Hits, Speed Traps and Twitter, Oh My!

Image by Kramchang via Flickr

My experiment with signing up for Twitter is limping along. Occasionally I log on and post a few 140-character bits of flotsam. I am sure the experts would tell me that I am using Twitter wrong, despite having a handful of followers from who knows where or why. If I really knew how to use the social media sensation to my utmost advantage, I would be gathering hundreds or thousands of hits per day. Adsense users count on those hits to gain income, although I don’t know anyone making a living with it. And I do not do advertising on my blog, which is probably stupid of me. I have tried doing an affiliate thing with Artella Words & Art, but I keep losing my password to post deals for neat art projects. All this is a lead in for the first website I want to mention this week:

If you have tried to make money from the Internet, you’ve probably been lured to sites selling inside information about “optimizing keywords” and such. There are hundreds of such services, just waiting to sign you up or sell you a book. Well now, you might be very happy to know that CyberScribbles has uncovered what might be the best way to increase your website’s (or blog’s) hits, thus increasing its potential income value. I discovered Internet Famo.us during my weekly surf. Internet Famo.us (http://internetfamo.us/) is a real, bona fide, bricks & mortar course offered at Parson’s New School of Design in New York City. This class offering teaches the “art and science of getting hits” and students are instructed to build from scratch a website that will achieve a viral or cult-like status. The site they build does not have to be “quality.” Most of what’s popular on the internet—and we’re talking general audience, of course– today is not earthshaking. This Parson’s class appears to be way more interesting than learning keyword tips or search engine optimization. I’m not suggesting you drop everything and head to NYC to take this class. Just log on to the site and get a gyst of the coursework. It is sure to be copied by other intsitutions of higher learning very soon. Check out Internet Famo.us. You’ll see that current enrollees are having a blast learning the tricks to become an internet sensation.

While we are on the subject of getting hits and making money, aim your browser toward the Make Money Fast Hall of Humiliation (www.mmfhoh.org/). It will bring you down from your dream cloud real fast, especially if you are about to fall for one of the hundreds of scams waiting to snag the unsuspecting.

Some readers will be taking vacation road trips this summer, so it might be a good thing to know about Speedtrap.org. Use the java menu to plug in a town’s name and in a blink of an eye you’ll see a screen that alerts you to the speed traps planted by local or state police. These days, no one needs the burden of a hefty speeding ticket, so bookmark this site and use it, if possible, on your wifi-enabled smart phone. (www.speedtrap.org).

Trivia, Pop the Question, Cool Work

John Lennon via last.fm

June has turned out to be a disappointment to beachgoers thus far. The cool, cloudy days seem more appropriate for indoor activities, and among them, surfing or playing video games. Most of what I discovered this week is nonessential, so bookmark what you want and leave the rest behind.

I guess if you are at a loss at conversation, memorizing pages full of Unnecessary Knowledge at www.ukno.com will give you an arsenal of silly things to talk about. For example, you can tell friends that John Lennon’s first girlfriend was named Thelma Pickles. It took me two clicks of my mouse to decide to run off in a different direction on the Internet.

All of you who lurk at this column but still refuse to touch a computer must at least have a little bit of curiosity about what’s happening online, right? Will You Marry Me is a spot that shows ordinary people and techies actually, truly, honestly proposing marriage. And why not use the technology to surprise your sweetheart? Will You Marry Me (http://willyoumarrymekc.com) is the project of one young man who is serious about wanting to marry K.C. And the real K.C., whoever she is, has not, after almost 300 days of this online project, responded. The webmaster, whose name I could not find, wants everyone who has found his website to spread the word about his proposal, so that K.C will discover this website. Meanwhile, the site has posted others’ out-of-the-ordinary online proposals. The creative souls wanting to impress their sweethearts have embedded the Big Question in webcams, video games, twitter, and lolcat, among others. As the webmaster/proposer puts it, his site is like a “message in a bottle tossed into the Internet ocean.” Now that is an excellent metaphor.

It’s not too late to find a summer job, according to the folks at Coolworks. This is a site I found at least six years ago, and I’m delighted to see that they are still up and running. However, it appears that there are fewer jobs posted on the site now. Coolworks (www.coolworks.com) focuses mostly on seasonal jobs in state and national parks, outdoor campgrounds, and the like. It’s a place for adventurers and those who don’t want to stay in one place all their lives. And while the summer positions in lodges and resorts may be all filled by the time you read this, there will be listings for fall and winter jobs. Plus, you can bookmark this site and keep checking back for the newest updates.

From Coolworks, I learned about the Backpack Gear Test (www.backpackgeartest.org) where you can become a tester and use the product for six months. And yes, there are other outdoor adventure type products ready for testing. If you are planning a wilderness hike or something similar, and if you are cash-strapped, you can have your cake and eat it, too. Become a tester and write reviews. Charlie and Natalie, are you listening?

