Halloween Spam Warning

Make Money Online - Spam Warning for Halloween

Take care this Halloween there is more spam going round. Internet security firm Marshal is warning that a malicious Halloween spam e-mail is doing the rounds.

Marshal says the spam invites you to visit a Web site and download a “dancing skeleton” – but of course what you really get is a trojan named “halloween.exe”. A copy of the Storm Trojan which will compromise your PC and merge it into a botnet – a network of PCs that can be controlled remotely by a server.

The messages arrive with the following subject lines :
 For people with a sense of humor only
 Halloween Fun
 Happy Halloween
 If your in your office, keep the speakers low, lol
 Nothing is funnier this Halloween
 Party on this Halloween
 The most amazing dancing skeleton
 This will make you laugh
 You'll laugh your but off [sic]

So, spammers still can't spell despite being able to write programs. So if you get one don't open it and don't visit the website.

Retired? Make Money Online via Google

Make Money Online using Adsense

USA Today has published an excellent article on how people who have retired can now make money online using Adsense and other advertising methods.

Some retired people and assorted entrepreneurs in general are making money online from blogs and websites. Others are just making a bit of extra cash, but it is very democratic, you don't have to look like Brad Pitt or be the world's best anything. If you can type, you can do it.

Jerry Alonzy a 57 year-old handyman now makes $120K a year from the Adsense ads on his Natural Handyman website "I put in two, maybe three hours a day on the site, and the checks pour in," he says. "What's not to like?"

Jerrold Foutz, 75, who used to be en engineer with Boeing has a website on “switching mode power supplies”, all about what goes on inside video cameras !
Four years ago he decided to put Adsense ads on his smpstech.com site. The first month his check from Google was for $800. !The second check was $2,000.

He now makes - around $25,000 a year. Check out his website, he's just put up a very useful page about how to get started with your own online Adsense business Making a Website for Adsense income

Hope Pryor has a recipe site Cooks Recipes which brings in nearly $90,000 a year, mostly from Adsense.

According to Hope the holidays are the most profitable times of the year. Last December, she earned $30,000 from Google ! That's good going, especially from recipes, which it seems to me lots of people must be able to write about.

If that all sounds too easy, then somewhere along the line I guess it is. I've been blogging for around 6 months and so far the money has not reached the giddy heights mentioned above. My other blog http://www.sharescity.com/ brings in more money than this one, but even so it's nothing to write home about (which is why I'm writing about it here instead!) About $40 a month I guess. Clearly I'm doing something wrong, maybe I should start writing about something with a wider appeal and with not so much competition?

In actual fact the day job has been stopping me doing much, but the USA Today article inspired me to give it all some more thought.

Joel Comm, the author of The AdSense Code, says: "People are amazed. They say, 'Really, all I have to do is write, Google will put ads on my site and pay me?' Yes, it's that simple."

Yes, it is that simple, in theory, but the people who make the most money put in a lot of time setting up their site and providing lots of content.
Jerry Alonzy says "Write about what you know, write like mad and often. The more you write, the more opportunities you have to make money. If you post 500 pages on a topic, you'll have 500 pages with ads, and many more potential clicks." So maybe it's all just math?

So if you haven't tried it yet, give it a go. A blog is easier than a website and a blog with blogger is free. Just go to blogger.com and sign up. Whether you're retired or just want another way of making money there really is nothing to lose. With more and more advertising money being spent online there is certainly plenty of opportunity.

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Man Finds Diamond in Arkansas Field

Make Money Online - Man Finds Diamond In Arkansas (Not) - Update 18 March 2008

[Apparently it ain't so. The guy who 'found' the diamonds apparently put them there himself (see comment 3 below) - why would he do that ? Because he bought them from India (although it seems he also forgot to pay for them) then dropped them in the field in Arkansas and 'found' them, because these particular types of Arkansas diamonds are worth more than their equivalent Indian diamonds. The field does exist though and people do find diamonds there, just not the ones mentioned below.]

It can hardly be classified as making money online, but interesting nevertheless. A Wisconsin man found a 3.92-carat white diamond digging at an Arkansas diamond park with his fiancee on Tuesday. I didn't know such places existed ! We certainly haven't got any here in the UK.

Eric Blake, 32, of Appleton, Wis., found the stone at the Crater of Diamonds State Park when he put down a 70-pound bucket of mud he was carrying. He had already found a 1.49 carat stone on Monday.

The Crater of Diamonds in Arkansas is a place where you can look for diamonds with your family and you get to keep anything you find. It's unlikely to make you rich but it could be a fun day out for you and the kids or the fiancee.

