Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Free Summer Concerts in New York, brought to you from Saipan!
In 2005, while I was living in New York, I started a website called www.FreeSummerConcerts.com It was spawned by my own desire to keep track of all the free events all around the city. I figured if I found such a tool helpful, others would too.
So, I did my research, I compiled all the events around the city, input them into a database, and modified a shopping cart perl script to extract the events and send them to the list of subscribers to the site. The idea went over pretty well, the mailing list of subscribers grew, and I did it again the next year! Now in its third year, FreeSummerConcerts is really taking off! Demand has forced me to add New Jersey events to the database, and I've just announced a contest with a prize of a free paperback copy of Turn Your Passion Into Profit to the person who refers the most new subscribers to the site.
I didn't want to charge a fee for the service, so it's completely free, and the site generates income from the Google links on the site which people use to find other touristy and summer fun New York things to do.
So this year, thanks to the power and global reach of the Internet, I can be here compiling information from a beach in the North Pacific.... |  |
and still be able to help people some 7,778 miles (12517 km) away in New York have a nice time for their summer!
|  |
Hmmmm... .I just had a thought. Since I got these two concert images from an artist website and a blog I stumbled upon while searching for Summerstage images, I should reach out the NY blogger community to help spread the word about www.FreeSummerConcerts.com. One more thing to add to my task list! If you're a blogger with a nice sized New York audience, why not post a link to FreeSummerConcerts, and I'll link to your blog from the FreeSummerconcerts home page. It's a PR3 site, but that should change in a few weeks!(Click on a 'Label' category above to read all the posts in that category)
Monday, May 21, 2007
Seven Random Facts about ME? Tag!
Wow! This is a more challenging exercise than I thought it would be. David Khorram "tagged" me with this.
Here are the rules of the game:
Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their seven things, as well as these rules. You need to choose four people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they have been tagged and to read your blog!
Here's where I get stuck! I keep thinking that if I'm going to write something, that there's got to be a purpose for it; something that benefits others. So then, I ask myself:
What do I want to share?
Do I use this as a confessional? (to help people relate)
Do I use it to simply list my goals?
Do I use it to show how unique I am?
Do I use it as the basis of my weekly column?
Is this a gift from the universe to help me write my next book?
Will it end up being the most important things I want people to know about me?
Do I mention my SAT scores like Angelo did? Do I mention my world view like David did? (Of course, once I start to do that, it surely will morph into a book). I think my life is already a pretty open book, so what can I write that hasn't already been included in my books and blogs?
As a writer, I don't like to write stuff that's already been written, by
my or anyone else. So I keep thinking that it has to be new.
To make it comprehensive, and of some value to the next person I tag, I'm searching for a template I can use: One belief. One expectation. One like. One dislike. One demand. One fear. And one truly random thought. That sounds fair enough. Let's go with that.
But, then I think, wait, if I'm really a student of personal growth, a seeker towards being an adept, then I know that my beliefs are really my certainties and my reality. I really have no fears, just awarenesses. I really have no expectations, since I strive to give up expectations since they are the basis of all unhappiness. I neither like nor dislike anything with any intensity that controls me. I don't demand but work towards tolerance and acceptance of what is. And I accept that everyone is pretty much doing the best they can with the purpose of doing what they came here to do, so I have no judgments.
I don't think this exercise was meant to be this difficult, so I think the challenge here is for me to get out of guru mode and just talk about MYSELF in ways that don't necessarily teach anything to anyone. But who wants to read that I like chocolate ice cream (soy-based, of course).
So I guess if I resign myself to the fact that it won't be anything definitive, life changing, or profound, but merely what's closest to the surface right now, I can offer these
SEVEN RANDOM FACTS ABOUT WALT:
1. I believe in magic.
By that I mean that we all have the real ability to influence events and reality in truly remarkable ways. Our awareness of that power has been suppressed. We occasionally get glimpses of it. Uh-oh, I'm doing it again. These should be random facts about me. OK. Cut!! Rewrite!!
1. I can do magic.
By that I mean that I have the real ability to influence events and reality in truly remarkable ways. My awareness of that power is being expanded. I can read minds, see the future, manipulate events, live in alternate realities and construct concurrent realities of my choosing in ways that usually impress, but sometimes frighten and intimidate people.
2. I fear rejection.
But I have my "mojo macdaddy moments."
3. I like cats.
quiet, soft and independent...I like my cats and my w--um, better just leave it there....
