Sunday, November 4, 2007

Web2.0, Money, and Education

We (Education) really need to be learning and teaching more about how to make money on the Internet. The reason is not so that we can make money, but so that we know when we're being taken. Most of what we read about Web2.0 and Social Networking and 'blogging is firmly centered around the almighty dollar. Understanding how and why things work like they do requires knowledge of the online monetary system. The "how to 'blog" tutorials are great, but you should keep in mind how people get paid to write while you're reading them. In order to get reasonable statistics needed for maximizing profits, you need tracking information. The very nature of RSS prevents tracking exactly who reads what. The multitude of sites offering hit statistics and rankings should be your first clue that Web2.0 (a marketing term itself) is all about making money online.

'Blogging is a great evolution of the web so I don't want to hinder that process, but it is worthwhile to understand the monetary system before even reading the "what to do before you begin blogging" kinds of information.

You could do your own search and not bother with mine, but I'll list two hits which seem particularly relevant.
1) Google Adsense is a very common pay-per-click option. Users click on the ads and you get the money. Your job is to build a readership, knowing some percentage will click.
2) The second half of this post by grownupgeek.com is great! (notice the google ads?)

No comments: