negative meta

7 October 2011 by korvus | Category: Non classé | No comments

Despite the outcry against <meta> desc and keyword, decreed by the self-proclaimed masters of SEO, I remain strongly attached to them:

• They cost nothing and are very simple to implement.
• Whatever people may say, it is often my <meta desc> that shows up in the results for many of my sites on Google (yes, even today in 2011).
• Many crawlers other than Google use them (how many directories or other tools rely on meta tags, often making your job easier).
• They can certainly serve as a catch-all and be misused, but that is true of just about anything on the page. Someone who wants to game Google will do it in meta tags just as they will with all other recommendations.

It was by feeding this reflection about meta tags that I told myself that, very often, we have thought little about things in negative terms on the web! Let me explain: if it is indeed welcome to provide words that correspond to the content of our website, would it not be just as relevant to be able to provide meta tags that would signify “anti-words”? For example, if my site deals with pig diseases (yes, I know, that is very specific), I would not especially want a user looking for information about guinea pigs, or worse, about “cochonnes” scenes, to land on my site! So I would make:

<meta name="Keywords" content="cochon, porcin, élevage, maladie, traitement" />
<meta name="NegaKeywords" content="Inde, cochonne, sexe" />


What do you think?

Preface – The Genesis

2 September 2011 by korvus | Category: Non classé | No comments

Welcome to my blog

This first post will lend itself to the attempt to explain itself (we’re getting into intellectual stuff).

The substance

Opening a named blog is above all the manifestation of an ego, mine. Might as well own it from the very first post! It therefore follows that:

• I am subjective by definition, with the mistakes this implies.
• The topics that will be covered will generally be linked to my personal experience, my passions, my reactions to current events, and my work
• They will also be incomplete. I am not omnipotent, I do not know everything, including within my professional area of expertise. As far as possible, I will make an effort to cite my sources or link to them.
• De facto, the treatment of my subjects will be perpetually incomplete, and will therefore endlessly lend itself to discussion and controversy, in order to move toward the “truth”.

But far beyond the simple addition of information and the strictly practical, purely factual and anecdotal aspect, you, dear readers, could:

• Express your sensibility, a point of view linked to your “personal history”
• Bring humor, an essential cement, desired on this blog to keep a collegial good mood, as long as it remains respectful!
• Suggest ideas, improvements, share a wacky, lousy, original idea, go for it! I won’t be the only one!

That is therefore why I take the liberty of warmly and strongly inviting you to participate on this blog.

If these obvious points are stated, I do not forbid myself from writing them. I even owe it to you to lay this out to you out of intellectual honesty, because this reflection is itself what led to the creation of this blog.

The form

My productions will come in different forms;

• Comics (yes, I like drawing and telling stories)
• Video (coming from a third-party service, such as YouTube, Dailymotion, etc.)
• “Promotional” links to sites or productions created by me, co-created, or made by friends, which I consider worthy of interest, funny, or otherwise. I reserve the right to choose the sites I want to feature.
• Strictly editorial text (like this post.)
  • In the form of a tutorial (to explain how to deploy this or that software, service, recipe, what else?)
  • In the form of an article (as here), expressing a reflection, an opinion, a thesis
  • In a very simple form, such as a tweet or a simple humorous sentence, which would present a simple witticism, pun, etc.

My publishing frequency aims for a regular pace of around once every 1/2 months, but in any case, I will try to maintain a steady rhythm.

As for the presence of advertising on this blog, it is clearly possible that some may be implanted here (miserable lure of profit, I am merely its slave), but it is clearly not the reason for this blog’s existence, thank God.

Happy reading, friends (all those who land on my site are my guests, so I take the liberty of welcoming them with decency and generosity).

Simon