Blog Not Needed

I suppose it’s my own fault. Diysearch used to be in the top 3-5 results in google for the keyword: “DIY.” But now? Top of the second page, number 11. Grrr. I’m frustrated. I don’t even know why, this stupid project was never a popularity contest for me, but with the traffic to the site not increasing and in fact, continuing to slide, I’m just a bit stumped as to what is going on. Actually, I have a gut feeling I know what is going on.

Here’s my take. Diysearch has, in the eyes of many folks, especially new users, become irrelevant. I mean, why bother using a site like this when you’ve got Google. So, what I think I need to do is, make the case of why you should be using Diysearch and not Google. There are solid reasons, mostly having to do with control. With Diysearch control is put into the user’s hand. Links, relevance, ratings, all of that stuff is controlled by users. With Google you wait, hoping your site gets indexed and then hope you’ve done your homework right so that you don’t get burried into oblivion and hope that someone *else* thinks you’ve done your homework right so as to boost your page rank. No, here things are done differently. Here, you determin where you get listed, how you get listed and relevance is determined not by someone else, but by you. We can do that, because we are very particular who gets in in the first place… which while is counter to the “user in control” concept, actually better facilitates this through a selective process that ensures crap doesn’t end up polluting everything else.

Yeah, I do not have expectations of being serious competition to Google (duh), no in fact my expectations are rather pedestrian, I just want to be useful. I’ve invested nearly 20 years of my life in this DIY thing, I just want to make a difference.

I am reticent about filing this under “site news” because in reality it kinda isn’t. But in some weird tangential way it is. This is also me just trying to keep myself motivated and not let this thing get stale (as I often have a habit of doing), but the sad truth is, I don’t have a lot to report.

Yes, I’ve been doing some work here and there on the various new category functions (like “watch” feature, which is going to be really cool when I figure out how to make it so that any “object” in the site could be “watchable,” because the last thing I want to do is paint myself into a corner of hardcoding functionality like that) and the next big thing will be implementing a content management system for the non-database driven pages.

Our editor is always looking for opportunities to better present content within the site, and currently “static” pages are encapsulated as templates with embedded XHTML (for presentation). Well, this makes it difficult to edit. I decided on OpenCMS as the content management system. OpenCMS is a very mature, enterprise-class content management system more like an Interwoven TeamSite than say something like a Droopal or Joomla (which I didn’t like because if you choose one of those products, you are forced into doing things their way. I don’t like that). With OpenCMS I can define content types and elements using standard XML schema, and then transform XML-based content using JSP (Java Server Pages) into the presentation templates currently used within the site. So publishing is quite simple. There are a few odds and ends I need to finish up (like a batch job to push the managed content into the UAT and production sites).

What else? Oh yeah, development on DiyShare is grindingly slow, which brings me to the title of this entry. Instead of spending all of my waking spare time writing code, I’ve been playing the Warcraft. Actually I’ve been playing this game on and off for about 9 months, and have been sinking enormous amounts of time in leveling my main (a night elf druid, who is currently level 45, nearly 46). So, if you play and happen to play on Gilneas and happen across XBlinder, that’s me. Come tell me to stop with the Warcraft and get back to working on the site!

I’ve been noticing over the past several months that a small bit of traffic (to the tune o about 6-8%) to Diysearch comes from Crimethinc. Now, while I have nothing against their site, or their philosophy (in the abstract) I do have a problem with the extreme fallacy of their logic and idiotic (bordering on pathological) insanity that permeates the vast majority of their content.

Take for example, their “Why Fuck the Police” page. Aside from the ridiculous “workers of the world exploited by the ‘proletariat’” utter nonsense, it also condones “fucking with” the police, basically making their job impossible. Well, aside from laughing at the sheer STUPIDITY of EVERYTHING that was actually committed to “paper” I just came up with this simple conclusion: I hope these morons never get into a car accident, or have anyone break into their living spaces, or that no one abducts a loved one.

I cannot control who links to Diysearch. I only hope that those that do link to the site are as reasonable and level-headed as we are (and we really are you know) but if you aren’t, there’s very little I can and will do about it. Crimethinc, while doing an infinitesimal amount of good work (through their DIY projects) is simply just another hold-over of the ridiculous, paranoid and highly flawed philosophy that serves no one but their own egos and insecurities.

Let me put it more simply. If Crimethinc were to submit their link, it would get deleted, immediately. Why? Because they are, as I firmly believe, a hate organization. I will NOT tolerate that, not even a little. If you spread hate, fear and violence, then you have no place in our search engine.

Tis a silly thing.

My attempt:

See, I told you it was silly. I think the site is being dugg though, so it may not be working quite right.

Well now, isn’t this interesting. I just noticed that this blog has a ranking in technorati. Currently its ranked 1,052,855, out of how many I do not know, but how about that? Out of how many blogs currently pinging Technorati, I don’t know, but that number has got to be scraping the bottom of the blog barrel.

Oh well. Instead of lementing this, I’m just going to own it. So, with pride, I will post the number clear for all (2 of you who read this):

1 , 0 5 2 , 8 5 5

I pwn the bottom of the barrel!

This project has always been like this. This has been a scrappy project from the beginning. Its almost comforting to see that hasn’t changed much.

Oh well. Such is the way of things. That’s been the story, an almost washed up has-been.

Of course the ranking leads me to question myself and ask the usual questions, like why bother keep doing this, and not just the blog, but the entire project itself. No one is actually using it - what kind of purpose is it serving? Why do I bother to put all of the work I do into something that goes unnoticed and provides no value? I sometimes feel completely ridiculous, like I’m playing some kind of role, that I’m supporting some kind of facade. I mean, I look around and I just feel like a fake, trying to collect a few scraps that fall from the internet dinner table in the hopes of being noticed by the cool kids.

Its not going to happen. Oh sure I’ll get excited about some of the new things, but the only reason I get excited is that it gives me something to do, something to produce. I know full well that the ego-satisifying goal of being noticed for a job-well-done or for providing some value or service just will not happen. I’m not smart enough, unique enough, clever enough to have what ever it is to achieve those laughable objectives.

So, here this project sits. At the bottom of the barrel. 1,052,855. Another forgetable waste of bandwidth drowning in a sea of forgetable wastes of bandwidth.

I’m not going to let this stop me though. No one may notice, and no one may actually get any value from this project, but I still do. I am still challenged. I still get excited over the prospect of building things and making them work. Does it matter that no one will use them? Perhaps not.