So, if you read my previous posts, then you know that I have been learning and testing out my knowledge of PPC (Pay Per Click).  Needless to say, I’ve been losing money from the start.  It’s not as though I didn’t know this would happen, and I actually never assumed I would making any to begin with.  However, I knew going into PPC that I had to get testing out of the way.  I relate it to learning to swim.  You can ask all the questions you’d like, but without jumping in the water and getting your bearings, you will never gain experience.  Experience is an interesting thing.  You can read all you’d like about anything, but you may never achieve the same reasoning or hands on feeling that others might.

So I went to the rally on Saturday and it was amazing. I stood in line for 3-4 hours, but it was worth it. My only regret is that I wish I would have sold some apparel. There were nearly 8000 people there and I bet I could have sold at least 100 buttons for $3-$5 a piece. Well, anyways I setup a website as sort of an experiment with local advertising. ObamainMissoula.com - it has some affiliate advertising and also some T-shirts from cafepress. It has only been active for a few days, but I will be sure to update this blog with anything interesting I come across. Be sure to check out my Crowd Surfing Baby Video

Hey there,

How are you today…?  Thanks for asking, I’m fine.  Yes, I might be talking to myself, but that’s okay because it’s late right now.  I wanted to post a few things that I found today that I believe are really going to help me with a few projects I am working on.

Organization for a Wednesday

I came across the blog of www.MarketingWithMiles.com for the first time today and feel a stupid that I hadn’t thought of this first.  Miles created the concept of using a basic HTML based page that you access from your local computer.  The page is used strictly for your own personal organization.  The setup is very easy, but if you end up using his basic template, you will have the ability to do things such as:

• Place links to blogs that you visit a lot.  My bookmark page is almost useless now that it consists of about 200 links.  Having a short list of blogs I visit on a daily basis does save me time.
• Link to some motivational pictures, then place a goal underneath each.  This is great for practically anybody.  What works better than looking at your goals every day?
• Link to sites that you manage all on one page.  This was the most attractive part of the concept.  Yes, I could use my Cpanel to look through all of my websites, but having a link to my stats, wp-admin, crawltrack, etc… for each page is an amazing time saver.

So, I think this concept is useful to pretty much anybody who does anything on a computer.  There are some management programs that you can use for to do lists, but what works better than something you created specifically for YOU?

Flip It Good!

I found this video camera on the net today called The Flip.  It is a neat looking little device that is also quite cost effective.  I am in my consideration phase mentally right now, so I will probably wait until tomorrow before I sort through the accessories and figure out what I need.  My reason for buying this thing is due to the fact that I am wanting to do video blogging on a few blogs.  Not only that, but I haven’t ever had a video camera of my own that I could play around with.

Lately you have probably noticed a lot of complaints being passed around about the new Facebook Gift feature.  Well, as far as I am concerned I don’t think it was a bad move on Facebook’s end at all. 

Imagine a product that takes only a short time to create and then you can sell it again and again.  You also don’t have to worry much about cost for creating the product because it is an image.

If you managed millions of people within a social network, would you not produce and “optional” form of communication?  It is not as though Facebook is telling their members to use the gift feature.  They are simply supplying a product and giving the user the choice of using it. 

So you can’t get upset or angry with Facebook because they are just trying something out to see if it is profitable.  If you are still going to complain, then you really don’t understand good business.

To be honest, I don’t look at or use online betting sites very often if at all. It’s not that I don’t gamble, but I have just never really given online gambling any thought. However, I have given thought to creating an online casino or gambling site in the past.

So here is a look at a gambling site called Bet365.com which is an online casino site.

The first thing I notice when I look at the site is the sheer complexity which makes me want to forget about trying to create such a site in the first place. But once I come to my sense and look around, I see a few familiar things and am ready to start breaking this site down.

First of all, I like the flashy Flash component in the center of the page right when you load the page. With any other site this wouldn’t fit, but since this is a betting site, it is right in line.

Second, the clear use of color on the site makes it easy to see which options are important and which are not as important. This is crucial when directing traffic over your site and making sure users see something specific.

Third, I think I will take a look at a specific spot on the site for a little bit better or in-depth observation. So let’s follow this link labeled, “Card Games” under “Instant Play.” From here let’s try out Black Jack…

All the games are running in Flash which seems to be a standard in online gambling and gaming now. Aside from that, the game is very easy to use and learn. Not only that, but the artwork/graphics are quite nice. The game also allows you to play with fake or real money. Now if only I was good at black jack could I use real money…