I Went Looking for a Better Tool Than the Built In Blogger.com Online Editor and I Just Discovered Windows Live Writer and I Simply LOVE It !

Yes, I was just sick of all the quirks and inconsistencies with the provided online Blogger.com blog editor that I stopped to do a quick search out of frustration.  To my amazement I found that Windows Live Writer fit the bill just perfectly and I’m using it right now to write this blog post.  If you are a Blogger.com or BlogSpot.com blogger then I highly recommend this powerful and headache-less universal blog editor from Microsoft (though I’ve heard that it’s about to go the way that my favorite FrontPage 2003 editor went way back when (Microsoft is purportedly discontinuing it – so sad !)

Anyways, I’m going to happily get back to the blog post that I was right in the middle of what I got so frustrated…

The tool is copyrighted 2009 but it still is a Godsend to me!  If you would also like to download it (directly from Microsoft – FREE!) and take a look for yourself (and marvel at this wonderful blogging tool) the go here:  http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8621

It's an offline WYSIWYG and source code editor that has many advanced features and actually connects directly to many popular online blogging services and publishes your work DIRECTLY to that service !  It works just great with Blogger.com !

Technorati Tags: editor,microsoft,blog

Help a Disabled Veteran Start a Web Development Business - Please

THE LEADING CROWDFUNDING PLATFORM FOR REPAYING Our VETERANS

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 Yes, this post is a bit off-topic for what is usually posted here but I thought it important enough to get the word out as best I can.

Please visit this site to find out how you can help the cause in as little or as large an increment as you feel comfortable with (crowdfunding)

http://repayvets.com/campaigns/help-a-disabled-veteran-start-a-web-development-business

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Secure Your ShiftCode GPT PayPal Email Withdrawal Fields By Making Them Static / Read Only / Non-Editable

Over time there has purportedly been an occasional rash of ShiftCode GPT site member accounts getting hacked (or accessed by unauthorized persons due to improper password hygiene / security practices by members)

NOTE:  If you are a GPT site member then don't worry, it's relatively simple to avoid getting your account hacked by making sure that you use a strong password that you don't use at any other site.  It also may help to minimize risk by not allowing your GPT member account(s) to accrue a large balance - don't leave it in, withdraw it all ASAP.

While these unauthorized persons are accessing the GPT member account many times the main target is to withdraw any standing account balance to PayPal via the withdrawal dialog.

In order for the offender to benefit from the unauthorized withdrawal then they must be able to change the true account holder's PayPal email address that's sometimes on file to the PayPal address they desire.

If the target GPT site doesn't have the security measures I speak of in this article in effect then raiding a hacked GPT site member account is relatively easy if the GPT admin and/or the GPT site member has been even mildly careless.

---

If your ShiftCode GPT site has instant (unattended / automated) withdrawal methods available I highly recommend that you apply this modification to ALL the instant methods you offer (methods other than PayPal may need slight modifications to this very basic code)

---

Here are the changes I recommend.  These changes and code modification have been tested on several GPT sites so far with good results.

PROJECT COMPLEXITY – NOVICE TO INTERMEDIATE
(Probably OK for Newbies or Coding Beginners but if you are squeamish then seek help
or observation by someone who knows a bit better – you may even contact me for help or
observation but I won’t do it completely for you entirely)

If you are the tiniest bit squeamish about altering PHP script code in its raw form then I highly recommend that you hire a programmer to make these changes for you.  Though know that as programming code modifications go, this particular project is super simple for most do-it-yourselfers.

---

1. In your ShiftCode GPT site Admin Panel then go to (left side menu)  Products > Withdraw (click on the word 'Withdraw')
2. Find 'PayPal' (or the desired withdrawal method you wish to secure) and click on it.  You should now be at a screen that says "Methods > Edit Method" at the top.
3. Un-check (if checked) the "Type Again:" box that is described as "Yes, force the user to type their info in twice."
4. Basically what we just accomplished is to make sure that the PayPal email only appears once (and doesn't need to be typed into the second field when withdrawing) on the withdraw page.

Now we'll move on into the actual code editing portion of this project.  Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned pro at this point I must admonish you to make complete backups of any code (the whole file - ALL the code in that file) you intend to change - BEFORE you change anything.

My preferred method for making such backups is to bring up notepad (notepad.exe - the  built in Windows text file editor) and copy all the code in the file you intend to modify to notepad and save it under the name of the script or include file.  Again, do this BEFORE you make any modifications to the code.

Also, at this point I should mention (just to be wise towards the future) that ShiftCode has a built in function that will conveniently zip up all of your script files and then make a single zip file containing all of the current states of your script files (at least the ones you have access to - there are many more scripts behind the ShiftCode 'curtain' that you can not see) available for you to download and file away in a safe place on your own machine for future reference.

There is no time like the present to do this.   To download your scripts backup the simply click on 'Scripts" under 'Files & Templates' in the lower right menu in your admin panel.  Then look in the upper right area of the center window (at the top) for a button labeled 'Backup All' (as seen below) and click on it to download the script backup file.  Store it in a safe place that you will remember when/if you need it.

