Wednesday 31 October 2007

Checked it out - Helium

Having been a member of Helium for about 4 weeks, I have now checked it out.

Helium, is a website for writers. A site on which it is possible to write about practically any subject. The aim, as stated by the site owners, is to make Helium the number one source for information on the Internet.

Helium, has a few interesting twists to it, which helps manage the integrity of the site and information.

All articles, once submitted, are subject to voting in comparison to other articles on the same subject. So poor articles drop and better articles rise to the surface.

Debates can be instigated with writers submitting articles to support their point of view, once again articles can be rated against each other.

Articles are commissioned by magazines, journals, bloggers etc. The commissioning client makes the final selection, of course, but the articles are again rated against each other. The commissioned article is then paid for by the commissioning client. Articles selected earn upwards of US$20.00

In addition, revenues from the site are shared with article writers. Articles earning a weighting for their level in comparison to other similar articles and earning in relation to the traffic the article subject draws top the site.

It is a great place to develop writing skills, whilst simultaneously receiving payment.

Writing in Helium, is not like writing on a blog, as the articles are generally longer and more formally structured.

If you enjoy writing, or want to develop your writing skills, I would say Helium is a great place to go.




Having checked it out, I will certainly continue to write on Helium

Wednesday 17 October 2007

Checked it out - Weblo

Having been registered with Weblo for the best part of six months, I have well and truly checked it out.

Weblo is an online space which mirrors a few financial aspects of the real world. You can buy virtual real estate (like cities) and collect taxes on developments on your land. You can set yourself up as the agent of the virtual version of a real-world celebrity and you can buy domain names inside Weblo's universe. Recently introduced is the ability to add real world web assets to your portfolio. Earning advertising and revenue and trading the assets, either virtually, or in reality.

You buy, of course, so you can sell later, hopefully at a nice multiple to what you paid. Why would somebody want to buy your properties to begin with? So he or she can sell it to the next person, of course. Weblo is a trading game, with a currency of real U.S. dollars. Fortunately prices for Weblo analogs of real-world items are not comparable.

Some people, apparently, have bought properties at Weblo's startup prices and flipped them for thousands of dollars. You can cash out of Weblo whenever you want, and transfer your earnings into your PayPal accont.

Because there is nearly a world full of untapped resources on Weblo right now, there's the potential for a real land-grab to start on the system. Un-purchased addresses are less than two bucks. Weblo figures the prices of states and cities by using an algorithm that incorporates real-world population.

If you own a Weblo property, like a building, a state, a site, or the rights to represent a celebrity, you can also develop it -- you can build a Weblo Web page to support it, drive traffic to it from your other Weblo pages or even the "real" Internet. Weblo runs advertising on every page and you'll get a cut of the ad revenues from your properties, as well as a percentage of all properties developed on your real estate (if you're the mayor of a city, you get a share of all the revenues generated in it). How big a cut you get depends on which of the five Weblo membership levels you're signed up for. Free accounts get 10% of revenues. Top-tier "VIP" accounts ($30 a month) get 50%; paid accounts also pay less for unpurchased Weblo resources.

CEO Rocky Mirza has plans to introduce new resource types. In July, Weblo has secured $3.2 million USD in venture capital financing from VantagePoint Venture Partners. Geoff Mott, Managing Director, VantagePoint Venture Partners will also join the Company's Board of Directors.







Click here to join Weblo for FREE, build your Virtual Empire and Make Money!

Weblo is a virtual world based on the real world. Members earn real money by owning online replicas of real cities, states, famous properties and Internet domain names. Members also claim FREE celebrity fan sites. Members create sites and get paid for their popularity via Internet advertising. Owners of cities and states earn additional money from transaction fees in their territories and by selling their virtual investments for a profit.

Join for Free and start building your virtual empire today!



Having checked it out what is it like?

Ease of use - 3 stars, takes some navigating

Enjoyment - 4 stars, if you don't enjoy trading and writing, it isn't for you

Ease of making money - 5 stars, every click gets a share and building blocks are in place

Worth a visit and trying out.




Thursday 4 October 2007

Checked it out Apsense business networking

I have now checked it out, apsense.

Conceptually a great idea, designed to bring people together who have an interest in business and social networking. An opportunity to discuss ideas and learn from and with other people, while at the same time promoting your own business.

Implementation wise, it is a mess, well in my opinion. Still in Beta, there is time to pull itself around, let's hope it does.

The structure of the site is cumbersome, with blogs, business centres, groups, selling advertising, buying advertising, earning revenue from page views and lots more, but it is not cohesive.

If someone asks the wrong question in the wrong place, in the wrong way, a civil servant will apply a yardstick and measure it, not with a jot of common sense or understanding of what is being said.

The concept deserves to work and the site should do well, they just need to get a slicker system, less confusion and moderators who have a brain.

Rating

Ease of use 2 stars. too ambiguous
Concept 4 stars
Ease of registration 5 stars
Potential 3 stars as it stands

Will I keep persevering, no I have better things to do with my time.
Will I go back in a few months, for sure, but expect to see more and better alternatives appear in the interim