Archive: August 2007
If you are one of the finalists in this round of the battle, please leave your shirt size here in the comments section, or if you are more comfortable contacting me directly you may do so at Ashley(at)PayPerPost(dot)com. As soon as I get your size I'll ship your shirt out to you! And, of course, if you take a photo of yourself wearing your shirt, send it over to me and I'll post it on the blog.
Today is Blog Day 2007! It's a great idea -- I wish I'd have thought of it. If you haven't seen anything about this here on our blog, check out this post. You can also visit BlogDay.org for details.
For those participating in this worldwide event, once you've made the post(s) on your blog, leave a comment here on our post...along with the url to your post! It'll be great to watch-and-meet lots of new Bloggers!
One of the things I like best about doing opps for PayPerPost is that it is usually very easy to work the given anchor text into the post. That may seem like a small thing, but I have done opps for a number of other brokers and often the anchor text is clunky and awkward. Then I have to do flips and twists to get it to fit into a sentence which will then fit into the paragraph. It's an exercise in frustration I could live without, quite frankly.
In general I have also found the PPP opps to be easier to understand. Sometimes with other companies I am left scratching my head as to exactly what they want, or how many links they require, or even exactly what they want the anchor text to be. Despite my best intentions I think this causes me to do a poorer job than I would have otherwise. Currently my PPP tack rating is 5. My rating is not nearly as good on either of the other two sites that give grades, and I think (and I hope I'm right) that the root cause of that is that it seems to be so much more difficult to take and understand an opp for those sites.
Ironically, what got me started thinking about this was a thread on the boards where a Postie had been suspended for a post involving an opp with a press release. The Postie had interpreted the opp to mean that no other words were required other than than press release itself. I will admit that sometimes the opps that include press releases can be a little confusing. I have seen several wherein the instructions it says not to use the press release, but at the bottom of the release itself is a notice to include the press release in its entirety. So that can be a little tricky. But that sort of example stands out to me precisely because it is the exception at PayPerPost, rather than the rule. That's how I see it, anyway.
The other thing I find frustrating about other brokers is the lack of variety of opps. Without mentioning specific brokers or advertisers, it seems that many of the former don't offer much of a variety of the latter. All too often I'll get notification of a new opp from one of these brokers and I'll check it out only to find it's basically the same opp as the one I did before. How many times can I write about Dr. Wackenbooty's new patented method for removing soap scum off your eyeballs? I'm sure Dr. Wackenbooty is a fine fellow, but once was more than enough for me, thank you very much.
For a while there it seemed that pickings were a little slim, but lately at PPP there have been a plethora of opps available, which has enabled me to easily choose advertisers that I was excited to write about and for which the prose came easily. Sometimes I'll find myself typing away for a while and then I'll remember "Oh yeah, this is an opp. I gotta work in a few things." I think in a lot of cases the opps I do the best job on are the ones I complete the fastest, because I am excited about the subject and I have a lot to say. And the words just flow. It hardly even seems like work.
Take that, Dr. Wackenbooty.
Good morning!!!
As many of you know from the blog yesterday, and at least one of you knows from grabbing a Worldwide Wednesday Opp yesterday, WORLDWIDE WEDNESDAY CONTINUES. Is this the first you're hearing of it?? Check out the original post from Ted explaining Worldwide Wednesdays then - it's another exciting promotion for PayPerPost Posties!!
We normally don't even tell anyone when we're reviewing Opps, so this may be a first, too . . . we will be releasing opp's over the next hour, and somewhere in there will be at least one Worldwide Wednesday Opp :) Maybe two . . . who knows! The last one will definitely be out before noon.
Enjoy - happy blogging!!!
To the top five Blog Battle Royale finalists awaiting arrival of their iRobot Roomba Vacuums...I have an update for you:
Seems things were a little slow actually moving the product from the warehouse, and they just got shipped out today. They are making their way to each of you via FedEx Ground shipment, with the exception of our Canadian Postie -- yours is shipping via Purolator Ground. For those here in the U.S. expected shipment dates are early next week (take into account the Labor Day holiday). I'm hoping our Canadian friend will receive hers mid-next-week.
