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Do This, Not That: SEO Content Edition!
Feb 5th
I’m sure you’ve seen those handy guides in magazines that tell you to eat 13 pretzels instead of 100 M&M’s or taco pizza instead of taco salad. This is like that, only less delicious. (But reading, like celery, has negative calories!) Here are a few ideas to help you a) use your time more efficiently [...]
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Do This, Not That: SEO Content Edition! – Search Engine Journal
Feb 5th
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Do This, Not That: SEO Content Edition!
Search Engine Journal I'm sure you've seen those handy guides in magazines that tell you to eat 13 pretzels instead of 100 M&M's or taco pizza instead of taco salad. This is like that, only less delicious. (But reading, like celery, has negative calories!) … |
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Why the “S&%t X Says to Y” Version of This Meme Exploded
Feb 3rd
“The thing about memes is that through repetition, they create a shared language,” says Professor Julie Levin Russo, an adjunct assistant professor at Brown’s Modern Culture & Media Program. “If you understand the premise of the meme, you can communicate a lot very easily, with whatever twist you’re putting on the meme structure.”
On Jan 4, the “Shit Girls Say” meme was radically transformed. New York-based graphic designer & video blogger Franchesca Ramsey a.k.a. Chescaleigh unleashed “Shit White Girls Say to Black Girls”, and it blew up the Internet. In the video, Ramsey plays her blonde-haired white friend who she portrays as curiously confused, and innocently ignorant. “Why isn’t there a white entertainment television? The Jews were slaves too, and you don’t hear us complaining all the time,” Chescaleigh as-white-girl asks the camera. She portrays her friend as at times confused (“Is this racist?”) other times annoyed. Overall, her white friend is completely unaware of fundamental cultural and racial differences between her and her black friend. It’s these awkward moments that fuel the humor of this viral video.
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When Franchesca appeared on Anderson Cooper a few days after the video blew up, Cooper asked *the question* that mainstream media was dying to know: Is the video racist?
“I don’t think that talking about ignorance is racist,” Franchesca tells Cooper. “And like I said, I’m not labeling anyone racist because that would infer that the statements were saying someone was better than another race – and that’s not what any of the statements are doing.” Shortly after her Anderson Cooper appearance, Franchesca produced a sequel, “Shit White Girls Say to Black Girls Part 2.”
Soon, more “Shit X Says to Y” versions of the meme began to appear. “Shit White Girls Say to Brown (Desi/Indian) Girls” features an Indian woman portraying her white girlfriend, who asks questions like “Do you want to go to 7-11? Oh oops, is that racist?” It is cutting, and points to some of the underlying racism that Indian-Americans experience regularly.
In “Shit White Guys Say to Asian Girls,” actor/comedian Cindy Fang dresses in drag, playing a white dude and points out some of the obnoxious, arrogant statements that some white guys say to Asian women. “Sorry, I have a hard time telling Asians apart,” she says, with a tone that conveys how the white guy she is portraying doesn’t feel like trying to educate himself. He is blissful in his ignorance. And then, a blatantly racist statement: “Why do they call it Bangkok? They should call it Bang Pussy!!!” This video speaks to the painful sexism and racism that Asian women experience.
Of course, it’s just comedy – and the talented Fang masterfully exaggerates these statements to hammer home the crass, yet serious joke. Moreso than “Shit White Girls Say to Black Girls,” “Shit White Guys Say to Asian Girls” is doubly as biting, taking swipes at sex and race relations. It’s almost as upsetting as “Shit Asian Girls Say”, another version of the original “Shit Girls Say” meme.
In Latoya Peterson’s blog post “Exploring the Problematic and Subversive Shit People Say [Meme-ology]” on Racialicious, she notes that it isn’t until “Shit Black Gays Say” (and part 2) and “Shit Southern Gay Guys Say” that the viewer starts to see the performer’s subjective interpretation of themselves.
“It’s notable that these videos are the principals representing themselves (as opposed to someone else’s interpretation of them), perhaps since these groups are still so invisible in the public eye that no one else but them could speak to their experience,” writes Peterson.
How “Shit White Girls Say to Black Girls” Shifted the Conversation
“There’s a way in which the meme format allows for a more granular renditions of identity than you often see in mass culture,” says Professor Russo.
Chescaleigh’s video shifted the focus from the narrator as subject to the narrator as a vehicle for social critique. Now X is saying something to Y. Previously, X was either speaking for themselves, or portraying the stereotypical subject, usually in drag.
