Expiring Links
Posted on April 9, 2008 Posted by John Scalzi 20 Comments
I’m enough of a geek to notice my Technorati ranking dropped 300 slots today, a negative change of about 25%, which is the blogger equivalent of Black Monday. And indeed, just as that particular crash was caused or at least abetted by technology, so too mine: Technorati assigns rankings based on links to blogs over the previous six months. A big one day change suggests that six months previous there was something on Whatever that was heavily linked to, and now those links are expiring, from the point of view of Technorati.
So I thought to myself: what was I doing six months ago that was so all-fired popular? So I looked.
Also: Damn, that doesn’t feel like six months ago. Time is moving just a hell of a lot faster these days, and that’s all I’m going to say about that. Also, I clearly do need to step away from the computer more often.
I think that means that it’s time to go back for another visit and write up another report.
Really, no.
Now don’t you wish you’d run for SFWA prez this year? (Preferably on a Bacon Cat platform?)
Allow me to reiterate:
Really, no.
I remember that post. I passed that one around to some friends. Oh silly creationism and all its attempts to be scientifical…
I wonder which of your posts tends to continue to get hits though, on a larger basis, but isn’t picked up by Technorati, since it might be an “expired” link. I’ve noticed on my own blog there are some posts that continue to bring people in, even though they were months and months and months and months ago. There’s one I did about an article I found where someone in Germany had discovered this jar with a pickled “dragon” inside. It was a hoax, of course, but the fascinating thing was how lifelike it looked. People still stumble onto my short blurb on that (not a lot of people, nothing like what you get), but I find it weird to see the bizarre ways people discover that article. Like “ancient days bible war satin”…yeah, someone searched for that and found my little post. Bizarreness.
Anywho.
Perhaps you could go see Expelled and write up a review. It’s along the same line in the bullshit creationist nonsense.
Of course, if you delay as much as you did with the creation museum trip, it’ll be next year before you see it.
Caleb – you’re a cruel, cruel man. What did he ever do to you to make you wish that upon him?
My favorite memory from that day was linking my friend Scott to the write up…
He cursed at me.
Because he assumed that I was linking him to a pro-creationist review. He lives just minutes away from the temple to horseshit, and he’s very animated in his opposition to creationism. I was trying to cheer him up and he reacted so violently to the mere idea of the creation museum that he wasn’t even able to read, by my rough count, 35 words into the body of the review to discover that the rest would be “snarktastic”
Now I see why you didn’t answer my Readers Request question: It had been mostly answered. Don’t know how I missed the Creation Museum post, sorry. Is there a post covering Expelled somewhere?
Naah… I think we should send Scalzi to The Pro-Football Hall of Fame, or maybe we could see if we can get him to throw out the first pitch as a Reds game.
That post was what made me start reading your website. Shortly after that I subscribed to your RSS feed and a month or so after that, I bought a copy of Old Man’s War and I’ll probably pick up a copy of The Sagan Diary soon.
So I wouldn’t say that the effects of that post have completely worn off yet.
Looks like it is time to post the link to the relevant newsgroups. And BTW, my son reports that the Darwin Awards has a paid ad for the Expelled movie. Some one is either clueless or has a wicked sense of humor.
Six months? Holy crap!
My sequence was similar to Brian Puccio @ #10, but I was introduced to OMW in response to my plaintive cry for spaceships, guns and brains. Then an lj friend linked to the CM post and I discovered a drip feed of Scalzi goodness. I continue to pay hard-earned for anything Scalzi I can get my hands on, either for myself or hard-core movie buff husband. Parse that last sentence at will.
So, while you have the Perth bookshop Fantastic Planet (Dr Stephen Dedman in particular) to thank for the hook, the CM post provided the line and sinker.
Maybe a another post mentioning Goatse double-penetration felch hentai is in order? Wait…don’t tell me:
Time is moving just a hell of a lot faster these days, and that’s all I’m going to say about that.
“Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end, the faster it goes.”
I would rather have my technorati ranking diminished than my google ranking any day. For some reason my website went through two weeks of what SEO experts call “Google dance” and as a result my google traffic cut by more than half. Luckily, all the google juice eventually came back just as suddenly as it had gone.
So if a lowered technorati ranking equals Black Monday, then a google dance equals…D Day?
Hey Scalzi, this is my first post on your site.
I just started reading your blog about 3 weeks ago, and I’ve really enjoyed it. I happen to have very different views from you on a lot of things; I consider myself a devout Christian, for one. However, upon going back to the museum article and reading it, I have to say I laughed out loud. Even I couldn’t buy into that. As I was reading the signs in the photos and your article, I kept trying to convince myself that it was possible for creationism to be correct, but I just couldn’t swallow the image of an ancient Sumerian Fred Flintstone. The
museum qualifies as an example of something that I often harp on scientists and atheists about; that is, trying to find a scientific basis that justifies the views that you already hold, rather than using science to discern the truth.
Thanks for the amusing article, and keep up the good work.
P. S.- I haven’t had a chance to read any of your books yet, but I intend to pick up at least one on my next trip to the bookstore :)
Aha! So this is the true purpose behind the Vox Day Big Idea: to replenish your Technorati mojo! Oooooo, I’m onto your nefarious plan, Scalzi….
OK, maybe I can’t add (always a possibility) but the date on the story you linked to is just 5 months ago, not 6. (right?) 6 months from November 12th is May 12th not April 12th. Did you do anything fun on October 12th?
Now I understand the Vox Day reference. Trying to get the Technorati crowd to start fulminating again.
Some people will do anything to keep their Technorati ratings up.
When all else fails go for the irrational. 450+ comments and full participation by VD (interesting initials) is a pretty good start.
Thanks Scalzi (and I’m not being sarcastic) for keeping the pot stirred. I think that’s really why we love you and this blog.