Re: The 4 Worst Things About Writing for the Internet

Hey everybody. This is Charles once again getting it in. I was satisfying another Facebook addiction phase when I came upon this article at http://cracked.com . While I am a fan of Cracked, Daniel O' Brian wrote a article that would probably get under a lot of writers skin. First off, if you are writing on the internet trying to just make ends meet doing articles about blogs, your not really going to get anywhere. Trust me, I didn't start making any money off of blogs. Because if I did, I would starve to death. That's the truth.

If you expect to make ant money on there internet, two of the simplest ways is A) having a marketable product and B) having a huge fanbase prior to making something. For example, celebrities are already successful, so when they make blogs they are instant hits. They already have the following and they already have their target audience. My blog probably only has around a few hundred followers and just so we're clear out of those followers only 2% of them will leave actual comments. The other 98% will either tell me in person, not tell me, or are bots trying to spam me. And... that's just what it is.

Now the whole thing about his articles being ripped off also touched a nerve with me. I have been doing this as a hobby for years. I tried to do on a pro level, but without a blogging army or team, competition is really cut-throat. I was making articles with Blogger News Network before this. My job was to comment on news paper articles and review different products. However, I searched my own articles to discover that  on of them was stolen by another website called Sheeple (probably changed the content around and threw dirt on my craft). I wasn't getting paid enough for the amount of effort I was putting out so I decided not to do it anymore. What Daniel O' Brian is talking about here makes a lot of sense from a writer's perspective. The only way bloggers can come up really is with viral content from a large fanbase. No one these days really is knee deep into frugality and I have way more popularity on my Korean blog because I use comedy and target a wider audience. Plus I have loyal fan base through Facebook. That being said, the best way to come up on writing skills is to network with writers and target a large fan base.

It's an unfortunate reaction to have, but it's true. Publishing on the Internet means you run the risk of having your work seen but also stolen by millions and millions of people, all the time, every day, forever. Even if we got this guy's blog shut down, I guarantee you three more blogs would take its place, all of them piloted by writers who have no problem stealing other peoples' material, because starting a blog and stealing are two very easy things to do. To a lot of folks, the Internet is still just the Wild West, lawless and open, and full of shockingly filthy people. There are no rules, and if anyone's caught doing something wrong, the go-to excuse of "Relax, man, it's just the Internet" isn't stale enough yet that people won't still casually throw it around. And maybe the Internet will always be this way, with fickle audiences, impossible-to-please commenters, distractingly endless $%^&**#$, and shameless plagiarists. - Daniel O' Brian: Cracked Comedy Writer


 

And that was more eloquetly phrased than I could have put it. Please remember that this is the truth about blogging in general. There are plenty of people that want to rip off your ideas. One so called friend took it upon himself to write a book copying many of the ideas on this blog. In hip hop, the person who steals someone else's rhyme structure and flow is known as a "biter". I would like to dub these people who do the same thing with blogs as "writer biters."

That being said, Daniel O' Brian claims that the pros outweigh the cons. If you are persistent and find a responsive audience; they do. If you can get thousands of people to read just your blog out of the billions of other blogs; they do. I think I have been lucky to get the hundred or so people to keep reading per month. I think it is that alone that keeps me writing. It is a passion that only grows everyday. I have written work in a lot of different genres. Fiction, Non-fiction, poerty, you name it. As I near my 200th post I have noticed my style has evolved with the times and has continued to stay fresh. Being creative and innovative is what keeps a blog alive. Also putting in the time to write good material is key to consistently creating success for you and your blog. 

That was my reply. I'm out! CB

Twitter URL

There was a request from someone to put a link to my Twitter URL on this website. Yes, I have a Twitter URL. It will funnel YouTube comments as well as comments from this site. Also my new blog might be getting tweets too, but I'm not certain about that. I might need to check Twitter when I have time. Oh I will drop that link too.


http://www.twitter.com/#!/needmanshini




You guys can reply or hit me up there. I will answer questions in the order I recieve them.
 
My new blog that I am currently working on is:
 
http://www.incheoncharles.blogspot.com/
 
I have been a little slow updating it because I have been mad busy at my new job. We're talking like 50-60 hours a week. There are even days were I do not even get a chance to study foreign languages. Lately, I have been studying Korean as well as Japanese and Chinese (although I have taken a bit of a hiatus from Chinese).  For anyone that is interested in studying those languages, I can be contacted through the CB e-mail or my Twitter. Again, I take messages and comments on a first come first serve basis. I have to sometimes filter through a lot of spam as well as legitimate comments. So if I do not get back to you right away, that's those are the reasons.

