Business Nation business sense
Did you see the report about Kiva on TV last night? The Business Nation guys were highlighting the rapid progress that has been made at the Kiva micro-loan website. It gave me confidence that we are on the right track promoting Kiva here, because the report came out very favorably - and let's face it, if anyone is looking for a hole in a "$25 loans can change the world" plan, it is the hard-nosed business people at Business Nation.
In their first year, the Kiva website channeled $1m worth of small loans direct to budding business men and women in Third World countries. This last year, $15m worth of loans have been transacted. Not a bad growth rate. And the cheering aspect is that growing numbers of ordinary people like you, me and Polli are funding the loans, $25 at a time.
We aren't talking about financing Bill Gates' type businesses. Think lower than low tech.
One Kenyan guy was a bicycle taxi, pedaling people around town, around potholes and around piles of garbage for 14 hours a day. With his loan he bought a new bike and set his wife up with a road-side restaurant selling beans and rice. They were doing great and had moved out of their mud hut into a concrete one.
Another recipient of a loan was already in business selling seeds and cereals. Before his loan, his stall must have looked pitiful, because even with his $1000 worth of extra inventory and a corn field, most Westerners would have wept. Not him. Far from it. His 3 kids can go to school now and he has a nice suit for work.
A group of women bought cattle with their $1000, plus a load of beads to make their masai jewelry for tourists. They were the cheeriest and most colorful bunch you could imagine, and like the founder of Kiva said, when you go the site and see the pictures of the people requesting a loan, and you realise that $1000 will make such a huge difference to their lives and prospects, it is an irresistible urge to contribute $25 towards their micro-loan.
I should disclose that I am a Kiva fan. Years ago I co-founded a development program in Africa, and I can assure you that money with strings attached is the primary problem faced by most people trying to get ahead on that amazing continent. Sure, genocide and tribal wars don't help continuity in some countries, but by and large, if you can loan people a few bucks for a chance to fish (and don't interfere), they will teach you a thing or two about fishing.
Kiva is one of the coolest, lowest impact /least interfering ways to enable people in developing nations to develop in a way they feel comfortable with. In the long run, it is a win-win for lenders too, because it doesn't cost you a dime overall. Kiva have such a good relationship with their loan reps in the field, that if you become a lender and contribute the basic $25 to a business(wo)man in the Third World, you have a 0.2% chance of not being repaid! No sub-prime risk there!
Developing fast
In their first year, the Kiva website channeled $1m worth of small loans direct to budding business men and women in Third World countries. This last year, $15m worth of loans have been transacted. Not a bad growth rate. And the cheering aspect is that growing numbers of ordinary people like you, me and Polli are funding the loans, $25 at a time.
Micro business mega returns
We aren't talking about financing Bill Gates' type businesses. Think lower than low tech.
One Kenyan guy was a bicycle taxi, pedaling people around town, around potholes and around piles of garbage for 14 hours a day. With his loan he bought a new bike and set his wife up with a road-side restaurant selling beans and rice. They were doing great and had moved out of their mud hut into a concrete one.
Another recipient of a loan was already in business selling seeds and cereals. Before his loan, his stall must have looked pitiful, because even with his $1000 worth of extra inventory and a corn field, most Westerners would have wept. Not him. Far from it. His 3 kids can go to school now and he has a nice suit for work.
A group of women bought cattle with their $1000, plus a load of beads to make their masai jewelry for tourists. They were the cheeriest and most colorful bunch you could imagine, and like the founder of Kiva said, when you go the site and see the pictures of the people requesting a loan, and you realise that $1000 will make such a huge difference to their lives and prospects, it is an irresistible urge to contribute $25 towards their micro-loan.
Ed's take
I should disclose that I am a Kiva fan. Years ago I co-founded a development program in Africa, and I can assure you that money with strings attached is the primary problem faced by most people trying to get ahead on that amazing continent. Sure, genocide and tribal wars don't help continuity in some countries, but by and large, if you can loan people a few bucks for a chance to fish (and don't interfere), they will teach you a thing or two about fishing.
Kiva kool aid
Kiva is one of the coolest, lowest impact /least interfering ways to enable people in developing nations to develop in a way they feel comfortable with. In the long run, it is a win-win for lenders too, because it doesn't cost you a dime overall. Kiva have such a good relationship with their loan reps in the field, that if you become a lender and contribute the basic $25 to a business(wo)man in the Third World, you have a 0.2% chance of not being repaid! No sub-prime risk there!
