Today is a good day. I feel rested and it’s 6:36AM. I’m going to write a bit before going outside and training.
So I’ve been getting an increasing number of e-mails lately which advertise search engine optimization (SEO) services, guest post writers who want to gift me a FREE guest post in exchange for a link to their website…
Anyway this isn’t a complaint. This is exactly what happens to websites which gain popularity, and I’m stoked about it. Granted, I only get like 25 visitors a day, but I think this is a small start to something that can become huge.
I’m writing every day, and posting nothing. What happens when the floodgates open in two years and all these scheduled articles begin to post? I’d like to think that there are people out there who can relate to what I write, and may benefit from it even if it’s only for entertainment.
I’d like to think that people would find my struggles and internal dialog interesting enough to where they would tune in on occasion just to see what the fuck is going through my mind.
I don’t know how big or small a market like this is, but as I’ve already demonstrated, the existing content on my blog is worth about 25 views a day. The writing I’ve been doing is from my heart, that’s got to be worth about 5 additional views a day? LOL I have no idea.
My point is that I wonder if I can monetize this. Right now, my blog brings in nothing. It cost me $15 or $20 a month, I can’t remember which. I just checked, it’s $10 a month. Bottom line is that my blog cost me money right now. Is there a point in the future where I net $0 a month because I can monetize the blog somehow?
I use amazon affiliate links on occasion. So far that has been fruitless, with a grant total of $0 brought in via Amazon. I suppose I haven’t had $0 overall, since I have gained perks in the past via the referral links. I’m talking like 2 a year. My purse referral link had the most clicks in 2017. I probably had 5 purse referral links which was very appreciated.
I don’t know if those clicks were via my website or my youtube channel, though. I’d be more likely to believe that it was from youtube, probably from my openbazaar tutorial videos.
I was thinking of making more youtube videos. Good ones. Like greenscreen or high quality tutorials. I get a lot of views on youtube in comparison to my blog.
There’s not much reason for people to visit my blog. I think my most popular articles are for the radioshack USB controller in which I freely offer the driver for download. That’s a pretty cool feeling that I have one of the few websites which preserves said driver. I literally went on eBay and bought another controller new in box just so I could get the CD and share it online. The traffic from that post has been excellent, but I’ve failed to monetize it.
I first tried the type of link which contains an ad between the click and the download, but doing that gave me a terrible feeling. Those websites suck, they’re intrusive, sometimes maliciously so. I removed the link and just went back to a direct link to the .zip. I figured people would start to circumvent the adwall anyway, by simply sharing the direct link on my blog to the .zip on game forums, etc.
Next I’ve tried amazon affiliate marketing. That post has a bunch of suggested USB controllers and nerd merchandise which can be purchased on Amazon. Any sales generated by those links gives me a small kickback. Again, I haven’t seen any clicks on those sorts of things.
I wonder if everybody runs adblock? They wouldn’t even see those affilliate links if they do. I don’t blame them for running adblock. I run it. Most ads are stupid and there’s got to be a better way.
I like the ideas that Open Index Protocol is suggesting for content monetization. Download my file, and it cost you exactly $0.01 in Bitcoin. That’s the shit, right there. I could make some money that way, and I don’t think I would get any complaints for the much desired content which is just a penny.
OIP is a ways off. I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes vaporware. Right now all I’m hearing is a bunch of promises from them. An actual working product worth it’s salt is easier said than done. In the cryptocurrency/decentralized/distributed/censorship resistant space, I’m skeptical of just about everything.
OpenBazaar taught me so very well. I had so much faith in OpenBazaar at the start. I listed dozens of items. I promoted it via a series of YouTube tutorials. I bought the T-Shirt.
OpenBazaar is shit. I don’t want to get into it. It’s shit and I hope they shut down their company. The way they promote and promise and underdeliver and underperform again and again is so consistent that I don’t see any future for them.
I’ve written so many times about OpenBazaar that I really don’t want to get into it again.
My point is that the companies that seem to revolve around this sort of new web 3.0 technology are so flakey. It seems incredibly hard as shit to create a web 3.0 product which is worth using. My complaints come from a user perspective, based on reasonable expectations of how a website should work in 2020. Web 3.0 products don’t yet compare in performance or usability metrics, so yeah, I’m going to bitch until they work well enough to be worth sharing.
I wonder if this topic will be relevant in 2020 when this article publishes? It’ll be interesting to find out!
Blast from the past! Are Web 3.0 products a pain in the ass to use in 2022?
I’ve been thinking that perhaps I should write more content which is scheduled for a 2020 release. Doing so might improve my search engine optimization. It would keep my content fresh and new. Maybe once a week? Maybe even once every few weeks. The thing is, I don’t know what I would write about. Perhaps ongoing projects? Projects like precious-data would be nice to write about.
