Cozip iPhone Case Review

When I purchased an iPhone one of my first thoughts was to go to Amazon and buy a case to preserve my heady cellular investment. And that is what I did.

I purchased a Cozip case for my iPhone. It was $19.97 including shipping. You can get the 1G version as seen to the right or the 3G version seen a bit lower.

The case basically a plastic exterior for the back of the iPhone. It provides some protection to the back of the phone and looks pretty awesome. Mine has a matte black finish and snaps neatly onto the phone. You can get the case in a variety of colors such as red or white. The fit and finish is very good. The case snapped on easily.

I have dropped my iPhone several times from at least 3 feet onto concrete or a hard surface with no ill effects. Needless to say, I am very pleased.

To look at the Cozip case on Amazon click here.

However, the case doesn't provide any protection to the front of the phone. If you want a full case for your iPhone I would suggest reading this article. It will give you an idea of the most popular cases.

Link to the top six iPhone cases.

Here are some reviews from other people who really liked the case.

I love the iPhone case. In my opinion the majority of phone cases look terrible. This case maintains a very low profile and looks cool. It slides in and out of my pocket with ease. The best part of the case is that the low profile look really does not diminish the cool factor of owning an iPhone. Last week I accidentally dropped my phone down a flight of stairs; without a doubt the case saved my phone. I would highly recommend this case to anyone that owns an iPhone, wants to protect it, and does not want to look ridiculous with some cheap phone cover.
- Daniel Erenberg

This product keeps with the true nature of the iphone, in the sense that it is elegant and works like a charm without much extra...It has a tactile rubber paint on it and is made out of plastic. I am careful with my phone and this provides just that extra protection from scratches and the rubber texture helps with the iphones proneness to slipping out of hand...
- A. Taghdis

Top Six (6) iPhone Cases

1. Cozip Hard Case

This is a nice hard minimalist case if you want good protection, a grippy surface, and no added bulk. I can't even tell I have a case anymore with mine.

2. Yoozoo Silicone Case

Another case that provides a little more all around protection at the expense of a bit more bulk. This case definitely wins points for being trendy and easy on the bank account.

3. Premium Reusable LCD Screen Protector

This may not qualify as a case but it is still a tremendously popular iPhone accessory. Use this with another hard case for more protection.

4. DLO Black Leather Holster

If you are a classy individual looking for beltable protection this is just the case for you. Leather and 100% protection!

5. Aircraft Aluminum Metal Case

I think this case should be the most popular. How cool is aluminum? It would be just about bulletproof!






6. Speck ToughSkin
Yet another silicon case. This one has a much more aggressive textured grip and a belt attach. If you are the active type then this case will work best with your adventures.

New Site

I just started a new site called R6blog.com. It's designed to spread information about the Yamaha R6 and make it a bit easier to find. I came to this idea after spending far to much time wandering about on endless forums and random sites piecing together the information I was looking for. Keep in mind I am always open to links and new authors as there is no way I can do this up properly without help.

I hope it helps you out!

How to become an Army Helicopter Pilot

Becoming a helicopter pilot is a dream for many, as well as for myself. In my journey to accomplish my dream I have compiled an extensive library of resources that may be of great value to you. If you have something you would like to add please email me at tjkastning@gmail.com.

First, you have to really want to become a helicopter pilot. This level of desire transcends merely thinking it would be cool. You have to want it bad enough to act on that desire. If you lack the motivation to follow through with the requirements you won't make it and your efforts will be wasted. You must want to fly and you must act on that want.

Here are the basic requirements the Army has set down for general application to fly.

1. You must score above a 90 on the AFAST (Army Flight Aptitude Selection Test).
2. Must obtain and maintain a 1A Flight Physical. Check with you doctor if you are unsure if you can pass. He may be able to prescreen you and save you a lot of time.
3. You must be between the age of 18 and 30.
4. (a) Distant vision no worse than 20/50 in each eye and correctable to 20/20. No more than one error on the Armed Forces Vision Tester or Snellen chart at 20 feet.
(b) No astigmatism in excess of +/- .75 diopters of cylinder
(c) No Hyperopia in excess of +3.00 diaopters of sphere
5. Arm reach greater than 163 cm.
6. Sitting height less than 103 cm.
7. Crotch height greater than 74 cm.

Keep in mind that waivers can be obtained. Don't quit if you are disqualified by something trivial. If you have other excellent redeeming features it is very possible that you can obtain a waiver and continue competing for a slot.

Now just because you meet all of these qualifications does not mean you can get a slot. You must qualify on a multitude of levels. This is just the beginning.

