I just bought a monthly pass with my Mastercard because I go to DePaul University in Chicago.  It worked very well I guess; Credit card processors can only be so exciting.  But anyways, I thought this was worth a note because of how much money Metra put into this redevelopment.  About $3 million as I mentioned before.  And it took 3 years.  Kind of gives you a “guage” of what you pay for in the web development market.

See you on the train.

The reason I’m taking time out of my life to flame Linkshare is because of their complete disregard for the quality of their system in its entirety.  It’s a mouthful, but I can write something negative about everything Linkshare does… they’re amateurs, simply put.  

Linkshare, a United Kingdom company, can be compared to the United States based Commission Junction (cj.com) only for its functionality.  CJ far surpasses Linkshare’s ability to unite both publisher and advertiser successfully.  Linkshare has no incentive to make you, the publisher, any real money.  Linkshare’s goal is money alright, for themselves.    

#1.  Linkshare.com is down as of this post.  I figured this is a good start to my list.

#2. Linkshare does not respond to support tickets.  What?  Did the postman lose my letter in your online support ticket system?  Of course when I asked them questions regarding my tax information (i.e money), they respond in under an hour.  

#3. Almost all of Linkshare’s advertisers are second teir, meaning less likely to bring YOU in any profit.  YOU ARE A TOOL TO LINKSHARE!

#4. Linkshare’s portal for tracking and managing publisher sales is complete dog-sh*t.  Let me show you this screenshot: (oh… wait, their site is currently “performing maintenance”).  I was going to show how their dashboard does not display at all using Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome.  Really? IE only?

This rant is a result of many, many months of using Linkshare actively, earning money along the way.  I’m still not happy, Linkshare does a poor job of handling their clients, both advertisers and publishers.  Commission Junction still needs a nosejob or two, but not compared to Linkshare who looks like they just got out of a 30-car pile up on an icy bridge.

Here are some great ideas:

• Concert tickets to her favorite band. The chances of the band being in town around valentines day is slim, but getting tickets for sometime in the near future is certainly a great gift.
• Make a video and/or slideshow with pictures of the past and present of both of you.
• Massage and spa appointment. I’ve found that gift cards to a spa isn’t as romantic as simply making an appointment for her. I plan on making her an appointment for her to get a 1 hour massage, followed by…
• Dinner, of course! But pick something fun. This means not Chili’s. Come on, do better than that. Pick a fun restraunt like one of those Japanese restraunts that cook in front of you. Or go someplace with excellent sceneary like walls that are aquariums, filled with fish. Be creative.
• Even if the Mrs. says she doesn’t want any roses, or gifts, or whatever … FOR THE LOVE OF GOD GET THEM! Get her some roses, a little teddy bear, chocolate, you know all that crap. She’ll love it.
• This is optional (because the other ones aren’t ) – But writing her a very very small, and to the point poem or statement will really show her that you’re not just looking to please her by buying things for her. Let her know where your heart is by writing it down on words. Just look for some sentimental/romantice phrases.

These are all just ideas. The point is to be creative, so just following these ideas isn’t what you should be doing. The purpose is soley for branching off ideas of your own – that’s when the girl will see that you really like her (even if you’re married )

Best of luck to all of you.

Happy Valentine’s Day