“Type 11″

Caller: Hey, can you help me? My computer has locked up, and no matter how many times I type eleven, it won’t unfreeze.Agent: What do you mean, “type eleven?”

Caller: The message on my screen says, “Error Type 11!”

“Plug, un-plug [bar]”

On one call, the caller seemed to be taking an inordinately long time to complete each instruction she was given.

Agent: Ma’am, I can’t help noticing that every time I give you an instruction, it takes a really long time before you get back to me. Is your computer that slow?

Caller: Oh, no, it’s just the stupid, stupid design of this computer. Every time I want to click something, I have to unplug the keyboard to plug in the mouse. And then every time I want to use the keyboard again, I have to unplug the mouse. Because there’s only one jack.

Agent: Ma’am, you do realize that there’s a jack on the keyboard itself? You’re supposed to plug the mouse into the keyboard, and the keyboard into the computer.

Caller: Are YOU KIDDING ME!? Oh, wait a minute—yes, I see it now! Oh, holy cow. That’s going to be so much easier!

Agent: Just out of curiosity, how long have you been using your computer that way?

Caller: Six weeks!

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Elton John, the pop legend, wants the internet closed down for five years to see what art can be created without the internet.

He has been around for decades and decades to come, and suggests that the internet is destroying good music, but has he thought about the ways that the internet has actually help him along his music career? For example, his albums are on iTunes and Verizon, and his concerts are often streamed live on the internet, especially his 60th birthday bash. He also announced that his albums will be available for digital download, which involves the internet.

Elton hopes that “the next movement in music will tear down the internet”. Unfortunately, The Captain & The Kid, when newly released, barely sold 100,000 copies, which was quite a disappointment.

Without the help of the internet (iTunes, live streaming, etc.) would his album numbers continue to go down?

If Elton really is opposed to the internet, he would demand to have his albums off the internet and oppose to live streaming on the internet.

What do you think about this movement?

Source 

Kevin Rose, the founder/CEO of Digg is starting a new trend– Pownce. They are currently in closed-beta, and you will need an invite to get in. Once you’re in, you are limited to 6 invites for friends. Fortunately for me, I got an invite.
Here is what Pownce looks like from the inside:

(Click on the image to see the full screenshot.)

What do I do now?

1. Start by adding or inviting your friends.
2. Download and use the desktop software.
3. Then start sending messages, files, links and events!
4. Don’t forget to customize your profile, change themes, and edit settings!

You can post notes to yourself, send messages to others, schedule events, go Pro for $20 to send files up to 100mb, and No Ads.
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In general, in what position are the ads when you click on them? What do you usually click on? (text link ads, banners, in-text ads, etc.)

Let’s look at some details…

The F Shaped Heat Map Theory

Left to right: “about us” section of a corporate website (far left), an ecommerce product page (center), and search engine result (SERP; far right).

This heatmap shows the way people read webpages. The reddish parts are the most/first read, and fading into blue. Notice that they are in a distinct F shape.

The way you position your ads depends on how you are paid… Per click? Per view? Per month? Per click means you get a certain amount of money for each click. That is the way affiliate programs such as Adsense and Bidvertiser work. Per view means you are paid a certain amount of money for every number of views the banner gets. If you are paid $1 per 100 page views, you would get $10 for 1000 page views. Per month means you get a certain amount of money no matter how many clicks the ad gets.

Position Your Ads

If you are paid per month/view, you will need to write very good blog titles to capture your reader and not let him/her wander away. The first two to three paragraphs should capture the reader.

The most effective place for banners (standard size) usually would be right before your main content. That is the place where people usually look before they read your content; to “anylyze” your layout, etc.

If you are paid per click, try to follow the heatmap theory; which is somewhat accurate. More details on the heatmap at Jabob Nielsen’s site. You will want to put your ads near the reddish parts in the heat map.

My Adsense ads are usually before, after, or in the cut of a post. The cut of a post is a good place to put ads, as the reader views the ad when he/she is interested in your post.

Comment posted by Weekend Links 06/15

at 6/15/2007 2:58:56 AM

[…] Grace discusses the most effective place for ads. […]

Comment posted by LISTIKAL

at 6/19/2007 3:02:45 PM

I really need to dig deep and figure out ways of getting better CTR. I’m getting quite a few page views now, but am still not making much money through Adsense.

UPDATE: TUTORIAL ADDED.
Do you think the screen is really transparent? Some people fall for it.

Transparent screens are an excellent effect on a lot of things, as long as you don’t move the screen around. I recently stumbled upon a Flickr photo account with images of transparent screens.
The image to your left is an example of a “transparent screen”. Browse around the photo album and I will come back later today or tomorrow with a tutorial for a “transparent screen”.

How to Make a “Transparent Screen” Desktop

1. Move your screen away and take a picture of the space behind your screen. Try to take it from where the device would be.
2. Put your device back; careful not to move any wires, etc. Take a picture of it with the device. Upload the pictures onto your computer.
3. Open up any photo editing software (I’m using Adobe Photoshop) and open your pictures.
4. Drag the image with the device onto the one without the device. The image with the device should be on top.
5. Use the Selection Tool to select the screen part. It usually is distorted. Don’t worry; It will turn out alright.

