Testing a hyperlink for a blog reader

A blog reader contacted me saying he is having problem in posting a hyperlink

<a href="http://www.****.com">abc</a>

(NOTE: URL and anchor text edited as that is a link to the blogger's advertiser with which I have no relationship)

as he is getting the error message:

Your HTML cannot be accepted: Tags cannot enclose tags a href="<a href="

To me, that HTML for the hyperlink looks perfectly OK, so just don't understand why he is having problem. So what to do? Simple. Test it. Published and tested, and the hyperlink worked exactly as it should. You can click on it to confirm if you wish.

Tips and Tricks for Blogger (NOTE: hyperlink changed to link to my own blog which is slated to be converted to custom domain)

The HTML for the hyperlink as originally given to me by the blogger obviously worked, and after demonstrating that it worked in this post, he replied saying that everything is OK now, and attributed the problem to the template. I am curious as to how the template can affect the hyperlink and will ask him how he managed to solve the problem. Just wondering if something in the CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) can cause such a problem.

Test "Add to Any" Social Bookmarking button link in a post

Edit comment plus keep old date: Test

Testing to see if I can make some comments and then try to edit a comment with the date changed to other than the current date

Display HTML tags in COMPOSE mode: Test

I have published a post on how you can display HTML tags in posts and comments using special codes at Display HTML tags in posts and comments.

As a result of a tip from a blog reader, I am testing to see if the HTML tags can be made to display by typing the actual HTML without using special codes in posts using the COMPOSE mode. If you see the HTML tag for a hyperlink rather than the actual hyperlink, it means this test is successful"

Blogger Tips and tricks

Conclusion: test failed as you can see the hyperlink HTML tag became an actual link. You can test that by clicking on the above link and see what happens. That isn't suppose to happen. If the test had been successful, what you should see above is

<a href="URL">anchor text</a>

where the actual URL of the target site has been replaced by just URL and the "Blogger Tricks and Tips" had been replaced by anchor text (which is the actual name given to such text) as I am afraid the HTML tag may become too long and extend into the sidebar, causing problems.

Testing email scheduler using Time Cave

I have previously made a post How to schedule post to be published in the future, but the site I use went offline, back online and now offline again. So I am testing a new site Time Cave to see if the same thing can be done with this site. It is now 24 September 2007, 7.37pm GMT+8, preparing the post to be published to Generating Revenue from your website, scheduled to be sent (published) at 12.00am, 27 September 2007. If this test is successful, I will update this post if the test is successful.

UPDATE: The post was published to Earn by adding Mpire widgets to your sites on 27 September as scheduled, but with problems. There were long, unbroken line of URLs which extended to the right sidebar. See screenshot below:



The HTML hyperlinks were not converted to clickable links, but became long unbroken URL extending into the sidebar (highlighted by arrows). I will have to edit the post from within Blogger post editor, so by the time you click on the link to go to that scheduled post, it will be different from what you see in the screenshot.

When I went into the post editor window, I found the reasons. Special characters were added into the HTML like and and and

For clarity, I will paste one of the changed HTML for a hyperlink I got in the post editor window for that scheduled post before editing in the scroll box below:

href=http://testing-blogger-beta.blogspot.com/2007/09/will-blogger-blogs-be-deleted.html target="_blank">Mpire: Everything you need to find the best deals online</aa onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMr3KnAJpq54Dc02WjtqRrifKuzZwRxzeR7q_FCEG5XmKShxcXnAB1vNwCVAe4mkCDw52CpaKcxqC2zo_nwIxKJk4dGn_wQVdIXTRCWVGdOp9zqKvUq-kFNZWVzCmqp2Vw-BDZO-0W0uFL/s1600-h/addition+4.jpg">

Perhaps one thing I need to test further is to just put the URLs into the message editor box of Time Cave without converting it to HTMLs for hyperlinks and test again. If I do that, I will test if posts containing images can be scheduled for future publishing.

Mpire: Alternative to AdSense: Testing

I am retired and loved blogging, in fact spend practically all my awake hours online. I also have to support a son through college (used to be 2 sons) with my pension, and I need to supplement my pension to meet all the expenses of putting children through colleges. Google AdSense just fit in nicely as I love to blog, I enjoyed participating in Google AdSense plus they put ads RELEVANT to the content of my blogs, and they practically automate the whole process for me.

I have a blog AdSense Alert which had AdSense products on it for a long time, that is, until they contacted me and told me I can't put AdSense products on that site because it contained the trademarked "AdSense" in it. The answer is still no even after I changed the title of the blog to Earning Online because "adsense" is in the URL and I didn't want to change the URL. That started me on a search for alternatives to Google AdSense.

Recently, came across one more - Mpire: Everything you need to find the best deals online. This site is not only for people looking for ways to earn some income online, but also for those who want to search for products, compare prices online, seek trends, and get the best deals.

