Reminder to myself May 12, 2009
Posted by Jonathan in : Uncategorized , 1 comment so farJust popping in to remind myself for tomorrow or this week that I have to renew my domains at Godaddy.com. Luckily I’ve received my new debit card in time to insert money into the account to pay for all my domains. I might try and sell a couple of my domains as they are coming more of a burden to pay rather than an asset to which I can sell later on.
Just to remind myself in big letters:
RENEW YOUR DOMAINS AT GODADDY SOMETIME THIS WEEK
I know where to buy my t-shirts from… April 30, 2009
Posted by Jonathan in : Me and my life, Other, Webmaster , add a commentAdvertisements on other websites aren’t as useless are they seem! I came across the perfect website for buying funny t-shirts, where ebay & blueinc were shot directly out of the water as competitors. The site is Snorgtees.com, they sell a wide variety of funny t-shirts and I purchased the following from them yesterday:
Really fun t-shirt. 
Check their website out, it has loads of t-shirts to choose from if you don’t prefer the one I picked. - I just picked it as I thought it was fun and I’m not affiliated with the website/service at-all.
Have a good one!
ImageMoo.com - Traffic statistics April 26, 2009
Posted by Jonathan in : Uncategorized , add a commentHey,
I recently purchased ImageMoo.com and it had near to no traffic coming to the website. I myself have not promoted the site to its full potential, however when I first bought the website it was receiving around 100 unique visitors per month. I have increased this and traffic or unique visitors to the website is steadily increasing and now there are around 800 unique visitors per month. (This is all via the use of free advertising and non-paid) Most traffic from ImageMoo.com comes from free image hosting directories and also Google.com. I have not spent a great deal of time promoting ImageMoo however I hope to increase the monthly unique visitor count to around 4,000 uniques per month. This is a big achievement if I can do this by using only free advertising methods via directories and signiture links.
So what is ImageMoo?
ImageMoo is a free image hosting service. You can upload to a maximum of 2mb’s of imaging as a unregistered user and as a registered user you can upload up to 4mb’s of imaging. Being a registered user also gives you the ability of creating public and private galleries. (Up to 10 or you can upgrade by contacting us)
Will this service last?
Yes. It will last and I have experience with running image hosting services, and I’m hoping to make a success out of ImageMoo!
Thanks for reading and be sure to visit ImageMoo.com for your free image hosting needs!
Moving over to AdBrite April 10, 2009
Posted by Jonathan in : Uncategorized , add a commentI’m moving the whole of my network sites to AdBrite, considering the fact that on one particular site, I’ve made more revenue in AdBrite in just one day, in comparison to Chitika. I’m not dissing Chitika here, they are a very decent ad publisher provider, however I’m just getting more clicks and more revenue with AdBrite to the point it is not worth staying with Chitika. They advertise that their “Chitika Premium”, helps make more in revenue, in the case that I’m using their ads on my sites, their premium ads aren’t working for me and I’m just simply, making more revenue in AdBrite. (Not sure how many times I should repeat that) I just think that there are much more interesting ads with AdBrite when in comparison to Chitika as it seems that Chitika has moved over to the premium side of things. (e.g. Only looking for sites with over 90% traffic from the US, to which point a webmaster will lose out when you have that other 10% from other countries still coming in) - To which point AdBrite will accept all traffic. This is just from my perspective.
Google Pagerank update 1st of April 2009 April 1, 2009
Posted by Jonathan in : Uncategorized , add a commentThough Google do not mention whenever they have pagerank updates, it is certainly recognised when a pagerank update is made. Today Google updated pagerank for millions of site(s) with a lot of sites still updating, however the results are flakey from what I hear from reports I get via email. However from previous experience, if your pagerank has gone down early, it has a chance of going up though again from experience that ‘chance’ of it going back up is quite narrow. The hype about pagerank is that the higher pagerank you are, the higher your website is in this supposedly league which every webmaster is competiing in, not only to the fact people will buy links just because you have a decent pagerank however I usually buy links permitted to the amount of traffic a website can hull in.
