stuff on Twitter!

All kinds of Free Stuff on Twitter can be had if'n ya just know how to locate it. These 12 links will help give you a good start (all links open in a new window):

1. Free SEO on Twitter
2. Free Stuff on Twitter
3. Free Info on Twitter
4. Free Tips on Twitter
   
5. Free Hosting on Twitter
6. Free Software on Twitter
7. Free Download on Twitter
8. Free Advice on Twitter
9. Free Report on Twitter
10. Free Sample on Twitter
11. Free Bonus on Twitter
12. Free Guide on Twitter
13. Bonus Mystery Search!

If you think this would be a fun, interesting starter list for friends, a dig, stumble, sphinn or tweet would be genuinely appreciated. Thanks!

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