Charity of the Month - December Results
The results of the first “Charity of the Month” have been fantastic. I am happy to say that I will be donating $246.97 to Doctors Without Borders. The majority of the money came from the Yahoo! Publisher Network ads that I have on the site, although some did come from the Chitika ads that I had up for part of the month. The final number includes the full unaudited revenue for the month, but I will be covering whatever is audited. I will actually be covering the entire amount because the YPN money won’t be arriving until sometime in mid-February.
The future of this program seems very promising because the average revenue per day has been increasing steadily and I have a sizeable affiliate reward coming soon.
Now, I need a suggestion for this month’s charity. I am looking for a worthy (and credible) organization that might be overlooked for some reason.
The New 9rules
Just when I thought they had completely outdone themselves with the redesign, the talented 9rulers have again gone overboard with a conceptual redesign of the network. 9rules now includes a fantastic browse section that much more effectively divides all the great content into specific categories.
So, if you’re interested in philosophy, head over to the philosophy community which will (eventually) feature the best content from across the category.
What’s even more amazing is that this is apparently only the beginning. Scrivs and company have been very quiet about the recent changes and the even more amazing improvements to come. I’m ecstatic to be a part of such a dynamic group and am really excited about the future of the network.
The Year in Review
The very first article on this website was published on June 18th of 2005. I believe I was just about to finish up my senior year of high school and decided that I would need something to occupy me over the summer. I had gotten into web design and publishing earlier in the school year for an inquiry project and thought it would be a good release for me. The site began mostly as a backup of my writing and class projects and remained completely private for its first few weeks.
The instant I published my first article, I knew that the site could only grow and be…interesting…if people contributed and argued in the post’s comments. So, I began the difficult task faced by every internet writer (fine, blogger) of publicizing their website. My task was especially tough because I decided that I did not want to involve my friends and family. The site’s first comment was “hynngngh”, not exactly a philosophical breakthrough but it showed me that people are willing to take the time to post something.
Money
I am very open about the fact that I like money. I like earning it, saving it, growing it and spending it. I often get into arguments with people who do not repay loans and have a general discomfort of people who cannot effectively manage their finances.
Becoming a doctor has been a lifelong goal for me and this year has been especially exciting as I am finally getting some hands-on (in a sense) experience. When people learn that I am studying to become a doctor, they immediately assume that money was the motivating factor, and up until this semester I had begun to believe them. However, the instant I enter an examination room (hot on the heels of an actual doctor), I feel comfortable, knowledgeable, and excited.
The digg effect - a visual analysis
A couple days ago, my list of the top 10 redesigns of the year was “dugg” to the front page of the popular digg.com.
I took a few screenshots of the action, so let’s get started…