I said I'd be around, so, here it is Monday, January 11, and adsense is pretty much sucking air (that's about as nicely as I can put it).
So, is it adsense, or, is it everything? Well, US stock markets just had their worst month to start a year EVER, opening the conversation to the cause for adsense earnings being far, far down, is not adsense, or google, but the entire economy. Not only did US markets have a horrible week to start the new year, but most other major world markets are not doing well either.
As I've claimed in the past to be something of a junior economist (no formal training, just lots of hands-on experience in business), the global economy has not looked well for a long time. The economies of the US, Europe, China and Japan have been held up by massive money printing by central banks. That era seems to be at an end.
If you are heavily in debt or leveraged, you may have issues going forward, but DO NOT PANIC. There will be millions in much the same boat. People are being crushed by a combination of low wages, high rents, high utility bills and fees and onerous TAXES. Be thankful, if you have an online business, that you are not burdened by the crushing regulations which are killing small business in the US.
It's not all gloom and doom, however, if you can ride out the coming economic and social firestorm. On the other side will be a world with less regulation, lower prices, bargains galore. It helps to be very self-reliant and independent and to have some savings in precious metals, cash and useful machinery, tools, and vehicles. Start a garden come spring. That's a must, even if you can only grow a few plants on a terrace. Every little bit will help.
Cut your expenses as much as possible. I would expect many people to cut cable TV service and mobile phone usage, so going mobile may not be the panacea as Google has presented it. Also, Facebook is a joke, a farce, useless, except to wish old friends you haven't seen in years a happy birthday. Otherwise, it's a total time-waster.
Twitter is somewhat more useful for business, to promote new pages, etc. For now, that's all I have to offer. As an old mentor told me many years ago, "Plan your work. Work your plan." Persistence and an insistence to never allow failure will carry the day, the week, the year. Good luck to all.
