It is funny that just slightly a month ago, I was lamenting the difficulty in categorizing my blogs to better describe them and yet fit the requirements of advertisers. Little did I know that it was just the tip of the iceberg.

Since the new roll out in late March, things have been horrible. By selecting all the general categories, I segmented myself out. I did not know that General Business is NOT Business/Entrepreneurism. General Entertainment is NOT Music/TV/Movies.

Did you know that I got a sinking feeling in my heart when I saved my category changes to my blogs only to realise that I qualified for NO opportunity at all? Yes, it was that bad. I was not alone, though, but that is no consolation for me.

The new roll out dictates that we can only change our categories once every thirty days. Out of desperation, I shot an appeal letter to Support. It has been more than a week now and my problem has yet to be addressed. I guess what they will do is to just delay replying me and by then, my thirty-day time frame would be open again and I could change my selection of categories, so problem solved, right?

Really, I am trying my best to be patient, but being disqualified for opportunities that I know fit my blogs well is not making things easier to swallow.

Wait, wait, wait, wait sumore!

I actually know of a couple of big time bloggers who have sponsors who provide products or services to the bloggers, and not cash. The sponsors will in turn receive either a mention in every blog post with a link back to their homepage or a banner advertisement.

This is actually a win-win situation for both parties. Imagine if your read my blog of original posts without me touting a product, website or service, but I always sign off my post with the line: “This blog is sponsored by Company ABC” or “This post is made possible by Company XYZ” or even “Please visit my sponsor, Syarikat 123”.

I think that sponsorships like these are non-intrusive and are better in the long run but not many companies are willing to try it out. Aiihhh cheapo!

But of course, the blogger has to present readership data and demographics in order to win over a sponsorship. I wonder when my blogging can reach that level, if ever! It would be awesome when that day comes!

Last month, in my post “Are You Kidding Me?“, I wrote about an awful new paid to blog (or blog for pay) marketplace where we have to bid for the job and my bids were left in a pending status for ages. Well, they are, up to this point, STILL pending.

I found that I am actually not the only person. Does that make me feel better? I don’t know, but it shows me how irresponsible advertisers are. They rather put our bids on hold while waiting for a better (equals lower) bid to come along by a better (equals higher Google PageRank) blogger.

I mean, if our blogs are not suitable, just reject us straightaway. Why leave us high and dry with no decision and no closure, right? Or if you, the advertiser, feel that our bid is too high, just make a counter offer, but please be realistic and realise that no, we are not going to get 100% of what you are paying, just 65% of it.

Please make it worth our time to craft out a really good piece of writing for you.

So Easter is finally over and I crazily spent the whole Easter weekend practically blogging and blogging. There was almost no sponsored post to write since it was a three-day holiday weekend in the United States so I took this break to catch up on my blogs. The passion blogs are still sorely neglected, though

Each day, I was churning out more than ten original posts. Not that it was difficult but it can be pretty boring just writing away all alone facing the computer. That’s why I need a laptop or a internet enabled mobile phone so that I can blog lying down on my bed or show off in Coffee Bean hehehe

Thankfully, I have a friend to keep me company via SMS. I would message him via instant messenger and he would receive my text messages on his phone and he would then reply me via SMS. I hope that he would not curse me when his phone bill arrives. SMS from the US to me is not cheap for him hehehe

The CEO of PayPerPost, Ted Murphy, is attempting to create a Guinness Book of World Record of the longest blog comment chain. His post, published on the official blog of PayPerPost explains his ambitious attempt, which I am sure, with the help of all posties, is achievable an on target too.

I am not sure if non PayPerPost members would be able to contribute to the comment chain. It would definitely help in Ted’s target of 2000 unique human generated comment chain of at least 25 words each within one week of the published date of the post.

Ted says that the longest comment he has ever seen on a blog post is 350. Well, if I remember correctly, Kathy Sierra’s recent post revealing horrible cyber threats against her pretty much went over a thousand comments of sympathy and support.

In this case, it is a fun blog post that generates fun comments and I always see PayPerPost as an international community where members are always game for something crazy and supportive of the company and the people behind it.

If you are not yet a member of PayPerPost, come and join me by clicking on the Blue & Green Button on my sidebar and you can help to create a Guinness Book of World Record by contributing to the longest comment chain on a single blog post with at least 25 words, within one week of the published date. We’re waiting for you!

I am sure most of us have already heard of the Kathy Sierra saga. If you have not, then let me tell you that Kathy is a programming instructor, game developer, author and a very popular blogger. Now, the blogging world is very tough and it is mostly dominated by men so I think we should be very proud that Kathy has made it.

I previously wrote a post on Gangsterism In Malaysian Blogosphere. I was actually aghast at the state of the blogosphere here. However, Kathy Sierra’s detractors have taken things more than a level above by intimidating her and issuing death threats publicly.

And on a smaller scale, if you are also a Fuel My Blog community member, you would know that the creators are dealing with the Snuff option issue. Should it stay or go? When voting on blogs was first opened, we were happily voting on blogs that we like. It was pretty simple, wasn’t it? But then there are sick-minded people who just simply Snuff other blogs without a solid reason. Perhaps this makes their own blog rating look better?

I have thought that the blogsophere pie is large enough for everyone, man or woman, big time blogger or small timer like myself.

It is a shame that some people, due to whatever ego-feeding reason, feel better when they push someone down and use his/her back as a stepping stone to climb higher.

Why can’t we celebrate the success of another blogger and be happy for him/her?

With so many blogs on the internet, it is not easy to distinguish the good from the bad, the star blog from the blog next door. I have been recommended quite a few blogs to read as well, but frankly, what other people like may not be what I like. As the saying goes, one man’s meat is another man’s poison.

The only way to recognize outstanding blogs is to honor them with blog awards after putting them through a vote. Blogger’s Choice Awards are just the right awards to honor blogs that have the highest number of votes and the good thing is that blogs are submitted into various categories that are most relevant to the blogger or niche.

Voting is already open and will close at the end of May, 2007. Thereafter, the results and the best blogs in the variety of categories will be announced during PostieCon on June 1st and 2nd in Orlando, Florida.

Anyone can cast their votes and you can vote for any blog that you fancy. However, you will need to register with the website and log in to enable your vote to be counted. Luckily registration is free and hassle-free!

What happens if no blog catches your fancy? You can nominate your favorite blogs, of course! So what are you waiting for? Hop over to Blogger’s Choice Awards and let your vote be counted!