I’ve also been doing a bit of digging around on Google, and have found that in April of last year (2008 for all you minions) on the 29th there was a pagerank update, so I’m finding there might be a correlation between whether or not pagerank updates on a certain set basis periodically; though this is just an assumption and a huge one at it. Furthermore to back this up, there was a pagerank update in 2007 in April, so I presume pagerank does indeed have a set time to which Google work on an update. (This isn’t exactly new, news however I found it somewhat interesting)
My sites
Most of my sites have stayed at the same pagerank & I hope this blog changes to N/A considering pagerank 1, looks horrible; even though it is totally irrelevant. However I have mostly pagerank 3’s, 2’s and 1’s and was hoping Vlexo.com would change to pagerank 4 though considering the fact I have not been continuously advertising the site, that would probably be why it has not updated in pagerank and has stayed the same. I’ve also got a website that is listed in DMOZ and I have not advertised that one bit and it has still retained it’s pagerank, so that shows you the power of being listed in the DMOZ directory.
That’s all for now and feel free to post your pagerank updates in the comments section.
How old is your domain? March 19, 2009
Posted by Jonathan in : Internet, My Sites, Other, Uncategorized , 2 commentsI’ve been going through my domains, seeing how old they are and finding which ones are my oldest. Why does it matter? To be honest, it doesn’t matter too much, however old domains are attractive as they usually have some sort of history behind them; and history is a good subject. Now to get on with how old my domains are… I have domains ranging from 3-4 years old mostly however the domain that I have that is the oldest is 7 years old. (Roughly: Hostnorth.com) So I was wondering, how old are your domains? Be sure to leave any comments below with details of how old your domain is along with your domain.
You can use this tool to find out how old your domain is:
http://www.webconfs.com/domain-age.php
Just a short post today! Thanks!
Thinking of moving to Taiwan… March 15, 2009
Posted by Jonathan in : Me and my life , add a comment
The UK is an excellent country to live in, however with the recent downturn in light, it has been a painful country to live in as there isn’t opportunity when in comparison to places like Taiwan. I’m very serious about moving to Taiwan as the stuff manufactured (Electronics; mainly) are sold very cheaply and a business can be made out of selling goods manufactured and sold over there.
Why doesn’t everyone move over to Taiwan then?
Back when I was in university, I had a lot of Taiwanese friends and 2 weeks ago, one of them contacted me offering to invite me into this business venture over there to sell electronics world wide via the internet.
What the F?
You might think moving to Taiwan is quite odd, however I don’t think it is. Did I also mention, I have rich family over in Taiwan? No, I didn’t, so don’t tell anyone. On a serious note, I have rich relatives to which I know fairly well who live over there and that sell and manufacture, Sony cameras, Hotpoint washing machines and primarily plasma TV screens. If Taiwan doesn’t go to well, Australia is down the sea lane and did I also mention I have richer relatives there? (Though I don’t actually know them) :p If that doesn’t work out, what the hell, I’ll make sure I have enough money to live a comfortable life in Malta, to where I do have family I know very well! (Malta: just under Italy/Sicily)
What about Vlexo? Well, Vlexo will continue to run free web hosting, in the hopes of also selling plasma TV’s, cameras and other electronic goods and maybe we can get going some giveaway competitions! 
I know this may seem funny, but this has some very huge potential and business marketing opportunities.
When?
At the moment, my “business partner in Taiwan” or simply contact is setting everything up and he would like my expertise in selling goods online via the use of eBay,Vlexo (Yes, that’s right!), Amazon and other websites where deals can be made in huge volume. I’m also thinking of going to university in Taiwan (An American university: Tamkang University ) to study programming language; as I’ve already been accepted to be an applicant for an overseas student. Enough of talking about my ambitions and goals… this will probably take place somewhere in 2010-11 and I’ll be moving over there with the whole of my family and with some friends who want to ‘tag’ along to see if they can earn something.
I have a lot of plans in my head for next year, and I might just go a head and do it, I figure through calculations and forecasts with the electronics available plus the market that is hugely open on the Internet to such places as eBay, Amazon etc, I can make huge profits which will enable myself to live a comfortable life and as well as give Vlexo a new living condition. 
Besides my eyes are hurting, so this is all I’m writing for now about this.
Career change… March 9, 2009
Posted by Jonathan in : Hosting, Internet, Me and my life , add a commentI’m taking a chance and hoping for the best. I’m going to be making a full career change from building to programming. (Of course, I need to learn programming first) The course I’ve found is perfect and works well within my time table of being able to work while also studying. (That’s right, I’m becoming a student again!) The course is 2 years long and I hope to start this year in September, however it will cost me quite a bit as I’m over 18, so I’ve had to dig out for a loan to pay it off. Though what I am hoping with this career change is to earn more on a more stable job - as there are lots of programming jobs available in my local area with wages being over £40,000 a year. This is a huge risk and could always cock-up on me, but I will do the full 2 years and I am as committed as ever in my entire life to make this work. It’s been hard lately, but I’m sure this learning programming will be a whole life changing experience. (Or at least in 2 years time :p)
Hopefully things will go as planned! Wish me luck!
