According to Afterdawn they are also offering an open beta to test and get reports on the new technology.  Personally I wouldn’t touch the new software with a ten foot pole, because you know every Tom, Dick, and something AA will have their hands in it as well.  I’m thinking only the Lord knows what kind of vulnerabilities streaming p2p contains and I’m not willing to find out.

Last I checked it looked like NewsGroups were making a come back, which I currently use for my Linux Distro downloads.  Perhaps a new generation of bittorrent is needed to put a little more spring in the step of the pirates and cut down the AA’s another notch.

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Furthermore, they are requiring your data to be shared with them to gain access to soon to be standard Google features.  The Google Analytics FAQ in regards to Data Sharing specifically states that you MUST share your data with Google to gain access to their upcoming Adwords Conversion Optimizer.

The Analytics FAQ does address one of my ranking concerns, but not directly.

Your website data will not be used to affect your natural search results, ad quality score or ad placement. Aggregate data across many customers will be used to improve our products and services.

Just because you’re not paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not after you.  Lastly, make sure you do not automatically share your data with an ambigous ‘Others’.  Of your two choices when sharing your Analytics data, Anonymously With Google and Others is an option.  I wonder how much it costs to get a hold of that information?

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Thanks to the big networks soaking up any residual traffic they can, due to the blockbuster release, I got to see Batman Begins again on Sunday.  I believe it was TNT that was airing several Batman movies, including some of the older ‘comic’ style creations, which basically make me want to punch myself in the sack.

Did anyone else catch the spy pics of the batmobile?  I’ve yet to scope out any of the Bat Bike, which will hopefully be rooted in plausability just as much as the tumbler was.

Finally, I pray that Morgan Freeman gets some freakin narrating work in this next flick.

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Something else that I’ve learned, when dealing with people online looking to earn a buck, is that being nice does NOT pay off.  In the real world it does, but when helping people online it’s generally better just to spit in their face and walk away.  If they don’t know how to use a search engine to at least get a dirt floor grasp of a concept, then they aren’t worth the greasy stuff at the top of my butt crack.

To be honest, this blog was originally started to help support P2P, torrents, and other piracy deeds.  In my previous life I was involved heavily in some places that were shut down…in a not nice way.  Since the start of the blog the following things have changed my ways and outlook on life in general:

• I got married.
• I had a daughter.
• I bought a house.
• I bought a dog.
• I learned that life meant nothing before #1 and #2 happened.
• I learned that friendships online are just as important as real life friendships.

Thanks for everyone that has been with me so far and I look forward to at LEAST another 2 years of prosperous endeavor seeking blog crap.  I leave you with what my daughter thought of her very first sparkler on her very first fourth of July.

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• Adventure Sports - No subscriber feed listing number of feedburner subscribers but he does have a FeedBurner email signup, RSS Icon, Google Reader, and Bloglines subscription chiclet.
• My Way The Entrepreneur Network - Again, no listing of how many RSS subscribers, but the site does offer Kindle, FeedBurner, and FeedBlitz RSS subscription Icons.
• Rede WebTuga - Site is down, notice of the future home of Rede WebTuga Feedburner Network.
• BizJournals - They offer two locations where a user can subscribe to their feed, simple text, and then bright orange RSS button and box above the content.
• The Conservative Blog Network - Network of various blogs, usually displaying simple RSS buttons and an email signup.

Unfortunately I don’t feel like I really learned anything from the list above, other than the power of having an email signup to subscriptions.  Obviously this will offer 2 benefits, one you get more subscribers and a way to get your updates directly to their inbox, where they are more likely to check everyday…unlike some Readers that are used rarely.  Second, you are starting to build a list of emails that can be accessed via FeedBurner and used for other marketing purposes.

Now, what value does being on the list above have to the site owners…probably none considering any searches will result in actual blog pages being found.  However, it’s still neat to see what’s most popular out there in the eyes of Google.

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Well, these dirty followers were not happy, so what did they do the next day they were released on bail?  They went to the office building of the engineering company responsible for the construction and busted out a number of their windows.  Basically they went all neanderthal chucked rocks like a freakin monkey in anger.  What did this change?  Lol, nothing and I hope they die from whatever animal they are trying to save attacking them.

I can’t help but ask myself how these 15-20 twentysomethings find time to protest and throw rocks at buildings.  I mean, do they not have jobs?  They can’t, at least full time ones, and still have the time to follow someone who pretends to have a big heart.  It’s like a cult, Scientology, or any other week minded group of people looking to find the shortest distance between their shitty existence and making a difference.

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Today I came across a new plugin that I’m hoping will make my life easier, WP-Amazon. This neat little plugin makes configuring my Amazon Associates ID and searching items to add to posts a breeze. WP-Amazon adds an Amazon search bar to the side of your ‘Write’ post screen, where you can find an item, select options and automatically add it to your posts. I’m eager to see how this will save me time and convert visitors to affiliate sales.

