Link Baiting Competition

Link baiting is the way that most bloggers are attempting to go. In simple terms it is writing in such a way that people want to link to them. Then, from these links they generate traffic. Some people use blog rolls in the hope that the people they link to will think back, while others go on extensive blog linking exchange programs. To me these is no good way to go about it other than writing interesting stuff.

BizNicheMedia are going about it, rather succesfully, in another way. They are going to pay people $1000 for giving them the best way of getting links. I think that they have already discovered the best way simply through this competition. The chance for $1000 makes people want to link to them.

Do you blame them?

A website wants traffic. It is a fact of life. But getting that traffic is an entirely different aspect, one that hundreds of people have dedicated their lives too, and have not yet found out how. Good posts about interesting things seems the most conventional, and one that I'm going to stick to for a while.

Categories: Links, Competition, Blogging

Free Content? I think not!

A lot of websites use ads to make it worth their while to continue, but I have noticed that more and more are starting to rely on donations from their readers. This confused me some-what, because I have always thought of a donation as giving money to a charity (eg. Cure Cancer, Flying Doctors, and Hospitals), and it seems that someone else agrees with me: The Oxford Dictionary. It states that a donation is:

Something that is given to a charity, especially a sum of money.

A charity, not a website that tries to convince people to take their personality test! This made me think that maybe my perspective of a charity is wrong, and that blogs whos entire existence is dedicated to people showing pictures of their children is a charity. So I looked up the definition of charity:

An organization set up to provide help and raise money for those in need.

So unless the owners of these sites are homeless, or have some crippeling condition, the word donation is misleading. By giving money to one of these sites you are not 'donating' anything at all. If you have some great desire to hand over your cash to a complete stranger, then give it to something worthwhile, like the Red Cross.

Categories: Donations, Rants, Charity

Metal Storm - Another example of Australian ingenuity

Metal Storm is a revolutionary Australian company who specialize in technology under the same name, and by technology I really mean weapons.

Most countries are developing different kinds of advanced weaponry and Australia's is being developed by Metal Storm. The difference between these new weapons and modern ones, is that there are no moving parts in any of Metal Storms.

None.

The guns work electronically, and therefore have a huge rate of fire. Some say that over one million rounds per minute can be fired.

All kinds of weapons can be made using this method, from pistols to grenade launchers.

The only problem for Australians is that while these guns started off in Australia, they are now funded and made by Americans in America. We finally made it big in this industry, and it is instantly snatched away from us before we can make use of it.

Categories: Weapons, Australia

Is there a God?

The S-Bend has had quite a few religious posts recently, so I decided to have a discussion about the biggest religious question of all: Is there a God?

I'll first explain my own beliefs, so that you can see where I am coming from. I am a Catholic. Although I only go to Church of Christmas and Easter, I respect and commune with God in other ways. I don't take much notice of the 'Church' organization, but feel that people should be good and kind anyway. I try to base my opinions on facts, and it is because of this that I agree with Darwin and other scientists and their findings.

But the question at hand is about faith: faith in a supreme being or in other humans. Does something control our fates, or is Earth merely a testing ground?
There are so many unanswered questions; questions that may not be able to be answered.

Was the Universe created by God, or by an explosion of gases? One thing always bothers me with the big bang theory: If exploding gases created the universe, then where did the gases come from?

But there is one over ruling question: Does God exist?

For me, the answer is... Yes!

Categories: Religion, God, Discussion

Catholic Church: Creationism, Intelligent Design or Darwinism

I had always thought that the Catholic Church would be a strong supporter of creationism, as this type of belief relies on a higher being to work. So it astonished me when I read an article stating that the Church had moved away from Intelligent Design and was moving closer to Darwinism.

This does not seem to make sense, as Darwins theory does not have room for God in the actual theory (God may fit in at the very beginning of life though). Why then would the Church move towards an idea that opposes their own faith?

There are two answers to this question that would fit:
There has been a mistake in the article itself. This could be a typing error or maybe the writer did not fully understand the situation.
The other answer is much more likely: I misread/misinterpreted the article. This happens often when I am browsing on the internet, but I specifically read this article several times.

I think the one thing we can agree on is that the Catholic Church is fanatically Creationist. But what are you? Personally, I believe in Darwins theorys and ideas. The science and facts behind it fit well in my 'scientific' mind.

Are you Creationist, Intelligent Design or Darwinist?

Categories: Church, Religion, Philosophy

Hewitt vs the Diggers

Leyton Hewitt, the darling of Australian tennis. But it was not always like this. Only last year he became one of the most hated sportsmen after he described himself as a modern day digger. I do not know what his exact words were however.

For the benefit of the non-Australians reading this I will try to describe exactly what a digger is. A digger is a name given to Australian soldiers, but especially to those involved in the Second World War. But it has become more than that, it has become an ideal. The characteristics displayed on the battlefield are what all Australians aim to have: mateship, courage, and a sense of humour.

For one man to claim to be a modern day digger, to have all these qualities is an insult to everyone who died protecting us. Yet, Hewitt has somehow been forgiven, and has once again become the face of Australian Tennis.

Categories: Sport, Hewitt, Tennis, Rants