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Went Hot: September 3, 2007 - 1:17 pm
Posted By: onreact 457 days ago
Topic Type: News Story (Jump to http://seo2.0.onreact.com)
Category: SEO
It's also helpful in other cases I hope.
10 Comments
Went Hot: September 3, 2007 - 1:17 pm
Posted By: onreact 457 days ago
Topic Type: News Story (Jump to http://seo2.0.onreact.com)
Category: SEO
It's also helpful in other cases I hope.
10 Comments
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Comments
Nice points onreact, but I'll play the devil's advocate.
First, SEO, like a gun, is just a tool. It can be used for both good and evil, depending on who's holding the gun. Its inherently neither a good thing nor a bad thing.
Second, a search marketer/optimizer defending SEO should not be taken seriously, ever. Why? Because his/her opinion is biased. It's like me claiming my cat is the best-looking cat in the world. Bias makes for great link bait but it can also weaken your credibility. Biased opinion is easy to dismiss if readers have no emotional investment in the topic at hand.
The NRA might try to argue that guns protect homeowners and play down scenarios where guns cause problems. Hillary Clinton might argue that she's the best candidate for presidency because she's got the experience, she promises to end the war in Iraq, or she's determined to achieve universal health care, while playing down the fact that she initially voted for the war. SEOs might try to argue that SEO empowers webmasters and play down scenarios where SEO tactics pollute the web and claim that those scenarios are rare.
Bottom line: move away from a for VS against / black VS white mentality and see the world in multicolor.
Halfdeck: It may be biased, but it's the way I work and I feel. I certainly won't hide in dark alleys for being a SEO. I do not feel like a pariah and I am proud of what I do. If you are not proud of your work, maybe you do something wrong.
The contra opinions have been voiced over and over in a manner that Goebbels (the Nazi war criminal) would have loved. He was propaganda minister and his infamous saying is still sad but true: "Just repeat a lie often enough and everybody will believe it". SEO is not anti social, SPAM and destroying the Internet, on the contrary. And no, SEO is not a gun. A gun is inherently dangerous, SEO is more like a fork. Of course you can also use a fork to kill someone but it's not it's main purpose. SEO makes people eat more and better, not only as a metaphor.
"If you are not proud of your work, maybe you do something wrong."
My point, onreact, has nothing to do with pride. SEO is a tool, nothing more, nothing less.
This is a good article, and I agree with most of the points. Unfortunately, SEO actually IS all those things to some people who call themselves SEOs -- many in fact.
Halfdeck: I got your point.
Jill: True, but compare it to design, in Germany people refer to themselves as designers who can not even distingush between Times New Roman and Helvetica, even 2nd rate barbers call themselves "hair designers". Does everybody insult design as being fraud, kitsch or destroying the world? No, people just look at what the designers do and treat them accoringly.
SEO is nothing like a gun.
To my knowledge white hat SEO has never been used to kill anyone... in fact, black hat SEO hasn't killed anybody either! SEO is an extension of freedom of speech. The only thing it does is allow the speaker to be heard.
SU should stop the haters - hating isn't attractive in any decent society.
Good grief people, we are marketers, not black market arms dealers or any other such nonsense. I don't understand why people have to bash SEO in the first place, do people spend as much time trashing their dentists or lawn guys? What the hell, seriously, and the so called statements like "...many in fact." Really? What facts? Cite it or just admit people are pulling these mass amounts of spammer SEO black hat figures out of their collective arses. Look, people need help getting their sites to rank and reach their target audiences. Not everyone who has a business or even design sites has a clue as to how to make sites that index and utilize best practices. Deal with it! We don't live on some hippie commune and people have to sell stuff so people can get things and others can make a living. Get over it!
Putting on my Freudian hat a second I'm going to pull my own figure out of my arse: 100% of people who bag on SEO suffer from flacid site performance and small page views. Probably not true, but it sure as heck is closer to the mark than most of the other trash talk tossed around.
It's all about character man, it's all about character. Marketers could all be seen this way - halfdeck you make a good point. Unfortunately there are a lot of shady SEOs -- like salesmen, politicians, PR professionals, marketers, advertisers, the list goes on. There are some threads we all share. Some people dip those threads in vinegar, others in honey, but baby they are all from the same spool.
Unfortunately, we all reap the "benefits" of those who bend the rules (Ridiculous, SEO off-topic posts and links in forums can make anyone a bit hostile.), but I know over time, solid character and good choices will weave a much stronger piece of fabric.
It's better than Bounty.
i think halfdeck was using "seo is like a gun" as a metaphor... obviously it hasn't killed anyone (that would be really sad) but "black hat" is sneaky and "white hat" is ethical and if all of a sudden a "white" or a "black hat" site comes in and knocks you out of the first page it certainly can feel like you've been shot.
do you ever read all the people that freak out when they drop five placements?
and everyone bashes everyone especially when they don't understand or have seen nothing but the bad side... :(
my two cents :D
"SEO is nothing like a gun."
I'm not saying SEO is a deadly weapon. My point is the positive/negative impact of SEO depends on who is doing the optimizing.
If a criminal shoots a cop with a gun, do you blame the gun, or do you blame the criminal? If a cop shoots a guy who's about to steal your money, who do you thank? The gun, or the cop?
SEO is inherently neither good or evil. It's just a tool. If hate should be thrown around, it should be directed at spammers abusing their SEO knowledge, or lack thereof.