Finally up and running again (well, hobbling anyway). Battered and Bruised but ready to roll again.

You’ll be pleased to know that my time convalescing didn’t go to waste. I went through all my Aksimet spam and as a result I’ve:

• obtained a couple of Masters Degrees
• restocked on my pharmaceuticals
• improved my sex-life, and
• seen some very ‘educational’ videos

Fully refreshed, I’m ready to start posting again so will be getting some fresh stuff on-line this week.

In the meantime, I also had a chance to review the comments posted in September. Not as many as I would have liked but that’s the way it goes…Jim (as always) made a couple of interesting points – I don’t always agree with him but got a lot of respect for what he does. Melvin and Carl also made some nice contributions (it seems like ‘beabetterblogger.com’ has gone off line though?).

Anyway – John from Coffesh0p was a consistent and intelligent commentator so I’ve decided to to give the hosting and domain prize to him.  John’s agreed to post reports back on his progress with RankFoundry.com  – I know he has a few ideas in store so I’d urge you to support him while he’s trying to build the site.

As Carl mentioned in one of his comments, it’s all about giving people the base material (be it a domain or information or whatever) and then letting them have a go at building something themselves. I’d much rather do that than spoon-feed people, so I look forward to seeing what John can do. Will be in touch with details very soon, John.

Anyway – thanks for bearing with me while I’ve been out of action. I promise that Internet Babel will soon be in full flow again (with the assistance of Whisky & Bourbon).

 Cheers
Dave

First things first – you do NOT have to subscribe or make any other commitment to be in with a chance of winning this. There are no sign-ups or secret passwords or any other kind of nonsense.

All you have to do is comment on a post here during the month of September. I’ll  be selecting MY favourite comment from September, based purely on how much I think it contributes to discussion,  provides useful advice or is in some other way valuable. It doesn’t have to be praise – I’m always open to constructive criticism – but I DO want to try and promote some feedback and discussion on here.

The Prize:

The winning Comment will receive the following:

• the Domain name ‘RankFoundry.com’ (registered at GoDaddy which will be renewed until November 2009) – a great name for someone wishing to set up an SEO or Page Rank building type site.
• a PSD banner logo for RankFoundry.
• 1 year’s free Universal Hosting from ICDSoft.com, which can be used either with RankFoundry.com – or ICDSOFT will provide a free 1-year .com registration if you wish to host another domain on there.

Like I said, there are no strings attached other than a requirement to make a constructive comment during the month of September, on any post published in August or September. I want to try and maintain a level of discussion on Internet Babel, so I look forward to getting some feedback.

For example – what were your thoughts about Greg’s Poker Affiliate guest post? Do you prefer posts relating to SEO and site development as opposed to more traditonal MMO type stuff? Tell me about any particular areas of Domain speculating/parking you want to know more about …and so on.  I’ve got some good posts lined up for the next few weeks so there should be plenty for you to comment on.  

All you gotta do is comment to be in with a chance of this great prize…

Dave

P.S. My decision will be final and based purely on my own criteria as outlined above.

tom{at}technogumption{dot}com

Which I believe is Tom Beaton from… Technogumption.com

So, congrats to Tom. I’ve sent you an email also Tom, informing you how to get your free review and 1 month of free advertising

PS. I did say I would announce the winner at midnight. So… 59 minutes late, sorry about that. 

Thanks to all that have subscribed so far and continue to stay subscribed!

This is the final push for this competition.

Why?

So far I’ve given away a free copy of Duncan Bannatyne’s Anyone Can Do It, a free copy of Aaron Wall’s infamous SEO Book, 2 month’s free advertising with a 125 x 125 in the sidebar and half a decade of free hosting!

Now, for the final hurdle. I’m giving away a free review on this blog. Normally $60 via ReviewMe or $40 through myself. I value my reviews and rarely do them, unless I feel I really have something to say on what’s been presented to me. I don’t like cluttering up my blog with irrelvent rubbish.

How to Enter 

So, you can grab yourself the chance of winning a free review right now by subscribing via email. And if that doesn’t tickle your fancy, why not subscribe for the chance of winning a whole month’s worth of advertising in the 468 by 60 spot right above the top post, which normally costs $20 a month.

When?

There will be 1 winner picked to win both these prizes. That winner will be picked tomorrow (5th of March) at midnight (UK time).

In Closing…

I’ve gained 113 subscribers so far and am probably just behind The University Kid, although I was winning for a short period, I’m convinced he’s caught up by now.

If you’re reading this and you haven’t subscribed yet. Please, read over my content and if you like my blog enough to support me in this 5 blogger clash competition. Do it! You’ve still got a chance to win a free review on this blog and a whole month’s worth of free advertising in a primary, above the fold position. What have you got to lose!

This competition started on the 5th of Feb and it ends tomorrow. We will then see who has gained the most subscribers… come on, if you’re reading this and you like this blog, my writing or just want the possibility to win free stuff! Help me win this!

