I just love cPanel. Compared to some of the other web admin tools I’ve used cPanel is a breeze. The only bad feature is the crappy file manager. I use SmartFTP but it is nice to use a decent webbased program like Net2FTP or something similar in a pinch.

All my domains have now been loaded up with Xoops. Nothing to see right now except the base installs. I made a zip package ahead of time so that all the modules I need will be preloaded. I tested everything first on a non-production test site so I could see what modules I liked and which ones I didn’t. It some ways it’s a good thing that process took a couple of weeks. Xoops just released ver 2.0.17 and then a new Frameworks package came out (drat). I caught the 2.0.17 release and updated my .zip package but I’ll have to update Frameworks.

Now I just need to break down methodically what I do so you guys can track with me

I’ll be setting up a link exchange script on MeridianConcept.net soon. Send me a message if you have a bunch of sites and want to create a network.

Dan

Today I was approved for Google Adsense and experimented today with all variety of ads. So far, I have been basing my placement and color schemes on Joel Comm’s book, the Adsense Code. Since neither MeridianConcepts.com or any of my other channels are indexed yet, I’m not expecting much - but I’ll keep you posted.

So far, I am looking at several monetization mechanisms - with Google Ads being primary.

1. Google Adsense

2. Kontera

3. Affiliate relationships with Amazon/Ebay

4. Additional opportunistic affiliations through Commission Junction, etc.

5. TextLinkAds

I’ll be glad to share my experiences as I learn. Please feel free to contact me if you have any suggestions!

Dan

(NOTE: I’m too tired to hunt down the hyperlinks for these - I’ll come back and do it later)

I have used the Xoops CMS for quite some time - and have chosen it again as the primary content management system for the major of my portals - with the possible exception of some of the niche specific areas. About 2 years ago I conducted a thorough evalution of most CMS systems and at that time Xoops was head and shoulders above the rest. For this project, it came down to two … Drupal and Xoops.

I chose Xoops largely because of my familiarity with the user permissions and block structure. Also I like the fact that I can insert custom blocks consisting of PHP or HTML code.

That said, I am VERY impressed with Drupal. I may still go that direction on at least one site and give it a whirl. At least on the surface, Drupal looks very Web 2.0.

Others that I liked:
Joomla/Mambo
MODx

But you don’t have to take my word for it - you can always check out all the open source CMSs and decide for yourself at OpenSourceCMS. This is a great resource for keeping your eyeball on the CMS world.

Dan