6. Go to your Layers palette and drag the layer with the device into the trashcan. Make a new document the same size as your screen resolution and copy your selection and paste it.
7. Distort the image so that it fills up the whole document (your screen resolution) perfectly. If you don’t know your screen resolution, press alt+Print Screen beside your F12 key and paste it onto a new document in your photo editing software. Check the size. That is your resolution size.
8. Adjust the lighting. This part is tricky. You make it so it looks like a camera lens and not a image.
9. Set the image as your desktop. You have a “transparent” screen! As long as you don’t move it around a lot…

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PPP introduces PPP Direct! PPP Direct is similar to SponsoredReviews and ReviewMe, where you can sell reviews on your site.
Pay Per Post’s Announcement

With Pay Per Post Direct you can reach out to advertisers, even those not currently in the PPP network, and advertise your own blogs and content. We’ve found in the past that advertisers often want to directly hire good bloggers to write about their products or services and with PayPerPost Direct that’s now possible.

Payment
While you receive only 50% of your payment in ReviewMe, 65% in SponsoredReviews, you get 90% of your payment in PPP Direct. I expect them to be charging more than a minimum of 10% service fee in the near future, since PPP Direct will surely be expanding.
You can set your own minimum prices for reviews. The default minimum review price is $5.00. You put the PPP Direct button on your blog, where advertisers can offer their price, and you can accept or decline.

How to Qualify for PPP Direct

1. Sign up for Pay Per Post as a “Postie”.
2. When your blog is accepted, go to your Blogger Dashboard, Opportunities, and click PPP Direct. There, you can install a code on your blog.
3. Once installed, wait up to 2 days for PPP to check the codes on your blog.
4. After that, you can start accepting reviews!

San Diego day spas at discoverd.com. Completed with maps and directions for you to enjoy.

Remember FeedBurner, the RSS Feed management company? Google now owns it for $100 million cash. It previously started as a rumor, confirmed by Michael Arrington.
Now that Google owns FeedBurner, it would make sense for them to use FeedBurner’s users for Adsense Ads in Feeds instead of starting a whole new campaign. (Adsense For Feeds)

I think it would be a good idea for Adsense to also be in feeds; there would be more monetization chances for bloggers. (and Google expands yet again.) However, some people subscribe to feeds only because there are no ads. Would we be driving away regular visitors by insterting Adsense in feeds?
What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments area.

Real estate agent news at rismedia.com. News, and tips on how to become a better real estate agent– Daily e-news and magazines. Rismedia is the leading real estate news provider.

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Flickrvision, still in beta, lets you upload images on Flickr, geoencode it, and it will show up on Flickrvision. So every minute, pictures appear when people upload them all over the world. This really puts “It’s a small small world” into perspective.

There is also the 3D version of Flickrvision, which is basically the same thing, but on a 3D globe. Click on the screenshot above to enlarge. (to make it easier for RSS readers)
When there are not new flickr uploads, then it will say so at the top, and show the current image until new flickrs come.

Comment posted by Gerardine
at 5/20/2007 3:24:56 PM

i’ve seen flickr before, so many people now have one, maybe i should try it

BlogCatalog is where the new fire is right now. It is similar to MyBlogLog, a social networking site. Here are some of the features.

• The widget. Blogcatalog features a sidebar widget that is just as customizable as MyBlogLog, and you can put them both in your blog without them looking out of place.
• The design. It currently is a totally different design from MyBlogLog, but I think that will change in time.
• Navigation. The site is easy to navigate around and is very simple and clear.
• Get-to-know-your-community. There are Popular Tags, Recently Added, Top Neighborhoods, Recent Discussions that make knowing the BlogCatalog easier.
• Directory and categories. The directory and categories make browsing websites much more easier for me.

So BlogCatalog is the new hot social networking site, why don’t you join now?
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MySpace is to acquire PhotoBucket, the image hosting website, for $250 million in cash. There might also be an earn-out of $50 million.
PhotoBucket has been looking to sell since March. They were originally looking for $300 million or more, but from their price right now, it seems that there may be a few other buyers competing.
Compared to Google’s buying of Youtube for nearly $1.65 billion. When the deal closed, the stock was worth $1.8 billion. Photobucket is now being acquired for less than 1/4 of that.
When YouTube announced their acquisition in October 2006, they were not generating a lot of revenue. Photobucket, however, is now generating $25 million and is projected to grow this year.
The two companies are not that different in size. Photobucket has 40 million registered users and is gaining thousands per day. Youtube had far less registered users at the time of their acquisition.
Not counting the revenue and the registered members, to look at it another way, Youtube got paid $67 per unique visitor, and PhotoBucket got $13.
Photobucket’s widget was also blocked from MySpace until the time before the negotiation of the acquisition of PhotoBucket. That may be to prove to Photobucket that they could not generate a lot of revenue without MySpace.

Was Youtube overpaid? Was Photobucket acquired for an unfair amount? Did MySpace play clean? I was on TechCrunch and they asked their readers these questions. I’d like to ask my readers the same questions.
In a year or so, Photobucket may be as popular as MySpace.
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