There are, of course, some interesting things that occur as a result of all of this stuff. For example, consider what I call "cross fertilization effect": Suppose a person goes to yahoo.com and performs a search that leads them to one of my websites that happens carry Google AdSense ads and that visitor then clicks on one of those ads...the net result is that Yahoo natural search provided Google pay per click with some revenue! Aren't these fun times that we're living in?

As these programs continue to proliferate, individual webmaster needs to exercise a little restraint and avoid temptation to go overboard by plastering these ads all over your website and thereby diluting your own primary message/proposition and confusing your hard earned visitor. When properly used, these ads are just ancillary or complementary content that you are providing to enhance information and opportunities that you are providing to your visitor...if something happens to strike a responsive chord with your visitor, you might make a little pay per click money.

If properly used, these propagation programs can result in classical "win-win" situation. However, if you over do it, this can quickly turn into a loss for you (the individual webmaster) and a win for your pay per click partners that are distributing ads. As in many things, moderation is important.

It's a constant sea of change, but good things just keep on getting better! Stay alert, and light on your feet, and opportunities will just keep on coming your way.

The above are just some observations from "the peanut gallery", but I don't think I'm far off mark about where things are heading. With that, I'm off soapbox and wishing you success in whatever you do online!

Probabilities: As this article is written, banter of presidential poll interpretation continues. Everyone has an opinion, and every pole a changing nuance. However, reading polls provides some lessons on reading probabilities of website traffic. Most of us read primary poll results rather than referring to "internal tracking polls". Same may hold true when reading website traffic: we look at number of visits without reading "internal tracking". Travis Reeder provides detailed explanations and reasons for digging deeper into numbers in his article, http://entrepreneurs.about.com/cs/marketing/a/visitortracking.htm "How (and Why) to Read Your Web Statistics and Analytics" If you do not track visitors, I recommend http://awstats.sourceforge.net/ AWstats. "AWStats is a free powerful and featureful (sic) tool that generates advanced web, ftp or mail server statistics, graphically." "A reasonable probability is only certainty," writes E.W. Howe. So what probabilities do you have for succeeding and how do you measure them?

Personality: Ever converse with someone knowing that person was not "there"? Many websites give same impression. What does this webmaster think? What matters to them? What message do they want conveyed? One source of information for news and other resources is Yahoo. Yahoo allows you to personalize your page using my.yahoo.com. I think it takes more effort to insert your personality into your work, to evidence your opinions and world view on a website. Every website page represents you implicitly or explicitly. What matters to you should be evident on your website, and your website should represent your values. Little seems to be written about this subject. Terri Seymour's article, http://www.echievements.com/articles/1296 "The Power of Personality" provides some further insights. Bob Baker's book, Poor Richard's Branding Yourself Online provides substantive help. Oscar Wilde's observation that "Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation" deserves a webmaster's attention.

As with all enterprise, Internet endeavors involve you with something that does not happen overnight. As with all worthy efforts, it requires a purpose clearly defined, a persistence resolutely affirmed, and a daily preparation involving your complete personality. You must remain passionately focused on belief that you add value to this incredible enterprise known as Internet.