Ok, back to our little coding project.

1. Find and click on 'Includes' (above where you found 'Scripts' above) under the 'Files & Templates' heading lower down on the right side Admin Panel menu.  Click on 'Includes'.
2. Find the include with the ID '_withdraw_form' and click on it to reveal the 'Editing Include' page for that include.
3. This is the point where I usually STOP COLD and copy all the code in the window and paste it into notepad and save it to a text file just in case.
4. NOTE: See [skip to] the “UPDATE: [10/08/2014]” statement below INSTEAD of steps 4 and 5 below now if this is your first time attempting this modification (the update contains newer information just discovered)
   
5. 
   
   
   ________________________________________________________
   UPDATE: [10/08/2014]  REPLACING STEPS 4 AND 5 ABOVE !
   
   Ok, I just ran across a GPT admin with a slightly different configuration (his site was heavily customized already) anyways what I learned was that in certain cases it DOES matter exactly where you put the “ readonly “ statement and actually that statement belongs rightly just after the “input” statement in that line of code.
   
   So in the below statements the first statement is what the original looks like and the second statement is what it should be changed to INSTEAD of the above way (left in for the sake of those who have already completed the change that way – if you already changed it the above way and it works then it’s fine to leave it that way but if you are making this as a new change then use the below examples INSTEAD OF the above examples:
   
   
   Change that (above) to (notice the “ readonly “ with a space before and after just AFTER the “input”
   ________________________________________________________________
   
6. Save that code change by clicking on the 'Update' button at the bottom.
7. Now log in to your GPT site as a member (with enough funds to see the withdrawal option) and notice that now you can not change the Paypal email field from the default pre-set Paypal email address.   DONE!

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Ok, there are still certain conditions where if your site was not set up with the configuration that I predicted (and would be normal) like using a custom field for the PayPal email address that was completed during registration.

You’ve marked that custom field read-only (simple setting) for them not to be able to change after registration.  And the fact that once you have completed the above modification then you will want to remind your members somewhere that if/when ever they need to change their pre-set PayPal withdrawal email then they will need to contact you (the admin) to do it for them via inbox message or support ticket (ONLY)  You won’t want to allow PayPal email address change requests to come in from the built-in ShiftCode contact form, or even via direct email – you want this crucial contact to be made ONLY from within the member’s account for security purposes (the contact form can be accessed from outside the account and any email can be spoofed by anyone making it look that it’s coming from anyone!)

Remember, if hackers are smart enough to guess people’s passwords then they are probably also smart enough to try and trick you (the admin) into making the email change for the targeted account for them (wink)

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Also (without going into too many details publicly here) if your site has instant payment methods then it is highly recommended that you DO NOT use the 'Signature' referral banners feature (the banners that show individual member stats on them)

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There you go ;-)

WARNING! Place Your Tiny Benign Rank Code or Face Deletion on FreeCashOnlineTopSiteList.com

NOTICE FOR LISTED SITES ON www.FreeCashOnlineTopSiteList.com

WARNING! Place Your Tiny Benign Rank Code or Face Deletion on FreeCashOnlineTopSiteList.com:

"Hello,

First, let me mention that this email is a MASS EMAIL sent out to every current member of our top site list site (no, we're not picking on you specifically)

It's been noticed that a large number of listed sites have a big zero (0) stat for their "This Week" hits figure and the 'Average' figure is hovering down around zero (0) as well.

This is a symptom of the target listed site either having improperly placed or damaged ranking code or (more commonly) not having placed the ranking code at all.

Your site's individual custom (for your site only) ranking code can be recovered by logging in to your FCOTSL User Control Panel located here:  http://www.freecashonlinetopsitelist.com/index.php?a=user_cpl

Our site ranking scheme is based upon the AVERAGE number of unique WEEKLY HITS (views) the ranking code banner gets on the target site (a tiny 88 x 31 pixel stylish banner that changes with and shows your site rank number on it - it's kind of neat)

So, if you place the ranking code including the tiny banner in a highly trafficked spot (more views of the banner) on your site then your site has a higher probability of shooting up in rank on the list.

Though a voting option is also available by clicking on the banner while it's on your site please know that clicking / voting is NOT required to rank highly on the top site list.  All that is required is that the banner get's seen by as many of your site visitors as possible.

If you don't like the idea of the banner being visible on your site then it is ok (though not encouraged) to set the HEIGHT and WIDTH properties in the code to one (1) pixel and the ranking code will still record ranking views just the same but the banner itself will be reduced to a one (1) pixel dot (basically) on your site.

The top site list has become increasingly popular over time and I would like to thank those who actually are proudly displaying the tiny ranking banner on their site(s)

Please know that those of you who have not installed the required ranking code on your target site and who are currently registering a zero (0) "This Week" views figure are under peril of your listed site and list account being unceremoniously deleted (this email is your one and only notice)

If you need more time or help in retrieving or placing your code please feel free to hit reply to this message and request an extension and/or help.  Otherwise, the ZERO views sites will be deleted one-by-one over the next 72 hours.

