AdSense

AdSense is an ad serving application run by Google Inc. Website owners can enroll in this program to enable text, image, and video advertisements on their websites. These advertisements are administered by Google and generate revenue on either a per-click or per-impression basis. Google beta tested a cost-per-action service, but discontinued it in October 2008 in favor of a DoubleClick offering (also owned by Google).^[2] In Q1 2010, Google earned US$2.04 billion ($8.16 billion annualized), or 30% of total revenue, through AdSense.^[3]

Google uses its Internet search technology to serve advertisements based on website content, the user's geographical location, and other factors. Those wanting to advertise with Google's targeted advertisement system may enroll through AdWords. AdSense has become a popular method of placing advertising on a website because the advertisements are less intrusive than most banners, and the content of the advertisements is often relevant to the website.

Many websites use AdSense to monetize their content; it is the most popular advertising network. AdSense has been particularly important for delivering advertising revenue to small websites that do not have the resources for developing advertising sales programs and sales people. To fill a website with advertisements that are relevant to the topics discussed, webmasters implement a brief script on the websites' pages. Websites that are content-rich have been very successful with this advertising program, as noted in a number of publisher case studies on the AdSense website.

Some webmasters invest significant effort into maximizing their own AdSense income. They do this in three ways:^{[citation needed]}

1. They use a wide range of traffic-generating techniques, including but not limited to online advertising.
2. They build valuable content on their websites that attracts AdSense advertisements, which pay out the most when they are clicked.
3. They use text content on their websites that encourages visitors to click on advertisements. Note that Google prohibits webmasters from using phrases like "Click on my AdSense ads" to increase click rates. The phrases accepted are "Sponsored Links" and "Advertisements".

The source of all AdSense income is the AdWords program, which in turn has a complex pricing model based on a Vickrey second price auction. AdSense commands an advertiser to submit a sealed bid (i.e., a bid not observable by competitors). Additionally, for any given click received, advertisers only pay one bid increment above the second-highest bid. Google currently shares 68% of revenues generated by AdSense with content network partners.^[4]

[edit] History

Oingo, Inc., a privately held company located in Los Angeles, was started in 1998 by Gilad Elbaz and Adam Weissman. Oingo developed a proprietary search algorithm that was based on word meanings and built upon an underlying lexicon called WordNet, which was developed over the previous 15 years by researchers at Princeton University, led by George Miller.^[5]

Oingo changed its name to Applied Semantics in 2001,^[6] which was later acquired by Google in April 2003 for US$102 million.^[7]

In 2009, Google AdSense announced that it would now be offering new features, including the ability to "enable multiple networks to display ads".

[edit] Types

[edit] AdSense for Feeds

In May 2005, Google announced a limited-participation beta version of AdSense for Feeds, a version of AdSense that runs on RSS and Atom feeds that have more than 100 active subscribers. According to the Official Google Blog, "advertisers have their ads placed in the most appropriate feed articles; publishers are paid for their original content; readers see relevant advertising—and in the long run, more quality feeds to choose from."^[8]

AdSense for Feeds works by inserting images into a feed. When the image is displayed by a RSS reader or Web browser, Google writes the advertising content into the image that it returns. The advertisement content is chosen based on the content of the feed surrounding the image. When the user clicks the image, he or she is redirected to the advertiser's website in the same way as regular AdSense advertisements.

AdSense for Feeds remained in its beta state until August 15, 2008, when it became available to all AdSense users.

[edit] AdSense for search

A companion to the regular AdSense program, AdSense for search, allows website owners to place Google search boxes on their websites. When a user searches the Internet or the website with the search box, Google shares 51% of the advertising revenue it makes from those searches with the website owner.^[4] However the publisher is paid only if the advertisements on the page are clicked; AdSense does not pay publishers for mere searches.

[edit] AdSense for mobile content

AdSense for mobile content allows publishers to generate earnings from their mobile websites using targeted Google advertisements. Just like AdSense for content, Google matches advertisements to the content of a website — in this case, a mobile website.

[edit] AdSense for domains

Adsense for domains allows advertisements to be placed on domain names that have not been developed. This offers domain name owners a way to monetize domain names that are otherwise dormant. Adsense for domains is currently being offered to some users, with plans to make it available to all in stages.

On December 12, 2008, TechCrunch reported that AdSense for Domains is available for all US publishers.^[9]

[edit] AdSense for video

AdSense for video allows publishers with video content to generate revenue using ad placements from Google's extensive Advertising network including popular Youtube videos.^[10]

[edit] XHTML compatibility

As of September 2007, the HTML code for the AdSense search box does not validate as XHTML, and does not follow modern principles of website design because of its use of

• non-standard end tags, such as and ,
• the attribute checked rather than checked="checked",
• presentational attributes other than id, class, or style — for example, bgcolor and align,
• a table structure for purely presentational (i.e., non-tabular) purposes,¹ and
• the font tag.²

1: using a table structure for unintended purposes is strongly discouraged by the W3C,^[11] but nevertheless does not cause a document to fail validation — there is currently no algorithmic method of determining whether a table is used "correctly" (for displaying tabular data or for displaying elements, that get proportionally wider or narrower when browser window resizes in width without active client side scripting).
2: the font tag is deprecated but does not fail validation in any XHTML standard^{[citation needed]}.

