On Cnet deleting its archive
CNet Deletes Thousands of Old Articles in an Attempt to Game Google Search – Pixel Envy:
Google says this whole strategy is bullshit. A bunch of SEO types Germain interviewed swear by it, but they believe in a lot of really bizarre stuff. It sounds like nonsense to me. After all, Google also prioritizes authority, and a well-known website which has chronicled the history of an industry for decades is pretty damn impressive. Why would “a 1996 article about available AOL service tiers” — per the internal memo — cause a negative effect on the site’s rankings, anyhow? I cannot think of a good reason why a news site purging its archives makes any sense whatsoever.There’s been quite a kerfuffle about this. This is an area where I have more than a little experience, and although it sounds counter-intuitive it is completely true that there are instances where it's better for users and the site for old content to be removed.
Although, as Nick points out, Google advises that simply deleting content does nothing for you there are three circumstances where deleting content very definitely does improve your SEO. But you don’t just delete it. Deleting content without redirecting it or in an unstructured manner just leaves you with a bunch of 404s, which you don’t want. It will also almost certainly break some of the crawl paths which Google and other robots use to find their ways around the site.
But there are circumstances where you want to delete and redirect content, either because it’s a bunch of content which is actively harming your site’s authority with Google or because it no longer best serves the needs of your audience.
The first is where that content is thin. Thin content is typical old-style news in brief pieces which are very short. Google has always disliked short content (the rule of thumb is under 300 words) and while a few pieces are fine if a sizeable percentage of your content is thin it can hurt you. Those kind of stories tend to date from the early/mid 00’s, when blasting out tonnes of content was the fashion, and a lot of new-in-brief pieces got written.
The second is when you have lots of repetitive or duplicate content – content which essentially says the same thing, over and over and over again. Big news sites do this a lot, because often with news you have covered the same story with more or less the same facts for a long time. But you will often also have content which is essentially the same, because people have the same idea for an article and don’t bother to check if it already exists – leading to two very similar articles.
Why does that matter? Because Google likes it when there’s one article on your site which provides a clear answer to a specific search query. If you have written two articles on, say, the history of the Mac Plus then it doesn’t know which one to rank and so basically down-ranks both.
The third circumstance is where you have old content receiving no traffic but which is about a keyword you are targeting. Every page has authority on some topics, even if it doesn’t rank well or at all. Often, old content isn’t maintained well. Google likes content which is updated with fresh information, because that content tends to best-serve users arriving from search. If you don’t update content, it tends to gradually lose ranking over time.
Sometimes the best approach with content like this is to start fresh – particularly when you have multiple articles on the same topic. In that case, deleting the old piece and redirecting it to a new URL is the right approach. You get the minimal authority of the old page, sending a clear signal to Google that the new page is the right one for any search queries you previously ranked for.
The Cnet memo on its process is actually a model for how you should do it, with clear guidance and opt-outs for content which is of historical value. Most content isn’t – remember the old adage that today’s news is tomorrow’s fish-and-chip paper – but some stories clearly are. They also ensure that anything deleted is in the Internet Archive (which is another reason why the clear attempts of some publishers to kill it are so stupid).
As a writer, all this can be hard to take – after all you want to see all your articles available – but there are things you can do about it. First, make sure that you keep copies of your work. If you work for a site with an SEO team, talk to them about republishing it on your own personal blog (you can add a canonical to your post to show where the original version was published, and this is actually good for their SEO). And use Authory to keep an archive of everything across every site you publish on.
Downloading all of the music I have bought from iTunes and I am left with some deeply disturbing questions. Such as “when did I buy ‘the best of the Wurzels’”?
Am I the only Mac user who really doesn’t like Magsafe? It constantly gets small particles of grit in it, which stop it making a proper connection, and it’s too easy to knock out. Why not just give me another sodding USB-C port (which is what it basically is)?
Goddammit people don’t make me buy Baldur’s Gate 3
Suspect charged in hate-motivated stabbing in Canada university gender issues class
A suspect has been charged in the stabbing of a professor and two students during a class on gender issues at Canada’s University of Waterloo in what police are calling a hate-motivated attack... “The accused targeted a gender studies class and investigators believe this was a hate-motivated incident related to gender expression and gender identity,” Waterloo police said in a statement on Wednesday.