TED: Internet Wonderland

Police Sketches, Lucky Mojo, Think Geek

Image via Wikipedia

I became attached to a few new websites this week. One of those sites lets a person create their own police sketches. Although it did not say, I would guess that this same Flash program is used by police departments with decent computers to input descriptions from crime scene witnesses. Since the program is available online free, any of us can use it to play with. Unfortunately, I did not take the time to print my sketchwork. If I go back and waste more time drawing sketches, you will know it. I promise to post one of my masterpieces on the CyberScribbles blog. If you, too, want to waste time drawing creepy sketches, go to http://flashface.ctapt.de.

Another stopping point for me was a lesser-known shopping site for stuff that no one really needs. There must have been more than thirty categories of stuff, and I clicked on more than twenty of those links. I was fascinated with the window-shopping experience. Maybe it was the Yodeling Pickle. Can you think of a time in your life when you would have need of this item? Admit it. If you have ever given a boring presentation to a large group whose communal body language said, “We are sleepy,” then you would find it the perfect opportunity to bring your audience to attention with the Yodeling Pickle. Now multiply that weird shopping item by 300 or more, and voila! You’ll have wasted a good chunk of time (like me) perusing the “I want, but I don’t need” bonanza of products. This web experience is aptly named Perpetual Kid. Find it at www.perpetualkid.com. Yes, bacon lovers. You will find many bacon-related items. Be sure to pick up a supply of bacon bandages while you visit.

Speaking of shopping sites, Think Geek (www.thinkgeek.com) will be happy to sell you a WiFi finder t-shirt, among other goodies. My personal favorite is the Personal Soundtrack t-shirt. It has a scaled-down speaker on its front and the remote control can be programmed with your own tunes and sound effects, or use can use the pre-programmed ones. I want one of these for my son, Brian. Brian is a music lover and worker extraordinaire at Rusty’s Morningstar Ranch for Adults with Autism. I was surprised at the prices of these shirts—more reasonable than I expected. There’s lots more Geek stuff here for you to look at. And perhaps buy.

Okay, here we go with another shopping site, although all it did for me is get my mind stirred up. Lucky Mojo (www.luckymojo.com) is the real deal for those looking to use questionable means to, um, heal from a variety of unhappy situations. I spent a little time in the site’s Amulet Archive, one of many rooms in this darkly magical mansion of mojo. When you log on, you might think you are at another Perpetual Kid-type site. But then you will discover that some folks take this stuff way seriously. But for the rest of us, we can shake our solid and stable Midwestern heads and marvel at the stock of merchandise for sale here.

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Raining Cookbooks on 47th St

Image by bluespf42 via Flickr

You know that summer is just around the corner when we hit Memorial Day. As for those of us who have spent too much of our spare time trolling the Internet or playing video games, the outdoors now beckons. I will continue to scan and write about websites, but remember, the beach is calling. Be sure to add a big dose of natural vitamin D from at least twenty minutes outdoors each day. The computer can wait, unless you are searching for recipes for the holiday weekend’s cookout. If so, keep reading.

Is it Going to Rain? (http://goingtorain.com/). You missed the weather forecast and you have been waiting for a good time to feed your lawn without burning it. Instead of a high water bill, fire up the computer and head to this site. It will tell you, simply and directly, whether to go ahead or to plan a different project.

Hatch a Plot with Hatch’s Plot Bank (www.angelfire.com/nc/tcrpress/). So you want to write a novel or screenplay, but are stuck. This handy website is a writer’s dream, because it lists more than 2000 ideas for plots for your next great American novel. It is just one of many writer’s tools available on the ‘Net. Let this one help you get started.

Food and Recipe Histories (http://adambalic.typepad.com). This British contribution to worthy websites is unlike any I’ve come across. Adam, the creator of this site, fed his curiosity about jumps across cultures of specific recipes. The history researched here is extensive and anything but boring. I applaud the writer’s depth of reporting. Examples include two variations of haggis, plus origins of the Hot Pot and other interesting tidbits. The haggis preparation is broken down step by step, with accompanying photos. After reading about the ingredients and preparation, you might find that your appetite has taken a long, long sabbatical. But if you can get beyond the haggis, you will discover lots of more appetizing recipes that are traditional to Great Britain.

101 Cookbooks (www.101cookbooks.com). One Heidi Swanson delivers her opinions about dozens of cookbooks, and brings to us bunches and bunches of healthy recipes and menu ideas. Unfortunately, Heidi has not discovered Sue Spitler’s many cookbooks. Maybe someone needs to tell Heidi to include them.

Recipe Bridge (www.recipebridge.com).As you prepare for the cookout this holiday weekend, you can search for any recipe by name, ingredients, or meal and be given not one, but sometimes dozens of recipes for the same dish, all from various sources. I searched for “diet cabbage soup” and this nifty search engine found me 15 different recipes. And no, the cabbage soup is not for the holiday cookout.

Everything 47 (www.47.net/47society). Now I have seen just about everything. A website by and for fans of the “quintessential random number, 47.” I did not spend much time looking around. I clicked on, and quickly off, a discussion of Pomona College’s fascination with what some of us see as no more than reminders of middle age.

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