Additionally, the AdSense advertisement units use the JavaScript method document.write(), which does not work correctly when rendered with the application/xhtml+xml MIME type. The units also use the iframe HTML tag, which is not validated correctly with the XHTML 1.0 Strict or XHTML 1.0 Transitional DOCTYPEs.

The terms of the AdSense program forbid its affiliates from modifying the code, thus preventing these participants from having valid XHTML websites.

However, a workaround has been found by creating a separate HTML webpage containing only the AdSense advertisement units, and then importing this page into an XHTML webpage with an object tag.^[12] This workaround appears to be accepted by Google.^[13]

[edit] How AdSense works

• The webmaster inserts the AdSense JavaScript code into a webpage.
• Each time this page is visited, the JavaScript code uses inlined JSON to display content fetched from Google's servers.
• For contextual advertisements, Google's servers use a cache of the page to determine a set of high-value keywords. If keywords have been cached already, advertisements are served for those keywords based on the AdWords bidding system. (More details are described in the AdSense patent.)
• For site-targeted advertisements, the advertiser chooses the page(s) on which to display advertisements, and pays based on cost per mille (CPM), or the price advertisers choose to pay for every thousand advertisements displayed.^[14][15]
• For referrals, Google adds money to the advertiser's account when visitors either download the referred software or subscribe to the referred service.^[16] The referral program was retired in August 2008.^[17]
• Search advertisements are added to the list of results after the visitor performs a search.
• Because the JavaScript is sent to the Web browser when the page is requested, it is possible for other website owners to copy the JavaScript code into their own webpages. To protect against this type of fraud, AdSense customers can specify the pages on which advertisements should be shown. AdSense then ignores clicks from pages other than those specified.

[edit] Abuse

Some webmasters create websites tailored to lure searchers from Google and other engines onto their AdSense website to make money from clicks. These "zombie" websites often contain nothing but a large amount of interconnected, automated content (e.g., a directory with content from the Open Directory Project, or scraper websites relying on RSS feeds for content). Possibly the most popular form of such "AdSense farms" are splogs (spam blogs), which are centered around known high-paying keywords. Many of these websites use content from other websites, such as Wikipedia, to attract visitors. These and related approaches are considered to be search engine spam and can be reported to Google.^{[citation needed]}

A Made for AdSense (MFA) website or webpage has little or no content, but is filled with advertisements so that users have no choice but to click on advertisements. Such pages were tolerated in the past, but due to complaints, Google now disables such accounts.

There have also been reports of Trojan horses engineered to produce counterfeit Google advertisements that are formatted looking like legitimate ones. The Trojan uploads itself onto an unsuspecting user's computer through a webpage and then replaces the original advertisements with its own set of malicious advertisements.^[18]

[edit] Criticism

Due to alleged concerns about click fraud, Google AdSense has been criticized by some search engine optimization firms as a large source of what Google calls "invalid clicks", in which one company clicks on a rival's search engine advertisements to drive up the other company's costs.^[19]

To help prevent click fraud, AdSense publishers can choose from a number of click-tracking programs.^{[citation needed]} These programs display detailed information about the visitors who click on the AdSense advertisements. Publishers can use this to determine whether or not they have been a victim of click fraud. There are a number of commercial tracking scripts available for purchase.

The payment terms for webmasters have also been criticized.^[20] Google withholds payment until an account reaches US$100,^[21] but many micro content providers^{[citation needed]} require a long time—years in some cases—to build up this much AdSense revenue. However, Google will pay all earned revenue greater than US$10 when an AdSense account is closed and not disabled.

Many website owners complain that their AdSense accounts have been disabled just before they were supposed to receive their first paycheck from Google. Google claims accounts have been disabled due to click fraud or forbidden content, but have offered no proof of this. An automated email is sent to the publisher's owner which offers no reasoning, or options but a link to file an appeal. In the email, Google states that "Because we have a responsibility to protect our AdWords advertisers from inflated costs due to invalid activity, we've found it necessary to disable your AdSense account. Your outstanding balance and Google's share of the revenue will both be fully refunded back to the affected advertisers." The revenue generated - whether legitimate or not - is taken, and all complaints are deferred.^[22]

Google came under fire when the official Google AdSense Blog showcased the French video website Imineo.com. This website violated Google's AdSense Program Policies by displaying AdSense alongside sexually explicit material. Typically, websites displaying AdSense have been banned from showing such content.^[23] Some sites have been banned for distributing copyrighted material even when they hold the copyright themselves or are authorized by the copyright holder to distribute the material.^[24]

It has been reported that using both AdSense and AdWords may cause a website to pay Google a commission when the website advertises itself.^[25]

In some cases, AdSense displays inappropriate or offensive ads. For example, in a news story about a terrorist attack in India, an advert was generated for a (presumably non-existent) educational qualification in terrorism.^[26]

AdSense sets tracking cookies that are viewed by some^[27] as a threat to privacy. Webmasters that use AdSense must place the appropriate warning in the privacy policy page.^[28]

[edit] See also

• The AdSense Code (book)
• Google AdWords
• List of Google products
• Pay per play
• Scraper website

