Don't be Afraid to Make Mistakes!

I came across this quote from Ben Franklin recently "The man who does things makes mistakes, but he never makes the biggest mistake of all -- doing nothing." Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

It amazes me that something a heavy-set bald guy said over 200 years ago can still be appropriate today. One of the reasons I created this blog was to celebrate ideas; my ideas, my reader’s ideas, other ideas I come across in my travels both on the Internet and in the real world. But, if ideas remain only in a blog discussion and are never created or put in to practice then they are of little use.
Ideas are what keep the world fresh and if implemented without fear of failure can benefit us personally as well as a community. So lets celebrate ideas here but put them into practice in the real world. As old Ben said the biggest mistake of all is doing nothing.

I've put some of my recent ideas into practice. If you get a chance checkout the following sites:

The Single Dad - My new blog on being a single dad
RKSmythe - My MySpace profile (please stop by and I'll add you as a friend)
A-List DVD - A store for your DVD habit

Creative Use of Amazon Affiliate Links

I've recently added an Amazon aStore to The Digital Napkin and as I was surfing the affiliate site I came across a link to BlueDonut.com a very clever use of Amazon's affiliate links. It reads like a poem or possibly lyrics to a song. Check it out!

I'm not sure it actually sells any product but it is clever.

Best Selling Games at Amazon.com

Bankruptcy: The Opportunity to Fail

I came across a great post today that I figured I would share with you. After my recent business failure with Glacier Bay DVD I've struggled with what direction to take for my career. Should I start another business? Should I just get a job? Well, I still haven't made my decision; mostly because after 400 resumes sent out I've yet to get an interview. I've always said being an entrepreneur my whole life makes me highly unemployable.

This article points out that failure is not a negative but can often be a catalyst to great success, so with my hope renewed I press on looking for the right opportunity. A job certainly would make my family happy though.

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Making Money at MySpace!

I’m sure Rupert Murdock has laid down the law by now. “MySpace will start contributing to the bottom line immediately!” I’m sure this mandate has sent the execs at FIM scrambling for a strategy that will pay off quickly but what could that strategy be? They can’t charge members to sign-up; we must remember the members are the ones creating the content. They have faced resistance to the idea of charging a toll on Widgets, so what is left? Is Google advertising the only way to monetize the site? The answer is no.

MySpace has millions of little “viral” entrepreneurs at their disposal. These members love recommending, referring, passing on information about music, movies, and people. Why not put them to work for you? Let members that are 16 years old and up create an AdSense account for their profiles. They would be required to have their parent’s permission until they are 18. FIM could also set up and manage an affiliate program for recommendations and referrals. Let members who are providing content make a little money while FIM manages the program and generates some substantial revenue.

Let’s think outside the box! What would happen if a million idealistic kids saw the opportunity to make some money doing something they would do for free anyway? Sure their would be abuses but a little due diligence can keep that to a minimum. Here is an opportunity for eBay’s PayPal as well; they could become the defacto payment method for the program.

The possibilities are endless! I have more ideas where that came from.

Netflix is your personal movie service. Only 4.99 a month. NO LATE FEES. Try it for FREE!