Welcome to Coinjars!

BarcampAfrica Video

2008-10-19T08:49:00.000-07:00

Recession- Proof Free Marketing Tips Video!
http://snipurl.com/4hzh7

You have to be logged in to Facebook to watch this video

Check out this FREE presentation we made @ BarcampAfrica last week:
http://www.facebookfundraisingtips.com/Barcamp.wmv

It will be valuable to your charity or business. Jam packed with strategies for marketing your Facebook Page wrapped up in an *incredible* fundraising application and NGO case study. If you like it please share this link via Email, Facebook, Twitter & your blog!

Sharon Webb of Uganda NGO Soft Power Education 4 min video testimonial here:
http://snipurl.com/4g7ca

PowerPoint version also available here:
http://www.slideshare.net/wallersara/7-secrets-to-facebook-fundraising-barcampafrica-presentation/

Credits to Andres Varela for co- production

Everyone’s talking about us, check out:
Story in UK Fundraising press
http://www.fundraising.co.uk/news/2008/10/06/icoins-launches-free-ebook-7-secrets-facebook-fundraising

Facebook Marketing Queen, Mari Smith
http://whyfacebook.com/2008/10/15/facebook-fundraising-how-you-can-help-make-a-difference-with-the-coinjars-app/

Visit Barcamp Africa here:
BAC Facebook Event Page.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=20922314070

BAC Twitter.
http://twitter.com/barcampafrica

P.S.
Follow me on Twitter and I’ll follow you
http://twitter.com/facebkfundraise

Other Related Videos

Please watch me!
I made this video for Soft Power as they are our case study charity and a great bunch of kids!
http://www.new.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=33854596330

How to Fundraise with Facebook!
Video revealing 7 Secrets of Fundraising with Facebook
http://www.new.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=33855166330

SOFT POWER EDUCATION – Education thru Friendship thru Adventure
http://www.new.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=34104816330

Testimonial by Sharon Webb of Uganda NGO Soft Power Education 4 min video
http://snipurl.com/4g7ca

Networks and Mechanics in Facebook Fundraising

2008-10-17T18:46:00.000-07:00

Fundraising in Facebook is, admittedly, a lot easier for a person who has numerous friends, relatives, group members or fans. This is a primary consideration as a mechanic in Facebook fundraising. The number of contacts you have truly affects the distribution of your fundraising efforts. However, there are still other things to make sure so that one will be able to fully comply with the mechanics in Facebook fundraising. In doing so, the organizer or fundraiser will be able to convey the right information to people who will shell out help especially if they’re convinced of the spirit of the charity or cause.

When one wants to raise money for a certain group of people, it is important for him to provide the immediate, complete background of the project. This can be done through Facebook Notes that should be posted within the request for funds page. Here, one should provide for the setting, the atmosphere and the primary reasons why the scenario calls for charity from people who have way more than what the recipients may have. Given that the text will be placed in Facebook, which is, of course, a social networking site, the tone of the notes will have to be more personalized rather than formal.

After writing down convincing, sincere-sounding notes, the organizer must provide videos or photos that will serve as testaments to the truth and the immediacy of the cause. All of these visuals, together with the notes, will lure prospective donors into giving.

Another part of the unique mechanics in Facebook fundraising is transparency. This is so because the site enables the donors to monitor the progress of the fundraiser's work. More often than not, it is difficult for people to fake the entire fundraising endeavor given that information about the area and the people who will receive the aid is readily available in the Internet. Also, it is unlikely for someone to loot the funds from family, yes? Comprehensive, transparent data can be pasted on the fundraising page. Here, information and monitoring are all in their proper places. This can help the prospective donors understand the objectives and ideas set forth by the fundraiser.

However, one may ask about the financial aspect of the entire thing. How can one be assured that the money will be sent to the organizer or fundraiser safely?

Fortunately, a very efficient and helpful Facebook application called Coinjars (www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=6489937223) can be used. When installed on the fundraising page, the application would allow the donor to send his/her donation and the fundraiser to receive the money online. The Coinjars application is free and the transaction fee between the donor and fundraiser is always free. This is all free of charge. This kind of money transfer is solely within the mechanics in Facebook fundraising. With Facebook, the organizer is assured of a crowd that could relate to him/ her personally in terms of his/ her endeavors. Furthermore, the site provides for means and ways for him to raise those needed funds. On the side of the donor, transparency, information and financial safety are all within his or her reach.

Discover the 7 Secrets to Facebook Fundraising! Get your FREE ebook from www.FacebookFundraisingTips.com and learn how to raise funds legally, safely and quickly using the world’s most popular social networking website, Facebook!

Importance of a Facebook Application to Raise Funds

2008-10-16T18:43:00.000-07:00

Social Networking Through Facebook

Through Facebook (www.facebook.com), different people worldwide can gain access to their family’s and friend’s user profiles and thus allow them to interact with them through photos, updates, notes etc. Facebook has become very popular in different parts of the world enabling its consumers to reach more than a hundred million (and soon, 500 million!) from its advent in 2004. With its positive growth, users are also becoming advanced in terms of their Facebook application usage. Some are not only using Facebook for the sake of social connection. These people are particularly interested in giving a good cause to different institutions by creating fundraising activities. And with Facebook’s help, their goals will soon be a reality.

Creating a Good Cause Through Facebook

Facebook has become increasingly advanced in terms of its applications. Especially in the field of giving money to help enrich lives through different fundraising activities sponsored by different charitable groups all over the world. If you will browse through Facebook, there are tons of different applications you can choose from which can aid you in getting awareness of what areas in the world would need charitable help especially if you are a volunteer who would like to aid a charitable institution with their fundraising activities.

On the part of those raising funds for a good cause, the Facebook is not just an effective tool to gain many sponsors, but it is also a way to promote awareness of an assigned charity and thus generate funds for it. Of course, it is not just important to connect with different people, post photos and constantly communicate with them about what you do; but it is also important that you are able to choose the right application to match the different requirements of your fund raising activity. This application should be set well inside the fund raising page to let people access it right away whenever they would be interested to donate money. Take note that your fundraising page should be an all-in-one page so that viewers may be able to have a full grasp of what the fundraising activity is all about and thus direct them to a certain application straight inside your page which will manage the funds that will be sent to that particular charitable institution.

One such application that is very effective in raising funds for a certain charity is Coin Jars (http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=6489937223) is a Facebook application which you can use to store money, digitally. The digital money is called iCoins. With an advanced and up-to-date technology of different Internet applications such as this, users are assured that their money is securely kept by a licensed treasury group of the application. The transfer of the digital money is fast, safe and easy which will create a hassle-free transfer of funds from the sponsors to the main fund raising institutions through Facebook. With Coin Jars, you are sure to donate money and receive it just like you are doing a personal transaction. The good thing about this is, you will be able to send cash wherever you are and whenever you are linked to Facebook through the Internet. Moreover, there are no fees involved so the donor is guaranteed that the fundraiser will receive the donation as is and without any deductions.

Indeed, fundraising activities created online are now just at the touch of your fingertips!