[edit] References

1. ^ Google Expands Advertising Monetization Program for Websites, June 18, 2003, Press Release, Google
2. ^ What happened to the pay-per-action beta?
3. ^ "Google Announces First Quarter 2010 Financial Results". Google. Retrieved June 18, 2010.
4. ^ ^{a b} "Google Form 10-Q, Q2 2010". 2010-07-15. http://investor.google.com/documents/20100630_google_10Q.html. Retrieved 2010-09-08.
5. ^ Paula J. Hane (1999-12-20). "Beyond Keyword Searching". Info Today. http://www.infotoday.com/newsbreaks/nb1220-2.htm.
6. ^ "Google Buys Applied Semantics". Incisive Interactive Marketing LLC. 2003-04-24. http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=2196001.
7. ^ "Google Acquires Applied Semantics". Press release. 2003-04-23. http://www.google.com/press/pressrel/applied.html.
8. ^ Shuman Ghosemajumder (2005-05-17). "Official Google Blog: Feed me". http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/05/feed-me.html. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
9. ^ AdSense For Domains Now Available For All US Publishers, Robin Wauters, Dec 12, 2008, TechCrunch
10. ^ Brian Womack (2010-05-03). "Google’s YouTube Boosts Display Advertisers 10-Fold (Update1)". Bloomberg Businessweek. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-03/google-s-youtube-boosts-display-advertisers-10-fold-update1-.html. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
11. ^ W3C. "Tables". http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS2/tables.html. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
12. ^ Stu Nicholls. "Adding AdSense to application/xhtml+xml pages". http://www.cssplay.co.uk/menu/adsense.html. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
13. ^ Roger Johansson (2004-09-01). "Content negotiation, AdSense, and comments". http://www.456bereastreet.com/archive/200409/content_negotiation_adsense_and_comments/. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
14. ^ "Google AdSense Help Center: What are CPM ads?". 2007-12-29. http://adwords.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=54411&topic=13175.
15. ^ "Google AdWords: All About Site-Targeted Ads". 2007-12-29. http://www.google.com/ads/sitetargeted.html.
16. ^ "Google AdSense Help Center: What is the referrals feature?". 2007-12-29. https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?answer=25890&topic=11724.
17. ^ "Google yanks AdSense referral program, offers shoddy surrogate". blog.anta.net. 2008-07-01. ISSN 1797-1993. http://blog.anta.net/2008/07/01/google-yanks-adsense-referral-program-offers-shoddy-surrogate/. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
18. ^ Benaifer Jah (2005-12-27). "Trojan Horse program that targets Google AdSense ads". TechShout. http://www.techshout.com/internet/2005/27/a-trojan-horse-program-that-targets-google-ads-has-been-detected-by-an-indian-web-publisher/.
19. ^ Charles C. Mann (January 2006). "How click fraud could swallow the internet". Wired. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.01/fraud.html.
20. ^ Lem Bingley (2007-02-01). "Google keeps on coining it in". IT Week. http://lembingley.computing.co.uk/2007/02/google-keeps-co.html.
21. ^ "When do I get paid?". Google AdSense Help Center. https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?answer=9905.
22. ^ "Disabled Account FAQ - AdSense Help". 2010-11-08. http://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?answer=57153.
23. ^ "Adult content". Google AdSense Help Center. https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=105957.
24. ^ "Google AdSense Program Policies". 2007-12-29. https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?answer=48182&sourceid=aso&subid=ww-ww-et-asui&medium=link.
25. ^ "BE CAREFUL when using both AdSense + AdWords by Google". 2009-02-19. http://blog.colnect.com/2009/02/be-careful-when-using-both-adsense.html.
26. ^ "Google's Worst Ads Ever (GOOG)". 2009-08-20. http://www.businessinsider.com/googles-worst-ads-ever-2009-8.
27. ^ Criticism of AdSense cookies
28. ^ Google AdSense terms

Money

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

For other uses, see Money (disambiguation).

Coins and banknotes – the two most common physical forms of money.

Money is any object or record, that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context.^[1][2][3] The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past, a standard of deferred payment.^[4][5] Any kind of object or secure verifiable record that fulfills these functions can serve as money.

Money originated as commodity money, but nearly all contemporary money systems are based on fiat money.^[4] Fiat money is without intrinsic use value as a physical commodity, and derives its value by being declared by a government to be legal tender; that is, it must be accepted as a form of payment within the boundaries of the country, for "all debts, public and private".

The money supply of a country consists of currency (banknotes and coins) and bank deposits or 'bank money' (the balance held in checking accounts and savings accounts). Bank deposits usually form the larger part of the money supply of a country.^[6][7][8]

Contents

History

A 640 BC one-third stater electrum coin from Lydia.

Main article: History of money

The use of barter-like methods may date back to at least 100,000 years ago, though there is no evidence of a society or economy that relied primarily on barter.^[9] Instead, non-monetary societies operated largely along the principles of gift economics. When barter did occur, it was usually between either complete strangers or potential enemies.^[10]

Many cultures around the world eventually developed the use of commodity money. The shekel was originally a unit of weight, and referred to a specific weight of barley, which was used as currency.^[11] The first usage of the term came from Mesopotamia circa 3000 BC. Societies in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Australia used shell money – often, the shells of the money cowry (Cypraea moneta L. or C. annulus L.). According to Herodotus, the Lydians were the first people to introduce the use of gold and silver coins.^[12] It is thought by modern scholars that these first stamped coins were minted around 650–600 BC.^[13]

Song Dynasty Jiaozi, the world's earliest paper money

The system of commodity money eventually evolved into a system of representative money.^{[citation needed]} This occurred because gold and silver merchants or banks would issue receipts to their depositors – redeemable for the commodity money deposited. Eventually, these receipts became generally accepted as a means of payment and were used as money. Paper money or banknotes were first used in China during the Song Dynasty. These banknotes, known as "jiaozi" evolved from promissory notes that had been used since the 7th century. However, they did not displace commodity money, and were used alongside coins. Banknotes were first issued in Europe by Stockholms Banco in 1661, and were again also used alongside coins. The gold standard, a monetary system where the medium of exchange are paper notes that are convertible into pre-set, fixed quantities of gold, replaced the use of gold coins as currency in the 17th-19th centuries in Europe. These gold standard notes were made legal tender, and redemption into gold coins was discouraged. By the beginning of the 20th century almost all countries had adopted the gold standard, backing their legal tender notes with fixed amounts of gold.

