Heck with the bad economy! How to make a few extra bucks online. Part I

If the first thing that you need to realize is the fact that there is no free lunch. However, if you're willing to spend a little time and energy it is entirely possible to make a few hundred bucks every month from the comfort of your living room.

You do not need to be a computer programmer or some sort of genius. It is not really all that hard nor do you need any super specialized talents or knowledge. Your average everyday person can do this. All it takes is a little bit of know how and some passion. Outside of that, all you will need is time and perseverance.

Before we start you will need to think of something that you feel passionate about. Whether that is politics, the economy, business, family, a hobby, crafts, health, or anything that you like to talk about. Once you have a topic that you are passionate about, you don't even need to be an expert in it just something that you love… Then you are ready to begin your journey toward fame and fortune (OK maybe your journey toward active bloggers status and a car payment).

Since setting up a blog is so incredibly easy let's take a look at that first. All you need to do it is register for an account here on blogger.com or any other blogger website that you may find. It really couldn't be simpler. First click, the register link in the upper right hand corner, then follow the instructions and select a template then your good to go.

Once you have your blog setup it is time to make sure that you can start making money. I recommend writing a few simple blog entries just to get started. Once you feel comfortable and have posted a few entries it is time to serve ads.

Hands down, the absolute best way to start making money quickly is to sign up for Google AdSense. It is simple to use but extremely powerful. The way it works is relatively simple. Advertisers pay Google to run their ads. Then Google pays you to place the ads on your website. Due to Google's high standards and excellent monitoring it has been my experience that the ads are tasteful and not inappropriate.

Now you will need to visit www.google.com/adsense and sign up for an account. Once you have signed up for an account you will be able to start serving ads on your blog. It is easy to setup simply go to the admin panel on your blog (I'm using blogger.com as an example) and go to the layout and select the Google AdSense module in place it in the desired position.

Now if you keep it up and post to your blog frequently you will start receiving checks from Google in the mail every month (assuming you make at least $100 that month otherwise you will get a check after your balance adds up to $100).

As I said before you may not get rich doing this, but with perseverance and dedication you should start making some decent money. Subscribe to this blog to catch future installments on how to maximize your profits and find other newlin cool ways to make a few extra bucks on the web to help fight off this stupid bad economy.

Is it me or has the Internet gotten just a tiny bit safer?

I have been noticing a general trend in the type of clients I've been getting recently and the problems they are bringing their machines in for. Overall I have noticed a pretty big decline in the number of computers they had been infected with viruses or spyware.

This is definitely good news across the board. Even better, the computers that I do see that have been infected are usually not been updated automatically. This tells me that Microsoft must be doing something right.

Now I know that Microsoft has really taken a beating about security over the years. In some cases they have earned it, but sometimes I think they really have gotten a raw deal. Whatever the case it really appears that computer infections are happening less frequently.

Of course this is just my perspective. To definitively say would take some pretty serious research. Unfortunately, if the people best geared up to do that would be the folks that produce antivirus and other forms of Security Software. Since it is obviously not in their best interest to show a decline in the number of computer infections I wouldn't count on it happening anytime soon.

So just for the sake of argument let's take a closer look at it.

A noticeable reduction in the number of virus cases I am asked to repair. Outside of the possibility of an actual decrease virus infections there may be other causes. Perhaps I have a different type of clientele, or maybe people are better educated about Internet safety. It could be due to better, more comprehensive antivirus programs, or even simply due to the fact that people aren't falling for it anymore making it less profitable.

What do you think? Leave a comment in let me know…

Welcome to the Information Age.

Welcome to the Information Age.
It's here, it's not going away

I speak to many Professionals that simply don't want to deal with it. It is too much of a hassle to learn, they don't have time and a whole host of other excuses.

They have been doing business the same way for years and it has worked out so far, why change?

Well, for starters, whether you want to face it, or not, the majority of customers are or are becoming tech saavy and expect a certain level of technical service. It's just that simple.

Generation X and Y have grown up, and become a serious financial powerhouse.

Moreover,the 30 to 50 year old demographic has gotten much more comfortable with technology. Even the baby boomers are online in droves. They can shop for a house from 5,000 miles away, complete with satellite images, from the comfort of their living rooms.

They expect you, as a professional business person to be up on all of this technology.

BUT WAIT! You're a business person. Your business is painting, selling cars, or candlestick making. Who said you have to be a computer science major? Now, you have to know about legal stuff, financial stuff, city ordinanaces, taxes, and everything else that goes with owning a business? PLUS TECHNOLOGY??? Wow, doesn't seem fair does it?

Unless of course you happen to enjoy technology.

I have found that many people that don't have a good grasp on technology, either don't understand what it is all about, or are concerned that they will "break" something. If that is the case, perhaps I can be of assistance.

Keep reading. Before you get discouraged, let's take a look at technology. What it is all about, how to work it, how to keep up with it... When you boil it all down, it's much more manageable then you might think.

Let's break it down:

• The Internet, is simply a hugenetwork of computers.
• Computers Manipulate and StoreFiles.
• Files, regardless of what they are (pictures, numbers, letters, emailetc ... ) data.
• Data is simply information.
• Therefore, the Internet is just information, or, more plainly theInternet = Information.

Think of it like an enormous library, that contains basically all of mankind'sknowledge that you can access from anywhere you have access to it. All you need is a simple computer, even as simple as a cellphone ...

Better yet, once you get the hang of it, it is a lot more fun and a whole lot easier to find information then a real actual library. What's more,the information is up to the minute, comprehensive, interactive and constantly updated. There is information about anything that could possibly interest you, even if it only interests you for a moment (like this blog perhaps).

Yep, it's all about information. That's all there is to it. As I see it, information is becoming more important than money.

I am guessing that soon information will be the new money. Think about it... there is little or no need for actual cash. I can lose it, have it stolen ... My check card is acceptedeverywhere. I even think the neighbor kid's lemonade stand has a credit card terminal ...