In recent weeks I have been reasonably active on a couple of Social/Business Networks.

Lots of people will tell you that you can make lots of contacts and get your brand out there by using these networks. That may be the case, but I am beginning to question the value of these so-called contacts.

Everything is just so fleeting and superficial.

Like Me And I’ll Like You

In a couple of networks the members are able to indicate that they like a post, or article or links. This is probably fine if they actually took the time to read the thing that they “like”. Judging from the time that take to go from one item to the next, I doubt that they read any of the blog posts, or articles or watch the videos.

At one site you will even find that members openly suggest that everyone just go down the items on the wall and click the “like” link. What’s the value in doing that? Surely that degrades the whole notion of being able to evaluate a member or their items by checking out how many “like” they have.

And comments:

I am getting a little frustrated by finding that some people just can’t seem to resist adding short comments, and then when someone responds, thanking them for that response, and then that gets another response, etc….

And then there’s the tag team approach. A group of members from Network K who are  promoting their network on Network A. One of Team K posts on Network A, that’s then “liked ” by another of the Team K, and then another of Team K comments, and another. Then then they all go around again, congratulating each other on their deep and meaningful comments. All the time hoping to raise the profile of Network K. I suppose they might convince some people that they are worth following. But it gets a bit tedious navigating  through the stuff they put out.

So, does it really matter who you hang out with in these Social Networks? Can it hurt your brand if you become too closely linked with the incredibly busy, but potentially annoying crowd?

Google Blacklist

The sidebar of this blog has been modified today because Google have decided to shut my  down my AdSense account. So I have removed the widget that held their code.

There is no explanation of the reason for the closing of my account. There was no warning that it was about to close. There is no way for me to find out the reason.

I might just try to see if I can work out what I might have done wrong by taking another look at the Terms Of Service, but only when I have nothing better to do.

Strange, that even though my account balance had not changed significantly in the last 3 months since I resumed running their ads, they felt that I was doing something wrong. Perhaps not making enough money for them.

I also found it strange that the minimum payout amount seemed to keep going up as I reached the figure that I could get that payout.

I wonder who audits the figures for Google, who claim that advertisers whose ads were allegedly clicked illegally will be reimbursed?

For more details you can visit my APSense article.

Thanks Google, just one thing less to check!

This post has been a long time coming, but now is the time to get back to this site.

I officially retired from the workforce just one day before the previous post, so in theory I should have more time adding content here.

Well, since retirement things just seem to have got busier, BUT the things that I do are generally what I choose to do.

I will be back here soon to detail some of those things and plans for the future.

Stay tuned!

Life was much simpler then.

Yesterday I bought a Commodore 64 at a local charity auction. It came with keyboard, disk drive, power supplies, cables, joysticks and a box of copied games.

I plugged it into an old TV and fired it up with no problems. Thankfully the disk Drive manual was included so it was not too hard to load a game and test the computer.

It certainly brought back memories about how much more basic things were with C64. I just had time for a game of Yahtcee before I had to pack it up, take photos and start to prepare to list it for an enthusiast to buy it on eBay.

I might even sneak in a game or two before it goes!

The past few days have been hectic getting established in some Traffic Exchanges.

You can check out one of the latest trends in Traffic Exchanges, Social Traffic Networking at several newish TEs.

They provide various options to link with other surfers while you are out on your board. No longer is surfing just a solo, mind-numbing activity of clicking and moving on to the next site.

Here are three examples of the latest in Social Traffic Networking.

This one is the latest. It’s just hit the ‘net and offers chat with fellow surfers. If you happen to be chatting while the owner is online and  chatting you  could pick up great tips , and maybe even a bonus or two. I did!

This is the one to get on right now, as it has just been fired up, and already is building its membership base. More than 600 in less than a day.

This also provides chat, and you can also be grouped with other surfers in teams for added advantages. There is also a forum for the sharing of ideas.

