Could AdSense Require Publishers to Maintain a G+ Account?

In Light of Consolidation of Privacy Policy

[numnum]

In light of Google's new privacy policy, I wonder if Google might someday soon require all Adsense publishers to establish and maintain a Google+ account and provide a public profile that matches the identity information they've provided for Adsense.

[edited by: martinibuster at 7:47 am (utc) on Jan 26, 2012]
[edit reason] Split from another discussion [/edit]

[HuskyPup]

I've already deleted every Google account I have except for AdSense and I have only one tablet PC running Android.

I have circulated all this nonsense to many of my friends and I know quite a few have already taken action.

Try and force me into anything and there will be an equal and opposite reaction since I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in being part of the "social" revolution.

[netmeg]

New users - probably they already are making it a requirement:

[marketingland.com...]

(note that it says any Google product)

Existing users - who could say, but I fully expect that they will attempt it.

[numnum]

I was referring to current Adsense publishers. I half expect an email on or about March 1 of this year notifying me that I have until June 1st to establish a G+ account and that if I don't cooperate G will terminate my Adsense account. (The email will, no doubt, outline in hipster fashion all the "cool" features of G+ about which L. Page is "super excited.")

Of course, it would make no sense for Google to bite those million or so hands that help feed it... or would it?

[ken_b]

I don't think the question is so much IF they will as it is WHEN they will require it.

[Play_Bach]

So how do you set up one for your biz? They've already got a GMail address for me (which they also required AdSense publishers have BTW), what more do they want?

[ThatsBoBo]

I'm excited about Google's new required security feature. Each time you want to log in to your Google accounts, you'll need to prick your finger on a small device that plugs into your computer's USB port. Google will match the sequence of the DNA found in your blood to that which they have on record (recorded when you create your account starting the 1st of May), if there is a match you are granted access.

The TOS says something about using information gathered about you via your DNA to help them target ads to you, but I don't know much about all that.

[Sally Stitts]

This Adsense user has been resisting the push for a Google+ account.
In the past, the sign-up page required BOTH email address and birthday.

I see that they have now dropped the email requirement from their sign-up page. I guess they finally realized that those of us who have had to deal with over 100 spam emails a day, do NOT want their email address publicly displayed who knows where. Currently, my email address is given only in a graphic. These days, considering the harvesters, creating a live link to your email address is pure lunacy.

Now, if I can just submit a phony birthday, all will be well, and I will finally sign-up, without fear that my REAL birthday will be broadcast to identity thieves. Google shouldn't even HAVE my birthday data. I would like to see my "author" stats in GWT, which requires a profile, whereas using the Google +button does not.

I am probably going to sign up, using a phony birthday.
There is no way I will ever use Gmail.
.

[netmeg]

So how do you set up one for your biz? They've already got a GMail address for me (which they also required AdSense publishers have BTW), what more do they want?

It's not terribly intuitive - basically you set up a personal profile first, and then you have the option to set up a business page. I don't think you can have a business page if you don't have a personal profile, but I could be wrong. There should be a number of blog posts out there on Google Business Pages; I can't at the moment point you to a definitive one.

[nomis5]

Another one here against Google+. But this is beginning to get ominous. Husky Pup may want to avoid all the social stuff but it's all closing in now and it looks inevitable. Join or be excluded and exclusion will have significant consequences.

Bit like army people involved in atrocities. The only defence is "my commanding officer ordered me to do it" - in this case my commanding officer Google is ordering me to get a gmail and join G+. What's the right thing to do?

[J_RaD]

What's the right thing to do?

defect.

[zeus]

If they would force adsense users to get a google + profile, I would quit in a second, there is simple no reason for such a profile, so thats pure collecting nothing els.

[HuskyPup]

Husky Pup may want to avoid all the social stuff but it's all closing in now and it looks inevitable.

I'm one of the biggest party animals going, I love socialising but in the real world, I neither want nor need my private stuff splashing all over the freakin' Net over which I have absolutely no control. Want to find the fastest way to the dole queue? Scream about your employer on Facebook!

I'm not an A-Lister and do not get paid like an A-Lister therefore I have the right to a private life whether Google thinks so or not. I've been using a pseudonym for years since I predicted in the early 90s this kinda crap was going to happen therefore I made preparations then.

Insofar as business is concerned it really wouldn't make one jot of difference to our companies if Google never existed, after 170+ years we're pretty well known and we also know all the major players in our industry:-)

[netmeg]

I have a business to run and people who depend on my keeping it going. Compared to that, this is inconsequential to me. YMMV.

[albo]

I'm just curious: what's the consensus here? If (or when, as ken_b implies) G decides to require G+ with *existing* Gmail, would you drop Gmail?

(I dropped adsense and I'm not now using my Webmaster tools and analytics, so I don't recall whether they required specifically Gmail as an address for signup, or what...)

