2008
THIS WAS AN APRIL FOOLS JOKE. GEESH!
It’s a new month, and exciting times ahead. I believe this is the first time this has been done with a blog, but anyways, here we go – Fruitful Time is now a permanent sponsor of TheUniversityKid.com.
I know the owner of Fruitful Time, Gaetano very well – I have worked with him in the past to test out his product and of course whenever there is a contest here he throws in a prize. Fruitful Time’s Task Manager is one of the premiere programs on the Internet for keeping organized, and with a new product just launched Gaetano approached me with the option for a sponsorship.
I’ve been running low on funds for the month, so was interested in hearing what he had to say – of course, I’m looking for funding so that I can start Blog Premiere, so any option with it coming in seemed like a good idea. Gaetano proposed that Fruitful Time become a permanent sponsor for The University Kid, and after listening to him I decided that it should be carried out.
What Fruitful Time’s Sponsorship Entails
You may be able to see the background – that will remain as it is permanently. As a permanent sponsor, it is only fair that Fruitful Time have the greatest amount of advertising space possible, and where better than at the back of the page where it will always be in view. Although it is a little unnerving at first, you will get used to it – I don’t really mind it already.
You may have noticed that Namepros underwent a similar sponsorship deal – I did not want to sell my integrity for a few dollars, so weighed up the decision carefully before committing. However, I do think that Fruitful Time is a related website that my readers will like, so why not.

As you can see, Namepros went a similar revamp, and I think it looks rather clean – TUK is revolutionizing the face of advertising in blogs by employing this option, and I feel that we will see many more blogs and websites take up this option.
Fruitful Time paid a sum of $1,000 USD for their logo to be displayed prominently on the website for life, and this sum will also see fifteen posts a month sponsored by them – they will be similar to my normal posts, however they will contain a short message advertising Fruitful Time’s latest products and deals. The money was no small amount, and I simply could not turn it down.
I have opted to sign over sponsorship rights to Fruitful Time as they were a website that I think webmasters and bloggers will find very useful, and as their products were designed specifically for University students with crammed schedules, it is something personal. Fruitful Time will also be sponsoring Blog Premiere, so you can expect to see a similar background over there – they will be paying for the tshirts (both made and shipped) in exchange for their logo on the front below that of Blog Premiere.
Below, you will see an example of what a Sponsored Post by Fruitful Time will look like – nothing major
Fruitful Time Launches FTTM Electro
Fruitful Time Task Manager Electro is a program that takes advantage of new technology so that users can keep on top of work and stop procrastination.
FTTM Electro is similar to the older version, although with less features as it is free (only for the first 1,000 downloads, so get it quick). Basically, it is a task manager program with additional options to help you do work on time.
The program comes with a built in electronic shock system – whereas other programs use a popup to remind you when you have something due, FTTM Electro will supply you with a small electric shock. Do not worry – this will not hurt, and you can even set the level of it yourself – I tried it myself and it pains a little at the beginning, however you eventually learn to cope with it – I have increased productivity by 100% since I started using FTTM Electro.
Gaetano has big plans for FTTM Electro, and will be working hard to promote it – first starting with the sponsorship of this blog, and a few others in the industry. He has told me that he will also be approaching bloggers like Blogger Noob, Geoff (Can’t Get Rich) and Mike (Bloggin-Ads) as well as others so you should see a few more blogs with the same background as I have. Gaetano is also in talks to sponsor the new bloggers energy drink, as he feels that is something that can help bloggers become more productive.
I asked him to speak a little about his plans for the website, and he left me with this:
I believe The University Kid is a stellar place for advertisers to place their products and I have already seen a good return on investment for the bargain price I paid to become a TUK sponsor. I have plenty of plans for FTTM, and would like to invite you all to Download FTTM Electro, as it will not remain free to the public for long (however, if any TUK readers would like it even if we start charging the standard $49.99 for it, feel free to email me and I’ll see what I can do).
Jason and I will be working hard together over the next week to take both his and my business to the next level.
And there we have it. I’d be interested to see what the rest of you think – did I sell out, or was it an understandable decision given the lack of funds? Feel free to email me personally at admin[at]theuniversitykid.com with any thoughts, or comment below.



Nice. Very nice. xDD
Congrats Jason.:)
George’s last blog post..Google’s April Fools – Their Heading for Mars!
April fools? – someone had to say it
$1000 although a large sum seems a bit undervalued.
Your site could in theory make a good $100+ in a month so to do $1000 for LIFE seems very cheap. If it was for a year then maybe a little more understandable. But if everyone is happy then its a good deal i supppose.
tony’s last blog post..Ronaldo best team mate: Scholes
@ Tony, this is not an April Fools joke, despite the date. I thought the offer was fair.
Make sure you check out Fruitful Time Task Manager Electro
Whatever you feel Jason, but i have to agree with tony, the price is undervalued.
