Making sense of AdSense

Those of us who got bitten by the personal website bug in the early part of this decade will remember Google’s AdSense with some trepidation. Many new webmasters tried to monetise their blogs or websites with a disastrous effect, thanks to their limited knowledge of HTML codes, which then was essential to incorporate Google ads on to you webpage.

But things have changed, and for the better; putting AdSense on a website in now as easy as making it using Google’s Blogger platform. The AdSense link, which will throw up ads relevant to your page, can now be posted on the webpage like a picture or any other element. The ads that appear are unobtrusive and always relevant, plus Google does not believe in pop-up ads that will put off readers.

So what is AdSense? Google says it is an ad-serving program where website owners can enroll to enable text and image advertisements on their sites—”a goldmine of opportunity for web publishers to monetise their online presence”.

In simple words, owners of websites and blogs will get paid if those coming to your site clicks on the ads appearing on it. Well, there is a catch. The payment process starts only once the revenue threshold has been crossed — the threshold now is $100. While breaching this limit will take a popular website or blog just a few days, for amateur bloggers this could mean a very long wait — my blog hasn’t crossed $1 in the three years it has been online.

“AdSense is a free programme which delivers advertisements based on keywords on a website combining Google technology with its vast pool of advertisements,” explains Atul Satija, Head of Wireless Business, Japan & Asia-Pacific, Google. In fact, the Google ad network is the largest organised ecosystem to globally target and distribute online ads.

So what are the benefits of the AdSense programme. “Firstly, the ads start showing the moment you activate AdSense on you website. It is also cost effective since no sales teams are required to sell the ads or find the target websites,” he adds.

Supplementing the AdSense programme is AdWords which is a simple way to purchase highly targeted cost-per-click or cost-per-impression advertising, with the flexibility to set and modify the budget level. Remember how advertisements of national parties used to show beside your email or on websites during the recent elections campaign? Well, that was AdWords at work. However, Satija clarifies that putting an AdSense link on you page does not mean there will be more visitors or clicks. It will be entirely up to you to generate the content that will draw in readers.

So how do those opting for AdSense get to make money? Once a website crosses the threshold limit owners can ask Google to start paying them. “We send cheques or transfer money directly to bank accounts as Paypal is still not an option in India,” says Satija.

Google already has thousands of users in India and hopes the numbers will increase as more Indians start realising the potential of online advertising. And the potential is huge, for as per a Lintas media report, online advertising in India could be worth over Rs 2,500 crore by 2011.

Google has taken AdSense a step further by enabling the services for mobile sites as well as RSS feeds. While Google’s ad services are already enabled for regional websites, Satija says it is working on making its programmes more effective for the India’s multilingual audience.

An online world

My first hands-on experience with a computer was in the early 90s when my aunt returned to India after a long stint in the Gulf with a Personal Computer. Soon, that piece of equipment came to occupy the pride of place in our household, complete with a special room fitted with an air-conditioner and peppered with anti-humidity sachets. The PC itself used to occupy a large part of the room, with the boxes of floppy discs that went into it consuming most of the remaining space.

But that was almost two decades ago. Last week, when Airtel installed its new Net PC at my home for a review, it struck me how much the computer had shrunk. The Nivio Companion unit on which the Airtel Net PC runs has a CPU which is not an inch bigger than the set-top-box that comes with my cable connection, a sleek 15” LCD monitor plus a regular USB mouse and keyboard. The whole unit was safely perched on a small side table—in fact, the modem that comes with the connection and the extension box to plug in the wires took up as much space as the unit.

But is the Net PC just a small PC? Well, no, there is more to it, or, lets say, less to it. This is literally an Internet computer since it is useless without a Net connection. So forget about switching on a ghazal to hum you to sleep at night.

The Nivio Companion, which surprisingly takes just a few seconds to switch on, comes to life only with the Airtel broadband cable plugged in. The desktop appears only when you have logged in to the server using your Nivio log-in ID and password. Everything on the desktop is familiar, except for the fact that there is no My Computer icon, for there is no hard drive so to speak on the CPU. While some software are pre-installed on the virtual desktop, more can be downloaded from a site which looks something like the iPhone app store.

Though just a 256 kbps connection, the Internet is fast as there is nothing on your PC to slow it down. There is a catch, though. You cannot watch movie clips online—YouTube videos actually appear like a slideshow. The Nivio call centre told me they were working to resolve this glitch.

You can, however, download videos, movies or anything else on to your virtual desktop and play them. The Airtel package comes with 10GB online storage; more can be bought for an extra fee. Users also have the option of saving files from the virtual desktop to an external USB storage device. Printers can also be installed to the Net PC through one of the four USB ports on offer. There are also jacks for headphones and speakers.