Given this, let's extend the deadline for your "iRobot Roomba" post to Monday, 9/10. That will allow you time to receive your vacuum, spend some time with it, then make your post! I'm hoping everyone should receive theirs next week, that way you'll have the entire weekend to spend with it. If, by chance, something happens and not everyone has received their package, I'll provide an update.
Thanks for your patience!
When I came back from lunch today I had a huge envelope sitting on my desk! I love, love, love surprise packages! Then I noticed who it was from, and it is noneother than our recent "Featured Blogger", Erica! She sent us this really awesome picture & frame for us to hang on The Great Wall of Posties. I'm on it, Erica, and I'll be sending out your PostiePack shortly!
In addition to the frame, Erica also included a really nice note I thought worth sharing with everyone:
SO nice, Erica! It makes us feel good to know we're doing some good in the world!
If you haven't already make sure and check out Eric's blog at http://www.beautiful-mess.com/blog.
Technorati Tags: Advertisers, blogging, Posties, PPP Featured Blogger, The Great Wall of Posties
The last $1K Tuesday Opp is out . . . or will be very soon . . .
Hope you enjoyed the fun! We will be reviewing the related Opps this afternoon so we can hopefully soon offer some major congrats to one happy $500.00 earner of the day!!
Thanks for sticking with us the last 24 hours. But don't sleep yet, Worldwide Wednesday is about to begin.
Just a reminder that Blog Day 2007 is this Friday! Find five (5) NEW bloggers and post about them on your blog. Then notify them that you're featuring them. I'll have a new post on Friday here on our blog, and if you're participating, once you've published your post leave the url on OUR post. Can you feel the link love?!
Hopefully you'll be having some new folks visiting your blog as a result of this, so make sure and have your referral badge up on your site! Might be a great opportunity for you to make some extra cash!
It's been a busy evening. What else was I going to do before going to sleep? Something to do with $1000 and PPP . . . oh right, release another opp for $1K Tuesday. No, that's not it. I just did that. So that must be it - time for sleep. Now the question is - when will the next Opp for $1K Tuesday be released? Will I set my alarm for an hour or two from now? Will someone else from Customer Love be ready to take over for me?
More to come on this $1K Tuesday! Stay tuned!
We released the first $1K Tuesday Opp right after noon today, and have been sneaking some out here and there throughout the afternoon & early evening. Anyone know how many are out?
Have you just missed any? Want to tell your fellow Posties you're one of the lucky ones who grabbed an Opp already?
Know if the big $500 one is out yet?
Tell us how $1K Tuesday's going for you!
I want to give everyone a little heads up on the next Blog Battle Royale topic. The next topic will be a review of Ask.com. I am sure you all have seen the new commercials and features, but you may not have tried it out for any extensive period of time. It's actually pretty badass.
I am giving you an early heads up so you can have time to familiarize yourself with the site. This is NOT the call for submissions, that is a few weeks off. We are finalizing the physical product review item now, that should be cool too. The t-shirts for the Blog Battle Royale came in a bit late but they are here, Brit or Ashley will post a pic later.
The first Opp is out - let the fun begin! Good luck, Posties!
Posties!! It is Tuesday. That means it is a big, $1K Tuesday!! Are you ready? Remember, between today at noon and Wednesday at noon, there will be several secret Opp's being released. The offer amounts added up from all Opp's will total a whopping $1,000.00, and there is no segmentation on these Opp's. That's right, that means every type of blogger from every location with any ranking is eligible.
Remember we used to comment on the Opp's themselves that bloggers who had accepted a PPP promo Opp in the past 30 days was not eligible? Well, now the system has the ability to automatically bench Posties who have accepted our promo Opp's. We wanted to give you a heads up that we are in fact benching folks for 30 days from the promo Opp's in order to further spread the love among our entire Posite community. No worries, though, that will not keep you from any regular PPP Opp's, just the promos, and just for 30 days - that's like a blink in blogging time.
I'm Erica, a 26 year old military wife, and mom of two toddlers. Your typical ''mommy blogger'', though I hate that label. I've been blogging for ages, before blogging was the cool thing to do. I use my blog as a place to share stories from my (boring) everyday life, vent, gossip, socialize and link to the many sites I find worthwhile.