Thank You,

The Admin"

For those GPT type sites and CPA networks not currently listed on the list please know that registration is easy and always totally FREE ;-)  Please feel free to list your site(s) today (only know that you MUST OWN any site that you list as a small snippet of ranking code being placed on the target site is a requirement.)

Example GPT Site Withdrawal Information & Policy Text (Free for GPT Admins to Use as Desired Verbatim, Partial, or Edited)

Here is an example of text I composed for use on my own get paid to (GPT) site giving information and somewhat describing and explaining the GPTs withdrawal process and restrictions.

I am releasing the text in the example below for any GPT admin to freely use in whole, partial, or modified form as he/she wishes on his/her GPT site.

Your particular situation concerning payment time frames, verification procedures, withdrawal payment qualifications, etc. are likely different than described below so please feel free to use this just as a general guideline or example for writing describing your own circumstances.

Here is the text I speak of that has been placed long ago appearing on the GPT site's withdrawal options page:

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[Insert GPT Site Name Here]

 Withdrawal Payment General Information,

Requirements, Restrictions, & Brief Policy Statement

---

We typically process withdrawal payments daily within 24 hours of the withdrawal request though this is not a guaranteed time frame.  Withdrawals over a weekend  or during holiday periods may take longer.

No PayPal Fees!  We pay via PayPal in such a way that none of the hard earned money you withdraw here goes toward PayPal fees (if any fees are involved then we will we pay them for you during the transaction processing.)

If you need to convert points into cash or vice versa here then please feel free to surf on over to our Currency Converter page first.

In this member fraud ridden GPT site industry where we routinely send out large amounts and numbers of basically free money to anyone purporting to be anyone (site-unseen) on the internet then we reserve the right to ask for positive proof of your identity before completing any payments (especially new accounts that WE find suspicious for whatever reason)

Please take the time to make sure that the contact phone number and any /all other profile information we have on file for you is always up to date and valid.  We may call you (voice) before processing certain payments to verify your honesty in the information that you have provided us. We reserve the right to withhold any and all payments indefinitely until such time as we are convinced that you are who you say you are.

PayPal account sharing is forbidden here!  The PayPal account you specify while withdrawing must be your own PayPal account (with your name attached to it when queried)  We ONLY pay to PayPal verified PayPal accounts - no exceptions!  Do not share the same PayPal account with any other member of this site - when discovered then BOTH of your GPT site member accounts with us will likely get banned.

NOTE: Please feel fortunate that we pay you daily while we ourselves typically have to wait a month or more before we receive our payments.  We typically get paid on a monthly basis from most of our offer sources while a few other offer sources pay us weekly.

Occasionally (rarely) the situation is such that we must wait a number of days while we are waiting on a certain crucial sponsor (offer source) payment before we can process pending payments though again this is a rare occurrence - 95% of our payments go out within 24 hours. Your quiet patience during these rare payment delays is greatly appreciated.

Questions about payments may be directed to the GPT site  administrator at admin@yourowngpt.com, via the internal site trouble ticket system (preferred), via the inbox system (to 'admin'), or via our convenient contact us form.

Negative posts or complaints about payments and other account specific issues DO NOT BELONG in our shoutbox chat and will only result in a temporary or permanent revocation of your chat privileges.

---

NOTE: When I had initially released this text to serve as a general guideline for GPT admins in a very popular facebook based GPT admins group I'm a member of earlier in the day before posting this here there was one criticism from a well respected fellow network admin and friend that my text appeared too strict or overly untrusting to the target GPT site member audience.  Enough so (in his opinion) to have the effect of  'scaring the prospective GPT site member away' though in my own opinion that's not so much a concern to me as it is stating my intentions and expectations clearly and without doubt to my own GPT members.  Also, on my own GPT site where this text is posted then I've never observed or was made aware of any such negative reaction from anyone.

<

I'd like to invite / remind everyone that there is a fairly new forum out there that I had built just for us!  Please feel free to register and frequent:

GetPaidTo.org
(The Earn Free Cash Online Simply & Legitimately with GPT Sites Forum)
at http://www.GetPaidTo.org

The forum is being promoted heavily with SEO, submission, and a paid-to-click campaign.

I've replicated the forum sections to be very similar to the old popular MrGPT.com forum (I find that the new forum feels 'familiar')  That along with the similarly familiar mostly hands-off moderation approach (except in extreme situations) has enabled much forum growth recently.

 www.GetPaidTo.org/

Other Familiar Established Networks Still Working Closely with ShiftCode GPT Sites

Other Familiar Established Networks Still Working Closely with ShiftCode GPT Sites

Yes, all these familiar long-established trusted networks STILL work closely with ShiftCode GPT site administrators and they are also decidedly ShiftCode friendly networks: 1stClassLeads.com RedFireNetwork.com OffersRevenue.com ProLeadsMedia.com LeadCounts.com CPAWay.com admin@incentwise.com

ShiftCode is in the GetPaidTo (GPT) Site Script Selling Business Again!

Great news!  It was just announced 15 Mins ago that ShiftCode is selling new GPT site script installations again ;-)

This post was hastily put together - I will fill in details as they flesh out.

