Website Review #7 - Talent.hubstaff.com

Hi readers! I hope you are ready for another review to finish off the week! It's also the end of January soon, time flies by pretty quickly when your just starting out on a new venture! Anyway let's move on.

Today I will be reviewing talent.hubstaff.com, which is another new website that I have come across during my online job search. So far it has been good to me however there are a few things I would like to discuss. Let me tell you more.

Hubstaff Talent is an online employment platform for freelancers to post jobs/projects and get noticed by clients from across the globe. It is the talent division of the work tracking software Hubstaff. The great thing about this website is that it doesn't have any hidden fees for registering as a freelancer and you don't even need to bid for any projects! Why bother with bidding for particular projects when you can just simply submit your application to the client and let Hubstaff Talent do all the work for you? After all, your skills and experience matter more to the client than bidding amounts and proposals.

Compared to other freelancing platforms, Hubstaff Talent is not as well known but it is quite competent in terms of its features and functionality. There are not as many hidden traps and misleading information as you would find in similar platforms, making it stand out from the competition. If you prefer a freelance site that does not require the hassle of bidding for projects and paying unnecessary fees then Hubstaff Talent might be the better option.

The Hubstaff Talent homepage - Very clean and polished design. I like how the
main claim of the company 'Free way to find remote talent' is placed in the middle of the
page in order to convince users that it is true and believable. (Names of freelancers have been blocked out for privacy reasons).

When you register as a freelancer with Hubstaff Talent, you will be instructed to complete your freelancer profile. This will require the usual contact details, social media links, career summary, portfolio, current skills and even uploading your resume. According to Hubstaff Talent's guidelines, it is important that you have a fully complete profile in order to receive more contacts from potential clients. You also have to make sure that your skills and experience are tailored to the types of jobs you are looking for on the Hubstaff Talent jobs board, be it content writing, marketing, administration, IT, customer service and so on. Even if you can't find the right project to suit your business needs at a particular time, there is no need to worry as the jobs board gets updated frequently and there are always a bunch of jobs available. You can also check who has viewed your profile on the stats/analytics page where you will find information such as the date the profile was viewed, the location and the total amount of views within a month. However the clients on this site are very selective and will only contact the freelancers whose profiles stand out the most with regards to industry experience and skill sets. Your freelancer profile is the first step to getting contacted so you'd better work hard on it if you want to stand out.

My experience on the site has been quite good so far, I am always constantly checking my profile to see if anyone has viewed it and looking for projects that are compatible to my current skill set. Although I haven't been accepted into a project just yet I am still keeping my profile open to all freelancers and clients in case someone does contact me in the future. Before finding out about Hubstaff Talent I was searching for other freelancing platforms that I could sign up for to help me in my online job search since I am very interested in working remotely; and I happened to read some positive comments about Hubstaff Talent so I signed up straight away.

This is Hubstaff Talent's job board, where users can use the filters on the left of the
page to narrow their search. The positions shown here are just some of the examples of business/IT/customer service projects that you will find on the job board. (Business names and locations have been blocked out for privacy reasons).

There are definitely some good things to say about this website, however I would like to point out some small things that can be improved to make it an even better experience.

On some occasions, applying for a project on Hubstaff Talent isn't always easy and you may or may not hear back from the client; which is a shame because after spending all your time and effort into perfecting your application for a particular projects you would think that a client would respond and provide you with an outcome. It is understandable that you are competing against other freelancers to land the top job so it would be nice if the reply rate for the clients could be risen a bit more in order to provide quicker responses to the applicants and not leave them hanging. Another thing I would like to point out is there is a small lack of interaction between freelancers on the site. If there was a feature for sending messages to freelancers without hiring them for a project first that would be helpful. It is usually best to communicate with freelancers about their skills and experience first before inviting them to a job straight away (much like in a job interview where you would ask an applicant about previous experiences and future prospects).

Above all of this, Hubstaff Talent is definitely the better choice for entering the world of freelancing. It is completely free of charge and anyone who has previous business experience can join. Very clean web design and good functionality. It could have some improvement on existing features as mentioned above but otherwise a great website with the potential to go further.