Investing Does Take Work

Here I am, up at 3:18am getting my blog on like I'm in a marathon. It is 3:18 in Korea and it is my Friday. Not really sure why I am doing laundry at this time, but maybe its just because I can.

There are Americans both here and in America that ask me why I have so much money. I am not rich, I am not wealthy, but I am well off in a sense that I am not living 2 paychecks away from the street. I closed that chapter of my life and I am not returning there. Anywho, I wanted to make this response.

On my LinkedIn Account, I am a member of the UNR Alumni group and there was this post that talks about hard work when investing. My response to that is this: read the post; the man's right! Think about it: how are you going to invest if you have nothing to invest with? You need something people! Money, education (always an asset), time, whatever. I mean seriously!  I met a Hagwon working married couple that just got done living in their car. They went to a foreign country to work because it was a step up. I think it is only a momentary escape considering the honesty of hogwans, but that is for another blog. Anyways the craziness in the economy right now should have people on their toes.

Take me for example: I did not leave Wal-Mart and pursue my dream until I had enough money to do so. I liked Sam's Club, but did not want to retire with a 9-5. I wanted to learn another language along with the adventure and excitement. Like I said, this blog is completed as far as I am concerned, but I will add things here and there  because a blog is always a work in progress. It was originally written by Draco Capital Management. Read it here. I would say ultimately, you need to work and order to invest and you need to invest in order to have a reason for working! They kind of go hand in hand like PB and J.

SPAM this post!

  I would like more real human comments. Seriously, I actually read them. I read the spam ones too for just a laugh at how gullible the spamee thinks I am.

No, I will not put up any money towards any high yield program that I do not understand. I will not buy any of your "stock investment magazines". I prefer to get my infromation from actual analysts: like my aunt Jaime. I do not need information that is probably fallacious and fictional.

No, I will not harvest my own organs in order to get a fast 1 million dollars.

No, I will not buy your instructional videos on how to do basic trading in the stock market. I already taught myself.

No, I will not sell my soul for some fake gold.

I have recieved a lot of spam comments as of late. And reading them (and rejecting them) is seriously a waste of time. I'd rather be looking for a better job in Japan or watching South Park or something. That's all today. Peace!

One Year Anniversary at Sam's Club

Hello there. Chuckie here with another blog jam packed with pure awesomeness. It has been a cracy year for me down at Sam's Club and I have to say, I am glad I have stuck it out this long after all. Perhaps my earlier entries were a bit pessimistic, but rest assured, I will continue to work there until I reach my goal I set out to reach in New Year's.

So far I have read 65 books and saved up $6,ooo for my re-entry into Japan. I will also take the JPLT level 3 so I can up my own personal stock and credentials. I could take the level 2, but I need more time to study for that one. While level 3, I can take it and pass it without studying. But I will study so I can refresh some of the Japanese that I do not normally use. I am in no way trying to slack off with the test, they are expensive to take because I have to go to either Los Angelos or San Francisco in order to take the test and I do not want to go over there in vain. When I do take the level 2 next year, I will have more time in order to catch up what I know and be able to pass it with no problem. So that is my goal-- to eventually go back to Japan in 2010.

There is also the need to address the issue of having one year at Sam's Club. Since they basically changed the whole structure of the pay scale, all I will get is a marginal raise. Since there might be employees reading this blog, I cannot go into further detail about it. However, I can say that my vacation and personal time has kicked in and I will use every bit of it to better my situation. I am a graduate from UNR and for the past 2 years, I have been working jobs with little chance of vertical movement. When I return to Japan, I will proabably work for someone else for a little while and then build up a marketing list and become self employed.

I have offically started back up my business on E*bay. My ID is marketmediaplus and I will sell certian items on demand. Right now I am just trying to sell all my books and video games so I can move with little problems. For the most part I have been celebrating my raise, so I have been eating out a lot, but that will stop. The glamour is done; my year is in; time to continue amassing wealth.

Feed Food for the Stomach

Salutations!

Today I am going to something a bit different: I am going to do food reviews. After eating two helpings of curry and seeing the slow traffic at Bangkok Cuisine, I think if I, along with a few of the other bloggers in Reno ban together and wrote reviews for different areas I think we can honestly have a fun experience getting the notoriety of the local companies out while we weather the recession.