To see the official announcement then see the post in the ShiftCode Official Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/shiftcodecom/permalink/767686089944003/

IncentWise CPA Network is STILL an Excellent Choice for Your ShiftCode GPT ! Now with IT Equipment Upgrades Just Now Performed ! Increased Speed, Reliability, and Daily AUTOMATED Backups !

Yes, I just wanted to mention that IncentWise CPA Network is STILL an Excellent Choice for Your ShiftCode GPT !

We are a fully ShiftCode Get Paid To site integrated network based upon the Performa platform! Genuine ShiftCode GPT site administrators need not hassle with postback setup and other difficult intricate technicalities. Add all our campaigns with just a few clicks! Instant crediting is also automatically performed. Offers will be moved into an expired folder on your site when expired on our network. IncentWise offers the best in automated convenience! We now also are taking the added extra precautions of performing DAILY MANUAL & AUTOMATIC BACKUPS of all crucial data ! [See News Just In Below!] We've been in the incentive publishing industry for nearly a decade now so we definitely can relate well to the needs and desires of the GPT site admin. Google us or ask any of our present publishers! We're confident that you will discover that all our publishers love us - and we love to pamper our valued publishers with upper echelon campaign rates, early payments often, attention to detail, and outstanding customer service. We highly value our exceptionally excellent reputation and we are very discerning when reviewing new publisher applications. We consider this serious business and expect the best from all of our business relationships. IncentWise has been experiencing phenomenal growth consistently - please join us in the spirit of mutual success without limits ! NEWS JUST IN ! IncentWise CPA Network Get's a Definite IT Equipment & Location Upgrade ! Over the weekend (08/03/2014), our network platform provider 'Performa' upgraded our IT equipment (computer & network) over to their own 100% owned machines (servers, drives, switches, routers, etc.) which is now local to their corporate office and warehouse area allowing them physical access at a moment's notice with any sign of trouble to get their capable hands on it and get the fix going immediately (rather than the former situation that had them calling a long distance technical support line, explaining, getting escalated, and awaiting a stranger technician to care enough to 'own' and fix the problem - Argh!) According to the president of Performa/ShiftCode, AffTrack, CPAWay, and other notables) *"Every node ShiftCode/Performa is on currently consist of Dual 6 Core Xeons, 72gb ram and 1tb SSD's in an Raid 1 Array. Of course all are virtualized to protect each site. Each Hardware node also takes a daily backup to our backup deposit server where we store 7 days worth of backups for each virtual machine." To me that will mean that data loss and downtime should most likely be a thing of the past for the ShiftCode/Performa network platform (though we continue to perform daily data backups of our own here at IncentWise)! For those of our publishers NOT connecting via the internal ShiftCode GPT site / Performa network integration please note that since the equipment upgrade our own IncentWise postback IP has changed to 192.95.116.117 admin@incentwise.com * [08/03/2014 Thomas Dietzel of TheWay Holdings quoted from a post in the GPT Site Admins & Staff Connect fb group]

Hey !?! Where Did My Favorite Performa Networks Go? (Upgraded Platform - Read)

Hey, where did my favorite Performa networks go?  Yes, if you are looking for RedFireNetwork, ProLeadsMedia, OffersRevenue, 1stClassLeads, and LeadCounts then please know that they have all upgraded their network platform (site script) from Performa to the much more proven, robust, and professional AffTrack network platform (the platform CPAWay has tested true for years now)

If you are still using older bookmarked links and shortcuts then you may see an error with those but if you simply go to the straight URL (http://www.RedFireNetwork.com/, http://www.ProLeadsMedia.com/, http://www.OffersRevenue.com/, http://www.1stClassLeads.com/, and http://www.LeadCounts.com/) then you should be able to connect.

NOTE: Present and new publishers and advertisers alike will need to register anew!

Yes, these networks really haven't gone anywhere, they've all simply received a platform upgrade (and you'll just need to update your bookmarks and shortcuts) [wink]

On a related note NorthAffiliates (formerly GalaxyLeads) has now become http://www.AffiliatesMedia.com/ under their own new proprietary platform.

My Lazy Shortcut Tools & Techniques I Use to Create Referral Banners Simply On-The-Fly in My Spare Time

Due to the number of referral sites / blogs I author I've found it easier to employ a central banner rotator so that I can make one change or edit in my banner rotator and have it affect all the sites I have that banner zone displayed.

I would make a mention of AdButler (www.AdButler.com) here as being a really great ad rotator service but I recently found out that they stopped providing the service free for new users (and I apparently got grandfathered in and they're not charging me - lucky me)  Anyways, there are plenty of other such services and even scripts that you can install to do the banner rotation task on multiple sites if so desired (just Google it)

Getting back to the point of this post I have three main banner rotation zones to take care of my 20+ sites set up.  One 468x60 zone for other people's sites (usually GPT sites) and one 468x60 banner zone devoted to self-promotion of my own sites (468x60 banners a really popular and easy to find sized banner for most any site which has a referral or affiliate program)  The last zone I have set up is for 'skyscraper' 160x600 banners (these usually end up being placed in sidebars of my sites)

Yes, as mentioned 468x60 banners are usually really easy to find and are provided 9 times out of 10.  160x600 (or even 120x600 banner which 'would do') aren't.  As things stood before I started mass producing 160x600 banners on my own then I had the two 468x60 rotator zones packed with 30-40 banners in rotation while the 160x60 zone was stuck with only 3 or 4 that I could find already provided.

