A discussion of earning with the Best Affiliate Programs, SEO, Wordpress Blogging and General Motivational Ideas for Internet Publishers and Affiliate Marketers.

Don’t you just hate it when you waste time and money on something only to have the rug pulled out from under your feet for no apparent reason? That’s how millions of legitimate .info domain owners feel about Google’s treatment of .info domains.

I personally own three .info domains which I registered because I assumed the .info TLD was for “information” sites just as .com TLD is supposed to be for “commercial”, .net for “network” and .org for “organizations”. I have spent countless hours developing my .info sites with quality original content and the best intentions. It’s a shame that not a one of my three .info domains actually rank in Google for any keywords; not even for a search of the domain name using quotes. Too bad that Google can’t find a better way to handle domain spam.

It’s no longer a secret that Google does not want anything to do with .info domains. Aaron Wall wrote about it last year when Google apparently purged all .info domains from their search results…

Was the .info purge a glitch? Maybe, but Google never will accidentally filter out all .com domain names. This algorithmic tweak (especially when coupled with Matt Cutts’ prediction for 2008) shows an internal Google bias against .info domain names. While many .info domain names rank where they did just a few days ago, this does not bode well for the perceived value of .info domain names, especially for brand new domain names or parked pages.

Why is Google taking this stance against all .info domain owners, even the legitimate ones? Possibly it is due to Matt Cutts’ prediction post…

A top-level domain (TLD registry) will offer domains for under $4. The result will be another TLD blighted by spammy domain registrations.

OK, so the entry point pricing for a TLD is what justifies Google labelling the entire TLD as “spammy” and thus removing the offending TLD completely from the search results?

Remember when you were back in elementary school and something happened in or out of class and the teacher couldn’t figure out who did it? What’s the teacher to do? Punish the whole class for the actions of one unless somebody confesses? Sure these strongarm tactics may get a confession but so does water-boarding. Punishing honest webmasters who did nothing wrong because of a few rotten apples is not unlike throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Punishing the innocent to get at the guilty a baseless, harmful concept. It also breeds resentment in the innocents because there’s nothing worse than getting punished for something you didn’t do.

Fast forward to 2009 and it’s simply mind-boggling that the biggest search engine on the internet can’t find a reasonable solution for weeding out “spammy” domains other than blacklisting an entire TLD. What’s next? Purge all domains owned by minority webmasters?

Anyway, the long and short of it - If you’re planning on doing any type of internet marketing that involves SEO as the cornerstone of your operation, forget about using any TLD other than a .com domain. If you don’t believe me, do a couple of Google searches for terms like “best credit cards”, “promote website” or “diet plans”, you will see that there is nothing but .com domains making it to the first page of Google.

         

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Most people these days are entering the blogging community for all the wrong reasons. They see John Chow or Shoemoney as examples of getting rich by operating a successful “make money online” blog and try to copy everything they do in hopes of putting some coin in their pockets. Others follow the Zac Johnson and Jonathan Volk path to becoming a “super affiliate” in hopes of cashing in on affiliate marketing riches, getting freebies or convention speaking engagements by promoting Market Leverage or NeverBlueAds affiliate signups on their blogs.

Still others are blogging to drive up their Feedburner counter stats and Alexa rankings? hmmm. Web counters are sooo 1995 in my opinion anyway. They went out with the blink tag and dial-up internet access using AOL and 14.4K modems. The only difference is “back then”, we thought the internet was about change but as each successive wave of capitailization smears the community ethics, specifically the blogosphere, it seems the “community” has become snafu’ed in the same imbroglio that has held humankind in a perpetual state of non-change for eons.

Today, I want you to ask yourself why you are bothering to blog at all. If you’re doing it for any of the reasons I’ve mentioned above I’d like you to ask yourself what you think you’re going to accomplish by following the herd like a timid little sheeple?

