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matbramon How much money-making potential is in displaying ads on a web game?

I'd say that ads in a video games are moreso of an annoyance to most people.

It's not something I'd personally click on at all.

I find what works best is to make a really fun game, and just have some type of in game transactions, or ways to level up etc.

Many clicker based games can monetize just by allowing people to pay for time to pass by quicker, or upgrade to an autoclicker etc.

You can get creative with the methods.

Ads on their own though are more so annoying and less effective I think.

matbramon Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (November 2017)

Hi, my name is Matthew Mallard but most people know me as matbram. I'm an experienced web designer and content writer (hobby developer). My clients are always extremely happy with my work due to the amount of care and attention to detail I put into every project.

Location: Selma, Alabama (USA)

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: Not really (but am open to talking about it)

Technologies:

• HTML

• CSS

• JavaScript

• Web Design

• Logo Design

• jQuery

• Inkscape

• Adobe Illustrator

• Adobe Photoshop

• Windows

• Linux

• Project Management

• Affiliate Marketing

• WordPress

• SEO

• Content Writing (all types)

• UI/UX Design

Resume/CV: http://matbram.com/matthew_mallard_resume.pdf

Portfolio: http://matbram.com

Email: matt@matbram.com | Skype: matt@matbram.com | IRC: Freenode server and username is matbram

matbramon Ask HN: Do Coursera or Udacity certifications help for getting a job?

I was wondering this as well. I doubt they carry any weight to be honest.

If you want a program that will give you certifications, you may have a better chance of going with Udacity(https://www.udacity.com/) instead.

Hope this helps.

matbramon Ask HN: What are some alternatives to Indiehackers forum?

There is a live chatroom for this kind of stuff on IRC

##passiveincome on Freenode

http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=%23%23passiveincome&ui...

matbramon Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (May 2017)

SEEKING WORK - Remote Only (Alabama, United States)

Extremely experienced content writer with skills in design and SEO.

I'm a writer, designer, and I've recently started learning web development. I'm open to learning new things and adapting for the job.

Feel free to contact me anytime to discuss your projects and ideas.

Contact: matt@matbram.com

matbramon Ask HN: Does a IRC or equivalent chat exist for HNers?

Yeah, great community for HN folks is ##passiveincome on Freenode

http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=%23%23passiveincome&ui...

matbramon Ask HN: How do you design a website in 2017?

I first start with learning as much as humanly possible about what the client wants, is looking for, and is expecting.

Next I then go looking for inspiration from websites like

https://www.awwwards.com/ https://dribbble.com/ https://onepagelove.com/

Use that inspiration to figure out a general layout of the site and it's different pages, wireframe that up.

Choose a color palate based on what industry the site is in and other factors.

After that the rest is pretty much details and feedback from the client.

matbramon Ask HN: “Do you have to be open to unethical behavior in order to be succesful?”

Absolutely not. Many people and companies are actually more successful because they don't take the road most traveled. It's refreshing to come in contact with someone trustworthy and ethical.

matbramon Ask HN: How do you make money from your side projects?

I personally use niche websites and affiliate marketing for generating pretty passive income. If you can drive traffic using keyword research, it's becomes really passive after the articles go up.

Google Adsense + Amazon Associates can bring in quite a good bit if done correctly.

Sidenote: If you guys are interested in passive income discussions, you should probably join the live chat on IRC.

http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=%23%23passiveincome&ui...

matbramon Ask HN: How do you make money from your side projects?

The ad is displayed on the results page when you click 'calculate', not the main page.

Although I think he may increase ad earnings if they were on both pages.

matbramon Ask HN: Resources for a beginner JavaScript developer?

http://javascriptissexy.com/

https://www.amazon.com/JavaScript-JQuery-Interactive-Front-E...

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn/JavaScript

https://www.amazon.com/Eloquent-JavaScript-Modern-Introducti...

http://jstherightway.org/

Most importantly, it's not hard to learn a new language, but you do want to make sure you learn and apply best practices.

Pickup a couple of those books maybe (also there are online versions of most of those available for free. I do like physical books, but that's just me), read them and practice every day.

matbramon Ask HN: How do you build and monetize Chrome extensions?

Hah, yeah fair point.

matbramon Ask HN: How do you build and monetize Chrome extensions?

Very valid points, especially about the type of people using the product, they're usually not tech savvy enough to do so, or care about it enough to do so.

Yeah having the IP live on the server instead of the extension itself should be enough to keep things safe.

Interesting about SalesLoft, didn't know they started out as a chrome extension :D

matbramon Ask HN: What are your best sources of passive income?

Affiliate marketing if you do you keyword research correctly.

I think it's important that most people realize that with passive income, there is no such thing as 100% passive. There's always initial work or maintenance involved.

Passive income is more so creating something of value that requires minimal to no effort by the recipient to maintain.

Aside from some aspects of real estate, I'd have to say affiliate marketing can be the easiest and best passive income sources around if you're willing to put in the initial work. It's also a very low barrier to entry on it, so anyone can do it without a lot of costs.

If any of you guys are interested, there is a really good passive income IRC chat community to hangout and discuss/collaborate about it.

http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=%23%23passiveincome&ui...

matbramon Ask HN: Are download accelerators still a thing?

Not a gui program, but for Linux, I always love just using wget. Works great, and very powerful.

matbramon Ask HN: What are some good IRC channels?

##passiveincome on Freenode is where it's at!

http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=%23%23passiveincome&ui...

matbramon ASK:HN Recommendations on new sources of income

Really good advice.

I especially resonate with the whole SEO traffic for building websites. I had a niche website a few years ago that made around $40 a month passively without touching it for a year.

It can be a good source of income and not a ton of work involved if you're able to outsource the content generation.

matbramon Ask HN: What browser zoom level do you use on HN?

125% works well for me. I'm using a 22 inch monitor with a 1920x1080 screen resolution.

matbramon Ask HN: Liability of Video Downloaders?

Thanks joepie91. Yeah I'm planning on consulting with an attorney before launching it.

I mean there are tons of services and even extensions doing the same thing already, but I just want to make sure legally I'm ok. Good advice mate :)

matbramon Ask HN: What browser extensions do you use?

I got tired of hitting 404 pages and having to manually load them in Wayback Machine and Google Cache, so I created Web Cache Viewer.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/web-cache-viewer/p...

Right click on any link or page to have the option to view the link/page with Google Cache or Wayback machine.

I admit it's my own extension, but I do use it quite often and it's come in handy.

matbramon Ask HN: What's the best path to learn JavaScript as a beginner?

Personally, the best resources that were invaluable to me were the Jon Duckett books called...

JavaScript and jQuery: Interactive Front-End Web Development

http://javascriptbook.com/

and..

HTML and CSS: Design and Build Websites

http://www.htmlandcssbook.com/

The Javascript one gives a really solid foundation for learning Javascript from the ground up and front-end web development in general. Also there are practical examples of many things the beginner/average developer usually is tasked with building and doing.

There is also the companion book that he did a couple years earlier on HTML and CSS.

They are pretty much both the first things that show up on Amazon when you search for Javascript and jQuery as well as HTML and CSS, and best sellers in their respective category.

In terms of what you should start with, I'd recommend basic front-end development, but browser extensions are good too.

Hope that helps!

matbramon Ask HN: What are your greatest tips to hire freelancers?

Don't take their word that they can do something. Never hire without proof of their skills and examples of their work.

Also, communication is a big factor in hiring a freelancer. If you are outsourcing something to someone in another part of the world, watch out for timezone differences as well as making sure the person is a good communicator.

It's also just good general advice to always have them invoice you, just so you can have it on record for tax purposes.