Tag Archives: offbeat news

Article Publishing Summary 23rd May 2011

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This is a summary of my publishing activity during the last week, as well as the status of my lenses on Squidoo and my reviews on Best Reviewer.

I hope you will take a look at them and also hope that you enjoy them.

Yahoo Contributor Network

This is what I have published in the last week, enjoy:

  • The Day We Almost Won the Lottery

    Buying a lottery ticket can be an exciting experience, one that is filled with the anticipation of how your life could change if you won the jackpot. This is a story about how we almost won the lottery.
  • Could These Chinese Villagers Be Descendants of Roman Legionnaires?

    There are stories of a Roman Legion led my Marcus Crassus that was defeated in what is now Iran in 53BC. Is it possible that survivors made their way to China and settled there. People in one village have Caucasian DNA as well as Caucasian features.
  • What Happens when a Cop Steps Out of Bounds

    Police Officers are expected to respect the law like everyone else, and to help prevent crime, but sometimes they misuse their powers when something happens in their personal life. This is one of those stories.
  • Should Having Children Be Something You Earn and Not a Right?

    Society today has created groups of people who have children because they are careless as well as those who have children purely to get additional child benefits. Is our future one where being a parent might be a status that you have to earn.
  • White Tiger on the Loose a Local Offbeat News Story

    Reports that a white tiger has been spotted on the outskirts of the city you live in are not what you want to hear on the news. This is what happened in our city this weekend, but as usual things are not always what they seem in this offbeat news story.

 My traffic on Yahoo Contributor Network has really taken a dive lately, which is one reason why I quit publishing my News From A Weird World series last week.  I hope to restart this if my article popularity picks up, but writing has to be worth the effort in any case, unless it’s just for my benefit to document things of course.

You can also Click Here to see my latest articles up to date, rather than wait for the next summary posting.

Squidoo

These are my Top 5 ranked lenses on Squidoo:

I also recently created the following lenses on Squidoo:

 

Best Reviewer

Best-Reviewer allows you to create review lists and to get paid using Google Adsense Revenue Sharing.

These are the most recent Best Reviews that I have created:

 

If you yould like to create reviews of your own and earn through Google Adsense, it’s very easy, and many reviews only take 5 minutes to create.  Click HERE for more information.

Google Really Doesn’t Like Yahoo And It’s Hurting My Earnings

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It’s common knowledge that there is little love lost between the two search engine giants Google and Yahoo, but in recent months when Google modified their search engine placement algorithm, it seems that among the sites that have taken a huge hit is Yahoo.

Google’s claim is that it is trying to lower the relevance of “Content Farms” in it’s search engine, but if like me you are a writer on the Yahoo Contributor Network (or YCN for short), you will have seen traffic to your articles drop as much as 70% in the last few months.

It’s easy to see that Yahoo articles are either not listed, or listed low in the list of pages, if you search on Google for the exact phrase “News From A Weird World”.  This is a series that I have published on YCN every Wednesday for the last 15 months.  If you look at the domains that are showing up in Google, it’s places where links to my articles have either been added manually by myself, or have been added through RSS Feeds.

The first site that I see is Redgage, where I manually added a link to the article.

Then there are 2 links to Delovesto.com, my main blog, where I also add links to these manually.

Thirdly, we have my blog on Blogspot, where I sometimes add links manually.

Next, She Told Me, which is an Adsense Revenue Sharing site where I share many of my articles.

Then we come to The Laughline, my humor site, where you guessed it, I manually added a link to my articles.

Are we seeing a picture here?

Next comes Zimbio, where links to all my articles are submitted via RSS Feed.

After this is a Squidcast (news item) that I sent out about my Squidoo lens that is an index page for News From A Weird World.  Google does by the way love Squidoo.

Finally, a single entry for YCN at the end of the first page of Google, and it’s for an older article published in February.

The second page on Google lists 2 entries from Digg,  2 more from Zimbio, one from Stumpedia (manual submission), and then one from Qondio, another writing site where I had written an article about Offbeat News items and linked to my News From A Weird World lens on Squidoo.

Another entry for Delovesto.com and one for Redgage.com completes the second page on Google.

But where are the remaining 60+ News From A Weird World articles that I published on YCN?

The third page on Google begins with my Squidoo lens Offbeat News, the predecessor of News From A Weird World, then Zimbio, Redgage, and several sites that copy the introduction to articles but do at least link to the main article instead of plagiarizing them.

Finally on this page, a ca.news.yahoo.com search page that no longer exists.  Bizarre!  All of these come before all but one of my original articles on YCN.

The good news is that there are 2 more listings for News From A Weird World from YCN on the fourth page of Google, but who is going to look that far down?  Also on that page are what looks like more plagiarized versions.