As I did my routine things before leaving the house, I noticed a bright green flier that one of my former roommates left behind. While he was unreliable with the rent and a bit moody to boot, he did have decent tastes in restaurants.

"Hmm 55 Mt Rose, not too far from where I currently reside." I thought.

Luckily I was right. It is actually near Sushi Pier 2, a decent sushi place which hosts of several different other stores in its locales. While the exterior looked rather plain with one of those green hotel roofs, the inside honestly looks like a four star place.

Price wise, if you are trying to pinch pennies until your next pay check, I do not recommend going here, not unless you just want to get an appetizer like coconut ice creme. But if your fairly frugal with your paycheck then you can probably get away with going there once or twice a month.

That just a side note--On to the food!

Food wise, it is rare that I get seconds at a fine dining establishment. Bangkok Cuisine, left me wanting more, so I ordered a second entree. The first dish I had was green curry. I am a fan of spicy food so I stuck with what I like: curry and more curry! First I had the Green Curry, which was a small let down because it wasn't green =(. However, it was moderately spicy and that made up for its lack of greeness. Just a cultural note, most Thai curries tend to have coconut mixed inside their rue or curry sauce. I'd have to say the spice was nice for a moderate price. The curry itself was mixed with red and bel peppers along with some spices to make the bowl, beyond "Native Thai Spicy". It was not like the Triple Garai Spicy Chinese Noodles that I had in Okinawa, but the spice was not bad either. I need to invest in camera so I can write these reviews AND add pictures.

The next dish I tried was the Red Curry. For some reason I was stuck on colors today. That and my stomach felt like a bottomless pit. Ok the curry was orange ( X( Nooooooooooooooooooooo!) and it was not as Spicy as the green curry. It did however have a little kick to it. If you are trying to break into eating spicy food, this would be a good starter. Looked simular to the last curry dish that I had and smelt of coconut even more than the green one. This dish emphasized more of the the coconut taste than the spicy taste. It was good but I was trying to go for spicer so I had to say the green was better in that aspect.

Between both of the dishes, the orange green curry wins over the orange red curry due to my palette craving spicy items more. They tasted about the same in different ways. Both of them are winners. If you do not want Curry, Pud Thai is always a safe bet, although I do not personally like cooked peanuts mixed into stews.

I give Bangkok Cuisine 4.5 out of 5 stars, but if you want to see other reviews on this establishment, by all means Yelp them out.

HTML, Skills and Valuable Resources

After five exhausting hours of messing around with the features and almost losing simple editing privileges from my own absent mindedness, I have come to the conclusion that I will have a better chance at playing around with scripts, if I knew more about HTML. For those of you that don't know HTML (hyper-text modeling language), it is perhaps one of the most useful languages of web editing and also eccential for creating revent content that stands out. While there are many critics out there that says that XML will usher in a new web era.

I beg to differ: one most of the apps on MySpace, Facebook, and other social networking sites like OkCupid and Tagged still use html for web design combined with Java Script. Knowing this it gives way to good quality flash programming and some programming with even 3D Studio max. Note: Blogger itself uses html in the user interface for having user being able to flesh out their own piece in the web enterprise. I have to say that this is going to be one of the most influential times in blogging history as the rift between html being "obsolite" and XML being the best thing since sliced bread.

If someone was to ask me how I felt about html five years ago, I would have said that it is not as useful as say Python or C++. But after messing around with html in my own life, I have come to a different conculsion that html will be able to shape entrepenuerialship along with XML. To be in a camp of faved programming though is like trying to use a gun without bullets. Looks intimidating, but doesn't give way to potentcy. These days programming polyglots are the ones that rake in the cash. If anyone wants to do any raking of their own, they need to know what skills are needed for their own desire.

Knowing those skills in a time of recession is king in order to thrive. When I say skills, I mean rare skills that are high in market demand. For example, I know Japanese, Merchandising, and a bit about economics and stock trading. I know that during a recession there are not going to be winners. There are going to be people who thrive and people who survive.

Another way to survivng is to invest in scares resources like gold and silver. If you have a couple of ounces or none at all. Do not fret because this is your time to shine. The best thing to do is get into investing before the market swells. Gold is expected to project to an estimated $2K in the next five years. Now do you want to be the one with the hole in the bag or the one who comes out smelling like a rose?