[zeus]

OK lets keep it calm, they have not used our adsense info yet or forced us to get a google + account, why should they do that to us. Adsense is business for us why should we join such a thing with no control over privacy and I think google is clever enough to get that into there be evil head.

[tangor]

Google could (rightly) say this is our sandbox and if you want to play in it you have to play by our rules. :)

Those of us who run businesses require real names (unless cash only) for transactions, or the law requires that (certain kinds of transactions). Wouldn't be a bit surprised should G eventually (or governments, too) will require real names to access their net-based properties...including search.

[Habtom]

My advice to them is leave AdSense alone. I don't even like it when they email me on how to make more money from my website or inform me my ad appeared on other websites I haven't approved.

Leave AdSense alone.

[numnum]

Woo-hoo, I've made it to the Webmaster World home page. Now, where to begin in responding to my comrades' concerns, queries and quips?

I'm excited about Google's new required security feature. Each time you want to log in to your Google accounts, you'll need to prick your finger on a small device that plugs into your computer's USB port. Google will match the sequence of the DNA found in your blood to that which they have on record (recorded when you create your account starting the 1st of May), if there is a match you are granted access.

Blood samples? Far too messy. And who needs them, anyway? A retinal scan will do the trick just fine. Clean and painless. What's more, you'll already be staring bug-eyed straight at your display's built-in scanner (a cool feature, by the way), and so you'll miss nary a keystoke. (Think you'll be long gone before this ever comes to pass? Truth be told, part of me hopes that I will be. Dystopia is just around the corner.)

Now, if I can just submit a phony birthday, all will be well, and I will finally sign-up, without fear that my REAL birthday will be broadcast to identity thieves.

If you're an Adsense publisher in the U.S., Google has your SSN and hence knows your approximate DOB. (I don't recall whether the Adsense application provides a required field for DOB.) Attempt to register a G+ account using a false DOB, and you'll risk losing your Adsense account and income. But of course that can only help clean out the cesspool and open up more slots near the top of the SERPs for those trusted brands. (Corporations are people, too -- and they have birthdays, just like human webmasters.)

Insofar as business is concerned it really wouldn't make one jot of difference to our companies if Google never existed, after 170+ years we're pretty well known and we also know all the major players in our industry:-)

Your username is HuskyPup and you're in a 170-year-old industry? Aha! Fur trading! Now, supply your DOB and I'll really have your number. Just give me 10 minutes, a broadband connection, and a dog sled.

Though I kid, my intent is serious: to do my little part in raising awareness of the longer term implications of these policies. Oh, and I just caught a CNBC interview with E. Schmidt from Davos, Switzerland. He talked a lot about "solving problems" and "providing solutions."

[HuskyPup]

Your username is HuskyPup and you're in a 170-year-old industry? Aha! Fur trading! Now, supply your DOB and I'll really have your number. Just give me 10 minutes, a broadband connection, and a dog sled.

LOL...Excellent try however I'm in the UK and ended up with a HuskyPup after my naive daughter and boyfriend decided they "needed" one after watching Snow Dogs or Nine Below Zero or something:-)

Those of us who run businesses require real names (unless cash only) for transactions, or the law requires that (certain kinds of transactions). Wouldn't be a bit surprised should G eventually (or governments, too) will require real names to access their net-based properties...including search.

Hmmm...an interesting statement HOWEVER absolutely no where does it say that I HAVE to give Google this info. They ain't having it, I know who to trust in my industry and who not to, Google is NEVER going to be the arbiter of that.

It seems to me that the western world is becoming obsessed by Google's very questionable abilities, when in fact they're pretty crap at the moment for many things, therefore I just do not comprehend why so many are GoogleFanBoys.

Sure they give the persona of being nice and friendly however once many things are "given over" to them, usually as a cost-saving excuse, many company employees ought to start feeling their bumps and ask, "If this were my own stuff would I trust them with it?"

I do not any more.

I was a Google beta tester in the 90s, this is not what I envisaged as its outcome...honestly I'm not happy BUT I can easily live without it however I genuinely feel sorry for those who have been GMugged.

[koan]

This is all just speculation so for now, I won't read anything into it. But if it does come down to being forced to make a public profile... I will conclude Google has gone full creepy ("you never go full creepy") and minimize my exposure as much as possible to this company.

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

I've already deleted every Google account I have except for AdSense and I have only one tablet PC running Android.

I have done the same HuskyPup, without maintaining a pc for android. Why? Because when a company is as aggressive as Google in obtaining personal information it's important to be equally aggressive in protecting it.

You personal information can be worth between $50 and $5000 per year to Google depending on how much disposable income you have and your browsing habits (source: smartmoney - [blogs.smartmoney.com...] That places a premium on your privacy which is too tempting to take imo.

As for forcing me to open an unwanted G+ account, it will never happen while I am a member of adsene/adwords (meaning if it is I will not be staying on with adsense/adwords). I already dislike being forced to maintain a gmail account I don't use (as a webmaster I have my own email service with my own hosting).

