Saturday, December 14, 2013

Google Hates Anonymous (and maybe me as well)


Yesterday was a bit rough for me, at least in the small part of my universe that exists within Google's sphere of influence. I had uploaded some new images to my AdWords campaign the day before (that is Google's internet advertising service for those that may not know), and logged in to my account to discover that almost every one of them had been "disapproved." Why? According to the small blurb (the only explanation Google provides) Family Status - Unacceptable Image. I kid you not. Here's the page below:


Checking a little closer, I found the only image to be approved was one in which the "Anonymous" character was mostly obstructed from view. That character is from a short story in the anthology called "Spirit of Anonymous," which briefly takes a look at the "Anonymous" subculture. That character certainly isn't doing anything adult oriented in the image (that's the exact one from the Amazon-approved cover!), but that was the only link between the banned ads. So I re-uploaded the images after editing him out. The result? Every one was approved. Apparently, one of the workers over at Google just doesn't like Anonymous. But judge for yourself: the banner on the left was Disapproved, the one on the right was later Approved:


I should also note that this blog's AdSense account (where Google puts an ad on the side of the page) was also "Disapproved" yesterday (can't they use "Declined" or "Denied" instead? Much less angry words). So maybe it isn't Anonymous they dislike, but me. :) Either way, I carry on. Until next time!


-= Arbee Cole
http://www.amazon.com/21st-Century-Tales-Fantasy-Volume-ebook/dp/B00H7MYJFQ


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