mindplunge

How to make money online

I can’t believe I just wrote this title… I’m not trying to sell you anything (again… a line you’ve probably heard a billion times). The reason I’m writing this post is to warn you! As you might know I’m ‘tweeting‘ throughout the day. This morning I see an alarming number of tweets: ‘Is working online at home the new gold rush?’, ‘google wizard’ etc. For the obvious reason I’m not providing you with a link simply because it’s a scam.

These websites claim you can earn money by working with Google. It looks like a legitimate article written by a newspaper but it’s all geared towards the so-called: ‘Google Money System Kit’. One word: SCAM. Simple and plain and for one reason…Google does NOT pay people to work from home. They just don’t. It’s false advertising and a possible infringement of Google’s intellectual property.

So what’s this Google Money System anyway?

You know what the funny thing about this Google Money System is though? I’ve never seen any one particular program identified as the Google Money System. It seems as if there are so many different variations of the same scam. There is also a lot of different names for this program.

• Easy Google Cash Kit
• Google Treasure Chest Kit
• A “Google Business Kit” showed up in my email this morning.
• Google Money Tree System
• Google Cash Kit
• Google Money Machine
• Google Home Business Kit
• Google Money Profits

You are being kept in the dark as what the actual program is. ‘Posting links on Google’, that’s their explanation. Shouldn’t it be: ‘Posting links for Google’ in the first place? The kit will include a free CD. You pay a low shipping fee (anywhere from $1.95 to $3.95) and they will send you the free kit. The CD will tell you all about Google Adsense (explained below). The program is free to sign up to once you meet the requirements so these scammers are wrongfully exploiting the program by charging people for information which is freely available from Google themselves!

Here is what Google had to say about the situation.

Of late, we’ve received a few emails from new AdSense applicants about not being accepted into the program despite paying a specific amount of money or buying a CD package.

We’d like to take this opportunity to state that we’re not affiliated with any third-parties that solicit payment to join the AdSense program or that sell CDs with money-back guarantee offers. AdSense is a free product offered to publishers by Google Inc., and there’s no cost or obligation involved. As a result, we recommend that prospective publishers exercise caution when presented with such offers.

Google has two programs called Adwords and Adsense as part of their Advertising Programs for website owners. In most cases you use one or the other although there are many people who use both.

With Google Adwords, website owners pay Google to list their ads for them. These ads are created inside Google’s Adwords interface where the website owner has an account. There are many legitimate programs online that will teach you how to use Google Adwords to generate a full time income and there are many people including myself who make money using Google Adwords.

Google Adsense is the other half of Google’s advertising programs. The ads that advertisers create using Google Adwords are placed on websites owned by persons who have an agreement with Google to be paid for their participation in the program.

So Google actually does pay people…BUT…the income depends on a lot of factors such as how popular the website is, the topic of the website etc. Its definitely a work from home opportunity but more of a website monetizing practice.

So there is no way I can make money on the Internet?

Ok, so if you’re reading this and you’re thinking, “Everything’s a scam. How do I really make money online then? Could you point me in the right direction?” Well… the thing is when it sounds too good to be true it probably isn’t. If someone promises you $5000.00 for 2-3 hours of work weekly they are flat out lying.

I make some money on the Internet. It’s not a lot but it pays my hosting fees and a juicy gourmet burger once in while! I’m sure when I would spend more time in Google’s Adsense program I could raise my numbers but it means I have to work harder. I simply don’t choose to do this. I’m a freelance web designer and SEO specialist. That’s what I love doing. I don’t wanne get too much involved in the Ad business. So Google Adsense is bringing in some money.

Another ‘adsense kinda thing’ is Chitika. The thing I like about Chitika is that the only display ads when people are coming to your website via a search engine. If they clicked a link or a bookmark and visit your site they won’t see the ads! Brilliant, because I don’t want my loyal readers to overload them with ads. Deep in our hearts we all hate them, but hey, it pays some of my bills.

You can join Chitika here. By signing up I could even earn 10% in revenue. If you don’t like this you can type in the url yourself. Again, I’m not trying to sell you anything, I’m just giving you some option on how to make money on the internet. Don’t expect to be rich in a few months, it doesn’t work like that. My last advice is to write compelling content! If you write content people want to read you will get your traffic. The more traffic, the more people will click on your ads. It’s a s simple as that! For me content is still KING!

