racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

Why didn’t I think of that before?

Anyway, what brought me to this realization is a recent issue of a lawsuit threat because a blog ranks higher than a business site for a Google search. Search Engine Journal has the skinny.

An online shoe store owner is threatening to sue a blogger Dean Hunt (DeanHunt.com) unless the blogger ‘lowers his Google ranking” for a keyword phrase that the store owner feels he deserves.
...

I have been running the site for over two years and we have been ranked very highly for the search term [edited].

On Thursday morning I checked our google positions and your site is now above us for this term. I haev checked your blog and it has nothing to do with [edited], so I think it would be best all round if you remove your blog from google for this search term.

Please understand that we make our living from this, and you are just writing a blog that has nothing to do with [edited].

If you do not remove yourself from google for this search, then I will call them myself and have you removed.

...

You have to understand Dean that an online business should be higher in Google than a blog.

Don’t forget that Google is a business as well, they obviously make more money from other businesses than they do from blogs, so it is in their interest that I am higher than you for certain searches.

I have also contacted my lawyer about this issue, so you should expect a letter in the post very soon.

Wow. That’s stupid, with a capital S! (That makes it Stupid, then.)

This is why I often advocate the use of blogs by businesses and companies. It helps with the image and helps boost search rankings, as well. “BLOG” standing for “better listings on Google” is very appropriate, don’t you think?

I dread the day the owners of racoma.com come knocking on my door demanding I de-optimize my blog for my surname. Or rather, I think I should look forward to that day. Maybe I can charge a gazillion bucks for racoma.net and racoma.com.ph.

Wow! I didn’t realize this until I tried looking for our new apartment via satellite imagery. Previously, only the client-version of Google’s geo service, Google Earth , had higher res aerial imagery of Metro Manila. now, even the online version, Google Maps does! I say “higher” because this is definitely better than what Maps had to offer before. Still, it’s not as good as Google Earth, and it’s definitely not up to par with the aerial photos or Ikonos / Quickbird satellite images that the surveying companies will give you for a few million Pesos.

Some Snapshots

Here are some screencaps of imagery of my beloved Quezon City.

Both our old and new apartments are in this area.

Here’s the University of the Philippines Admin building, where the Oblation is located.

Here’s the Gateway Mall and the Araneta Colliseum in Cubao.

Here’s SM North EDSA, sans the new ‘Block’ mall. This means the aerial photos were probably taken pre-2006, when SM was still using the area as a parking lot.

This could open up a lot of new business opportunities for people who do web apps! This was exactly what I was looking for back when I worked with i.PH—location-based services and geotagging were the hot thing back then. I wonder if it’s still a good idea to do this today. Joel was right. Google’s going to put those aerial photo and satellite imagery companies out of business (at least for the consumer/low-end market, and not those requiring millimiter-level accuracy). Google is giving this stuff away for free!

Web apps, anyone? I hope we beat you guys to it!

Not really.

But we do run a blog named Isulong SEOPH, as do perhaps hundreds of other people. Yeah, hundreds of other people who want a bite at that prize money, the honor of being number one, or just a chance to bite each other’s heads off in the heat of the competition. But what’s the difference?

We’re on page one.

And that’s by no means a small feat (remember, big feet = big s____). After all, we’re up against seasoned SEO professionals and enthusiasts. There are, indeed, people who optimize for the good ol’ search engines (Google and what’s-their-names), in order for their pet projects or clients to appear number one, or at least among the search results.

Moreover, Ia, Phillip and I are just enjoying ourselves, basking in the glow of the screens of our spanking new MacBook Pros (or is it MacBooks Pro?) while sipping our favorite cocktails in our respective corner-offices in Makati, which we’ve opened up for our great new startup, Go-Ogle!

Ok, I lie. But not about the page-one part. We rock! We’re about to pwn Isulong SEOPH! And we’re frickin’ n00bs at SEO, for crying out loud!

We do hope our projects would earn us those new MacBooks Pro and those large corner-offices in Makati (while we absolutely shun corporate life, large offices would be cool for frolicking around with expensive equipment in).

Oh, I lied about the alcohol too. No alcohol for you, Ia and Phil. You’re too young!

A bit of help

So now that that nonsensical thinking-aloud thing’s over with, I’d like to solicit your help. You see, our being on page one is by no means easy and comfortable. We now feel the pressure in a way, because we feel that we’re there by chance. Google must love the fact that we’re calling ourselves Go-Ogle. Or perhaps that’s because of early fluctuations in the rankings. Or it could be due to a host of other factors.

Fact is, we really do hope that our page-one status would be sustainable. We’ve tried to optimize as well as we could on-site, but we need help with off-site optimization, too, which would usually consist about 50% of optimization activities (or about 75% of the effort, I’d say).

So if you have hearts of gold, and would like to see your favorite young, struggling artistes win their share of the glory, do link to our Isulong SEOPH site.

The URL is:

http://www.go-ogle.com.ph/isulong-seoph

And the anchor link text should be:

Isulong SEOPH

Here’s a convenient code you can copy and paste onto your blogs or sites, for those who can access their templates/themes (or who prefer hardcoding their posts/entries or blogs).