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| "Your name" is a Kiva lender | "Your site's screenshot" SmartLink Widget | Funny HQ humor store |
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. Link-a-post: the details
Link-a-post is a new feature that promotes bloggers who support micro-loan specialists, Kiva.
Ordinarily the graphic will appear at the end of every post on this site. It links in many different ways: To the Kiva homepage, to your Kiva lender's page; to your blog; to your blog's SmartLink widget, or other feature on your blog...
As long as you are a Kiva lender, we will adapt one of these graphics so that the links go to your Kiva page, blog etc. (Complete this form to get going, or read on and I will explain further what is on offer, and what you need to do to participate.)
This is a further break down of what you will get if you become involved with Kiva and adopt one of the Link-a-Post graphics.
The main point of this Link-a-Post feature is to raise awareness of Kiva. These guys enable everyday folks (and bloggers) like you and me to make a micro-loan (as little as $25) direct to an enterprising everyday person in a developing country. The entrepreneur invests the $25 in their business and they repay you in full a year later. So smart and so fair that Oprah loves Kiva.
The text link below the graphic will go to your Kiva lender's homepage (known as a portfolio,) where readers can see the aims, progress and background of people you are lending to. (Bloggers should realise that you can also link from your Kiva lender page to your own blog.)
This part of the graphic will show a screenshot of your blog with a link back to your homepage. Use your blog to tell your readers what you are doing with Kiva and Link-a-Post, and build up a mini network of great links.
The text below your screenshot will link to a favorite feature on your blog. (I am into SmartLink widgets that display book, video and music store feeds - and so should you!)
One of the bonuses of the Link-a-Post format is that the graphic is placed at the end of a post, so it is prominent but not intrusive. This makes it perfect for advertising without annoying our readers with the usual commercial distractions. Currently this 3rd block features Ed's Funny HQ humor store at Zlio, the theory being, nobody died from a chance to buy a humor book or DVD.
If you want to place your own ad in the third section of your graphic, let's talk money! I will give half the fee to Kiva.
In a nutshell, there will be one "generic" Link-a-Post graphic at the foot of every post on this site. To "adopt" one of these:
Step 1 - Become a Kiva lender.
Step 2 - Complete the basic info in the contact form.
Step 3 - We will do the rest!
The graphic will stay on this site forever as a permanent reminder / show of thanks for participating in Kiva.
Contact Ed to book your spot at the end of a post. 1300 spots available, grab a spot!
Also there is a SmartLink code that elegantly supes up text links right across your site. Any links to music, DVDs or books on Amazon, Netflix etc will pop up into a panel of useful info and more links. SmartLink is a winner , providing lots of interesting info to readers - and bloggers who set up affiliate accounts can also earn some extra cash when readers click on a SmartLink and make a purchase. Doubly smart!
It is not obligatory for the Link-a-Post feature, but it is worth a good look.
Ordinarily the graphic will appear at the end of every post on this site. It links in many different ways: To the Kiva homepage, to your Kiva lender's page; to your blog; to your blog's SmartLink widget, or other feature on your blog...
As long as you are a Kiva lender, we will adapt one of these graphics so that the links go to your Kiva page, blog etc. (Complete this form to get going, or read on and I will explain further what is on offer, and what you need to do to participate.)
This is a further break down of what you will get if you become involved with Kiva and adopt one of the Link-a-Post graphics.
Make the world a better place one loan at a time
Make your blog a better place
Make advert space a better place
If you want to place your own ad in the third section of your graphic, let's talk money! I will give half the fee to Kiva.
To participate in Link-a-Post
In a nutshell, there will be one "generic" Link-a-Post graphic at the foot of every post on this site. To "adopt" one of these:
Step 1 - Become a Kiva lender.
Step 2 - Complete the basic info in the contact form.
Step 3 - We will do the rest!
The graphic will stay on this site forever as a permanent reminder / show of thanks for participating in Kiva.
Act now!
Contact Ed to book your spot at the end of a post. 1300 spots available, grab a spot!
SmartLinks
On Link-a-Post you have a link option beneath your blog logo. We recommend you link to your SmartLink widget. Not only can you display all your favorites on Amazon, Netflix etc in an easy-to-read catalog, but there is a Firefox extension that allows you to update it at will.Also there is a SmartLink code that elegantly supes up text links right across your site. Any links to music, DVDs or books on Amazon, Netflix etc will pop up into a panel of useful info and more links. SmartLink is a winner , providing lots of interesting info to readers - and bloggers who set up affiliate accounts can also earn some extra cash when readers click on a SmartLink and make a purchase. Doubly smart!
