Miss Gullible

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A simple thing like a stranger smiling at you as you pass in the street can be enough to turn someone’s day around. I am touched deeply when people are kind, especially when it is unexpected. So often people seem to be out to rip me off and then there are the exceptions. Yesterday when I logged onto my email a visitor to this site had contacted me. He told me that he was advertising my blog free of charge on his website. It really made my day.

Someone also donated $10 via my Chipin widget that will go to help pay off debts. Again I was so grateful. It may not seem like much to some people, but to me it meant everything. When someone puts someone else before themselves it is a beautiful thing. So often this kindness comes when I am having a really bad day and wondering how things will turn out and then something happens to cheer me up and make me believe that everything will be ok.

On Sunday our phone and Internet were disconnected as we couldn’t pay the bill. I called up Telstra and asked whether I could go on a payment plan and they said the only way they would turn it back on was if I paid half that day, which was about $250. I simply didn’t have that money. I resigned myself to the fact they were gone for some time.

Today I was woken by the phone ringing. I couldn’t find it anywhere. Then the thought struck me, I thought it was disconnected. For some reason the Internet and phone is connected again. I have no idea why. I wonder whether it will disconnect tomorrow. All I know is it made my day that I have it now.

The tiniest things can make a difference to someone’s day. When you pass a homeless person in the street, give what you can spare, even if it is a few cents. Smile at people as they pass you by. Talk to the supermarker cashier, Be kind.

Thank you to all who have shown me kindness.

You may have seen up until a couple of days ago I had a Buy me a beer picture and the phrase “if you like my post please consider buying me a beer” next to it. This wordpress plugin is available by clicking here.

This is a novel way to ask for Paypal donations. Basically someone can donate to you via your site, under the guise of buying you a beer. Research shows that donations increase by 200% when people have a specific reason to donate. You can set the price at whatever you like and when someone clicks on the beer icon they will be taken to a Paypal payment page.

If you are not into alcohol you can set it to “buy me a coffee” with a coffee cup logo. I think it is a pretty good idea. You can set it so that the phrase and logo are just in your sidebar, or under every post.

I think it is more effective than a Paypal donation, but a simple donation button may get larger donations. Hmmm what to do? Well I have decided to give it a rest for now and try out the chipin.com widget (see review below)

I think the beer button adds character to the site, but I prefer Chip in, as donators can clearly see your financial goal and it gives your website more worth than the $3 a beer might cost. I think both Buymeabeer and Chipin are more effective than a simple donation button. Mind you I suppose you could explain to your readers what you are aiming for underneath your Paypal button.

Oh the Possibilities!

Here I am talking about all these ways encourage people to donate to you via your website, but I guess that makes me ask the question, Is begging wrong? I mean trying to get people to give me money via my website is basically online begging. Am I above that? Perhaps not.

Today as I was crossing the road to go to my job interview a man stood beside me at the traffic lights. He asked me whether I had $2 to spare. I said no, I didn’t have much money myself.

We crossed the road and got to the other side. I realised that although I did not have much money, I had more than this man.  I called to him and gave him the $2. I felt much better. It is only $2, but he needed it more than me. Most of us are accustomed to this kind of begging and some of us give occasionally, but what about if people ask for money online?

It seems different somehow, doesn’t it? I suppose we think if someone can create a website, they cannot be that disadvantaged and that is probably true. The man I met today would probably not have had access to a computer. After I had given him the $2 he told me that just down the road there was a cheap food market that I should try. He said I should “just slip some in my bag”. That made me giggle.

I suppose website publishers do provide some kind of service to the reader and if the reader appreciates it they could donate, but it still seems like begging. I guess it is a matter of pride whether a publisher can do that or not and do you know what, I don’t have that much pride…

Calling all Rich Eccentrics out there. Please Give Me Money.

I happened upon this website called Chipin.com yesterday and I think what they are offering is very interesting. It is basically another donation tool that you can add to your website. Rather than people just blindly giving you donations, this tool enables people to see your financial goal and “chip in” to help you get there.

It is really easy to set up a Chipin account and then create a widget. It would be good for fundraising or charity websites, so that people can see what their donations will be used for.

As you may, or may not know my finiancial situation is pretty rocky. I have a large amount of debt that has all come about from being so blooming gullible and falling for every scam out there. So my financial goal is to pay off these debts. As you can see in the widget, if I receive any donations the bar will move along to show how far away from my goal I am. I think it is a good idea and more appealing than the usual Paypal donation button.

The payment is still made by Paypal, but it is a novel way of doing it.