Then I’d like to introduce you to Francis “Kiko” Magalona aka FrancisM, Master Rapper, and The Man From Manila. FrancisM is credited as being the first rapper in the Philippines to successfully crossover to the mainstream. Riding on his success, Kiko founded his own record company called Red Egg Records, as well as his own production company Filipino Pictures Inc. where he is the resident Director and has made several music videos for bands and solo artists including Ely Buendia, Gloc 9, Join The Club, Shamrock, Pikaso, Death Threat and Denmark.

FrancisM had also been chosen by Fremantle Media, the owners of American Idol, and their local counterpart ABC-5 (the station who owns the ‘Idol’ franchise in the Philippines) to be one of the judges of Philippine Idol along with Maestro Ryan Cayabyab and Ms. Pilita Corrales aka “Asia’s Queen of Songs”.

In August 2008, Francis “Kiko” Magalona was also diagnosed with leukemia at the Medical City Hospital, Mandaluyong. He has decided to write about his experiences fighting the ravenges of cancer on his blog a Free Mind. Here is a small quote from his blog that touched me and made me question the reasons why we, as human beings feel compelled to reach out to others through this brave new medium that is bringing the world one step closer to understanding each other as family.

Today, September 25th, 2008 is the day I learned that Cancer isn’t all about death. It’s about LIFE. And today I celebrate and embrace that life. Today was a day of reckoning. I went to my doctor at her clinic, and from the smile on her face as she entered the room, I knew The Lord, Jesus Christ gave me a reprieve. I knew that someone, somewhere made a prayer, and continues to pray for me, my family and my recovery. And Jesus heard it.

If you want a lesson in life, a lesson in blogging or just something to make you realize there is more to life than cramming dollars into your bank account, Francis Magalona is making it real. Plus, Francis digs Marvel Comics which everyone knows, Marvel Comics always trumped DC and all those crappy Rob Liefeld Image comics (ask The Comicologist about that).

I found Francis’ blog while browsing EntreCard sites on my daily drop routine. I came across Lex’s post Francis “Kiko” Magalona aka FrancisM diagnosed with Leukemia which caught me by the heartstrings. As former professional musician and lifelong guitar player, I had to see for myself exactly what makes Francis Magalona so dear to his fans. What I discovered was one of his songs, Kaleidoscope World, which embodies everything I feel is important in life (not to mention the song has guitar lines reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix’s Little Wing with lyrics similar to Hendrix’s Castles Made of Sand).

Here’s a video from YouTube called Kaleidoscope World Tribute to Francis Magalona you might enjoy…

As a surfer/skater/musician/artist and now blogger, I’ve always believed in the “One Human Family” ethic. A philosophy which Francis Magalon certainly embodies through the shared intrinsic principle that all people are created equal in God’s eyes. It’s strange to think somebody trapped up in a hospital room, getting stuck with needles and taking all kinds of blood work tests could find the pure inner harmony to bring out all that is good in the human spirit and have it reach half a world away. That’s the true power of the human soul and something I never thought I would find through blogging which, for me, seems to be a field dominated by megalomaniacs who give little or nothing to the community but expect to take from it whatever material riches they feel they are entitled to for their super-stardom.

Professional blogging is not unlike making the team in the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL or FIFA (or b5Media). There are only so many positions for starters on the teams and even fewer for superstars. How you enter the team or league can make or break your career forever. Chances are, if you’ve entered the league without a name (undrafted), you’ve already been left behind and you’ll always be relegated to the role of a fanboy or fangirl. That is, unless you can carve out your niche by making your own waves and getting the world to notice you. It seems Kiko just can’t help being himself, carving his own waves and letting the rest flow into place.

Now, as far as you’re concerned…. Instead of playing the fanboy or fangirl role by commenting on John Chow or Shoemoney’s sheep herder blogs, hoping to get a backlink so you can get your PR up a few notches in the Google little green toolbar….

…I humbly suggest heading over to Francis Magalona’s blog and leaving him a comment, a prayer and heartfelt wishes for a speedy recovery before one more good soul departs this earth and we are left with only the memories.

a Free Mind

Peace out,
Dave

         

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It seems Microsoft is trying to kill three birds with one stone with the latest release of their Internet Explorer browser. IE8, dubbed “Porn Mode”, boasts a wide array of unprecedented browser based privacy controls for internet surfers. In addition to bringing serious competition against rival Firefox to the table, it also takes a stab at undermining Google’s Adsense advertising program which has been under scrutiny by web security experts as potential spyware. Don’t think for one minute that Microsoft’s rival Mozilla isn’t working on integrating similiar features to it’s Firefox browser, the New York Times reported that similar controls are slated for release in the next version of Firefox.

