Too early to tell Steve. Anyway, I probably don't have enough content here as yet to make a big dent. I need more time to write and less spent chasing people around the globe for money they won't pay us unless I produce paperwork requiring them to do so...
That aside, I don't like the Google gods' attitude to telling you and me here in the UK, not to mention Rupert in Canada, what we can write about. We write for a specific market in some cases, which is TOTALLY different to a US one. Google, however, refuses to recognise that the Pound and the Euro are valid currency as well as the Almighty Dollar. They also think that everyone is as conservative as the most conservative American, which we are not. The Naked Rambler would Not Be Permitted in the States; he would have been at best committed to a long term prison sentence for offensive behavior and at least committed to a long term course of normalising mental-treatment drugs. Ritalin, anyone?
Many UK firms (and I work for one) trade in all three currencies (GBP, EUR and USD) having a presence in all three territories and beyond. One of our biggest grossing markets is China, where they pay in a mixture of GBP and USD depending on which currency their internal markets say is better at the time.
I have always maintained, from the start of my days at that other place where we both used to write about motorsport, that I write articles for rev share because I have to, not to earn money. If I want to earn money from my work, I take clients and write to their requirements. Sure, occasionally I hit the sweet spot with rev share, as I did before Panda came through, but generally, my articles on places, people, things and themes are because I have to get the ideas out of my head or I'll go mad. People like Achim appreciate that, and reward me with goodies including Editor's Choice Awards, cyber hugs and personal emails/messages. That keeps me happy and keeps me writing here. My clients pay for life's luxuries. My dayjob pays the bills. Google is a search engine whose leaders have divine delusions. One of several such tech firms which seek to take over the world.
I'm just having a bad few days at reading people and their messages. Don't mind me...