After World War II, at the Bretton Woods Conference, most countries adopted fiat currencies that were fixed to the US dollar. The US dollar was in turn fixed to gold. In 1971 the US government suspended the convertibility of the US dollar to gold. After this many countries de-pegged their currencies from the US dollar, and most of the world's currencies became unbacked by anything except the governments' fiat of legal tender and the ability to convert the money into goods via payment.

Etymology

The word "money" is believed to originate from a temple of Hera, located on Capitoline, one of Rome's seven hills. In the ancient world Hera was often associated with money. The temple of Juno Moneta at Rome was the place where the mint of Ancient Rome was located.^[14] The name "Juno" may derive from the Etruscan goddess Uni (which means "the one", "unique", "unit", "union", "united") and "Moneta" either from the Latin word "monere" (remind, warn, or instruct) or the Greek word "moneres" (alone, unique).

In the Western world, a prevalent term for coin-money has been specie, stemming from Latin in specie, meaning 'in kind'.^[15]

Functions

In the past, money was generally considered to have the following four main functions, which are summed up in a rhyme found in older economics textbooks: "Money is a matter of functions four, a medium, a measure, a standard, a store." That is, money functions as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, a standard of deferred payment, and a store of value.^[5] However, modern textbooks now list only three functions, that of medium of exchange, unit of account, and store of value, not considering a standard of deferred payment as a distinguished function, but rather subsuming it in the others.^[4][16][17]

There have been many historical disputes regarding the combination of money's functions, some arguing that they need more separation and that a single unit is insufficient to deal with them all. One of these arguments is that the role of money as a medium of exchange is in conflict with its role as a store of value: its role as a store of value requires holding it without spending, whereas its role as a medium of exchange requires it to circulate.^[5] Others argue that storing of value is just deferral of the exchange, but does not diminish the fact that money is a medium of exchange that can be transported both across space and time.^[18] The term 'financial capital' is a more general and inclusive term for all liquid instruments, whether or not they are a uniformly recognized tender.

Medium of exchange

Main article: Medium of exchange

When money is used to intermediate the exchange of goods and services, it is performing a function as a medium of exchange. It thereby avoids the inefficiencies of a barter system, such as the 'double coincidence of wants' problem.

Unit of account

Main article: Unit of account

A unit of account is a standard numerical unit of measurement of the market value of goods, services, and other transactions. Also known as a "measure" or "standard" of relative worth and deferred payment, a unit of account is a necessary prerequisite for the formulation of commercial agreements that involve debt. To function as a 'unit of account', whatever is being used as money must be:

• Divisible into smaller units without loss of value; precious metals can be coined from bars, or melted down into bars again.
• Fungible: that is, one unit or piece must be perceived as equivalent to any other, which is why diamonds, works of art or real estate are not suitable as money.
• A specific weight, or measure, or size to be verifiably countable. For instance, coins are often milled with a reeded edge, so that any removal of material from the coin (lowering its commodity value) will be easy to detect.

Store of value

Main article: Store of value

To act as a store of value, a money must be able to be reliably saved, stored, and retrieved – and be predictably usable as a medium of exchange when it is retrieved. The value of the money must also remain stable over time. Some have argued that inflation, by reducing the value of money, diminishes the ability of the money to function as a store of value.^[4]

Standard of deferred payment

Main article: Standard of deferred payment

While standard of deferred payment is distinguished by some texts,^[5] particularly older ones, other texts subsume this under other functions.^[4][16][17] A "standard of deferred payment" is an accepted way to settle a debt – a unit in which debts are denominated, and the status of money as legal tender, in those jurisdictions which have this concept, states that it may function for the discharge of debts. When debts are denominated in money, the real value of debts may change due to inflation and deflation, and for sovereign and international debts via debasement and devaluation.

Money supply

Main article: Money supply

In economics, money is a broad term that refers to any financial instrument that can fulfill the functions of money (detailed above). These financial instruments together are collectively referred to as the money supply of an economy. In other words, the money supply is the amount of financial instruments within a specific economy available for purchasing goods or services. Since the money supply consists of various financial instruments (usually currency, demand deposits and various other types of deposits), the amount of money in an economy is measured by adding together these financial instruments creating a monetary aggregate.

Modern monetary theory distinguishes among different ways to measure the money supply, reflected in different types of monetary aggregates, using a categorization system that focuses on the liquidity of the financial instrument used as money. The most commonly used monetary aggregates (or types of money) are conventionally designated M1, M2 and M3. These are successively larger aggregate categories: M1 is currency (coins and bills) plus demand deposits (such as checking accounts); M2 is M1 plus savings accounts and time deposits under $100,000; and M3 is M2 plus larger time deposits and similar institutional accounts. M1 includes only the most liquid financial instruments, and M3 relatively illiquid instruments.