Dallas Cowboys $275K Auction Blunder

Make Money Online - Dallas Cowboys Shoot Themselves in Both Feet!

Ever bought something on Ebay and wish you hadn't ? Well the Dallas Cowboys appear to have done something similar. In a recent domain name auction (an auction where you bid on domain names!) the Dallas Cowboys bought the domain name cowboy.com for the tidy sum of $275,000 . The only problem is that they thought they had bought if for $275 !

Apparently, when they got the invoice there was a big collective 'oops' ! So they asked if they could cancel the sale. This is all a bit odd however, as one commentator put it they probably make more than that in popcorn sales, so what's all the fuss about ?

And how could they possibly think they were buying it for $275 !? Are they nuts ? Can't they read? They apparently said that they were willing to go to $10,000 before the auction started. So who was in charge of the bidding ? It all sounds very strange to me.

Brett Daniels, the team's director for client services, confirmed the team had the winning bid.

However, after they discovered the domain name was for six-figures not three, they asked the seller if the sale could be voided.

The seller, however, seems to have his head screwed on right as he agreed to cancel the sale. He then sold it to someone else in the 'silent' auction for $370,000 ! Lol. Now why didn't the cowboys think of that ?

Publisher Wants Your Manuscript!

Make Money Writing Books!

What a novel idea.

If you think you might have what it takes to make money writing then you may be interested to learn that the publishing firm HarperCollins UK will be launching a website which will allow you to submit manuscripts for others to have a look at and pass coment on.

If you are fed up of receiving rejection slips then this might be novel way to find out if anybody actually likes what you write.

No more stuffing manuscripts into envelopes and waiting months. From early 2008 you will be able to upload your masterpieces to authonomy.com - the new HarperCollins website for aspiring novelists. You upload your manuscript, other people offer their considered opinion and HarpetCollins will have a look. They have guaranteed to consider the most popular scripts for publication.

Victoria Barnsley, of HarperCollins UK, said: "Very often we hear from budding new authors who tell us their script was loved by their family, book group or wide circle of friends.

"Authonomy is an opportunity for these authors to woo a large audience, get an army of support behind them, and really test whether their work has got what it takes to make it."

HarperCollins says the initiative is "groundbreaking".

We all know how difficult it is to be accepted by a publisher - Harry Potter author JK Rowling was rejected by a dozen publishers before Bloomsbury took her on and even they only printed 3000 copies of her first novel.

A HarperCollins spokeswoman said: "Authonomy will connect unpublished authors with keen, talent-spotting readers. The site will invite aspiring writers to upload their manuscripts for the community to discuss, debate and recommend to other readers."

So there you have it, what more could you want? If you think you have what it takes - amazing talent, blind optimism, a rich mum, total belief in your own ability to absorb criticism, then give it a shot. And if you make it into the big-time please remember who set you onto your road to fame and fortune !

Domain Names Live Auction Results

Make Money Online - Domain Name Live Auction Results

The results of the live auction organized by Moniker yesterday were a bit mixed, some big sales, but a fair number that didn't sell, the auctioneer seemed to rush through some of them without giving people enough time. Also the big one WallStreet.com didn't meet its reserve which was around $5 miilion. Some big .mobi sales though which seems to have taken second place behind the dotcoms poker.mobi going for $150,000 and ringtones.mobi for $145,000. One interesting observation Investment.com sold for $900,00 but OnlineInvestment.com only raised $9,000 . The 'silent online auction' is still ongoing.

