Murphy, K. (May 25, 2011).

Murphy, K. (May 25, 2011). My Blog Is Also Paying My Bills. The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/26/technology/personaltech/26basics.html?_r=1

One of the great changes in the 21st century has been the access many now have to the Internet. One of the larger trends brought about by the use of the Internet is the virtual community -- a social network of individuals who interact with each other without the constraints of geography, time zones, political or economic situations, weather, or demography -- all that matters is that they are able to come together to form a culture in which they share mutual interests or values. Blogs are another way that these changes have become both more in line with populism and more people participating in the use of technology.

Blogs are discussions or information published on the Internet by any individual, group, or even multi-author publications (interest groups). Typically most good blogs are interactive and allow visitors to leave comments and messages. They provide comments on particular subjects (like pets, coupons, etc.) or function as diaries, or even online brand advertising for a particular subject. They often have links to ancillary services as well. Now, however, many are using blogs to make money by offering products and services, asking for donations, and posting advertising from pay-per-click (Yahoo, Google) or other sites with similar interests. For example, if a blogger puts and Amazon.com logo and link on their blog, they are paid a few cents every time someone clicks on that logo. The key, however, according to the authors, is not to move into a blog with the idea of making money, but instead, "people will pay for content if you offer them something of value that is authentic and is generally useful" (Murphy, 2011). In addition, the power of blogging is really a microcosm of the power of globalization -- one reaches a potential audience of millions instead of thousands simply by using the appropriate keyword and connecting with people's needs. Additional strategies include adding video to the post which generates $1-10/thousand views, depending on the advertiser. In any case, blogging is a unique way to turn a passion into a career -- as long as one does not mind being on the Internet daily.

Millstein, S., Dornfest, R. (July 26, 2005). What is Google AdSense? O'Reilly Network.

Retrieved from: http://www.oreillynet.com/lpt/a/6064

What is Google AdSense, and How Do You Use AdSense to Make Money Online? YouTube.

Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXXJYuPQyCw

The power of the Internet is really based on two particular things: speed of the connection and keywords. For anyone to find data, information, shopping sources, and products, there must be a keyword associated with the web page so that it can be retrieved during a search. For instance, searching for "flowers" would bring up thousands of sites, but searching for "flower delivery in Chicago" would have a more refined list. To further refine this, Google's AdSense is a program that allows publishers of content sites to target media (images, text, and video) to a site content audience. Revenue is generated to Google (the host) through a point-per click or impression basis when a user clicks through on an advertisement or icon. Prices for these clicks, however, are competitive and are part of bidding dynamic. Using our flower example, for instance, in Chicago, a flower shop might bid $.30/click between the hours of 8am-11am, and be top of list when a client searches for a "Chicago Flower Shop." Then, to be competitive, other shops must bid higher to be in top position or listed. These listing generate billions of dollars for Google annually, but have also proven to be very effective for certain kinds of advertisers.

Really, as the authors Milstein and Dornfest point out, the program should be called AdSpace, because it is about selling advertising space our one's own website. It is popular with bloggers because it offers them the opportunity to place advertising on their site. Google does not let individuals decide exactly which ads appear on their site, but assesses the pages and supplies ads that seem to be of interest to visitors. A site about flowers might have ads for gardening supplies, books, tours, seed companies, etc. -- all based on a demographic profile of items that seem popular to people who like to read about flowers. "This kind of relevance is important, because Google doesn't pay you when somebody sees an ad on your site; it pays you when somebody clicks an ad. So you want Google to fill your space with blurbs likely to interest your readers" (Millstein and Dornfest, 2005). The amount of money one can make based on AdSense is variable -- it is entirely dependent on the narrow focus of your site, the number of visitors you receive, and whether your visitors are interested enough in the advertisement to click through.

Dahl, D. (October 14, 2009). Real-Life Lessons in Using Google Ad Words. The New York

Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15 business/smallbusiness/15adwords.html?_r=1

Google's AdWords are keyword driven ads that appear to clients along the right-hand side of a Google search page under a title that says "Sponsored Links." People who search for the terms the advertiser selects "Flowers in Chicago, flower delivery in Chicago, roses in Chicago, fresh flowers, etc.) will see these ads. Where your ad appears on the page is entirely dependent upon how much you, the advertiser, are willing to spend on the marketing campaign. The more you allocate to the campaign, combined with the relevancy of the ad, the higher the ranking. The service is a pay-per-click format, so the advertiser only pays Google if someone clicks on the ad. Now, the caveat -- Google is providing a service that allows you to reach more potential buyers who may or may not click into your site. However, you are charged if the potential customer "clicks" on the ad, not whether they read your site, stay on your site, or purchase from your site.

AdWords is very specific in its use for bloggers and businesses. The potential customer must know the terms you are using or your ad will not appear. For instance, in the article, a company used the specific term "airline seat back organizer" for their product, and bid $.05/click. After running for several weeks, they realized that people were unaware seat back organizers even existed, so the term was rarely used as a search term. However, if this same company wanted to pay for the term "travel accessories," the cost per click would rise to over $1.00.