4. I once helped a chicken hatch out of its shell.
When I was about 7, I was living with my grandmother in Old Harbour, Jamaica. We raised chickens for the eggs. One Particular hen was sitting on 6 eggs. I eagerly waited the 21 days for the eggs to hatch. At roughly the same time, five of the six eggs hatched. One egg didn't. My grandmother had me crawl into the coop, retrieve the egg so she could check it out. We could hear the chicken inside chirping faintly. It was too small and weak to break free on its own. I helped free the little, wet, weak chicken from its shell. My grandmother told me it would grow up to be a cock. (hens are usually yellow, cocks are black). And sure enough, that little chicken I named Percy, grew up to be a strong, loud, leader of the yard for many years.
5. I pick up new languages easily. I can speak English (I think), Spanish, and recently enough Mandarin to raise eyebrows.
I also know a few words in Russian, Italian.
6. I believe that there is a revolution afoot that's not being reported. Soon, however, it will of its own reach critical mass and the current agenda will be subverted. (but I'll save that one for the next book)
7. I am a wanderer, here to assist with the transition.
Whew!
p.s. And, I got a 1310 (out of 1600) on my SAT!
I'll tag Cinta, Carl, Franicia, and Melissa(Click on a 'Label' category above to read all the posts in that category)
Here are the rules of the game:
Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their seven things, as well as these rules. You need to choose four people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they have been tagged and to read your blog!
Here's where I get stuck! I keep thinking that if I'm going to write something, that there's got to be a purpose for it; something that benefits others. So then, I ask myself:
What do I want to share?
Do I use this as a confessional? (to help people relate)
Do I use it to simply list my goals?
Do I use it to show how unique I am?
Do I use it as the basis of my weekly column?
Is this a gift from the universe to help me write my next book?
Will it end up being the most important things I want people to know about me?
Do I mention my SAT scores like Angelo did? Do I mention my world view like David did? (Of course, once I start to do that, it surely will morph into a book). I think my life is already a pretty open book, so what can I write that hasn't already been included in my books and blogs?
As a writer, I don't like to write stuff that's already been written, by
my or anyone else. So I keep thinking that it has to be new.
To make it comprehensive, and of some value to the next person I tag, I'm searching for a template I can use: One belief. One expectation. One like. One dislike. One demand. One fear. And one truly random thought. That sounds fair enough. Let's go with that.
But, then I think, wait, if I'm really a student of personal growth, a seeker towards being an adept, then I know that my beliefs are really my certainties and my reality. I really have no fears, just awarenesses. I really have no expectations, since I strive to give up expectations since they are the basis of all unhappiness. I neither like nor dislike anything with any intensity that controls me. I don't demand but work towards tolerance and acceptance of what is. And I accept that everyone is pretty much doing the best they can with the purpose of doing what they came here to do, so I have no judgments.
I don't think this exercise was meant to be this difficult, so I think the challenge here is for me to get out of guru mode and just talk about MYSELF in ways that don't necessarily teach anything to anyone. But who wants to read that I like chocolate ice cream (soy-based, of course).
So I guess if I resign myself to the fact that it won't be anything definitive, life changing, or profound, but merely what's closest to the surface right now, I can offer these
SEVEN RANDOM FACTS ABOUT WALT:
1. I believe in magic.
By that I mean that we all have the real ability to influence events and reality in truly remarkable ways. Our awareness of that power has been suppressed. We occasionally get glimpses of it. Uh-oh, I'm doing it again. These should be random facts about me. OK. Cut!! Rewrite!!
1. I can do magic.
By that I mean that I have the real ability to influence events and reality in truly remarkable ways. My awareness of that power is being expanded. I can read minds, see the future, manipulate events, live in alternate realities and construct concurrent realities of my choosing in ways that usually impress, but sometimes frighten and intimidate people.
2. I fear rejection.
But I have my "mojo macdaddy moments."
3. I like cats.
quiet, soft and independent...I like my cats and my w--um, better just leave it there....
4. I once helped a chicken hatch out of its shell.
When I was about 7, I was living with my grandmother in Old Harbour, Jamaica. We raised chickens for the eggs. One Particular hen was sitting on 6 eggs. I eagerly waited the 21 days for the eggs to hatch. At roughly the same time, five of the six eggs hatched. One egg didn't. My grandmother had me crawl into the coop, retrieve the egg so she could check it out. We could hear the chicken inside chirping faintly. It was too small and weak to break free on its own. I helped free the little, wet, weak chicken from its shell. My grandmother told me it would grow up to be a cock. (hens are usually yellow, cocks are black). And sure enough, that little chicken I named Percy, grew up to be a strong, loud, leader of the yard for many years.