Testing earning as a Mpire affiliate

We will deal with the first part first, that is, earning some income online by becoming an affiliate of Mpire. On that site, if you want to join as an affiliate, you can click on the "Widget" button and you will be taken to Mpire: Make money on your site page where you will see an example of the types of widgets you can install on your site. The example I saw was an Mpire Trend Watch widget



where you can see the product names, the price trends, buy new (retail) prices and auction prices. There are other widgets you can install. Just click on the "See more Mpire Widgets" link and you will see more examples of the kind of widgets you can install. I saw 4 - the one shown above plus "Mpire Price Check", "eBay Movers and Shakers" and "eBay Top Searches". To install the widget, you can either click on the "Add to your webpage" button below any of the 4 example widgets or click the "Register" link at the top of the page. Depending on which one you click, you will be take to a page where you will be asked for information like eMail address (optional) and password. Apparently, registration is optional and you can chose to "Skip registration", but the site explained that by registering, you can track how many people view your widgets, easily modify your widgets and be notified of updates and new widget skins. I was surprised that you can chose not to register, for in my mind, without registering, how are you going to be paid? The answer I found out later is that you can register later, or depending on which widget you chose, you will be required to give your eBay affiliate PID: (Optional) and/or Amazon Associates ID: (Optional). It is optional because you can add that later when you have it.

Anyway, since I want to test how one can earn via Mpire, I registered and I gave my Amazon Associates ID as I already have it. I did not want to install eBay widgets because eBay affiliate program work through Commission Junction, and the CJ terms state that if you do not get a commissionable click within a 6 months period, there will be a charge (forgot how much). I don't like that. What if I become indisposed and unable to manage my sites and thus become inactive? I don't want to become indebted to Commission Junction. Anyway, I installed 2 test widgets at Natural Remedies ("Mpire Price Check" near the bottom of the left sidebar) and Computer, Internet and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) ("Mpire Trend Watch" near the bottom of the left sidebar). There will be a graph or arrow showing the price trend at the top and the categories you selected when you generated the script for the widgets at the bottom. Try clicking on one of the categories and see what happen. I tried clicking on "Search Engine Optimization" category with the FireFox browser with pop-up enabled. A bar at the top gave the message that pop-up was blocked and I had to click "Option" and then select to allow pop-up for that site. When I next click on the category again, and this time a new tab opened (I had chosen to make the page open in a new window when generating the script, but in Firefox, I had set it to open in new tab instead) displaying the Amazon page with a long list of products related to SEO.

Let us see if these two Mpire widgets will generate any income and it it is a viable alternative and/or addition to Google AdSense

Searching (shopping) online for products with Mpire

At Mpire: Everything you need to find the best deals online, near the top, there is a search box where you can shop for things online:



I tried searching for "computer" and found 28 items, out of which 6 are actually computers and the rest are computer related products. But just quoting the number of items found is deceptive, for at the right side of the items would be displayed a price range plus a button to click to "See All Stores". A search for "digital camera" got me 823 items. If you want to see the actual search result page, click on mpire search result page for digital camera. The number of items you will I would suppose will be time dependent, so you may see more or less than 823 items. In any case, if you are really searching for digital cameras, and you add in the number of choices you will get by clicking on "See All Stores", that would be a huge range of choices for you.

Searching (shopping) for products using the search box is not the only option. Below, that is a constantly changing display of products with accompanying price chart beside it, and below that chart, a link which may read "Price check iPhones", depending on what product is being displayed, and a list of products will be displayed, the number of products depending on the item being displayed.

And below this are a huge range of categories, with the panel of categories constantly changing from Panel 1 to Panel 7 (there is a button to pause it). Click on Computer hardware and a page of computer hardware related stuff will be displayed.

Below that again is a section displaying "Shop Popular Products" and if those lists of products is not enough for you, below the list is a link that may perhaps say "See more digital cameras". In that list, if a particular item interest you, say Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, clicking on it will display a list of that item from eBay or from other online merchants.

That is not the end. Right at the the bottom of the page, you will also see a section "Get the Best Deals and Coupons". If you want to try your luck, go ahead and click on something that interest you and you may get a real bargain.

Will Blogger blogs be deleted?

Blogger says their blogs don't expire. This mean that if you set up a Blogger blog, don't even make a single post or make one or more and never update it for years, it is supposed to be still there.

Gmail Policy is different. Here is the Gmail Policy, last updated on June 28, 2004:

"Account Inactivity: Google will terminate your account in accordance with Section 9 of the Terms of Use if you fail to login to your account for a period of nine months."

Yahoo only have a Privacy Policy. I have not been able to find a Yahoo mail policy. I do remember when I first sign up for a Yahoo mail, the set up pages says Yahoo mail is for life. Whether that is still so I do not know as no such message is displayed when you sign up for Yahoo mail. I have only mangaged to find Yahoo Terms of Service which says "You acknowledge that Yahoo! reserves the right to log off accounts that are inactive for an extended period of time." What that means exactly I do not know. I do know if you do not sign in your Yahoo mail for extended time, it is inactivated, and you have a chance to reactivate it again. But how long such thing will last I do not know.

Now that Blogger have introduced New Blogger, a Blogger account is tied to a Google account which is the same as the Gmail account. Now if you start a Blogger account with a Gmail address as the username, and you don't sign into your Gmail for 9 months or more, what will happen to the Blogger account with its blog or blogs? This is what I to test.

I have set up 3 blogs:

Test Blogger Permanency

Test Blogger Permancy 2

Blogger Yahoo Permanency.

The first two were set up with Blogger accounts using Gmail addresses. I will not log into both the Gmail addresses, and not update the first, but will occassionally update the second occasionally. The third blog was set up with a Blogger account using a Yahoo email address as the user name. The first was set up yesterday - 19 September 2007. The other 2 were set up today - 20 September 2007. I will not sign into any of the emails Inbox used. I will check to see what happen to the blogs on 19 September 2008.