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Everybody who does SEO for a living knows that it takes some hard work to build links, write relevant content, and make a useful site. It’s a full time job for some.
So what do you do if you don’t have the time to give your cite the TLC it deserves? Simple: You write a letter to the sites that rank above you and demand that they stop doing so.
Ordinarily I’d laugh my ass off at this if I hadn’t already seen it before. Sadly, my company recieved a similiar letter this summer. It was from a Ford dealer who threatened to come after us for trademark infringement for ranking above his website. The term in question was “XXXXXXXXX Ford” where XXXXXXXXX is both the name of his ford dealership, AND the city his ford dealership was located in.
So what was our site? It had a title of XXXXXXXXX Area Ford Dealers, and was simply a list of all the Ford dealers around XXXXXXXXX. The page contained their names, addresses, phone numbers, and links to their websites. It’s easy to see why it was more useful than his page and why it ranked first.
Anyway, I love these type of emails… If anybody is looking to drum up some SEO clients, I know a good place to start.
December 9th, 2006
It’s probably not official, but a website calling itself the national toy hall of fame lists 36 of the most popular toys of all time. How they came up with 36 is beyond me.
So let’s see… of the 36 I’ve had 32 (33 if you count roller blades as roller skates.) Somehow my parents never bought me Raggedy Ann, Barbie, or an easy bake oven. Does that make me neglected?
On a site note, at one time in my life I’ve either swalled or ingested at least 6 of the toys listed. (though not at the same time). How many of these toys did you have growing up?
December 6th, 2006
New York has become the first city to ban restaurants from using Trans Fats in the food they serve. Research shows that these fats have little nutritional value, and can lead to health problems. But should they be banned?
If you ask me, people should be free to eat whatever they want to eat. Smoking is way more dangerous, and it’s not banned. Eating the mushrooms growing in my lawn isn’t good for me either, but nobody’s passing a law saying I can’t do it. (disclosure: I’ve never eaten the mushrooms that grow in my front lawn)
I hate when politicians enact these “protect the people from themselves” laws. We can’t call ourselves free if we try to legislate common sense. Are we going to pass a mandatory “eat 3 meals /day” or “breathe” law too?
I’m all for requiring restaurants to disclose what dishes contain trans fats – then the consumer can make an educated choice. But telling the consumer what to eat… that’s just going too far.
December 6th, 2006
How often do you come across a product being sold on the web that you deem INCREDIBLE? Melissa Pierce of Tampa, Florida says that almost everything is INCREDIBLE. In fact, she loves every product she uses so much that she has to write a testimonial about it. Take a Look. Some products are so INCREDIBLE that she’s even bought them multiple times from different websites.
By the way, if you want your own Fake Testimonial you can use the generator I made.
December 4th, 2006
Update: I did a new post about this entitled why does my eye twitch.
Remember a couple posts ago where I talk about 1/4 life crisis, being stressed out and the like? Well, it turns out I was right. I’ve come down with a case of Blepharospasm. What is Blepharospam? It’s Eyelid twitch. For the past 3 days now my eyelids have been twitching uncontrolably. It was so bad that when I was laying on my side, I could hear what sounded like my pulse as my eyelid twitched against the pillow.
Apparantley it’s caused by stress, lack of sleep, and /or too much caffeine. Hmm.. all of those seem to pretty much describe the typical computer programmer lifestyle. Has anybody else ever suffered from this and not noticed it? What did you do? I don’t see myself being able to rectify any of those causes anytime soon without giving up work, hockey, housework, or my side projects.
I guess if anybody could use a vacation it’s me. I have one coming up the end of this month through the first week of January – I can’t wait.
December 2nd, 2006
For years we’ve heard stories of politicians playing the “child porn” card to get laws passed. You know, the “we need this to fight child porn, so if you vote against it you’re supporting child porn” argument. The same goes for Terrorism. As Techdirt points out though, it’s now shifted to the “illegal downloading” defense.
I’m talking about how California created a bill that would make pretexting illegal and allow victims to sue. If you don’t know what pretexting is, it’s the practice of pretending to be somebody using ther information to obtain other would be private information about that person. It’d be like your company using your SSN to call your cell phone provider and get your call logs.
Sound familiar? It’s what HP did in their recent board member scandal.
Anyway, the bill which originally passed was shot down after the MPAA got involved. They claimed that they needed to use pretexting to stop illegal downloading. My question is: What gives the MPAA the right to break the law to stop people breaking the law?
There’s no question piracy is illegal, and I don’t support it. I also don’t support private companies being able to break the law without being punished. Cops can’t offer to sell you drugs then arrest you (however if you ask them first, it’s fine.) The same should hold true here.
What the Techdirt article doesn’t mention is the MPAA’s DVD sniffing dogs that can detect large shipments of pirated DVDs. Granted, this is a great crime stopping idea but what gives the MPAA (a private company) the right to sniff anybody’s package? I’m sure we’d easily be told where to go if my company tried to get access to airport packages.
December 2nd, 2006
You ever have one of those A-Ha moments? I came across an old Langston Hughes poem today called Dreams and had mine.
Lately I’ve been going through what I call a quarter life crisis (although it could just be a stirring in my soul. You know the feeling: it’s the “is this what I want to do for the next 30 years” type feeling.
If you ask me, a mid-life crisis has nothing on what I’m going through. I’m assuming it’s common with most people in their mid twenties. We’re out of college, working, have a house etc. Basically, we’re just starting to get stuck in our rut.
That’s exactly how I’ve been feeling lately. I’ve lost a lot of motivation to work, I’m debating about doing something drastic like moving to another state, and basically asking myself “what do I do now?” It’s reminiscent of that bathtub scene in fight club. I too find myself asking “what next dad?”
So where does this poem come in? Well, I just realized it all has to do with dreams. See, in high school the “dream” is to go to college. In college it’s to graduate, then get a job. Once you get a job you get a house, etc. But now what? Settle down and wait until retirement? That’s not much of a dream…and maybe that’s why I’m depressed.
All through college when I’d have a long day at Wendys I’d re-assure myself that it’s all part of doing what I need to do to achieve my dreams. But now I’ve achieved them, so what do I do?
I know some of you are saying “duh, get more dreams” but most dreams would pale compared to the “get a degree/job/house” type. So at least now I’ve figured out what’s going on in my life. If anybody has any suggestions for how to fix it, let me know. Maybe another degree? A job in a new state (somewhere warm)?
November 30th, 2006
The Rose Bowl Matchup has been determined. Michigan will play LSU in the Rose Bowl on January 1st, 2007. (that is of course if USC beats UCLA saturday)
November 30th, 2006
You work in a mental hospital. One of your patients is ranting about killing all jews when he suddenly mentions castrating the president. Which of the following do you do?
a.) Ignore him, he IS a mental patient.
b.) Treat him for his mental illness
c.) Call the secret service
Most people would choose a or b, however not if said patient’s name is Arafat Nijmeh. In that case, you throw them in jail for 7 months.
Now, I know it’s illegal to threaten the president. But such threats need to be examined rationally. Is there any way he could have actually castrated the president? (insert bush having no balls joke here…) I’ve never heard of somebody who’s already locked up being regarded as a threat to the president. Maybe I just don’t see it.
November 29th, 2006
If you watched House tonight (and are like my mom) you’re probably asking what the 30 pieces of silver comment at the end was all about.
Well, it’s from Matthew 26:14-16. (yeah that’s the bible.) Anyway, that’s what Judas was paid when he betrayed Jesus.
November 28th, 2006
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