That project is coming along nicely. I really like the feature of being able to download by set name abbreviation. For example, if I want to download the entire p-memories Hatsune Miku set data, I can just run the command,
$ ./p-data.js rip -s 'HMK'
In a few minutes after running this command, I have one image and one json file per card in the set. It’s a very nice feature!
That reminds me, I just reinstalled my operating system, so now I gotta install atom editor again.
I’m surprised that the installation of Pop_OS! went so smoothly. I did run into one problem where the installer couldn’t install the OS, which I fixed by running GParted and manually formatting the SSD I was to install on, followed by a reboot.
TEMPHUiBIS‘s birthday is tomorrow. I just checked the time zone comparison via timeanddate.com and it looks like 4PM today is 12PM on the 4th of March in London. I’ll have to chime in an send a tweet to TEMPH at that time today.
I don’t have any budget for gifts this time. Sometimes I like to surprise him with gift money, but it’s just not in the budget this time. I just maxed out my second credit card, so it’s not happening!
To be honest, I don’t know why I follow TEMPHUiBIS anymore. I followed him originally because he made quality vlogs and SUPERB electronic music. He vlogs a few times a year now, and doesn’t produce any music. Perhaps I can relate to him so well because he was in a similar living situation to myself, and he seems to be figuring out what he wants to do with his life.
His vlogs are excellent. He’s genuine, passionate, and creative. Lately he’s gotten big into Taekwondo and MMA. I’m only slightly interested in both, a big part due to being a JRE fan.
I remember back in the day I would just watch a TEMPHUiBIS vlog no matter the video length. He’s a cool dude and a nice guy and he kept me company.
The strange thing is, I have never talked to him. I claimed social anxiety for the several times when TEMPH wanted to Skype me. He just didn’t want to type all the time. I don’t think he’s a touch typist so voice chat is so much easier for him.
I admit, I was a bit envious of TEMPHUiBIS. He seemed so free when he talked to people. Uninhibited, and accepting of himself. For fucks sake, is slogan is, “love who you are.” Apparently he has that part of his life sorted out, whereas I’m over here feeling self conscious about myself. I was a bit envious of his music as well. His tracks have an amazing flow, and I would comment that, “Your music is what I would make if I were good at making music.”
The tables have sort of turned in that regard. I make music more often than TEMPHUiBIS. It’s still not as good as TEMPHUiBIS’s music, but I think I’m making progress.
I got a $3 offer on a Weiss Schwarz card which is worth like $0.10. What an idiot! I keep getting these offers from people which are good for me, but bad for them. I have the desire to want to shame the buyer, but that’s the opposite of customer service 101.
“You’re an idiot. Thank you!”
There is no greater power than the desire of the dedicated Otaku. Apparently.
I had a customer who paid $26 for three p-memories cards. Insanity! I’m so shocked and disgusted at the blatant lack of frugality, yet I’m so happy because this gives me hope that I can live the way I want to live.
I can do e-commerce in my bedroom and there are people who will support me and buy the consumer bullshit that I sell!
I have to be careful of this. I want to switch this emotion that I have when people buy from me, because they really are supporting me. I want to practice opposite action which is a process I learned in group therapy. Opposite action lists steps to change an emotion when I’m experiencing an emotion that I want to change.
I gotta find my worksheet because I can’t remember the steps.
- What is the problem?
I’m experiencing anger. I’m angry at my customers for being loose with their money.
2. Check the facts to make sure you have the right problem.
Oh now I gotta go to a sub-set worksheet to check the facts!
a. what is the emotion I want to change? anger
b. what is the event prompting my emotion? a customer buying my high-priced product
c. what are my interpretations, thoughts, and assumptions about the event?
I interpret this as the person is throwing their money away. They are not being responsible with their money and they are bad with money and probably working a shitty job and not saving for their future.
d. Am I assuming a threat?
Sorta. I assume that I might mimick their behavior and spend money unwisely. It may rub off on me. I can think of only myself.
e. What’s the catastrophe?
There is no catastrophe. They are spending their money, not mine!
f. Does my emotion and/or its intensity fit the actual facts?
No. I’m assuming the role of seller, and sellers exist to sell goods or services and make a profit. I am acting according to the role of the seller, which is completely normal and healthy and I should not feel angry for making a good sale.
Back to opposite action.
3. What is a realistic short-term goal of your problem solving?
My short term goal would be to thank the buyer for buying my cards. I appreciate them and they keep me going on my path of e-commerce. It is only because they buy that I am able to continue to do what I do.
4. Brainstorm solutions.
- Their actions are not my actions.
- They might be foolish with their money, but that doesn’t mean I have to follow their example.
- I can meditate and reassess my own money handling. I can check the facts and see if I am foolish spender.
- I can act with love instead of hate.
38. My past does not define my future, I do.
98. I have a purpose that I am fulfilling.
4. I can and I will do things to promote healing in my life.