Anyway, time has come to announce the winners…

1st Prize -  dunn [at] myinterestingfiles [dot] com

2nd Prize -  seinrockz [at] yahoo [dot] com

3rd Prize -  tamara [at] mommyland [dot] com

4th Prize -  admin [at] serialblogr [dot] com

5th Prize -  donace007 [at] googlemail [dot] com

6th Prize – becky [at] preblogging [dot] com

Full prize listings / details here.

Well done to the winners. I’ve sent an email to all of you informing you of your win. You all have 72 hours to respond and claim your prize, or a new winner will be picked! So please respond by then to get your prize(s).

Thanks and remember to stay subscribed and keep supporting me in my competition this month

This competition has just reinforced how effective competitions are in gaining subscribers.

I’ve gained 88 so far. Last I checked with The University Kid, he had gained 85… He could of gained more by now but I assume I could be winning

Looks like this will be a close one!

This is an update of my previous post. Originally for this second prize batch I did have 3 years of free hosting up for grabs. If you’re new here and you’re wondering what this is all for, check out the original contest announcement here.

That’s all changed, we now have 5 years up for grabs!

That’s right, half a decade of free hosting! There will also be 6 winners picked, so you all have more chance of winning now. All you need to do is subscribe via email to be entered.

Here’s a list of the sponsors and package details:

Sponsor 1 – ICDSoft.com

ICDSoft have offered up an incredibly generous 3 years of free hosting.

Prize(s) from ICDSoft

1 Year – Business Package + Free domain($125 total value)
Full details of this package here.

+

1 Year – Universal Package ($75 total value)
Full details of this package here.

+

1 Year – Universal Package ($75 total value)
Full details of this package here.

Sponsor 2 – WireNine.com

WireNine have given up 1 year of free hosting!

Prize(s) from WireNine

1 Year – Personal Hosting Plan ($69.95 total value)
Full details of this package here.

Sponsor 3 – BudgetHost.ca

Last but not least. BudgetHost have offered two 6 month packages, totaling 1 year of free hosting.

Prize(s) from BugetHost

6 Months – Webmaster ($131.40 total value)
Full package details here.

+

6 Months – Standard ($37.90 total value)
Full package details here.

Finally, here is what the winners will win…

1st Place: ICDSoft Buisness package for 1 year + free domain.

2nd Place: ICDSoft Universal package for 1 year.

3rd Place: ICDSoft Universal package for 1 year.

4th Place: WireNine Personal Hosting Plan for 1 year.

5th Place: BudgetHost Webmaster hosting for 6 months.

6th Place: BudgetHost Standard hosting for 6 months.

Wow. I’m exhausted! I hope everyone is excited about this. Nothing like some good free hosting, especially when it’s of this quality. We have 3 TOP web hosting companies offering years worth of free hosting to you guys.

All this free hosting totals up to a final prize sum of… $514.25!!

Be sure to subscribe now and activate your subscription to be in with a chance.

Winners will be picked and announced here on the 29th of February!

Thank you to my sponsors. You are all absolutely awesome. I salute you

Thanks and Good Luck everyone!

Hello again time for more prizes!

Stepped it up a gear this time. Remember all these prizes are in aid of my current competition with 4 other bloggers, to see who can gain the most subscribers.

So what’s up for grabs now? I hear you ask. Well, probably not as the title is a dead giveway!

Anyway, I’m giving away 3 years of FREE hosting. Well, yes I am giving it away but courtesy of my sponsors aka the lovely people over at ICDSoft. You also get a free domain with one of the packages!

Prizes

1st – One year’s worth of free hosting – Business Package + Free domain ($125 value)

2nd – One year’s worth of free hosting – Universal Package ($75 value)

3rd – One year’s worth of free hosting – Universal Package ($75 value)

So that’s it. I’m sure you’ll agree – some very nice prizes.

Total prize sum = $275!

How to Enter

Simple as ever. No work on your part as most people like it.

All you have to do to enter is subscribe via email.

Remember, once you subscribe – go to your inbox and activate your subscription to be counted.

Deadline

I’ll pick the 3 random winners on the 29th of Feb, which will be announced here!

That’s it. Good luck

Congratulations to:  atmaxplorer{at}gmail{dot}com

I’ve already sent you the email ‘atma’ which has your prize information in it. Unlucky to those that didn’t win in this batch.

Don’t worry though – the second batch is coming up very soon. Which will have some very nice prizes!

Subscribe by email now if you haven’t already to make sure you don’t miss out.

New entry rules:
To enter simply subscribe via email and I will pick a random winner

All prizes remain. Again, up for grabs

- Free copy of Duncan Bannatyne’s Book

- Two months of free advertising on Internet Babel (sidebar – 125 by 125)

- Free copy of SEO Book by Aaron Wall

Can’t get any easier. All you need to do now is subscribe via email. Just hope you get lucky