Ad Sense Zeroes in on What I Really Am

As I set out to conquer cyber-phobia, I’m learning to keep an eye out for the kinds of preconceptions about cyberspace that scare the wits out of me in the first place.

First, what would I advertise on my blog and how? I imagined working as a blog broker for companies whose products I use because they make my life on cyberspace easy and enjoyable. I was thinking about Microsoft (Mac OS), Canon (printers and cameras), Apple computers (notebooks), and Adobe. But what if a flaky customer, who had logged onto my site, clicked an advertisement for one of those companies, ordered through me, and then stiffed the company? Would I get sued? I’ll need to ask my insurance agent what kind of business liability insurance policy I need.

At our last meeting, my tech trainer helped me complete my Ad Sense application. Ad Sense, owned by Google, serves subscribing companies by inserting their ads on appropriate blogs on Blogger.com. Google also owns Blogger.com. Ad Sense selects ads for the blogger. I don’t choose my ads, Ad Sense does.

How does Ad Sense select appropriate ads for a new participant? The devises they use are called spiders. Spiders scan your content and select ads that reflect your blog’s message. I worried that the spiders would find nothing. “Wait,” I said to my trainer. “I’ll need to post material that mentions computers, photo printers, digital image processing, and browsers.”

Then I decided to let the spiders do their work without interference. Let me be surprised. I was. Ad Sense zeroed in on exactly what I was — a PHOBE. I am not a nonfiction writer. I’m not a blog broker of top-rated tech equipment. To the Ad Sense spiders, I am first and foremost a person with phobia.

Delicately, Ad Sense sprinkled ads offering healing resources. Speak to an audience without fear. Fly in an airplane without fear. During all my surfing, I’d never thought once to look for blogs or sites about phobias. Next leg: Google "phobias"