5. I pick up new languages easily. I can speak English (I think), Spanish, and recently enough Mandarin to raise eyebrows.
I also know a few words in Russian, Italian.
6. I believe that there is a revolution afoot that's not being reported. Soon, however, it will of its own reach critical mass and the current agenda will be subverted. (but I'll save that one for the next book)
7. I am a wanderer, here to assist with the transition.
Whew!
p.s. And, I got a 1310 (out of 1600) on my SAT!
I'll tag Cinta, Carl, Franicia, and Melissa(Click on a 'Label' category above to read all the posts in that category)
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Everything I Ever Learned About Internet Selling I Learned from Ron Paul
People are Digging this story! (opens in a new window)
OK, so maybe that title is a bit of an exaggeration, but here's where the thought originated.
This morning, I was reading a recent New York Times article on successful independent musicians who are using the internet to launch, advance and sustain viable musical careers, and earn respectable incomes that would not have been possible just a few years ago.
They're calling this new breed of of creative "Artist 2.0" reflecting the new paradigm of marketing and selling being ushered in by technology. It confirms much of what I talk about in my article entitled "Record Label of the Future" which you can read here or here )
Immediately after reading that article, my blog buddy Angelo, over there at The Saipan Blogger emailed me with what's been happening with visits to his blog since "endorsing" Ron Paul. Since I don't own a television, read the paper, or follow politics, I discovered just this morning who Ron Paul is.
If I didn't know better I would think he was an internet marketing guru leading by example.
A visit to the ronpaul2008 website reveals links to other Ron Paul online sites on
YouTube,
MySpace,
Flickr,
Facebook,
Digg and
Eventful.
He
uses cafepress to sell merchandise,
embeds videos hosted on YouTube,
uses a typepad blog for daily updates from Ron world
highlights a testimonial page invoking the power of third
party endorsements to build credibility....
...all the necessary marketing power, brand-building techniques and networking channels any online seller needs to harness and exploit in order to reach the widest number of people, enroll them in whatever it is you're selling, and empower them to spread the word! This is fascinating.
They're calling this Politics 2.0.
With donations and votes as the end game, this new paradigm in the quest for political power is eerily similar to selling just about anything on the web.
This is the model that many of the presidential candidates are adopting as they advance along the campaign trail. It's proving that political careers like music careers can be launched, advanced and sustained without one ever leaving the security and comfort of one's computer keyboard. It adds credibility to those means of communication and networking that you may have thought were just for teens with too much time on their hands.
With politicians, passionpreneurs and the general public all vying for web traffic, expanded social networks, reciprocal links and myspace "friends" as key determinants to their success and happiness, what more encouragement do you need for using the power of the internet for growing your sideline business?
Just about everything you need to know about internet selling, you can learn from Ron Paul, or you can check out
Walt's QuickStart Manual.
NOTE: This post itself is an experiment in the power of internet selling and search engine positioning. Perhaps I'll make this a continuing featuring drawing parallels between the world of online selling and the world of online campaigning. What do you think?
Visit DIGG to see how People are Digging this story! (opens in a new window)
OK, so maybe that title is a bit of an exaggeration, but here's where the thought originated.
This morning, I was reading a recent New York Times article on successful independent musicians who are using the internet to launch, advance and sustain viable musical careers, and earn respectable incomes that would not have been possible just a few years ago.
They're calling this new breed of of creative "Artist 2.0" reflecting the new paradigm of marketing and selling being ushered in by technology. It confirms much of what I talk about in my article entitled "Record Label of the Future" which you can read here or here )
Immediately after reading that article, my blog buddy Angelo, over there at The Saipan Blogger emailed me with what's been happening with visits to his blog since "endorsing" Ron Paul. Since I don't own a television, read the paper, or follow politics, I discovered just this morning who Ron Paul is.
If I didn't know better I would think he was an internet marketing guru leading by example.
A visit to the ronpaul2008 website reveals links to other Ron Paul online sites on
He
party endorsements to build credibility....
...all the necessary marketing power, brand-building techniques and networking channels any online seller needs to harness and exploit in order to reach the widest number of people, enroll them in whatever it is you're selling, and empower them to spread the word! This is fascinating.
They're calling this Politics 2.0.
With donations and votes as the end game, this new paradigm in the quest for political power is eerily similar to selling just about anything on the web.