Name: Erica
People call me: Erica, Mommy
You can call me: Erica - it would be creepy if you called me Mommy.
When did you join PayPerPost, and why?
I joined at the very end of November 2006. I had heard a lot about it and about how much people were earning so I decided to try it as well. I've been a blogger for 8 years and had not made a dime before last year. I knew I'd be pleased if I made an extra $50 a month and now that I've made over $7,000? I'm VERY pleased. Who wouldn’t want to make money blogging?
Fill in the blank: The ____ is strong with this one.
Voice – I'm always talking, non stop. That's probably why blogging appeals to me so much.
If you could be any character from a movie, who would you be?
Alice from Disney's Alice In Wonderland – we all need a break from reality sometimes.
What is a 'eugugoly?'
Ahh, thanks for putting that into my brain. Now I'll have to go watch Zoolander for the 100th time.
Complete this thought: If I could blog for 24 hours non-stop I'd blog about ____.
Shopping! I love to shop, find deals, and learn about new products.
What is your favorite city?
San Diego, CA - it was the city where I got married, had my first child and found my strength and independence as a military wife.
What's your favorite color?
Pink
What's your favorite video-sharing site?
When I'm sharing videos of my kids with relatives I use DropShots.com.
What's your favorite RockStartUp episode and why?
I don't think I could pick a favorite. The entire series is awesome.
Complete this thought: I wish I could get paid to ____.
Change diapers! I'd be rich by now.
Who's your favorite blogger?
There are so many that I adore and read on a daily basis. I could never pick just one.
Complete this thought: When I was little I wanted to be ____ when I grew up.
A crazy cat lady. I've got 3 cats now, only about 17 to go!
Please list any and all of your blogs:
http://www.beautiful-mess.com/blog
I'm talking about last week. $1K Tuesday and Worldwide Wednesday are exciting enough, but to have a major blog host go offline in the middle of that - well, it just can't get any more thrilling! Congrats to all of our Posties who grabbed these Opps last week, especially Joy who grabbed the $500 Opp, hidden under the topic of home security. Congrats, Joy, and great job, Posties!!
Prepare yourselves for this week's promos . . . .
(And if you just peeked in on the blog after the weekend, you've got to read the last few posts here, too - good stuff)
The iRobot Roomba vacuums have been mailed out to the top five Blog Battle Royale participants, and should be arriving on their doorsteps sometime mid-next week (if not before). So once you receive your iRobot, test it out, have your kitties chase it around, and then post on your blog about it! Be creative! Photos and video are always a great tool to use when talking about a product. Remember, there will be another round of voting to determine the Blog Battle Royale Champion!
Please have your post published by 12:00pm EST on Friday, August 31st. That's next Friday (and also Blog Day 2007!). Once you have published your post on your blog please e-mail me the link directly at Ashley(at)PayPerPost(dot)com. When all five have been sent to me I'll do a post on our blog, accompanied by a voting widget.
Good luck!
Technorati Tags: Blog Battle Royal, iRobot, iRobot Roomba robot vacuum
PostieCon here we come! We are working very hard to get you all as much information as possible. Stay tuned, as we will be sending out updates shortly by email with a lot more details.
Hotel Reservations:
For those who are ready to book your hotel please check the link below. BlogWorldExpo has negotiated some great rates for you all. I believe there will be more details shortly on their website. https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=welcome_ei_new&eventID=53266
PostieCon Tickets:
If you have not registered for PostieCon what are you waiting for? Register here: http://www.postiecon.com/register.php
Oh and did we mention it's free to attend and that you will automatically be invited to the BCA’s VIP party?
To The Lucky First 100 Registered:
Congrats to you all who get not only a ticket for PostieCon but also BlogWorldExpo. More details to come via email on what this ticket will include.
BCA’s VIP Party:
I am very excited about all the venues we have visited. I cannot wait to let you all know which one it will be but I assure you all you're going to love it! More details to follow via email.
Posties.