Finally in this group of three:

This one sets the standard as far as Social Traffic Networking is concerned. You can also check out some of the features of this Traffic Exchange / Social Network at my other blog in a post titled Getting Social In A Traffic Exchange.

Tunnel Vision.

This post continues on from the previous one.

Just a change of metaphor. I’ve left the cattle ranch, and branding behind, and it’s now on the road, and barrelling down through the tunnel.

Breaking Free and Down The Highway.

It seems like it’s been a long journey, following the comprehensive instructions for rebranding the eBook that is the centrepiece of the BreakFreeTraffic service.

First there’s a really detailed eBook to study. It has all of the steps that need to be followed to build a business that uses Traffic Generation as a tool for expansion. There are lots of links to explore, and tools to begin to use.

That means lots of emails to confirm subscriptions. Lots of different websites to check out and begin to use. Many of these sites are new to me, and each seeems to have its own way of doing things. This makes navigating a new site a new experience, although there are some common features.

Second: The rebranding exercise. That means signing up as an affiliate at many of the sites, and recording information about the links in the rebranding exercise. That’s where my spreadsheet comes in handy.

Of course with lots of new affiliate links to check, there’s now lots more sites to check to see the stats in each.

No wonder it seems like I’ve been driving down a tunnel. But I can see the light ahead. There’s just a handful of sites to add.

If you want a sneak preview of what I’ve been working on then add your name and email to this form. You will also be able to pick up a bonus Blog Profits eBook.

Branding yourself is the latest buzz phrase in the Internet Marketing world.

Well it seems like that to me right now. But I may be just a bit slow to catch on, so here’s what is happening right now.

I have joined a program that has been devised by Mark Hodgetts, a friend from one of the Social Media sites.

The emphasis of this program is to make sure that you (I) put your name out there in the marketplace and get to be known. It is not a good idea to spend a lot of time promoting other people’s programs in the hope that you will get some spin-offs from that.

So the process is something like this:

Build a list of subscribers to whom you can provide a service, information or products.

Regularly provide that list with those products, services and information. Sell to that list, since they are already action-takers having signed up to your list.

And what will attract them to your list? A rebranded book that has my links to a whole lot of programs, services and informative sites. Get out there in the Social Sites, mingle with the Internet Marketers, brand yourself!

So to set up that rebranded book, I will have to join many (if not all) of those sites, to be able to set up my affiliate links. Doesn’t sound too hard does it?

Well guess what! I joined the first one and it has a similar rebranding process! Join up to lots of sites and rebrand the book they have to share! And so it goes on! After a short time there are many different sites to join, and links to add to the resource they rebrand. And it’s very easy to forget which ones you’ve joined.

So I am taking my time: Joining 1 site per day from the original rebranding opportunity, and recording the details in a spreadsheet. Just to keep things under control and not forget which I have joined.

This also has the advantage of giving quick access to any of the opportunities that are worth promoting in other online pursuits that I am undertaking.

So that’s where I’ve been for the last few days. When it’s all ready to go, you will see the announcement here and on my other blogs where appropriate.

It’s back to the sign-up process again. And put that branding iron away! It’s not that sort of branding!

Charting a new course.

Yesterday’s post was all about going back over some great materials that I have used in the past, and reminding myself of the resources in there.

Today, it’s on with the new. And this is going to take some time.

I have taken up a program in which I will  have access to an ebook that can be branded with my links, and made available here for my readers. I will also be launching it in other places as well, but this is where I will keep you informed about what is happening.

To be able to add my links to the ebook I will have to join a few programs and services to set up my affiliate links. Some of those I will write about in this blog, so if (and when) you decide to join the same program you could already have a head start and be using some of these programs.

I have started the joining process in a couple of things and in this post I will mention  just one of them.

adKreator does more than give you the opportunity to build a great splashpage, but that is one of its features that you can check out free.

To find out more of what adKreator can do, you can download the ebook by clicking on the image or by following this Link.

Remember to come back for more posts that will review the programs I am about to join.

Add your comments about any of those that I have added a quick review, to share your ideas about them.