Let me first show you the results of my amateur (but still not bad looking to me) 160x600 banner rotation design (mash-up / Frankenstein ) creations and I'll describe what I did to achieve these afterwards:

Ok, yes, first off I will admit that on most of these I was forced to make hard trade-off decisions on font size and in most of these cases I'm a bit displeased with how small the text actually looks (but it IS still readable - but yes, still too small)

The first cheap lazy ass free shortcut utility is called Pixlr (http://pixlr.com/editor/)   Yes, I used to be a big avid Adobe Photoshop fan and actually purchased the application and updates for over a decade way back then but I've since found that Pixlr does just exactly what I need it to do, is powerful, has a bunch of filters and settings, produces quality results, is extremely convenient and fast loading (it's online), and get this, it's FREE!

When making banners such as these (for other people's sites) I try to take note of their site's color scheme and feel and I'll usually try to produce my banners with those in mind.  If the target site has a background image or uses a color gradient for a background then I'll take that image and use it as the banner background.

To conveniently create color gradient backgrounds for banners or web pages simply I choose the free online Gradient Image Maker from Dynamic Drive located here (http://tools.dynamicdrive.com/gradient/)  It's really easy to just choose your starting (Top color) and ending (End Color) colors for your banner and what size your banner will be (Gradient Width and Height) and then click 'Get full size image' and then BOOM, save that image (I choose PNG here for best quality) and then load it up in Pixlr for your background canvass for your new banner.

Then, just poke around the target site a bit looking for images that you can save and resize to fit on the new referral banner.  Also, check the referral banners they already have for useful starting material.

If they have animated (gif) referral banners that have images that would be ideal separately if only you could just capture each frame of the animation and place it in its own file.  Don't fret, I have found exactly what's needed in this case.  Check out the 'Split an Animated GIF Online' (http://picasion.com/split-animated-gif/) free online utility (from Picasion.com) I found the other day.  It even allows you to change the size of the resulting frame images (which I found just awesome when I had to take apart a couple of the CenterOfPrizes.com 468x60 animated referral banners - I just specified that I wanted the frame images to be 160px wide)  That way you can just simply grab whatever images you need!

Oh, and while we're on the subject of animated GIF images I want to mention another really handy free online utility that I use occasionally to easily resize animated GIFs   The one I recommend simply calls itself the Free Online-Image-Editor at (http://www.online-image-editor.com/)  This editor actually has a whole bunch of other neat features that I haven't yet explored fully - I only use it for resizing animated GIFs at this point.

If you don't want to just plainly type in your needed text (though Pixlr does have a few decent ways to spice up the look of text using filters and layer style options) for your banner then take a peek at the CoolText Graphics Generator (http://cooltext.com/)   This site is a graphics noob's Godsend (lol) though it also is extremely convenient for producing high quality exciting logos and text blurbs even if you do know what you're doing in graphic design work.

Ok, once you are done creating something that looks decent then you have a choice in leaving it plain edged, adding a static border, or (my favorite) adding some pa-ZING! to your banner by running it through the LunaPic - Add a Border (http://www161.lunapic.com/editor/?action=border) tool (that's my secret to adding those cool animated glitter borders)  This utility also has a bunch more options and features that I haven't fully explored.

If you're curious where why I needed to make these skyscraper 160x600 banners and where they're placed in live rotation just take a peek here - most notably (refresh the pages) at GetPaidTo.org GPT Mega Forum (http://www.GetPaidTo.org/) [upper right], Free Cash Online Top Site List (http://www.FreeCashOnlineTopSiteList.com/) [lower left], Free Cash Pro Earn Free Cash Online Simply & Legitimately (Blog) (http://www.FreeCashPro.com/) [bottom right], HomeCash.org (blog) (http://www.HomeCash.org/) [bottom right], etc etc...

Well that's it, the rest is all up to you.  Whether your editing existing images or creating your own referral banners from scratch I hop this humble article has helped you to discover some useful shortcuts.  Enjoy !

Questions?  Feel Free to Contact Me

Extremely Useful Facebook Groups Assisting the ShiftCode GPT Site & Performa Network Admin !

In the past couple of years I have noticed and taken part in  a mass migration from the ordinary independent web site based discussion and support forum to facebook based groups of all types.  Facebook groups have sprung up in all the topic areas formerly dominated by online discussion forums.

Among the topic areas keeping pace with this Facebook group over forum preference trend have been the get paid to (GPT) site and affiliate network support and discussion activity particularly.  Nowadays the well connected GPT site and/or affiliate network admin need not stray far from Facebook for performing promotion, support, research, and even social camaraderie with peer admins in the business.