Anyways you are the king of your blog so good for you.
Chetan’s last blog post..March top commentators winners
Congratulation getting a sponsorship deal.
David Chew’s last blog post..Do You Care About What Other People Comment About You?
This is an april Fool’s joke, I don’t think Jason is foolish enough to systematically destroy his own blog
Jim’s last blog post..John Chow Hacked My Website… Again
My eyes.
They bleed.
(Happy April Fools to you too!)
elf_fu’s last blog post..Painted, in honor of NaPoWriMo
Tell me its a joke!
Its not fruitful!
Ramanujam’s last blog post..Sunday to Sunday to Sunday…!!
Hey you , just want to say you are the winner at http://www.bontb.com
and second of all. I like Fruit Time not bad designed
. Also I am domainer and you might see me on NamePros as well.
LiveCrunch 2.0’s last blog post..Linux Tipping Point No Way To Hack
If you wouldn’t have sold this blog for $6,000 then I highly doubt you would have sold yourself out for $1,000. Happy April Fool’s Day.
April Fools is fun
Just finished writing the best money making idea in history!
Monty’s last blog post..#45 – The Most Proven Idea
April Fools or not, you’re a sell-out! OOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No he didn’t just go there!
But I wonder if I’ll get contacted. Probably not because I’m not TUK… I’m TUA!
Jay
Jay’s last blog post..No Avatar, No Visitors?
Yeah, gotta be a joke. And if it isn’t, congrats to Gaetano for getting a lifetime ride on TUK for a mere $1000! …Nice Electro product BTW.
Heh, I hope it’s a joke.. I don’t think Jason would sell out for a measly $1k lol…
George’s last blog post..Google’s April Fools – Their Heading for Mars!
Sorry guys, I needed the money. Fruitful Time is a fairly decent company though, and does that background really look so bad?
Jason you are shafting Fruitful time. For the generous amt you are
you should be
getting plus tshirts not to say the electrical shocks
redirecting your traffic to their domain name and fall on your knees the
same time.
Now how about that bloggers drunk oh i mean drink ?
When I saw the background, I was like, “What happened?!” I thought there was some kind of error or something. Haha.
A thousand bucks is a large sum, alright. But I do not think it’s fair to have it there for a lifetime. Maybe a renewable annual contract would be fair enough.
But then again, it’s your blog.
Gian Paolo’s last blog post..EK Day
I think you sold yourself too easily.If that is not joke then you took the deal at a very low price.Even if I do not earn anything near 10$,I will not give my blog for just this much price.Reason blogs are worth more than 100000$ specially blog like yours.
Agent 001’s last blog post..Express your Gratitude :New way to Link Friends
Its an april fool’s joke… calm down guys
Jim’s last blog post..John Chow Hacked My Website… Again
$1k per month, right?
In any event – congratulations! I’m sure it will lead to bigger and better opportunities for you and your network of sites!
Mo
Mo’s last blog post..Hello, People Of…
Ouch. I wish I could rework the deal, but I’ve already signed a contract which cannot be revoked till 1/04/09.
@ Mo, it is $1,000 one time payment.
Did you guys check out the Electro version of the task manager? Download it, it’s pretty sweet (and free
). It’s the reason that this sponsorship was taken up in the first place.
http://www.fruitfultime.com/fruitfultime_taskmanager_electro/
I know its a joke.When someone earns nearly 2000$ a month.He is not going to agree for such a small deal.
@ Jim: How about updating your list you posted about the April fool.When I visited you I was just thinking why Jason was not there.
Agent 001’s last blog post..Express your Gratitude :New way to Link Friends
I am sure its not an april fool prank.
Congrats for a great deal.
Tech blog’s last blog post..Thinking of Moving to a New Server
Hey if you were really serious you should have asked your fellow bloggers, friend and visitors.Well I was ready for help.You just have to ask for it.
Agent 001’s last blog post..Express your Gratitude :New way to Link Friends
Wow, I want to install Electro now! Wonderful deal here. Maybe a convenient USB restraint harness would go well with that too.
Luke’s last blog post..I Quit Blogging Forever! $10k In A Week Is Just Plain Crazy!
I too think this is an April fools joke. However, in that case that it wasn’t, I wouldn’t mind. I didn’t even notice the background at first because I always browse with my sidebar open. I had to close it to see the background, and it’s not like it’s ugly.
As far as selling your soul, I agree that 1000 for life is a measly sum for a blog of your kind, but if you really (and I mean really) needed quick money, I could also see why you’d agree.
Guess we’ll find out tomorrow if this is for real or just a very elaborate joke.
Caren’s last blog post..How to have an intelligent discussion
…uh, I guess I should have actually looked at the site. This WILL lead to bigger and better things! Honestly, this is a revolutionary product. I procrastinate a lot and have already downloaded this, installed it and it works AS ADVERTISED! I just have a slight twitch now – but it’s forced me to act.