Currently, there are no state or federal limits on what information can be collected or with whom it can be shared, according to John M. Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog’s Privacy Project, a California-based non-profit organization.

Yeah, the current "trust us" method is a problem since money is involved.

Join or be excluded and exclusion will have significant consequences.

It will also make Google look silly and if enough choose their privacy over Google prerogatives it is Google who becomes excluded from a growing part of the internet. I do suspect they want to do it and are testing on how to best do it but will Schmidt wake up in time? We'll see.

[netmeg]

There are numbers on this which I don't have the time to go look up, but as a general rule, people (particularly these days) tend to choose convenience over security and/or privacy. And we're not typical users here. If Google decides to do this (and I fully expect they will - note that link I provided above all Google products - I don't expect they'll be swayed if a few hundred or even a few thousand people jump out of the AdSense program.

The only thing that I see standing in the way of the inevitable (and this is a strong possibility) is that despite all the strong-arming and desperation moves, they are unable to convince Joe Standard User to get enthusiastic about Google+. And things start getting quietly dropped (Google Buzz anyone?)

That's what you want to hope for, I think.

[farmboy]

I already dislike being forced to maintain a gmail account I don't use ...

Google required this of you?


FarmBoy

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

Google required this of you?

Yes, to use adsense and adwords in the United States I am required to have a gmail account to log in with (which at the time they called a Google account but only required gmail). I USED to be able to log in with my existing email address until the day adsense made using a gmail account mandatory. They disabled my existing login not long after. The world was in awe at how popular Gmail was too if I remember correctly.

Nov 2005 I believe was when they announced the change with a Jan 15th 2006 deadline after which all non-gmail logins were blocked.

I agree Netmeg, which means my days with adsense (and Google) are likely numbered. I just won't be forced to create a personal Google+ public profile that I don't want and I find it disconcerting that Google will press the issue.

If I was just a regular Joe and didn't know the full impact of Google's personal information for profit system... maybe. Who's going to look out for them?

[edited by: Sgt_Kickaxe at 4:24 pm (utc) on Jan 27, 2012]

[HuskyPup]

Nov 2005 I believe was when they announced the change with a Jan 15th 2006 deadline after which all non-gmail logins were blocked.

You login as user [ at ] gmail.com ?

I have always logged in as info [ at ] example.com

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

Lucky you, in the U.S. I was prompted daily with a message to switch and come Jan 15th was locked out. Confusion ensued as to why some could log in and others could not, it was apparently not a universal change.

WebmasterWorld Discussion here: [webmasterworld.com...]

Official discussion on google here : [google.com...]

Unfortunately, there is no way to unlink your AdSense from your Gmail.

So to keep my adsense secure I can't be using my gmail anyway, otherwise I'm flashing my login to everyone I contact. Lame. This impacts all Youtube accounts too so ultra popular youtube accounts are also at increased risk since they are likely adsense partners making them a more juicy target.

[edited by: Sgt_Kickaxe at 4:56 pm (utc) on Jan 27, 2012]

[HuskyPup]

Oh yes, I remember that now but can't remember what I did therefore I just logged into GMail using my info [ at ] example.com and found this:

You're currently signed in to your info [ at ] @ example.com Google Account.
If you complete this form, you'll be adding Gmail to this account and your Gmail address will become your primary account username.

If you would prefer, you can create a separate Google Account for Gmail. You'll be logged out of info [ at ] @ example.com and then be able to create your new account.

Hmmm...I'm leaving everything as-is!

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

Good idea - You CANNOT undo it (and they did not warn you of that). Once Google has you hooked they do not let go short of deleting your entire google account. Again, they were willing to lose adsense publishers to force gmail, now it's Google+'s turn?

A google+ public profile is a lot more invasive than an unused Gmail account and once bitten...

UPDATE: I found a Google page that tells you how to remove your gmail account from your google account (http://support.google.com/accounts/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=61177). Has anyone tried this and been able to access adsense still?

The link doesn't work when made clicky, not sure why.

UPDATE #2: I also found an article about adding an alternate email address to Google and making it your visible email on most products - (http://support.google.com/accounts/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=176347)

Caveat - although Google allows you to use some alternate emails they do not allow them all.

We don't display common domain names such as yahoo.com, hotmail.com, or gmail.com on profiles.

ENTIRELY too complicated, and now I have a headache.

[zdgn]

I wonder if Google might someday soon require all Adsense publishers to establish and maintain a Google+ account

I am becoming increasingly cynical about Google too, and I also think it's just a matter of when and not if.

Google will do whatever their staggering amount of user data patterns require them to - forget about anything making any 'business' or 'social' or 'ethical' sense.

It's a company run of the data, by the data, for the data.

And Google's becoming very, very unreliable with how they just impose service changes (codephrase: feature improvements) on you (e.g. forcing you to move to a newer interface, killing off APIs or services haphazardly during 'spring cleaning', etc.)

I am actually surprised how a Google fan like me is beginning to sound here... :/