1. Barbecue content
Article: F*** Keywords. Write Barbecue Content
An opinionated take on content writing, and I don't disagree. What should writers do in a(n online) world where AI will be better at keywords and SEO than humans will be? Google SERP is already wrecked, and it will only get worse. Ecosia's is going the same way in my experience. Pray you don't need to find anything related to actual Japanese history instead of a video game, for instance.
Author Jason Mountford's suggestion aligns nicely with Seth Godin on marketing: find your niche, and create good quality things. Kind of "Become so good they can't ignore you people will spread the word about your work" and you find your smallest viable audience. How will we make sure our work stands out, and is different from the machines?
What has it to do with barbecue? Read Jason's post! (Yeah, it's even better than "Write content that's so hot it will set your grill on fire".)
2. A handy Photoshop tutorial
Tutorial: Three Image Photo Frame Template With Smart Objects In Photoshop
That's a really good tutorial with clear, step by step instructions, it will work a charm for anybody who's new to Photoshop, and everybody who needs a refresher because it's been a while.
FYI: Some of us still prefer text and annotated images instead of video for tutorials, and I am grateful this type is still out there.
3. Websites? Blogs? Where is everyone online?
Article: Where have all the websites gone?
Thanks to Ben Werdmuller for linking this one.
Shortly after reading that post the book Filterworld came to my attention. (Going onto my mental tsundoku pile.) I gather it refers to the same problem: curation for online browsing has gone missing. Many of us have outsourced that task to algorithms that have questionable intentions.
Two additions from me for this theme:
- Shoshana Zuboff's The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
- Let's start blog rolls again, or some other way of sharing curated content. This Linkfest #1 is a first attempt, and I have "create blog roll" on my to-do list. Currently taking recommendations!
Featured image by Alan Levine, "Got links?", CC license. Cropped to size