Six months into her job at an NYC law firm, a woman who would only identify herself as "Karin" was terminated. She relocated to St. Louis, Mo., and began studying for the bar exam while staying busy with a food blog, STL Meal Deals. Money was tight; she was living on $405 a week from unemployment benefits from New York, so she thought she'd try generating a little side money by signing up for Google AdSense, which pays bloggers to host ads on their sites and sends checks when their earnings hit $100. It was a pittance that would cost her dearly. more ›