Another measure of money, M0, is also used; unlike the other measures, it does not represent actual purchasing power by firms and households in the economy. M0 is base money, or the amount of money actually issued by the central bank of a country. It is measured as currency plus deposits of banks and other institutions at the central bank. M0 is also the only money that can satisfy the reserve requirements of commercial banks.

Market liquidity

Main article: Market liquidity

Market liquidity describes how easily an item can be traded for another item, or into the common currency within an economy. Money is the most liquid asset because it is universally recognised and accepted as the common currency. In this way, money gives consumers the freedom to trade goods and services easily without having to barter.

Liquid financial instruments are easily tradable and have low transaction costs. There should be no (or minimal) spread between the prices to buy and sell the instrument being used as money.

Types of money

Currently, most modern monetary systems are based on fiat money. However, for most of history, almost all money was commodity money, such as gold and silver coins. As economies developed, commodity money was eventually replaced by representative money, such as the gold standard, as traders found the physical transportation of gold and silver burdensome. Fiat currencies gradually took over in the last hundred years, especially since the breakup of the Bretton Woods system in the early 1970s.

Commodity money

Main article: Commodity money

A 1914 British Gold sovereign

Many items have been used as commodity money such as naturally scarce precious metals, conch shells, barley, beads etc., as well as many other things that are thought of as having value. Commodity money value comes from the commodity out of which it is made. The commodity itself constitutes the money, and the money is the commodity.^[19] Examples of commodities that have been used as mediums of exchange include gold, silver, copper, rice, salt, peppercorns, large stones, decorated belts, shells, alcohol, cigarettes, cannabis, candy, etc. These items were sometimes used in a metric of perceived value in conjunction to one another, in various commodity valuation or Price System economies. Use of commodity money is similar to barter, but a commodity money provides a simple and automatic unit of account for the commodity which is being used as money. Although some gold coins such as the Krugerrand are considered legal tender, there is no record of their face value on either side of the coin. The rationale for this is that emphasis is laid on their direct link to the prevailing value of their fine gold content.^[20] American Eagles are imprinted with their gold content and legal tender face value.^[21]

Representative money

Main article: Representative money

In 1875 economist William Stanley Jevons described what he called "representative money," i.e., money that consists of token coins, or other physical tokens such as certificates, that can be reliably exchanged for a fixed quantity of a commodity such as gold or silver. The value of representative money stands in direct and fixed relation to the commodity that backs it, while not itself being composed of that commodity.^[22]

Fiat money

Main article: Fiat money

Fiat money or fiat currency is money whose value is not derived from any intrinsic value or guarantee that it can be converted into a valuable commodity (such as gold). Instead, it has value only by government order (fiat). Usually, the government declares the fiat currency (typically notes and coins from a central bank, such as the Federal Reserve System in the U.S.) to be legal tender, making it unlawful to not accept the fiat currency as a means of repayment for all debts, public and private.^[23][24]

Some bullion coins such as the Australian Gold Nugget and American Eagle are legal tender, however, they trade based on the market price of the metal content as a commodity, rather than their legal tender face value (which is usually only a small fraction of their bullion value).^[21][25]

Fiat money, if physically represented in the form of currency (paper or coins) can be accidentally damaged or destroyed. However, fiat money has an advantage over representative or commodity money, in that the same laws that created the money can also define rules for its replacement in case of damage or destruction. For example, the U.S. government will replace mutilated Federal Reserve notes (U.S. fiat money) if at least half of the physical note can be reconstructed, or if it can be otherwise proven to have been destroyed.^[26] By contrast, commodity money which has been lost or destroyed cannot be recovered.

Commercial bank money

Main article: Demand deposit

Demand deposit in cheque form.

Commercial bank money or demand deposits are claims against financial institutions that can be used for the purchase of goods and services. A demand deposit account is an account from which funds can be withdrawn at any time by check or cash withdrawal without giving the bank or financial institution any prior notice. Banks have the legal obligation to return funds held in demand deposits immediately upon demand (or 'at call'). Demand deposit withdrawals can be performed in person, via checks or bank drafts, using automatic teller machines (ATMs), or through online banking.^[27]

Commercial bank money is created through fractional-reserve banking, the banking practice where banks keep only a fraction of their deposits in reserve (as cash and other highly liquid assets) and lend out the remainder, while maintaining the simultaneous obligation to redeem all these deposits upon demand.^[28][29] Commercial bank money differs from commodity and fiat money in two ways, firstly it is non-physical, as its existence is only reflected in the account ledgers of banks and other financial institutions, and secondly, there is some element of risk that the claim will not be fulfilled if the financial institution becomes insolvent. The process of fractional-reserve banking has a cumulative effect of money creation by commercial banks, as it expands money supply (cash and demand deposits) beyond what it would otherwise be. Because of the prevalence of fractional reserve banking, the broad money supply of most countries is a multiple larger than the amount of base money created by the country's central bank. That multiple (called the money multiplier) is determined by the reserve requirement or other financial ratio requirements imposed by financial regulators.

The money supply of a country is usually held to be the total amount of currency in circulation plus the total amount of checking and savings deposits in the commercial banks in the country.