Final Rating - 6/10

Thanks again for reading! That's my last review for the month! I hope that you can stick around in February as I have some big plans to take this blog to new heights! In the meantime, I'll see you next Monday!

Website Review #6 - GSN.com

Hello again! Before I begin I would like to apologize in advance for the last minute reminder to postpone yesterday's review to today because I had to redesign and monetize the blog. Thankfully I have finished it just in time and I hope you like the new design!

Ok now that I have got that out of the way, lets move on to the next review!

Today I will be reviewing GSN.com, another personal favorite of mine and an excellent source for all of the best new and classic online games! Let me tell you more about this wonderful site.

GSN Games is an online social gaming website which is owned by the American pay TV channel Game Show Network and has been on the web since 2007. It is presented in the form of an online casino where you would find various casino-like games such as bingo, slots, solitaire and poker. There are also other types of games on the website for the people who do not prefer the glitzy casino nature; like puzzles, strategy, arcade and even games based around popular game shows that air on the TV channel! It's basically the definition of all ages entertainment stuffed into one big package!
GSN Games has gained quite a bit of recognition in recent years with the creation of its companion mobile app GSN Casino, which is solely dedicated to casino-style gaming.

Going into the website itself feels like stepping into a colorful, fantasy-esque utopia full of absolute joy, pleasure and most of all fun. You are basically transported into an otherworldly experience where you will stay for hours on end, doing nothing but play fantastic online games to relax and zone out of the real world. It is amazing! The website is oozing of immense positivity and nothing will ever bring you down here. I can assure you that going into GSN Games will give you the best time of your life where it feels like you can actually achieve something! All you have to do is keep playing and win great rewards along the way! But if you really want to experience this for yourself, then you would have to make an account and fill in necessary profile details. It's just one small step to freedom!

The GSN Games Homepage - A whole lot of color and bright features make you 
feel invited to your own party.

When I first started playing on GSN Games I was absolutely addicted. I played on both the website and the mobile app. The games were so fun to play and I would continue to play them all afternoon almost every day. I was mostly interested in the casino-style games where I would get so many consecutive wins in the various themed slots and bingo games and earning millions of points along the way. Whenever I was bored after school or on the weekends, I would whip out my computer or phone and just have fun playing games to kill some time.

Once you have created an account, you are basically free to play whatever game you like. It's all up to you at this stage, but the fun does not stop there. After successfully finishing a game, you automatically earn online tokens and special gaming points called Oodles, which can be redeemed for small prizes and promotional offers such as bonus bucks sweepstakes, competitions and even up to 1 million tokens! How's that for an achievement? It may not be much but at least you don't go empty-handed at the end. You deserve a reward for your awesome online gaming skills so why not use it for something good. (Just a reminder that the tokens are earned from playing the casino games and Oodles are earned from playing general puzzle/strategy/arcade games).

On the account portal, you will find a list of small, fun tasks (called My To-Doodles) to participate in for you chance to win bonus Oodles; these include jackpot bingo, trivia and wonder wheel. Basically, the more Oodles you earn, the more chances you have for redeeming prizes. There is also a section in the portal where you can add or search for various other online players to your 'Buddy List' if you would like to add a sprinkle of spice to your gaming strategy and go into multiplayer mode by competing with other players. Here you have two options: whether you want to play by your own rules or if you want to play socially and have a competitive edge. It's that simple. (I have always played on my own but I am planning to play competitively in the future). There are no limits to how you play on GSN Games!

This is the GSN account portal where you can edit your profile, complete to-do tasks,
apply for promotions and search for players to interact with.

Now you might be thinking, do I get to earn any real money from playing the games on this site? Is there more to this site than there already is? Well, you're definitely right; as there is actually a way to earn cold-hard cash. If you would like to take your gaming skills a to the next level then you have the option to sign up for GSN Games' flagship cash games network, WorldWinner! WorldWinner is literally online gaming on steroids and you have to fight your way to the top of the leader-boards amongst an increasing amount of money-hungry competition. There is a lot at stake in the cash games network as it requires a lot of mental skill, strategy, and quick movements in order to beat the other players and win the top prize. Sure it is competitive, but if you try hard enough you will receive a little cash at the end even if you lose in the games, so it is a win-win situation either way.