I'm shocked, shocked i tell you, that the stabbing of a professor teaching a class on gender has turned out to be a hate crime. Silence, of course, from the likes of Kathleen Stock and the other specialists in complaining about how they're being “oppressed" for their so-called gender critical views. And silence from the right wing “academic freedom” brigade.
Opinionated record shops
w/e 2023-08-06 (Phil Gyford’s website):
My only specific memory of shopping in Revolver was going in to buy a ticket to see The Wedding Present play at The Studio in 1991. I asked the guy behind the counter for one and, as he reached for the book or box or whatever, in which they kept tickets, he said with a look of distaste, “Well, I suppose Buffalo Tom are supporting.” It was that kind of place.
There is no better thing on this earth than a record shop (or book store) with an opinion about what’s good.
Weeknote, Sunday 6th August 2023
I bought a watch. A normal, not-in-any-way-smart watch, for less than £30. That feels like better value than a smart watch which I use mainly to tell me what the time is and for an occasional timer. Its all part of a vague plot I have to downsize my presence on big platforms, something that I'm sure I will write more about in the not too distance future.
On Wednesday we had an afternoon trip to the cinema -- another benefit of not working -- and saw Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which was much better than I was expecting. It may even be my second-favourite Indiana Jones movie (I have them ranked, don't you?) after, of course, Last Crusade. De-ageing effects have now got so good that after a couple of minutes I forgot all about it, and of course Phoebe Waller-Bridge was great.
I have timed this whole "not working" malarkey quite well: we have the Women's World Cup this month, and the rugby world cup next. If I find myself an job and start a the end of September, I will have timed everything perfectly. Which is a long-winded way of saying that this week has involved a lot of watching the world cup.
On the "I've left my job so I need a treat" list was a new pair of headphones. While the Apple AirPods Pro Max Whatever are great, they don't exactly work well with anything that's not Apple, so got a pair of Fairphone Fairbuds XL, which not only work with anything via Bluetooth, they will also work as wired phones (with no battery left) using USB-C. So far I'm very happy with them.
We are dog sitting, which means we have a pair of Bedlington terriers lazy around the house with it. They haven't yet worked out that they're not getting snacks any time I go in the kitchen, which means a lot of being followed around. They do, though, know that they need to run up and beg at the patio windows to be let out, and that barking at me will probably mean a walk, sooner or later.
I have also been sneezing like a bastard this week, which feels odd as it's very definitely not been the kind of weather which encourages hay-fever -- with this level of damp, there should be nothing in the air which is likely to irritate my nose. I wonder if I'm just not spending enough time out of doors at the moment.
And Foundation series two is out on Apple TV+. I wasn't that impressed with the first series which had some interesting ideas but was a little bit too ponderous. This series, though, is much better with a slew of new characters who are actually interesting, along with better use of all the main ones. I watched the first four episodes in a row, which is rare for me.
Also watched: Spontaneous, which was a really charming movie on Film4 the other night. Charming in only the way that a film about teenagers randomly exploding at a high school can be. Definitely recommended.
The three things which most caught my attention
- I know I link to Cory's work a lot but he keeps writing real humdingers and so I will keep linking to them. This week we got a post on the cloud and its pernicious influence. And he's right: cloud-first is a return to the old mainframe timeshare model of computing where you rent software on other people's computers.
- Trolls and grifters on Twitter are getting desperate, because the only people who get reach now on Twitter are other trolls and grifters. And as the sane, non-conspiracy world moves on from the world's worst social media platform, they're going to more extremes to get attention.
- Grace Lavery's review of books by Julie Bindell, Kathleen Stock and Helen Joyce should be required reading for anyone who is interested in the way that the right is using the issue of trans rights to subvert feminism.
Things I have been writing
I finished a short story about a doctor who has lived for 2000 years and grown to not like people very much (and no, it's not a sodding Doctor Who story). Not totally happy with the ending though, so I might need to revisit it.
Things I have been reading
I haven't been doing enough reading. I'm plodding along with China Mieville's A Specter, Haunting but I'm finding it hard going as China is in full-on academic mode and it really needs to be just a little bit more playful. I might do that rarest thing and abandon it.
It's not like I haven't got plenty of other stuff to read. This week to the ever-growing book pile I added Claire Keegan's Antarctica and Margaret Atwood's Wilderness Tips, two collections of short stories which I'm going to get into next.
