Swagbucks Come Good

Well, it's been a while but I can finally report on my experiences of Swagbucks. I've been using them for a few searches a day for the last year or so.

I wrote about Swagbucks a while ago, explaining how this paid-to-search site worked and that I was going to try it out. It's not quite a replacement for the now-defunct MySearchFunds, which paid above the odds for every single search a user performed. That's probably why it's now defunct!

Swagbucks works along the same lines. A user installs the Swagbucks search bar, or bookmarks a Swagbucks search page personal to them. They use the search bar or page to search the web as they would normally and every so often they are rewarded with points called Swagbucks. These points can be cashed in for a range of items including electronic equipment, Amazon giftcards and PayPal funds.

It costs 700 Swagbucks for $5 PayPal funds. In my experience I earn Swagbucks every 4 or 5 searches, spaced evenly over the day. In the course of a day I can make 20 or 30 Swagbucks, so it would take around a month of use to make enough for $5 PayPal funds. Proof of payment below:


That doesn't seem much of a reward, but it's really $5 for nothing because you'd be searching anyway. What is good about Swagbucks is that you get the Swagbucks of everyone you refer. Refer 10 people who also make 700 Swagbucks a month and you've very quickly made $50 for not much effort at all.

I think I'll be sticking with it, because it has now proven to pay and it's no extra effort to search using Swagbucks instead of my regular search engine.

If you'd like to give it a shot please sign up and tell them AdSense4Dummies sent you: Join Swagbucks Now

Coffee at The Marketplace on Neil

Thanks for the guest post by Jonathan Curtis

The Ohio State University's Columbus campus has a ton of different places to go for food and drinks, but none quite like The Marketplace on Neil. Open extremely late every night, The Marketplace offers all of the drink recipes and food choices of larger chain coffee locations, but with the added comfort of a smaller, home-like setting.

Their Vanilla Chai is fantastic, as are the daily specialty drinks that change not only based on the day, but on the time of year, as well. Featured hot coffee drinks make a trip there during the winter worthwhile, and students and customers alike can relax in the building. Comfortable chairs and couches by the large fireplace offer ample space to complete homework, eat a meal, o! r just hang out with friends and classmates.

Though The Marketplace on Neil is located on South Campus, it is important to take the basic steps to protect your home - and yourself - before heading out to grab a quick cup of coffee or snack. Locking doors, setting a ADT ALARM, and using the buddy system are great ways to ensure that treating yourself won't result in a negative outcome. This little coffee shop is a great way to get out of the house or dorm room on a cold night, and gives students the opportunity to change their surroundings without going too far from home.

WidgetBucks Finished

Mpire has announced that the WidgetBucks advertising program will cease operating from 10th March 2010.

WidgetBucks has been a good earner for AdSense4Dummies over the past couple of years, but I guess their generous $25 giveaways, high payment per click and current economic downturn has got the better of them.

Mpire say that they will pay out any account balances of $50 or more, but any account balances of less than that amount will be forfeited in accordance with the WidgetBucks program rules.

The following email was sent to WidgetBucks publishers:

Dear Widgetbucks Publisher,

This email is to inform you that Mpire Corporation, the parent company
of Widgetbucks, has made the decision to refocus resources outside of
the advertising network space. As such, the company will be
discontinuing support of the Widgetbucks publisher network. All
existing publisher accounts will be turned off effective Thursday, March
10, 2010.

Once your account is deactivated, you will no longer be able to access
your account statistics via the Widgetbucks.com portal. According to
section 6 (b) of the terms of service, located at
WidgetBucks - Terms of Use, Mpire will pay Publisher Payment,
subject to a minimum of U.S. $50.00. Account balances below the minimum
threshold of $50 are forfeited in accordance with Section 8;
Termination; of the terms of service.

All publishers with outstanding balances greater than $50.00 USD as of
March 10, 2010 will be paid out in full on March 15. Publishers with
balances less than $50 will forfeit the balance of their accounts.

We will follow up with an email with the balance of your account as of
closing of your account so that you are aware of the balance that will
be paid to you on March 15.

We truly appreciate you having been a member of the Widgetbucks Network
and wish you the best of luck in future endeavors.

Sincerely,

Widgetbucks Publisher Team

Now for the nightmare of removing my WidgetBucks code from everywhere!

How to Get Free Edu Backlinks

Something that always annoys me when I'm visiting Digital Point forums is the way some people like to sell links on sites that aren't theirs to sell.

I'm thinking particularly of people selling lists of .edu sites where you can obtain backlinks by leaving a comment. They aren't really selling links but rather information about how you can build your own.

Some of these sites have "dofollow" comments, which means a link obtained there has some PR juice. Backlinks from .edu domains are also highly prized because of the perception that Google finds them more trustworthy and gives them more weight.

Anyway, here's my tip for getting your free .edu backlinks:

• Most people who sell these are chancers who have already capitalised on the information themselves.
• Simply find someone who is selling a list of .edu sites and study their forum profile closely. They will probably have a link to one of their own sites either as their profile homepage or in their signature.
• Take the URL of the chancer's site and plug it into the Online Utility backlink checker.
• The backlink checker will show any .edu backlinks.
• Visit those .edu pages and leave your own comments.
• Sit back smuggly that you've got that information free of charge.

Try it yourself - it works!