I’ve been trying to set up a shared drive for me and my flatmates, since we tend to share photos, music, movies and TV shows. It’d be kind-of nifty to be able to put it all on a central drive we can all access, and cut out the tedious running around with USB keys… but I think the conclusion I’m coming to is that one or all of us needs more computer memory!

There are a whole load of ways to get your website out there, if you’re on a bit of a hits kick. Getting your link in web directories (dirmania web directory, which has useful categorization and offers free listing), link exchanges, forums - they’re all about exposure and getting page ranks up. Mind you, they’re good ways of finding some great sites to read, too, and awesome resources online.

Why might you want more exposure? To earn more, I suppose, from all those paid blogging programmes. Better opportunities, more money. The more widely-known and better-read your site is, the more advertisers are willing to pay for space on it. And just to connect with a wider community… to sell more, if you’re site sells products, to get more opinions if it’s a forum or feedback site. Diversity, and all that!

To be honest, I’ve never been a big one for putting my site in link systems and trying to build up visitors or my hit statistics. I don’t really assume many people are that interested in my own mundane musings. But I can definitely see how these would be invaluable tools for, say, corportate websites or websites that focus on revenue-generation as opposed to random and often meaningless self-expression. Still, it’s nice to feel you’re reaching people.

Finally, finally, we have proper internet access of our own. No more spending endless half-hours trying to find that one random unlocked network we found, or trips to the libray or coffee house just to check email.

Now to get back to the online world! I’m so excited!

Goodness, I’ve not written here in a while. Oops. I need to get back into this! I’m going to, now that I actually have internet access again (thank goodness!).

This time of year is pretty stressful, what with money issues after Christmas (and just life in general being so damn expensive!). I swear, though, when you get paid for blogging, it really makes a difference, it’s great. So far I’ve used paid blogging money to pay for computer software, and things like Paid LJ time. It all helps! And now I can actually put the money in my everyday bank account and use it to pay for… ooh, I don’t know - coffee! (I’ve become such an addict since I’ve been here - it doesn’t help that there’s a Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts on literally every corner!!). Or a trip to the cinema. Or even bills and rent (boo, hiss). The possibilities! (Then again… maybe just the coffee!!).

I have to admit, I find keeping up with all the awesome blogs, journals and news sites in my feed reader a bit of a challenge. The little counter on the icon blinks at me, unread items in their hundreds, and I feel guilty for not having been through them all! (And yet I refuse to unsubscribe, because it all matters to me! :P)

I just found out about www.readlatestnews.com, though, which is pretty cool and takes away the need for having sites like BBC/NYT/CNN etc. etc. in your reader (and let’s face it, those are the sites most often updated, and can add a huge chunk to your unread item count!). It’s a one-stop shop for all things news! You can get international, local, specialized (politics/tech/etc.) from every source you could want, in one place!