Still waiting to hear why Google screwed me

Last month, I mentioned that Google disabled my Adsense account. I submitted an appeal form, but it was denied without an explanation as to why. I still don't know what caused my account to be disabled in the first place. This is all very frustrating.

Has anyone else had their Adsense account disabled? Did you ever learn why? Did you ever hear back from Google at all?

Google screwed me

There used to be ads on this blog. There aren't anymore. The reason? Google decided to disable my Adsense account. Why? I have no idea. I didn't even know about it until I noticed that no ads were showing. At first I thought it was my browser or network connection. It wasn't until I checked my Adsense account that I found out it had been disabled. And the worst part is that Google provides no help in rectifying the situation. I filled out their appeal form, which looked useless because there's no place to actually make an appeal. I sent requests to find out why my account was disabled and have gotten no responses so far. According to their policy page, they can't reveal specifics of why an account is disabled, which I can understand, but they are also supposed to send me an email with some kind of notification. I'm still waiting for said email. I've gotten zip from them so far.

A Newbie's Guide to Publishing

Self-publishing is booming, thanks to eBooks. When you hear stories like Amanda Hocking's 7-figure deal, you know that indie authors are for real. If you're looking to jump into the self-publishing pool, there aren't many blogs better than Joe Konrath's A Newbie Guide to Publishing. Konrath, a successful indie author in his own right, not only helps you learn the ropes, but he also gives convincing arguments why any new author today should go the self-publishing route rather than send manuscripts out to agents and traditional publishers.

The Bird's Brain/This Week in Science

The Bird's Brain is the blog of Dr. Kirsten Sanford, a.k.a. Dr. Kiki, the host of This Week in Science. If you have an interest in science news, I recommend both sites. Even when I don't understand everything that she talks about, I enjoy listening to her podcast every week. One of my favorite segments is This Week in World Robot Domination, especially apropos given Watson's performance on Jeopardy.

An Origami a Day

I have always been fascinated by origami, the art of paper folding. When I was young, I learned to make all kinds of interesting objects and animals from paper. So I was pleased to stumble upon An Origami a Day. As the name of the blog suggests, each post describes an origami you can make. Most contain links to a video showing you how to fold the object, or a page with step by step instructions. Try it out and enjoy!

Blogging down among teens

The Pew Research Center released their Generations 2010 report that describes online behavior across different generations of the population. According to the report, few online activities have decreased in popularity since 2006 with the notable exception of blogging. Only half as many teens maintain a blog in 2010 compared to 2006, and blogging also declined slightly among the 18-33 age group. Search is the top online activity for all generations, and reading blogs is near the middle of the pack in terms of popularity.

Google, Facebook, and Twitter

Most web users are on Google, Facebook, and/or Twitter. Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at these companies? You can get a glimpse from their blogs:

• Official Google Blog
• The Facebook Blog
• Twitter Blog

There's a lot of content in the blogs that are tech-centric, but you can also learn about new features and what employees at the companies are doing.