If a man writes a book, let him set down only what he knows. I have guesses enough of my own. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe So, I was blog surfing and I found some lady's blog. It was, essentially, a collection of articles written by other people. The first article was pretty good. Entertaining, even. So, I scrolled farther down. Next article; mediocre. So I scrolled again. Maybe there would be more like the first one? Blog score so far; 1 point for creating enough interest to get me to scroll. Suddenly. WHOAAA the pony. What's this? An article explaining that link trading is absolutely ESSENTIAL for a good Google ranking? Wrong, dude, wrong. Anyone that knows anything about SEO knows that Google has devalued link trades. They now see them as just another attempt by lame sites to try to inflate their ranking. Telling people to trade links to get a good Google ranking is like saying a horse and wagon is the fastest way into town. Outdated info, pal. You know what I did next, of course. Scrolled up to find out who wrote the first article and then jumped ship. Blog score now; Zero. Nada. Negative, even. I won't be back. Moral of the story: Wolfgang was right. You might not be writing a book, but you're publishing content. Publish what you know. People have guesses enough without you adding to their confusion. If you post information and articles that are not accurate and correct because you didn't know better, or you didn't bother to verify, or you thought it sounded good... you're part of the glut of misinformation on the internet. Once people find out you misguided them once, you'll have trouble getting them to listen to anything else you have to say. See? Rant over. : ) Linda You know the schlep -- go ahead -- rant. I did.

Linda, =============== "You know the schlep -- go ahead -- rant. I did." =============== It just so happened that I was at my computer when your prompt "ning-nonged" into my email box. Betcha didn't expect Dracul (v v) to be walking by the blood bank when you opened the front door, huh? LOL! Rant. Hmm. OK. You said: ============= "Once people find out you misguided them once, you'll have trouble getting them to listen to anything else you have to say. See? ============= Oh yeah, but let's not limit it to just that. I saw a message that Arthur Webster was leaving Adland because of the mal-treatment that he had received at a forum. Now, Arthur has participated in a number of forums with me and I know that he likes to put alternative views. Some I agree with strongly. Others I disagree with - again, strongly. Intrigued, I sought out that forum. I found it and I have to say that I could hardly believe my eyes. There were people abusing one another left, right and centre (or center). The anger, name-calling and disgusting behaviour that I saw there was mind boggling. Even one VERY prominent person here at Adland got into it. It's one thing to have strong opinions but when that spills over into hateful comments then that is something else. I am now very wary of the individuals who engaged in that sort of behaviour. They lowered their standing in my mind. I expect that they have done so with a lot of other people too. Additionally, it has just confirmed in my mind why I remain opposed to the POTW and the way that it is administered and run. Hey, I'm no saint. I used the term "dickhead" the other day but I didn't direct it at anybody specifically. I like to use colo(u)rful writing and unusual words from time to time to make a point. I just wish that all those guys (yes, they were all male) go back and re-read all their hateful spew. I wonder if their mothers would be pleased to see it? Just in case anybody is perplexed, confused or just plain curious, here's the link: http://community.adlandpro.com/forums/353855/22/ShowThread.aspx I don't really want to promote it but if ever anybody wants to see how NOT to behave in a thread then this is it. Rant over. Hey Linda! You did make the offer. Gary (v v) PS: What is schlep?

Opps-a daisy... Regarding that link I gave - that was the last page at the time I finished reading/scanning. The thread started back in April (16th, I think). Reading from page 1 onward, rather than page 22 will show you what I mean - if you can put yourself through it. Believe me - when it gets down and dirty and hateful that is where it pretty much stays. It's disgraceful. I was gonna make some comments there but heck - what would be the point? They're too busy gun slinging. Vlad (v v), I mean... Gary

Hi there, my old Richard Cranium! Thanks for the info on the other forum. Interesting - took me back to the bad old days of Netscape where I briefly participated in a forum just at the beginning of the Iraq War business. Having lived and worked in the region I felt that I had a contribution to make - Wrong!!! I learned a lesson from that. I have only ever received death threats in or from two countries - 1) was more generally a region -i.e. the Middle East, where I was handling the DM work for American Express, and 2) from America when I raised adverse points about the action. My lesson has been simple - do not participate in anything that could remotely be seen to criticise America. Happily there are as many, if not more political targets here in Europe, where criticism is more of a national and international sport. Just one small point to make - and I have made it before. Just because most Europeans I know, dislike the Bush Administration, does not mean that we hate Americans. Far from it. If we founded our lives on that premise of hating nations because of their politicians then I would hate all French, Germans, and Brits. as none of their administrations impress me either. How about the Aussies going through on the Football! Cheers, Norm

Hi Linda, It is most interesting... no... actually... it's very sad and boring when people regurgitate what someone else has written without first checking to see if it's really true or up-to-date. What that writer SHOULD have said is, content is king. ===================================================== If you post information and articles that are not accurate and correct because you didn't know better, or you didn't bother to verify, or you thought it sounded good... you're part of the glut of misinformation on the internet. ========================================================= I would encourage anyone if they're going to blog, which is a great idea, to follow Wolfgang's rule, write their OWN articles, and only write about what they know and have verified. I receive a lot of positive input for what I write, but must confess that the research is NOT difficult, thanks to this great tool called the Internet. Sure, it's called work, but like any work, when done long enough and with enough care, it becomes less difficult and more fun as you go (unless you simply hate it - then what in the world are you doing it for in the first place?!) Hey, I enjoy rants! I do it myself; Rantings - (How's that for a shameless plug?!) God bless, Dave