We have another case of the Posties spoke and the advertiser listened! You told us that segmentation was causing you to miss these excellent opportunities to spread the word about Alzheimer's Association's need for more Memory Walk Team Captains, nationwide! So all opps are now open to all US Bloggers (as Memory Walk is an event happening in thousands of communities across the US only!)
There are still three excellent opps available, but they are going fast, so please sign on and tell your audience why Memory Walk is important for raising funds to fight Alzheimer's in their community! ...And don't forget, if you sign up to create your own Memory Walk team you may be eligible for a special PPP Direct opportunity!
PayPerPost started a team in Orlando, and I have one in New York!
Thanks for doing such a great job on these posts!
In an effort to continuously provide support and open communication to our Bloggers & Advertisers, and provide a simple understanding of the various facets of our system and our Terms of Service, we are in the process of developing a series of Postie Service Announcements (PSAs) and tutorials. Look for them to be released over the coming months. The intent is not only to educate those who might be unfamiliar with PayPerPost and blogging in general, but to also reinforce some areas where we see some common practices. Of course, in true PPP form we'll try to make them as entertaining as we can, while still maintaining the core message of each PSA.
OK peeps...don't hate! We're not actors, but we love you guys...it's worth the embarrassment...right?
So...without further delay, here is the first installment...PSA #1: The PayPerPost Court:
We'd like to extend an enormous amount of gratitude to The Orange County Regional History Center for allowing us use of their courtroom.
* All characters in this dramatization are fictional. Any likeness to real people or animals are purely coincidental.*
10. I can work in my underwear. I haven't been able to do that my since modeling days at Calvin Klein.
9. My mother is finally proud of me.
8. Soon I'll have enough money to afford that personality transplant that I've always wanted.
7. My tack rating of 5 is really gonna perk up the ole resume.
6. Every time I take an opp I think a little bit of my hair grows back.
5. It's less risky a method to impress Jodie Foster than the one John Hinkley Jr. took.
4. Each opp counts as an hour toward my court-mandated community service.
3. I am confident that my increasing notoriety will eventually result in a guest spot on Grey's Anatomy.
2. Every time I complete an opp I feel a tiny spurt of personal growth.
1. Chicks, man. Chicks dig Posties!
Hey Posties!
Post quality, Postie behaviors, adherence to PayPerPost ToS, reporting ToS violations - all of these have been topics of discussions, and we have some answers we think will be incredibly helpful for the entire PPP Community!
The Customer Love team focuses a good deal of time keeping Posties on track. We are happy to share some of those details with you! We receive reports weekly, nearly daily, on questionable Posties (we even have a document dedicated to them - it's called 'Questionable Bloggers' because we are full of creativity!). The reasons can be anywhere from unoriginal content to ad saturation or general poor practices. These reports come from Customer Love, from Posties, and from Advertisers. It really does take every part of our dynamic community working together!
Once we get a report, we send a note to the Postie in question to let them know they've been flagged, and we will be researching the account. During this time, the Postie's account is frozen to expedite research. Jillian leads this research, balancing an understanding of our Posties with a strong awareness of the ToS. For each report, this includes a thorough review of the account, and the Postie's overall practices.
If there are no problems or violations of ToS found, we'll send that info via email to the Postie. They may continue blogging via PayPerPost, and we encourage them to reach out with any questions.
If there are ToS infractions or blogging practice concerns, we consider many factors in determining the penalty. Among them are: the severity of the infraction, the experience of a Postie, any history of suspensions, and the overall intent we see from the Postie's practices. Hopefully that answers another question - yes, we do track Posties' records so we may access it as needed.
As for the penalties, they range from brief suspensions to permanent bans, with escalation steps in between. Our intent is to better a Postie's practice when possible, offering suggestions, ToS references, sample blogs and other helpful tools. Unfortunately, those efforts are sometimes unsuccessful, and we must discontinue an account by banning the Postie.
During a suspension or a ban, a Postie may not access their PPP account at all. Violating the ToS waives all PPP-related privileges.
To stay off our suspended or banned bloggers list, simply blog as per the <a href=http://payperpost.com/company/tos.html> Terms of Service</a>. Some of the most common offenses we see are: holding a post (that is an immediate suspension by the way), lack of original content, lack of interim posts, blogs saturated by ads with little non-sponsored content. While there are others, these are the most common.
If you have any questions on the Terms of Service, or notice a questionable blogger, please do reach out to us. Posties - you have the ability to start a ticket w/the topic: ToS Violation Report, and Advertisers can flag any questionable blogger. We will take action as needed, and support the ToS in those actions. We can't express just how much the community continues to help maintain overall standards of quality.
Don't forget:
- We apply the same ToS to each Postie.
- Again, the goal is to educate Posties. We recognize the difference between a 'newbie' mistake and an intentional violation. The depth of the research performed assures this.
- Because research is needed, do not get discouraged if someone you have reported is not immediately penalized.
- Community input helps.
- Once a suspension or ban is determined, we have done a great deal of research. The decisions are final.
- In the case of a suspension, it is up to the Postie to improve their blogging skills or to determine if they are even interested in blogging to PPP standards. We offer assistance to them even during that suspension.
- At this point, we are not yet listing which blogs are suspended or banned. As was mentioned in a recent post about ranking cheats, though, this may change in the future to benefit the entire consumer generated content industry.
- The majority of PayPerPost Posties are on track, providing extremely valuable content to happy Advertisers. We are incredibly proud of the work they produce!
- Finally, any act of suspension or banning is to further support the high quality of those Posties who are following the ToS, who are providing quality content, and who are making a beneficial contribution to the PayPerPost Community.
Stay tuned to the blog, we'll have a related post tomorrow from Ashley, and he can't wait to share it with you!
I'm constantly out on message boards, forums, and directories, engaging and interacting with Bloggers. In fact, I often see many of our Posties on these sites. You know what? There is a lot of stuff going on in the blogosphere! And it's cool because through these sites I'm constantly learning about new networks, events, sites, etc.
A few days ago I ran across a blog post, mentioning a Blog Day. Turns out, this is the third year this is occurring. Well, Blog Day 2007 is happening next Friday, August 31st. I'm sure many Posties have heard of this and plan on participating, but if you aren't familiar with it I thought it might be a great idea for everyone to get involved. Essentially, here's what you do:
- Find 5 new Blogs that you find interesting. These should really be Bloggers you're not currently familiar with, or are not in any of your current networks.
- Notify the 5 bloggers that you are recommending them as part of BlogDay 2007
- Write a short description of the Blogs and place a link to the recommended Blogs
- Post the BlogDay Post (on August 31st) and
- Add the BlogDay tag (which you can find on their site)
I think this is an interesting promotion, and it's a great way to expand your network and hook-up with other Bloggers around the world! Take this as an opportunity to meet some new folks and expand your audience. Hopefully you'll see some increased traffic as a result, so you might want to make sure you've got your affiliate badge posted on your site. To grab the code simply click on the "PPP Tools" tab on your account, and then select "Referral Program".
I'll do another post on the 31st (next Friday), and when you publish your "Blog Day post" you can also share them with us on our blog!
On the way home from Detroit late last night I started thinking about the PPP Blog Battle Royale and how it might benefit Posties and Advertisers. Being a marketing guy I love web analytics and I know many of you are addicted to your site stats. I was wondering if any of you would be so kind as to share some data with all of us as to any traffic increase you many have seen as a result of the competition. I would like to know if you saw a spike in page views or visitors as a result of your post.
Update : I am looking for any spike in traffic as a result, not just referrals from this blog.
A: Most of us (including me!)
The great news is that we have a bunch of advertisers who want to give you guys free stuff. The bad news is that many of you haven't yet provided us with your address, making it hard for us to have enough Posties to execute product sampling for advertisers with bigger budgets. If we don't have enough addresses the advertisers simply don't do the campaign at all...everybody looses out. No product, no opps about the product.... and sad, sad sales people.
Have you ever been around a sad sales person? It's no fun.
The solution is simple (trumpets please), all you need to do it provide us with your address. Your address will never be sold. Anything you receive will always come from PPP and identified as such. To start receiving cool stuff all you have to do is click the "my address" button on your dashboard. Fill it out and you are good to go.
Close your eyes and listen to the drumroll. Well, I guess it's probably not a huge surprise about who the top five [in terms of votes] are, since you could actually see the real-time results if you wanted to. But here they are anyway:
19. I Need a Robot (474 votes)
13. Roomba and other such useful robots. (414 votes)
34. The Grand Pooba(h) (346 votes)
26. Only In My Dreams… (244 votes)
2. iRobot: Civic Doody? (242 votes)
I realize the voting was open past noon (EST) today. Polldaddy.com actually has a feature that allows you to schedule "close voting" at a particular time, on a given date, if that's what your program requires; I think that's an awesome feature but apparently it didn't work for some reason. So I pulled the voting widget down, and am posting a screenshot of the results here:
We'll be sending out PostiePacks (iRobot Roomba robot vacuum, along with a specially-designed Blog Battle Royal t-shirt) to each of the top five. There will also be a separate voting to determine the "PPP Blog Battle Royale Champion", so stay-tuned here on the blog.
If you missed-out this time-around, there will be another Blog Battle Royale next month!
Technorati Tags: Blog Battle Royale, iRobot, PayPerPost promotion
I want to clarify further on my previous post about Argus since there seems to be some confusion. If you can currently install PPP Tools then you are good to go. The technology will not change and the code will not change, if it works now you should be fine later for the Argus release. I hope that helps.
I am always amazed to see these high dollar Opps just sitting out there waiting for someone with a high ranking blog to snatch them up. If you know anyone who meets the criteria for these Opps let them know there is some big cash waiting at PayPerPost.
Posties, I want to give you all sufficient heads up that in the next generation of PayPerPost.com (codename "ARGUS") those with their own domain and control of their blog will be at an advantage to those that don't have their own domain. The issue here is not about PR or Alexa it is all about the ability to install PPP Tools. Many of the blog hosting platforms will not allow you to install javascript, making it impossible to install PPP Tools on your blog.
PPP Tools will play a much larger role in the marketplace in the future. Those who have the tools installed will be more attractive to advertisers for a variety of reasons that I can't yet share. PPP Tools will also provide you as a blogger with more features and options for monetizing your blog. Argus is HUGE (you can see a high level architecture below) and a great deal of what makes it so powerful is the expansion of PPP Tools.
Yes, I know you can't read that image... I am not going to make it that easy ; )
I know that moving a blog can be a pain, many of you have taken the leap already. I'm trying to be as proactive as possible so you don't feel like this is being sprung on you when we reveal Argus at PostieCon. Everything in Argus is a positive for advertiser and posties, we have taken your countless requests and are creating a platform that is nothing short of amazing.
However, you have to be able to use our technology in order to achieve maximum benefit and unfortunately many blog hosts forbid javascript.I don't want people to freak out. You can still use PayPerPost no matter what blog platform you are on, but understand some features will not be available... and they are features that you will most definitely want once you see them.
I know this is kind of vague but you'll have to trust me on this one. Argus is more revolutionary than the original launch of PayPerPost.com... it's big.
CLARIFICATION : You need to have control of your blog and ability to install PPP Tools, not just a domain name.
I was reading through some content on DearCrissy.com and I just have to take a second to point out this blog. I am not going to get into content or anything else but I want to highlight the design. This is one of the cleanest, best looking blogs I have seen on our network. It is fun, personalized and graphically appealing. There aren't a ton of display ads everywhere and the content is really easy to read.
Do you know of some other really good looking blogs? Let me know in the comments.
Hey, iRobot voters! Happy Saturday!
Some folks seem to be having issues on their end with the voting widget for the Blog Battle Royale: iRobot promotion. I've e-mailed Polldaddy.com to see if they can assist with any technical issues there may be; hopefully I'll hear back from someone sometime over the weekend. In the meantime, I've moved the widget to it's own page...spawning a new window. Perhaps this will help. After reviewing each of the entries on the post from yesterday, you'll see a link at the bottom. Simply click on that and a new window will open.
I'll be monitoring the blog over the weekend so if you continue having issues please let me know what they are via the comments section.