This is the model that many of the presidential candidates are adopting as they advance along the campaign trail. It's proving that political careers like music careers can be launched, advanced and sustained without one ever leaving the security and comfort of one's computer keyboard. It adds credibility to those means of communication and networking that you may have thought were just for teens with too much time on their hands.
With politicians, passionpreneurs and the general public all vying for web traffic, expanded social networks, reciprocal links and myspace "friends" as key determinants to their success and happiness, what more encouragement do you need for using the power of the internet for growing your sideline business?
Just about everything you need to know about internet selling, you can learn from Ron Paul, or you can check out
Walt's QuickStart Manual.
NOTE: This post itself is an experiment in the power of internet selling and search engine positioning. Perhaps I'll make this a continuing featuring drawing parallels between the world of online selling and the world of online campaigning. What do you think?
Visit DIGG to see how People are Digging this story! (opens in a new window)
Labels: Sideline Business Tips
(Click on a 'Label' category above to read all the posts in that category)Thursday, May 10, 2007
Passionpreneur Profile: Mark Oristano, photographer
Today's passionpreneur profile is of actor/photographer
Mark Oristano
"I'm very lucky. I've been able to combine two of my life's great passions, acting and photography, into a very satisfying career," says the talented Dallas photographer
"My photography career actually began in 1973, when I shot sideline film at Dallas Cowboys games. That led to a 30-year career as a sportscaster, where I worked with such well-known broadcasters as Verne Lundquist, Ron Franklin, Dave Barnett, and Oprah Winfrey. I was part of the Cowboys radio broadcast team for Super Bowl XXX at the end of the 1995 NFL season."
Mark's true passions, however, were always acting and photography. But he'd always done both only part-time while doing sportscasting/announcing on a Dallas morning radio show full time.
However, following 9/11, a pivotal time when he, like many, reevaluated their lives, their dreams and passions, Mark decided to walk away from his "successful career" to pursue his own definition of success and happiness full time, rather than as just a sideline. (get it, sideline? sports? I'm proud of that one!)
Mark's photographyh work has appeared in the Dallas Morning-News, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Dallas Observer, the Dallas Voice, American Theatre Magazine and elsewhere. He's also been contracted by law firms and other companies for
executive portraits.
As an actor himself, he brings a unique perspective to his work for fellow actors. So, if your passion is acting, modeling, one of the first things you'll need are good photos. So, if you're in the Dallas area (or if you don't mind traveling!) visit Mark first online at www.markoristano-photographer.com
Labels: Passionpreneur Profile, Story of the Week, text links
(Click on a 'Label' category above to read all the posts in that category)Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Jamaican In Saipan! (Download free ebook!)
This is the pre-publication release of my latest book entitled uniquely enough, Jamaican in Saipan (I didn't have to stretch the imagination too much for that one!) It includes photos, stories, analyses, and observations that are NOT in the blog, and a RAT STORY that I only told my friends back in New York. Here's some of the feeback so far:
"I loved reading it. Once I started i couldn't put it down. I love the cover.........it's so Saipanish and eye catchy. And makes you want to read about the crazy Jamaican in Saipan!"
It's, DA BOMb!" --Kim
"I LOVE THE COVER! It captures the fantasy of living in paradise and made me want to pick it up and read it!"--Stacey
"This is wonderful! I absolutely love the photos and looked forward to hearing about your daily adventures. This is going to be a hit! It truly portrays the essence of living your dream and experiencing your vision to the fullest."--Adrienne
"...the rat story is crazy!"--F.W.
and this one from my Aunt Eloise in Kenya:
"I read it! reads well! Does sound as if you have found your paradise! Found a couple of typos that I am sure your editor will have found by now. Be happy, make lots of money to continue following your dreams! Thanks for thinking of me here in Kenya!
With Guidance & Protection
One Love All the Time
a me dis
eloise"
(Doesn't she know I edit my books myself? Since this is the pre-publication release, if you find the typos my aunt found please send them to me and I'll, um, let's see. I'll thank you profusely and mention you on the blog! Yeah, how's that?)
Labels: Lifestyle
(Click on a 'Label' category above to read all the posts in that category)Friday, May 4, 2007
Make money selling text links on your site/blog (Linkworth)
Sideline business tip:
Here's another great way to generate passive, residual income through your site or blog. It's been proven that text links work better than banner ads. So advertisers who want to reach potential customers are constantly looking for high-traffic and highly ranked sites to place simple text ads, like the ones you see on my sidebar. As a result, a whole new industry has sprung up with companies acting as brokers to find sites (like yours) and then connect them with advertisers (with money) to place ads on your site. The ads can range from links on the sidebar, to reviews of companies and their products directly in your blog.