I recently started playing on WorldWinner and earned small amounts of cash on their addictive Solitaire card game. I have to admit it does take a while to earn the larger amounts but it definitely takes a lot of time and persistence. I suggest you try it out for yourself and see how far you get. (Just a reminder that you will need a PayPal account in order to deposit cash into WorldWinner and start playing from there).

In conclusion. GSN Games really has a lot to offer in terms of online gaming. It is extremely addictive and pushes the boundaries every time. I absolutely love the colorful web design and overall positivity surrounding the website, all of the games and promotional offers are legitimate, well made and there are no hidden traps to be found behind them. The website follows general online gaming conditions and does not have any fake promotions or sweepstakes. Everything you see here is real online gaming at it's best. No rules, no rubbish, just fun all around. It blows similar websites out of the water with it's fantastic functionality and easy to play games! Whether you are an avid casual gamer or a beginner, anyone of all ages can sign up for GSN Games! 

Final Rating: 9/10

That's it guys! I hope you enjoyed reading today! I will see you again tomorrow!

Website Review #5 - Studentedge.org

Hello readers! Before I begin I just want to say a big thanks to everyone who has stuck around and read my reviews in the past few weeks, this has been a long time coming so I am glad to finally have time to share my content with you! I also have some exciting news to share in the coming days so please stay tuned and watch this space! In the meantime, let's cut to the chase and start the day with another review!

Today I will be reviewing Studentedge.org. This is a site that I discovered quite recently when I studied at university last year and it has quickly become one my new favorites on the web. This should give you a hint about the website's main purpose.

For those of you that don't know, Student Edge is an Australian-based company which is strongly dedicated to improving the lives of university and vocational education (VET) students by offering
important information about career planning, study tips, future options and general life topics. But that's not all; aside from all the serious stuff, the website also offers various surveys,  competitions and even special shopping discounts for students! The amount of generalized content presented here is astounding; as it mixes in the usual serious topics of discussion with a huge splash of exciting entertainment in between and it shows that there are definitely some special advantages to being a student. I think that it is a pretty neat set-up which clearly demonstrates the fun and serious side of student life, as it should. Basically everything that you need to know about navigating student life is right here on Student Edge! Let's keep digging deeper into the site and find out more.

Student Edge Homepage - This literally screams 'dedicated to the modern student' and I think that every student would think so too. The content is spaced out neatly and makes for a less messy web design.

If you would prefer to use this site as a general information service for news and other topics, then feel free to do so. However, you are more than welcome to create your own account if you want to experience the full package of benefits, deals and discounts as well as the important advice at hand. It's all a matter of choice. When you sign up for an account, you will be redirected to the account portal where you edit your profile and study details. Once completed, you will be on your way to navigating through student life through the lens of Student Edge. I can guarantee that you will find the answer to any problem you have through the website's massive information base, which spans across various topics of discussion such as finance, health and online safety. Whether it be studying for upcoming exams, choosing career pathways or dealing with stress, Student Edge has got you covered, no questions asked! Treat it as your best friend!

When I first signed up with Student Edge, I thought that it was very informative in terms of content and advice for students and particularly found the jobs section to be very helpful as I managed to find lots of much-needed information to help with my job search, resume writing and job interview questions. As a current university student I also found that the website is designed to be specifically tailored for students, by students with specialized topics that engage discussion with others. I like the fact that there is an actual website that is dedicated to all students where the information is easy to find.

This is the deals and discounts page, where students can look for special discounts from their favorite shopping outlets. Very handy for someone who wants to save on their next shop!

