How to Make Money with Blogs: the Basics

The purpose of this blog is to discuss technological effects on commerce so I thought, this week, instead of talking about some technology that may not affect you till much later, I will blog about something applicable now and something that we all love: how to make money!

In this entry, I will attempt to elucidate you on basic matters on how to make money by blogs. I myself have made tens of dollars in 2 weeks so I guess my methodology works, in another few weeks, hopefully I’ll be looking at a cheque.

Step 1: Know what you want to write about.
Most bloggers write about personal experiences (like how amazing that movie was or how bad traffic is in KL, etc). While this is not a bad idea especially if you talk about a range of issues, such as social issue that affect a big audience, it may restrict your loyal audiences among very close friends (or stalkers :S). Instead, try to blog about a specific topic, if possible, one that very few blog about: an example would be “the latest updates on lawn bowling”.

Step 2: Get a website.
There are two free webhosts that are popular amongst bloggers: Blogger (blogspot) and Wordpress.
If you are an absolute beginner in computing, using a Blogger account would be the safest measure. The interface is succinct and concise, with layout presented as WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get). As a note, it is easier to implement adds using 
this feature. This blog is done on Blogger.

If you have intermediate computing knowledge or if you are willing to learn, WordPress is my recommendation. While initial installation must be done via FTP (if you have your own domain, if not, via the WordPress page), the range of themes and plug-ins enable you to customize your website for a professional look. An example of a WordPress site is my other page: What’s Up Notts. You can see that I’ve implemented a Facebook theme – themes are free and easily uploaded, the only problem you may face is the need to upload it.

Step 3: Get Your Money-Maker
Using Google’s Adsense is recommended. There are three types of ads: content, search and referrals. You get paid as follows: Content is when people click your ads, Search is when a user uses the search function and clicks a sponsored link and Referral is when a user clicks and perform a purchase or download (it varies by companies).

Adsense’s contract states that when implemented, the website is not allowed to use any other advertising tool which is contextual. This means that Adsense users are not restricted to use Nuffnang. While Nuffnang also provides a CPC (Cost Per Click, meaning you get money when people click your ad), it may also enable you to have Cost Per Unique Visitor, which basically means you get money simply with people viewing your site. What this ultimately means is that, using both Adsense and Nuffnang will enable you to double your income.

Step 4: Get a website counter
Get Google Analytics. Its very comprehensive as a site monitor.

Step 5: SEO (Search Engine Optimiser)
This is what makes your website appear at the very top of search engine results. If you are using WordPress, make sure you download any SEO plugin and fill in the appropriate details. In this way, when users google specific keywords, your website will appear at the top.

If you do not use WordPress, do not fret. Join websites that are communities which discusses blogs. What I can recommend is SpicyPage. Just register and fill in the details of your website and in about 24 -48 hours, if you google your website name, it’ll be there!

So, all the best to all you bloggers in making money online. I’m no expert myself, I have yet to make my thousands from blogging so if you have any pointers to share, do comment!

Future of the Internet: Semantic Web vs Web 2.0

If you understand what Semantic Web and Web 2.0 means, skip to the dotted line.

To those of you who do not follow the advancements of the internet, I shall try to give you a ‘The Future of The Internet’ 101 in one paragraph (if only all classes are like this :S). To begin with, the Semantic Web and Web 2.0 are two candidates that are deemed to be the future of the Internet.

The simplest way to understand Semantic Web is to appreciate that at current standards, computers do not understand the meaning of words, it is not unlike a non Japanese speaking person reading Japanese text. If you were to Google ‘cool shops in KL’, the search engine will search for matching texts without understanding that the ‘cool’ does not refer to the temperature but is in fact a colloquial term. Web 2.0 is the term given to the ongoing transition of the Internet to a more collaborative environment where user input enables better data services; such as wikis, social networking sites and blogs.

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There is a certain perception that the future of the Internet must be either one of the two. This however, is a misconception as even by definition, the scope of study that the two affects are two very different things. If anything, the future of the Internet would more likely be the amalgamation of the two.

If these two are the shortlisted candidates to be the future of the internet, an interesting question would be when and how the change would take place. My personal take on the matter is that there must be a certain business demand for its change and with classic demand-supply models, a change will surely take place. As to who would be powerful enough to have such an impact to this business demand, other than private web owners (who individually shall provide and propagate Web 2.0 interests), mega corporations such as Microsoft, Yahoo and Google, whose services and standards are adhered to by some many, can hasten this change by prompting for a this new Semantic Web/Web 2.0 compliance.

On another note, Semantic Web’s use of ontology faces standardization issues. One important issue to point out are the tags that ontology uses – imagine if HTML wasn’t standardize and tags could be customized, person A could label ‘cool’ as ‘temperature’ while person B could label it as ‘weather’ and ultimately semantic search engine will still not be able to differentiate the two or detect its similarities. Ultimately I do believe a body must be made to standardize the specifications of Semantic Web before its widespread use can be propagated (this is not unlike the case for Bluetooth as a standard).

An interesting thought would be if collaboration and the enabling of computer interpretation are the next step of the Internet, what would be the next step after that?