<a href="http://www.go-ogle.com.ph/isulong-seoph">Isulong SEOPH</a>

What will you get?

Well, aside from our heartfelt thanks, we will link back to you on our Isulong SEOPH site. And you’ll also have first crack at what we’re developing for Go-Ogle!

There are probably a ton of other things we could help you out with in exchange, considering our interest in a ton of things (ranging from web design, basketball, programming, creative writing, cryptography, accupressure, kung fu, Swahili translation, et cetera). Just drop us a line. We’ve set up a mailing address at mail@go-ogle.com.ph . We’ll also be setting up an email group for discussion, soon.

There are a few ways to effectively get people to notice and read your blog, and that includes being all snarky, downright funny, satirical, or truly informative, like some bloggers I know. These people have a way with words such that their writings can really drive deep into your soul or your sensibilities. Most of the time you’ll end up laughing your guts out. That’s unless you’re the unfortunate victim of snarkiness or if you end up the butt of all jokes. In this case you will probably get annoyed—unless it’s all written in good faith, that is.

Sometimes you’ll scratch your head, asking yourself why didn’t I think of that?

And I think this last one is good.

Discussion vs. Readership

I’d prefer to quantify and qualify attention better through the number and relevance of comments that blog posts get rather than just the raw number of pageviews for that entry. Why? Sure, you may get a lot of readers loading up your articles. But unless you can get a good discussion going from your post then there’s probably something wrong, which can be any one of the following.

• Your blog software or design is crappy and people are having a hard time submitting comments.
• Your post is worth the few seconds of reading, but that’s about it.

When readers talk back, it means they like what you’ve written and would like to contribute their two cents’ worth. This means your blog post is worth ranting or raving about or on. At the very least this would mean that your readers feel proud to tell the rest of the world that they read your blog!

Style and Substance

However, it’s usually not enough to be just funny, snarky, or satirical. Sometimes this kind of writing might be interpreted as being attention-seeking or bordering on despair, with the writing’s or the blog’s raison d’être being just that—to seek attention. Your writing should be backed with substance in order to be truly worth reading and writing about.

Here are a few tips I can offer from what I’ve learned in the course of my pro-blogging. Let’s not focus on picking themes or niches for your blogs for the meantime, and let’s narrow in on writing one single blog post. Pretty soon you might want to apply this to each and every blog post you write.

1. Pick an interesting topic and learn all there is to know about it. This may be a current event or a hotly-contested issue. But I think it’s best to be unique and try to zero in on something no one else is noticing, but you know you can write effectively about. Be creative.
2. Make a strong point and take a stand. If you will just echo what everyone else in the blogosphere is saying then your post is probably not worth the fuss. True, it may make for good reference, but that’s just about it. Express your opinion and express it clearly, concisely, and unequivocally. Speak up.
3. Write with conviction and confidence. Readers love it when they see someone expressing their own opinion and doing so with passion. You are more likely inspire your readers to do the same. Move mountains.
4. Invite discussion. Your readers would hate it when you shoot down each and every dissenting comment on your posts. Agree to disagree. Welcome even the people who don’t share your own opinions. Talk and talk back!

Controversy is good

I’m of the opinion that a blog is only half-complete without active discussion from its readers. This is why I’d rather allow commenting without moderation and clean up spam post-fact—those that slip through spam filters at least. I’m thankful for all of you who have been actively posting here. I’m actually also happy that the J Spot has had a higher comment-to-post ratio since I moved from i.PH to my own hosted WP installation. Somehow my old design, layout and blog software were just not comment-friendly. I’ve changed the format of my blog, too, since then. I’ve focused on writing more substantial material rather than just simple “read this, this is cool,” posts.

Here’s a case I’d like to highlight my point with. A few days ago, I wrote on FG about something I read up regarding Wikipedia (as pointed out to me by Corsarius). I made some strong assertions, and I drew some flak from commenters who thought otherwise. They had good points—some probably better or more valid than mine. But I chose to take a stand. True, I downplayed some points by responding with humor, but that’s to entertain the dissenters and not turn them off.

Controversy is good. And it’s even better when you have great arguments to back up each and every side. That’s how you can blog and get noticed!

Do check out the campaign site of a certain Eric J. Gunderson from Montana, who’s running for a seat in the US House of Representatives this year. I commend whoever developed and designed Mr. Gunerson’s site for the great concept and design. Remember, folks, this is 2006 we’re talking about here. According to the DIGG link, it’s the awesomest campaign site, ever!

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you YOUR next congressman from Montana. All done with CSS positioning—but with vintage mid-90’s flavor and an authentic myspace aftertaste. Take note of the wicked LP-rip that loops on the homepage. I hope he wins!

Here’s a screencap:

I remember my old homepages (here and here, and old J Spot writeup here).

And who could forget my sister’s old homepage and high school class homepage?

Warning: looping MIDI alert!

Ah, the good old days!