With regards to entertainment, the website features it's own rewards program that includes surveys, competitions and discounts that any student can register for. In my opinion, the surveys are the best ones to start with, just answering simple questions relating to a certain topic of interest in your own time. But wait, there's so much more than that. Like Pureprofile (the first website I reviewed), when you complete a particular survey you begin to earn points (called Edge Credits) which can be easily redeemed for gift cards and real cash via PayPal! Plus you automatically get entries into Student Edge's quarterly prize draw of $1000 in prizes! How about that? Now that's what I call an achievement! The competitions and discounts are easy to navigate as well, where you pick your preferred option and enter your details. Before long you will receive your discount in order to start saving while you shop at your favorite outlet and be in the draw to win various prizes at the same time! So if you think that student life gets boring after a while, then think again!  

In conclusion, I think that Student Edge is an excellent source for non-stop student advice which makes for strong competition compared to similar websites. The information listed on the site is based on real, legitimate claims and there are no deceiving traps to be found. It has a great web design with a plain, calm presentation that invites the student user into a secret sanctuary of knowledge and growth. Absolutely fantastic and I would recommend it to any student that wants to fulfill their school life and beyond.

Final Rating: 10/10

Thanks for reading my last review of the week! Again please keep an eye out on my exciting news in the next few days! See you soon! 

Website Review #4 - Myopportunity.com

Hello again. I am back on schedule with my fourth review of the month!

Today I will be reviewing Myopportunity.com, which is another website focusing on a serious topic; this time in the form of business networking. This is a relatively new site that I found under a list of alternatives to professional platform LinkedIn, let me tell you a bit more about it:

Opportunity is a business networking website which works in a similar way to LinkedIn, however it is much more different in terms of generating leads and finding like-minded professionals to interact with. The website is described as a great option for individuals to build business relationships, find employment opportunities and even connect on a personal level. When compared with LinkedIn, Opportunity is an easier platform to work with and has its features spanned out across various categories rather than being crowded all over the place, and the site itself has a strong focus on building professional relationships so you don't even need to create a large profile to gain traction or stand out from other individuals. That's too much work for someone who just wants to communicate freely with anyone without any fuss!

The Myopportunity.com homepage - The presentation is as professional and positive as it gets. How inviting is this for the user? 

When you register with Opportunity, you just need to answer a few general questions such as preferred industry, locations, interests, and your current skill set. It's a simple process that won't take very long and once you enter the account portal it's all yours! You can edit your profile at any time if you want to change any details. As an additional bonus, you can also add your LinkedIn profile link or invite your LinkedIn contacts to join if you want to increase exposure. One of the best features in the Opportunity profile is the 'networking pitch' where you explain more  about your current employment, your role at work and interests outside of work. The networking pitch is important as you want to attract the right professionals with the same pathways as you and they will most certainly want to be interested in what you have to offer.

The main section of the account portal is the lead generation page, where there is a long list of professionals compiled together based on the interests and industry experience that you add to your profile. Feel free to contact as many professionals as you like as there is no boundaries for communication here. My first experience with contacting someone from Opportunity was actually quite good. A few months ago I interacted with a guy who worked in an IT company and talked about where we were at in terms of business and professional life. It was a very normal, short conversation and it just goes to show that these individuals are very serious about maintaining business relationships and they are not playing around. With Opportunity, you are basically interacting with the right people at the right time.

The Opportunity account portal and leads page, where you can build relationships with your leads based on experience and personal interests. (Names, pictures and locations of individuals have been blocked out for privacy reasons.)

Now before I finish I would like to remind you that some of the features on Opportunity are part of an extensive PRO upgrade that requires payments every month or so. Some special PRO features included in the upgrade include extra profiles for employment, dating and sales, mass messaging to all your leads and profile verification. You can even interact with special professionals who have a PRO upgrade and verified profiles! If you would like to go the extra mile and get the full package then I suggest you go ahead and try it for yourself. I haven't bought the PRO upgrade myself but I am thinking of doing so in the future. It would be nice if there was a free trial for the PRO features so you could try them out before paying for the full upgrade.