Another great advantage of the Net PC is the running cost. The Companion uses just 5w of power and does not require any hardware upgradation. Moreover, since there are no moving parts on the CPU, it is virtually maintenance-free. And as all work is done on a virtual desktop, protected with high-power anti-virus package, there is no chance of acquiring a virus. Everything is saved to a central server, so in case of a crash or power failure there is no data loss.

The initial cost of setting up the Net PC is under Rs 10,000, including the Rs 7,999 for the Airtel Net PC (Nivio Companion, 15 inch LCD screen, keyboard and mouse). The Airtel monthly packages are priced between Rs 689 and Rs 1,199—all 256 kbps connections. Plus there is a one-time broadband installation cost of Rs 850. Airtel is not alone though, MTNL and Tata Indicom too have lauched similar products.

Overall a great buy for the cost-conscious households, though I wouldn’t recommend this to cyber junkies.

Stress busters

So what’s the best way to bust stress? There is yoga, you can take a spa holiday, sleep it out...or bring home a bunch of gadgets that ease your nerves. That’s not all, if you are willing to spend, there are gadgets that help you look slim and beautiful, without spending much of your spare time in the gym or trying to think what not to eat. In fact, you can start working on those extra inches while watching a movie on the DVD in your living room and even keep a tab on you health and fitness without a personal trainer: all thanks to a long list of massagers and stress relievers from Singapore-based OSIM international.

uCrown
(Acupressure head massager)
IT MIGHT make you look like Mr Frankenstein, but the “world’s first acupressure head massager” gives you a traditional head massage, undoubtedly the best stress buster after a tough day. The massager has three modes—vibration, air pressure and heating— which can be used simultaneously or separately for cycles of 5, 10 or 15 minutes. That’s not all; this crown comes with headphones that play relaxing music in three modes: nature, therapy and ambience. The music plays on small speakers embedded in the crown if the headphones are not plugged in. Priced at Rs 11,500, this is a must-have if you are one of those who spend a packet for a chumpi at the neighbourhood salon.

uZap
(Slimming and toning belt)
Anyone with a paunch knows it is one of the toughest things to get rid of. The uZap slimming belt claims it can help reduce the ‘bulge in the equator’ with an invigorating oscillating massage. The belt, which can be set on a rhythmic mode, also has a heating feature to help burn unnecessary fat. The belt with Velcro straps can be set to work on your stomach, buttocks and thighs. The massage is quite intense, so I wouldn’t suggest you do it just after a meal. Though slightly heavy, the belt makes you feel light after a 15-minute session. The uZAP is priced at Rs 10,500.

iPamper
(Handheld massager)
THE iPamper combines warm air with vibrations to give you an all-new massage experience. The warm air emitted by the machine improves blood circulation to flush away lactic acids while reducing muscle pain. The unique shape helps you attend to aches and pain along your spine without any external help.
The iPamper is priced at Rs 6,500.

Keeping tab
iCheck 500 ( Blood pressure monitor)
The iCheck 500 helps you keep a tab on you blood pressure and pulse rate at home. The machine also measures body fat percentage, after you feed in you age, height and weight, though I found the process slightly complicated. Cost: Rs 13,500.

uCount (Digital motion-sensing pedometer)
Here’s a gadget that tells you how many calories you have burnt during your morning jog or evening walk. The pedometer uses digital motion-sensing technology to measure your pace, exercise time, distance covered and calories burnt. The handy gadget has an FM radio to keep you company during your workouts. Cost: Rs 2,150.

iCare 200 (Eye massager)
LONG hours in front of the computer do take a toll at the end of the day, often resulting in headaches and eye stress, and worse deteriorating vision. The iCare 200 relieves your eyes from monitor strain, tiredness and headache whilst improving blood circulation around the eyes. It has vibration, air pressure and heating modes which can be set for the cycles less than 15 minutes using the remote. The air pressure mode feels as if someone is gently massaging you eyes, easing the strained optic nerves. While the iCare 200 is priced at Rs 5,500, the cheaper iCare 100 comes for Rs 1,999.

uPapa (Massager)
THE best massages are always those done with strong hands that actually wring the stress out of you. No wonder royalty used to employ wrestlers to soften their muscles and improve blood circulation. The uPapa gives you a similar experience. You can rest you back, buttocks, thighs, calf muscles or feet on this pillow-like massager for a real good ‘drumming’. The six-point tap massager, inspired by Japanese Taiku Drums, somehow finds the right spots on the body to give you a relieving massage. I really enjoyed the 15-minute intense massage session on rhythm mode, with the crescendo of the last few minutes really taking away a lot of pent up stress from my muscles. It is, however, better to keep the massager in low intensity for the upper body. The UPapa provides 245 different massage combinations and is priced at Rs 14,500.