Monetary policy

Main article: Monetary policy

When gold and silver are used as money, the money supply can grow only if the supply of these metals is increased by mining. This rate of increase will accelerate during periods of gold rushes and discoveries, such as when Columbus discovered the new world and brought back gold and silver to Spain, or when gold was discovered in California in 1848. This causes inflation, as the value of gold goes down. However, if the rate of gold mining cannot keep up with the growth of the economy, gold becomes relatively more valuable, and prices (denominated in gold) will drop, causing deflation. Deflation was the more typical situation for over a century when gold and paper money backed by gold were used as money in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Modern day monetary systems are based on fiat money and are no longer tied to the value of gold. The control of the amount of money in the economy is known as monetary policy. Monetary policy is the process by which a government, central bank, or monetary authority manages the money supply to achieve specific goals. Usually the goal of monetary policy is to accommodate economic growth in an environment of stable prices. For example, it is clearly stated in the Federal Reserve Act that the Board of Governors and the Federal Open Market Committee should seek “to promote effectively the goals of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates.”^[30]

A failed monetary policy can have significant detrimental effects on an economy and the society that depends on it. These include hyperinflation, stagflation, recession, high unemployment, shortages of imported goods, inability to export goods, and even total monetary collapse and the adoption of a much less efficient barter economy. This happened in Russia, for instance, after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Governments and central banks have taken both regulatory and free market approaches to monetary policy. Some of the tools used to control the money supply include:

• changing the interest rate at which the central bank loans money to (or borrows money from) the commercial banks
• currency purchases or sales
• increasing or lowering government borrowing
• increasing or lowering government spending
• manipulation of exchange rates
• raising or lowering bank reserve requirements
• regulation or prohibition of private currencies
• taxation or tax breaks on imports or exports of capital into a country

In the US, the Federal Reserve is responsible for controlling the money supply, while in the Euro area the respective institution is the European Central Bank. Other central banks with significant impact on global finances are the Bank of Japan, People's Bank of China and the Bank of England.

For many years much of monetary policy was influenced by an economic theory known as monetarism. Monetarism is an economic theory which argues that management of the money supply should be the primary means of regulating economic activity. The stability of the demand for money prior to the 1980s was a key finding of Milton Friedman and Anna Schwartz^[31] supported by the work of David Laidler,^[32] and many others. The nature of the demand for money changed during the 1980s owing to technical, institutional, and legal factors and the influence of monetarism has since decreased.

Cina Tutup 60 Ribu Situs Porno

Cina Tutup 60 Ribu Situs Porno

Cina

Peristiwa Peristiwa Cina Tutup 60 Ribu Situs Porno

Cina Tutup 60 Ribu Situs Porno

31/12/2010

Kantor berita Xinhua, pada Kamis kemarin melaporkan bahwa Cina telah menutup 60 ribu laman situs porno di internet selama tahun ini dan disertai dengan investigasi lanjutan oleh pihak kepolisian setempat untuk 2200 kasus kejahatan yang berhubungan dengan dunia maya, CNN melansir. Menurut Xinhua, Cina telah mengadakan kampanye anti pornografi selama setahun terakhir untuk mengurangi beredarnya laman-laman vulgar tersebut.

Menurut Direktur Biro Informasi Cina, Wang Chen, 450 juta orang di Cina adalah pengguna internet dan terus meningkat sebesar 20% setiap tahunnya. Artinya, 34 persen dari total populasi Cina terbiasa berselancar di dunia maya. Xinhua melansir, Biro Informasi menerima tidak kurang 170 ribu laporan keluhan mengenai aksi pornografi yang memanfaatkan internet dan telepon selular, yang 534 orang diantaranya memperoleh penghargaan total 544 ribu yuan (setara 81 ribu dolar) karena telah memberikan informasi tersebut. (RZ)
Tutup 60 Ribu Situs Porno

31/12/2010

Kantor berita Xinhua, pada Kamis kemarin melaporkan bahwa Cina telah menutup 60 ribu laman situs porno di internet selama tahun ini dan disertai dengan investigasi lanjutan oleh pihak kepolisian setempat untuk 2200 kasus kejahatan yang berhubungan dengan dunia maya, CNN melansir. Menurut Xinhua, Cina telah mengadakan kampanye anti pornografi selama setahun terakhir untuk mengurangi beredarnya laman-laman vulgar tersebut.

Menurut Direktur Biro Informasi Cina, Wang Chen, 450 juta orang di Cina adalah pengguna internet dan terus meningkat sebesar 20% setiap tahunnya. Artinya, 34 persen dari total populasi Cina terbiasa berselancar di dunia maya. Xinhua melansir, Biro Informasi menerima tidak kurang 170 ribu laporan keluhan mengenai aksi pornografi yang memanfaatkan internet dan telepon selular, yang 534 orang diantaranya memperoleh penghargaan total 544 ribu yuan (setara 81 ribu dolar) karena telah memberikan informasi tersebut. (RZ)

Maraknya pornoaksi Indonesia

Maraknya pornoaksi Indonesia sudah menunjukkan angka mencemaskan. Peri Umar Farouk, Ketua Gerakan “Jangan Bugil Depan Kamera” (JBDK) memberikan data cukup mencengangkan. Menurutnya, per akhir Mei 2007, ditengarai beredar lebih dari 500 video porno asli Indonesia.

“Pelakunya hampir semua profesi,” kata Peri Umar Farouk.