In conclusion, I believe that this website is an excellent platform for business networking and works as a great companion piece to LinkedIn. The professionals that use Opportunity for business relations are real, legitimate people and there are no fake profiles found. Anyone who is willing to maintain strong business relationships and build their professional image can use Opportunity to their full advantage. It has a clean web design and professional presentation, good functionality and interactive nature. 

Final Rating: 8/10

That's it guys! Another review done and dusted! See you on Wednesday for the next one!

My review got published on an online content platform!

Hey guys! I don't usually post on Fridays but I have some great news to share with you today!

When I was setting up a Twitter account for the blog yesterday, I was mentioned in a tweet from an account which had a link to a random article. Take a look at the screenshot I took of the tweet below:

I clicked on the link and was redirected to a website called Paper.li, where I found a lot of articles from various content creators and websites. It's actually a pretty neat content curation platform which presents content in the form of an online newspaper.

So I did a bit of digging through the various categories and found my Monster.com review right in the middle of the page! This was actually a very nice surprise and I never would've thought that my content would be published elsewhere! Here is the screenshot of the page below:

Yes there it is! This means that people would be able to find my little review and the whole blog itself so it can bring in a new load of readers! I would like to personally thank Paper.li and that one twitter account for finding my content and publishing it on their website! This is a big step forward and there's definitely more to come! You can also follow my twitter account which is @wayofthewebs for updates.

Thanks for reading and I'll see you next Monday!

Website Review #3 - Monster.com

Hello again! Just a quick heads-up from yesterday that I am feeling much better now and I would like to thank my readers for their patience as I cook up another website review! 

Today I will be reviewing Monster.com, which is completely different to the last two websites as it focuses on a more serious topic rather than leisure activities. Don't be fooled by the name, it is not as scary as you think! I am also relatively new to this site so I may be a bit slow in recognizing some of its features but I can work my way through it without any issues. Anyway, lets move on:

Monster is an American job search and career advice website that has lasted for more than 20 years. It is one the more popular and recognizable employment sites on the web and is a global leader in connecting job seeking candidates to potential career opportunities. Just like any other job search website, Monster has it's own jobs board which houses several jobs in various categories that candidates can apply for depending on their skill level, experience and compatibility.

Monster.com Homepage - Very clean and spacious presentation, shows off a professional image
that is appealing to job seekers.

Now you might be thinking, does this website do more than just match candidates with jobs? What other features are available to enhance the job search? What makes this website better than the others? Well if you delve a little bit further into Monster, you will find separate pages dedicated to career advice, resources, resume tips and salary tools; so there is always a wealth of information available on the site to assist you with your job search. You are also welcome to create a job seeker account and fill in the necessary details about your employment history, education, skills and more to add to your profile. It just goes to show that Monster isn't just about the job search at hand and that there is definitely more to discover if you dig deeper.

Another really great takeaway is that when you create a job seeker profile with Monster and upload your latest resume on their site, you are automatically eligible to have your resume assessed by a professional resume team hired by Monster. This is an excellent hidden feature that isn't easy to find on other employment websites. When I sent my resume through to the team at Monster for a professional resume assessment I was given some thorough, much needed advice on how my resume should be presented and what I should include. I trust that Monster's professional resume team is extremely knowledgeable in knowing about resume presentation and encourage all job seekers to try it out for themselves! And guess what, there's more to come! The next fantastic Easter egg in this site is that once you edit your resume and profile, you can choose whether or not you would like your account to be public and seen by recruiters! Yes, that's right! Recruiters can search through hundreds of profiles on Monster and they might get the opportunity to view yours and potentially contact you! My resume has been viewed 2 times so far, I know it is a slow start to begin with as there are a lot of profiles for them to skim through but once you tailor your profile and resume to the right standards then it will be deemed as satisfactory to the recruiter's eyes!

This is Monster's jobs board, where you type in the preferred job and location and it will automatically find similar jobs that could be the 'right fit' for the candidate.

Another thing I would like to add is all of the jobs on Monster are located in the US, as it is an American-based website. So if you are someone who is looking for work in other countries (or remote/work from home jobs within your country), there is a separate section dedicated to international jobs so you can find the right career in your preferred location.