Below I've gathered and described a number of these groups I have found most useful as an admin in multiple categories.  I'd feel I should mention here for the sake of better transparency that I, myself, act in some form of official capacity (founder, admin, co-admin, etc) in most (though not all) of the groups I list below.

I'll start with to more 'public' oriented Facebook groups (good for promoting your site(s) and making announcements of special promotions such as contests, etc) and move lower down into the more exclusive strictly admins only groups that require you to either be already known in the business or to show credentials (provide proof) that you are indeed connected to a site in some official capacity:

• Public Facebook Groups Open to All (or most)
  
• Earn Free Cash Online Simply and Legitimately! an extremely popular long established open group sporting almost 700 group members of all types here (there a a ton of GPT site members, along with many GPT site admins, while still a few network admins as well here)  The group allows the promotion of pretty much any FREE online money making program or opportunity here though ALL promoted sites must be totally free to join and earn through (no investment or purchase of any kind!)
  
  The posting of referral links are just fine here.  Also, when introducing a new program or opportunity then it is requested that you include as complete information about the subject of the post - in your post (saying to inbox or email you for more information instead of providing details is forbidden here)

Facebook Group Privacy Open Group: Anyone (including non-members) can see the group, who's in it, and what members post. Closed Group: Anyone can see the group and who's in it. Only members see posts. Secret Group: Only members see the group, who's in it, and what members post.

...to be continued (probably being worked on in the background while you are reading now)

Reboot Your ShiftCode Web Server at Least Monthly to Avoid a Loopy Machine !

'Loopy' - Adj. describing a state of goofiness usually occurring after a long night of partying or any other activity that provokes sleep deprivation. {source: http://www.urbandictionary.com}

As with your home desktop PC if you leave it on 24/7/365 then eventually it will go a little crazy and start acting up here and there.

It's the same with the web server that hosts your site. Right now, it's not a big worry because not long ago (days?) then that server was initially set up for you.

A month from now though think about picking a time when your site is the least active (or any time that there is no one logged in) and take a moment to reboot your ShiftCode server.

Get used to making it a habit of doing this I would personally recommend monthly at the longest (time between reboots)

Me? I made a recurring Google calendar event to remind me.( https://www.google.com/calendar/ )

http://beta.shiftcode.com/sites [Manage Site] (towards the bottom of the page)

 

Increase Your GPT Site's Staying Power in Tough Server Trying Times By Entering All Available ShiftCode Name Servers!

In times when sites are having problems with ShiftCode hosting for one reason or another then wouldn't you want to help your site remain stable amongst all the sites being served?  If your domain registrar (GoDaddy, Network Solutions, Register.com?) allows you to add more than two name servers (standard default minimum number) then I'd suggest you add as many name servers as is allowed (up to the given six)

Please notice all the additional name servers that ShiftCode has just released in their brand new site management panel located by logging in to your account at www.ShiftCode.com  It's not required and yes, your site will get by with just the default minimum two name servers ns1.shiftcode.com and ns2.shiftcode.com though wouldn't you want to provision your GPT site with the best possible fighting chance available to weather a proverbial storm if /when one happens?

Ok, enough said.  Below is a list of all available name servers ShiftCode currently has made available to you:

• ns1.shiftcode.com
• ns2.shiftcode.com
• ns3.shiftcode.com
• ns4.shiftcode.com
• ns5.shiftcode.com
• ns6.shiftcode.com

Add as many name servers as your registrar allows - some allow only two, others four, while still others allow a much larger number though you will want to stop at ns6 because that is all ShiftCode is providing at the moment.

The addition of the new name servers has to do with increased load balancing capabilities.  Think about it, the same name servers serve hundreds of sites - most of them currently only pointing to ns1 and ns2.  By adding the more than just the two you are adding the capability of your site to switch among more additional name servers in the rare case when the first two become bogged down or become unresponsive (in which case those sites relying only on the first two may be dumped into the abyss of server error-land.)

Performa Network Admins - Are You SURE Older Forgotten 'Custom Rates' Aren't Hemorrhaging Money?

Is it just me?  ...or are upstream campaign sources raising and lowering campaign lead rates more often on us lately?

Anyways, one particular lead rate decrease got me thinking hard.  The lead rate was cut by about half.  I merrily went to my publisher rate lowered it, notified my publishers,and then took a nap.  I used to consider 'custom rates' 'set it and forget it'

Days later I got curious about custom rates I had entered manually and was shocked to discover on that one campaign that my bumped rate was 20 cents higher than what the source of the campaign was giving me for each lead !?!

I've been in the network business for years now and all this time I hadn't even considered the possibility of something like that happening !?@     I had thought all along that I had all my bases covered and I had it all down pat by now - but this threw me a curve-ball ;-)

Manual Rate Bumps are static - they don't ever change for anything unless you go in and change them.

That's why I've become a firm believer in using the global campaign 'Rate Increase' for those publishers you wish to 'bump' for one reason of another.  Yes, it effectively bumps ALL your campaigns (except the ones you already have manually bumped) but the grace in using this is that it will adjust up and down when you change the publisher rate on the campaigns and it will NEVER issue a rate over and above what you are getting from your source.

