Statement on Use of Advertising and Non-payment for Interviews

Advertisements appear on this blog. While that may make the website appear as though it is profit-oriented, the truth is that the ads do not pay for the 'deep web' memberships that are needed to perform meaningful research on missing person cases. 

By "deep web" I describe search engines that require a paid membership to use in order to access the full spectrum of records they store. Searching Google does not access the backend of paid websites. Example sites include Newspapers.com and Ancestry.com. Research on these sites is valuable for producing leads in missing person cases.

As of February 1st, 2021 Adsense had generated $76.09 CAD since the creation of the site in July 2016. The minimum payout is $100 so no really-existing revenue has yet been generated. Even when that $100 threshold is reached, it would not pay for the numerous search-engine costs that running this site in a productive way has incurred.

I continue to volunteer my writing and research skills all the same. Accordingly, the site isn't profit-oriented but a voluntary effort. At times, I view it as a hobby.

The non-profit orientation brings into play non-payment for interviews. Frequently, people that know someone who is missing are hounded by media sources for updates. They may, in short, come into demand. For this website, interviewees will not be compensated even if they proofread a webpage, provide a correction, or supply new facts to a profile.

If the website grows such that the revenue exceeds the costs, then this matter could be addressed again at such a time. My thinking would be that I would simply reinvest the revenue into the site to further help with generating leads.

Shane Lambert