Share video and earn money

UVioO pronounced as You View says it pays for sharing videos.

You can simply join it and share videos in your blog or facebook etc. as it says. It looks so simple and I have doubts if it is genuine.

If it is not prank, what it looks like doing is sharing video and earning through Adsense while paying you a fraction, if they really pay.


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A syndicator that pays for your blog post

You can earn money with your blog.

This syndicator pays you a part of royalty paid by the end-users.

The syndicator provides content to closed circles of clients like corporate libraries. They pay for it and a part of it is paid to you.

I do not know how much. You dig and find. Here is a video and the link to the page.



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Blog post removed due to DMCA complaint

Minutes ago I received this message from Blogger.

We have received a DMCA complaint for your blog, blog.parakum.com. An e-mail with the details of the complaint was sent to you on May 9, 2013, and we reset the post status to "Draft"; you can edit it here. You may republish the post with the offending content and/or link(s) removed. If you believe you have the rights to post this content, you can file a counter-claim with us. For more on our DMCA policy, please click here. Thank you for your prompt attention.

I checked my email inbox and saw this message. 

Blogger has been notified, according to the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), that certain content in your blog is alleged to infringe upon the copyrights of others. As a result, we have reset the post(s) to \"draft\" status. (If we did not do so, we would be subject to a claim of copyright infringement, regardless of its merits. The URL(s) of the allegedly infringing post(s) may be found at the end of this message.) This means your post - and any images, links or other content - is not gone. You may edit the post to remove the offending content and republish, at which point the post in question will be visible to your readers again.

A bit of background: the DMCA is a United States copyright law that provides guidelines for online service provider liability in case of copyright infringement. If you believe you have the rights to post the content at issue here, you can file a counter-claim. In order to file a counter-claim, please see http://www.google.com/support/bin/request.py?contact_type=lr_counternotice&product=blogger.

The notice that we received, with any personally identifying information removed, will be posted online by a service called Chilling Effects at http://www.chillingeffects.org

. We do this in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). You can search for the DMCA notice associated with the removal of your content by going to the Chilling Effects search page at http://www.chillingeffects.org/search.cgi, and entering in the URL of the blog post that was removed.

If it is brought to our attention that you have republished the post without removing the content/link in question, then we will delete your post and count it as a violation on your account. Repeated violations to our Terms of Service may result in further remedial action taken against your Blogger account including deleting your blog and/or terminating your account. DMCA notices concerning content on your blog may also result in action taken against any associated AdSense accounts. If you have legal questions about this notification, you should retain your own legal counsel.

Sincerely,

The Blogger Team

Affected URLs:

http://blog.parakum.com/2010/05/how-sri-lanka-president-mahinda.html

 

I tried to look for the DMCA notice associated with the removal of my content by going to the Chilling Effects search page but failed to find detail. 

I was not in a position to die for this post and just attempted to to file a counter notice to reinstate content that was removed due to an alleged copyright violation. 

But then I was warned that filing a counter-notification may lead to legal proceedings between me and the complaining party.
Be aware that there may be adverse legal consequences in your country if you make a false or bad faith allegation by using this process.

Blogger further said, "After we receive your counter-notification, we will forward it to the party who submitted the original claim of copyright infringement.
Please note that when we forward the counter-notification, it includes your personal information. By submitting a counter-notification, you consent to having your information revealed in this way."

I simply gave it up. I will not republish the post here.

-Ajith Perakum Jayasinghe

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My site crashed due to change of URLs in settings; this is how I rectified the problem

I started this website a month ago and did a little promotion also. But one fine day the site crashed. It was my fault.

I am using WordPress and my site is self hosted. I noticed that the pages of my website loads with the URL of my hosting account root folder like this.

http://www.rooturl.com/parakum/defaulturl

I checked the settings in general tab and changed the WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) to parakum.com without thinking much. I did not feel like it would be a fatal error that was irreversible.

Later studies showed me that WordPress Address (URL) is the way the Wordpress see my site and it should be like http://www.rooturl.com/parakum (no dash at the end)

The Site Address (URL) should be the way I want my readers see my URL. In this case it was parakum.com

I consulted my hosting company Godaddy. The auto generated respond said that I would be advised within 24 hours.

I surfed internet and found a nice article explaining the way to rectify the problem and corrected the error in my database. But the site remained crashed.

Godaddy advise did not seem any help. It appeared further complicating the issue. Since the site was new and I had backups in my blogger blogs blog.parakum.com and blogging.parakum.com, I decided to reinstall it.

I did the re-installation through Google Hosting Connections as my applications, as I did earlier, but the installation seemed never ending.

I waited more than 24 hours and I looked for other options. Then I deleted everything related to the previous site and re-installed it. I deleted not only the directory / folder in my hosting account, the database was also removed. A new directory and a database were created. Installation was done manually using Filezilla Client for file transfer. This article and this article instructed me.

Installation was fast and visible. Power failure in the middle of the first attempt led to an incomplete installation but a second attempt was successful. Then I was directed to create wp-config.php file. It was simpler than I thought and WordPress mockingly said sorry for not being complex as I expected.