When you routinely use the manual rate bump method then when you make rate changes to a campaign then 1) you have to make sure to check any Custom Rates, 2) calculate and change them when needed, 3) notify the publisher (manually) - all of which never even dawned on me all this time ;-)   Hmmm... I'm left  wondering how many times in the past had I been giving my money away like this without being conscious of it? (lol)

I wrote this post for the benefit of others (like me) who it hasn't yet dawned upon (I wish I had seen a post like this back when I opened my network)

Benefits to Using 'Rate Increase' versus individual manual 'Custom Rates':

• Affects all campaigns that have an 'advertiser rate' set but is based upon the 'publisher rate' (some may consider using rate increase a drawback because it does affect ALL campaigns)
  
• Rates automatically increase and decrease based upon the publisher rate (one setting to change)
  
• Rest assured that the increased rates will NEVER pay over what the advertiser is paying you per lead (a biggie)
  
• Publisher get's the added benefit of his/her rates increasing in a more predictable way when the publisher rate is changed higher. Also, no additional individual rate change notification is needed only the publisher should check the rate any time the publisher rate is reported to have changed.
  
• Network admin isn't subjected to increased workload of manually looking up the target publisher's web site numbers, calculating the increase, entering the increase, and notifying each target publisher manually.

FREE RESOURCES! for Get Paid To (GPT) Site Owners & Administrators

• FREE RESOURCES! for Get Paid To (GPT) Site Owners & Administrators
  
  
  • GPT Site Admins & Staff Connect facebook group - Topics include (but are not limited to) general GPT site administration discussion, site coding help, compare notes with other admins concerning script bugs & solutions, etc.  You MUST be a Get Paid To (GPT) site owner, administrator, or high level staff to be part of this group and must supply the specific URL of the GPT site(s)! you are connected to before being accepted into this private ! (closed) fb group.
     
  • Earn Free Cash Online Simply & Legitimately open public facebook group - Collaborate with others and compare notes on earning free cash online simply and legitimately. General topics include Get Paid To (GPT), Paid To Click (PTC), Free Paid Survey and Reward sites. Topics also include CPA networks & affiliate networks. Posting your referral link is JUST FINE in this group.  We are now quickly approaching 600 international members in this extremely popular group.  Site admins feel free to promote your site(s) and special events and promotions.

Negative Pending Offers? Wow, I Learn Something New Every Day.

I thought I'd document this for the sake of other GPT admins that don't know of this (like I hadn't until a fellow GPT admin solved the mystery.)

I had one of my more active members on my GPT complain to me that hist pending offers figure was showing negative.  I logged into his account and the above is what I saw - -72 (negative 72) pending offers (which makes no sense at all)

I posted about the dilemma on a popular GPT admin forum that I'm a member of and after some speculation a comment broke in to say that all I need to do is find and press the Products > Paid to Signup > Tools > 'Fix Signups' button (which is described in the admin panel as "Sometimes a when offers are deleted or moved around the amount of offers a user has in his pending or completed folder might be off. This will fix those problems")

I pressed the Fix Signups button and it instantly and neatly took care of the issue (the member's pending signups was reset back to zero)  Now don't know what the problem was to make it go negative - all I know is that the button solved it.

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The EntireWeb Submit Site Tool has got to be the most efficient, effective, and painless website submission tool I've encountered in ages. Simply fill out two fields (site to submit & email address) and click the proceed button, then you'll be sent to a page where you can choose amongst three plans to fit your particular situation (the first of which is entirely FREE!):

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Submit to Major Search Engines !

You'll be amazed at the little amount of time this takes (less that 5 minutes in most cases) No automated submission will ever quite take the place of a careful detailed manual sit submission session but if you are submitting as an afterthought, a supplemental traffic visibility top-off, or submitting for the first time after a long time building or updating a site then this free too is priceless for a no-brainer way of getting a site on the map quickly.

Get Rid of the Deceptive '[Main]' Offers Section

I don't know if many GPT admins have noticed this but if your offers list has a '[Main]' section then that means that you have at least one PTSU offer uncategorized. When all of your offers have been placed in its proper category then the main section disappears (and the default then shows 'All Items')

As a new GPT member long ago, I remember being fooled by the main section into thinking that a GPT had much less offers than it actually had (if only I had switched from the default (if present) 'Main' section to 'All Items' (where all offers show.))

My advice (if you ask)? Make sure that you classify all offers in their own category to avoid showing 'Main' as the default.

Effective Procedure to Purge Expired Offers from Your ShiftCode GPT - by Performa Network - One at a Time

Hello,

It's no secret that the connection between the ShiftCode GPT and the Performa Network occasionally fails to delete expired campaigns from the networks on the GPT site - thereby leaving an increasing number of expired offers in the GPT over time.  This procedure (below) is an effective way to occasionally purge those expired offers and then add only the current active offers back - network by network:

Please note that this procedure is rather drastic (though easy and painless) and has the unfortunate downside of allowing GPT site members the opportunity (if so inclined) to possibly re-complete offer they had previously done and had already received credit for so (if they aren't properly keeping track) I would suggest that you only do this as a last resort rarely and sparingly!

