Developing Webs

It Still Remains in the Google Toolbar

Google has quietly gotten rid of PageRank in Webmaster Tools. Barry Schwartz at Search Engine Roundtable points to a thread featuring an explanation from Google Webmaster Trends Analyst Susan Moskwa.

“We’ve been telling people for a long time that they shouldn’t focus on PageRank so much; many site owners seem to think it’s the most important metric for them to track, which is simply not true,” says Moskwa. “We removed it because we felt it was silly to tell people not to think about it, but then to show them the data, implying that they should look at it.”

Search marketers are wondering why Google tells people not to focus on PageRank and removes it from Webmaster Tools, but still keeps it in the Google Toolbar. “Back in 2007, Google wanted feedback on removing PageRank from the Toolbar,” says Schwartz. “I felt it was a good idea but the idea died out. Google cannot remove PageRank from the Toolbar, it is too much of their branding. No matter how much Matt Cutts and the Google search quality and webmaster trends team want it removed, I cannot see Google’s executives allowing it.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Web sites are not just places to sell things; they are a medium where people can get insight into other people’s lives. Take the musician Xavier Rudd for example. I recently saw this guy play at a concert and had never previously heard his music. He was really cool, literally blowing me away with his many skills, beautiful music, positive energy, and humble attitude. So being thus affected, I decided to check out if he had a website on the Internet. After finding his site (http://www.xavierrudd.com/) I automatically got to become more acquainted with the man, not as a fan looking up to a so-called ‘star’, but as a human being receiving real insight into the workings of another individual in our global human community.

First, just let me tell you a little about seeing this fellow play live. He is literally a one-man band! While sitting down he plays a stomp-box (type of drum), a lap guitar or several other 6 and 12 string acoustic electric guitars, while simultaneous alternating between playing one of three Australian Aborigine Didgeridoos or harmonicas which are placed in front of him on a stand. He sings intelligent thoughtful lyrics in between blowing and his voice ranges from softly spoken to powerful rebellious yelling. On his site he explains in one newspaper article interview that he goes into a trance while playing…I don’t see how he’d be able to do it all otherwise!

The idea is, and this goes for any and every website on the Internet, business or personal, that your website is a place to share your identity as well as links to other identities (people) in the community. On Xavier’s site, (I call him by his first name as I now feel I know him on a more personal level, although he doesn’t yet know of me) you can read a few journal entries from his recent tour in Alaska and Canada. As these words come straight from his own mouth/pen/keyboard/mind, visitors to the site can see into how this guy views the world around him. The style and content of personal language can really tell you a lot about someone’s personality.
Read the rest of this entry »