Now, I handle Wordpress very carefully. This is a sea of sharks and you are completely helpless alone in a pedal boat.

But I am happy at the end of the operation which enlightened me a lot. A blogger must be a a bit of webmaster as well. Otherwise you will have to hire a professional webmaster. It is not easy in every part of the world and it is costly too.

Read blogging.parakum.com for similar and more interesting articles on blogging

Ajith Parakum Jayasinghe 
www.parakum.com

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Facebook image sizes

TechWyse has created the ultimate Facebook sizing cheat sheet. This infographic is a handy reference tool especially for the designers who need to know image sizes for Facebook fan pages. Use this cheat sheet and you’ll never have to guess the dimensions again.

Visit Infographic Journal

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I changed the site URL in settings > general of Wordpress self hosted site and the site crashed

By mistake I changed the site URL of a Wordpress self hosted site hosted in Godaddy. This is a seemingly simple error. But it may cause a damage that may be extremely difficult to repair. In my case, I never recovered the same site.

Wordpress users must be highly careful in making this simple change. Wordpress should educate the users about this.

In the settings >  general section, there are two fields named "WordPress address (URL)" and "Site address (URL)". These are also known as the "Home" and "Site URL."

"WordPress address (URL)" is the folder you have hosted your site. eg: http://yourprimarydomain.com/seconddomain

"Site address (URL)" is the way you want the visitors come to your site. It can be a different URL. eg: http://seconddomain.com

Important: There are no "www." sub domain in the URL.

You may tend to change these site URLs by adding "www." or any other way. The error I committed was changing the "WordPress address (URL)" also to http://seconddomain.com

After saving, the site immediately crashed and never recovered.

I found a nice guide from Wordpress Codex and followed the following instructions to repair the site:

My site was hosted in Godaddy and it was not difficult to find phpMyAdmin. Path was My Account > Web Hosting > Launch

In the Control Panel, under the Hosting tab, in the right column named Account Snapshot, click MySQL Databases. You may find phpMyAdmin button in the pop up window towards the right hand side.

I followed the following instructions of the Wordpress and repaired the damage.

Changing the URL directly in the database

If you know how to access phpMyAdmin on your host, then you can edit these values directly to get you up and running again.

1. Backup your database and save the copy off-site.
2. Login to phpMyAdmin.
3. Click the link to your Databases.
4. A list of your databases will appear. Choose the one that is your WordPress database.
5. All the tables in your database will appear on the screen.
6. From the list, look for wp_options. Note: The table prefix of wp_ may be different if you changed it when installing.
7. Click on the small icon indicated as Browse.
8. A screen will open with a list of the fields within the wp_options table.
9. Under the field option_name, scroll down and look for siteurl.
10. Click the Edit Field icon which usually is found at the far left at the beginning of the row.
11. The Edit Field window will appear.
12. In the input box for option_value, carefully change the URL information to the new address.
13. Verify this is correct and click Go to save the information.
14. You should be returned to your wp_options table.
15. Look for the home field in the table and click Edit Field. Note There are several pages of tables inside wp_options. Look for the > symbol to page through them.
16. In the input box for option_value, carefully change the URL information to the new address.
17. Verify this is correct and click Go to save the information

 I expected the site would be back normal after this but unfortunately not.

Frustrated, I contacted the Godaddy Support and submitted a ticket.

This is their response.

Thank you for contacting Online Support. I understand that you cannot upload the site and you get a 500 error. By default, our Windows hosting servers display a generic error when any .NET application generates an exception. We display a generic error because the detailed error messages allow a malicious user to obtain sensitive information.

To troubleshoot the error, you can modify your web.config file and specify that a custom error message displays. A custom error message helps you to locate the specific code that is causing the issue.

CAUTION: The code samples we provide below do not constitute a complete web.config file. Do not replace your existing web.config file with the code we provide. Before changing your web.config file, we recommend creating a backup.
Displaying Custom Error Messages / Enabling Detailed Errors on IIS 6

Use the sample code below to display custom error messages on IIS 6:


Displaying Custom Error Messages / Enabling Detailed Errors on IIS 7

Use the sample code below to display custom error messages on IIS 7:

When you receive a 500 error this is typically due to a problem within the web.config or .htaccess file. Please check all coding in these files to ensure that there are no issues.

I am able to connect to your FTP account at this time. Please disable any firewall or similar software running on your machine, as it may mistake FTP activity for malicious behavior and block it accordingly. If that does not help, try using a different FTP program. If you use Windows, you can try to connect using Internet Explorer as well by typing ftp://hostingusername@yourdomain.com where "hostingusername" is replaced by your hosting (FTP) username, and "yourdomain.com" by your domain name. It will prompt you for a password, then should connect you to your account. If none of those options work, please access the account via FTP on another computer, ideally one connected to the Internet at another location.

If you are still not able to connect to the FTP, please indicate the error message (and if possible the FTP session log showing the commands used to connect). This will help us diagnose any issue you may be having with the FTP account. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Please let us know if you have any further questions, comments, or concerns by replying to this email. Our service departments and telephone lines are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to accommodate your needs anytime.

