Archives for February 2009

I found a great gadget this week to aid in my workout enjoyment at the gym. In the past, I’ve always brought along my iPod Touch to watch videos and listen to podcasts, but I could never get the audio from the TVs, since they require tuning into channels on an FM radio.

Plus, the iPod Touch is somewhat sensitive and pricey, so I was a little concerned about messing it up with sweat, dropping it off the elliptical, etc.

Anyhow, I came across a post at Chuck Eglinton’s chuckegg.com called “Great little MP3 Player for Music, Audiobooks & Podcasts $12”.

It was about a device called the SanDisk Sansa, which looks like a thumb drive. And that’s because it is a thumb drive with 1 GB of space. But it’s also an MP3 player and an FM radio.

I think 1 GB fits about 200 songs or so. When I put together a podcast for GeekCast.fm, it’s often just 30 MB or so for a half hour, so you could fit tons of podcasts on one of these SanDisk Sansa things, too.

I couldn’t believe it when I saw this on TigerDirect for $13 (that was a temporary discount) or so. Not only does it solve my FM problem at the gym, but I don’t have the same concern about breaking it, and if it does break or get stolen, it’s not a big deal.

Also, there is a slot for a microSD card to add even more songs or podcasts. And it doesn’t require batteries – you charge it by plugging it into the USB slot on your computer. Oh yea, and it’s got a built-in microphone and audio recorder, in case you need help remembering to buy your butter, milk, and eggs from the grocery store.

Plus, it is similar in weight to a typical thumb drive, so it’s much less cumbersome in your pocket than an iPod.

I think even at twice the price it’s still well worth it. Note: the low price was for a refurbished one. I picked of three of them – one for me, one for my wife, and another for when I lose the first one.

On a weight loss note, I dropped some more pounds this week, so it’s a big win of a week.

Starting weight: 225
Last week: 223
This week: 221

The MarketLeverage team will be joined by the local social media community on Tuesday, March 31st to raise money for the Neimann-Pick Children’s Fund.

You can join them at Airport Lanes in Sanford, FL for food, fun, and fundraising.

Two games of bowling, shoe rental, food, and door prizes are included in the $25 fee.

For more information on the cause, event, or sponsorship opportunities, visit http://www.bripardun.com.

This installment of Affiliate Fatblogging marks the first time I was wearing a Snuggie while delivering my update.

I was at Target for some stuff today and saw the “As Seen on TV” area, and just couldn’t resist the Snuggie this time. Despite the fact that people laughed at me in line, I am proud of my Snuggie, and my kids have been taking turns enjoying the “super soft fleece.”

Anyhow, I’m back in the right direction for losing some weight with discipline as far as regular exercise and diet.

One change in my day-to-day exercise plan is that I’m moving on from the local gym to a new Lifetime Fitness, which is a chain with 85 locations in 19 states.

The place is fantastic and such a change of pace from my current gym. In addition to a humongous room of exercise equipment, they’ve got really nice indoor and outdoor pools, hot tubs, saunas, squash courts, basketball courts, rock climbing, and more. Not to mention a cafe with WiFi for some after workout affiliate action.

Oh yeah, and a spa, too.

I really need to check out squash. I used to play raquetball and loved it, but never had much of an interest in squash. When I worked at a gym in college, the guys that played squash were always grad students with unkempt beards. But I think the sport is ready for me now.

The really cool thing is that a lot of the facilities are open 24 hours a day, so I can go in and get some exercise during the weird hours I keep when I am feeling frustrated with some project I’m working on.

Also, I’ve been using equipment in the gym without any guidance to this point. But I’ve got a “FitPoint Assessment” appointment next week at the new gym, so they can analyze where I am (Height, Weight, BMI, Flexibility, VO2 Max, Strength) and point me in the right direction.

The one thing that frustrates me about this gym and any other is that the TVs have audio on FM frequencies and my iPod Touch cannot tune into this audio. Time to get an old school radio, I guess.

Off to the gym.

Starting weight: 225
Current weight: 223

Yesterday at church, the title of the sermon was “Give is a Four Letter Word” and it got me thinking about the perspective of so many marketers.

They just don’t get the value and importance of giving.

A couple weeks back, I exchanged some emails with somebody who interviewed me. He was combining the interview with other interviews to sell.

I asked if I could post the audio to share with people for free, and he was stunned that I would rather do that, instead of pointing to his product with an affiliate link.

He revealed his opinion of my request.

“Seems many marketers are adverse to smart monetization strategies.”

Actually, no. But I think it makes sense on many levels to give back and provide free, quality information to fellow affiliate marketers.

Not only does it help others in the industry, but it provides an alternative for the folks that spend money they can’t afford to spend on crappy products and services. Not to mention, it’s a great aid for building a personal brand.

There are are many in affiliate marketing that work hard in the background and provide quality information with no strings like Haiko de Poel, Jr., Scott Jangro, Jim Kukral, Melanie Seery, Kellie Stevens, and Missy Ward.

Look to them as the sort of people that can help you grow in this business… not these cynical “money is everything” info pimps.

As Oscar Wilde once said, “The cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”

This may sound like an unusual request, but please don’t follow @shawncollins on Twitter.

My real account on Twitter is @affiliatetip, since that’s my user name on pretty much every forum and social media site, as well as my blog.

If you’re following both, you’re just getting the original message I posted to @affiliatetip and then a retweet of it from @shawncollins.

I fell off the wagon this past weekend. I went with two of my daughters to an indoor water park (brrr… it’s cold outside in NJ) and I got a bit out of control with fried chicken, cookies, beer, cheeseburgers, pizza, etc.

I don’t play games when I go off the diet – I work hard and cheat on diets hard.

So, I had a bit of a setback on the scale, but it’s time to bring back the discipline. The scale laughed and then cried at me when I got on. It told me I’m at 225, and I want to drop that quarter century (at least).

First of all, I’m back to exercising. The temperatures edged above freezing, so I went for a walk with my iPod Touch and Nike ting to measure the distance and whatnot.

I’ll be posting the progress on my Nike Plus account.

The latest walk was for 3.22 miles in 53 minutes and 51 seconds. On that pace, I was doing a little less than a 17 minute mile, and I burned off more than 500 calories.

The pace should have been faster, but about halfway through the walk, I checked the mail at the UPS Store, and I’d received a box from AKMG – they give out those cool skateboard decks at Affiliate Summit.

So, I had to lug that box back home for the backend of my walk – the uphill portion.

Anyhow, this week I plan to exercise five times (rather than 3-4), eat well, and chug down lots and lots of water.

As far as monetizing the affiliate fatblogging efforts, some people have asked why I don’t push some of the popular offers like acai berries. While that sort of thing can be lucrative, I’m not using them and don’t plan to use them.

I want to focus on a more healthy lifestyle and Weight Watchers is the way to go for me, to me at least.

Where are all the other affiliate marketers at with fatblogging? Leave your shame at the door and join me for the sake of your health.