Footprints on the Mountainside

As usual, ready for something new!

I had heard about blog advertising a while ago, but their “regular posting requirements” had me stumped, as until recently, I was caught up in so many things that I rarely had time to post regularly here.

For a blog to be selected with them, it must have 20 posts in the previous 90 days….. which I finally have, huh? This is a celebration for me, because it means that I am now able to live up to the commitment of keeping bringing in something new for you readers… that I’d been promising for a long time now.

So what is PayPerPost? As the name suggests, its a site which offers reviews for other sites and products. Advertizers who want to create a buzz about their product can pay for bloggers to review them, bloggers earn money…. for me, the reason is something different.

Money, yes. Who doesn’t like money? But if I know myself, I will not be able to write about things I don’t care about. This is, actually a good opportunity for me to discover different kinds of sites and services that I otherwise would never have known about. If I like it, great. If I learn from it, still better and if I earn from it…. what more do I want?

But, if you think this is going to change the “feel of the blog”…. I don’t think so. I’m too much in love with this place to let its charm go. What I am planning to do, is look at the different sites that are promoting something, and see if I can bring it here for you. In short, I’m going to go on an exploring spree!!!

I invite you to fasten your seat-belts and join me. And yes, if you find something interesting to share…. money or not, let’s go for it!

APJ Kalam never fails to amaze me with the depth of his understanding, insights, and the caring that comes through so clearly in his words. This article from him is something I truly respect and hold close to my heart, rather than in high esteem. Esteem is cerebral, this truly touches me, and inspires me to see things in a more meaningful way.

Read more… »

I’m turning into a poet. After the scorching, humid summer months, I have heavy rain outside my window as I sit to write this. The wind is strong and brings in a spray of refreshing droplets of this celebration. I can smell the wet earth and see hardly anything outside the window beyond my jamun tree that literally touches the window, the rain is that strong.

The tree seems to be very happy though. Its leaves are fresh and green and wet. It sways in the strong wind. Blurry beyond it is the road and the people and vehicles on it, getting a thorough washing after months of dirt and pollution. As the rain stops, I see a fresh world becoming visible. Gone is the weary drag of everything. The air is crisp, everything looks fresh. Its time to welcome the monsoon again.

Paid advertisement

This is what I was talking about, when I spoke of paid blogging bringing fresh ideas to writing and adding to knowledge. Of course, this is a paid post, but I’m glad to be writing this one. Honestly, if I had thought of something like this, I’d probably have blogged about it anyway.

I discovered Masterpapers.com - Thesis Writing Tips while hunting for subjects to review on Reviewme. This was a whole new train of thought. We hear of paid articles and stuff all the time, but a service that will do your research for you for educational purposes? Its the first I have heard of this (perhaps I should have gotten educated better - or used the internet more for it). I certainly could have done with help like that.

Not that I’m incapable of writing tomes myself, but I’m info hungry. So if there is something that will gather loads of relevant info for me, nothing like it. I think the strength of this service is in research. Of course, they say that they will help you write your thesis too. In fact, there’s a page with rates for a variety of stuff they can do for you including powerpoint presentations, papers at various educational levels, and what not. Sounds like a pretty tempting source of organized information, if you’re a freak for enormous quantities of well-researched data to pull from, like me.

The husband is laughing as I show him the site. He wants to know if I’m planning to go back to school. Does he know how much research a website needs? Its like being back in school, even for subjects you know about, when you have to write about them, confirm facts before immortalizing them in your name……. sure, I could do with a research service too.

Regardless, folks, if you are still studying, hop over and see if it is any use to you. They have provided some samples and stuff to give you an idea of their work quality. I can’t say if it is good or not (even though this IS a review) simply because I have never used them, or any other service like them for comparison, but I think their site is definitely worth investigating if you need well written documents that need a good amount of research.

Heh. This is an easy one for me to write, and if you really think about it, it is all stuff you know anyway. How many points for betting that you may not have thought of things like that?

One of the best ways of knowing if the promotion material’s claims and the experience match is hindsight. *ducks under the table*

Ok. I’m serious now. What follows are the real ways to tell.

1. Count the number of destinations offered, deduct 2 and divide by the number of days of your tour. If the number you get is greater than one, your tour is going to be too hectic to really see anything. The lower the number, the better. I like 0.7ish
2. Sleeping in a new hill station every night is not seeing the Himalaya. If you don’t have the time to do something special in each place, the pace is too fast.
3. Does your guide love the place he is showing you? If he doesn’t, you’re missing out on insights collected over years of experience - which is something you are paying for when you ask for a guide.
4. Ask to meet the guide before you pay. If your guide doesn’t go all enthusiastic about the place in ways not mentioned on the brouchre, you might as well save the money and travel with a road map and brouchre.
5. Does your guide speak the language of the place - even a little is good - but do you have someone handy to communicate with the locals?
6. Read what is being offered in the tour carefully. How much of it is statistics and luxury descriptions and how much is local information? You can be sure that the same will be reflected in your tour most of the time. So, if you want luxury, or if you want interesting stuff, or something else, reading up befopre paying up can be a good idea.
7. Ask questions. Before you pay, make an effort to read up about the place and ask questions in the meeting. Knowledge shows - even if it means admitting ignorance, but having a good idea on where to find out.
8. Do the people have a sense of fun? Self-explanatory.
9. Find out about other people on the tour and ideally, attend a group meeting to make your payments to get a good idea of whether you will gel with the group or not.
10. To find out if an operator is reliable - simply show an interest in an unlikely variety of tours anthropology and pilgrimage, for example. If they want to sell you anything you point at, get out fast. They don’t really care what your interests are, as long as you buy a tour.

Or come to Wide Aware