I was excited about the eBay API becoming free, hoping to build programs around it. However, I'm struggling to find a compelling project idea. Integrating it into my blog isn't feasible due to eBay's dynamic nature, and static integration wouldn't benefit my SEO. A potential idea is an AJAX interface for the Amazon books I feature, but my lack of commission potential is demotivating. My programs usually serve my needs first, like my AJAX Tagger, which helps me provide more info to readers. If I come up with any good eBay API ideas, I'll share them here.
I've just added a Google AdSense referral link to my blog! Google recently updated AdSense, including their terms and conditions. While I spotted mentions of "Feeds" and "Referrals" in the new terms, I haven't yet seen Feed Advertising in action. If you're interested in monetizing your blog, give AdSense a try!
I checked my website logs using AWStats and noticed a few searches from Google and MSN, but none from Yahoo. One search caught my attention: "does blogging make money." I tried searching this phrase on both Google and MSN but couldn't find my blog post within the first 15 pages of results. If the person who searched for this and found my blog is reading this, I'd love to know how they found me! And to answer the question, no, blogging doesn't make me money (yet!).