There are two routes to fly helicopters in the Army. Both are competitive and have their own ups and downs. They are the Warrant Program and Commissioned Program.

The Warrant Program is for soldiers already enlisted in the Army. You can submit an application packet to a board of aviators and compete for a slot as a pilot warrant officer. This route has some qualifications of it's own that must be met.

There are more slots available through the Warrant Program and warrant officers tend to fly more since that is their specialty. Flying. That is all a warrant officer does for his entire career. Warrant officers can amass enormous hours and qualifications, making them a very valuable player in the private commercial market.

Below are links that provide enormous information on the warrant route.

http://www.usarec.army.mil/hq/warrant/index.htm

http://usawocc.army.mil/whatiswo.htm

http://usawocc.army.mil/warrant_off/howtowo.htm

If you are looking for books to help you prepare for the AFAST test these three books are excellent.

Rotorcraft Flying Handbook (FAA Handbooks)

Principles of Helicopter Flight

Learning to Fly Helicopters

What is the deal with Global Warming and Ecomomics?

It would seem to me that the principles of economics should be applied to environmentalism so that each can support the other. The environmental aspect can remain financially sound and industry can be tempered with a healthy knowledge that everything has a consequence. That way everyone wins.

But I must be crazy as much richer wiser heads than mine have determined that industry must be stamped out to eliminate all forms of carbon emissions. Namely the orator Al Gore and his infamous plan to initiate a “Carbon Freeze” on America.

Now don’t get me wrong. I am not a knee jerk right winger who spits on Al Gore’s syllables. I am in favor of a strong economy but suggesting that we destroy what so many generations have done for us gets my ire. I will list a few points that seem to conflict with the very progressive ideology that spawned it. I compiled this list of grievances from an article published with great praise for Al Gore by the pesn.com, an advocate of clean energy systems. Oh, and why do I keep reading that “the debate is over?” Since when does Al Gore get to decide that? Isn’t that a collective decision?

1. The economic implications of an carbon freeze are staggering, frightening, dangerous, and irresponsible to ignore. What Al Gore proposes is economic suicide. A sudden halt in industry means no research (green tech), innovations, production (cars), jobs, and outsourcing like the world has never seen before. Like every company in America would move to another country to avoid extinction.

I you have a perspective that dislikes capitalism and all it’s ways then you might see this as a good thing. The Man, getting what has been coming to him for trashing the environment. And sure, there might be a shred of truth to that. What goes around does come around. But the people who are really going to pay the huge price for such an action is us, the middle class. As much griping that goes on about the big corporations we have to acknowledge that they are responsible for ALL the research, innovation, production, and economic development that put us in the position to discuss this issue. That is a good thing. Economic success should not to be taken lightly. Lets call a rose a rose shall we?

How can we castigate a economic system that has provided the wealth this country is founded on, despite it’s weaknesses? Disagree? Look at other countries living standards, namely those who are not capitalistic. There is an undeniable poverty in the lower class. But I digress.

I do not attempt to dramatize my case to attract sympathy. Nor am I saying Al Gore is absolutely wrong. If you can provide incontrovertible proof of apocalyptic change that threatens man’s existence due to our industry or whatever I would agree with you. So far that has not done. So far I am unenthusiastic about a fatalist policy on skewed shaky data that threatens 300 million people’s way of life and, indirectly, the rest of the world. That would be irresponsible and arrogant. And I think it might piss many billions of people off.

2. So for the sake of argument point 1 is overcome. What about the outcome? Would a carbon freeze save the planet? I say no with a great amount of certainty.

Many other developing countries do not share our interest in the environment. They have much bigger problems to worry about such as providing infrastructure to build a sound economy on and stopping rampant disease. If America was to cut off it’s economic legs it would cripple if not destroy every humanitarian and economic effort we have made to improve their standard of living. All of the sudden America would have very large problems of her own to worry about. Like existence. I can think of several moral dilemmas there.

It does not end there though. Eventually the developing companies would attain a level of stability and be in the same position we are in now. Can we count on them to make the right decision? Can we count on them to follow our brave lead back into the stone age to save the planet? I submit that we can’t bank on it.

—

Now I don’t like to just bash people for the sake of bashing people. I have nothing against Al Gore as a person. So don’t get all militant when I say that this is one of the dumbest ideas I have ever heard of. All this coming from the former Vice President! How can I trust anything he says when he is willing to promote stupidity on this level? It completely discredits him and I don’t want that. I want active proponents of environmentalism being vocal on this issue but I want them to be credible as well. Being vocal for the sake of being vocal is pointless. Here is a quote from pesn.com.