Discover the 7 Secrets to Facebook Fundraising! Get your FREE ebook from www.FacebookFundraisingTips.com and learn how to raise funds legally, safely and quickly using the world’s most popular social networking website, Facebook!

Fundraising Through Facebook

2008-10-15T18:38:00.000-07:00

What is Fundraising?

Fundraising is a process by which a person or a group of people solicit money for the purposes of charity or other “good cause” type of projects. In fundraising, different sets of activities can be done in order to obtain the desired amount needed for a charitable or institutional project. These activities may be done through sports, seminars, games, contests, and social networking. As mentioned, social networking is a process by which people gathers his or her network where in the selected networks will also create their own which will expand gradually thus enabling awareness. By this, you will not only spread knowledge and word with what you are doing but you will also be able to gain as many friends as possible by sharing the same purpose, and that is, helping other people for a good cause.

Fundraising has been done in several parts of the world to help different people especially the less fortunate ones. But of course, it is not just limited to that. Fund raising can also be done to raise a good amount of money for construction of residential, commercial and institutional buildings or it can also be for the purposes of education, recreation and others. But the most important is, it is for a good cause.

Fundraising Through Facebook

Already mentioned above, fundraising can be done through social networking. In this way, you can use Facebook to do this. To begin with, Facebook is a social networking site that enables different users around the world to connect with their friends, family and other people through the use of the Internet specifically with the interactive and useful applications of Facebook. Because of its growing trend, Facebook has now become a social utility tool that does not only create bridges with different people but it has also paved the way for different charitable institutions to raise funds through their assigned “ebooks” in the Internet.

Indeed, Facebook’s importance has increased positively because of this. On the other hand, because of the presence of these “good cause” type of applications such as Coinjars (www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=6489937223) , more and more people are getting hooked with Facebook enabling them to trust it in spreading their good word to everyone else linked there.

To have a good kick off with your fundraising activity, it is very much important to create an informative and well-versed Fundraising Page that will point out what the fundraising is for. Try to avoid using Groups since this has a cap of 5000 users only.

Now for your fundraising Page, first and foremost, choose words that are not too trying hard to catch people’s attention. It should be done in an appropriate manner with a good approach. Write your “come on” as a well said social intention coupled with the right words for the main cause of the activity. You may also add pictures to support your statements. In this way, you will not only entice users to join your group and help raise funds but you will also allow them to help you get more ideas with your fundraising activity. The more informative and more social the approach of your Facebook pages pertaining to your fundraising activity, the more that you will get hold of interested people to help you.

You must also use an efficient, legal Facebook application that lets you send and receive money within the website without any fees at all. Take for instance Coinjars (http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=6489937223) which lets the fundraiser receive money as is (meaning if the donor sends ten dollars, the money arrives without any deductions at all!) and the donor send the donation without any additional fees.

Indeed, with Facebook, you will be able to not only socially connect with people, but enrich lives and before you know it, you’ve already gained a good social network particularly for those who have a charitable cause in the society.

Discover the 7 Secrets to Facebook Fundraising! Get your FREE ebook from www.FacebookFundraisingTips.com and learn how to raise funds legally, safely and quickly using the world’s most popular social networking website, Facebook!

Need funds? Try Facebook Fundraising!

2008-10-14T18:34:00.000-07:00

Among the many social networking websites mushrooming everywhere in the Internet, Facebook remains one of the leaders. Ever since it started operations in February of 2004, members have grown from a handful of Harvard students to over one hundred million and growing. In fact, it is expected that this number will even grow to up to five hundred million members in just a few years’ time. A leading cause of this high patronage is the nature of the site itself. It is a free-access website that earns on mass advertising, downloads and relationships nurtured right within the network. Given this popularity and membership, Facebook is among the most effective means of getting known worldwide. However, this doesn't stop there since other ventures like blogging, photo sharing and even business networking can also be accommodated within the website.

Among Facebook’s latest features is the capability and platform for budding fundraisers to raise money for causes, charities, individuals and other advocacies right within the website. One can say that the site is opening its doors to Facebook fundraising services and projects. Given the capacity, reach and popularity of the site, Facebook fundraising, indeed, is highly possible and can surely revolutionize the way help each other.

To those who have undergone fundraising projects, the difficulty of the task is not alien to them. There are so many things to consider and so many venues to tap before one gets an ample amount of money for the cause or the charity. There are even instances when the fundraiser will need some uncalled for capital or mobilization fees. Take for example a group of individuals come up with a fundraising project for a depressed part of their community. This project will have to go through planning of activities that will lure people into shedding a little of their extra money. This will then have to be prepared for and executed. What's worse is that the entire thing won't ensure the organizers that the response will be anywhere near the expected output.

Fortunately, there is a possible solution to this. Ideas for charity fundraising may no longer remain as ideas. With Facebook fundraising, it's a simple matter of one, information; two, people; and three, the power of the Internet.

Just by using the popular social networking website’s features, fundraisers can create a Facebook Page for their cause or project, include as much information about the project as possible, add as many friends, family and other probable donors and add efficient Facebook applications such as Coinjars (www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=6489937223) which the fundraiser can use in order to redeem the raised money. What’s so great about fundraising in Facebook is the fact that there are literally hundreds of millions of possible donors to a cause, project or advocacy. This means that the “market” is there. All it takes are the right Facebook money applications, a very easy to follow system that just about any fundraiser can do and a lot of sincerity and passion.

Facebook fundraising is truly an easier way for people to raise money in this truly high-tech world.

Facebook As An Efficient Social Networking and Fundraising Tool

2008-10-13T18:29:00.000-07:00

What is Facebook?

Facebook (www.facebook.com) was launched in 2004 as a free and user friendly social networking site. Facebook users have created their own communities in the network. These are linked to their work, school, region or common interest. Facebook has bridged many tens of millions of different people all over the world. Indeed, Facebook has made a mark in the Internet to bridge different people and thus expand to hundreds of millions (500 million users soon even!) of consumers worldwide.

With its wide array of applications, Facebook has evolved itself to being a social network to creating communities for a good purpose.

Indeed, the successful manifestation of founder Mark Zuckerberg’s incredible ingenuity paved the way for different people to create pathways across different societies around the world. Users may be able to update themselves by creating their personal profiles which can be seen by their friends linked to their network and vice versa.

On the other hand, its funding is generated through online advertising which is why users will see different advertisements shown once in a while when they are online through their Facebook account.

Facebook Popularity Growing In Numbers

The increasing popularity of Facebook as the leading social networking site has created its own vision of attaining around more than 500 million users in the near future, experts say. Because of this, Facebook enhances itself even more and thus allows for more room to create a social bridge for different users around the world. 2008 is a good year for Facebook as it garnered the “People’s Voice Award” in the Webby Awards. Indeed, Facebook does not only acts as an efficient social networking tool but it also improves itself by creating more and more features to enhance its overall structure.

Facebook Features: Making It A Social Utility Tool and a Site For A Cause

Several features are offered in Facebook which stimulates the creativity of the users and thus allow them to enhance their profile and connect with their friends easily. These features are being developed as time goes by to enable users to access their profiles easier and much faster.