“Do you know the guy at the liquor store? I mean, I assume you guys all know each other,” says the Arab girl portraying her white friend in “Shit White Girls Say…to Arab Girls”. “I’ve never met one of you before! I mean, I’ve seen Arabs on TV…on the news. Was 9/11 your fault?”
“Friendly Prejuidice”
Writing for The Guardian, Thea Lim points out that the statements in all of these videos imply a sort of “friendly prejudice”:
What’s friendly prejudice? The most common defence of racism is: “But I didn’t intend to be racist.” This response relies on the idea that if we didn’t intend to offend someone, then their feelings can’t possibly be hurt. The Shit X Says to Y videos are delightfully validating because they show that those with the genuinely lovely intentions of being your friend and seeking commonality with you can still be rude and hurtful.
A commenter on the NPR story that questioned if Franchesca’s video was “racist” tried the good ol’ “role reversal” trick (that always fails), which attempts to deny the existence of white privilege. “If the roles were reversed…Jesse [Jackson] & [Al] Sharpton, would be involved, lawsuits filed, perhaps riots…”. Says Lim:
The reason why relationships between white and non-white people, or straight people and gay people are fraught, is because of our history – long gone, recent or ongoing. Racist, homophobic or simply thoughtless comments are insulting not just in and of themselves, but because they are a bilious reminder of the times when straight, white people have dehumanised and denied other groups their human rights. Of course, non-white and gay people can say nasty or even prejudicial things to white and straight people, but those things don’t deliver the sting that comes from decades of being on the wrong end of an unequal relationship.
Where Do We Go From Here?
I have watched my friends react to these videos with anger and sadness. I have seen others shout “That’s me! That totally happened to me.” Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. The most important aspect of these videos, however, is that people are actually reacting to them. They’re easy conversation starters, a segway into sharing experiences past and present.
Looking at our own biased perspectives and cultural baggage is not easy, but it is necessary. The “Shit X Says to Y” iteration of the “Shit People Say” meme forces viewers to actually think about what they’ve said to their friends, and what their friends say to them. Humor helps us in those strange, uncomfortable moments.
But are we ready to deal with this?
In her post on Racialicous, Peterson points out that, still, “Shit Girls Say” and “Shit Black Girls Say” received a lot more views than their “Shit X Says to Y” social commentary videos. “Maybe that’s because, as a culture, we are accustomed to laughing at stereotypes,” writes Peterson, “but we aren’t prepared to unpack how we perpetuate them.”
After a few weeks of Internet madness, the noise died down. By the end of January, conversations about this meme were starting to feel stale. So the Internet chilled out and went back to its usual, easy humor. I started seeing these videos on my Facebook news feed: “Shit New Yorkers Say,” “Shit Chicagoans Say.” But it’s only a matter of time until the currents shift again.
Image via Chescaleigh’s Facebook page.
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Dear Google: Crappy Results Like This Don’t Give The Impression You Care About Search
Jan 26th
The debate about what should — and shouldn’t — show in a Google search result for “santorum” has been well-documented, at this point. But I’d like to use this now famous search to illustrate something else: how it appears Google is taking its eye off the ball of…
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SEO / Web Marketing Specialist / Search Engine Optimiser – This is Cornwall
Jan 26th
 State of Search |
SEO / Web Marketing Specialist / Search Engine Optimiser
This is Cornwall A growing digital company in Cornwall is looking for an SEO / Web Marketing Specialist to join their team in Cornwall. The role will involve utilising Search Engine Optimisation, Social Media , PPC , Advertising , E-mail marketing , Web Design, … Brooklyn-Based SEO Company Ajax Union Highlights Enhanced Local Internet … SEO Training Course for Small Business Announced by JM Internet Group Revvim Launches the First Revenue Maximization Service for Natural Search |
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How best to invest in SEO this year – Dynamic Business
Jan 23rd
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How best to invest in SEO this year
Dynamic Business Looking to invest in SEO this year but feeling nervous about hiring an SEO company? Fed-up with smoke, mirrors and contracts? Fear not, Google feels your pain and wants to reward you for investing in your website rather than an SEO company. Special SEO Report for 2012 Released by Search Engine Optimization Expert SEO experts look to fresh content to boost search engine rankings Copywriting – the new SEO? |
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How to best to invest in SEO this year – Dynamic Business
Jan 23rd
|
How to best to invest in SEO this year
Dynamic Business Looking to invest in SEO this year but feeling nervous about hiring an SEO company? Fed-up with smoke, mirrors and contracts? Fear not, Google feels your pain and wants to reward you for investing in your website rather than an SEO company. Special SEO Report for 2012 Released by Search Engine Optimization Expert SEO experts look to fresh content to boost search engine rankings Copywriting – the new SEO? |
View full post on SEO – Google News
International Reaction to Megaupload Indictment: This Means War
Jan 20th
A sizable chunk of Internet traffic went dark yesterday. No, I’m not talking about a SOPA protest. The #91 Web site on the entire Internet, Megaupload, was taken down after U.S. authorities executed a warrant to seize its Virginia-based servers and arrest four of its proprietors in New Zealand. To give you some perspective: On Google AdPlanner’s scale, Walmart.com is #97. Social document sharing service Scribd.com is #90. Huffington Post is #86.