In total, only 3 or 4 out of 60 of the original articles seem to be included on Google, which is really poor.

Many other writers are experiencing the same thing, so maybe it’s time to look at writing elsewhere, somewhere that my articles do get well listed on Google, and I think that this list shows very well which some of these sites might be.

There are more ways than one to earn money from writing.   You can get an up front payment (nice to have), payment based on traffic (which is what I have mostly been getting from YCN), and you can earn from Affiliate links and advertising like Google Adsense (which I do on my blogs, as well as on other sites where my articles are to be found.

At the end of the day the key is TRAFFIC!  Without traffic you aren’t going to see earnings, and traffic is very much dependent on search engine placement.

If the site that you are writing on is getting penalized by Google, then no matter how good the SEO is on your articles, traffic will suffer.

I would definitely be interested to hear feedback from anyone else who is a writer and who is experiencing similar problems.  It’s always good to know places to write where search engine listing is good, and where earnings are generally better.

Article Publishing Summary 18th April 2011

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This is a summary of my publishing activity during the last week, as well as the status of my lenses on Squidoo and my reviews on Best Reviewer. 

Note: This is a regular Monday post on my blog, and not part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge.

I write on a number of topics, usually it depends on what comes into my head on any given day, so it could be a travel story, memoirs from my life, something from the daily news, or even a poem inspired by something. 

In the last week I have written less than usual on Yahoo, because of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge, and I have instead been busy writing articles on our blog here, as I expect to throughout April, with 26 articles in all, each based on a different letter of the alphabet from A-Z.

I hope you will take a look at them and also enjoy them. 

Yahoo Contributor Network

This is what I have published in the last week, enjoy: 

  • How Many More Earthquakes Can Japan Take?

    It is one month today since Japan was struck by a huge earthquake, but still almost daily tremors of 6 or higher are being felt in the Honshu area. How many more of these extreme earthquakes can the people or the island take.
  • News from a Weird World : Offbeat News 13 April 2011

    In News From A Weird World this week, you can find the following stories: Join the US Army, The PM Pen Snatcher, Dead 5 Times in a day, Flying Vacuum Cleaners, Beware of Flying Fish and more.
  • A-Z April Blogging Challenge Mid-Month Status

    Almost 1,500 writers have been feverishly typing away in April on a challenge to write 26 articles each with a theme of a letter of the alphabet. We are now halfway through the month of April, and this is an update on how my entries are progressing.

 

You can also Click Here to see my latest articles up to date, rather than wait for the next summary posting.

Squidoo

These are my Top 5 ranked lenses on Squidoo: 

I also recently created the following lens on Squidoo:

 

Best Reviewer

Best-Reviewer allows you to create review lists and to get paid using Google Adsense Revenue Sharing. 

These are the most recent Best Reviews that I have created: 

 If you yould like to create reviews of your own and earn through Google Adsense, it’s very easy, and many reviews only take 5 minutes to create.  Click HERE for more information.

News From A Weird World: The Offbeat News for 14th April 2011

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News From A Weird World is a regular weekly article that I publish and which includes some of the strangest news stories from the previous week.

Note: This is not my entry for the A-Z Blogging Challenge, you can find a link to that post here: L Is For Lime Cay In Jamaica.

In this edition of News From A Weird World, you can find some really weird stories that include joining the US Army to become a US Citizen, the Prime Minister Pen Snatcher, the soap actor who died 5 times in a day, attack of the flying vacuum cleaners, beware of giant flying fish and more.

This article was previously published on the Yahoo Contributor Network.

 The stories to be found on News From A Weird World are the kind that are just so bizarre, they make you realize that fact is often stranger than fiction, and make you wonder what on earth people were thinking to get into the news in this way.

 This is a selection of weird news stories from the past week that I hope you enjoy, and if you do, please can you help spread the word by sharing the stories with your friends.

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 Join The US Army And Become A US Citizen

 It sounds too good to believe doesn’t it, and like most things that sound too good to be true, this was just another scam.

 A Chinese man who lives in Los Angeles convinced a number of immigrants that if they joined a special squad of US Army recruits, that they would be able to become US Citizens.

 The problem is that not only was the idea fake, so was the squad itself, which by the time he was arrested consisted of over 100 Chinese nationals, who were charged as much as $450 to join the special unit.

 The Chinaman gave his recruits uniforms, and they went on special events, like parading through a suburb of Los Angeles and visiting the aircraft carrier USS Midway, which is decommissioned and in a San Diego museum.

 It sounds like something out of Red Dawn doesn’t it, a Chinese army in the USA!

 The squad leader has thankfully been arrested, and has been charged with theft by false pretences, manufacturing deceptive government documents, and counterfeiting an official government seal.

 He could face up to eight years in jail for his offences.  Given that he could be out in less than half that time, it doesn’t sound very long considering the nature of his offence does it.

