Evolution of Online Advertising

Oh boy!  It’s been a while since I’ve updated this blog.  In the year 2008,  I have been pounding the keyboard in my personal blog because the quickie moolah for online advertising was hot.  How could I resist getting paid from the range of $15-$90 per blog post?  It wasn’t unusual that I was writing advertisement posts well into the wee hours of the morning.  I would call it an immersion program in online advertising and  if that wasn’t enough, I was also having a crash course of tweaking my WordPress theme/s.  Sure, I had Google Ads plastered all over my blog but no one seemed to be interested in the ads, OK, some  people were interested but I only had $123 check for a whole year.  Then Google crushed the cash cow moolah gig by demoting the Page Ranks of bloggers who had sponsored posts.  Looking back,  if I was Google, I would have done the same because the integrity of the search engine is being polluted with non-relevant searches.  OK, I get it… to be able to make a sustainable blogging gig, one has to be on the good side of Google, that means no sponsored posts and have write about something that teaches people to do something.  It was great  while it lasted.

Between 2009-2010, I had a juggling act with spearheading project home-sell-home-buy in the middle of the American recession, coordinating my sister’s wedding overseas and still continuing my day job as super mom.  As I watched in silence, the online advertising landscape has dramatically changed as Facebook and Twitter came into the picture.  Yep, Facebook has hit the golden jackpot when it comes to online advertising folks.  I guess the only way to get a speckle Facebook gold dust is to watch out for the IPO.  That goes without saying that to be able to be able to buy Facebook stock is to save up some cash which is quite a challenge at this particular time of the economy.

Cracker Barrel Eastern Shore

We have been wishing for a Cracker Barrel within 30-45 minutes drive.  Since the billboard announcement of the opening for Fall 2008, we have been patiently waiting for the day.  After a long time, they opened November 18, 2008.  We had dinner there last weekend and they were packed! Thankfully, we were seated right away.

Service was good but just like any other newly opened restaurant, it takes sometime for the whole crew to be in tip top running condition.  We are used to the very fast Cracker Barrel service and 15 minutes wait for the food seemed longer.  I’m sure they’ll be fine after a while.

The new location is: 115 Blue Jay Court, Stevensville, MD 21666   Phone: (410) 643-3841.   Do be careful though after taking exit 38A because the new round about is very tiny.

They are doing very well since they opened.  I do expect this location will be extremely busy during the peak beach season.

Search for a General Contractor

We have established the fact that we are “DIY challenged” when it comes to finishing a basement with a bathroom and learned valuable important lessons in home improvement.  It’s a good thing that we haven’t done high cost mistakes before it was too late.  We have done more work for our contractor that’s for sure.  I highly recommend that DIYers should read on building code before starting on a project to avoid naive mistakes.

We wanted a general contractor who is licensed, bonded and insured.  Of course not to mention affordable and have quality work. [Read more...]