To pretend it’s a revelation that Megaupload trafficked in illicit material is like Claude Rains being “shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!” That said, its “front parlor,” if you will, had many legitimate customers who had posted non-infringing files. So the big question that Colombia’s NTN24 news anchor Mónica Fonseca* asked me was essentially, “What has happened to everyone’s files?”
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Colombia
Earlier today, I appeared on NTN24′s “CST” program (Health, Science, Technology) to discuss the ramifications of the Justice Dept.’s seizure of Megaupload’s assets and domain names. In response to Fonseca’s question, I said that folks who had uploaded legitimate files to their “cyberlockers” won’t be able to access them today, and will probably find them gone anyway if and when some form of Megaupload comes back online from outside U.S. borders. My ReadWriteWeb colleague John Paul Titlow shares the same sentiments.
Has the United States started a war in cyberspace, I was asked? Certainly there’s no doubt of there being a war on, I responded, although there’s some doubt as to who really started it. In any event, it’s clear that the Justice Dept. has fired a huge salvo, and the battle is now raging.
What lessons should consumers take away from this turn of events? I told Fonseca that it doesn’t take very much due diligence for a conscientious consumer to spot the difference between a legitimate cloud storage service with the consumer’s interests at heart (I cited Dropbox, SkyDrive, and Box.com as examples) compared with one whose interests lie in goading him to partake in illicit file sharing. There’s a reason there are no independently-managed search services pointing to files on a site like Dropbox. It’s not out to make files popular; it’s out to provide customer service. When a service promotes itself as free, but continues to offer services behind a gilded, camouflaged door marked “premium” or “subscribers only,” consumers should get the hint.
New Zealand
Commenters believing yesterday’s indictment had been timed to coincide with recent White House events on anti-piracy, such as the Administration’s backing away from SOPA/PIPA, were proven wrong in an early Saturday, New Zealand time, report from the ONE News agency. It quotes a detective inspector with New Zealand’s counterpart to the FBI as saying it had conducted a joint investigation with the FBI since early 2011, which led eventually to yesterday’s arrests.
New Zealand-based political blogger David Farrar made this interesting observation: “Whether or not [Megaupload founder Kim] Dotcom and others have broken the law, will of course be a matter for the courts. It is worth noting that the NZ courts will not extradite unless the charges are for something that is also an offence under NZ law.”
Brazil
Some perspective: A report released today from broadband services provider Sandvine estimated Megaupload’s share of all traffic for file storage and backup purposes (which would include cloud storage providers) was less than 1% in the U.S., but 11.4% in Brazil. Its share of all traffic among fixed access networks (i.e., non-mobile) is about 1%, which is somewhat less than the 4% the site claimed in its own music video, but is still a substantial chunk.
A search of Megaupload-related traffic among Brazilian domain names (*.br) today turned up a greater-than-average number of Megaupload search sites – the independently-run, volunteer-maintained indexes referenced in the Justice Dept.’s indictment – plus quite a few Brazilian resellers of Megaupload premium plans. Although basic file sharing is among the features Megaupload typically provides for free, so-called “unlimited” plans, according to the DOJ indictment, enable customers to post suspiciously long media files and enter into rewards programs, giving them rebates when those files become popular. E-mails uncovered through DOJ raids, mentioned in the indictment, indicate that Megaupload’s proprietors were particularly interested in the popularity list, giving users advice as to how to rank more highly.
The nature of such advice would make Megaupload no longer eligible for the safe harbor protections of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, should the allegations prove true in court.
United Kingdom
At this time last year, U.K.-based search monitoring services provider Envisional made an estimate of the amount of total Internet traffic devoted to obviously (or, put another way, “shockingly”) infringing content. Envisional limited its analysis to non-pornographic content, for understandable reasons (its people probably couldn’t stomach the idea of wading through all that, and I don’t blame them). Non-pornographic content was estimated to consume 23.76% of all fixed access traffic.
Some 5.12% of all fixed access traffic was devoted, by the firm’s estimate, to infringing traffic directed to cyberlocker sites, the biggest of which was Megaupload.
In a debate article published earlier today by the U.K.’s Guardian, the political leader of that country’s Pirate Party, music teacher Loz Kaye (who is not an MP) debated IFPI Chief Executive Frances Moore.
Kaye argued that it’s not really viable to estimate the damage Megaupload may have caused to the movie, recording, and publishing industries based on lost revenue (the DOJ indictment estimated a half-billion dollars) since the business model of these industries are, in his opinion, antiquated and failing. He stated he believes Megaupload could essentially represent the new music industry that should supplant the old one, saying, “We all – pirates and artists – have an interest in a properly functioning and free Internet. Last year 70% of the total volume of British music sales were digital. The [British recording industry group] BPI would do well to remember that its future income is dependent on the very people it is currently antagonizing.”
To which Moore responded that the new music industry is represented more by iTunes and digital music stores, not glorified file sharing sites. “We’re licensing music widely to sites like iTunes, Spotify and Deezer,” Moore writes. “This growing digital music business is fantastic for artists and for consumers. Yet it can’t survive in a market rigged by illegal piracy. Events such as the U.S. Justice Department charging Megaupload are important developments – not just for the music industry, but for the whole creative economy.”
* Wait, wait a minute, did he say “Mónica Fonseca?” As in, the fashion model, the spokesmodel, the judge on the Latin American version of “Project Runway?” The girl on several relationship-ending posters and calendars all over South America? Yep. The same.
Now, perhaps it’s NTN24 policy and perhaps my wife called in to make a special request. But because I don’t speak Spanish, when I’m being interviewed by Mónica via Skype, I hear her questions via a translator. Today it was Andrew. And I don’t see Mónica asking the questions until after NTN24 makes the replay available online.
Still, if you’re wondering, she’s a very good interviewer and speaks well to her subject matter. Perhaps through the marvel that is technology, my wife and I will have the opportunity one day to speak more directly with Mónica and her husband, Colombian screen sensation, actor Juan Pablo Raba. (My wife has policies too.)
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Scoop This: A Comprehensive Guide to Scoop.it for Content Curation
Jan 20th
We’ve been hearing (and talking) a lot about curation and how helpful it can be for companies. As you all know, I’m sure, great content is one sure thing in today’s marketing arena; it takes the front seat to anything and everything else. When you do a search, what are you using? Content. When you [...]
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Online Ads Will Waste $12.4 Billion This Year In the U.S.
Jan 19th
U.S. advertisers spend nearly $40 billion a year for online advertisements, but 31% of their ads are never seen. That means $12.4 billion will be wasted on U.S. online ads this year. That’s the average across all sites; on some sites, only 7% of the ads were “in-view,” meaning 93% of them went unseen.
That sounds ominous for the health of Web content. But ad spending is up by over 20% this year. Online ad spending will exceed print magazine and newspaper ads for the first time this year. So, put another way, online ads in the U.S. are still worth enough to brands to waste $12 billion a year on them. But is all this waste necessary?
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Dr. Magid Abraham, CEO of comScore, says that today’s display ad market is “characterized by an overabundance of inventory, often residing on parts of a web page that are never viewed by the user.” Online ads may be working overall, but the problem with out-of-view ads “dilutes the impact of campaigns” and puts a “drag on prices” for publishers.
31% of ads in the study were delivered successfully, but they were never seen by a consumer. The user either scrolled past the ad before it loaded or never scrolled it into view. On average, 4% of ads were delivered to viewers outside the desired geography, with some campaigns running as high as 15%. That means some ads were shown to customers in places where the product is not sold.
Even among ads that were seen, 72% of the campaigns in the study ran alongside site content that was “not brand safe.” If you’re advertising cheeseburgers, and your ad runs next to a news article about the obesity epidemic, you’re not likely to get much value out of it.
Online ad growth is projected to slow down over the next five years, but the trend is still positive. It’s a good sign for the Web that the ad market is healthy, but it could be much more effective with smarter technology.
Lead image via Creative Commons. Second image via Wikimedia Commons.
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