As many of you know we have a large base of International Posties. Being that we are an American company the majority of our advertisers are currently in the US and are targeting US bloggers. Let's not get into that whole readership thing here, that is not what this post is about.
I want you all to know that I am aware that you get segmented out of some Opportunities. Last week we brought back 1K Tuesdays. 1K Tuesdays have no segmentation, The Opps are open to everyone no matter where you live or how big or small the blog.
This week we are going to introduce a new twist and see what you all think. 1K Tuesday will run as it did last week but from Wednesday at noon EDT to Thursday at noon EDT we will introduce some Opps that are only for bloggers living outside of America. We will have an 2 additional $50 Opps and 1 $150 Opp that are segmented only to exclude American bloggers. Depending on where you live that can be some big cash. Good luck all and let us know what you think.
While cruising the boards lately I have come across a number of threads dealing with various issues in which people have expressed their belief that Posties are now considered "expendable" by PayPerPost, and that because the community has grown so much recently that PPP feels that if they lose a Postie it's no big deal because two more will pop up to take his place.
Usually this view is expressed along with frustration with one issue or another.
I don't believe it. And I'm a cynical guy. I often say that if it weren't for cynicism and sarcasm I wouldn't have any personality at all. But I really don't believe that in any way, shape, or form that we are considered expendable.
Well...not the good Posties. The cheaters and the hacks...we could do without them.
And okay, you may say "Sure, Fab. Why should we listen to you? You write for their blog. You've become a corporate shill. Also, you need to lose weight,"
Hey, who made that last comment? Let's not get personal here.
On a general note, look at all the companies that broker paid blogging opportunities. PayPerPost is ahead of all the others by leaps and bounds. They've got a good business model and they've got smart people sheperding it. Smart companies don't cut off their nose to spite their face, and they don't treat their "employees" like farmers treat those baby cows that are raised for veal.
Mmmm...veal.
And hey, if you read my blog you will remember that a few months back I blasted PayPerPost about The Bloggers Choice Awards. I mean, I was brutal. it would have been the easiest thing in the world for Ted to react by saying "Cut this guy out. He's done". In fact, I halfway expected it to happen. But it didn't. I like to think it was because I am a good Postie. Of course, it may have been those surveillance photos I sent him. But I prefer to think it was the former.
Plus when I went down to the headquarters earlier this summer for the focus group, everyone just seemed so nice.
I think what happens on the boards is that for the most part it is the same group of people that are most active on them, and they are Posties that have been around the longest and are the most experienced and have weathered all the bumps along the road, and so maybe that can generate a little cynicism from time to time. But to a large degree I also think those folks are among the best Posties, and they care the most about PayPerPost.
I'd still like to see more Posties active on the boards. Do you think they are publicized enough? I know that I was a Postie for a while before I knew of their existence. Maybe I'll do some checking.
So that's my two cents. You may think that I am naive, but that's what I believe.
Oh, and I thought I had a Photoshopped picture of me in a cheerleading uniform that I was going to post here, but I couldn't find it.
You're welcome.
Attention Posties!
What would you do if you saw a golden Opportunity right before your eyes? Would you pass it up? Of course not! You’d pick it up ASAP, right?
Guess what? It’s time for another product sampling! The same Advertiser who brought you the Freeze It Gel Opportunity will soon bring another Opportunity to PayPerPost. The Advertiser will handpick Posties, so make sure your ducks are in a row. Please make sure you log into your account and have a current mailing address.
The Advertiser was delighted with your participation and your help is needed once again! Thanks for all your wonderful posts. Show them what you’re made of. We can’t stress the importance of having current addresses. How else will you get your own piece of sunshine?
p.s. US and Canada Posties only
The first round of the first Blog Battle Royale is complete! There are a total of 37 entries, and each post is listed below...by post title. Review each one and then select your favorite. Remember, the top five [based on number of votes] will receive a PostiePack with an iRobot Roomba robot vacuum, along with a specially-designed Blog Battle Royal t-shirt (it will be the envy of all your friends).
When these top five are determined, there will then be another round of voting to crown a winner! The winner will have "bragging rights" for a month--or possibly longer if they keep winning--and will receive a badge here on the PPP blog, linking-out to their site.