At present, several methods are available in Facebook such as posting notes to your friend’s home page, looking at your friend’s photos or getting updates regarding events such as birthdays, anniversaries and even having a good daily update of things to do through the calendar. Well, a growing number of users are making it very much popular in the world today. Unlike other social networking sites, Facebook has a reputation of being not just a social network, but more importantly, a site for a cause.

Making it a “site for a cause,” users may also have the opportunity to create their own funding network for the purposes of charity (see the Soft Power Education case - www.facebook.com/pages/Soft-Power-Education/26342957259 which uses the Coinjars money application - www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=6489937223) or even to raise money for their own personal projects – be it for a school project that they need extra cash for or for a small startup business that needs extra capital. With Facebook, these users may raise funds not only for the purposes of helping but in creating awareness as well to other users who, in turn, may be able to spread the word to others. Ultimately, this will then result in generating more funds for that specific charity.

Discover the 7 Secrets to Facebook Fundraising! Get your FREE ebook from www.FacebookFundraisingTips.com and learn how to raise funds legally, safely and quickly using the world’s most popular social networking website, Facebook!

Network Fundraising in Facebook: Key to Personalized Fundraisers

2008-10-12T18:26:00.000-07:00

Facebook is basically a social networking site. This means that one is connected to a wide array of contacts who could share many things other than the usual personal messages. In this site, one could send photos, reflections and many other things to all of his/ her contacts. This kind of free-access networking also has unlimited connection potential. This means that one could inform others about specific interests. What's more is that one could even mobilize a large number of people to certain actions. This is true even in fundraising. When an individual or a group of individuals find ample reason and dedication to organize something in order to help others, what better way is there for them to raise funds other than through network fundraising in Facebook? Here, one gets the two major elements of a fundraising success: people and connection. This article will look into the necessity of the organization and institutionalization of network fundraising in Facebook. Furthermore, it will tackle the necessity of a personalized way of asking others to reach out for causes.

Should one come to think of it, it is actually possible to raise funds in the present Facebook system using the forum pages and even the personal message features. In doing so, one is able to reach out to direct contacts that might, one way or another, offer help. Yet, this isn't exactly ideal given the limited scope of direct contacts. One cannot have all too many friends in order to raise a decent amount of cash that will be extended to any sort of aid to those who are in dire need. This is the reason why, the makers of Facebook thought of a way to organize and institutionalize these kinds of activities. True enough, the site is about to launch its very own page dedicated to fundraisers. Those who are interested will be able to get hold of the mechanisms behind this new innovation through an upcoming free e-book that will be distributed soon.

The page is important to network fundraising in Facebook so that the information will be available to the entire body of members. If otherwise, only direct contacts will be able to receive the calls for aid.

Yet, what is so good about this new endeavor is that Facebook, as a networking site, believes that even fundraising should be done in a social and personable approach. Network fundraising in Facebook should not exactly come out as business. This is so even if money is a major consideration in these kinds of activities. The approach of fundraising in a networking site will have to be more of a “social” appeal that will target the personal side of the prospect donors to the cause. This way, the organizers are assured of a friendlier atmosphere and reception towards the call for financial aid. This will then sum up to more collections. Network fundraising in Facebook will also include features that will ensure that the donors could keep track of their charitable investments. This way, they are assured that their money will, indeed, go somewhere and hopefully touch another person’s life.

eBay/PayPal Developers Conference Videos and Presentations

2008-08-28T04:45:00.000-07:00

Videos and presentations from the eBay/PayPal Developers Conference held in June in Chicago are available online.

GLENN LIM's DEVELOPER CONFERENCE ADDRESS
For all of you who did not get to attend the Developer Conference there is a lot of great material available for you to view. This includes an address by Glenn Lim – General Manager of Alliances and Developer Services for PayPal which is available for your viewing here. Also available are the videos of the keynotes and presentations from the sessions.

PayPal Webinar: Reducing Shopping Card Abandonment

2008-08-28T04:39:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow's PayPal webinar, last of the August webinar series, will focus on the topic of reducing shopping card abandonment. Patti Freeman Evans, research director from JupiterResearch, and Lewis Broadnax, director of e-commerce at Lenovo are participating.

Hi again, I’m Jim Hunt, senior director of PayPal merchant services. We’ve reached the end of our August webinar series and will be wrapping up tomorrow with a topic that is sure to be top of mind with almost any online business – reducing shopping cart abandonment.

Many online retailers have struggled with stagnant conversion rates in the last several years. And in today’s economy, even a slight improvement in your conversion rate could be a great way to keep your business growing by adding thousands, if not millions of dollars to your bottom line.

We’ll be joined tomorrow by Patti Freeman Evans, research director from JupiterResearch. Patti is an expert in online retailing issues, including shopping cart abandonment, and will share the latest research about why consumers abandon their shopping carts. We’ll also hear from Lewis Broadnax, director of e-commerce at Lenovo, who will highlight some of the strategies that Lenovo has used to improve its conversion rates.

I hope you’ll be able to join us for this great webinar. If you haven’t registered yet, there’s still time. We’ll see you there at 11 am Pacific/2 pm Eastern.

Over Three-Fourths of Online Americans Bank and Pay Bills Online

2008-08-28T04:35:00.000-07:00

According to a survey sponsored by CheckFree, "more Americans than ever, an estimated 63.1 million households or three-fourth of those online, are paying their bills online rather than writing paper checks. The 2008 Consumer Banking and Bill Payment Survey, the eighth conducted by CheckFree since 2002, highlights Americans’ growing use of online banking and bill payment services to help manage their personal finances."

The survey indicates that consumers are more confident about online security as more Americans are gaining experience in using Internet services, making security concerns less of a barrier to online bill payment adoption than in the past. In the latest survey, only 13 percent of respondents cited online security as the top reason for not using the online bill payment service, down from 17 percent in the 2007 survey. Overall, online security ranked third among barriers to online bill payment adoption this year, compared to its number-one ranking in 2007. The primary barrier (15%) in the new study was “I don’t know enough about how it works.”

For the second year in a row, American consumers who go online each month paid more of their household bills online at bank and billing organization websites than by any other method, according to the survey fielded by Harris Interactive and sponsored by CheckFree.

An estimated 31 million households are using online banking websites to pay bills, 47.9 million households are using biller websites and 16 million are using both online banking and biller sites to receive and pay bills. Approximately 63.1 million of Internet-using households pay at least one bill online in an average month, up from 61 million in the 2007 survey. These households collectively paid 934 million bills in a typical month, according to the survey results.

Online bill payments continued to outpace check bill payments for the second consecutive year. Online bill payments made at both bank and biller websites rose to 42 percent of the total volume of household bill payments made each month, up from 39 percent in the 2007 survey. Online bill payment adoption has significantly grown since the 2002 survey, when only 14 percent reported paying their bills online.

