How Matt Drudge's two-man Web site nets $800,000 a year

Matt Drudge, whose online news site became famous for exposing the secrets of President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, may not be so happy that some of his own secrets have been revealed.

Business 2.0 has released a back-of-the-envelope analysis showing that DrudgeReport.com, a minimalistic scoop sheet, nets about $68,500 a month, or $822,000 a year. That's despite the fact that the operation is based on only two individuals: Drudge himself, who works out of a Miami condo, and a mysterious Los Angeles reporter, who is never named.

The business magazine reports that Drudge's site is ranked 29th highest in advertising impressions on the Internet. Space-buyers pay as much as $2 per 1,000 impressions and include DirecTV, Paramount Pictures, and The New York Times.

According to writer Jeff Keighley, Drudge's formula for success is:

1. Get news from sources, rather than generating it yourself

2. Link to stories posted by others when they break news

3. Cut bureaucracy so headlines can be added immediately

4. Don't discuss the secrets of how you run your business

It's that last point that suggests the cyber-gadfly won't be too happy about Business 2.0's article. Then again, he may be crying all the way to the bank.

See for yourself at: http://www.business2.com@a2.tc/4e87

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E-BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW: GOOGLE HACKS

Google.com may have become the most popular search engine on the Internet. But not one person in a thousand understands the power that lies just beneath the surface of Google's interface.

That's what revealed in "Google Hacks," a new book by Tara Calishain and RaelDornfest. The co-authors describe in detail 100 tricks you can use to improve the results you get from the Net's most-trafficked engine.

The "hacks" -- the word is used to mean "little-known shortcuts," not illegal activity -- range from how to get around Google's 10-word search limitation to taking advantage of its most sophisticated Web services. Each hack is self-contained and code is provided for the more advanced subjects, which can be exploited using Perl, Java, PHP, Python, .Net, and Visual Basic.

For more details: http://www.amazon.com@isbn.at/0596004478

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LIVINGSTON'S TOP 10 NEWS PICKS O' THE WEEK

1. Programs by Visa and MasterCard aid credit card security: http://www.net-security.org@5a0.tc/44f

2. Controversial English language Al Jazeera news site opens: http://english.aljazeera.net@3n.be/837

3. Online databases of your travel habits may be viewed: http://www.wired.com@1c.to/c1f

4. Google News mixes press releases with journalistic sources: http://www.theregister.co.uk@e.la/1007