“Leading US politician (Al Gore) proposes carbon-emissions freeze and other practical tactics for averting climate disaster. Though political, legal and financial challenges stand in the way of a shift to cleaner energy, his expression of faith in his fellow humans and examples of companies making positive change can inspire more people to take up the cause.”

-by Mary Sue Haliburton

Pure Energy Systems News

Inspire people? To what level of ignorance must we stoop?

As always I welcome your dissenting opinion like a drowning polar bear welcomes an ice floe.

Apple iPod Nano 4th Generation 8 or 16 GB Review - Not As Good As It Could Be

At the risk of being another pebble on the proverbial beach I want to write about one of my latest acquisitions, the new iPod Nano.

This iPod replaces my 2 year old 2nd generation iPod.

The new iPod Nano really isn't all that good and here's why.

1. It's much the same size as a model manufactured nearly 3 years ago. Ironic because the previous model was half as large. The curved shape is merely asthetic, effective but asthetic.
2. The Cover Flow ability isn't really as good as Apple proclaims. Sorting visually is not nearly as fast or accurate as simple text. It wears down the battery and even when not tilted the iPod might have a fit of cover flow, infuriating you. Oh, and you can't disable it, yet.
3. Battery life has not improved at all.
4. Watching movies is an ancillary feature that the iPod can truly do without. Not only is the screen microscopic for movies but the storage capacity is bleak and getting a movie into an iPod compatible format is much akin to bashing your face with an eight pound sledgehammer.

iPods should concentrate on being iPods and doing it well. Trying to be all things to all people is a noble but inherently flawed method.

All that being said the iPod is a marvelous peice for a variety of reasons. It's interface is simple, stable, and completely reliable. That alone is the reason it is so popular worldwide. Other MP3 players attempt such ease of use most fail. Couple Apple's marketing prowess and their mastery of the user interface and you have an unbeatable product.

Where else do you find product anouncements that are treated more like galas, celebrity events, and watched by the end user. Not from Sony, Emerson, Microsoft, or HP.

Sennheiser EH-150 Evolution Hi-Fi Stereo Headphones Review

I bought these headphones for casual listening and have really liked them. Here are a few of their better points.

Sound
The sound quality is excellent for what is essentially a bargain in headphones. I use them for a broad variety of sound. Music, podcasts, movies, just about anything on a computer. Obviously they aren't for the audiophiles but these headphones do an awesome job for the price.

The bass is good and mid range is very strong, the highs are probably these headphones greatest weakness. I don't really care about the highs because I have professional headphones for that.

Build Quality
I have had these headphones for about 6 months and they have held up very well. They are made of very durable plastic and look great as well.

Fit
I have a moderately small head so I don't have much trouble with ear discomfort. Theses headphones are fully adjustable for any size of head. I have worn them for several hours at a time and never had any problems.

You can get these headphones from Amazon for a pretty good price. I got mine when they were packaged with another product so they were only a few bucks.... $4 I think.

Happy listening!

The Extensive Guide To Starting A Successful Forum

Forums are a great way to generate traffic and interest in your new or existing site. A forum, when done well, will help you achieve great search engine ranking for your product, service, or community. This guide is not about how to do a forum for cheap, its about how to do a forum right. I cannot guarantee that you will make any return or even have a successful forum, but my advice will give you the best potential. You should have a budget of at least $350, which is nothing compared to the amount of residual income a forum can make you. Lets start with the basics..

Domain Name:

If this is a brand new site, I highly recommend using www.GoDaddy.com as your domain name registrar. They have some of the best prices, best customer support and probably the best domain name manager system that I have seen.

When choosing a domain try to stay away from names that will be confused with your competitors. For instance, if your competitor is bobsforum.com, do not use bobforum.com. Your customers will be confused and you will probably lose a lot of them to bobsforum.com. Try to think of something unique, and if possible, use some keywords in the name.

I like to use SEO Book’s keyword suggestion tool when Im trying to think of a keyword domain name. Type in several keywords relating to your business into that tool to see what people are searching for. Obviously you also want something that is catchy, so if your forum is about wheelchairs, and you see that people are searching for “wheelchairs for sale”, dont name your forum wheelchairsforsale.com. Try to grab wheelchairforum.com.

Hosting your new site

I have hosted at a lot of places over the years and some of the best pricing and service I have received is from HostGator.com. They have always been really good to me, especially on the service end. Quick responses, and they are good about walking people through any issues that arise. Your emails will explain how to setup your server and point your domain name to them.

No matter who you go through, make sure that your hosting includes PHP and a MySQL database.