Check payments among survey respondents who use the Internet fell to their lowest level in six years, accounting for only 31 percent of the total volume of household bill payments – down from the 34 percent recorded in the 2007 survey. Check bill payments have fallen by half on a percentage basis since January 2002, when Internet-connected Americans made 61 percent of their bill payments by check. Still, 59 million online households pay at least one of their household bills each month by check.

“As more consumers gain experience and become more comfortable using the Internet, their confidence in online security grows and we see an increase in the adoption of online banking and bill payment services,” said Todd Lesher, division president, CheckFree electronic Banking Services, now part of Fiserv. “For a minority of users who haven’t used the Web as long, we see that security concerns remain a significant barrier to online banking and bill payment adoption. We continue to work closely with our financial institution customers on joint programs that help educate consumers that online financial services are safer and more convenient than traditional, paper-based methods.”

Survey findings include:

Internet-using households pay an average of 11 bills per month. Consumers use an average of three different ways to pay bills, with online, check, automatic debit and in-person topping the list of popular bill payment methods. Online bill payments at bank and biller websites comprised 42 percent of total monthly payments, followed by 31 percent of bills paid by check.

Fifty-one percent of survey respondents cited the environment as a reason why they chose to view and pay bills online. Of these, 72 percent identified paper and clutter reduction as chief benefits, followed by tree conservation (19 percent) and reduction in gas consumption (16 percent).

Saving time and gaining control over their finances were major online bill payment benefits cited by 44 percent of respondents. Consumers surveyed also cited other important reasons for paying bills online, including eliminating the hassle of writing checks, enabling them to pay all bills in one step and saving the cost of stamps.

The 2008 Consumer Banking and Bill Payment Survey, fielded by Harris Interactive, polled 3,031 U.S. consumers who use the Internet, were at least 21 years of age and were at least partly responsible for household bill payments. The online survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percent. The results are considered representative of the nation’s 85.1 million Internet-connected households. For more information, additional survey findings and to download charts on consumer trends, please visit http://www.checkfree.com/banksurvey. For more information about online banking, electronic billing and payments and how to get started paying bills online, visit http://www.eBILLPLACE.com.

Virtual Help

2008-08-27T19:00:00.000-07:00

“Support the Green Belt Movement!” Cameron’s blog’s title goes. He continues by explaining what the movement is— “an organization of like minded environmentalists saving the environment.” In the next paragraph, he continues with what the movement has done for conservation around the world.

Cameron is an environmentalist. Even as a kid he was certain that he would be one. If his ultimate hero, Captain Planet, was not an indication, he didn’t know what was. It was choosing which movement he would support that he was not certain of.

Now he is 22, and he has finally settled on a movement he would like to support and gladly dedicate his life to. The problem is that he has no funds to set up a Non-Government Organization (NGO) to help this movement out.

Good thing his friend told him all about Coinjars…

“You should try it out ‘Ron! That’s how Shirley raised money for his local hospice!” his friend exclaimed.

“Really? How?” Cameron asked.

“All she did was become a member of the Coinjars application available in FaceBook. She posted her blog, explaining what the hospice was all about and why people should help out.”

“Wow! That sounds great! So all I do is add that application? Coinjars, isn’t it?”

“Yup,” his friend replies.

“But wait, tell me, explain to me why it is called Coinjars....”.

“Well, it’s because the whole concept revolves around that, and I’m telling you to take the name in its most literal sense,” certain he has Camron’s attention he continues, “A member of Facebook who is also a member of that application, has his very own coin jar. It’s a lot like having a bank account in Facebook. And it’s there for anybody who wants to donate to it,” his friend explains patiently.

“But how does one donate exactly?” Cameron asks, confused.

“It’s simple really. As a donor of iCoins— that’s what they call digital cash— all you do is load up your account via credit card, Paypal, or bank transfer. Once it’s loaded, you can then start donating— or receiving anywhere in the world from your Facebook.”

“Wow. That sounds simple enough. Uh, I kinda expected that it would be more complicated,” comments Cameron. “How about safety? How sure are we that the iCoins we’ve received are not going in the wrong hands?”

“No need to worry about that,” his friend assured. “The iCoins are kept by a licensed eMoney operation called a Treasury, the Mintflow Limited in the Isle of Man. It has a reputation for being very secure, so, again, no need to worry.”

“Amazing! Too bad I don’t have enough funds to pay for the extra fees… Coinjars could be so much help to the Green Belt Movement…” he says sadly.

“What are you talking about? Those extra fees you mentioned? They do not exist. Again, THEY. DO. NOT. EXIST. Welcome to the land of secure, quick, easy, but inexpensive money transfers and online donations, my friend!While the cash stays digital it is always free”

“You’ve got to be pulling my leg!” exclaims Cameron disbelievingly. “Quick, give me the link, I got to check it out myself!”

“Here, copy this down:
http://www.facebook.com/applications/Coinjars/6489937223”

So that’s how he got to becoming a member of Coinjars, and that’s how he got to writing his blog. And as they say, the rest is history. Pretty soon, iCoins all over the world started coming in.

It was not long after Cameron got to establish his own NGO, raise funds for the Green Belt movement, and had the environment thanking him and Coinjars.

Thank God for Friends!

2008-08-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

“…I’m still waiting for my credit card application,” Emmanuel answers. Anna had just asked him why he still didn’t have the required books and the laptop he would need as the semester goes on. Anna was his classmate at UCL.

“Oh,” she replies. But as an afterthought, asks, “Why don’t you give Coinjars a shot?”

“Coinjars? What’s that?” he asks with a laugh, recalling the way his grandma used to recycle peanut butter glass jars and place her loose coins in them.

“You haven’t heard of it? It’s this new application in FaceBook. When you add it, it’s like you’re adding a virtual piggybank in your account.”

“But what’s the point of having one?” Emmanuel asks, confused.

“Don’t you see it? It’s a really good place for people who need to raise funds. People like yourself,” she adds a matter-of-factly.

He pauses for a while, digesting what Anna had just said. “You mean to say that I can update my status request in Facebook and ask for people’s help?”

“Yup, add the application, and— wait, you already have a Facebook account right?”

“Yeah, I do. I’m not that behind with the times,” he adds sarcastically.

“Right. Where was I? Oh yeah, you add the application and you state your case. And then you wait.”

“What do you mean wait?”

“Wait for iCoins to pour in— digital cash,” she adds before he could even ask what it was.

“Cool! But wait, I’m curious, how do they send money, err, digital cash, to me?”

“These people, let’s call them donors, also have their own piggybanks or wallets which they have already loaded with money via paypal, bank transfer, or credit card. And these loaded wallets enable them to send and receive iCoins anytime.”

“Wow! So the money just pours in?”

“Yeah, you’d be surprised. Like, I have a friend who got to go on a trip to Europe and another one who got to spend his ski ing holiday in France… and if I’m not mistaken, he— the same friend who got to go to France— also got to spend his break in Newquay.”

“You’ve got to be kidding— just an expression,” he adds quickly before she could make some sassy retort.

“But wait,” he stops, as if to rethink his question. “How would I know that my iCoin-filled Coinjar is safe?”

“Hmm. Good question. I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that it’s kept in an eMoney operation called a treasury called the uh, the Mintflow Limited in the Isle of Man.”