It is not obligatory for the Link-a-Post feature, but it is worth a good look.
 |  |  |
| "Your name" is a Kiva lender | "Your site's screenshot" SmartLink Widget | Funny HQ humor store |
Link-a-Post
The wait is over. There is a new look in town, and this a snippet.
The challenge has been to beef up this blog with adverts; build a link network with friends of the Pisstakers; introduce 1300 SmartLinks and promote a Good Cause called Kiva - all without cluttering the site and tripping readers up on crap. It could have got ugly, and incredibly time consuming, had I gone the traditional adsense and sidebar route, so I had to think smart!
The theme change is underway! Can you spot another part of the puzzle?
Luckily, good things happen in 3's. This is the third and most important part of the puzzle.
Stick those 3 graphics together in a lightweight CSS table, load them with links and you get Link-a-Post , a system that exploits the power of 3.
If you look at the bottom of this post, after the comments and bookmarks section, make up your own mind about Link-a-Post. You will see that the 3-part graphic highlights a humanitarian development program called Kiva. It also contains blog links and screenshots of blogs. Not stopping there, it introduces SmartLink Widgets, a simple but powerful way to link to loads of relevant books, DVDs or music available via affiliate programs. There's a humor store tagged on too.
(That was actually 4 positives and the 5th best bit is that Link-a-Post is compact, non-scattered - and it bears repeating - is judiciously placed at the end of a post, visible, but not intrusive when you are reading. 3 cheers.
There will eventually be 1300 "generic" Link-a-Post graphics on this site. Each one will be placed at the end of a post and each one can be easily commandeered by bloggers looking for a wholesome way to expand their link network, readership and bank balance via this PR4 site.
I have customised the Link-a-Post graphic at the bottom of this post to suit Ed's info, and so can you. Come back tomorrow to learn how easy it is to have your own customised graphic at the bottom of your favorite Pisstakers post.
Can you see the new look now? The world is not short of slick graphics, but I think this offers a bit more bang for your buck than most. In principle, Link-a-Post engages the world on a blogger / good feeling / income generating level - and lordy lor', I can leave my sidebar and content free of naff advertising. (And, I just remembered, with the additional SmartLink code now going on in the background, I can add a whole new layer of content to this blog without too much hassle...)
If you can see any holes in the idea, please let Ed have it!
Blog design change - the challenge
The challenge has been to beef up this blog with adverts; build a link network with friends of the Pisstakers; introduce 1300 SmartLinks and promote a Good Cause called Kiva - all without cluttering the site and tripping readers up on crap. It could have got ugly, and incredibly time consuming, had I gone the traditional adsense and sidebar route, so I had to think smart!
The theme change is underway! Can you spot another part of the puzzle?
Luckily, good things happen in 3's. This is the third and most important part of the puzzle.
Blog design change - the solution
Stick those 3 graphics together in a lightweight CSS table, load them with links and you get Link-a-Post , a system that exploits the power of 3.
What's to see?
If you look at the bottom of this post, after the comments and bookmarks section, make up your own mind about Link-a-Post. You will see that the 3-part graphic highlights a humanitarian development program called Kiva. It also contains blog links and screenshots of blogs. Not stopping there, it introduces SmartLink Widgets, a simple but powerful way to link to loads of relevant books, DVDs or music available via affiliate programs. There's a humor store tagged on too.
(That was actually 4 positives and the 5th best bit is that Link-a-Post is compact, non-scattered - and it bears repeating - is judiciously placed at the end of a post, visible, but not intrusive when you are reading. 3 cheers.
One down 1299 to go
There will eventually be 1300 "generic" Link-a-Post graphics on this site. Each one will be placed at the end of a post and each one can be easily commandeered by bloggers looking for a wholesome way to expand their link network, readership and bank balance via this PR4 site.
I have customised the Link-a-Post graphic at the bottom of this post to suit Ed's info, and so can you. Come back tomorrow to learn how easy it is to have your own customised graphic at the bottom of your favorite Pisstakers post.
Can you see the new look now? The world is not short of slick graphics, but I think this offers a bit more bang for your buck than most. In principle, Link-a-Post engages the world on a blogger / good feeling / income generating level - and lordy lor', I can leave my sidebar and content free of naff advertising. (And, I just remembered, with the additional SmartLink code now going on in the background, I can add a whole new layer of content to this blog without too much hassle...)
If you can see any holes in the idea, please let Ed have it!
