What's With the Missing Links?

For a long time now I've seen a disturbing trend on some websites, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and others. Reading the newest post from Seth Godin has finally made me comment. Seth said,

I read a blog post describing the best way to get the most out of a Squidoo lens. The author said you should make sure that the keywords and title are perfect and limit outbound links so that you can be sure that people will only do what you want them to.

He was talking about how to make your stuff so good that people just want to link to you. But that's not where I'm going. I want to complain about online news stories that talk about a person, place thing, website, or online company - but don't bother to make it easy for us to find out more.

Here's a great example. (Hint: try to find a link to any of the studies mentioned!)

It's not hard to embed a hyperlink, guys. In fact, you can craft a link that will open in a new window if you're so worried about losing eyeballs. That's got to be it, right? I can't think of another reason why they don't want give out some link love.

As Seth says, "If you make great stuff, people will find you."

[LATER THAT SAME DAY ... ]

Yet another example, in an otherwise fine critique of Edward Tufte's work, shows several links missing. Indeed, at one point the author quotes a writer from, "..the online Business Intelligence Network." Is there a better opportunity to provide a link?

Wall Street Journal: Overdoing It

WSJ.com is running a customer survey campaign. But in my 15 minutes on the site, I was asked 4 times whether I would take their survey. This is the second time this has happened, though the first time, about a week ago, I was only asked 3 times.

Needless to say, after that pestering, I did WSJ a favor by not taking the survey.

Dementia In NFL Players

Some N.F.L players are paying a high price for the glitz, glamour (and in some cases) and big payday of playing American football. More reports are leaking out about the debilitating health of retired players. The latest highlights two players affected with dementia. They are 2 of 20 known, with an estimated 60 or 80 more unknown.

If I knew that the NFL was making such a fuss about church groups gathering together to watch the Big Game so they could support their retired players, I'd be sympathetic.

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Starbucks: I Smell Just Fine

A very unhappy Starbucks customer takes Howard Schultz to task in Time magazine. I enjoyed the well-crafted commentary, but wonder where this person lives. In parts of San Francisco, there's a Starbucks on every corner. Maybe the real estate is too rich where Bill works, so the company can't afford to buy the space. Or maybe no one's willing to sell to them?

Anyhoo, I've used Starbucks to jump on wifi, and think it's fine. Of course, I've not done it where there isn't enough seating. Still, I think it's great they have it. Why would I want Starbucks to stop offering wifi? I know I can always count on a speedy internet at a great price when I've traveling state-side.

The NFL (Death) Spiral?

Nwz Chik has a post on how the NFL is trying to trademark "the Big Game" as a phrase. Oh brother: this is the latest effort by the NFL to shoot their brand in the foot. First they told church groups they couldn't have Super Bowl parties because the big group would show up as one person watching when it might actually be 101. The blogosphere slammed the NFL for that bright move.

And now this. In the San Francisco Bay Area, "the Big Game" refers to the annual contest between Stanford University and U.C. Berkeley (Cal). I'm betting that lots of you out there have your own Big Game.

So I have to ask: Has the NFL had too many concussions? Where is their competition? Arena football? Is that why they've gone into testosterone overdrive? Where the heck else can advertisers go to reach the football-watching demographic? What is the viable option to advertising in the Super Bowl?

I’ve seen perfectly good teams blow themselves up. My team, the San Francisco 49ers, is a good example. And they did it in one season – or should I say, in one off-season. (Did you see Jeff Garcia step up in Philadelphia?) Now let's see how quickly the NFL can do the same, following this new game plan. Should we call this the East Coast offensive-defense? Sounds a mess to me.

Good On Verizon

I just read about Mary Ellen Bates' experience with Verizon, and I was very pleased! I just suggested to my mom that she get a Verizon or Sprint wireless card. She's leaning toward Verizon, and I sure hope she has a great experience too.

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