Sincerely,
Michael P.
Online Support Team

Frankly, it does not seem a simple explanation. However, I tried the steps he suggested but not succeeded. The instructions seemed inadequate.

Since the site was new and I had backups, after hours of labor, I decided to uninstall the Wordpress application and reinstall it.

Do not trust your hosting companies in complex situations like this.

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How to clear your cache in various browsers

Before clearing your cache, log out of any websites you're currently logged in to. Instructions are general and they can change a little from version to version.

To Clear Your Cache in:

Google Chrome


Open the Tools menu, and select Clear Browsing Data.

Select Empty the cache.

From the Clear data from this period list, select from the begining.

Click Clear Browsing Data.


Internet Explorer 8


Open the Tools menu, and select Internet Options.

Click on the General tab in the dialog box.

Under Browsing History, click Delete...

Select Temporary Internet Files and History, and Cookies and any other private data you want to delete.

Click Delete.


Internet Explorer 9 and 10

From the Tools menu, select Safety, and then select Delete Browsing History.


Mozilla Firefox


Open the Tools menu, and select Clear Recent History.

In the Details list, select Cache, and any other private data you want to delete.

Click Clear Now.


Mozilla Firefox 15

From the Firefox menu, click Options.

Go to the Privacy tab.

Click Clear recent history.

Select a Time range to clear, and then click Clear Now.


Netscape

Open the Edit menu, and select Preferences.

Expand the Advanced menu by clicking on the plus sign (+).

Select Cache, and click Clear Cache.

Click OK.


Firefox on a Macintosh


Open the Tools menu, and select Clear Recent History.

In the Details list, select Cache, and any other private data you want to delete.

Click Clear Now.


Safari on a Macintosh


From the Safari menu, select Preferences.

Go to the Privacy tab.

Next to Cookies and other website data, click Details.

NOTE: You can also click Remove All Website Data to completely clear the browser's cookies.


Select the websites for which you want to remove cookies, and then click Remove.

Click Done.


Safari on iOS


Open the Settings application.

Tap Safari.

Tap Clear Cache.


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What is the best blog platform (my experiences with Blogger, Wordpress, Blog, Live Journal and Tumblr)

I have tested several blogging platforms while being a blogger for around five years.

I have blogged mostly with Blogger and Wordpress.

Of them, the most versatile, easy to use and almost totally free one is Blogger.

Blogger does not trouble you with ads. It does not ask you to upgrade to a paid account. Being linked to Google, it encourages content creation because it ultimately benefits Google search.

Blogger provides you unlimited space for content creation.

Blogger does not restrict you the use of advertising. Moreover it encourages monetizing your blog with Google Adsense. You can earn money with Blogger.

Its blog interface is very simple and similar to a word processing software interface like Microsoft Word. You can easily insert photos, videos, links etc. Although not provided facilities for tables, it is easy to copy and paste even a table. You can do many things with the HTML editing in post interface.

Blogger template and layout can be customized vividly but with a little technical expertise which you can gain easily while working with Blogger. Search Google and you may find any instruction you want regarding customizing Blogger in most ways you prefer.

One disadvantage with Blogger is its lengthy URL like shasthru.blogspot.com but you can easily move to a custom domain. You can easily purchase one from Blogger. No technical expertise is needed to link the custom domain purchased through Blogger.

Blogger has an array of customizable templates and you can browse for other templates and upload them with little technical knowledge. Another special feature is the  large number of gadgets available for various uses that makes your blog more interesting.

On the other hand, Wordpress is also a great blogging platform. It is not so easy for beginners but it looks more professional. There is a common belief that Wordpress provides better themes. Wordpress themes are always very tidy.

Wordpress free blogs that come from wordpress.com do not allow you to run advertisements. (Read more)

Wordpress.org provides free web software you can use to create a beautiful website or blog. You can download Wordpress and build a great self hosted website with marvelous features. I run some websites with Wordpress like my personal website www.parakum.com and my experience is enthusiastic. But you have to study thoroughly to be a smart Wordpress user.

The main difference between the two is that the WordPress.com sites are hosted on WordPress’ server while WordPress.org sites are hosted on an external server.

Wordpress free blogs and self hosted websites are similar in handling. When you sign up to your Wordpress.com account you can handle all Wordpress blogs or websites through it.It acts like a portal to your Wordpress blogs.

The best free blog domain is provided by Blog. Your free domain looks so nice and it is like http://parakum.blog.com

However, they ask you to change into a paid account to get the best features. Belonged to Wordpress, as I have heard, Blog is very similar to Wordpress. However it is less complicated and looks handier. If you can spend some money, you can have a really nice blog with Blog.

Live Journal is said a blog platform with a touch of social networking. You can run a network of friends in it. Live Journal is introduced as a global community of friends who share your passions and interests.

I have tried Tumblr as well. The special feature that prompted me to try Tumblr is its community  feature which encourages re-blogging and sharing the posts.

Tumblr is considered a micro blogging platform and a social media network also.

My favorite micro blogging platform is Twitter and its competitors are way behind them.

Self hosted blogs can be created with Content Management Systems like Joomla and Drupal.  

-Ajith Parakum Jayasinghe

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