Definitive list of Alternatives to Squidoo

Over recent weeks I have been reviewing a number of Squidoo alternatives. Not that I think that there is anything wrong with Squidoo, it's just that sometimes it's good to diversify and to have options. So, in order to make the list the site concerned must satisfy the following criteria:

1. You must be able to publish your own content
2. You must be able to include a link back to your own website, blog or whatever else you want to promote
3. There must be some opportunity for making money - either directly through revenue sharing or via affiliate links.

Within the list I have included links to the sites themselves, links to my reviews and an indication as to whether links are "dofollow" or "nofollow". So, in no particular order, is the full list:

1. Hubpages [See Review] -links are nofollow initially, then become dofollow once your hub has reached a score of 75.
2. Knol [See Review] - links are initially nofollow, then become dofollow after a while.
3. Oondi [See Review] - links are no follow
   
4. Bukisa [See Review] - links are nofollow
5. Zimbio [See Review] - mixed - links in your articles are nofollow, but when republishing blog posts as articles, then link to blog is dofollow.
   
6. eHow [See Review] - links are nofollow
7. Qassia [See Review] - links are dofollow
8. Launchtags [See Review] -links are dofollow (if you can get it to work!!)
9. Infobarrel [See Review] - links are dofollow
10. Xomba [See Review] - links are nofollow
    

So there you have it! I am sure there are more out there and I will add to this list as and when I find them. Do you know of any others? If so, you could let me know and I add to the list and will review.

Squidoo Alternatives #8 - Launchtags

This is the last of my series of alternatives to Squidoo for the time being. Launchtags is yet another site where you can write your own content, link back to your own site/blog and earn money. The interface has a similar structure to Squidoo and Hubpages in that you have various modules to construct your own "Mini-Page" (as they are referred to here). This includes text, images, video, and affiliate banners/links. You can also earn money from Adsense on your Mini-Pages.

This all looks absolutely great and should offer a number of flexible opportunities including using Mini-Pages as landing pages for an affiliate marketing campaign. Except, THE DAMN THING JUST DOES NOT WORK!!! I have spent ages trying to put together a Mini-Page, but every time I hit the Publish button everything disappears except my introduction and thumbnail picture. I thought it was just me, but if you look at other recent Mini-Pages they look look the same. It seems that it was not always this way as the older Mini-Pages seem to be just fine.

I have e-mailed via the "Contact Me" tab to make this point, but had no response. I have also left a message on the forums, but again, no response. In fact the forums look pretty much dead - the "Help Me Please" forum has just 8 threads on it and 2 of those are mine!!!

Launchtags feels like it has been abandoned by its owner. Either that, or someone is working away behind the scenes to get it working and they are just far too busy to respond to queries. But as I posted my Mini-Page several months ago and the site still isn't working properly, this seems unlikely!

N.B. If at some point in the future I should find that Launchtags is functioning properly, then I will of course amend this review accordingly.

Squidoo Alternatives #7 - Qassia

Continuing my reviews of alternatives to Squidoo brings me to Qassia. Remembering that this series focuses on sites that where you can post your own content, include a link back to your own site/blog and where there are opportunities to make money, I will cover each of these in turn. Qassia allows you to create your own content (known here as "Intel") about pretty much anything. The only things that are not allowed are adult content or duplicate content. People participating in Qassia can earn Qassia Dollars - this is not real money, however, this is actually just a rating system relating to the visibility of your Intels. The interface is pretty basic (text and images), but is easy to use.

Associated with each Intel is a link back to your website, blog, Squidoo page or whatever else you are looking to promote. In fact, Qassia promotes itself on the basis of being a means by which you gain useful backlinks, and all links are "dofollow". You can't, however, use Qassia to promote your affiliate links or indeed any dubious looking money making schemes.

In terms of making money, Qassia offers a revenue sharing model where you can receive 100% of Adsense revenue from your Intels, although you do not receive any revenue from any other pages.

In conclusion, Qassia offers primarily a useful means of building backlinks to your website or blog. There is some opportunity to make some additional money from Adsense, but unless your Intels receive a large amount of traffic you should not expect to make large sums.

Earnings for February

My monthly posts giving my total online earnings have become a regular feature of Extra Cash Challenge, but over the last couple of months I have been thinking seriously about whether I should continue posting them. This is primarily because the totals have been so poor. I considered inflating my earnings so that I could portray myself as some sort of guru, but this just did not feel right.

So here are my earnings:

Ebay: £12.03
Paid posts: £8.44 (Smorty)

Total = £20.47

My aim of earning at least £300 per month feels a very long way away. Part of the issue is about how I use my time - the question is, do I use my limited time to concentrate on things that I know will generate income (such as surveys and Ebay) or do I concentrate on other things that are less certain (such as income from my blogs, Squidoo, affiliate marketing, etc), or do I try something else altogether? Also, part of the issue is how I count my earnings - I only count what I have actually received in my Paypal or bank account. I have continued to earn throughout the month, but have not reached payment thresholds in a number of different accounts. I have a few payments pending though.

The quest continues........