In My Bag » online services http://www.in-my-bag.com Reviewing the stuff I buy Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:03:54 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 MyLikes http://www.in-my-bag.com/2011/04/30/mylikes/ http://www.in-my-bag.com/2011/04/30/mylikes/#comments Sat, 30 Apr 2011 20:03:36 +0000 Jenn http://www.in-my-bag.com/?p=4516 Paid blogging has been around in the mainstream blogging community for a good five years now, but paid tweeting has only gained a strong foothold in the last two years or so. One service I tried recently was MyLikes. The site provides campaigns for you to take only if you’re interested. Details are provided, and you can write your own content so that even your sponsored/paid tweets are a reflection of voice and personality.

However, I strongly discourage everyone from using MyLikes. Why? Because the owner(s) behind the company go around, seemingly at random, and suspend unsuspecting and rule-abiding users, myself included. One day I logged in and was greeted with the following:

mylikes suspended account

Of course, my account was suspended after I had completed several campaigns and had a pending balance to be paid out. Other users who were suddenly suspended from using MyLikes have reported the same issue. I’m not the only person who has had their MyLikes account inexplicably suspended. So do yourself a favor, and avoid them! In my book, MyLikes is a scam.

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars

]]> http://www.in-my-bag.com/2011/04/30/mylikes/feed/ 2 HSBC Online Banking http://www.in-my-bag.com/2011/04/09/hsbc-online-banking/ http://www.in-my-bag.com/2011/04/09/hsbc-online-banking/#comments Sat, 09 Apr 2011 19:12:53 +0000 Jenn http://www.in-my-bag.com/?p=4469 A few years ago I decided to open up an online savings account. After doing some research, I finally decided to give HSBC a whirl. And you know what? I’m so glad I did, because the online savings account I have with HSBC is incredibly easy to manage. I can view my statements and account balances online at any time, initiate online transfers, or access funds from any ATM with the ATM (debit/pin only) card that HSBC sent me.

The “downside” to my HSBC savings account is that nothing is instant. If I have a check that I need to cash immediately, I would do better to check out check city cash advance, rather than wait the 3-7 business days it takes HSBC to process a check once they receive it in the mail.

But HSBC and their online savings account definitely meet my needs. They provide me with a secure location to store my funds and build up a small nest egg. Plus they also provide an ATM card free of charge, so if I should need to access my money, I can do so via any ATM machine.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

]]> http://www.in-my-bag.com/2011/04/09/hsbc-online-banking/feed/ 0 Vimeo http://www.in-my-bag.com/2010/02/20/vimeo/ http://www.in-my-bag.com/2010/02/20/vimeo/#comments Sat, 20 Feb 2010 16:19:20 +0000 Jenn http://www.in-my-bag.com/?p=2263 Vimeo is an online video hosting & sharing website that I first discovered last spring, when I was searching for a video storage solution for the video blogs I wanted to start doing on a regular basis. YouTube is the big one, of course, but YouTube is a little too commercialized for my liking. Flickr offers video hosting, but I like keeping my Flickr account for photos only. And there were a few other video hosting solutions I found, but Vimeo seemed to have the most to offer. Besides, their layout and site navigation was the cutest and the most organized, so that also helped to sway my vote!

Vimeo offers a basic free account, which limits you to three albums and groups and an upload limit of 500mb per week. Then there’s the plus account, which gives you unlimited albums and groups, and a 5GB weekly upload limit. The plus account is $59.95 per year, or $9.95 per month if you happen to see one of the completely random “plus” banner advertisements that offers the monthly option.

Here is my Vimeo account, which as you can see is a plus account. I absolutely love Vimeo. Uploads are quick, even with the desktop uploader application. You can add titles, descriptions, tags, photos and choose categories while the upload is in process, and if for some reason the video isn’t uploaded and processed right away (having a plus account guarantees top priority for processing, but I’ve occasionally had to wait for 5-10 minutes before it was ready), you’ll receive an email letting you know when it’s ready to go. A plus account also allows you to change the embedding options (which are shown with a single click of your mouse on each individual video’s page), including colors, format of the video, and whether or not a link to your Vimeo account is included beneath the video.

Bottom line? Vimeo rocks. And if you have the money, definitely upgrade to a plus account!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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