The full list of the sales at the live auction :-

computer.com $2,200,000
investment.com $900,000
sportinggoods.com $450,000
cowboys.com $275,000
table.com $260,000
crosswordpuzzles.com $210,000
criminallawyers.com $195,000
promotion.com $170,000
bathingsuit.com $160,000
poker.mobi $150,000
ringtones.mobi $145,000
caribbeanvacations.com $130,000
newlyweds.com $130,000
singlesonline.com $125,000
news.mobi $110,000
manufacture.com $90,000
europeanvacations.com $85,000
moneylenders.com $75,000
races.com $75,000
autofinancing.com $70,000
automobileparts.com $70,000
dock.com $70,000
rapvideos.com $70,000
tuxedorental.com $65,000
amusement.com $60,000
organicfarms.com $57,500
fertilitydoctors.com $55,000
shopping.mobi $55,000
email.mobi $50,000
mucho.com $50,000
scientists.com $50,000
crow.com $48,300
mainelobsters.com $45,000
scores.mobi $33,000
buy.mobi $32,500
certifiedpublicaccountants.com $30,000
digitalcertificates.com $30,000
educationgrants.com $30,000
golfclubs.net $30,000
homestereo.com $30,000
incometaxreturn.com $30,000
reversetelephonedirectory.com $30,000
schoolteacher.com $28,000
cateringservice.com $27,000
chocolatecandy.com $26,500
homemortgagerates.com $26,000
christmasgiftbaskets.com $25,500
dogboarding.com $25,000
lottoresults.com $25,000
podcast.mobi $25,000
homebasedbusinesses.com $23,000
certifiedorganic.com $21,000
discounttours.com $21,000
helicoptercharter.com $21,000
luxuryyacht.com $20,000
idols.com $19,000
malpracticeattorneys.com $18,000
aircraftrental.com $17,500
bankauctions.com $17,500
cab.mobi $17,500
emmanuel.com $17,500
takepart.com $17,500
cysticfibrosis.org $17,000
industrialengineering.com $17,000
sattests.com $17,000
allergymedications.com $16,000
tollfreephonenumbers.com $16,000
truckloan.com $16,000
cemeteryplots.com $15,500
cholesterol.net $15,000
checkcashingservice.com $13,000
comicbookstore.com $13,000
emergencyloan.com $13,000
cash.mobi $12,500
lotto.info $12,500
audit.net $12,000
classiccarshows.com $12,000
DelawareInsurance.com $12,000
forsale.org $12,000
spaghettisauce.com $11,000
conventions.org $10,000
corgis.com $10,000
homeloanrates.com $10,000
ustrademarks.com $10,000
perch.com $9,500
onlineinvestment.com $9,000
designstudios.com $8,600
airlinetickets.org $8,500
software.info $8,500
businessclassairfares.com $8,000
cardstores.com $8,000
carraces.com $8,000
drugrehabilitationprogram.com $8,000
hospitals.us $8,000
pda.mobi $8,000
primaryeducation.com $8,000
zipcodes.mobi $8,000
discountairfares.net $7,500
discountpetsupply.com $7,500
electromagnets.com $7,500
repossessedcars.com $7,500
cabletelevision.net $7,000
concertticketsonline.com $7,000
chinesecheckers.com $6,500
cigarbars.com $6,000
goldplan.com $6,000
artdecofurniture.com $5,500
primeinterestrate.com $5,500
wifi.us $5,500
borrow.net $5,000
discountsoftware.net $5,000
energycompanies.com $5,000
federalgovernment.net $5,000
Motorpool.com $5,000
newyorkcitymuseums.com $5,000
bookclub.info $4,500
documenttranslation.com $4,500
lastminuteairfare.net $4,500
renoapartments.com $4,500
telephotolens.com $4,500
virtualofficespace.com $4,250
411information.com $4,000
deposit.net $4,000
downloadmovies.net $4,000
draftboard.com $4,000
exerciseclass.com $4,000
girlblog.com $4,000
publicopinionpolls.com $4,000
remodelingservices.com $4,000
pleasureyachts.com $3,750
BillyJean.com $3,500
discountcruises.org $3,500
southpadreislandrealestate.com $3,500
bill.mobi $3,000
mortgagepoints.com $2,700
employmentreferences.com $2,500
streetmaps.net $2,000
prepaidcellphonecards.com $750
speakerofthehouse.com $750
tickersymbols.info $750

DotMobi Auction Prices Success or Hogwash?

Make Money Online - DotMobi Auction Prices Success or Hogwash?

The dotMobi auction organized by Sedo, which finished a few days ago, was the first of its kind. 100 premium .mobi names were put up for auction, as previously reported

The ‘premium names’ on offer were a small selection of the 5,500 generic words used for domain names which were set aside by dotMobi before the launch of the domain extension in September 2006, to be allocated via publicized auctions and Request for Proposals (RFP) processes.

Dozens of names were sold at the online auction, for a total price of over $850,000.

The idea behind reserving 5,500 premium names, according to dotMobi, was that they should be allocated “in an equitable manner other than the traditional first-come first-served basis” and to :

1. Create a more level playing field in the allocation of these names
2. increase the likelihood that these domain names will more promptly provide the mobile community with new features and services
3. preserve the stability and security of registry operations

This strikes me as being a load of hogwash.

What is more egalitarian than ‘first come first served’ where a domain name costs between $10 and $30 ? Most people can afford $30, but not many can afford $30,000, so where is the level playing field?