From what I have seen so far, it looks like Monster is designed to actually help you with your job search and not leave you behind like some other casual job search sites. With it's built in features, impeccable web design and key functions, it gives off a very strong-willed demeanor and professional presentation that is inviting to the user. Their career resources are legitimate and the use of personal anecdotes in their advice section is a great source of inspiration for job seeker candidates.
Everything about this site is real. It is not trying to deceive you in any way. In conclusion, I think that Monster has the potential to go even further and add more helpful features for today's job seeker candidates.

Final Rating: 8/10

Thanks for reading my review! Unfortunately that is it for this week as I have missed out on Monday's review, but I will definitely be back on schedule next Monday so I will see you then!

Website Review #2 - Neave.com

Hey guys! How are you today? I hope you have enjoyed reading my last review because I certainly enjoyed writing it! I am so excited to share my thoughts on another website with you.

Today I will be reviewing the website Neave.com, which again is another personal favorite of mine and has been since my one of my friends introduced it to me way back in high school! Yes, it's actually that good, I can assure you. This website might be unfamiliar to some as it is not as well known, so let me give you a bit of background info to start off.

Neave.com Homepage - Very colourful, curious design which invites the user into a fantastical experience. Simplified look, does not need any explanation.

Neave Interactive is described as a creative and whimsical 'digital playground' which was founded by UK-based digital artist Paul Neave in 1999. The website mostly contains various interactive tools, games, art and experiments that are created by Neave himself. His reasoning behind the idea is to "make stuff that people enjoy" and to provide a form of generalized entertainment that anyone of all ages can participate in. Sounds like a great idea, don't you think? It's definitely the best website that you can go to when you want to kill some time. I think that Neave has done a fantastic job in launching a platform for this kind of entertainment. He is definitely a talented chap and there's no doubt about that.



Going into the website itself is like hopping into a twisted, mysterious fantasy haven filled with bright colours and immense wonder, it's almost as if you are stepping into Neave's curious mind. It's absolutely fantastic, unique and astounding, I have never seen anything quite like it. Some of the current interactive tools that appear on the website include some old-school tic-tac-toe and snake, the mind-boggling Strobe Illusion, the colourful Bouncy Balls and the extremely obsessive Webcam Toy. It seems as if these little games are designed to play with your mind and keep your eyes completely glued to the screen until you forget where you are. It's simply fascinating stuff.

Back in high school, me and my friend would hop onto Neave.com almost every day during break times. Our favorite interactive tool was always the Webcam Toy, where you would take various photos with more than 50 different designs and cool effects to choose from. There were other tools that we played around with too, such as Imagination and Pixel Dust (these two games have since been taken down from the website for unknown reasons) where you would just wave the cursor around and let the magic come through from the blank screen. Strobe Illusion was another game that we played together, where you would literally stare at a black and white optical illusion for 30 seconds without stopping. I bet our eyes were twisted after trying out that one several times! It was really fun to stick around on this site for the amount of time we had in high school and now I'm thinking of calling my friend over to revisit some of the fun memories we had on Neave.com.

Strobe Illusion game in action. This is definitely one for the eyes. Ouch!

As I have mentioned earlier, yes some of the interactive tools have been taken down from the site for unknown reasons as I remember there used to be more than 8 of them. But things change and old things make way for the new, so I don't have any hard feelings towards Neave's future decisions. I am however very excited to see what he comes up with next, as I really enjoy his work and his creative mind.

My conclusion for this website is that it has a very atmospheric web design with calm, bright colours and an air of curiosity, hardly any viruses and malware to be found as all the interactive tools work and function properly. It is very inviting to the user and would never leave anyone bored at the end of it. Anyone of all ages can try it out for themselves. Neave.com needs no explanation and lets the wonderfully twisted mind of it's creator do all the work. Very clever and inquisitive indeed.

Final Rating: 10/10

There's another review done and dusted for the week! I hope you will catch me again next Monday as I serve up a new one! Don't forget to share your opinions in the comment section! Thanks for reading and see you soon!