“It’s like an online bank account but IN Facebook, where you spend a lot of time right!” she continued, sensing that he was not fully convinced. “It’s pretty secure. They even have an audit trail whether or not you opt to keep your donation anonymous.”

“Wow. But don’t you think a service like that would charge a lot? I mean, banks charge a lot for payment processing and the like…”

“Actually, they have no extra charges.”

He laughs, “Now I know you’re kidding!”

“I’m not”

“Riggght,” he replies disbelievingly, but sensing her seriousness, takes back his sarcastic retort.

“I— [sound of phone ringing] wait, I think that’s my phone. Ma told me she was gonna call me anytime today—excuse me, Ann”

“—Hey mom! I’m so glad you called, I think I just figured out how to buy my books and that laptop— even how I’m going to send you guys money,”

“That sounds great! Nothing illegal, I hope,” she tells him teasingly.

“Not really— I mean, not totally,” he jokes. They exchange a few more jokes, I miss yous, and more I miss yous and only stopped because their connection got cut off. They were really close.

Recalling something as he puts his cell back in his pocket, he tells Ann that he has to run along. “But before I do, I want to thank you.”

“No problem. Just spreading the good news,” she quips.

A few weeks later they would meet again and he would be carrying his laptop and all his books.

Coinjars + teamwork = vacation of a lifetime

2008-08-25T19:00:00.000-07:00

It’s 3 pm. The engine started making noise. The plane made its way through the runway. Finally, it went off the ground and flew high above in the air. “New Zealand, here we come,” said Fred, one of the South African passengers aboard the plane.

“I’ve been waiting for this vacation to come,” exclaimed Fred, “finally, I’ll be able to set foot in New Zealand!”

“You’re going to enjoy your stay in New Zealand Fred,” assured James, the older South African.

“That sounds great!”

“Sure it is! I’ve been there three times already and there’s still so much to do, and so many places to go to.”

“Wow, so you’ve been there a lot of times already,” Fred said in amazement. “I wonder why it took me 31 years to visit New Zealand.”

“Don’t worry Fred, my brother, Roy, and I will take you to the best spots. We’ll exhaust whatever it has to offer! Right, brother?” Then, James looked to his right.

“Right,” said Roy. “That is, if our money will allow us. Remember we’re staying or two weeks. After that, we're heading over to Oz and Perth for three days before we’ll head back home to London,” he added.

“I know, but I guess we have enough cash with us,” said the complacent James.

After few hours of air travel, the plane landed in Wellington. Fred was almost teary-eyed when he set his foot on the foreign land.

“Welcome to New Zealand Fred,” James said jubilantly while expanding his arms wide open. “We’re now in Wellington, the capital of this country. New Zealand is basically divided into two islands – the southern and the northern. For this week, we’ll go around the northern island!”

“Sounds great,” Fred said.

So, the three of them checked in a hotel, contacted a travel agent and went caving, skiing, shopping, eating out and all other sorts of summer escapades one can think of during a vacation. While they enjoyed doing all that stuff, their savings got smaller and smaller. After a week, Roy told his brother James and Fred about their financial status.

“Guys, we have ja week left and we’re already running out of money. We won’t be able to drop by Perth with the little money we have left,” Roy paused, took a deep breath and said “I’m even afraid we might not finish touring the southern island next week.”

“How much do you have at hand?” asked Fred.

“Less than 100 dollars.”

All three of them frowned.

James stood up, walked to his right, then back to his left. After, a silence, he said, “I’ve got an idea!”

Roy and Fred were surprised. “What?”

“Both of you have Facebook accounts, right?”

“Yes! I have one,” answered Fred.

“I have too,” answered Roy. “So, what about Facebook?”

“There’s an application there called Coinjars. We can receive and raise money there!”

Fred raised his left brow and said “Really? But, how are we going to do that?”

“Here’s what we’ll do,” James grabbed a chair and sat opposite to Roy and Fred.

“I’ll tell my wife to send me money through my Facebook account. We are both ‘fans’ and users of Coinjars so she can easily send me money from London. All that she has to do is to load up her Coinjar with money using credit card, bank transfer or Paypal. After that, she can send me any amount from her Coinjar to mine. Then, we’ll have it exchange into cash.”

“That’s cool,” exclaimed Roy. “So, what are we going to do?”

“You and Fred will create a new Facebook Page in each of your accounts, write something about our situation today and ask for any donation. In this way, whoever reads the newsfeed about us will know our situation. You’ll never know; they might just lend us the cash.”

“So, do they have to install Coinjars too?”

“Yes, don’t forget to stress how easy it is to add Coinjars. Also, don’t forget that Coinjars is the fastest and safest way of transferring funds within Facebook! Plus, it is free of charge while the iCoins remain digital!”

“Wow, that’s cool,” Roy exclaimed again.

James was about to say something, when Roy interrupted him. “Hey, wait for a second; I’ll just get my laptop so I can start making my page.”

“I’ll get mine, too,” Fred seconded.

“Okay, you go ahead while I’ll see if I still have the complete URL here in my laptop.”

Roy and Fred went upstairs and grabbed their laptops while James scanned for the necessary URLs.

“Oh, here it is,” James cried. “These URLs will give you more information about Coinjars. Type these three URLs: http://www.facebook.com/applications/Coinjars/6489937223, http://icoins.blogspot.com and http://www.icoins.com.”

“Okay, I’ll visit them while Roy is making his page,” Fred said.

“If we work together to raise the money we need, then there’s no stopping us from making the best out of this vacation,” James assured.

* * *

How did the story end?

With the help of Coinjars – and their lenders and donors, too – all three of them were able to tour the southern island of New Zealand. They even extended it to three more days at Perth before going back home to London. It’s quite amazing how Coinjars helped them do that!

Euro Trip, Here I Come!

2008-08-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

Exhausted from all the schoolwork, Joleen flops down on her bed and stares listlessly at her ceiling which she has pasted with a collage of photos and postcards. Photos and postcards of places she has traveled (Malaysia, Tuscanny, Israel to name a few) and has yet to travel (New Zealand, Germany, Philippines, to name some).

Smack center in this collage is a world map with the whole continent of Europe encircled in red, and underneath it, the words “ultimate destination” written in caps.

Joleen has always loved to travel. During her childhood days, she would round up the neighborhood kids and explore the nearby forest where they would pretend to discover new territory. She would lead the pack of explorers ofcourse. Moving into high school, she developed a love for Geography and History. She would even join all those academic meets to represent her school in those fields. Now, she is a sophomore taking up International Studies in Harvard University.

Bored, she takes out her laptop and turns it on. The screensaver pops a reminder of how many more days she has to go (365) until her EuroTrip. After, it posts another message of how much money she has to save. And after that, pops up the question “where the heck will you find the money, Joleen?”

Not having the answer (asking Dad is just not an option), or at least not for the moment, she goes online. She checks her mail,bins the spam, and logs in to her FaceBook account.

