Interesting. It's a hugely popular blog (in Thailand anyway) and at times very very funny. He certainly appears to pull Google up on some short-comings...
That's a really interesting blog. It's a shame that Google pulls the plug on him. I've added his press release to my site. Hope something good can come out of all these publicity...
hmmm, I lived in thailand for a while and can honestly say that I can't imagine an expat blog about Thailand that didn't mention bargirls, katoeys, Thai wives (or Thai husbands) or the whole S-E-X thing somehow. It's part of life there, it's part of humour there and it is inescapable. Unless of course you live in a bubble and are ferried from the Mandarin to your plush penthouse executive office by helicopter, the streets of Bangkok are earthy, fleshy and often tawdry. I think Google may be being a bit ham-fisted here but then I don't know for sure what the guy was talking about before this G decision came to light. Still Google Adsense is no longer the only game in town. Why doesn't the site go for YPN?
I do take offense to what he says here: As if one corporation's quest for profits and monoply of its industry is somehow entirely an "American" conceit. Pffft. Just lost all sympathy for this dipshit right there.
This is exactly why you can't put all your eggs in one basket. If losing adsense will end this blog, then that is sad. With 100,000 readers, they should definately have been utilizing various advertising means and not depending on google.
He's quite a good writer, actually very good. The only problem I see is that he's to much involved and addicted with the sub culture in this country. He could do better if he only wanted to.
Well the guy also said he has local advertisers and if not YPN then there are other things to try. While I can see Google may be being a bit OTT here I don't see why that has to mean the death of the blog altogether.
If he changes his topic on a new site he still can use adsense though. I do understand G's decision too. His writing talents can easily manipulate and make many people believe that it is like this all over Thailand. He's never been any further than Sukhumvit and Silom area I guess.
It is Googles legal and moral right to do business only with those they choose to do business with, except as modified by the mindless whims of government. However, they do often appear to be two-faced hypocritical buttheads about it. But hey, that's their right. No one has to do business with them.
I think there are two main issues that are raised in this case; The first is the obvious double-standard -- Google is happy to make income out of adult listings, but considers adsense members who do the same to be in breach of the TOS -- I mean, if an "adult" adwords advertiser signs up for the content network, where exactly are their ads going to appear? But if Google want to have double standards - that's their business -- I can deal with the double standard as it is clear and in the open. The second point is more worrying -- what exactly do they mean by "adult content" and just how strict will the policing be? Take a hypothetical adsense-enabled messageboard covering nightlife in some big city. A member posts a message asking about organising some paid sex and gets some useful replies. Now that is something I personally would consider to be an "adult concept" -- but would Google? And if Google feels the same way I do, does that mean that messageboard owners have the option to either risk their Adsense accounts or troll through 1000s of posts to make sure all the posts fit the Google TOS? I understand why Google keep some guidelines vague, but I think this is an area that publishers could really do with either some clearer guidelines or at least a bit more clarification. I would have thought Google had far more pressing issues with the content network (MFA sites for starters) than these kind of public taste/standards concerns...
Now, that what I call family business. Nana Plaza, famous for its watering holes (redlight district). statement on the sites blog ...