It may be that others know as little about Karaoke machines as I once did. I got a callout, seems the microphones will not work. It was one of those weird coincidences with two machines having the same problem for different reasons. This was also the first time I’ve seen a complete Karaoke system set up at home for private entertainment. Not those Radio Shack amps for kids, but a regular system. In the process, I met Barb, who has dealt with a good share of government lawyers and was able to give some very encouraging advice. Thus, I was in a good mood all day, staying at the computer shop until 7:00 PM. The English guitarist was in, he’s having awful luck with his second hand laptops. I can empathize for I surmise the reason somebody gets rid of a laptop is different than for other computers. I never trust used laptops.
On the way, I stopped at the shoemakers to pick up some odd tools I’d left behind. The Russian guy is there to stay. After checking out what is available, he’s decided it isn’t such a bad deal after all. Alfredo insisted I stay for almeurzo (lunch), with Bolivian empanadas, chicken and rice. Is that good timing, or what?
As a test, I posted an elaborate FireHow article, complete with pictures. Their web layout is not really good for pictures and only a few people use it. I believe they will eventually upgrade and my articles will be ready. For now, it is back to many small and correspondingly useless articles to beef up my ratings. Today, it will be how to sew a button back on for bachelors.
I’m a little jealous of a (FireHow) newcomer. He posted dozens of Vista tips which fell to the wayside, but one of them collected 142 hits the first day: how to defragment your hard drive. Who was is said, “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public.” (Most sources say that was P.T. Barnum or H.L. Mencken.) I’ll wager the Internet has both of them laughing in their graves. Mind you, quality still has its rewards, as my account with 42 postings is producing ten times better than a month ago. Plus, I just noticed in Google, a search on that quote brings my post, not PT or HL, to the top.
As promised, here is an update on the performance of FireHow. It is still a new presence, with less than a thousand members, many of whom appear to just sit there. Visitors can view the entire site except for other’s personal finance area. Soon, I’ll tell you the money part you want to hear about. When a post is uploaded, FireHow seems to pick out keywords and append Google-like ads to your article. Mercifully, they are not yet inserting them into the middle of your material.
The posting system has no ratings, each new article shunts the others down the page. This means many of the early and best articles are at the bottom of the list. But, it appears the authors are too lazy or too dumb to figure out how to repost at the top, so leave them be. As people click on your posts, you begin to rack up money, which you can cash in to your paypal account whenever your earnings exceed $10.
To date, I have had 1,161 hits generating $3.67. This took a month, but it was fun and now we have something to work with. What’s nicer is that the older posts continue to draw in money, a good argument for choosing timeless subject matter. The actual cause and effect is still mysterious, as some posts can collect dozens of hits without any income. Statistically, I had an average of 20 posts for the month (begin with zero, end with 40) indicating each post makes 10 cents per month. Be aware that none of these calculations is capable of showing the long term trend.
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