I’ve had the same AdSense account since September 14th, 2004. I’m proud to say that my current total is $47.28 and rising extremely slowly. I’m currently making less than 12 bucks a year on my ads. Now, I don’t really care that much because I have a full time job so I don’t really need the extra cash.

AdSense works by companies or individuals creating ad campaigns and “bidding” on the amount that they will pay for a specific keyword. When their ads are shown on various websites and are clicked on, they pay Google that amount of money. In turn, Google takes a part of that money and “pays” it to the AdSense user. So you see, unless you’ve hit $100, Google retains all of the cash and doesn’t have to pay out anything.

I usually only get a few cents every couple of days, with the exception of one time when my website hit the homepage of Digg.com and I got $21.19 that day.

This got me thinking about how much money Google is making off of all the small websites that are like mine. I know that there are thousands of websites out there that are in similar boat as me. They have set up AdSense accounts, but don’t have enough money in their account to “cash out.” The minimum amount that you can receive in a payment check from Google is $100.

So let’s do a little math here:

10,000 lame blogs, like mine * $47.28 = $472,800 dollars that Google doesn’t have to pay out. So in essense Google is getting all sorts of free money off of AdSense. Brilliant.

I had to do it. I had to be the one to post number 100. That may not seem like a lot of posts to all of you, but it is to me. By all of you, I really mean the various personalities that I’ve made up in my mind because let’s be honest, nobody is actually reading this blog.

I’m pretty sure that this blog could be classified as a failing blog, probably because I’ve been at it since January and don’t have a single subscriber that I’m aware of. I guess that’s the way it goes. I think the main problem with my blog is that there is no standard topic or continuity. It’s just a bunch of random thoughts and ideas. Well, here’s my thought for the day: why blogs fail.

1. The creator fails to keep them up.
2. They have dumb or irrelevant content (like mine).
3. They aren’t attractive to the eye of the reader.
4. Nobody cares about the blogger.
5. The creator is illiterate
6. The creator has a perpetual migraine.

So you see, there are many reasons why blogs fail. I have outline several of those reasons. They are good reasons. I will continue this blog forever. That is how it will be.

I decided to make the site look a little cooler today. I wanted to add some gradients to the site, so I did. Do you like it? I am going for a more Web 2.0ish look. I think it looks better, so there. I’ve always felt like I can trust a website more when it has a layout and design that I like.

Recently, I’ve had the urge to start up a couple blogs about topics that greatly interest me. Blogger is the free platform that I am the most familiar with, so I use them for most of my blogging needs, this site excluded of course. The one thing I hate about Blogger is the fact that so many of the blogger address are taken, but not used. It’s frustrating.

I’ve just returned from the first business trip that I’ve ever been on. I was at the Podcast and New Media Expo in Ontario, California. The show featured bloggers and podcasters from various places around the world. It was a typical expo with booths and people, although I was a bit disappointed in the lack of good swag. I’ll have to admit that after going to this expo I have had the desire to come up with an idea for a podcast. I’ve wanted to do a podcast for awhile now, but haven’t had the drive. I just don’t think that I’m expert enough on any subject to create a good podcast. I guess not only that, but to create a podcast you must be passionate about the subject as well. The two things that I enjoy most are web programming and writing. I’m not an accomplished writer at all and I’m not sure how I would make a podcast about web programming. I suppose I could create some video tutorials, but I don’t really have the software to create screen captures. Well, I’ll keep thinking about it. I’m sure you’ll all hear about it when and if I do it. I would love to make a video podcast with the sitcom Andy and I wrote, but unfortunately that would take way more time then doing an audio podcast.

Recently I became aware of the opportunity to write for the new Jazz blog JazzBots. Just for the fun of it, I submitted an application to become a writer for the blog. I have no intention at all of being chosen, but it would be fun nonetheless. Today I received an email from the Director of Database Marketing, whatever that means, talking about the position:

Dear JazzBots Applicant:

“Thank you to the overwhelming number of Jazz fans that have submitted their essay’s to become a co-author of JazzBots. The essays have been passionate, funny, creative and even moving - more proof that Jazz fans are the best in the world.

The deadline for entries has passed. We are reading each and every essay and will be contacting the top 30 candidates for in-person interviews, which we will conduct in the first week of August.

Thanks again Jazz Fans!”

Brendan Burke
Director of Database Marketing
Utah Jazz

We’ll see what comes of it. Oh and Mr. Burke, essays is not possessive in this context :).

I know. I’ve only been blogging for a few months. Who am I to be giving out blogging tips? Good question. I’m not really anyone on consequence. Yet. This tip though is founded from my own experience as well as my experience reading other blogs. If you’re going to be a successful blogger, you must write at least one post every day. Why is this important. I recently went to a blog that I started to visit. They had posted on June 6th. I went there on the 7th. There was no new post. The 8th. Again, no new post. Today, which is the 13th, there is still no new post. What is the chance that I’ll go there again? Probably not a lot. Writing every day is essential to keeping your audience excited about what your doing. If you don’t post every day, they start to forget why your blog is interesting. So, keep posting and have fun.