The web is working for part-time businesses

Part-time businesses play an important role in our lives and in our economy. From the gardening mom who sells her plants, to the hobbyist antiques dealer, to the weekend wedding photographer, people everywhere are earning extra money while doing what they love.

Research released yesterday by The Internet Association shows that the web is powering American part-time businesses. Nine out of 10 part-time business owners rely on the Internet to conduct their business, and the impact is significant. Internet enabled part-time businesses employ 6.6 million people and contribute $141 billion to the U.S. GDP.

We're proud to play our part to support these business owners as they grow their businesses online. Technology is at its best when it makes lives easier—and every day, our products help businesses find new customers and publishers earn money from their content while running more efficiently. With the power of the web, businesses can build better lives for their families and strengthen our economy while doing what they love.



Celebrating 10 years of shared success

Ten years ago we launched AdSense to help publishers earn money by placing relevant ads on their websites. I can still remember the excitement and anticipation as AdSense went live that first day. Our small team huddled together in a cramped conference room, and right away we saw that publishers were as excited about AdSense as we were.

Fast-forward 10 years, and AdSense has become a core part of Google’s advertising business. The AdSense community has grown to include more than 2 million publishers, and last year alone, publishers earned more than $7 billion from AdSense. AdSense is a community that thrives because of all the content creators we are so fortunate to partner with. Their stories inspire us to do our part to make AdSense great.

On this occasion, it’s especially inspiring to hear the stories of partners who have been with us since the very beginning—like a retiree in New Zealand who was able to pursue her dream of writing about her garden, a tech support expert in Colorado who can spend more time with his kids, and a theme park reviewer who now sends employees around the world to test and review rides—all thanks to money earned from AdSense.

As part of our 10th anniversary celebration, we hope you’ll tune into our live Hangout on Air today at 10 a.m. PDT (5 p.m. GMT) on the AdSense Google+ page. I look forward to joining several of our partners to share stories from the early days of AdSense, talk about how we’ve all grown since then, and discuss the future for publishers and online advertising. And if you want even more 10th anniversary celebration, just visit our AdSense 10th anniversary page at any time.

Opportunity for music publishers and songwriters - January 16 deadline

YouTube has become a thriving music ecosystem of emerging and established artists, where original music and creative covers can reach an audience of millions. We want to continue to recognize songwriters for their artistic contribution to this community. To this end, last year YouTube announced a new opportunity for thousands of music publishers - and the millions of songwriters they represent - to make money from the use of their music in YouTube videos uploaded by fans.  This was a result of an agreement with two leading U.S. representatives of music publishers: the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) and its subsidiary the Harry Fox Agency (HFA).  

Through this agreement, music publishers (both HFA and non-HFA members) and songwriters have the opportunity to license the musical compositions they represent for use by the YouTube community. Our Content ID system, with input from our partners, allows us to identify these works among the hundreds of millions of videos on YouTube, whether the compositions appear in an original sound recording, or in a cover version uploaded by a fan. When a publisher allows YouTube to run ads alongside videos that incorporate its compositions, the publisher, and its songwriters, will be able to share in the revenue that the YouTube community’s creativity yields.

Music publishers should review and sign-up for this opportunity by January 16, 2011. Information can be found at www.youtubelicenseoffer.com, and music publishers can opt-in through this website using the claim and control numbers provided in the materials sent last summer.  Additional information is available by calling: 1 (888) 430-7225.

By opting-in this week, music publishers will be creating a new and future revenue partnership, empowering both their fans’ creativity and their own musical endeavors. Join us.


David King, Group Product Manager, recently watched “Grinding the Crack.”