According to a Fox News report, Microsoft’s latest advancement in their browser software is poised to take a serious chunk out of Google’s online earnings…

Microsoft’s latest Internet browser includes a piece of software that allows Internet users to hide the audit trail of websites they have visited. The InPrivate feature on Internet Explorer 8, nicknamed “porn mode”, allows users to conceal the sites they have viewed at the click of a button. Once the setting is chosen, others using the same computer will not be able to see which sites have been accessed. Other browsers have similar functions, but this one is far more prominent. Although casual users cannot see the previous user’s search history, authorities such as the police will be able to access it if necessary. The software may be hailed as a victory for privacy campaigners, but it represents a serious threat to Microsoft’s bigger rival, Google. In allowing surfers to access websites but conceal their browsing behaviour, Microsoft prevents Internet sites from collecting information about their users — data that is then used to sell targeted advertising. Marketing companies try to target adverts at Internet users whom they believe may be interested in certain goods or services. Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft are fighting for bigger shares of the world’s Internet advertising market, which is estimated to be worth $40 billion a year and is expected to double in value by 2010. Google, which is the world’s biggest Internet company, holds the lion’s share of the online advertising market, leaving Yahoo! and Microsoft to hold the second and third slots. So lucrative is the Internet advertising market that Microsoft tried to buy Yahoo! for $47.5 billion this year solely to compete with Google. Yahoo! rejected Microsoft’s approaches, even though the software company had been willing to pay 72 per cent more than its share price.

How will this impact Adsense publishers?

  Internet publishers who rely on Google Adsense as their primary source of income from their sites are few and far between these days. It probably won’t make much difference to most because the vast majority of online publishers have already been migrating away from Adsense due to Google’s lack of publisher support coupled with their quickness to ban an account without explaination and confiscate funds. As if that weren’t enough to drive publishers away, recent forum discussions between prominent webmasters have shown that Adsense earnings are down across the board while the cost of Adwords advertising has risen.

Does this mean Adsense is going to go away?

  It’s doubtful that Adsense will disappear from the face of the internet any time soon, however, expect to see fewer and fewer high quality sites displaying the contextual advertisments. Let’s face it, Google had the goose that laid the golden egg in the palm of their hands but they squeezed the goose dry.

How does this benefit Microsoft?

  Microsoft has taken matters into their own hands by following up claims made by security experts regarding Google’s policy of collecting internet surfers’ personal data when they are accessing Google’s internet applications such as Adsense, Analytics, Webmasters Tools, Gmail and others. It’s almost impossible for internet users to avoid landing on pages with concealed Google tracking codes and giving up personal data which Google uses to develop marketing strategies based on their web surfing history.

  Microsoft is no stranger to privacy concerns from end users and the software giant has learned the hard way that collecting personal information is a big no-no. Google is a relative newcomer in the history of the internet and their rise to prominence has been hearlded by a “do no evil” motto which internet users gleefully embraced. However, the halo that once shined has become tarnished and Microsoft must have been sitting back, waiting for the opportunity to dethrone the child kings and banish them to the nether realms as punishement for their misdeeds.

Will people stop using Firefox?

  I seriously doubt that any serious Firefox supporters (such as myself) will even be tempted ot make a switch to IE8. Although many developers keep a copy of IE on their machines for cross-browser compatible internet development, it’s unlikely any new features in IE8 will make the Firefox fans sign off on their favorite browser.

         

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Time for a little fun. We all know that PC users have a love/hate relationship with Windows Vista but here’s a new version that’s sure to have everyone singing Vista’s praises, literally. Not to mention, people will probably be peddling it on ebay as a collectable.

Thanks to Paul Chenoweth for this rare find from go.funpic.hu!!

         

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