Forum Software

Many people try using free forum software to start their forum. Sometimes this works, but here are a few reasons to start off with a $160 license from vBulletin:

1. vBulletin is the industry standard, most forum geeks already know how to use it
2. 24/7 Customer Support
3. Extensive community behind it to support you
4. Extensive Plugins(most of them free) to help you build your commnunity and keep your members interests
5. Best SEO(Search Engine Optimization) software available for it (we will get to that later)
6. You are probably going to need to switch to vBulletin down the road anyways and importing is NOT fun.
7. If you pay for it, its an investment and will drive you to make sure your forum is successful

Believe me, I have tried several different forum software out there, and my most successful ones were built with vBulletin. Its easy to manage, and adding features is a breeze.

Once you purchase the forum license, you will be able to download the software and then upload it to your server. I highly recommend renaming the “upload” folder to “forum” and upload that folder to your root directory. The root directory is your base directory, often seen as /public_html/. So you would want to have your forum at /public_html/forum/. Having your forum in a folder in your root directory will allow you to grow and not limit yourself to JUST a forum. It will allow you to have a custom home page, and add several other features to your new site.

vBulletin Startup

I am not going to go through the installation process of vBulletin with you. vBulletin does a much better job of that than I could, and my purpose in this article is to help you make your forum successful, not hold your hand.

If initially you dont know what to do for your home page, just forward it to your forum using a simple php redirect. First, create a file called index.php and put it in your servers root directory (/public_html/index.php). DO NOT put it in your forum folder. Put this code in your index.php file and upload it to the server:

header('Location: http://www.sitename.com/forum/');
?>

For information on installing and editing your forum visit the vBulletin Online Manual

If at this point you are wondering how to get people to your forum and posting, dont have an ulcer, we are almost there.

Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization otherwise known as “SEO” is one of the key elements to having a successful forum. If you want people to find you using Google, Yahoo, and MSN Search engines without paying a ton of money, you need to have your site optimized. The best way to do this with vBulletin is to purchase vBSEO. vBSEO will optimize your URL’s to include keywords, it will protect you from some of the non-SEO features that come with vBulletin, and it will also ping Google and Yahoo to come visit your site. vBSEO basically will take a stock vBulletin site that Google and other search engines dont necessarily like, and make them like it. There have been numerous stories of forums doubling their traffic after installing vBSEO.

Purchase vBSEO

Make sure you read through all of the vBSEO documentation. You will learn so much about SEO, and how to drive traffic to your site.

How do I get people to post on my site?

Now for the hard part. At this point you should have your forum installed and optimized for search engines. So how do you get people to come to your site and how do you get them to stay?

First off, even though your site is primed for SEO, Search Engines will not be able to help you unless you have content for them to scour and index. Also, potential members will just leave if they see that the forum is empty. Here are a few suggestions to getting content on your site:

1. Post every day.
2. Have a reviews/articles section on the forum and write reviews and articles relating to the forum theme as often as possible.
3. Have a post party at your house where you and your friends can just sit down and discuss important topics on the forum relating to your forum theme. If you want to know what kind of content to discuss, use the SEO BOOK Keyword Suggestion Tool to help you figure out what people are searching for. For instance, maybe if your forum was about Ford Pinto’s, you would type in “ford pinto” in the keyword suggestion tool and find that people are searching for “best ford pinto intake”, “how to replace ford pinto transmission”, and write about those things. This way, when search engines crawl your site, you will have good content for them to index your site with. Chances are, you will eventually start getting found for the topics that you write about.
4. Take advantage of RSS Feeds. I will not go into how to set RSS feeds up on your site, but vBulletin has support for RSS Feeds. Meaning, you can go to your favorite articles sites or blogs and plug their articles into your site using RSS. This is not the best way as the content on your site will not be original, and most of the rss feeds will just link back to the articles sites.
5. If you have an existing customer base that would be interested in your forum, send out an email letting them know you are starting a new forum. You will be surprised at how many people actually get excited about being the first to post on your forum.

Ok, Forum has members, and they are posting. Now what?

1. Post every day.
2. Answer PM’s
3. Make sure unanswered posts get answered
4. When you see a good member that is faithful in posting every day, and loves helping people, thank him and give him the option of becoming a moderator as a reward for his efforts. People love having Moderator status. Makes them feel valued.
5. Follow up on moderators, keeping good communication with them and occasionally rewarding them for their efforts. I like to stay away from paying moderators, it kind of changes things. However, I do like giving my moderators gift cards, free t-shirts, and depending on the theme of your forum, free product.
6. Keep things alive. Make sure there is updated industry news for people to read as often as possible.
7. Have competitions. If the forum is automotive related, have a “car of the month” contest and try to get vendors/manufacturers to sponsor the contest with some kind of prize.
8. Make sure your site has a photo gallery. People love coming back to look at pictures.