While browsing around, she accidentally clicks this link http://www.facebook.com/applications/Coinjars/6489937223 and is immediately redirected to another page. She was about to close it when the statement “need funds?” caught her eye.

“You betcha,” she says and gives a laugh. Talk about perfect timing.

Joleen grows more and more interested as she scrolls down the page. She can’t believe her luck. “My answered prayer,” she whispers excitedly; and judging from the testimonials, apparently the answer to a thousand other users’ prayers as well.

She reads on that all a person has to do is become a member of the application and post their cause (in her case, her need to reach her ultimate destination). Anyone who can sympathize with her cause on her Facebook Page and is willing to donate can send their help in the form of digital cash called iCoins. With iCoins lenders or donors have the option of loading cash via Paypal, bank transfer, or credit card. They can send (and receive) granted, of course, that they have their very own FaceBook account and are members of the Coinjars application.

Cool! … But how the heck would I know ‘if my money is safe? She wonders as she changed to a more comfortable position.

Scrolling down, she soon found the answer. Apparently, the iCoins is stored in a very secure treasury, Mintflow Limited in the Isle of Man, a licensed eMoney operation. It’s like an online bank, but only better— has fewer hassles than a bank has but takes the same precautionary measures a bank does. An audit trail in the event of a money laundering scam, for instance.

Minutes later, she adds the application and shares her dilemma. She even adds that bit about her Mac’s opening reminders. Days later, the iCoins started coming in. She couldn’t believe it how easy it all was.

A year later, she was off inter railing in Europe and shopping ‘til she dropped. “Thank you Coinjars and to all who were kind enough to share their iCoins. I doubt it would have become a reality without your help,” she would later post in her Facebook account.

That’s it!

2008-08-22T19:59:00.000-07:00

It was almost summertime and my friends Becki and Dave were craving an extraordinary summer. They were tired of going to the beach, developing a tan, shopping like crazy and all the other usual summertime escapades. Add to that, they were also tired of the scene here in the U.S.; they’d been to quite a lot of states already. They wanted to go to somewhere a little more off the beaten track.

Becki is Black American and she had been to most of the southern and central states. She said she, along with her family, went there to visit their relatives and friends. I wonder how many relatives she has in the whole of the States!

On the other hand, Dave, half Puerto Rican, has already traveled to almost all the states, including Alaska and Hawaii. Of course, he traveled together with his family by the time he went to all those places. He is the only child; so I guess they could afford all three of them going somewhere far away this year. He told me stories of how they went on caving, river rafting, skiing, rock climbing and motor crossing all those times. “Hey, you already tried motor crossing?” I was shocked knowing how young he was then. “Yeah dude! And, I was just 15 that time. You could only imagine how adventurous my family is. ” Oh well, I guess they really are adventurous.

“I’m planning to spend my next summer somewhere far away,” he declared one day.

“As if you haven’t gone far yet,” I said sarcastically. “So, how far is it gonna be this time? North Pole? South Pole?”

“Africa!”

"What?! Africa?!”

“You heard me right – Africa!”

“Well, you could do a lot of things there. My uncle, who used to be a teacher there, had a great time doing rafting, bungee jumping and quad biking. And oh, he said the safari was a wonderful and thrilling experience, too. You better try it.”

“I’m sure to do that, man. That’s the summer adventure I’m craving for.”

“So, is your family coming?”

“No. Dad’s busy with his business trip. Mom’s busy too.”

“So, who’s coming with you?”

“Becki.”

“Oh, so she has relatives there, too,” I said while laughing insanely.

“Actually, she has. That’s why we’re both going.”

“Oh, she really has a lot of relatives. Her family is amazing.”

“So, how about you? Are you going with us?”

“I’m afraid I can’t. My relatives from the Philippines are coming over. I’ll have to see them, so I’m staying. Besides, that’s gonna cost me too much.”

I paused for a while and said, “How are you gonna raise money, by the way? For sure, it's going to cost a packet”.

Dave paused for a while, as if thinking, and said, “Actually, that’s our problem. Becki and I are only 17 and we don’t have credit yet. My parent’s can hardly send me money, too. They used most of the money for my dad’s business trip.”

“Oh, that’s really a problem. If only you could raise your own money.”

“You’re right. We’ll just see if things will turn smoothly.”

Dave opened his video camera and smiled, as if he remembered something funny. “By the way, have you seen the video I posted in Facebook? That was really funny. It was about…”

“Hey,” I interrupted Dave, “that’s it!”

“What are you talking about?” He was startled.

“That’s it – Facebook,” I exclaimed. “You can raise money there. I remember when my sister and I raised funds for our favorite charity the other month. We were able to earn $ 1,000!”

“Wow, that’s cool! How did it happen?”

“I went to check my Facebook profile and there was this application called Coinjars. It’s like you have a jar in your Facebook account and then you load it with digital money called icoins. The face value of the coins in the jar is the same with the amount of money you loaded into to it. This means that you have to load the Coinjar with money via credit card, bank transfer or Paypal.”

“So, how did you earn money by just using the Coinjars?”

“Simple, we made a new Facebook page about our favorite charity that we were raising the funds for. We added the Coinjar application and we encouraged our relatives to give us donations. Through Coinjars, my relatives were able to send money from their Coinjars to ours. Then we had the iCoins converted to cash via paypal.”

“It’s so great. So, I can ask donations from my relatives in Puerto Rico?”

“Sure, so long as they have a Facebook account, they have added the Coinjars application, and they have iCoins in it, they can always send you money. Coinjars is the safest and fastest money transfer application within Facebook.

“So, do they have bank charges?”

“You wouldn’t believe this – the inter bank transactions are free of charge as long as the cash remains digital!”

Dave’s eyes glistened at the thought that he could raise money on his own.

“If you want to know more about this, just go to log on to Facebook.com, click applications and select Coinjars. You can also visit these two websites: http://icoins.blogspot.com and http://www.icoins.com”

“Wow, you have a pretty good memory!”

“I sure do! Let me write it down for you”

“Thank you so much, buddy,” Dave quickly stood and said, “I have to tell Becki about this. We need to check out this cool application!”

Dave dashed his way to Becki’s house and they started raising funds.

Two months later, I just learned they’re already in Africa having the summer of their lives.

Until now, Dave and Becki just keep on thanking me for Coinjars. I told them, “Don’t thank me, thank the makers of Coinjars – and you’re donors, too!”

In Need of a Break

2008-08-22T04:22:00.000-07:00

He sets the rag aside and pours another round of scotch for the lady sitting across the bar. The lady tries to catch the Aussie’s eye, but to no avail; he is far more transfixed with the drink— why, right before his eyes, the liquid has just turned into waves while its ice into snow!

After some time, he shakes his head and blinks away these images. He tells himself that all this is probably due to his desire to spend his upcoming break surfing in Newquay and ski-ing Snowblast in France , nothing more.

Convinced, he proceeds to wiping the counter to a gleaming shine— the shine Walkout Bar is known for.

While he carries on with this task, he comes up with a rough computation of the money he will be able to save up from his bartending. But to his dismay, it turns out that his current savings and salary (tips included) will barely cover one trip. What’s more, applying for a credit card is not an option. After moving from one shared flat to another all over London, he is certain that he cannot meet any credit card company’s residency requirements.