 Read the full story HERE.

 .

 The Czech PM Snatches Pen

 It’s something we have all done when staying at a hotel or at other locations where pens are lying around isn’t it, snatching a pen to save us having to buy one, or to add to our collection of pens from different places.

 The Czech Prime Minister was attending a press conference in Chile last week, and was seated next to the Chilean President. 

 What happened while the Chilean President was speaking can be seen in a video that has gone viral on YouTube, and that shows the Czech PM opening a pen case on the desk in front of him, taking out the pen, hiding it under the table and then sneaking it into his pocket.

 It’s not something that he is going to easily be able to live down, that’s for sure.

 Read the full story HERE.

 .

 Police Attacked With Vacuum Cleaners During Clean Up Operation

 Police in the Northern Territory of Australia were in hot pursuit last week of a stolen van that belonged to a cleaning company.

 The van had been stolen by teenagers, and as it got onto the highway and the police tried to stop it, the thieves tried to lose them by throwing the contents of the van at the police car.

 That included vacuum cleaners, buckets, and even ladders.

 After a chase that went on for 70 miles, the teenagers lost control of the van and it rolled over.

 The thieves, a 19 year old and a 14 year old were taken to hospital, and later discharged and placed under arrest.

 What’s the betting that they are charged for a menial offence and are in trouble again within a few months?

 Read the full story HERE.

 .

 He’s Dead Five Times In One Day!

 You know what it’s like when you watch the soap operas, you either see the same actors playing different roles, or you see similar scenarios being played out in different soaps.

 A well known veteran actor from Hong Kong had his character die in no less than five soap operas last week, in a 24 hour period.

 Actor Law Lok-lam said that he didn’t mind his character dying, if that was what the story line said, but apparently his daughter was upset having seen reports of her father’s death posted everywhere on the internet.

 A spokesperson for the television channel stated that the fact that he died five times in such a short period of time was purely a coincidence.  Yeah right!

 Read the full story HERE.

 .

 Beware Of Flying Fish

 When we read of flying fish we normally think of the sparrow sized flying fish that are so cute to see in tropical waters, and they also make a great sandwich when fried.

 Boaters on the Suwannee River in Florida sometimes have to deal with a different kind of flying fish, a much bigger one, and guess what?  They are back in town!

 The signs have been posted everywhere, warning boaters to watch out for Gulf Sturgeon, which can grow to up to eight feet long and weigh as much as 200lbs.

 when it’s spawning time and the fish are likely to leap out of the water, they can really do some serious damage if they hit someone on a boat, or even if they hit a boat itself.

 So if you are thinking of going out fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, be on the lookout for flying fish.

 Read the full story HERE.

========================================

 I hope you enjoyed this edition of News From A Weird World as much as I enjoyed compiling all the stories.

 You can now also find links to all of the News From A Weird World and Offbeat News editions at Squidoo, and if you do enjoy these weekly Offbeat News articles, please could you help share them with your friends etc. I am sure they could use a good laugh too.

 News Reports Are Taken From The Following Sources:

ABC News Australia
Courthouse News
Demotix
Digital Spy
Football 365
Metro UK
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The Bournemouth Echo
The Daily Mail
The Daily Telegraph
The London Evening Standard
The Sun

Article Publishing Summary 11th April 2011

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This is a summary of my publishing activity during the last week, as well as the status of my lenses on Squidoo and my reviews on Best Reviewer. 

Note: This is a regular Monday post on my blog, and not part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge.

I write on a number of topics, usually it depends on what comes into my head on any given day, so it could be a travel story, memoirs from my life, something from the daily news, or even a poem inspired by something. 

In the last week I have written less than usual on Yahoo, because of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge, and I have instead been busy writing articles on our blog here, as I expect to throughout April, with 26 articles in all, each based on a different letter of the alphabet from A-Z.

I hope you will take a look at them and also enjoy them. 

Yahoo Contributor Network

This is what I have published in the last week, enjoy: 

  • News from a Weird World : Offbeat News 06 April 2011
    In News From A Weird World this week, you can find the following stories: Fake Australian Wine Floods Market, Nazis Invade The USA, A Potty Place For Phosphates, Throw Dogs Off Your Scent, No Playing Outside and more.

You can also Click Here to see my latest articles up to date, rather than wait for the next summary posting.

Squidoo

These are my Top 5 ranked lenses on Squidoo: 

I also recently created the following lens on Squidoo:

 

Best Reviewer

Best-Reviewer allows you to create review lists and to get paid using Google Adsense Revenue Sharing. 

These are the most recent Best Reviews that I have created: 

 If you yould like to create reviews of your own and earn through Google Adsense, it’s very easy, and many reviews only take 5 minutes to create.  Click HERE for more information.