Billionaire investor threatens to pull out of UK amid global outcry at new oil rush
Billionaire investor threatens to pull out of UK amid global outcry at new oil rush:
“I am a major investor here,” Forrest told Bloomberg News. “If I see this country steering itself over a cliff backing fossil fuel, I am going to start pulling out. I will push my investments over to North America … I must invest where I know I have proper leadership, not leadership which is on a clickbait cycle.”
It’s almost like the Tories still don’t understand that people who aren’t British can read the same newspapers they are pandering to.
Gnome windowing becoming more like Apple's Stage Manager?
The Gnome foundation, which makes arguably the most popular desktop environment for Linux, is experimenting with new windowing models. While there’s development work going into better tiling, the more interesting mode is what they’re calling “Mosaic” – and to my eyes, it looks quite a bit like Apple’s Stage Manager.
Here’s how they describe how it works:
You open a window, it opens centered on the screen at a size that makes the most sense for the app. For a web browser that might be maximized, for a weather app maybe only 700×500 pixels. As you open more windows, the existing windows move aside to make room for the new ones. If a new window doesn’t fit (e.g. because it wants to be maximized) it moves to its own workspace. If the window layout comes close to filling the screen, the windows are automatically tiled.
That’s a pretty good description of how Stage Manager works too, although the details are different. By default when you open a new application in Stage Manager, it opens in its own “workspace”, with other windows sliding into the shelf on the side. Drag another window in and Stage Manager tries to move windows about so they overlap in the smallest possible way. The Gnome approach looks to be more aggressive about tiling and avoiding overlaps, and although the underlying grid which Stage Manager uses is more relaxed in iPadOS 17 it still feels more “gridded” than Mosaic.
It will be really interesting to see where Gnome goes with this – and what the reaction to it will be. Some parts of the Linux community are heavily committed to tiling and see overlapping windows as basically an error in the history of operating systems, while others are more relaxed and open to new ideas.
Why do cryptrobros always have such a lack of imagination about what they spend the money they fraudulently obtain on? Take Richard Heart:
In addition to the unregistered offerings charge, the SEC alleges Heart and PulseChain misappropriated $12.1 million to fund Heart’s lavish lifestyle. Among other things, he purchased a McLaren sports car, five luxury watches, and a $4.3 million 555-carat black diamond called “Enigma”, allegedly using funds from the sale.
It’s like a stupid person’s wet dream of what being rich means.
If ever anyone wants to buy me a fancy birthday present, this will do.
Glenn Greenwald is, and always has been, a know-nothing blowhard who overstates everything he comes into contact with. He’s not a radical – he actively supports Trump and right-wing interests. This is just the latest example.
Apple and repair
I largely agree with Nick Heer’s take on Apple’s policies on repair – and the criticisms thereof. I don’t think Apple goes out of their way to engineer things which are harder to repair, and nor do I believe they deliberately engineer-in stuff which breaks third party repairs. They just build stuff to incredibly tight tolerances and are very specific about parts. But… that is ultimately an engineering choice, too. Apple chooses to place tight integration over giving users more ability to repair and replace parts.
To give Apple credit, this tight integration is part of what gives Apple devices longevity. Predictable parts means that Apple can optimise future operating systems to known targets, which is helpful if you want to ensure an older phone is usable with newer software. But I think still think it’s the wrong call. While it gives technical advantage, it increases e-waste and ultimately lessens the lifespan of the device.
Apple doesn’t have to create modular phones that are incredibly easy to repair, although it would be fantastic if it applied its undoubted engineering prowess to doing so. There are a lot of things it could do which aren’t as radical as that. Apple could publish its calibration processes, which would make third party repair easier. It could publish the schematics for its devices, as for example Fairphone do (but other phone makers don’t). It chooses not to do these things. Everything about Apple’s behaviour here is a choice, one that it could and should change.
(And before someone jumps in with “fiduciary duty to maximise profits blah blah” – even in the US, where shareholder primacy is fairly well established, courts have long held that shareholder value is not the same as simple profits.)
Five billion mobile phones will be thrown away this year, and the majority of them will not be recycled. Apple is in a position to do something which benefits its customers and society – and it is choosing not to. It could lead the industry. Instead, it’s contributing to making the planet a less healthy, more polluted place. History will not be kind on the likes of Apple.
