Monday, March 9, 2009

Why I like the heck out of paid posting

It seems like the longer I hang around the Internet, the more complaining I hear about paid posting.

I like the heck out of the stuff, frankly. Why? Because I'm just about to the point on Blogvertise where I can buy a very dandy toy and won't feel guilty about it all.

Anyone who is a parent knows what I mean when I talk about the guilt associated with spending money on stuff. No matter how much money I make, I steel feel rotten when I buy myself something instead of purchasing things for the kids.

I do believe parents are genetically inclined to feel such guilt -- otherwise, our kids would wind up in horrible shape as we adults spent everything on having fun. When I got a fat raise at work, that was money used to take care of the family. I just got a nice, long term freelancing gig with a newspaper and that cash will go to (you guessed it) support my family.

Ah, but the money I make off of this here little blog is different! I can spend the hell out of that stuff with no guilt at all. The best thing, of course, is the money I make through taking paid posts heads right to my PayPal account and just sits there until I find something to do with it.

And I've found something to buy, indeed. When I was a kid, I had the best bicycle in the world -- a Schwinn Mag Scrambler that my parents bought me in about 1978. That thing was the Cadillac of BMX bikes and cost a hefty $200 back then (that was back when Schwinn's were top quality and made in the U.S. -- they're all mass produced in China now). Mine was gun metal gray with red mags and my friends and I ruled the neighborhoods on our bikes.

Those were the days, folks, and I've started thinking about getting a bicycle to tool around on in my neighborhood. Yes, my wife could get one, too, and I could well imagine us getting healthy by riding down to Ed & Kay's, a local restaurant here in Benton, Ark., and getting some of that pie with the meringue that's about a foot thick. I know that doesn't promote a healthy lifestyle, but it's better than heading down to Ed & Kay's in a car, isn't it?

So I'm going to buy a bicycle with some of that "blog money." I'll probably head over to the Chainwheel in Little Rock to see what they have on hand, but I've really got my eye set on the Nirve Night Owl that's posted at the top of this post and is a steal at $349.99 with shipping included from Amazon.com.

When you run across paid posts here, then, please bear in mind that they're for a good cause -- money for The Hawg to burn.

Shameless plug!

I went and applied to be a rafter so I can wax poetic about various things. If you have a minute, click right here and give my stuff a thumbs up and leave a comment if you want. Thanks!

10 comments:

Unknown said...

I made a purchase from your web site a while back. It was for a book.

Good luck with the bicycle.

Donnie said...

Good luck with the bike (I have ridden for more than 20 years)and the capitalist's endeavors. Right now we could use more of both.

Anonymous said...

I generally pay for web hosting via my paid posts and advertisements....

Da Old Man said...

It's all good.
The only paid posts I dislike are the nonsense ones. You've seen them, when a blogger from the Pacific Rim recommends an auto body shop in East Texas, it makes me wonder about the credibility of the author.

Anonymous said...

A great way to spend your mad money and not feel guilty because of your family...Enjoy

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

http://cmarlow480.blogspot.com/2009/03/paid-blogging-craze.html

I wrote kinda a follow up to your entry... Hope you will check it out!! And comment if you feel like you need too dont be shy.

--- Christopher

http://cmarlow480.blogspot.com/

Metallman said...

Hey there Hawg. I'm with you on the feeling guilty if I get myself something. It feels as if all the cash that is made is for my family so a little extra blogging money goes a long way to pay for some of "daddy's toys", you know. I'll still get my wife and kids stuff with the money, but it's something that won't make me feel guilty about. More power to you, Hawg. Later.

HawgWyld said...

Sherry -- Thanks for that and I hope it was my dad's book!

Don -- I could really use some advice on selecting a bicycle (every time I try to find some on the Internet, I'm led to a bunch of pages maintained by people who sell bicycles.)

Got any advice?

McAngeli -- Paid posting is a good thing, isn't it?

Da Old Man -- Yeah, I've seen those. Some people will write about anything, seemingly...

Jude -- That's the way I look at it...

Christopher -- I did just that and I'm rarely shy ;)

Metallman -- Thanks, Metallman. That's the one thing I've learned about being a husband and father -- that money I make at work isn't exactly mine anymore, is it?

Unknown said...

Hey, you know everybody needs a little "fun money" now and then that they can spend on something totally frivolous if they want to - I totally hear ya! Enjoy that bike!