Yes, you can get paid to write reviews! How much you make per link or per review will be determined by your site's rank, the potential market you reach and other factors.
I use Linkworth as one of brokers to sell links on my sites and blogs. The payouts have been consistent, and get deposited directly to my paypal account. So every month without fail (residually), and without doing a thing (passively), I generate income from little text ads throughout my site.
Check them out for yourself, register your blog or website and see what happens.
Here's another great way to generate passive, residual income through your site or blog. It's been proven that text links work better than banner ads. So advertisers who want to reach potential customers are constantly looking for high-traffic and highly ranked sites to place simple text ads, like the ones you see on my sidebar. As a result, a whole new industry has sprung up with companies acting as brokers to find sites (like yours) and then connect them with advertisers (with money) to place ads on your site. The ads can range from links on the sidebar, to reviews of companies and their products directly in your blog.
Yes, you can get paid to write reviews! How much you make per link or per review will be determined by your site's rank, the potential market you reach and other factors.
I use Linkworth as one of brokers to sell links on my sites and blogs. The payouts have been consistent, and get deposited directly to my paypal account. So every month without fail (residually), and without doing a thing (passively), I generate income from little text ads throughout my site.
Check them out for yourself, register your blog or website and see what happens.
Labels: Sideline Business Tips, text links
(Click on a 'Label' category above to read all the posts in that category)Thursday, May 3, 2007
Every smile, my friend....every smile...
At times you may not think that what you are doing has an effect.Here's a nice concise example to illustrate why it's important to keep doing it anyway, and why every little bit that we do to better the world is important.
[Excerpt from a book entitled "A Happy Pocket Full of Money"]
"Imagine now that there are two people in a room. They are both gloomy and sad. Their energy level is low. One tells a joke, and the other one laughs. The one telling a joke causes the one who starts to laugh to raise his or her energy level and become vibrant, laugh. This makes the one telling a joke laugh because there is new joy in the air and they are sharing a joke. Person A caused a change in Person B, and it went back to cause a change in A. Now have you noticed how you feel great after you tell jokes to many people and they laugh; how it feels greater than telling to one person only? And those people take your joke and they tell it on and on to other friends and friends of friends, and it spreads.
Well, the universe is a whole lot more complicated than that. A shift on one part of that massive field of energy ripples on and causes shifts in the parts next to it and they cause shifts in the parts next to them and that ripple goes on forever! Can you imagine that! Your smile changes the composition of the entire universe! Scientifically! Your anger does the same.
Anything you do, any thought you have, ripples on forever and changes the composition of the whole universe, however small that change is.
[And] Because you are part of that universe, that ripple comes back to you and gives you back a dose of similar essence.
That is how, scientifically, the law of cause and effect works, and works multiplicatively. This happens on an energy level and on a spirit level. In both cases, the betterment of one individual in the system causes a betterment of the whole system, and betterment in the whole system causes betterment in the individual. The reverse is also true."
[End of Excerpt]
[Excerpt from a book entitled "A Happy Pocket Full of Money"]
"Imagine now that there are two people in a room. They are both gloomy and sad. Their energy level is low. One tells a joke, and the other one laughs. The one telling a joke causes the one who starts to laugh to raise his or her energy level and become vibrant, laugh. This makes the one telling a joke laugh because there is new joy in the air and they are sharing a joke. Person A caused a change in Person B, and it went back to cause a change in A. Now have you noticed how you feel great after you tell jokes to many people and they laugh; how it feels greater than telling to one person only? And those people take your joke and they tell it on and on to other friends and friends of friends, and it spreads.
Well, the universe is a whole lot more complicated than that. A shift on one part of that massive field of energy ripples on and causes shifts in the parts next to it and they cause shifts in the parts next to them and that ripple goes on forever! Can you imagine that! Your smile changes the composition of the entire universe! Scientifically! Your anger does the same.
Anything you do, any thought you have, ripples on forever and changes the composition of the whole universe, however small that change is.
[And] Because you are part of that universe, that ripple comes back to you and gives you back a dose of similar essence.
That is how, scientifically, the law of cause and effect works, and works multiplicatively. This happens on an energy level and on a spirit level. In both cases, the betterment of one individual in the system causes a betterment of the whole system, and betterment in the whole system causes betterment in the individual. The reverse is also true."
[End of Excerpt]
Labels: The Universe
(Click on a 'Label' category above to read all the posts in that category)
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