Namun persentase terbesar adalah pelajar dan mahasiswa (sekitar 90%). Sisanya adalah PNS, pejabat, petinggi partai, penegak hukum hingga kepala daerah.

Pada tahun ini jumlah video porno membengkak menjadi 800 video porno. Data ini terungkap dalam acara konferensi pers Jaringan Pendukung UU Pornografi yang diadakan di Press Room DPD RI, Jumat (18/6) pagi.

Sementara itu, menurut Anggota Dewan Perwakilan Daerah (DPD) RI dari Provinsi Jambi, Juniwati T Masjchun Sofwan, penyebaran video porno sudah sangat menyimpang, tidak menghormati norma agama dan norma sosial, terutama penghormatan terhadap lembaga pernikahan.

"Aspirasi masyarakat daerah, tak hanya dari Provinsi Jambi, namun juga dari berbagai daerah lainnya, menunjukkan masyarakat telah sangat resah atas masifnya penyebaran video porno serta dampak yang ditimbulkannya," kata Juniwati.

Sebagai representasi daerah, lanjut Juniwati, sudah seharusnya anggota DPD RI menindaklanjuti aspirasi ini dengan langkah-langkah yang bersesuaian dengan tugas dan wewenang DPD RI, dalam rangka memerankan fungsi legislasi dan pengawasannya atas Undang-Undang tertentu.

Ketua Aliansi Selamatkan Anak Indonesia (ASA Indonesia), Tatty Elmir, menambahkan, siapapun pelaku pornografi, maka anak yang akan selalu jadi korban utamanya. Siapapun yang mentoleransi ini, maka adik, anak, cucu, keturunan dan orang-orang yang disayanginya akan jadi korban berikutnya.

Karena itu, jelas Tatty Elmir, sesuai dengan UU No. 44 tahun 2008 tentang pornografi, maka mulai dari model, pembuat, pengunduh, pengunggah, penyebar, penyimpan hingga penikmat, bisa masuk pelaku kriminal.

"Karena itu perlu ditegaskan sekali lagi bahwa pornografi bukan hiburan, tapi kejahatan," tegasnya.

Jaringan yang mendorong UU Pornografi ini merasa kondisi kali ini jauh lebih mendesak karena sejumlah data menunjukan Indonesia adalah salah satu negara yang penduduknya paling banyak mengakses internet untuk mendapatkan informasi seputar seks.

Ia juga mengatakan, Indonesia merupakan negara keempat di dunia yang mengakses kata “sex” atau “porn” lewat google.

5.000 Pengakses Situs Porno Ditangkap

5.000 Pengakses Situs Porno Ditangkap

APARAT keamanan China telah menangkap lebih dari 5.000 pengakses situs porno dalam operasi besar-besaran terhadap pornografi di internet selama tahun 2009. Belum merasa cukup, China berjanji akan lebih tegas memerangi kejahatan online, salah satunya tetap terhadap pornografi, di tahun 2010.

"Sebanyak 5.394 orang telah ditahan sepanjang 2009 dalam operasi terhadap pornografi di internet. Pemerintah juga berhasil menutup 9.000 situs ilegal yang berbau pornografi," ungkap Kementerian Keamanan Publik China. Pengumuman ini sekaligus menegaskan upaya China untuk memerangi kejahatan internet.

Kementerian Keamanan Publik China juga menyatakan akan semakin memperkuat sanksi bagi para operator situs yang melanggar aturan China. Selain itu, juga telah melakukan sensor ketat terhadap situs-situs di China. Pembatasan yang dinamai "Great Firewall of China" ini menyensor konten-konten yang dianggap pemerintah China tidak sehat, termasuk konten porno dan kekerasan.

Komitmen China dalam memberantas pornografi tampaknya tak diragukan lagi. Di bulan Desember 2009 lalu, China juga tercatat telah menghabiskan US$1.465 yang dibagikan kepada para pengguna internet yang melaporkan situs-situs yang mengandung unsur pornografi.

Saat ini pengguna internet di China adalah yang terbesar dibanding negara-negara lainnya di dunia. Setidaknya tercatat ada 338 juta pengguna internet di China. "Menyucikan internet dan menindak kejahatan internet berkaitan dengan keamanan negara jangka panjang," tambah Kementerian Keamanan Publik China seperti dikutip channelnewsasia.com.

Bahkan, pada Desember lalu, pemerintah China menawarkan hadiah sampai 10.000 yuan atau sekitar Rp 14 juta kepada pengguna Internet yang melaporkan situs-situs pornografi. Menurut data terakhir yang dipublikasikan oleh Kementerian Keamanan Publik, 5.394 orang ditangkap tahun lalu terkait pornografi internet, dan 9.000 situs terkait telah ditutup.

"Membersihkan internet dan menindak kejahatan di internet merupakan upaya jangka panjang demi keamanan negara," tegas Menteri Keamanan Publik dilansir AFP.

Penggunaan internet telah berkembang sangat pesat di China sehingga China menjadi pengguna terbesar di dunia dengan 338 juta pengguna. Pemerintah China khawatir jika dibiarkan tak terkendali, internet bisa menjadi sarana bagi warga biasa untuk menyebarkan informasi yang merugikan masyarakat, termasuk ide-ide yang kritis terhadap pemerintah komunis.

