Hi everyone,

You might be less than enthusiastic to know I'm working on an ebook for wannabe independent travellers. Of course, you might be really excited like me.

In any case, I need some help. Has anyone else noticed the US website for foreign affairs is about as difficult to navigate as a Thai market? I cannot find any information pertaining to working holiday visas for US citizens. Every other "western" country has them. Does America? Can anyone point me to any information?

Thanks in advance.

I should note this isn't an ad for my services. I'm currently overworked!

That's why Greg hasn't got an article from me yet; after promising him one weeks ago.

Go Daddy is great for domain names but not so good for medium-high traffic hosting or anything that's going to generate lots of CPU usage (like blogging software or forums, for example).

No-one's going to give you a free blog and allow you to run ads. How do you think they cover the hosting costs? You can get free CMS, but you'll have to pay for your domain name and hosting.

If you're brave enough to deal with CMS installation and management yourself I recommend wordpress.org (not .com) which is open source software. You can also find people (like me) who will set it up for you for free or a small fee. I'm managing sites for a few friends at the moment using wordpress mu. They don't get all the flexibility of wordpress, but I manage security and hosting for them for a small price. It works out.

There are plenty of options out there, but I doubt you'll be able to find a free host which allows you to serve your own ads.

There's a setting in the gmail account which forces it to use SSL all the time. I think it addresses this vulnerability, but I'm not sure. In any case it's worth turning on.

Definitely a good idea. A few months ago I built a basic website for a hostel in return for a free 4 day stay. Not the best paid, but for two hours work? Not too shabby either.

I've been reading this for ages. Gary's a good guy.

This was a great read: thanks Cat; and good luck.

do you know, I've never understood Alexa rank. I guess it works best for tech blogs, since the audience understands it...but know I'm one of the chosen few.

Cheers Greg.

Hi everyone,

You don't know me, but I want two minutes of your life.

Please take the time to sign up and vote for the Indie Travel Podcast in the "best podcast blog" category.

http://www.bloggerschoiceawards.com/blogs/show/30292

We've got audio and video podcasts, articles and reviews. It's a great place for travellers. http://indietravelpodcast.com

It's my goal to rank in the top three this year, so please help fund the dream! No money, only two minutes.

Thanks,
Craig

Linda and I just put together a top-ten on choosing a hostel. It's aimed at new travellers.

http://www.indietravelpodcast.com/podcast/062-10-things-to-look-for-when-booking-a-hostel-online/

So, if you're not travelling yet -- is this useful?
If you have been -- anything to add?

My never leave at home item has to be my camera and microphone. My camera's waterproof, so it stands up to most of the treatment I put it through.

My microphone has become a great companion -- it's made podcasting so much easier and it's fun to revisit those aural memories too.

Unfortunately not. The Schengen agreement has ended stamp-happy border controls throughout Europe. I'm going to have to spend more time in Asia, I think.

And when you find sites that pay, let me know

Most of my stuff smells too much that kind of treatment  It's hard hand-scrub or burn.

I'm yet to get home. I'm glad to hear people are surviving it!