Monetizing Blogs

First off, first post of 2008! Eat it, Keiko!

Some friends and I have recently been talking about blogging. Professionally. In order to do this, we’ve got to become hip to the ways people use their blogs to get that cheddar. Here’s a sampling of links I’m finding:

http://www.problogger.net/

http://www.bloggersforhire.com/ 

10 Worst Toys

1. Go Diego Go Animal Rescue boat, by Fisher Price. Contains lead paint.
2. Sticky Stones, GeoCentral. Magnetized stones that, if swallowed, could “stick together across the intestines, causing serious infections and death.”
3. Jack Sparrow’s Spinning Dagger, Zizzle. Viewed as eye hazard.
4. Dora The Explorer Lamp, Funhouse. Potential for electric shocks and burns.
5. Lil “Giddy Up” Horse _ Sassy Pet Saks, Douglas. Contains fibers and small parts that could be a choking hazard.
6. Spider Man 3 New Goblin Sword, Hasbro. Rigid plastic could cause injuries.
7. Hip Hoppa, by Spin Master Ltd. and Vivid Imaginations, Ltd. A combination footboard and bouncing ball that children jump on has the potential for head and other injuries.
8. B’Loonies Party Park, Ja-Ru, Inc. Children blow balloon-like toy out of substance squeezed from tube. Has potential for chemical ingestion.
9. My Little Baby Born, Entertainment, Inc.; Zapf Creations AG. Baby doll comes attached to tiny pacifier that could be swallowed.
10. Rubber Band Shooter, Simple Toys LLC. Shoots rubber bands and presents eye hazard.

First off, should a toy even be produced if one of its materials includes toxins??  Second, couldn’t just about anything be hazardous if you threw it at somebody? Therefore, Rubber Band Shooter should not be listed. People are so stupid, I swear. My recommendation – BAN all toys from China!!!

Brand New

Brand New is a blog that analyzes corporate identities. Usually it does a before/after comparison following a logo redesign. What it says about the company’s brand and image is usually very interesting.

Here’s one of my favorites. 

2008 GOP Convention Logo

This is the new logo for the 2008 GOP Convention:

Bloggers are universally panning it. Among the comments:

It’s blue, first off, which seems like a weird fit considering that’s the Democrats’ color. Furthermore, it is Republicans themselves who push the idea of red vs. blue polarization.

The elephant looks like it is trippin’ balls on drugs. The stars in the eyes are a pretty clear symbol of intoxication, and it’s rearing wildly about in the air. Bloggers have mentioned the ‘prison stripes’ on its back as well, which is an odd choice considering the amount of Republican congressmen that went to jail this year. They even have mocked the infamous ‘Larry Craig wide stance’ which the elephant clearly appears to be taking. I would take it a step further and say it looks like the elephant is sticking its tail up its own ass.

Food Journal, Day One

In an effort to be more healthy, I’m going to start recording what I eat. Maybe this will lead to some accountability with what I put into my body.

Sunday, Sept. 30:

1 Nature Valley Bar
2 cups of coffee
Multi-grain Tostitos with Old El Paso Picante Sauce
1 packet of Thai Kitchen Bangkok Curry Noodles
2 protein supplement shakes
3 Ground Turkey Tacos on White Corn Shells, with shredded lettuce, cheddar cheese, Mexican oregano, organic taco sauce, lime juice and Taco Bell seasoning
1 mini corn on the cob
1 16.9 oz. bottle of Dr. Pepper

I rode 7.1 miles on the stationary bike in 30 minutes.

Saturday, Sept. 29:

2 cups of coffee
1 piece of cookie cake
1 grilled chicken sandwich on wheat bread with mushrooms, swiss cheese & onions
1 side of macaroni & cheese
2 protein shakes
12 pieces of pizza at CiCi’s
1 salad with ranch dressing
3 Budweisers
4 glasses of water

I also lifted weights, working out the chest and biceps.

Too bad you didn’t think of this

A South Carolina inmate notorious for filing frivolous and fanciful lawsuits against public figures has used his latest complaint to accuse Apple chief executive Steve Jobs of employing O.J. Simpson as a “hitman” for the past two decades, in addition to a litany of other outlandish offenses.

 Continued…

$4.55 can of Coke

Government can be pretty ridiculous. Case in point:

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Hungry attendees at Justice Department conferences have been enjoying millions of dollars in meatballs and other goodies courtesy of U.S. taxpayers, according to an inspector general’s report released Friday.

The Justice Department paid more than $13,000 for cookies at conferences, says a report released Friday.

The report cited $5 meatballs and cans of soft drinks each costing $4.55 among reasons 10 conferences during 2005 and 2006 cost nearly $7 million.

This is absurd. When I worked at MDOT, there was among some people a strong sense of “This is the public’s money, let’s be careful with it.” Now I screwed around as much as the next guy, but I also reused my styrofoam cups, wrote on both sides of a sheet of paper, and turned off lights when I left the room. How could someone at any level of the chain of command accept that a catering company or whomever would charge $4.55 for the same can of Coke you can get for 50 cents from a vending machine?

During the upcoming Presidential election, there’s going to be a lot of talk among Republicans about ‘traditional conservative values,’ and ‘small government.’ Let’s remember what THIS Republican administration’s Justice Department did and send them back to the Wal-Mart lobby for their cans of Coke.

This really pisses me off….

Screw you, Southwest.

How does the way I dress affect you, steward(ess) or pilot, from doing your job? And, since when was flying next to the fat fuck next to me or the noisy, crying baby going to give me a job?? Southwest needs to provide a disclaimer when you purchase your tickets because this is so absurd. Who cares if the people around me are discomforted! I paid the same $350. I paid for this certain space. I can do whatever I want. My outfit is not causing any harm. If the airlines can allow a man to breach security and spread TB around the world, then I think I can wear a miniskirt and a halter top on the plane.

Why I Shop at Lowe’s

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/08/lying-to-your-c.html

It turns out (at this Home Depot, anyway), that whenever they don’t feel like using the saw, they pretend it’s broken. (Yes, technically, they didn’t say ‘broken,’ they said ‘not working,’ which is sort of true. Except it was the saw operator who wasn’t working.)

I used to think Dick Cheney didn’t understand Iraq

‘Til I saw this: