Good Site for Hotel Bookings

This is one site which I use quite often to book hotels when we go on a trip. The site offers booking for cheap hotels and the prices are very reasonable.Many a times we have this notion that cheap hotels mean inadequate facilities. But that's not the case always.
The site has an advanced system through which you can search hotels not only by region, but also by name and through map search. I particularly like the map search, which is powered by google, and you can search practically any hotel in the world. The map search has another facility too. Its called route planner. You type the name of the areas you want to travel to and from and the adjoining map will create a route for you.
There are good bargains for cheap hotels at the site. You can get different last minute London hotels starting from $25. You can further narrow your search depending on your requirements. For example, apart from price range and star rating, you can search the hotels according to type of accommodation and facilities provided.

Cats in History

Archaeologists have found cat bones dating back 6,000-8,500 years among the ruins of ancient towns in Israel, Syria and Pakistan. It is unlikely that these bones belonged to pets. Instead, the cats probably roamed the streets as wild animals. These alley cats must have been popular because they caught the rats and mice that raided grain and other food stores.
Egyptian Idols: The first people to tame cats were the ancient Egyptians, about 3,000-4,000 years ago. Cats were extremely important in Ancient Egyptian society. When cats died, their owners would shave off their their eyebrows as a sign of respect. The bodies of dead cats were preserved by mummification and buried together in vast tombs. One tomb explored in the nineteenth century contained 300,000 mummified cats. The Ancient Egyptians worshiped several cat gods, including Sekhmet and Bastet, which had cats' faces and women's bodies. The famous Great Sphinx that still stands at Giza, near Cairo, is a craved stone monument with the head of a pharaoh and the body of a big cat- the lion.
During the Roman Empire( 510 BC-476BC), cats spread throughout Europe. They were highly valued for their mouse-catching skills and soon became a familiar sight. Merchants also took cats to Asia and the Far East, where they were popular in palaces and monasteries. In China and Japan, cats became a symbol of well being.
Oriental cats remained slender, like their Egyptian ancestors. In the West, however, they gradually developed the stockier build and rounder heads of most common breeds today.
In medieval Europe, priests declared that cats had magical powers and worked for witches or the devil. they were accused of being lazy and greedy, and many were beaten or killed.
In some parts of the world, black cats are still thought to be bad omen- but in the UK they are symbols of good luck.
In 1871, the first ever cat show took place in London. It triggered an interest in different coat types and colors, and people began to develop the first cat breeds. cats

Interesting Facts about Australia

Last weekend Jitender Bhaiya came to visit us with his wife and newborn son. He narrated some interesting things about his Australian trips. He is always on the look out for unusual information on places he visits.
---Gold coast is arguably Australia’s most popular tourist destination. There is an interesting incident that my friend narrated to me. On 1st April, The Gold Coast radio station Sea FM told the frustrated teenage listeners that the bar for drinking age had been raised to 21. There was an outcry of protests from under 21s. Of the radio station later told it's harassed listeners that it was an April fool Prank. You can find good budget hotels in Sydney.

---Manly is one of Sydney's most popular beaches. This beach got it's name after the manly physical qualities of the Aborigines.In 1978, a Millionaire Businessman of Sydney succeeded in towing a giant iceberg in to Sydney from Antarctica. His scheme was to sell small pieces of iceberg and make money. There was a lot of excitement and activity in the city, when the iceberg arrived. But it began to rain, and it was found out that the jumbo iceberg was made of plastic sheets.

---The number of sheep in Australia is 8 times its population. Meh Meh.

---Austarlia is the originator of the secret ballot box, they started using it way back in 1850s.

---There are approximately 500 national parks in Australia, because more than 90 percent people live in the coastal areas, which constitute only 2% of the whole land. So what you do with so much extra space? You turn them in to parks and sanctuaries.

---Marmalade may be a thing to eat elsewhere in the world, but in Melbourne, it is a word to call a conductor.

---Melbourne is credited with inventing the term call girl. In late 1800s the prostitutes used to meet their clients through telephone bookings.

---In Australia, University of Melbourne set the trend of accepting female students. There is no dearth of good Melbourne hotels.

---You will also find good deals in Perth hotels and Brisbane hotels.Incidentally Perth has the biggest collection of aboriginal art in the world. It is also has the largest park for public. There is no place in the world which allows aircraft landing in a business district except Perth.

Get Paid To Post: Update: It's a Scam

I made a posted about a new sponsored reviews site Get Paid to Post here and here.
There is a update today. I think the site has closed shop and run away with all the money it collected from the advertisers for and without paying the bloggers or those who joined the site to make extra bucks. Basically what I think is that Get paid to post is a scam site.
If you have tried to click the link, you must have encountered a message saying to login to upgrade, though this link should take you to the site directly. I can't access my account, and when I sent an email to their support, I got a delivery failure notification. So there goes another scam paid to post site.

Bloggersreview: A New Paid to Blog Site

I wrote about this blog advertising site in my earlier post here. That time it was I had nothing more to say except that I have joined this site and there are no opportunities that I qualify for. Now slowly I see the offers coming my way. The site is growing, however gradually.If you are qualified to take the opportunity, then it is yours.And remember, you have to pay thirty five percent to the this blog for pay site. But that will be okay when the opportunities are increased.Anyone is eligible to join this site, you don't need to be a US resident.
What are the requirements: Like most paid to blog sites, bloggers review require you to write at least hundred and fifty words post, and include a minimum of two links. The post should be submitted within five days, then it is set for approval. Blog posts are generally reviewed within 72 hours of submission.
How do they pay: The site pays through paypal every two weeks.

Bomb Blasts in Jaipur: What is happening

I was replying to a comment made on my post site hacked , when my husband told me the news. It is a coincidence that the post in question is related to Turkish Islamic hackers and I was in the process of clinching my replying when I heard that SIMI is a suspect for the seven bomb blasts that shook Jaipur killing more than sixty people.
I don't understand what is happening. The intelligence agencies are totally useless. They can't prevent a Kargil, nor a Parliament attack. I wonder who named RAW Research and Analysis Wing, when it should be Rubbish And Waste.RAW is totally moth ridden and full of corrupt officials who will sell their own mother if they get good money.
And what do these terrorists want to establish? Can they make their religion acceptable through these acts?

Hindi Words in English

A few days back I was reading paper and saw a news referring to some dress called jodhpurs, I was a little surprised, what is our Jodhpur doing in London Fashion Week? Then I learned that jodhpurs are breeches and they are so called because they were originated in Jodhpur. This gave me an idea to search for words that are Indian in origin and now a part of English. Some I knew like pundit, guru, loot, pucca etc. All these words are used with their original meaning intact.
Here are some other Hindi words in English:
Thug: A conman
Basmati: US took basmati rice from us through patent, and we have only left with the credit of the origin of this word.
Bazaar: Market
Jungle
Pajama
Yoga
Swastika
Bungalow
Another English words based on Hindi;
Lac from lakh
cot from khat
dungaree from dungari
calender from kalantar
candy from khand
cushy( comfortable) from khushi
safari from safar
If you have any others words to include, please let me know.

Driving in Germany

The trip to Paris taught me one thing, that it is better to have your own vehicle or a rented one, if you really want to enjoy your trip. My husband is planning to set up a satellite navigation system in our car. On our next trip ( which will most probably be Germany), he will be taking a car tour with GPS system. But I seriously doubt it. He is not an expert driver, and Germany has no speed limit on most of its roads, so I would want to play safe and try to persuade him to hire a car.
I did a search for the requisites for driving in Germany and found some useful information. Which I am sharing with you. It is better that if you know some traffic terms in German, such as Four Lane Highway is called Landstrasse, One-way is Einbahn, whereas Parken verboten means No parking, and Bundesstraßen refers to national road. Did you know that Germany motorway or autobahn was first started in Germany? You can find many hotels in Berlin which are on your route.You will also get good accommodation at Frankfurt hotels the reservation starts from €10.
To be able to use a car rental service one must be an adult ( not below 21 years), a credit card, and an international drivers permit and an insurance. Buying insurance online can save you time as well as lots of extra bucks.
Though there are no general speed limits on driving, there can be special limits on roads which are near to cities and towns. So you should look for such signs that tell you the speed limit.
In Munich you will find that public transport is very efficient, so you don't need to rent a car there. You will find good Munich hotels at rates starting from €21. Did you know that about 15% people living in Munich are Turkish? And that the city center has a sun bathing area where you can enjoy sun in your birthday suit? If no, then thank me for enlightening you:)

Site Hacked!

I have a self hosted blog on wordpress, on Friday I opened it as usual, to write a post, and what I found? Instead of my homepage, I was looking at a Photo of Bush on a black background. Bush's forehead was marked and some graphics were targeting as if he was on gun point. Owned, this site is hacked by CEM111. I can't even explain the shock I got. It was like I was robbed in broad daylight. It was as if I was being watched.
I called my husband, who had went out in the park with my daughter. He told me to be calm, but how could I be? My first independent blog was hacked by some pervert. I couldn't understand why someone would hack a non business, google PR-zero blog which has only a few ordinary posts written in it? My blog doesn't have any financial activity, so it couldn't have been for money. I am not a political bigwig or religious fanatic, so it couldn't be an act of hate too.
While waiting for my husband to return, I looked into my site's stats, and found that a visitor from Turkey had spent 40 minutes at my blog. I emailed the server support, posted on digital points forum for help and did some research on CEM111. I found that CEM111 are Turkish Islamic hackers, who target anti Islamic and pro- American sites. I don't understand why these idiots hacked mine. I am not a Bush fan, you can even count me in as anti-Bush, and I don't have any problems with Islam, though this stupid type of Islamic fanaticism irritates me no end. So why was I targeted?
My husband answered that question, he said that such hackers don't single out minor sites, they just hack the server and then deface all sites which are hosted on it.
We contacted the support at server and they promptly responded. I was too exhausted to follow, I went to sleep and my husband remained on the net trying to find out the corrupted files.
Next day my husband told me that the database was intact, the hackers didn't touch anything( their was nothing for them to change or deface), they had only altered the php file. I was relieved that I had my blog back. But I was again distressed to find out that my stats showed two visits from a site which is apparently run by CEM111 , and keeps a track of the sites they hacked. It is frightening. It is as if I am being watched!
Should I have written this post? I don't know. The idiots may hack my blog again, but I had to get it off my chest too. There is no or little info available on sites being hacked by Islamic Morons.What would they get out of it? They have certainly made me less sympathetic towards Islam, that's for sure. I used to love Pakistani Serials and I have written a post about it on my other blog, but Now I am not sure I can watch anything related to Muslims. Or may be its just temporary and I will be watching another of my favorite Pakistani serials, Tanhaiyaan on you tube.
Islamic Hackers

Interesting Facts about Scotland

-Scotland was the first country in the world to pass a law which said that every part of Scotland must have a school.
-The new Scottish parliament in Edinburgh is very flamboyant and daring-it doesn't look like a government building at all.
-Many of the houses in Charlotte Square in Edinburgh have little upside-down cones attached to the wall. These were called link extinguishers and were used by boys whose job was to escort people home in the dark by the light of a flaming torch. They would plunge the torch into the cone to extinguish it.
- The Scottish national dish, Haggis, is religiously eaten on Burns Night, 25th January.Every year, the birthday of the 18th- century poet, Robert Burns, is celebrated by the eating of a haggis. Burns wrote a poem about this dish ( in his days it was a peasant food and he was extremely fond of it) and it is customary for someone to read the poem aloud before suddenly plunging a knife into the haggis in a very dramatic fashion.
- For most of the month of August, Edinburgh holds a huge arts festival. Some of the acts can be very peculiar and funny: once a comedian did a show in his red Ford Escort car- four people only!
- Before James Bond became the world’s greatest secret agent, he went to school in Edinburgh. James Bond is a fictional character, but the school-Fettes College-is real. Originally Bond was sent to school in England but was expelled and sent to Fettes College instead.
- There is another Bond connection with Fettes College. Sean Connery, who played James Bond in many of the movies, was- among many other things- a milkman before he became a famous actor. And Fettes College was on his milk round.


Interesting facts about Scotland

Marriage Fitness: A New Concept

Today is the day to talk about ways to save your marriage. No no don't jump to help me save mine. I am living a blissfully happy married life. But there are many many people out there who are facing problems in their marriage. Some plunge into depression, some try to solve the matter through marriage councellors,and others simply give up trying to mend things and solve their marriage problems.
Marriage fitness is a program which stresses the need to follow certain marriage laws for maintaining and saving your Marriage. Marriage fitness is run by Mort Fertel.I did a search on him and this guy has got great credentials. He is the author of Marriage Fitness: 4 Steps to Building & Maintaining Phenomenal Love,and has been featured on various TV channels including Fox News Network,ABC, CBS and NBC.His marriage Help sessions cost you money but his e-zine seven steps to a successful marriage is free and thousands of people are its subscribers. More over he offers free marriage assessment to help you understand where you need to work to make your marriage strong. Mortel argues that communication skills or conflict-resolution should not be overduely highlighted. There are habits that one need to develop to make a strong marriage. He stresses that even one partner can be successful in saving the marriage, if they apply these laws of this marriage therapy.

I Will Never Forget my First Day In Edinburgh

I remember the first day in Edinburgh. My husband had returned to office, after settling us, in the flat. The landlord had warned us that the fire alarm are very sensitive here. I somehow, didn't pay much attention to it. ( In London, there was no issue of alarm where we lived). Just like every other normal day, I started cooking meal, and lo! the alarm went off. It was shrieking so loudly that I feared that somebody might come up with a base ball bat to make us stop it. The alarm was in every room of the flat. My daughter started crying. Not knowing what to do, I grabbed her,and went out to get some help from the flat down stairs. Whoa! the door closed! We were left outside, without any footwear or warm clothes. I thought of waiting for my husband, but he would be coming at 6, and it was only 11 a.m.

I knocked on practically all the doors in the building, one fellow came out. I explained to him my situation, and requested him to lend a quilt and a pound. He looked skeptical, but may be took pity on my daughter, and gave us what I asked.

Barefoot and without any sweaters on, I stepped out side to face a chilly breeze. After asking a passerby, which bus to take for Regent Road, ( fortunately I had Landlord's address), I got on the bus. The bus went till princess street, and then it took a turn to a road,which I was not familiar with. Got down and again, asked somebody for direction. I started on foot, as the only pound I had, was gone.

Suddenly I heard somebody calling, and saw a car crawling behind me. Fear crept on me. But when I stole a glance, I saw young Asian on the driver's seat. He again called, "Bazi, do you need help?" I tried to put a brave face, and replied in negative. But he came out and then I saw a young women in the car. She too asked me, if everything was all right. I told her the story in brief. The young couple offered to drive us to the landlord's. I politely refused, but the young woman was persistent. I sat in the car and the man got out. The women drove me to the regent road, came with me to the landlord's house and waited in her car ( she wanted to come with me to meet the landlord, as I was a stranger here, but I didn't want to bother her). Luckily the landlord was at home, and he promptly got the spare keys and got ready to drive us back to our flat.

I bade the woman, goodbye. She was a Pakistani girl, I an Indian. But we found a common link of humanity between us. I later went to Leith's Walk to thank her, but couldn't find her restaurant. It's name was Kabab-e Sharif. I hope to locate it on my next visit.

Google Piggybacked Yahoo

At the bottom of my blogger blog, there used to be a running news strip powered by google. I never look at it, I just added it for the sake of getting something to fill the bottom. Yesterday, before changing my blog theme, I noticed a simple heading How Google Outgrew Yahoo. I decided to read it, because I had nothing better to do.

I learned an interesting fact about google, that Yahoo initially paid the bills for google. Yahoo promoted google as the most promoting search engine. It even featured google on it's home page. But the ruthless world of business spares nobody, and you would be a fool to rear your own competitors, which google proved to be. Yahoo later tried to fix things and launched overture, which is the yahoo alternative for google adsense. It is offered only in US, and proved a failure after the initial hype. This interesting post chronicles the journey of google's rise and fall of yahoo.

Have You Got the Look?

You can participate in an online beauty contest through http://www.lookoftheyear.com
This is a one of a kind beauty contest which is taking place online. How to Participate: Participating in the contest is very easy. You have to just fill up an online form describing your vital stats, upload your photo and you are done. You will be judged by online viewers who will vote for you. So, what are you waiting for? Try this contest if you think you have got the look.

Get Paid to Blog: A Review of 40 Sites that Pay You for Blogging

I was thinking of creating forty posts detailing each site that pay you for blogging. Meant to write a review of one paid blogging site every two days or so. But when I reached part 7, I found that the the scheme is not working for me. Actually, I lose interest very quickly,and I hadn't considered this fact when I planned for the make money blogging series. So I have decided to compile a list of sites that pay you for blogging and writing sponsored reviews.

Top Ten Sites that pay you to blog: 10
Other Good Paid Blogging Sites: 09
New Sites for Paid Blogging: 06
Defunct or Scam paid posting Sites:07
Blog ad networks / Links on blogs: 06
Two more additions: 02


Top Ten Sites that pay you to blog:

1. Payu2blog: So far the best paid to blog site as far as I know. I have written a review here. Just want to add that there are frequent $25 dollar per post opportunities also. Though I haven't been able to catch one.In addition, you get to participate in various competitions and treasure hunts, and get rewards in the form of gizmos and gadgets or other products from the sponsoring sites.
2. Sponsored reviews: Comes a close second. You can read the review here.

3. Loudlaunch: They pay very good and regularly. They could have been easily the top paid to write site, but for their dismal and poor response output. Guys at loudlaunch just don't respond to your email, try as hard as you can. But as I said the payout is really well for higher ranked blogs. You don't need to bid or anything. Opportunity pops up in your dashboard if your blog qualifies for it. The posts are to be approved manually. When loud launch started, it was a big proponent of disclosure policy, but with time, they have quietly done away with this policy of disclosing the sponsored post or putting a loudlaunch badge on the post.

4. : Payperpost is the Mecca for bloggers who want to make money blogging.They have lots of opportunities. But many bloggers don't like the site much, because of their holier than thou attitude. They require adding sponsored post tag in each post and a site wide disclosure too.Bloggers complain that payperpost tries to control what they should write and how they should write. Blogger are convinced that payperpost is more interested in filling their own pockets by keeping the advertisers happy at all costs. Most bloggers have experienced that their complaints concerning advertisers' wrong demands always fall on the deaf ears. But as I said that there are many opportunities here, you can try payperpost if your blog get accepted at all. Most of the opportunities are for US and Canadian residents only, so if you have a high page rank, it is no indication that you will get an opportunity as you are living elsewhere. I have added one blog here and it accepted while I was in the process of writing this post. I have yet to post for a campaign for paperpost, lets see how things work out.
Update: All the fears about PPP blogs getting hit by google are real. My PR4 blog jumped down to pr2 within three days of putting PPP code. But to be fair to PPP, I have been paid on time and posts have been approved quickly. I have heard many bloggers complain about PPP support, that they don't reply back and don't care to solve issues. My experience is different. Being new to PPP, I had to contact support many a times and Scott at PPP always responded quickly and positively.

5.Revieme: If you have a strong traffic base, large number of subscribers and a good readership then you will get accepted here, but opportunities are few and far between.

6. :They offer you opportunities according to your rank, meaning low ranked blogs will see low priced offers in their dashboard. But I had two blogs pr3 and pr4 and I still got $6 posts. For many days 5 posts are sitting in the dashboards waiting to be picked. All relate to shopping cart software or bad credit loan. Smorty is also strict about permanent links. If they ever find that you have removed a link form an ancient, age old post, they will hold the money due to you and will only release once you have set links back to where they belong. They are introducing new concepts and I think more opportunities will show once they are done renovating things around. They have recently launched post exchange. Bloggers get useful back links and reviews of their blogs through this program. Only blogs in your niche are asked to review your blog ( if you have made a request), then in turn you will have to write a review of someone else's blog. Its a good concept and bloggers will definitely benefit from it.

Earn Money Blogging Short opinion articles earn you hundreds of $ http://www.smorty.com

Update: Smorty has started text link advertising by the name digxa. Its like kontera, the pay per click program. I haven't seen opportunity for a long time now. I think they have put all their attention and efforts on Digxa and forgotten about paid post program.

7.Creamaid: This site doesn't require you to sign up with them. You only follow an existing conversation, write a post about the advertiser,add a creamaid widget and if you are selected, you are informed at the email address you provided. You write back to give your paypal address and $10 are deposited in your account. I tried writing on creamaid when I was totally new at blogging. The whole coding stuff put me off and I never tried it again. But I have heard positive things about it, so you can try your luck.

8. Weblogsinc: Its not a site, but a network of blogs and some of the best blogs on the internet are associated with weblogs inc. They are the number one network of professional bloggers.

9. B5 media: Another blog network of note, started by professional blogger Darren Rowse of problogger fame. You can see the blogger vacancy on ploblogger job board.

10. 451 Press: Yet another blog network.

Other Good Paid Blogging Sites:

11.Creative-weblogging: This one is also a network of bloggers. They have job openings on this page.

12.v7.com/forum: You have to become a member of their forum first.If accepted, you will be asked to put a link in the post, average pay is $10 per link. Your blog should be pr3 or higher and, if I am not wrong, should be self hosted.

13. Blogsvertise: They are definitely facing some problem these days. This used to be my favorite sites because I got accepted first here, on probation. Made good money, but now offers have dried up and I am tired of looking for grab bag tasks. You can read more about blogsvertise here.

14. Linkworth: They used to have a very confusing system of submitting blogs for posts, getting posts and submitting blogs for link ads, rotating and multi rotating ads. They recently revamped their system, and the latest news is that it is still as confusing as ever to find your way through linkworth maze.Though the new system now gives you alerts about available opportunities on your dash board. Earlier you used to sit and wait for the advertiser to find you. They get half the share of your post earnings. Paypal accounts won't be paid until you have earned $25.They have another weird concept of featured blogger. You pay some fees and they will feature your blog on the main dashboard for the advertisers to see. You pay them to get paid! Try linkworth, if you have no other offers from other paid to blog sites. Something is better than nothing, right?

15. Bublogreviews are a market place similar to sponsored reviews. You bid for opportunities here, though the number of opportunities is nothing as compared to sponsored reviews. I haven’t had any luck with buyblogreviews, but other bloggers have reported getting bids approved.

16. Bloggertizer: It is another market place, but you don’t need to bid here. You simply add your blog in the system and wait for advertisers to find you and make an offer. Bloggertizer doesn’t charge you anything. I wonder how they make money then. May be they get a fee from he advertisers, I don’t know. They pay you $5 when you sign up and write a post on them. I lost this opportunity because I was too lazy to post and then my blog got hit by pr update and slided down from 4 to 2. Bloggertizer pays these bucks only to blogs with pr3 and above.

17. Bloggerwave: I have read negative reports about bloggerwave, that they are fraud, don’t pay etc. My experience is different; I was paid everytime I made a post. But: opportunities are very few, once in a month or so. And they never respond to your queries. They pay you $10 for every post and heir opportunities are also different form the run of the mill loans and travel tasks.

18.Blogitive: They pay $5 for one link, just like payu2blog. They used to accept accept blogger and other freehosting blogs, but lately they are open ot selfhosted blogs only.( That’s what I was told when I submitted my pr3 blogger blog for approval). I have submitted another blog some three weeks ago and still not heard from them. But they are a reputed company among bloggers. I have heard that they recently launched a new scheme, where you are paid to put links in your old posts. Good concept. I think I will e mail them again, when I finish writing this post.

19. Dewitts Media/ Contextual Style: If you land up on dewitts media’s page, you won’t find anything that will give you a hint about how to join their paid blogging program. The contextual Style is their subsidiary, which offers links to be placed in the posts.

New Sites for Paid Blogging:

20. Snapbomb: Read my review about snap bomb here.

21. Blogpayz: I have got only one opportunity at blogpayz.The reason why I don't consider them a fake blog ad site is that they are always ready to respond to the queries and don't hesitate to admit that it will take time for them to establish in the paid blogging market

22. Get paid to post: Most promising and innovative of all the new paid to post sites.Read review here. Update: There has been a change of opinion read the update here

23. Paymetoblogaboutyou: It’s not a new site but they don’t have much work to offer.

24. Bloggersreview: They charge you thirty five percent of the amount you get paid for writing sponsored post.My pr4 blog has is not qualified for the only two jobs that are in the dashboard. May be they are for US bloggers and not for European ones. But there is no clarification regarding that.

25. Blogtoprofit: An interesting thing happened. I had put blogtoprofit in the scam sites category, because I had never seen no work for so long. But today I got a mail from them telling to complete three tasks, which I can access from my dashboard. From the look of it, blog to profit is structured as payu2blog. They hand out $5 for one link; only difference is that you have to write a minimum of 150 words instead of the regular 60 words in Payu2blog. Also you get three days to complete the offer. They pay within a week of completing the tasks. I haven’t been paid yet, but hope everything turns out fine. There I no minimum payout here. They also require that the post should be written around the keyword/anchor text provided. Whereas payu2blog pays you just for the link, no context is needed. But I prefer to write a post relating to the keyword, because then the post stands out on its own. And this is good for its pr. Update: I did 5 opps and have been paid on time.

Defunct or Scam paid posting Sites:

26. Blogging ads: This site took so much in approving my blog, that I had lost hope of ever getting into it. But after approval, I never got to see any paid post assignment here. Each time I sign into my account, I find a message, no opportunities, please check during the first week of the month. Their blog is also not maintained regularly, which shows that they have ceased to function.

27. Inblogads: Every time I try to sign in here, I get the message that we are undergoing a major overhaul, please leave your e-mail address if you want us to contact you when we relaunch. Well their relaunch scheme is taking too long to take off.

28. Buzzbyblog: I read a few articles referring this site and how this site is going to change the face of paid blogging etc. But when you click the link, you get a dubious site which doesn’t look like a paid post site at all. I think their domain expired and they sold it without making any head start in paid to post market.

29. Linkylovearmy: This paid post site’s blog shows that the latest entry was made in December 2007. No work, nothing happening. Even when there was some work, I didn’t know my way around the site, because I had just stated blogging, and the site had a confusing log in method. I saw some assignments in my dashboard, when linkylovearmy was functional, but never got to write any thing, because I was confused, how to take an offer and then submit it back in linkylovearmy’s system.

30. Paidpost: They have styled themselves after the big daddy of Paid posting; payperpost, but they don’t even have their FAQ section installed. What can you say about such a site, which don’t know how to answer the basic question about its operations?

31. Pickablogger: It seems to be a market place, but the whole design (and lack of any activity) gives me negative vibes, I don’t trust pickablogger. They too don’t have anything about themselves on their site, which is not good.

32. Blogadnetwork: I came across this site while googling for earning opportunities through blogging. They started in 2005.But, it seems, couldn’t find any advertisers. This site shows a 404 error when you try to sign up.


Blog ad networks / Links on blogs:

33. Blogherads: You get to be a very high ranking and high traffic generating blog to be approved at blogherads. Their payout is very attractive. I have never tried them, because none of my blogs get a million visitors each month.

34. Blogads: The entry is by invitation. If you can find someone to invite you, you can make a decent amount by placing ads on your blog. The prices are really huge.Go to different forums and place a request.

35. Blogkits : I have recently joined this site. They offer you ads to put on your blog, and as well as opportunity to write reviews. I have yet to see any blog review opportunity, but already put one or two ads on my blogs.
Make money online with OfferForge!

36. Money4blogs: I was once offered $35 dollars for placing a link on the homepage of my pr3 blog, which I accepted. Other bloggers have been paid even more than that. Good site, pay you immediately when they confirm that link has been installed properly.

37. Blog for bucks: Their representative left a note on my blog’s about me page, stating that they have a few opportunities for me. I replied on the email address, and was given three links which I had to put in three posts. I made 30 bucks. But, I never heard from them again. You can try your luck. They pay you promptly through paypal.

38. Reverselinks: You put your blog or sites on link market, set a price for links, and wait for buyers to contact you for link space. You can also surf the available advertiser’s list and bid. I haven’t been successful here.

Two more additions:

39. Blogdistributor: This is good site which pay you a minimum of five bucks for a post of at least hundred words. I forgot to mention it, and then I had already done the designing and numbering, and couldn’t just do the editing again.( I am too tired).So I am adding it now. Blogdistributor only takes bloggers from US nad Canada, so anyone outside these two countries will be wasting their time here.

40. Social Spark: This site has been started by IEZA or IZEA, whatever. They are the same company which owns Payperpost. You have to make conversation on their site, advertisers pick you and then you get to either write a sponsored post or a put an ad. Basically you have to be active on social spark to get yourself noticed by the advertiser. I am not much of a conversationalist, so I have never used social spark, though one of my blogs is pending for approval. I don’t know whether I will take opportunities even if I get approved, I like writing in a secluded corner rather than chatting.
update: Two of my blogs are now with social spark. Here is how it works: You see an opportunity and apply for it. If its available, then you get to write it ( the post is reserved for you for twelve hours), and the post is already taken then you click on wait for slot. You are informed through mail when your turn comes.
This post about earning money through bloggging and the various sites which pay you to blog , has been very fruitful for me. I got lots of new assignments and blog approvals while I was in the process of writing this article. I really hope for all of my fellow bloggers that they too succeed in making a living out of blogging. Good Luck to all of you.

Going to Birmingham Later this Month

My association with Manchester is only through their home football team Manchester United.When ever Manchester United is playing on the home grounds, my husband has to watch the match. He will drive all the way down to Manchester from Edinburgh. Last time we dug our feet that we will also go with him. It was a weekend I wanted to spend some time away from the quiet Edinburgh, and what better way to spend it than to see the hustle-bustle of two warring football factions. We booked a cheap hotel in Manchester, my husband went to watch the match, and I and my daughter just strolled around and saw some museums( I will write more about them later).
We will be going to Birmingham this coming bank holiday.Jitender Bhaiya is posted there, and his wife is also visiting him.She is feeling lonely there. As we will be staying with them so we don't need to book hotel there, but any body can get good deals for cheap hotels in Birmingham on the internet.

Edinburgh is a nice and quite place, as compared to London. London oozes energy, where as Edinburgh has an aura of tranquility. Most of the cheap hotels in Edinburgh are located on the outskirts of the city.But that poses no problem for the tourists, because the city i very small and you can reach any part with in minutes. On the other hand you will have to really research which part of the city you want to make your base, when you are in London. There is no dearth of cheap hotels in Londontoo. But as I said, choose your place of stay with proximity to metro or locality, availability of restaurants etc.
cheap hotels in Edinburgh

What a Great Observer I am

Recently I was stumbling upon ( surfing stumbleupon) and came across a site. This site has some pictures,some drawings. You have to carefully watch and tell how many faces/deers/animals can you see. In one picture if you find 5-6 faces you are average observer, 8-9 will be good observer and if you found all 11 you are extremely observant. And you guessed it right, I am extremely observant. unfortunately I didn't save the site, but I am on a look out and will post the link when I find it.

Grapevine: A New Concept in Inernet Marketing

Today my browsing fingers took me to a site which has an interesting concept or rather concepts. The site is maintained in the style of a blog, with articles mainly written for young and hip female readers.You can find weekly recipes, travel guides or latest fashion tips here. But the highlight of the site will be a web serial involving four young women who are living in Chicago. This web serial is in the form of graphics with voice over. Although I didn't quite like the voices, they are too artificial. It feels as if I am listening to an ad commercial, the pitch is too high and unnatural. But still the concept of a web serial in a blog like site is unique ( as far as I know).
I like the design of the site, it's muted colors and use of soft green color here and there is effect. Though the text color should have been a little more bold. The text is too light, making it bold will make it easier to read.
Another new concept here is the internet marketing through a web serial.The girls hang out at a cafe and boutique. Now what ever they eat, drink or buy at this place is made available to the audience. If one of the characters makes a trip outside Chicago, all things related to her travel, such as airline bookings, car hire, hotel bookings etc, will be available to click and purchase. I think the strategy here is to make the web serial and its characters popular, create a following and then sell the things used by the characters. Not a bad idea,I must say.
web serial

Make Money Blogging: part 7

Related Posts:
Make money from digg and stumble upon
Make money blogging: part 6
Make Money Blogging: Part 5
Make money blogging: Part 4
I am so enjoying my days a blogger. I do what I love, that is writing, and get paid for it too. Those puritans who roll their eyes in disgust and look down upon the bloggers who make money blogging, can go to Himalayas,as if I care. Blogging has become an integral and important part of internet marketing and its better that google and the like realize it too. Any ways back to the topic of making money blogging.
I have recently joined a new paid to post blog site. This sponsored post site is called Payu2blog. I will give Payu2blog a second place after Sponsored Reviews. I have been with them for a week now. They pay after two-three weeks of completion of assignments. So I haven't got paid yet, but I couldn't care less. Payu2blog has a very good reputation in the blog advertising market, and judging by the number of posts I am getting to write each day, this reputation is well gained. They pay $5 per post, and you have to write minimum 50 words. Easy, you will say. And that's not all, you have to put only one link in the post.I like this part the best,because one link doesn't make my post look spammy or over the top advertised. But simultaneously it makes my task more difficult too. As I have to put only one link, I try to put it in a nice package, which takes me to researching on the topic and comprehensive designing of the post. I generally end up writing a 300 words post. But then again,it is good for my blog's health, right.
Related Posts:
Make money blogging: Part 3
Make money blogging: Part 2
Make money blogging: Part 1
make money blogging

What is CFD?

Contract for Difference or CFD, as it is commonly known in the business world, is one of the most promising stock trading programs. Contract for Difference is a form of trading with a difference. You make money without actually owning a share. In this type of trading, you don't have to pay the full value of the shares as is done in traditional trading.
CFDs work on the margins.Here a fraction of overall value of the trade is invested by you. The benefits of CFD are: make money even from falling market. In addition to that, profits are ensured in the rising markets. There is no stamp duty involved in CFD trading. You don’t have to put all the money in the market at once as you do when you buy shares. You can trade in different segments through CFDs, such as equity, commodities like gold and gas, forex etc. They are good for short term trading as against to long term investments.
Now the cons of Contract for Difference trading: CFD is not for the faint hearted. It reaps you high profits, but involves high risks too. So if you have a solid financial back up to counter the losses, then only you must think of entering this field of investing.
If you are game for CFD, you can start your first online stock trading through various companies that offer you good advice on CFDs as well as help you to keep track of the performance of the CFDs. There are mainly two types of CFD providers. First is anonline stock market trading broker which acts as your agent and work on a commission and second one is a commission free provider, but they add an extra spread according to the rate of the underlying stock. You should go in for the one you feel confident and comfortable dealing with.

Make Money Blogging: Part 6

Related Posts:
Make Money Blogging: Part 5
Make money blogging: Part 4
Make money blogging: Part 3
Make money blogging: Part 2
Make money blogging: Part 1
Make money from digg and stumble upon

Its raining paid to post sites these days.Today I am going to talk about Get Paid To Post^SM. Its a very very new site. The payout is obviously small, but what's unique about this site is that you don't have to have a site to get paid here. The assignments ( they are called campaign here)can be posted anywhere, where you are a registered member. Lets see how they fare. I learned about this site on one of the forums where I am a member.
As I have understood, its basically a site that require you to post in forums.Now a days there are many such sites which hire forum posties. This site is different in the sense that it doesn't require you to be a member of a particular forum. You are at the liberty to post the 50-60 words wherever you want. But the tone should be generally positive.I like this aspect. I had tried earning through forum posting, but soon realized that its not my cup of tea. I feel restricted and artificial while posting in these forums. But here I can post whenever I want and wherever I want.
Get Paid To Post^SM - Just Launched!

global warming

Thinking of a Cruise Holiday? Yes, You can have Cheap Cruise Vacations

Well, this is my wishful thinking. Our European trip has run in to trouble. I don’t know if we will be able to get visa. But let’s talk about the sad things later. Today I am in a mood to explore the world on a cruise. I hadn’t realized that cruise liners can be an ideal mode of vacationing for families. I thought that only the rich can afford the luxury of celebrity cruises. But now I don’t have any misconceptions about cruise travel. I am particularly interested in family cruise, as traveling alone seems to be a thing of past after the birth of my daughter.
Why a vacation on a cruise is budget friendly?
You have to pay for any extra facility apart from room, in a hotel. But cruise costs includes everything and the cost of a room on a cruise also turns out to be much lower than a hotel room. The first thought associated with cruise vacations is Food. You get the picture of people lying on sun beds, sipping wine or eating crisp French fries. Ooh! I would so like to spend my time just lazing around and eating (not cooking). Mind you, all ships have unlimited food served on them which is included in the costs, but you will have to pay for most of the drinks though. Princess Cruises have a special offer in store. You can have snacks any time of the day or night. So if you want a cheese burger in the middle of the night, you have that option too.
Ships used to have a strict dress code for dinner, but now most of the cruises have relaxed this rule. If you want to have dinner outside of the dining hall, that's fine, and you can come in your casual jeans and t-shirt to the dining hall too.Norwegian Cruise Lines have gone one step further to make the cruise experience enjoyable for holidayers. They call it freestyle cruising. There are no rules fixed regarding activity timing, dinner timings, dress code etc.

There are so many activities for kids that they are occupied most of the time. You can relax and enjoy the well deserved break with yourself and still know that children are safely engaged somewhere near. Many ships have painting, and scrap booking workshops and small kids’ labs to conduct interesting experiments. Lectures are delivered on science and other related subjects by experts in an interesting manner. Then there i rock climbing, ice skating, swimming etc. Studious children can sit in the reading rooms or book libraries of the cruise and spend time with Harry Potter or Frodo. Reading is my favorite time pass, by the way. So I won't let the chance go to skip through the books if I ever go on a cruise vacation. Swimming pools are another attraction on a cruise. You have to pay for all these activities if you have booked a hotel. But with cruise, they come free.
One of my friends went on a cruise holiday onRoyal Caribbean, and she was all praise for the experience she had on the cruise. There is no dearth of activities for adults too. The main attractions of a cruise are its night shows, and casinos. Dance troupes, magicians and musicians perform for you night after night.