I usually don’t like to write these “about the site” blog posts, but believe it or not, I actually get questions about the blog itself, not just the content. So, I want to mention 2 things that have changed around here in the last month or so…
1.) Google Ad(s)
I have recently thrown a Google Adsense ad on the main page and a few of the other sub-pages. I didn’t do this to bother you, or even to help you. I did it completely for grins (and to learn more about how Google gathers statistics, payments, bla bla bla). I kept it small though, over there at right, in a place that I have historically swapped in other items like the Opensuse 11 countdown, or even a Bob Barr ’08 ad. My wife tells me that in the ethics of the ‘net, it’s okay for men to put Google ads on their site, but not for women’s blogs. They consider this an affront to their blog “friendship” or something. Maybe I’ll let her explain that someday.
Interestingly, in the few weeks they’ve been there, the ads have been clicked like… twice. Mind you, this blog gets hundreds of hits (or what Google calls “views”) per day, so I *know* you’re seeing it out there…
And the ad topics are very interesting, at least to me. When I occasionally hit the front page, the ad is usually something I really want to click on… which makes sense after all… since this whole blog is filled with stuff in which I’m interested, and the ads are contextually related to all of that content. Unfortunately, I agreed to Google’s requirement that I not to click on my own ads. Kind of a weird dichotomy, don’t you think?
So if you are ever so inclined, feel free to click on an ad in which you are interested, and I might make a penny or two someday out of the deal from the big Googly cheese of the ‘net. No pressure. But it might help in keeping me from putting up a Paypal button and begging for donations… I should ask my wife how people feel about those, too…
2.) Bad-Behavior
Notice the “Bad Behavior” statistic at the very-very-very bottom of the page (follow the link there if you want more detail)? Let me tell you something… I’ve only had it enabled for over a week, and the stat at the time of this writing shows that it has blocked over 1000 access attempts in the last 7 days.
This is good, because this blog gets — in my opinion — tons of blog spam. Before adding Bad Behavior to my plug-ins, my Akismet spam blocker would block 100-300 or so spams per day, and let like 1 per week slip through. Since adding Bad Behavior (in the last week) I’ve only had about 10 or less spams get through that still had to be caught by Akismet. Together, they are one heck of a team.
On a cautionary note, if you happen to get blocked by Bad Behavior, you should get a page that gives you an options to by-pass the restriction if you are a human. Once you do that, please feel free to drop me a line and let me know about it. I’m *really* curious if anyone is being blocked….
Well, that’s all for now. Thanks, as usual, for reading and occasionally participating. Remember, comments are *always* appreciated if you have anything to say about anything *I* say.
I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy creating it….
🙂
Google coins? PayPal dough? Personally, I’m all for you making as much money as you can. I’ll still be your friend.
Oh, that reminds me. Can you lend me a finski?