Wrapping up

I hope that this post was helpful. I will add to, and edit this post as much as possible. Remember, running a forum is not easy, and a successful forum requires a daily commitment. In my next article I will show you how to make money with your forum, which will help make your daily commitment worth it.

The Extensive Guide To Starting A Successful Forum

Forums are a great way to generate traffic and interest in your new or existing site. A forum, when done well, will help you achieve great search engine ranking for your product, service, or community. This guide is not about how to do a forum for cheap, its about how to do a forum right. I cannot guarantee that you will make any return or even have a successful forum, but my advice will give you the best potential. You should have a budget of at least $350, which is nothing compared to the amount of residual income a forum can make you. Lets start with the basics..

Domain Name:

If this is a brand new site, I highly recommend using www.GoDaddy.com as your domain name registrar. They have some of the best prices, best customer support and probably the best domain name manager system that I have seen.

When choosing a domain try to stay away from names that will be confused with your competitors. For instance, if your competitor is bobsforum.com, do not use bobforum.com. Your customers will be confused and you will probably lose a lot of them to bobsforum.com. Try to think of something unique, and if possible, use some keywords in the name.

I like to use SEO Book’s keyword suggestion tool when Im trying to think of a keyword domain name. Type in several keywords relating to your business into that tool to see what people are searching for. Obviously you also want something that is catchy, so if your forum is about wheelchairs, and you see that people are searching for “wheelchairs for sale”, dont name your forum wheelchairsforsale.com. Try to grab wheelchairforum.com.

Hosting your new site

I have hosted at a lot of places over the years and some of the best pricing and service I have received is from HostGator.com. They have always been really good to me, especially on the service end. Quick responses, and they are good about walking people through any issues that arise. Your emails will explain how to setup your server and point your domain name to them.

No matter who you go through, make sure that your hosting includes PHP and a MySQL database.

Forum Software

Many people try using free forum software to start their forum. Sometimes this works, but here are a few reasons to start off with a $160 license from vBulletin:

1. vBulletin is the industry standard, most forum geeks already know how to use it
2. 24/7 Customer Support
3. Extensive community behind it to support you
4. Extensive Plugins(most of them free) to help you build your commnunity and keep your members interests
5. Best SEO(Search Engine Optimization) software available for it (we will get to that later)
6. You are probably going to need to switch to vBulletin down the road anyways and importing is NOT fun.
7. If you pay for it, its an investment and will drive you to make sure your forum is successful

Believe me, I have tried several different forum software out there, and my most successful ones were built with vBulletin. Its easy to manage, and adding features is a breeze.

Once you purchase the forum license, you will be able to download the software and then upload it to your server. I highly recommend renaming the “upload” folder to “forum” and upload that folder to your root directory. The root directory is your base directory, often seen as /public_html/. So you would want to have your forum at /public_html/forum/. Having your forum in a folder in your root directory will allow you to grow and not limit yourself to JUST a forum. It will allow you to have a custom home page, and add several other features to your new site.

vBulletin Startup

I am not going to go through the installation process of vBulletin with you. vBulletin does a much better job of that than I could, and my purpose in this article is to help you make your forum successful, not hold your hand.

If initially you dont know what to do for your home page, just forward it to your forum using a simple php redirect. First, create a file called index.php and put it in your servers root directory (/public_html/index.php). DO NOT put it in your forum folder. Put this code in your index.php file and upload it to the server:

header('Location: http://www.sitename.com/forum/');
?>

For information on installing and editing your forum visit the vBulletin Online Manual

If at this point you are wondering how to get people to your forum and posting, dont have an ulcer, we are almost there.

Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization otherwise known as “SEO” is one of the key elements to having a successful forum. If you want people to find you using Google, Yahoo, and MSN Search engines without paying a ton of money, you need to have your site optimized. The best way to do this with vBulletin is to purchase vBSEO. vBSEO will optimize your URL’s to include keywords, it will protect you from some of the non-SEO features that come with vBulletin, and it will also ping Google and Yahoo to come visit your site. vBSEO basically will take a stock vBulletin site that Google and other search engines dont necessarily like, and make them like it. There have been numerous stories of forums doubling their traffic after installing vBSEO.

Purchase vBSEO

Make sure you read through all of the vBSEO documentation. You will learn so much about SEO, and how to drive traffic to your site.

How do I get people to post on my site?

