Google's Canceling My Adsense on My Blog!

If you have ever wondered how Google makes it's money, you need look no further than their Adsense program. I started this blog a little or a year ago and was intimidated by the process and felt that trying to write a few articles a month was enough. I already knew that there was some kind of hierarchy on each search page where like in ANIMAL FARM, some animals were more equal than others.

However, once I was through that, and after receiving emails from Google encouraging me to consider putting ads on the blog, I agreed and signed up. I never did figure out though how to see if I made any money until late last month. I had accrued something under $2.00 (I have no record because when I tried to claim it, I was told it was on hold because I needed a pin. You have to apply for it and then wait weeks to get it in the mail.) The mail? Really? And Internet company uses the "mail?"

Trying to get more readers, and yes hopefully more clicks as well, I began sending emails to all my of my friends and relatives encouraging them to check out both my ETSY store and my blog. And suddenly I was getting over 100 readers a day on my blog and lots of looky-loos on my store. Thats good, right? Evidently not according to Google. Here is the letter I received:

And everything as gone. I had checked on my stats once during election day and was so tired that night I came home and went to bed. It was a 4:30 am to 10:30 pm day.

Clicking on the links it gets better and better. The only person that gets to make money AND get the word out is Google and the advertiser. They are most likely charged a few bucks a hit and you get, if you are lucky, pennies.

I do admit, that for months the ads I got were pretty crappy. They had nothing to do with my crusade about good art and design. But after I started getting readers, there started to be some good ads, I mean ads that I in fact wanted to check out... and as I have learned to my chagrin did.

I had long ago clicked the box that wouldn't count my checking my blog. I certainly never dreamed that clicking an ad on own personal BLOG was instant disbarment. Oh how wrong I was. This, the coup de grace is the final message set I received:

I guess its a way to get their money and your money and not have to pay out a cent. How cool is that? I seem to remember a figure that had reached maybe $40 and was warned over and over that I couldn't claim it without a pin. So, they feed off me and anyone else who writes a blog, give you at best a piddly amount (I hear they take in $300 million a day) and live on another day. Whatever happened to the slogan, "Do no harm?"

Thursday, in my mail I received the long awaited PIN from Google. I think its such an irony that an Internet company has to use the mail. Does that mean their own servers are not secure enough? They can look at me, a small time blogger and cut me off at the knees by saying that I was cheating the system, but can't even manage the security of their own system? There can be many arguments to be made how everyone except the Blogger benefits even if some kind of cheating is going on. More clicks, higher the placement. Higher placement more they can charge. It goes on and on.

In fact I have been told by friends the past few weeks that their Gmail accounts have been hacked. I went to Gmail with two things in mind: 1. they filtered out all the spam and 2. it was rock solid and safe. Well, its not very solid and safe and they are greedy as hell!