Virgin Media Broadband February 25, 2009
Posted by Jonathan in : Internet, Me and my life, Other , add a comment
Ok. So I’ve been with Virgin Media for a couple years now, and they’ve been great, there have hardly been any blips in terms of my connection being unreliable or anything like that. However I recently upgraded from 2mb broadband to 10mb broadband as I found out that they were offering a deal which only would cost me an extra £2 per month to get the 8mb of connection speed. I ordered this all online around a month ago, and today I see the huge improvement in speed and am able to download things much, much faster than before. Though it wasn’t all good news, Virgin Media sent me a bill for £102.4 for two months of broadband payment on the previous month and on the current month. Half of that amount, was for a wireless router, which on their website said “Free wireless router”, so I thought “Why not?” if it is free, it’s worth getting.
So I phoned Virgin Media up, and spoke to this person who I could barely understand, she sounded like she was in one of these call centres in a foreign country. I told her repeatedly that the website said that the wireless router came free, when on the order page, and she kept replying like some sort of robot telling me that the ‘wireless router’ only was free for only new customers. I complained about this, as I claimed that it was false advertising, purely because they had ‘free wireless router’ next to a check box on the order page, where I had previously filled in ALL the information about my broadband account with them. The representative wouldn’t have it, and kept claiming that new customers could vouch for them, saying that they got the wireless router for free. I said, “With all due respect, on your website on the order page, it said ‘free wireless router’, I don’t really give a damn about your new customers vouching for you, don’t you think it is a little unfair to claim something for free (Which on the order page said was free) to then charge me £41.2 for something I thought I was getting with the upgrade package?
She then agreed with me saying, “I understand your situation and I’m going to give you £20 credit on your account”, I was appreciative of this, as after half an hours on a premium number, I finally got through to her. Though I said to her, that wasn’t enough! You claimed it to be free and now you are still charging me, “£20 credit is very respectful, however you claimed it to be FREE” I then said, “I would not have ordered the wireless router if it weren’t free, as I already have a wireless router” (Though it’s always good to keep spares around)… I even offered to send the router back as I hadn’t opened it. In the end, she gave up and said she fully understands the situation now and will give me £40 credit on my account.
So out of this, I’ve gained 2 months free broadband from a huge cock-up they had on their website. Though this tells me something, at first she was saying “I’m not authorised to give any credit out for something which we said only came free if a new customer ordered the size L package”, however I explained to her some laws and enacts which makes it illegal for them to charge for any wireless router; which they claimed to be free. (I can’t remember the exact law, but it spooked her a bit!) I won’t change from Virgin Media as the way they handled things was decent of them to give me the rebate or credit on my account. If it were any other broadband company, they would have probably threatened to take me to court. So I’m sticking with Virgin Media for the time being as their service in terms of broadband have been superb and best I’ve ever used since NTL was bought out by Virgin Media.
That’s just a little story, I thought I’d share, it pissed me off though that they charged me for something they claimed to be free. However a little ring and with a premium rate number to call only, it cost me in total around £3 for the actual call however it was gained back when she said she would put £40 credit on my account. So all is good.
The destruction… February 12, 2009
Posted by Jonathan in : Backing up, Hosting, Internet, Me and my life, My Sites, Other, free hosting , 1 comment so farWell, it was nearly the destruction for Vlexo, as I had neglected to come online to see how things were and to of course pay any bills that needed to be paid. On the 10/2/2009, I finally came back online due to an American phone number, phoning up my disconnected old phone number. I had been notified by my phone line service (As I had previously paid into a ‘test’ service) and found that it was from WiredTree. So I quickly popped online to check things out. To my surprise, I had noticed that the ‘Vlexo.com’ domain had expired and in place was a parking page, so I quickly re-registered the domain. Next, was to find out why WiredTree called me, (I kind of knew by then) and then paid the billing which needed to be paid otherwise they would have disconnected the server. Once all this was done, I announced in on the Vlexo forums, which I had not logged into for months and at the time there were quite a few people online; looking for answers and I managed to deliver it in time. (Well, the happy or more seasoned answer that I guess everyone was looking for) e.g. Don’t worry, I’ve paid the bill!