It seems to me that the real idea behind reserving 5,500 ‘premium names’ was to make money for the people behind the scheme. There may be nothing wrong with that, it is after all the basis of capitalism, but let’s at least call things by their real name and not try to kid people that this was all done for their benefit.

If these names hadn’t been removed from the normal registration process then a webhosting company would have had the chance of picking up hosting.mobi for around $30, instead of which someone ended up paying $100K !

Up until now most domain names were bought initially by ‘domainers’ who chose to take the risk of investing in the potential of a name before anyone else thought there was any potential in it, with the intention of auctioning it off at a later stage to the highest bidder.

The only thing that dotMobi have done is prevent domainers getting there hands on the domain names (and also create a bit of excitement and hype by restricting access to names which normally would have been freely available to everyone). There is a clause in the auction that states that the domains must be developed, but they could have put the same clause in their terms and conditions without the need for an auction.

The highest selling names at the auction were hosting.mobi ($101,000), bank.mobi ($51,501), currency.mobi ($47,000) and insurance.mobi ($42,005).

So what has happened is that dotMobi have sold 100 premium names for a combined total of $850,000 whereas if they had sold them on that terrible traditional ‘first come first served’ basis, also known as the open market, they would have made about $3,000 ! So someone made an extra $847,000, paid for by people in the insurance industry, the webhosting industry, the banking industry etc… A nice wheeze !

It is, however, good to see (if you are interested in domain names that is) that the .mobi extension is now making inroads into the Internet, with companies like insurance.com paying $42,005 for the insurance.mobi name. Joe Singleton, Director of I.T. at Insurance.com stated that the long-term value of the mobile Internet is self-evident and that the .mobi domain will help them make their products and insurance comparisons more accessible. Was he not annoyed that he had to pay $42K for a name he migh thave got for $30 ? Apparently not.

David Ryder, dotMobi’s Chief Marketing Officer said "With more than 1.6 billion mobile users around the world …. brands are quickly realising that the audience for mobile content is enormous."

There will be a second auction on 31st October, with a third on 28th November.
Tim Schumacher, the Sedo CEO is very enthusiastic about the upcoming auctions "the results of this auction went beyond our expectations. We are now even more excited about our upcoming .mobi auction on 31 October when names like car.mobi, gps.mobi, gay.mobi, kiss.mobi, love.mobi and map.mobi will be available."



Quite apart from anything else it is a useful exercise to have a look through the lists to see what qualifies as a ‘premium name’ – for example ‘bottlenosedolphins’ is apparently a premium name, who would've though it (!), along with both ‘carpaltunnel’ and ‘carpeltunnel’ ! dotMobi cashing in on typos, what I wonder is the justification for that ?

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Changes on the Horizon for Parked Domains

Make Money Online for Beginners Changes on the Horizon for Parked Domains

Things are changing in the domain parking world. Initially parked domain sites were nothing more than a bland page showing a list of advertisers. Some sites are basically still the same, which means that as a way of making money online they are not particularly profitable.

However, as these pages are clearly not very appealing to any visitor who stumbles upon them, parking companies have realized they have to do something to make them more interesting and enticing.

TrafficZ is designing a new system that will be rolled out in the first quarter of 2008. This new system will allow clients to totally customize their landing pages. They will be able to change every element on the page using a drag and drop interface. What they are planning is apparently far in advance of what is currently available on the market, although of course the market is changing day by day so by the time we get to 2008 their system may be very similar to what others are also offering.

Kevin Vo said that TrafficZ intends to give users pages that provide something useful, to encourage them to stick around. "We think the evolution of the parking page is only going to get more complex and that people are going to want to create their own page templates."

Eventually the idea is to have parked pages that are virtually indistinguishable from true websites. I'm sure this is what a large number of domainers are looking for, particularly those like myself who do not have the skills or even the time (bear in mind that some domainers have a portfolio of hundreds or thousands of domain names) to develop their own website

So it looks like the future is bright for domainers as we can look forward to our cherished parked domains having more and more features to interest visitors and hopefully bring in even more money !

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.Mobi Domain Name Auction Update

Make Money Online - .Mobi Domain Name Auction Update

The Sedo .mobi auction is drawing to a close - only a couple of hours to go -

The highest price bid is still $30,000 for loans.mobi but other names have received increased bids ask.mobi is now at $19,750 credit cards . mobi and insurance .mbi are both up to $18,000 hello.mobi at $19,500 and wifi.mobi at $19,000 haven't moved.

So it will be interesting to see if there is a last minute flurry of activity like there is at eBay

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