(PS This is a bit of an experiment in publishing something to my Micro.blog rather than Wordpress, so bare with me if it goes a bit wrong.)
In today’s episode of “Brexit meets reality”…
I am very pleased to find that The Stinky Meat Project, one of the greatest sites of all time, is still online.
Looks like Amazon video has reached the stage of enshittification where, having enticed businesses on to their platform, they start treating them like shit too.
Things you might be interested in - 31/7/23
Cory has a new book coming out which builds on his work on "enshittification". You can pre-order it as DRM-free audiobook (and no it's not on Audible), ebook, and even as a good old fashioned paper book.
David Allen Green makes the very good point that Keir Starmer's background as former prosecutor explains his incredibly cautious approach. In legal cases, it's usually the team which makes the fewest mistakes that wins -- and Starmer is aiming to do exactly that, removing every possible attack line of the Tories with things like his criticism of Sadiq Khan's ULEZ policy. The problem, as David points out, is that politics is not the law.
Terence Eden -- who is well worth a place in your RSS reader (you do have one don't you?) -- is very disappointed with Google over this "Web Environment Integrity" nonsense. And he's entirely right. As he says "Google desperately needs to be broken up. It's simply untenable to have the largest browser in the hands of the largest web advertising firm." Plus of course it's the largest source of traffic to pretty-much every web site on the planet, and the owner of the most widely-used smartphone operating system, and the only game in town for web video creators (forget it TikTok, you know your creators want to "graduate" to a YouTube channel). And, as Terence points out, there is nothing individuals can do about this. Thank whatever deity you believe in for the EU's antitrust team.
On the same day that Elon Musk threatened to sue a non-profit which investigates the prevalence of hate speech on Twitter and other platforms, Apple made an exception to its very strict app store rules to allow the company to rename its app "X". We shouldn't be surprised: despite that fact that Twitter is full of hate speech and porn, Tim Apple obviously loves it. On the positive side, the rebrand seems to have possibly the world's worst strap line. Having said that, "blaze your glory" would be prefect for Tesla, given their cars' habit of bursting into flames.
Hmm, can anyone think of the 1001 ways this can go wrong?
This is a really good summary of why iCloud Drive is really good, until it’s not, at which point you had better start praying to whatever deities you believe in if you want to fix it.
Latenote, Monday 31st July 2023
This week, I mostly gave myself a week off which meant I hit level 60 on my character in the new Diablo 4 season. That’s understandable, but I need to make sure that I don’t spend too much time just lazing around even if there is a World Cup to watch.
If you don’t know about it, the wonderful publisher And Other Stories have a brilliant subscription scheme. For £70 a year, you get six books – but you also get your name in the back of the book, and get them a couple of months in advance of publication. That means you have to wait a while for your subscription to kick in, and my first book arrive this week. It’s “Traces of Enayat”, by Iman Mersal, and I’m looking forward to it.
The three things which most caught my attention
- Cory not only skewers Tesla (and Musk) in this piece on Autoshittification, he also draws lines showing how we are being drawn into a form of feudalism.
- I am so fucking tired of the Labour Party’s duplicitous bullshit on trans rights. Not as tired as my trans friends must be, but still. I won’t be voting Labour next time because the party is happy to keep my local MP in place, despite spouting hatred at every opportunity she gets.
- I don’t entirely agree with the conclusions that Erin Kissane comes to in her article about why Mastodon didn’t stick for a few people, but it’s well worth a read. I think a lot of confusion is down to the expectation that a federated system works (and should work) like a centralised one – which is why some people find Bluesky more comforting. A Bluesky which lives up to its intentions would be federated and in many ways as confusing to new users as Mastodon – but at the moment, it’s not actually a federated system. It’s no different to t2, or any one of the plethora of other similar centralised services, other than it was founded by Jack Dorsey.
Things I have been writing
I rediscovered a story which I started writing at some point about a doctor who isn’t quite what he appears, and pushed it a bit further. It took me a while to actually realise that I had written it – there are some interesting stylistic tricks in it which I had forgotten playing around with. Along with the story that I developed at Arvon I’m going to finish that in the coming week.
Things I have been reading
China Mieville’s “A Spectre, Haunting” crossed my radar and, as it’s a short one, I started reading it. It’s excellent of course, although China is very much in his academic mode rather than entertaining.