Mine is. Help me to fight for my freedom of speech and protect yours!

Amazon is at it again, working hard for their affiliates by providing cool widgets. I have been grated an exclusive access to preview and test the new widget that you see on the right. All I can say is WOW!

With this new widget you will be able to create an MP3 Clips for your website. You can add entire albums or single songs. If you are writing a blog about music, you should definitely give this widget a spin when it is released in a week or two.

From playing around with this widget, I like it more than the carousel widget. It is fast and very easy to configure. I am myself look forward when the widget is released, so maybe I can make a some $$$ with it. What can I say?!!! Great job Amazon!

I have originally planned to write individual posts about each and every blogger who took me up on my Thanksgiving Offer. However tomorrow I am leaving for San Francisco, CA and will not be back until Friday. Knowing myself, it will become more challenging to fulfill my promise if I postpone it even one day. I am sure my readers will find following blogs worthy of their attention:

1. Bluefrogx- this blogger was the first to take me up on my offer. Although there is very little on his(or maybe her) about page- the page exists thus it had qualified for this post. When you visit this blog (and I hope you do) there seams to be a beta video downloader- a tool that can be quiet useful if a user would prefare to download a YouTube video to watch at a later time. I hope to see this project materialize and hopefully above links would serve as an encouragement.
2. Case Stevens- the author of Affordable Internet Marketing Blog. Needless to say I encourage you o subscribe to his blog if your are into Internet marketing. While at his blog make sure to check out Article Tutorials and Resource pages for some great tips and advise.
3. Warren Whitlock- the author of Daily Warren Blog and Book Marketing Strategy. If you think that writing a book is a thing of the past, you must check out Warrens websites. You never know he may help you to become a best selling author.
4. Clement Nyirenda – he is a lecturer, researcher and consultant in Electronics and Computer Engineering at the Malawi Polytechnic, a constituent college of the University of Malawi.I am specifically involved in the development of Computational Intelligence based software for communication networks and other dynamic environments.Of late, I have developed a huge interest in Wireless Sensor Networks and Grid Computing.
5. Nazar- the author of Real Ukraine. He stopped by to let me know that some of my pages were not functioning properly. However if you would like to learn about the country I am from, visit his blog.
6. Alex Sysoef- the author of WordPress Web 2.0 Guide For Social Networks Age- the name of the blog says it all.
7. Sam Freedom’s Internet Marketing Controversy Blog- while I am just discovering Sam’s blog, it had captivated me from the start. While the name of the blog implies that a reader may find some sort of controversy there, I personally think Sam’s style makes him stand out from the crowd. Take a look at his Controversy Blog Meme. Great job Sam! Even though I am saying good bye to “full time” in affiliate marketing, I will continue to read your blog- very informative and with a hit of humor. We can have fun while doing the things we love!
8. Matt- the author of The Fantastic Site and Imaginary Hyperspace of Lord Matt. We have crossed our paths many times in the space of blogs and social bookmarking websites. Matt is a great blogger – the kind that makes you think. I am sure he cringed times and again over my grammar, so I am honored he continues to read my writing. Make sure visit his blog!
9. Last but not least Chris B- she writes for Mark Houstong Recovery Blog. Mark Houston Recovery Center is a male resident only recovery center where men can find professional help dealing with alcohol and drug addictions.

Thank you every one for letting me write about you. I wish you much success!

The purpose of this post is manifold. On one had I would like to announce a change of direction that my life is taking (which will be reflected on my online activity), on the other hand I would like to address something I was told and advised by many well respected leaders in the affiliate marketing. Finally if you find yourself in a predicament similar to mine, I hope this article will help you in some ways.

“Find What You Are Passionate About- And Monetize It”

With all due respect to every one who offers such advise, in my experience this is most ridiculous advise I have ever read. I think my problem lies in the manner in which I understand what passion is. Unfortunately what I am truly passionate about has nothing to do with widgets, products, games memorabilia and all other sorts of things. To me this advise just an empty saying.

Your Passion Can Be Greater…..

Lets presume for a second that you are passionate about something that truly can change the world. Not in a Kawasaki-Truemors manner, but in a way that would help thousands of men and women around the world. What if your passion is such that you do not feel right about monetizing it?

Can I Successfully Sell A Product/Service Without Being Passionate About It?

Absolutely! It all has to do with knowledge and numbers as simple as that. You can learn about the product, the potential customers, the best way to promote the products and numbers will help you to determine your success or failure. That is basically all you need in affiliate marketing. If you are intelligent enough to read understand (despite my terrible grammar) this post, you are intelligent enough to learn things in order to succeed online- keep that in mind next time you read the “monetize your passion” sorts of articles. If I made good money selling products through affiliate programs without being passionate about them, so can you.

Following My Passion…

There is a certain satisfaction that comes from following your passion. This satisfaction can not be brought about by money and success. It comes from realizing that there maybe at least one person who’s life you have touched. It comes from realizing that your life is not spent in wane.

We often think that we have plenty of time to follow our passion. The truth is can not be more contrary.

My adventure as an affiliate marketer is coming to an end. I probably will continue to earn some (passive income) from the websites I’ve built so far. I may even sell some in the future.

As my passion has nothing to do with affiliate marketing I see no point to link to my new blogs and websites. If you are my friend on any of the “social networking” communities, you will be noticing some changes in my profile.

Because of these changes, my blogging here is going to diminish and may completely stop in the future. Unless of course I decide to overhaul this website completely. I will however fulfill my “Thanksgiving Gift to Bloggers”.

