Fewer links mean lower page rankings. This blog recently went from PageRank 4 to PageRank 3 in the last Google cull. Even Bock The Robber - a bigger, more successful blog with a massive number of hits every day, went from PageRank 5 to PageRank 4.
When I look at where visitors are coming from my main sources these days are from old reliables like the tenacious Bernd's Irland Inside - Gombeen Nation's first ever blog link. Fellow German language blogger Harald has dropped the cudgels, for now anyway, and a lot of the bloggers you'll see on Gombeen Nation's links page have not posted in yonks. If there are any others of you still left out there, don't be shy - ask me for a link swap.
Even Irishblogs.ie, the blog directory/aggregator, had its last update as long ago as May 18th. That was a massive source of links and brought in many visitors to us all. It's very regrettable really, making the unpaid work of the blogger an even sadder activity than it already is.
But feck it... we've nothing else to do.
Back to Gombeen Nation main page
18 comments:
Civic involvement is declining fast in USA, UK + IRELAND probably a lot of the western world, due to over work, and promotion of the policies of greed and individualism - many workers are on too low wages to really be involved much outside it: IE 14 yrs ago I worked in restaurants part time. If I hadn't worked hard to get out of that rut, I'd be washing dishes at this hour- not sitting in a warm room with a lap top typing. So partly overwork, low wages, apathy with neocon parties present across Europe ( even if they masquerade as liberal and caring): many more causes I have yet to discover- I'm reading a fascinating book,'Bowling Alone' by USA sociologist Robert Puttnam, pub,. 2000 and even more relevant now: on the loss of social capital in America- 500 pages. So far I am reading all his evidence for loss of social capital,not voting, not joining clubs and political parties, local clubs, etc...he even mentions the decline in hitch-hiking- and I nopticed that 15 yrs ago here- when did you last see a hitchhiker? So far I am reading the evidence, then he will point to causes, then solutions.
I am gettign pompous here, but Ireland never did build up enough social capital - among all the horrific tragedy in Norway , much was said on it's social cohesiveness.
Here we had a corrupt 1% class and a lot of often exploited and often brainwashed people.
And certianly not much of a media to foment the people into rebellion
Re Irish media: on an internet search this week, I came across an article ( possibly Irish Independent) on church scandals.The writer said this country had come a along way from when it was practically a theocracy.He said when Pope John Paul triumphantly visited Ireland in 1979, Irish media were with him on the plane when he flew in. The journalists were allowed one question: Have a guess:
Was it-
Why no contraception?
Or divorce?
Why not scrap the monstrous rule children in a mixed marriage must be brought up Catholic- causing great anguish for couples in mixed relatiosnhips and more distrust and contempt by NI protestants of the church?
No- Q was none of the above- an Irish journalist asked the Holy father , could he bless his rosary beads for him?
The writer said a newspaper editor said recently he had no inkling of the amount of abuse in children's homes- or how many there were- I just don't believe they looked too far around them.
Even today the Irish media doesn't stir itself enough .
So keep blogging in the free world- your country needs you.
Lets hope GM this is not a gradual decline. Blogs are a complementary addition to the demogratic tradition. The other two contemporary internet outlets for interpretation and observation, Tweets and Boards, are poor reflections of everyday life. Tweets are essentially boring nothingness and Boards are worringly right wing in nature. If the great unthinking internet using population, were to view present reality through these two media, then mass culture would become even more boring then it already is and truth would become even more ambiguous.
MR GM have you thought of getting a tatoo in gaelge just for something to do-bh
Decades of Republican propaganda have to be undone, one post at a time. As the French say, Courage!
@ Anna. Thats' some story about the rosary beads... there's investigative journalism for you, Irish style. And on the subject of workers doing unsociable hours in areas such as catering, it's made all the worse by Bruton's campaign to cut their - already poor - pay. Yes, sadly the least privileged people in society are often the least heard.
