ChrisBailey.info

WordPress has just launched WordPress how-to’s.

Worth a visit for all of us who use WordPress blogging software, plugins, etc.

Happy blogging.

This has been around for a little while, but I just stumbled across it last night.

For those looking to make a few extra bucks, check out the Google Local Business Referrals program. I don’t know how long they will be doing this and there is no guarantee that you’ll be accepted into the program, but it may be worth a few minutes of your time to register your interest.

Here are the highlights of what you do and what you earn, taken from the Business Referral Representative Frequently Asked Questions:

• What will I be doing as a representative?

As a Google Business Referral Representative, you’ll visit local businesses to collect information (such as hours of operation, types of payment accepted, etc.) for Google Maps, and tell them about Google Maps and Google AdWords. You’ll also take a few digital photos of the business that will appear on the Google Maps listing along with the business information. After the visit, you submit the business’ info and photo(s) to Google through your Local Business Referrals Center, and we’ll pay you up to $10 for each listing that is approved by Google and verified by the business.All you need to be a successful Business Referral Representative is a passion for helping local businesses succeed, a love for the Internet (some knowledge of Google is great, too), and access to a computer and a digital camera.

• How much will I be paid? How will I be paid?

You can earn up to $10 for each approved, verified referral you submit. This includes $2 when a business referral is approved by Google; and $8 when an approved business verifies that the information you submitted is accurate. Referrals are approved by Google based on the completeness and quality of data supplied by representatives. Businesses verify their information either by sending us a response postcard or verifying their information online. As long as your earnings total at least $25 a month, you’ll receive a monthly check.

• What are the eligibility requirements for the program?

To be eligible for consideration as a Google Business Referral Representative, you must be authorized to work as a contractor in the U.S., be at least 18 years of age, and be able to complete an IRS Form W-9. You must also have access to a computer and a digital camera.

This obviously won’t make you rich and from what I’ve read so far, that $8 verification carrot is the hardest part to get.

Verification occurs when Google approves your referral($2 to you) and then sends the business a postcard for them to return verifying the info that you provided for Google Maps.

It looks like the average verification percentage seems to run an average of 5%-10% with the highest I’ve seen at about 25%. The high end is achieved by those willing to do a little follow up to make sure the businesses received the post card, filled it out, and sent it back in.

This means your actual income is most likely to average between $2.40 to $4.00 per business referral.

I did sign up and was approved. I think it will be an interesting project and it can also lead to making quite a few business contacts in your own community.

Best of luck to those who decide to give it a shot.

Besides being a great game between two high quality teams, last night’s 17-14 victory by the New York Giants over the New England Patriots was a nice little victory for Karma.

As someone who grew up playing team sports, I’ve always had a strong sense of teamwork and sportsmanship.

Being a Pittsburgh Steeler fan, I have always rooted for the AFC representative in the Super Bowl and even though they had handed us a few heartbreaking losses over the years, I did have a lot of respect for the New England Patriots team play and excellent coaching.

I still have a lot of respect for the Patriots as a team and I still think that Bill Belichick is a top notch coach.

However, after the whole “spygate” issue, I lost a lot of respect for Coach Belichick as a leader when it comes to sportsmanship and fair play.

I would never pretend to know or understand the amount of pressure professional coaches and athletes are under to be the best, but Belichick’s early season bust for cheating is just another sign of what’s wrong with high profile sports today.

The fact that Belichick claims that he simply “misinterpreted” the rules about videotaping the other teams sideline is such an insult to everyone’s intelligence and shows cowardice and a complete lack of personal accountability on his behalf.

Given the pressure and intense scrutiny all of these guys are under, I’m not foolish enough to think that Coach Belichick is the only head coach who cheated to get an edge.  He’s just the one who got caught.

If he had owned up to it, I may have still had some respect for him as a leader.  As it is, I still think he is a brilliant coach and knows the game inside and out.  But his cowardly excuse for doing what he did shows a total lack of character.

Congratulations to the New York Giants for their Super Bowl victory and congratulations to the real winner in this year’s Super Bowl, karma.  It’s nice to see justice served.

LOL

Well, I’m not an old man yet, but I sure feel like it with some of the technology out there that I don’t have or use. No Ipod or any other MP3 player. No camcorder, digital or otherwise. No laptop yet. I’m not working at home with a wireless router. My home stereo is about 18 years old. Etc., etc.

At least I have satellite.

My better half has been fine using the old fashioned throw away cameras to take occasional snapshots for the holidays and other gatherings.

I used to be a real gadget guy but have somehow become an old stick in the mud set in my ways.

For my first digital camera, I didn’t feel the need to go all out and get the top of the line model that will be outdated in another month anyway. So I picked up a Sanyo VPC-S750 at Walmart this afternoon.

The biggest issue I saw when reading reviews after I came home was poor battery life. As is often the case, the reviews were mixed, but had more positive than negative.  So far, I haven’t used it enough to have that problem.

One  reviewer also mentioned significant issues with the picture quality and he posted the pictures to prove his point.  They looked terrible.  I’ve taken a few shots and put them in the computer with the SD card and the picture quality was good, so he may have had a defective camera.

For those looking for reviews on the Sanyo VPC-S750, I had a hard time finding any reviews other than at Walmart’s website.

I’ll play around a little more and see if it’s a keeper. Now maybe we can finally sell some of the junk we have around here.

Hopefully this not so old man can figure it out.

Over the years, I’ve become online friends with a number of people from all over the world, so I guess it shouldn’t be such a shock when I occasionally stumble upon someone in my own back yard.

A perfect example is a nice lady named Deborah Bowman, aka dmbunny on our forums who posted the common Hello, I’m a Newbie thread on her first visit with us back in November.

As fate would have it, she lives nearby and just happened to find our boards. We’re happy to have her on the forums and she’s a prime example of how nice most of us Western PA folks are.

Deborah has just launched her first website and is offering some very fine natural skin scare products from the islands of the South Pacific.  You can also find a link to her Home Business Gazette blog over in our blogroll.

I wish dmbunny the best of luck in her new business venture.