AdSense Update

I promised to let everyone know when I reached certain financial milestone goals pertaining to my AdSense displays. Unfortunately, I am still working on clearing that first $1. It has been said that the first $1 million is the hardest to make, and I have to presume that this amount scales downward as well, so the first $1 must be very difficult to make.

I would like to thank everyone who has clicked on the ads--you know who you are even if I don't. But I do know a lot of information regarding my site traffic and how my ads are doing, and I must say that I'm disappointed. How difficult is it to click on a few ads in the spirit of American capitalism when visiting what is, in my humble opinion, the most informative and entertaining website on the Internet? I'm not going to encourage or ask you, my dear users, to click on any of the Google ads. It's not because I am above such groveling, however. I simply want to remain compliant with the Google AdSense Program Policies, which include:

Encouraging clicks

In order to ensure a good experience for users and advertisers, publishers may not request that users click the ads on their sites or rely on deceptive implementation methods to obtain clicks. Publishers participating in the AdSense program:

• May not encourage users to click the Google ads by using phrases such as "click the ads," "support us," "visit these links," or other similar language
• May not direct user attention to the ads via arrows or other graphical gimmicks
• May not place misleading images alongside individual ads
• May not promote sites displaying ads through unsolicited mass emails or unwanted advertisements on third-party websites
• May not compensate users for viewing ads or performing searches, or promise compensation to a third party for such behavior
• May not place misleading labels above Google ad units - for instance, ads may be labeled "Sponsored Links" but not "Favorite Sites"

Interesting, these prohibitions do not include "soft persuasions" such as attempting to guilt visitors into clicking on ads due to the idea of maintaining a civil responsibility in line with our American ideals of capitalism and the concept that superior website content should be financially awarded. You may be familiar with this type of guilt if you have ever had to sit through a PBS pledge drive--although, in such a case, I must be quick to point out, they are actively asking you for "support" or "money", which I will never do. Theoretically speaking, however, I would not actively discourage any sort of support even though I may not specifically ask for it.

Perhaps even more interesting is that Google's prohibitions do not include "hard persuasions", which would include such techniques as personal threats (as long as they are not actually placed on the blogsite, which I think could logically be construed as "encouraging users" via phrases, and, hence, a violation of the first rule) or the use or practice of such controversial techniques as waterboarding. [Legal disclaimer: Please check with your laws before engaging in such "hard persuasions" activities as you may be subject to jurisdiction governing, restricting, or prohibiting their use.]