I am sure that many of my blog’s readers are already familiar with Collective Thoughts. I originally intended to title this post “Top 10 reasons why I subscribed to Collective Thoughts. The truth is there are no top 10 reasons why I have subscribed to Collective Thoughts, but there are 9.5 outstanding co-authors- my #1 reason for subscribing to this new blog.

So here is my (plagiarized) introduction of Collective Thoughts:

Andy Beard – (as told by Dane Morgan): Andy is definitely the kind of guy I’d like to get to know better, and I do hope that over time we get to know each other more. We have a lot of similar interests, and I can tell he’s the kind of guy who needs to know both the how and the why of the way things work.
Unlike a lot of others who have that drive to know, Andy also has a drive to apply. He is right now working on a project that he simply won’t tell me a lot about yet, but the hints he’s droped, both in his blog and in an email or two, leave me with that 8 year old at Christmas kind of energetic, barely contained anxiousness. I can’t wait to see what he cooks up.

Brian Wallace - has been doing stuff on the web since 1994 and has been patiently waiting for social media to rise to power. He’s glad that the Internet Revolution is based on actual money this time instead of sock puppets. When not dreaming up posts on social psychology vs. social media at NowSourcing, he’s going at it here at Collective Thoughts.

You can usually find him out on Sphinn or Stumbleupon, too.

Glen Allsopp - Born in 1989, Glen is the youngest of the group but certainly doesn’t lack in experience. A long time blog author (ViperChill), forum user and submitter of content to social media sites; he has a good understanding of what works and what doesn’t. In an industry where age doesn’t matter, testing, getting involved and doing it for others gives you the knowledge you need. Glen likes to check things out for himself and emerse himself in things that are successful, never relying on just what he’s read which makes him a perfect candidate to join this awesome team here at Collective Thoughts.

Mark Laymon - loves to experiment on the A-list SEO and social media bloggers located on various blogs and social networks. Marks various ice breaking tools have included SuperPoke on Facebook and Mash Pets on Yahoo. Along with questionable methods of commenting, he has also been known for following these A-list bloggers and submitting their content to social news sites as soon as they post. His ultimate goal is to persuade them in to believing he is a top specialist in the United States, and that he is quickly gaining an international reputation. His blog, AListSEO.com, offers daily insights into the methods used by the top bloggers, exposing his methods of research along the way. In addition, when time permits, he uses techniques featuring sophisticated strategies that target search engines by driving highly qualified Internet traffic to his clients’ sites. Since founding his businesses in 1996, he has established a corporate following, using analytics, motivating titles, search engine optimization, and website monetization tactics.

Marty Weintraub - aimClearBlog is a publication of AimClear, a search engine optimization (SEO) Internet marketing firm in Duluth and Minneapolis, Minnesota. aimClear offers website promotion, organic optimization, social media, blog coaching, application development, advertising, PR, and paid placement (PPC) agency services to local and national clients.

Prior to founding aimClear, Marty held positions including A&R PolyGram International Publishing, CBS affiliate Creative Director, Interactive Director for a venerable regional advertising agency, and 9 years of solo SEM practice.

Having first come to international prominence as a recording artist, Marty Weintraub wrote and produced a total of 13 solo albums. Over the last 2 decades, his highly successful TerraAura, Northsound and NatureQuest releases, which include, “Dolphin Dreams, WolfQuest, Theater of Seasons, Loon Dance, Dolphin Serenade, and Autumn in New England”, have sold millions of aggregate units. Industrial video and music clients have included Northwest Airlines, CBS, Pizza Hut, General Mills, Dayton Hudson, Planters Peanuts, Sony Publishing, and many others.

Rose Sylvia – Rose’s talent is to take a complex subject and explain it in a manner that is easily understandable to someone new to that subject. She’s brilliant, and has shown it on Search Engine Forums as PPC Forum Moderator.

She was also a Customer Engineer for IBM for quite a while, too.

Shana Albert – Shana has been a Web Designer and a Webmaster since 2001. She owns and runs a very successful eCommerce Website ABCHomePreschool. Last year Shana started her first Blog and over this past year has added quite a few more to her arsenal. Over the past 6 months she has dove head first into everything Social Media and Web 2.0. Frankly, it has become her obsession. Her newest Blog, SocialDesire, is about her love for Social Media and she is very excited to be able to offer her views along side the brilliant team at Collective Thoughts.

Tadeusz Szewczyk – also known as onreact or Tad Chef the blogger of the SEO 2.0 blog is by now a veteran of web publishing. He started in 1997, adding web development in 1999, and started blogging in 2003 on a variety of projects. In 2004 he began his current career as an SEO consultant in Germany. He is a 33 year old Polish born Web 2.0 and social media enthusiast as well as power user living and working currently in Berlin, Germany. Tadeusz also sometimes writes journalistic articles for renowned publications online and in print.

Tim Nash – Tim is a Search engine optimisation and reputation management consultant who sneaks into universities to mess with computer science and Internet engineering students heads. When not corrupting the innocent he can be found blogging in an attempt to corrupt the rest of the world. His blogs cover social media, internet marketing and monetising as well as traditional search engine optimisation.

Brian’s Cat – Brian’s Cat is a *so called* imaginary cat. He occasionally posts to the blog to rebut Brian’s views on Twitter and keep the blog politically correct for the feline community. He is the self-dubbed mascot for Collective Thoughts, and sleeps 20 hours a day – more than the rest of the staff put together. You can typically catch him twittering.