After a while, he tunes in to the conversation of the two women now in front of him. They are talking about FaceBook and Coinjars, its cool new application to raise funds. Having a FaceBook account himself, he listens intently while pretending to check for water spots.

“It’s a matter of adding the Coinjars application and posting what you need to raise money for and why you need to raise money for it,” says the brunette. Sensing her friend’s confusion, she continues with another route, “Let’s say you want to raise funds for a charity fun run. So in your FaceBook account, all you do is add the Coinjars application and explain your cause.”

“And?” the blonde asks.

“You just wait for the donations, digital cash they have coined, excuse the pun, iCoins. To get the whole concept easily just take the name literally— coin-jars.”

“Oh! I think I get it now!” the blonde exclaims enthusiastically. “But how can people send their donations, I mean, iCoins?”

“Donors must be a member of the Coinjars application as well. They should think of their coin-jars as a bank account. So like a bank account, they have to load it up for them to receive or send iCoins.”

“But how sure are we that our account is safe? —I, what, what if some sort of money laundering scam takes place?”

“Nah. Your account is pretty secure in the hands of Mintflow Limited in the Isle of Man. It’s this online treasury. Licensed and totally secure.”

“Really? Wow. But wait, back to Coinjars, how about the fees? They must charge insane fees for their services,” says the blonde.

“Actually… they don’t…”

That was all he needed to know. At least it was enough to make him check this site http://www.facebook.com/applications/Coinjars/6489937223 out immediately after work.

To his surprise, it was, indeed, a matter of adding the Coinjars application and posting his situation. “I badly want to get away for the holidays, but I can’t,” his introduction went.

To his amazement, friends, friends of friends, and even visitors who could just relate, started sending their iCoins not long after.

And not long after that, he was off to Newquay; and much later, snowboarding— but of course, not before thanking the entire Coinjars community.

Thanks to Coinjars!

2008-08-21T04:12:00.000-07:00

Anton is a promising computer scientist in Uganda. At a very young age of 19, he has already set a plan on what to do with his life – build the next big thing in the realm of social networking.

He’s young, he’s knowledgeable and he has the passion to make his plans come true. The problem is – he has little money to fund his project. Although he has raised some seed money for his internet business, it won't go far. He needed some serious money to realize his ambitious plans.

Then, Mr. Amoroso, an investor, came to offer money for Antonio’s project. However, the risks and limitations of the money offered by Mr. Amoroso outweighed the potential benefits of borrowing it. He could have accepted it anyway, but he learned that there was a better way of raising funds – one that is far more viable.

“Good morning, Mom! Good morning Dad,” greeted Anton while walking down the stairs.

“Good morning, son!” replied his father. “Here, have a seat!”

“Thanks dad!” Anton sat next to his father, at the right side of their dining table. “So, what did you cook for breakfast Mom?”

“You’re favorite, roasted chicken!” his mother said as she turned back, holding the freshly roasted chicken.

“Wow! I think I’m going to eat a lot this breakfast!” teased Anton.

“So, how’s my son doing? Are you going somewhere today?”

“Actually, I’m meeting an investor today, Dad”

“An, investor? For what?

“Ahm…I’m looking for funds for my internet business. I’m planning to make a social network website, just like Facebook.”

“So, you’re making a website? You never told as about that,” his mom said while slicing the roasted chicken.

“It was going to be a surprise for you!”

“Oh, I see!” his father nodded, “That’s so sweet of you son! So, about this investor, do you think he’ll provide you with the money you need?”

“Actually, dad, the money that the investor will provide me is quite limiting. But, it will already help me with my project. You see, I don’t want to bother you anymore, dad, so I’m trying to look for funds, myself.”

“I understand that, son.”

“Don’t worry dad, Mr. Amoroso is sensible and good to do business with. I met him at the bank and he said he can help me with the funds. Although, his investments are limiting, I guess I have no choice but to accept it.”

“Actually,” her mother interrupted, “you have so many choices, son. You can ask for donations from our relatives in London. They have always been supportive to you. Plus, you have friends who can probably help you out with your project.”

“Actually, I was thinking of asking donations from them, too. But, I think it’s going to cause them hassle and extra fees for bank transfers. I think it’s not a good idea.”

His mother drank a glass of water and said, “That wouldn’t be a problem. There’s this new application in Facebook called Coinjars. It let’s you transfer cash and raise funds. The good thing is, it’s so easy, quick, safe and free of charge!”

“Really, mom? Tell me more about it!” Anton was thrilled at the thought that there’s a better way for him to raise funds.

“You see, Coinjars makes it possible for people to send and receive money within Facebook. You have a Facebook account, don’t you?”

“I do!”

“Then here’s what you have to do. First, you have to install the Coinjars application in your profile. Make a new Facebook page saying that you need to raise funds for your project and that you are asking for donations. Once your friends in Facebook read this page, they can easily send you money, if they want to, via Coinjars.”

“I see, so what do they have to do?”

Helping fundraise & build communities through digital cash

2008-07-03T06:53:00.000-07:00

Helping fundraise & build communities through digital cash

Poverty has been one of the toughest problems in the world. It has been estimated that more than 2.7 billion people live on less than two dollars a day. No where near enough to feed a large family of ten and send the children to school. Each year, as the number of people on the poverty line relentlessly increases, more and more children are finding themselves working in the fields or in city sweatshops. Their parents, faced by the difficulty of seeking decent employment, unwittingly pass the responsibility of supporting the family to their children.

At the same time, increasing globalization has allowed the possibility for greater opportunities worldwide and migration. Overseas workers are enjoying a better standard of living despite being away from their homeland.

These two, seemingly disparate facts did not escape the attention of online enthusiast and digital fundraising activist Marco Esquivel.

Tapping into what he calls the Diaspora community, Esquivel realized that all it takes is a bit of research and mobilization to encourage overseas communities all around the globe to put together their resources and contribution to support development efforts in impoverished countries.

And with technological advancements afforded by modern living, Esquivel soon discovered the limitless possibilities afforded by paperless banking through iCoins.

“I had my reservations . I did not think it could replace traditional banking. But I soon realized that for efficient, fast and paperless banking with just a few clicks in your computer, iCoins is the way to go,” Esquivel says.

Through iCoins, Esquivel was able to accommodate the transfer of financial support from members of overseas communities around the globe, especially in Canada, Australia, Singapore and the European Union, to help finance development efforts in Africa.

“Initially, we were able to raise the necessary funds for the setting up of our first food project in some of the most depressed areas. Since then, our efforts have expanded to a womens’ mission and activities for out-of-school youths,” Esquivel shares.

iCoins is the digital cash of the 21st century. Boasting features similar to traditional cash, iCoins are also 100% secured by the underlying treasury. Above all, iCoins are free when it comes to moving money around.

“International money transfers cost so much. The fees can defeat the whole purpose of raising funds for the charity and donors want to know that their donations go to the cause not to bank fees and payment processors. Thanks to iCoins our global fundraising is free, fast and untraceable if the donor prefers to remain anonymous” Esquivel happily relates.

