No firm has done more to enable the monetization of the Internet than Google. Its AdSense system has gone through a lot of changes since it launched in 2003, but it's still the backbone of my online business, the channel around which much of my content is built. Continue Reading

In the years that I've been an online entrepreneur, I've seen some pretty bizarre times. I remember the days when advertisers were paying crazy sums of money for sending them traffic - far more than the visitors were ever going to spend - and I remember the day too when they figured that out. Continue Reading

Ever since Twitter took off after winning a Web award at the SXSW show in 2007, people have been wondering how it's going to make money. Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Dan Nickerson) Does it seem like everyone online is making $10,000 per month except for you? Continue Reading

It was 1979 and I was fifteen years old. I remember staring at the magazine in pure lust. I turned page after page, gawking at the pictures and wishing I could have what was on them. You would think the pictures would have been enough, but I also read every word. I knew that this was something I would be willing to spend my money on. This was worth saving for. $500 may have seemed... Continue Reading

I'm not a big candy eater. I used to eat a lot as a kid, but my sweet tooth has changed with my age. If I am going to eat candy, it's usually a Three Musketeers bar. Anyhow, you are probably familiar with Skittles candy. I include them in my Twitter presentation because of an innovative, but ill-fated website approach they attempted last year. Continue Reading

Big changes don't usually happen overnight. There are usually a few quiet moves first -- little tweaks and adjustments that no one really notices. And then suddenly, one more little change makes a huge difference, pushes it over the tipping point and forces everyone to pay attention. Continue Reading

Twitter divides people into two camps. To those who use it, it's a whole new Internet. There's the Web of pages and content, and there's the Twitter of people and connections. Both are valuable and both are enjoyable, but they do different things and they do them in different ways. To people who aren't on Twitter though, the service looks completely bizarre. It's a place where people go to tell strangers what they had for... Continue Reading

You know what I like best about Twitter? It isn't the fact that it's easy to use and a ton of fun (although those are important). It isn't the fact that I can communicate with some fantastic people, get answers to questions and pick up information and advice that I couldn't have learned any other way (although those are important too.) And it isn't even that it's a fantastic marketing tool that drives traffic, builds... Continue Reading

I'm not a big fan of the major airlines. In fact I have written several entries that demonstrated poor customer service by United and American. However, I had a uniquely good experience on United a couple days ago and wanted to share it with you. I was traveling to Los Angeles with Joel Ownby and Tim Prince, en route to Yanik Silver's Internet Underground conference in Los Angeles. The three of us board the 737... Continue Reading

So I've got this great idea for a screenplay. The story goes like this... Due to severe beatings she had received as a child, a thirty-something year old woman develops a strange phobia and doesn't leave the bathroom for two years. I know, bizarre, yes? It gets more interesting. The woman spends the majority of her time on the toilet. Yes, on the toilet. In fact, she spends SO much time on the toilet that... Continue Reading

I love keeping my eye out for new ad services that can make you and me money. Google AdSense continues to pay off. Kontera is a winner is my books. And I've had some positive things happen with YPN and Chitika. But I've come across something new which pays off INSTANTLY! Continue Reading

I'm not a negative person. Generally, I've got a smile on my face and a bounce in my step. But the moment I got off the plane in Miami for Affiliate Summit, I felt like I needed a shower. No offense intended to any of my subscribers or friends that live at the tip of Florida, but I found it to be just a notch below absolutely miserable. Continue Reading

Today is a day of reflection. I can't believe it has been five years since Islamo-fascist terrorists barbarically hijacked airplanes and flew them into the World Trade Center and The Pentagon. Time really does pass by in an instant. As we remember the destruction wrought by evil people, lets take time to remember the lives that were lost and the impact that it has had on so many other people. I'm sure that the trauma... Continue Reading