The voting widget at the bottom of this post is a bit long, but each numbered link below corresponds with a post in the widget. Since there are so many, it might be a good idea to keep a pencil and paper handy so you can write down your favorites! Please note: you can only vote once, so make sure you're actually voting for your favorite post! VOTING ENDS Monday, August 20th at 12:00pm EST. Of course, we'll let you know after the votes have been tallied.
Here are the contenders:
1. The iRobot Washing Machine
2. iRobot: Civic Doody?
3. iRobot for Blog Battle Royale: Replacement Husband
4. iRobot LAWNba
5. Not Tonight Dear -- Ask The Robot
6. iDaddy
7. Introducing TeachBot Mk1
8. My iRobot Design
9. Sooper Dooper SurrogateChild 2000! Get it NOW!
10. iRobot Office: Do You Have A Screw Loose?
11. The Loser Detector
12. I Need an iBrick-Pick-Up
13. Roomba and other such useful robots.
14. Duster Drone
15. iByot - the multi-tasking next generation house robot
16. My Robot (i)
17. Aye, Robot
18. PPP Blog Battle Royale- iRobot Zcure Robot Patrol
19. I Need a Robot
20. My iRobot Idea for PPP Blog Battle Royale
21. iMom Robot
22. Dear iRobot
23. So..If You Could Create an IRobot...
24. The Motorcycle-o-Matic
25. My Robot (ii)
26. Only In My Dreams…
27. Throwing Down The Gauntlet In The First Ever PayPerPost Blog Battle Royale
28. iAM The Heart of A Robot
29. Keep Your Eyes Out for BathRoomba…
30. PPP Blog Battle Royale: iRobot Baby Scan
31. do you, do you wanna Chacha?
32. iRebecca
33. iSpouseKeep Robot
34. The Grand Pooba(h)
35. myRobot
36. iPantrybot
And here's where you can cast your vote:
PLEASE NOTE VOTING FOR THIS IS NOW CLOSED. THE VOTING WIDGET HAS BEEN REMOVED.
Technorati Tags: Blog Battle Royal, iRobot, iRobot Roomba robot vacuum
Hey Posties,
Please continue to take the opportunity to spread the word about the Alzheimer's Association's need for Memory Walk Team Captains, nationwide! You can tell them just how easy it is to get friends, family and co-workers to join their team by using the simple email system built into the Team Captain page easily created after logging in!
Here is the email template I used at the Memory Walk website:
"Millions of American families are caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s.
The Alzheimer’s Association®, the world leader in Alzheimer’s research, care and support, is dedicated to finding prevention methods, treatments and an eventual cure for the disease.
I've formed a team for the Alzheimer’s Association, New York City Chapter Memory Walk. We’d like to get as many people to walk with us on Sunday, October 21st as we can. Together, we hope to raise at least $2,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association, New York City Chapter.
I know it's a big goal, but I promise that I will do all I can to help raise the money together. There is strength in numbers!
I hope you will join my team. To register, visit the link below.
Memory Walk is nationally presented by Genworth Financial"
So, please take those Opps and help sign up Team Captains!
Thanks!
The $500 Opp is live, and was reserved about 2-3 minutes after release. So, looks like we did have some folks dozing at the computer. 2-3 minutes? For $500? That's taking quite the chance! It's reserved now, and we'll check on it once we're in the office (yeah, I'm headed to bed.)
Posties can take a sneak peek at the blogger who's reserved it by checking out the Top Earners of the day. Log in! Here's a hint . . . she recently had some bad luck with fast food.
Ok, that's not really so much a 'hint' as a direct link to her blog. But look - it's late, or early. Either way, we look forward to your post, Laurie!
::yawn:: All I have to say is after missing out on some much needed beauty rest tonight, I can only hope there is no filming planned at the office tomorrow. One of our Posties is going to be $500 richer sometime within the next several hours, though, so it is all worth it! Whoever it is, you'll just have to remember to send me a note telling me how you plan on spending the $$. I want to know!! I'm so excited for you, as is the rest of the PPP Team. And they'll be fresh & rested to help celebrate with you t