1. Choose a time of the day when your GPT site is relatively slow or 'dead' with regard to member activity as any offers pending credit will lose their connection to the member that completed the offer (if a pending offer from the chosen network credits after this procedure - you will get credit but the member will not)
2. Chose an Affiliate Network (Paid to Signup > Affiliate Networks) to perform the procedure on - Click on it.  You will need to perform this procedure once on each Performa based affiliate network that you use on the GPT site.
3. Click on Settings (click to expand) on the top of the network's page to reveal the network settings: 
   
4. Note the settings by writing them down or copy-n-paste them to notepad.exe (text editor)  Make sure to highlight, select, and copy your 'Publisher Key' to the clipboard (or deposit it with the rest of the info into notepad.exe)
5. Go back to the network listings (Paid to Signup > Affiliate Networks), and select 'Delete' on the right next to your chosen network:  
   
    
6. Next you will be presented with this question (below) to which you want to respond 'Yes' after which you will see a short message saying the offers are being deleted and then it will drop you back at the Affiliate Networks list.  All of the offers for that particular network have now been purged from your system:  
   
7. Now we need to add the network back, configure the network settings, and then add only the active offers back.  You do this by un-checking the 'Active Networks Only' checkbox (if checked), choosing 'Setup' next to the network you wish to add back, and entering (or pasting if you previously copied it to the clipboard) your 'Publisher Key' for that particular network, and saving it by clicking the 'Setup' box below: 
   
8. Now you will find yourself back at the network 'Settings' page.  Make sure you select the correct 'Website' value from the dropdown box and then complete the rest of the settings while referring back to your previous settings (that you wrote down or saved to notepade.exe)  Now click 'Update' (that particular network is back on your system now - but its offers are not (yet))
9. Scroll down to add that network's offers back to your GPT (however you normally do)  The offers you see now will ONLY be that network's current active offers (YaY!)
10. Lather, rinse, and repeat the above procedure for all other Performa networks connected to your site ;-)

Reputable Networks I Use and Recommend on PaidTheBest.com - No Problems and On-Time Payments All The Time !

Reputable Networks I Use and Recommend on PaidTheBest.com:
[No Problems, No Hassles, and On-Time Payments - All The Time]

• IncentWise
• CPAWay
• RedFireNetwork
• AdWorkMedia
• 1stClassLeads
• CampaignCreatives
• AdPowerMedia
• NorthAffiliates
• BLVD-Media (RewardTool Plus offer wall)

GPTTweaks also Provides Code for Modifications to Performa (Gain Corp) Networks !

Yes, we also provide code modifications for Performa (ShiftCode / formerly Gain Corp) networks:

• Publisher Approved Website Modification & Deletion Disable MOD
  Code to disable self-serve publisher website editing on your Performa network if anyone wants it... (free)  regarding the ".../publishers/websites/" page in a Performa publisher account.  It will look like the picture above (the dropdown only shows a message - no edit - no delete)  If a publisher were allowed to edit a site then they can easily change it to a site that hasn't been approved.  If they were to delete a site then you (network admin) loses all history related to site.

I am also willing to entertain suggestions for more free modifications in the common good (publicly distributed) or custom private modifications (all your own) at a modest rate.


If you are interested in any of the above then please feel free to contact me at admin@gpttweaks.com

BLVD RewardTool Plus Offer Wall Released !

For those GPT admins that didn't get the memo: The BLVD RewardTool Plus has been released (I just upgraded PaidTheBest.com) It purportedly credit's better and get's better overall results (more enticing?) Further information can be found in the Earn Free Cash Online... fb group where a BLVD staff member announced it (https://www.facebook.com/groups/freecashonline/), in your BLVD account, or (if you don't have an account) here: http://www.blvd-media.com/Administration/Publishers.aspx?action=signup&promocode=179

ShiftCode GPT Offer Sort Bug - Workaround Suggested

ShiftCode GPT Offer Sort Bug:

The offers sort bug in the ShiftCode script appears to have crept back in there on ShiftCode based GPT sites.

The bug is described as this:

A site member's inability to maintain a persistent desired offer sort order past the first 'offer completed' click while viewing a sorted offers list.

A suitable workaround until a fix is set in place by the script provider might be to post a statement on top of your offer list recommending that members click the browser back button after the 'offer completed' click to return to their chosen sort order and list page position.

Also, while this bug is in effect you'll want to give your members the most useful and convenient default offer sort order for the offer list to default back to if they are going to lose their position in the list in the first place, right?  In your ShiftCode GPT admin panel surf on over to Paid to Signup > Configure and then focus down toward the middle of that page in the 'Members' box.  Then set your default 'Sort' to a 'Use Multiple Sort' (check the  checkbox) on Offer Rating (Descending) and Completed (Descending) which will look like this:

Incidentally, it looks like our offers are not removing themselves from the GPT site when they've been expired on a Performa network - this issue has also crept back in.

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