@ Dakota. Yes, wouldn't be a great Tweeter. I mean 140 characters? How can you express anything of substance within such narrow parameters? And boards? I find they will often start off on a given topic, but then you will have pages and pages of comments that seem to go around in circles... often unrelated to the topic at hand. Yes, and if some of the characters and opinions on such forums are reflective of society in general, we might as all just get on the plane now.
@ BH. Ha ha. No, I'm an awful wimp. Tattoos are not my thing, as Gaeilge or otherwise!
@ Anthony. Yes... we've got an arduous task ahead, alright!
"have you thought of getting a tatoo in gaelge just for something to do"
You know Mr BH they are many reasons people get tats. When I lived in London in the 80s and 90s there was a nice chappie in our social circle called Matt. Anyway.. one of the gang dared him to get the word SKINS tattooed on his inside lower lip. The offer was a tenner if he did it. As the price of getting the tat was a fiver, he took the bet on, got the tat and his tenner.
Sounds sore. Mind you, someone could have dared him to get "tiocfaidh ar la" tattooed on his inside lower lip, and that would have been worse.
More letters.
BTW- Bock the Robber seems to have about 6 or 8 named writers, as stated on the 'about us' section.
Just curious: how do us blog readers move this blog up a notch?
Just by clicking on it? Is that it?
I think links are the big thing on Google, Anna - no matter what the source, they are always beneficial in terms of page ranking and all that.
So if I get a link on some far-right blog, with all of them damning me, it means more links for the blog.
Links from sources that are in themselves ranked highly are most valuable. So if the CEO of Coca Cola - or Pepsi.. no favoritism here - gave Gombeen Nation a link on its home page it might push it up to 5 or 6 overnight.
I think that's the way it works, though I confess I can hardly keep up with it all!!!
What ever happens, you keep fighting GM; we need you.
thomas
Thanks, thomas. Nice to know there are a few of us!
Albert is doing his best, although I have dumped Facebook. Load of old drivel.
Thanks Albert. Yes, I have a Facebook page for Gombeen Nation and a Twitter account... but only because I feel I have to. Hardly use them at all, to be honest.
Sorry GM, did not mean to cast nasturtiums on your craft. We have a shocking story in the new today. The burning of Tottenham; not the football club Spurs but the High Street. I let the press tell the story as I was not witness to it, but having been born in Walthamstow, a neighbouring suburb I can understand why. Like many areas of London, Tottenham has been turned into a ghetto with the increase in population growth that it cannot sustained by the infrastructure: overcrowded, rotten accommodation bursting at the seams, no jobs, lousy education, no future for anyone and still growing. Like a balloon being constantly being filled with air, it is going to burst sometime. Britain can accommodate about fifty-five million people top whack. After that trouble will multiply out of all proportion to the needs. Someone, somewhere has to get the message across to the dreamers in the EU that a monster balloon is being created. Norway led the way a few weeks away. Tottenham has now followed. having sent out an early warning years ago with the slaughter of a police constable. Has anyone learned or taken the warnings into consideration? Or are they passing the parcel of this timebomb. I am no racist, but allowing people into this country it cannot sustain or look after is criminal. Whatever about Human Rights.
No worries, Albert. You're welcome
I wouldn't pay too much heed to Norway though.. that guy was just a nutter. And a nutter with a gun is far more dangerous than the outside threats in his head.
On the UK, yeah I lived in Stratford East London for seven years. In my first weeks in London (1986) I lived in a squat on the Camden Estate, Peckham. Bloody hell, that was scary.
There are many parts of London with severe social problems, poverty, lack of meaningful integration and the rest. And yes, I recall the PC Blakelock business, which took place while we were still in Ireland and making our plans (we a back here in Ireland 14 years now... time flies scarily).
So what happened? Did this guy shoot at the coppers first?
My appologies Gombeeen Man, I lost our link somewhere on relaunch road. It wil be back by this afternoon. Your posts, thanksyou, always a good read. Markus
Thanks Markus. Wasn't having a pop at you.
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