Happy surfing and stay away from scams!

My Swimming dog…

Temperatures are soaring in Northern California and having a pool is a blessing. Especially for my dog who is huffin’ and puffin’ these days. when in the Netherlands she wasn’t the swimming kinda type of dog. All of this changed once we’re in the US. She loves it now. The only problem with the big pool is getting out of it. Aleisha and I trained her within a day to use the little ladder to get out of the pool. See for yourself!

My Swimming Dog from Richard Lemon on Vimeo.

W1D3 (rnrsj)

A late post for the ending of my first week… Got caught up with some actual work! The last training in my first week was a 10K distance. I ran on the road again after running the backyard trail for a while. I noticed that when I run trails my pace is much faster (almost a minute per kilometer) then when running on the road. Anyone can explain this to me?I tried to figure it out but there are so many possibilities why this is happening.

Anyways… the run was pretty uneventful. Not too hot, nice breeze coming from the lake, no traffic and a perfect playlist on my iPod.

I’m kinda cheating on my schedule. I ran another 5K tonight so I’m ahead of the program. I still will stick to the running days but I feel I could add more mileage to it. Better than cutting down on the runs!

W1D2 (RNRSJ)

Yesterday was Day 2 of my 12 week program in preparation of the San Jose Half Marathon. Another 6.5K and surprisingly I ran the same time (-4 sec) as I did on Tuesday. I guess it indicates that I can hold my pace. I always wonder during a run if I’m going too fast or too slow. Now I know… I’m on target. Here is my schedule for the next 12 weeks:

As you can see week 7 will be a real test… Stay tuned!

How does running a Marathon work?

I’m a total newbie when it comes to running an official race. The Rock ‘N Roll Half Marathon will be my first race ever. I never entered a 5k or a 10k race simply because my training workouts are usually this distance. I didn’t feel the need to compete or run with a big group of people. I prefer to run by myself as well…

So why all of a sudden entering a race, a half Marathon non-the less? I just want to make it official. Can’t exactly explain why but I feel the need to have an official time, a BIB number and hopefully a medal! I truly believe you don’t have to run a race in order to call yourself a ‘runner’. Anyone who puts on his or hers running shoes and goes out for a run qualifies for me as a runner. For me, signing up with the RNRSJ is the next logical step. It feels like completing a part of being a runner.

How does running a Marathon work?
Seems easy right? You show up at the start, run and finish! There is actually more to it than this. I’m doing some research on running Marathons and here’s in brief on the logistics of running a (half) marathon.

Registration
It all starts with registration. These days most Marathons allow you to sign up through a website. Prices vary from race to race. Some have promotional codes for a discount. Make sure to research as this could save you 10% or more! You will get a conformation by mail or email. This conformation letter is needed to pick up your bib (the race number you pin on your shirt). The bib number can be picked up two days before race day. Make sure to check out the rules on this. Most races don’t allow picking up your bib on racing day itself!

Race Day
During registration you might had to fill out what your expected running time would be. Based on the answer given you’ve been assigned a certain corral. You simply can’t go towards the start line, line up and start the race. Elite runners (competitive runners) are positioned at the start line first. After the elite runners are the various corrals. Each corral has a specific time expectance. If you are a slow runner and you think you can finish the half marathon within 4 hours you probably are in the last corral.

In San Jose each corral holds 1,000 runners. There are several corrals for a certain time so there might be 6 corrals of 2.5 hours.

Timing
You might think: what if I start in the back of the group? The runners in front of me already passed the starting line minutes earlier than me! True, that’s why there electronic measured tag time. Tag time (Chip time) is recorded by an electronic tag that is attached to a runner’s shoe. Your tag records the time at which you cross the start line, the finish line and several split times in between. Tag time is often shorter than gun time because tag time begins when a runner crosses the start line while gun time starts when the gun is fired.

Tag time is the most accurate form of marathon timing available because it measures the exact time between a runner crossing the start line and the finish line. Tag time also records several important splits, providing an accurate record of a runner’s pace.

The RNRSJ half Marathon is using the chrono track system.

Okay, maybe not a ‘brief’ explanation on how a Marathon works but now you are up to date on how the logistics of a Marathon works. Next time I’ll talk a little more about the San Jose race. Course Map, event information, etc. Tonight will be day 2 of my running program. Stay tuned!