Stuff, stuff and more [fun?] stuff

[matgb]

1. Clickz.com has an interview with the Six Apart CEO
   • foxfirefey gives it a good fisking^[1], and goes through a whole load of useful numbers ^[2]. Seriously, go read.
   • Given the factual innacuracies in the article, I emailed the author. Despite the 6A spin, he admits that the mistakes are his. He says he'll fix it ^[3].
2. My good friend draich_goch is having problems with his garage.
   • Remember this idea from June?
   • We decided to do Blears and mapp, but never got around to setting it up.
   • Let's do it

Setting up those Google Bombs

Right, there were going to be two, but in order to assist Jason and get some petty revenge, I'm adding a third. Feel free to do one, two, or three of them. Theoretically, it only takes a week or so to work, but this'll be the first one I'm aware of entirely via Livejournal.

Instructions

Go to your Links List^[4] and add some new links to your journal display page. The first should be called 'Cowardly genius' and should have the link http://roberts-mapp.com/ Second should be 'insubstantial careerist' and have the link http://www.hazelblears.labour.co.uk/ the third should be 'a bunch of lying bastards' and should have the link http://www.ajblackler.co.uk/

To help the bomb on the way, a public post containing all the links correctly anchored and titled would help as well. It has to be public because, dude? The whole point of friends locking is to stop people and search engines getting to it, but you can't bomb Google without giving their bots access to your post...

If'n you're not sure how to correctly link with titles and anchors, copy and past the below box into a post (it'll help if it's not behind a cut as well).

I'm participating in <lj site="livejournal.com" user="matgb">'s attempt at the first proper <a href="http://matgb.livejournal.com/tag/google+bomb" title="Livejournal Google Bomb">Livejournal Google Bomb</a>. We have decided to promote a <a href="http://roberts-mapp.com/" title="cowardly genius">cowardly genius</a>, denigrate an <a href="http://www.hazelblears.labour.co.uk/"> title="insubstantial careerist">insubstantial careerist</a> and point out to the world <a href="http://www.ajblackler.co.uk/" title="a bunch of lying bastards">a bunch of lying bastards</a>. For more information go <a href="http://matgb.livejournal.com/134383.html">here</a>.

which should give an output something like:

I'm participating in matgb's attempt at the first proper Livejournal Google Bomb. We have decided to promote a cowardly genius, denigrate an insubstantial careerist and point out to the world a bunch of lying bastards. For more information go here.

The links list entries are the most important, as Google really likes to index front-page links, but also picks up links from sub pages as well.

As always, just a bit of fun. If it works, might be good to do one with a more international flavour as well, but, y'know, proof of concept and all that fun...

Oh yeah...

Comment here with a link back to your post so we can spread the love more ;-)

---

[1] Fisking: A section by section analysis of an article, pointing out it's innacuracies and fallacies, named for Robert Fisk, journalist for the Independent, who, um, tends to deserve it, great writer, bias palpable.

[2] Approx 25% of active users are Plus level. Approx 10% are paid (higher than we previously thought). The rest are 'Basic'/free. More interestingly, 50% of new users are Plus. That means that 50% change from the default at sign up, approximately 40/10 basic/paid?

[3]My comments are on a members-only post at no_lj_ads, a community I highly recommend for a general round-up of LJ news and very informed comment, in a constructive manner; a number of LJ high ups regularly comment there and are actually quite helpful.

[4] Only works for users of S2, if you're using S1, you'll need to hardcode it, but most people use S2 without trying, those using S1 should be able to figure it out, right?

Comments

[shakalooloo.livejournal.com]

Ah, Mat: if possible, please turn up to GameSoc this Sunday (in the JCR). First meeting of the new academic year, with freshers running around, and your considerable experience and presence would be most welcome. :)

[matgb]

Planning to. And hopefully coming up to Steve's tomorrow for Blitzcrieg Commander; if'n you haven't played it, WWII Warmaster, very very good (and I hate WWII as a period for the most part).

Anyway, do me google bomb damnit!

[shakalooloo.livejournal.com]

Here be me contribution. Actual links will be up shortly.

[mapp.livejournal.com]

I'm taking part and, um, might also be brave enough to go to GeekSoc this Sunday for an hour or two.

[kunzite1.livejournal.com]

i just lost the game. :(

[matgb]

Bwah? Unless you just followed one of my many goofy links I guess. It does say don't click it...

[kunzite1.livejournal.com]

right. but what's that about reverse psychology? ;)

[matgb]

Well, y'know. Still not playing, I wrote my own version of the rules which took out the bit about knowing=playing.

I just watch and laugh. It's amasing how easy it is to set up some of my friends.

[kunzite1.livejournal.com]

haha! gotcha.

quite neat.

thanks for the amusement. :)

[mapp.livejournal.com]

You do realise that "insubstantial careerist" and "cowardly genius" are now working. "A bunch of lying bastards" might take a bit longer though.

[rhythmaning.livejournal.com]

Oh, that always amuses me!

[matgb]

It's sort of fun to see how they work and set one up so it does work. That this has been done from my LJ only thus far is a sign of the power that individual users can weild if they want to, which is after all why Google is so good.

Join usssss...

[matgb]

Weird, that was fast. I set mine up a few weeks back in the links list, then never did the post, I added the lying bastards last night, so that makes sense.

So, one site, of PR 3, can get a google bomb off if the target site is already high PR or if the search term is very obscure. Hmmm, that's very open to abuse.

[js84.livejournal.com]

A link back to my post (http://comedyjim.livejournal.com/28204.html)

I've hidden the links list from displaying on my front page (they are only in my friends view). If I added the links there would it still be picked up?

[matgb]

No, friends page links are actually completely useless, as LJ inserts robots/nofollow text so Google won't follow it.

If it shows up on post pages it'll read it, but links on the very front page of a domain count for a lot more than anywhere else (mostly due to the way PR works, short version is each page accrues rank, that also applies in a little to the domain its attached to, but individual pages have a lot less than the domain itself).

But no, a friends view link does nothing at all, if it did, then LJ would've broken Google already with all the interlinks caused by friends pages.