I then sent a mass email out to every user on the server, oh and sorry to our reseller users (Yes, your users got the email as well)… apologizing for the situation for even occurring. I guess that is the end of the harrowing story.
Next is to find out what is going to happen with Vlexo, as I don’t think it can continue the way it is now; with just one server and a website that needs an update and a good paint up job. However I have to apologize again, as money is a bit tight at the moment for me, as I have inherited a huge mortgage. (Not due to the current credit crisis) However Vlexo is still affordable for me to run, even though I’m not actually making any return, in terms of money with the service that is currently provided. You may think a business model of making nothing return is a bad one, however sometimes it’s just good to wait it out and besides I couldn’t just let Vlexo go; unless it was actually making me struggle. (Which it isn’t :p) I don’t know what’s going to happen next, though my current goal is to ‘last it out’ till the end of 2009 and re-evaluate the situation then.
Thanks to the Vlexo staff and of course the members still supporting Vlexo!
p.s. This is all I can really write right now… (Time constraints)
The Great Depression? January 9, 2009
Posted by Jonathan in : Hosting, Internet, Me and my life, My Sites, Other, Webmaster, free hosting , 7 commentsIt’s been a sad start to the year for Britain, the country I live in. With virtually, everything going wrong, aiming toward the world and British economy and particularly interest rates and currencies such as the sterling being affected; in my case and many others. The pound is actually becoming higher in value toward the dollar, as last month, I paid £90 for my bills at WiredTree however this month, the conversion rate was £86 - I have to pay in USD with WiredTree; so currency rates are a huge thing. I was a bit cheeky and had waited until the USD became a little weaker, as just recently it dropped when in comparison with the sterling, though looking at things, the conversion rates are almost up and down and all of it is shaky, with the pound reaching parity with the Euro and also weakening considerably under the ‘1′ mark.
What’s happening with Vlexo?
It’s as if the owner has abandoned it, with no word of what to say. Why? Well, to reassure people, I’m not here to say that I’m closing shop. That is the last thing I would ever do. Whether it be 2009-10-11 or 12 I’m hoping Vlexo will last and one day will become profitable. It’s just that 2008 and 2009 are seemingly not the years that I can work with Vlexo by introducing more money or even time to actually make it profitable. The reason I cannot introduce money? Well, with the rise of bills and my ‘actual’ job being condensed, as less work is being provided, I’m not able to commit more money, as of yet. However I am able to commit into paying the server bills every month; even if I’m not making money. I know this is not a good business model, however I definitely know in future Vlexo has potential, thus why I’m not willing to give it up, unless things get desperate to the point I’m struggling… that time hasn’t come.
If that time has come, everyone will be notified in every way possible and I’ll make sure backups are made of every single account. So no valuable data is lost.
To the administrators and staff
I know I should be in contact with you guys, but please understand, it’s not that I’m afraid, it’s that I’m fed up at the moment. I’m actually quite depressed with what is going on and I have also family related issues which should not be part of this business, but I carry it on my shoulders. I hope you guys understand and thank you very much for making Vlexo what it is today.
What’s going to happen, what is the future?
I don’t know what the future holds, hopefully, it is something good. I started Vlexo at the wrong time, but invested too little money, when I had the money to splash around - I’ve learned from my mistakes, which is why I’m only coming back to Vlexo when I have the correct amount of money, I’m looking into spending thousands, to which I’ve already done so, in the near 2 years Vlexo has been up. However spending thousands in a more confined way where I’m investing into things that will work for Vlexo and make it profitable. Please believe once more in me, things are going to become good in future; I just know this.
Feeling the pinch December 5, 2008
Posted by Jonathan in : Internet, Me and my life, Other, Uncategorized , add a comment
It’s a sad day for Britain, and the rest of the world, with the world economy struggling right now. I’m especially feeling this pinch, seeing as British currency (GBP) has fallen against the dollar and other top currencies around the world. Before I used to pay WiredTree (Server company) around £70, this has now increased to £90 and I was actually trying to cut down on the internet. Nevertheless, it’s a payable amount, and the service is definitely worth it. - It’s just that I’m now feeling this pinch, where before I thought have affected me. Before, British currency was 2 - 1 against the dollar, and I was living the high life then. I’m hoping with the Bank of England decreasing interest, to the lowest in decades, that things will return to how they were. Even though I know it won’t; as economics is hell. The only hope for monetary charges to go how they were, is if the United Kingdom joined the Euro! That would be something!