Perhaps the maker of WP-Amazon should look into creating a similar plugin for big CJ affiliates as well. There is no doubt I could find a use for a similar wp plugin for NewEgg and others.

See below for an example of what an Amazon product added to a blog post with WP-Amazon looks like.

The E-Code: 33 Internet Superstars Reveal 43 Ways to Make Money Online Almost Instantly—Using Only Email

I’ll be coming up with a full review of this plugin, along with other suggestions in the next few days.  After my first post I’m noticing a few bugs that screw with my display, but no big deal.  Furthermore, having a nice template print out instead of a drag and drop image and title would be beneficial as well.  I’ll do some searching and be back later.

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For example, I may be writing a post about a 2010 Ford Mustang and obviously focus on that search keyword.  Once I enter in my phpBay code I can then set low priced items that have to do with Mustangs, in this case key chains, which will be displayed with their listing title off of eBay.  Thanks to these, often times key word stuffed, titles I’m now bringing in some side traffic to those specific posts, where a visitor is likely to click.

So you see the value of phpBay out weighs it’s initial affiliate value and can do it’s own part to bring in traffic without any additional work.  Free ever changing content, on each individual blog post, Google loves it and now so am I.

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First, thanks to the CEO of Auctiva for having a pair and calling me direct on this, it does say something about the character of the owner.  Second, this post will be reserved for further insight into the Auctiva business practices that have been reported to me, with the hope that case studies will become available so that I’m not considered just a blogger spouting lies.  Lord knows I don’t have the pocket book for that and also have what some would consider morals.  If what I find is completely contrary to what was originally reported on Auctiva, yes, an apology will be written.

Lastly, to whom it may concern, threatening a person willing to work and listen to you is just bad business practice and frankly makes you look like a dick.  Check in your support department, I’m the one who called you back.

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For about 2 weeks after the purchase the phone was great, but soon afterward the touch sensitive buttons reared their ugly heads.  Forget calling out when you are sweaty, forget sliding open the phone and not calling the first person on your contact list, and forget about playing MP3’s unless you purchase their $100 package for software and memory card.  I was pissed, but at least I had a phone again, which I protected with an insurance plan.

Finally a few months ago I got fed up and decided to call Verizon’s insurance company to see about getting a replacement.  I was informed that I was required to pay a $50 premium to qualify for a new phone, the same crappy Chocolate mind you.  That didn’t set well with me, so I took my complaints to a Verizon dealer in the local mall.

As it turns out Verizon dealers in malls are not required to have a personality, be polite, or even look you in the eye unless you are buying a new Blueberry.  After pulling up my account I was informed the only thing I could do was use my upgrade to get a 2 year pricing plan price on a new phone and/or pay $50 to get my phone replaced by Verizon, not the insurance company.  To upset my situation even further I was astounded to find that Verizon doesn’t even offer an inexpensive phone anymore.  For a phone with basic picture and text messaging you had to pay around $100 WITH a 2 year plan.  Outrageous, especially how I was just treated by a man who spent too much time in a salon.

Are you bored yet? If not, then read on to find out how I argued with a Verizon store’s actual manager on duty about getting some phone, kinda cheap, without signing another agreement.

The moment I entered the Verizon store I was bombarded by the manager on duty trying to act like she cared, but really just sign me up for another 2 year plan.  It was after 45 minutes of arguing that she finally conceded that they offered 1 year plans and that I could actually have my phone replaced for the $50 fee and a $20 service charge.  Apparently the price just keeps going up depending on who you talk to in customer service.  I reluctantly agreed to this charge, since I didn’t want to commit to another contract, and was told to see the manager in the service dept.

How To Get A Free New Phone From Verizon

It’s amazing, but I was immediately informed by the manager in the service department that my phone qualified to be replaced FOR FREE!  He informed me that most of Verizon’s phones come with an extended service plan that state if the phone were to have a malfunction within your contract, they will replace it with the same phone for free.  For free, did you hear me?  No need to sign another contract, no need to pay nickel and dime games for service fees, only walk in, transfer your contacts and here is your new phone nothing attached.  The polite gentlemen behind the counter informed me that Verizon insisted on keeping it’s customers in a working phone while they sere under an agreement.  Of course a salesman isn’t going to tell you this.

Verizon Customer Service Sucks

I asked the Verizon service manager if every Verizon kiosk would be able to tell this information from my account.  I was informed that it’s clear as day on your account, pulled up on any Verizon computer.  I feel that I was lied to, misled, and abused for several hours by Verizon’s customer service just so they could try and bully me into an extended plan or new phone.  Maybe when my contract is up in August I’ll be looking at what AT&T has to offer.

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