Now for the hard part. At this point you should have your forum installed and optimized for search engines. So how do you get people to come to your site and how do you get them to stay?

First off, even though your site is primed for SEO, Search Engines will not be able to help you unless you have content for them to scour and index. Also, potential members will just leave if they see that the forum is empty. Here are a few suggestions to getting content on your site:

1. Post every day.
2. Have a reviews/articles section on the forum and write reviews and articles relating to the forum theme as often as possible.
3. Have a post party at your house where you and your friends can just sit down and discuss important topics on the forum relating to your forum theme. If you want to know what kind of content to discuss, use the SEO BOOK Keyword Suggestion Tool to help you figure out what people are searching for. For instance, maybe if your forum was about Ford Pinto’s, you would type in “ford pinto” in the keyword suggestion tool and find that people are searching for “best ford pinto intake”, “how to replace ford pinto transmission”, and write about those things. This way, when search engines crawl your site, you will have good content for them to index your site with. Chances are, you will eventually start getting found for the topics that you write about.
4. Take advantage of RSS Feeds. I will not go into how to set RSS feeds up on your site, but vBulletin has support for RSS Feeds. Meaning, you can go to your favorite articles sites or blogs and plug their articles into your site using RSS. This is not the best way as the content on your site will not be original, and most of the rss feeds will just link back to the articles sites.
5. If you have an existing customer base that would be interested in your forum, send out an email letting them know you are starting a new forum. You will be surprised at how many people actually get excited about being the first to post on your forum.

Ok, Forum has members, and they are posting. Now what?

1. Post every day.
2. Answer PM’s
3. Make sure unanswered posts get answered
4. When you see a good member that is faithful in posting every day, and loves helping people, thank him and give him the option of becoming a moderator as a reward for his efforts. People love having Moderator status. Makes them feel valued.
5. Follow up on moderators, keeping good communication with them and occasionally rewarding them for their efforts. I like to stay away from paying moderators, it kind of changes things. However, I do like giving my moderators gift cards, free t-shirts, and depending on the theme of your forum, free product.
6. Keep things alive. Make sure there is updated industry news for people to read as often as possible.
7. Have competitions. If the forum is automotive related, have a “car of the month” contest and try to get vendors/manufacturers to sponsor the contest with some kind of prize.
8. Make sure your site has a photo gallery. People love coming back to look at pictures.

Wrapping up

I hope that this post was helpful. I will add to, and edit this post as much as possible. Remember, running a forum is not easy, and a successful forum requires a daily commitment. In my next article I will show you how to make money with your forum, which will help make your daily commitment worth it.

Whats The Difference Between A Blog And A Forum?

To all of you internet guru’s out there that know everything about the internet, this question really does come up. Not everyone knows the difference, and occasionally I get approached with this question. Not only will I list the differences, but I will also show you the pro’s of each one for those of you that are looking to start one or the other.

A Blog:

Short for “Web Log”. Is like a journal or diary that people use to share their incites, experiences and pictures. Blogs are usually listed in a dated format like journal entries. The only interaction the reader gets is to reply to a “post”(entry) with a comment and maybe voting on the occasional poll.

Pros:

1. Unlike a forum, you can control the content of your site easier. With a forum, spammers, trolls and angry members can wreak havoc on your site while your not around.
2. As an admin you dont have to worry about a revolt if you are gone a day or two
3. Easier to find the information you are looking for. Rather than searching thousands of threads and posts you should be able to get to what you want fairly quickly with a blog.

A Forum:

Is usually centered around a theme like, cars, trucks, parenting, etc… Unlike a blog, anyone registered on a forum can start a new thread or topic and have anyone reply. Forums have the potential to be much more interactive than blogs since anyone can start rambling at any second.

Pros:

1. Users are constantly generating new content, asking questions and answering them rather than the admin having to come up with new material.
2. Forums have potential to grow faster. Because the users can become so involved in the growth of the site there is a tendency to get more links and traffic.

Conclusion:

Both have their purpose and sometimes both are used on the same site. If you have limited time and just want to write, you should start a blog. If you love talking to thousands of people and have plenty of time, start a forum. If you have no time whatsoever, then dont do anything at all. Ever.

Digg it

Posted in - Forum Management - Comments(2) Edit

The Extensive Guide To Monetizing A Forum

Posted May 22, 2008

We already covered the basics of starting a forum a few days ago in this post: The Extensive Guide to Starting a Successful Forum. Today I am going to give you advice on how to properly monetize and generate revenue from your forum. Most forums require a lot of traffic to generate a decent revenue and that is why it is good to have multiple means of advertising and monetization on the site.