China telah memblokir beberapa situs jaringan sosial seperti Facebook dan Twitter. Warga hanya dapat memperoleh akses ke situs tersebut dengan menggunakan proxy server. Tahun lalu, Beijing mengancam sanksi kepada beberapa situs besar, seperti penyedia mesin pencari Google dan Baidu, yang dituding membiarkan pornografi.

Cinta Diputus, Foto Mesum Pacar Tersebar

Cinta Diputus, Foto Mesum Pacar Tersebar

`

TULUNGAGUNG – Kejahatan pornografi semakin tak mengenal batas. Siapapun bisa menjadi korban pengedar foto-foto mesum, termasuk orang yang peranh paling dekat sekalipun.

Seperti kasus di Tulungagung, Jawa Timur, ini. Gara-gara cinta diputus, seorang pria diduga nekat menyebarkan foto-foto bugil pacarnya. Ris (20), perempuan korban penyebaran foto bugil tersebut, tak kuat menanggung malu dan akhirnya melapor ke Mapolres Tulungagung.

Kepala Urusan Binops (KBO) Satuan Reserse dan Kriminal Polres Tulungagung, Iptu Siswanto menuturkan, polisi mengusut kasus itu dengan memintai keterangan sejumlah saksi yang diduga terkait penyebaran foto tersebut.

Ris yang menjadi korban dalam peristiwa tersebut sebenarnya telah mencurigai Arif Yunizar (33), mantan kekasihnya asal Dusun/Desa/Kecamatan, Kabupaten Blitar.

Namun, polisi belum bisa menetapkannya sebagai tersangka lantaran dalam pemeriksaan, Arif menyangkal memiliki maupun menyebarkan foto-foto tersebut.

Siswanto menjelaskan, terungkapnya kejahatan pornografi itu bermula dari pengaduan yang disampaikan seorang pekerja warung remang-remang kepada ibu korban yang juga pemilik warung di kompleks Pasar Ngemplak, Kelurahan Botoran, Kecamatan Kota, Tulungagung, Rabu (22/12/2010) lalu.

Saat itu, ibu Ris disodori dua lembar kertas foto berukuran folio yang di dalamnya terdapat 25 gambar anaknya dalam pose tanpa busana. Dua foto di antaranya bahkan memperlihatkan Ris tengah berhubungan seks dengan seorang pria.

“Gambar-gambar itu menurut korban diambil oleh mantan pacarnya (Arif), saat keduanya melakukan hubungan badan di luar nikah di sebuah hotel sekitar November 2010 lalu,” terang Siswanto.

Kini, Arif terancam dijerat UU No 44/ 2008 tentang Pornografi, meskipun sebenarnya seseorang yang dengan sadar membiarkan dirinya dijadikan objek pornografi, bisa dijerat hukuman.

Terlebih dari pose-pose bugil Ris, terkesan diambil secara sadar dan sepenuhnya disadari oleh objek yang difoto. Hanya saja, polisi tidak akan gegabah menetapkan Ris yang menjadi objek foto bugil sebagai tersangka.

Saat dihubungi, Ris membantah dirinya sengaja membiarkan difoto telanjang. Ia bercerita, pada November 2010 lalu, dirinya memang pernah menginap di sebuah hotel bersama Arif setelah mabuk minuman keras di sebuah kafe.

Dalam keadaan mabuk itulah, terjadi hubungan suami istri antara dirinya dan Arif. Dalam kondisi dipengaruhi alkohol, Arif mengambil gambarnya dalam pose telanjang.

“Tidak benar saya rela difoto telanjang. Saya waktu itu mabuk dan tidak sadar sepenuhnya. Siapa, sih, yang mau difoto telanjang,” ucap Ris.

Ia baru sadar dan mengetahui foto-foto telanjangnya keesokan hari saat memeriksa ponsel Arif. Dengan nada kesal, ia protes kepada Arif, Ris mengaku telah menghapus empat foto di dalam ponsel Arif.

Namun, dengan enteng Arif menjawab telah menyimpan foto-foto tersebut di komputernya. Arif malah mengancam akan menyebarkan foto-foto itu jika Ris memutuskan jalinan asmara di antara mereka.

Nah, rupanya pada Desember ini jalinan cinta keduanya berakhir. Ris kecewa karena Arif sudah beristri dan punya anak. Padahal, saat pacaran, Arif selalu mengaku masih perjaka.

”Coba siapa yang tidak sakit hati, ia mengaku masih perjaka tak tahunya sudah punya istri dan anak,” tukas Ris.

Arif yang disebut Ris sebagai orang yang diduga telah mengambil dan menyebarkan fotonya sudah dimintai keterangan di Mapolres Tulungagung. Ia membantah dirinya memfoto Ris dalam keadaan telanjang dan menyebarkannya.

Menindaklanjuti pengaduan itu, Unit Perlindungan Perempuan dan Anak (UPPA) Polres Tulungagung berencana memanggil kembali terlapor Arif Yunizar. Namun sebelum itu, tim penyidik terlebih dahulu akan memanggil pekerja kafe yang saat ini diketahui sebagai pengadu pertama ke ibu korban.

“Dari pekerja kafe remang-remang bernama Vera ini, kami ingin tahu siapa laki-laki yang menyodori dia foto-foto Ris tersebut. Semoga dari situ pelakunya bisa kami usut,” kata Siswanto.

Posted in Ikhtibar, Indonesia, Kriminal