So why wait any longer? Sign up your foundation or charity now !

What to do with your Coinjars!

2008-07-03T06:11:00.000-07:00

We offer you: Limitless possibilities in paperless banking

Imagine a banking system where all you have to do is click in your Facebook. Sounds fantastic?

“My daughter needed money badly but I was miles away from her and the rest of the family. Luckily, I discovered Coinjars in my Facebook. Now I don’t worry about the cost and time it takes for bank transfers” 34-year-old Australian-immigrant Lorie relates. She is among thousands of overseas workers employed in Australia who have recently discovered Coinjars.

“It is completely free, easy to use, fast, efficient, and safe. I am thankful we have this kind of technology now,” Lorie enthuses.

Coinjars is a new application on the Facebook’s network which uses digital cash -called iCoins. It is a system that gives the functionality of cash in an electronic medium and pretty much the same features as provided by real world cash.

Coinjars enables its users to securely transfer and receive iCoins in real time without any hassle. The digital currency can then be used in online transactions such as money transfers or donations to a charity online.

“I used to have to miss out on working with some suppliers as in our respective countries it was difficult to move money from one wallet to another type. Thankfully, Coinjars came along. It integrates online payments and its easy to collect my affiliate fees with no charges and no time and hassle,” netpreneur Sally shares.

iCoins provides an addressing system so that any enabled wallet can send and receive digital cash. Similar to the SWIFT/IBAN system, iCoins is backed by a digital cash system that gives funds the ability to be instantly credited once a transaction is carried out. It enables instant fund transfers from any iCoins-enabled wallet to others.

iCoins also assures ours users that although they are provided with an anonymous transfer mechanism, to adhere to due diligence we retain an audit trail to ward off money laundering activities.

“Like real cash, it is freely transferable, guaranteed at face value, anonymous, legal, fast, easy to use, adheres to international banking standards, has minimal requirements for use, and most important of all makes it easy for affiliates and netpreneurs like myself to monetize our businesses,” Sally states.

All iCoins are secured and underwritten by a licensed eMoney operation called a Treasury. The Treasury for Coinjars is Mintflow Limited in the Isle of Man.

So why wait any longer? Sign up now to Coinjars today!

Coinjars Video!

2008-07-03T05:23:00.000-07:00

Well we've been lying low for a while working on a brand new GAME application that we will be revealing on Facebook very soon...watch this space! Meanwhile we've produced a little test video to show you what Coinjars is all about. There will be a final multimedia version later this July, but for now a taster here...

Welcome to Coinjars!

2008-05-30T23:50:00.000-07:00

What is Coinjars?

Hi there!!
And welcome to our blog for our Facebook application, Coinjars!

COINJARS is a place where you can store digital cash - called "iCoins". All iCoins are secured and underwritten by a licensed eMoney operation called a Treasury. The Treasury for Coinjars is Mintflow Limited in the Isle of Man.

iCoins can be transferred QUICKLY, SAFELY and EASILY between Facebook users and also to and from any places outside the Facebook system that support iCoins. These external places include merchants and also Payment Providers which facilitate the purchase and redemption of iCoins.

With iCoins’ verifiable and credible backing, you can just imagine all the amazing possibilities Coinjars can bring you! Receive payments from clients, donate money to charities in Facebook, send money to friends and family! Guaranteed safe, secure and fast!

Coinjars – Digital Cash for the 21st Century!

Every week we’ll be bringing you information about how you can use Coinjars and highlighting the best of Facebook news that we think is relevant for folks like up who want to MONETIZE Facebook.

Stay tuned!
The Coinjars team

Facebook to join open source bandwagon soon

2008-05-30T23:37:00.000-07:00

The Coinjars team have just noticed this little gem…

It has been reported this week that Facebook will be joining its rival sites in the open source mania in the near future. This means that the barrier that separates social websites may soon be broken.

The company released a statement this week, saying: "We're working on an open source initiative that is meant to help application developers better understand Facebook Platform and more easily build applications, whether it's by running their own test servers, building tools or optimizing their applications.”

"As the Facebook Platform continues to mature, open sourcing the infrastructure behind it is a natural step so developers can build richer social applications and share what they've learned with the ecosystem. Additional details will be released soon," it added.

This development would also mean that transactions that are usually made within the Facebook network may soon expand to other sites. Take for example our own fabulous new Facebook application Coinjars . We hate to blow our own trumpet but Coinajrs makes it possible for the users to transfer and receive digital cash called “iCoins” in real time. These digital cash or currencies can be used in online transactions such as payments to participating merchants and simply sending money.

Our super Facebook application can be accessed at http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=6489937223.

More information is provided at www.icoins.com. Or drop us a comment here and we’ll reply!

Chinese premier gets own Facebook profile

2008-05-30T23:32:00.000-07:00

Hmmmm… Even though the Chinese government has denied being aware of this, thousands of Facebook users still signed on as ‘fans’ or supporters of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s profile.

The profile was reportedly created last May 14, which was two days after the deadly 7.9 magnitude earthquake that hit the Sichuan Province.

When Coinjars checked the profile, we were a little miffed at its’ authenticity… However whether it is really Jiabao’s profile or not, what matters most is the fact that the premier is getting a lot of support from all over the world now that his country is currently under trying times since the disaster.
This left us thinking. With more than 60 million active users, Facebook can become an avenue or a means for people from all over the world to extend their help to those who are in need.

What would you say to an application that makes it possible for every Facebook user to give from just a few cents to the needy. It may not be a fortune for an individual person, but when the money is combined… with ALL the other few cents given by other users, it could become BIG enough to make a change – big enough to offer financial support to the victims of tragedies that happen in different parts of the world.

Our Coinjars application on Facebook is found here (http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=6489937223). Digital coins may be given to any organization or group which in turn will convert it to actual money in their bank accounts and purchase the necessary supplies or services to fund their philanthropic or NGO services.

Fund transfers are FREE, INSTANT and EASY so if you are a charity on Facebook or looking to start a donation site or group, please drop me a line to sara@icoins.com

European Union may make a move on social networking sites

2008-05-30T23:20:00.000-07:00

Social networking sites have been hogging the top ten lists of most visited sites in the online world. This is just a clear indication that no man is an island, especially in the internet world!

However, coming across this news madeus at Coinjars think about the risks involved in giving too much personal information on social networking sites. Please check out this site: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080527-eu-may-regulate-social-networking-sites-over-security-issues.html

In this case, the European Union may soon come up with stricter measures to make sure that users are protected from malicious hackers that aim to ‘phish’ important information and use it to their advantage.

The Coinjars team personally welcome this latest development since we are frequent visitors to major social networking sites such as Facebook. With Coinjars you know that your user details are 100% SAFE and SECURE. Our digital money application issues ecash via a reputable e-money licensed treasury in the Isle of Man. Any personal banking information with our sister application icBankTransfer is collected on a secure server away from Facebook. Our transmission services, should you choose them to be are 100% anonymous and confidential too.