If you are a forum user rather than a forum owner and think it is terrible that any forum owner would try to make money on his forum then go take a hike. More than likely a forum owner is not getting rich off of his ads. However, it pays for the cost running the site and for his time. There is a lot of time involved in running a forum and expenses that forum members never think about. Ok, now that I got that out of my system…

Revenue #1: Premium Memberships

For a small “donation” offer members “Premium Member” status giving them a cool new title w/cool graphic, more access to the site, and maybe less ads. I always liked to give stickers to my Premium Members. I like the idea of giving members something tangible, plus it can increase sales. The only problem is that you need to raise the “Premium Member” price to cover your time, cost of the stickers, envelopes, stamps, ink, etc. Be sure to include a form letter thanking them for their contribution to the site. If done right, you can make more money than not sending stickers, but sending stickers is definitely not an automated system.

Revenue #2: Adsense

This is probably the most obvious of all revenue streams. Google Adsense is everywhere and on almost every forum. When implementing Google Adsense I usually show the most ads to non-registered members, less ads to registered members and very minimal ads, if any to my Premium Members. This encourages people to register and then also to become Premium Members.

If you are familiar enough with your forum system, you can implement your own ads. If you are running vBulletin like I told you to in the last post, then there is extensive Plugins and Template Modifications to help you implement Adsense. Go to vBulletin.org type in “adsense” into the search box(make sure to select that you are searching for mods, and search titles) and you will come up with tons of stuff to help you. You can even find a script that will turn off individual ads for different usergroups.

Revenue #3 Vendors/Advertisers

Depending on the topic of your forum and its purpose it should not be too hard to get retailers w/online stores to become interested paying you to advertise. This has its plus’s and minus’s.

- Good Part: Nice big checks at one time(depending on monthly, quarterly or yearly billing)

- Bad Part: Some advertisers can be high maintenance. When advertisers pay to advertise themselves on a site, it becomes hard for some of them not to spam threads with information on their product. If an advertiser feels that he has to chip in and let people know about his product on every thread, this can turn away the members. Remember, the Members are your biggest customer. You will never make everyone happy, but you should make decisions that make MOST of your forum happy.

Things to offer vendors:

1. Rotating Banners
2. Their own forum in a “Vendors” Category
3. Advertising in their Signature space
4. First chance at sponsoring forum competitions

Revenue #4 Merchandise

I was never able to make any money with merchandise and it usually took more time than I ever had. If you can do it, great. If you are like me and dont have time, CafePress.com is a good way to go. Spend an evening uploading your logo to a few t-shirts and baseball caps. Dont expect to pay your mortgage with this revenue though.

Revenue #5 eBay

Yeah, thats right, eBay. Now I know what your thinking…”I just got started monetizing my forum and now you want me to auction it off on eBay?!” Not at all! Here is the thing, in every forum, eBay is bound to come up. Wether your forum is all about knitting, cars, coffee, kittens, dinosaurs, or Chinese Apple Fungus, there is something on eBay that will be interesting to them and someone will eventually bring it up in a discussion. There are 2 things that are REALLY cool about this:

1. eBay has an affiliate program which means that when you promote eBay through links and banners, you make a commission when people follow those links and purchase something from eBay.
2. vBulletin.org has a custom plugin for eBay that makes it so that EVERY link mentioned in any thread on your forum includes your affiliate ID so that you dont have to add any links yourself.

What this means is whenever anyone is talking about and posting links to Chinese Apple Fungus, cars, or donkeys on eBay, you make commission if one of those people purchase that item. Whats even better is once that “cookie” has been set from them following your link, you make commissions on all of their purchases from that link in 30 days of them clicking. Which means that they can go to eBay later and buy something that is totally unrelated like underwear, or moldy sandwiches and you will still get a commission.

Like I said, eBay is a great way to monetize a forum.

Conclusion…

These are a handful of great ways to monetize a forum. There are other great ways I’m sure that I will bring up in the future. For now, have fun and try these out. I will add to this post as I come up with new information.

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Bill Gates In Denial Over Vista Failure to Penetrate Market

Bill Gates made a statement at the Consumer Electronics Show that Vista was no flop with an estimated 140 million copies sold. 140 million is a lot, but he also admitted struggling with the public's dissatisfaction with the sequel to the popular XP, released 7 years ago (I have never met anyone who completely likes Vista).

This reflects a perfect example of how PC Fanboys make fun of Mac Fanboys for blindly following Steve Jobs when their own holy leader can't admit to making a bloated OS when it slaps him in the face. Seriously, if you have to make a statement at an electronics show reassuring investors that your biggest investment and money maker is not really a flop like everyone is saying, it's a flop.