Jason – I’d love to get in on this deal… I don’t want to compete with you but I’d pay to become a sponsor for the electro version!
WOW!
Mo
Mo’s last blog post..April Fools Day
April Fools or not, I do think that $1000 is selling yourself short…way short.
However from what I can tell from reading the blog Jason is a pretty intelligent guy. this leads me to believe one of 2 things.
1. Aprils Fool’s Joke
2. The cost for Fruitful Time to permanently advertise on Blog Premier will be much higher to offset the huge loss here at TUK.
This post really blew my brain. IF it’s a joke congrats on a well played joke, and if not I quote Sam Beckett from Quantum Leap…
“Oh boy”
Living on Adsense’s last blog post..Living on Adsense Blog Stats for March
Ok I didn’t read the part of the post that mentioned the Task Manager Electro correctly. After I read $1000 I just skimmed the rest of the post.
Now that I have re-read…I get it. Well played Jason, well played!
Living on Adsense’s last blog post..Living on Adsense Blog Stats for March
I have to hope this is a joke. If you’re serious then you need an agent Jason…call me. 1000 dollars isn’t even worth the time it took you to set up this prank.
Bill’s last blog post..Are You Destined To Be Mediocre
Very, very poor decision on your part if this is true.
I think the background matches nicely and isn’t intrusive but $1000 is not a deal for life…15 blog post a month is alot for getting one payment of 1000… But you seem to know what you are doing…crazy or not…call me a fool I guess!
Taylor Blue’s last blog post..New Gossip Girl Spoilers!!!
It may well be an April fool’s, but if not I think you could have definitely worked something better.
When someone shoves $1000 in front of you, it’s easy to just reach out and grab it. But to take 1K for lifetime advertising on such a great blog is not good. Imagine how you will feel when your blog brings in that amount of money per month, and you are stuck advertising for someone else.
I think I’m going to feel pretty silly for saying that when it gets revealed this is an April fool’s though.
Greg’s last blog post..Tips On Making Valuable Link Exchanges
I know you needed money.. and your decision was based on that. Plus, the advertiser is your friend. Maybe those things weighed more.
I do not think that the lifetime sponsorship for $1000 was a good deal. I understand that you were lacking funds and needed a quick way to make some money, however, you probably could have found a better alternative. Nevertheless, the least that can be done (as the sponsorship cannot be revoked) is making the Fruitful Time logo look more appealing. As of now it looks plain and is not consistent with the rest of the design.
I highly suggest getting Gaetano to purchase or design a better logo. The logo that is currently used is so plain…it is nice, but could be better.
DJ
http://www.abigarcade.com
Everyone is focusing on the 1K, trying to uncover if it is a joke or not. Why not read the section: “Fruitful Time Task Manager Electro”
Let’s grab a brain peeps…
Living on Adsense’s last blog post..Living on Adsense Blog Stats for March
Wow these comments really rolled my eyes.. And am just not able to decide whether you are true in this post or its a 1st april act.
Chetan’s last blog post..March top commentators winners
TUK sponsorship Deal grows even further
http://theuniversitykid.com/tuk-sponsorship-deal-grows-even-further/
Thanks all for taking part in April Fools
Jason you have got a bunch of really serious readers.
Maybe you should take all of us of on a day out so we can let our hair down
and relax.
How about going to the fab 7 seven star hotel?
I will sponsor the entry fees
Yep, knew it was a joke…. Nice job of Gaetano and you on putting together such an organized prank. I guess most readers didn’t actually visit http://www.fruitfultime.com and try to download the app? I know I did, and found it rather funny, as well as a nice marketing ploy. Thanks for a good April 1st laugh!
Great news, I’m very pleased.
Aleks’s last blog post..Joke – Wife
I feel for you if you really needed the money. If that was the case then you may have done the right thing for the short term. However, long term I’m not sure it was the best decision.
In any case, good luck with it all and may you prosper!
Tim
http://TheMoneyKings.com
Tim’s last blog post..Be Honest With Yourself About Exercise Equipment.
You’ve been taken for a ride. $1000 is nothing for what they are asking – you’d be better off selling your blog for 10 x that.
And with the way things are going with this sell-out sponsorship deal, I for one don’t see myself coming back here anyway.
Haha, that was a nice prank dude, I almost believed it. But I knew you wouldn’t sell us out that easy
Mark’s last blog post..Blachafsof
Thank God this was a joke.
Hehe, not a bad joke, but I TOTALLY hate the look of namepros now. I will never visit that site again for that reason. Really bad marketing decision in my opinion.
Mark Cuda’s last blog post..Blachafsof
lol. Nice joke
Mayank Rocks’s last blog post..40,000 Backlinks In Yahoo
I guess it could be worse. You could of said the sky was falling!