Market Share is keeping Microsoft afloat. If I were me I would be selling all the MSFT in the world and switching to a tech company who releases products that are wildly popular for their performance and continues to release products that wow consumers. What has Microsoft done in the last couple years that has been amazing or ground breaking?

If it wasn't for Microsoft's alliance with so many computer building companies to provide Vista would 140 million copies have sold? Why did Dell continue to offer XP with their computers? If Vista is so good (it should be, XP is 7 years old) then why would it even be an option?

I'm sceptical of these so called successes. I smell a ploy to bolster MSFT stock.

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The Tax "Rebate" Is Voter Manipulation

In June, 2008 Americans are due to receive tax rebates whether they paid taxes or not. This is what I think of it.

Do you like being manipulated? That is what this tax rebate is. It is pure manipulation of the voting public being passed off as economic stimulus.

Guess what? The economy doesn't need a freaking stimulus. All this mortgage "turmoil" that we are seeing is nothing more than a market correction. Unemployment hasn't shot up, hourly earnings are up $0.04, Fuel is hovering around $2.70 and $3.00, and industrial productivity is up 1.8% (Bureau of Labor)! What signs are there that America needs an economic stimulus?

What signs are there that this is a vote gathering ruse and not a strong economic savior? Many.

1. The estimated cost of the "rebate" is 150 billion dollars. The only way that 150 billion dollars is going to make a difference in our economy is if everyone spends it. Is everyone going to spend it? No. I am not. I save my extra money. For some reason I don't feel like sacrificing any part of my financial stability so this country can have its stimulus.

The 150 billion would be much better spent on infrastructure that would increase productivity, generate jobs, and otherwise create tangible economic growth.

It's not like we have an extra 150 billion laying around anyways. Which leads me to my second point.

2. Inflation. The government did not cut 150 billion in spending so they could "give" this money back to the taxpayer. They are simply issuing more bonds and printing more money. So now that some of us are $300 or $600 dollars richer the value of our dollar has fallen that much more. The dollar is already getting crushed by the global economy and mass consumerism in America. Lets just print some more!

3. Wealth redistribution is a great subject to attract voters with. When poor people hear that they are getting the rich people's money they think it's great. If you make more than $150,000 you will not see a dime of this money. Granted if you make $150,000 you probably don't need an extra $300 but the fact of the matter is clear. IT'S FREAKING COMMUNISM! If the lower class get this rebate then there is no reason why the rich shouldn't. I think it's already been established that communism doesn't work and won't work. So stop encouraging the moron politicians who pander to the uneducated masses of America by voting for them. Republicans and Democrats.

P.S. Socialism (what Canada has) is simply a lesser form of communism and doesn't work either from an economic standpoint. However much the poor love free medical, it doesn't make for a strong economic base.

4. The fact that the lower class get the rebate and the upper class doesn't only proves my point that it's only for votes. This is an economic stimulus package right? So if a person who make $150,000 spends $300 it should have the same effect on the economy as a lower income person. Right? Nay, the richer person would probably help the economy even more because they have a proven record of spending their money so they get a greater return. But it does not get to be so. The upper class is a very small minority. They have very little voting influence other than their dollars. Plus, they tend to vote for republicans because republicans tend to be more business friendly. So why would a *cough* democrat *cough* politician bother with a true, fair, economic stimulus package when they can pander to the much larger and gullible lower class and get votes at the same time? It's just a game. And they are playing with our money.

5. The tax "rebate" is not a rebate at all. It's simply a forward on your taxes for next year. You get to report an extra $300 or $600 in income next year. If anything it's like a advance on your tax rebate that you get taxed twice on.

6. Why do people feel so good about the government taking to much money and then giving some back? Why don't we demand that taxes simply be lowered? The advantages are huge:

• The government doesn't get to borrow your money tax free till you get your refund.
• It would be a genuine economic stimulus boost. Less money going to taxes equals more money being spent more precisely in the economy.
• It would force the government cut excess spending and start working on the national debt (Anybody else think it's odd that a 150 billion dollar "stimulus" package is hailed as huge but our enormous national debt is hardly mentioned?).

So here is what I propose. Get your $300 dollar rebate (or more if you are married and have kids) and enjoy it however you please. Spend it, save it, burn it, whatever. But when you hear some moron singing the peachy praises of Pelosi for "empowering" the lower class or even for just padding their wallet, remind said moron that they are being kept in that class by that same "empowerment". Sure, you may be able to go buy an Xbox or some toy, but is it really going to change anything?

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