@michael_martinez@c.im
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

michael_martinez

@michael_martinez@c.im

SEO Theorist, Tolkien scholar.

I do not support Netanyahu or his policies. However, I -DO- support Israel's right to exist and to defend itself.

I also support Palestinians' right to exist and live in peace. I hope they will be freed from Hamas' oppression and brutal dictatorship.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

jeffjarvis, to random
@jeffjarvis@mastodon.social avatar

Disturbing talk on Morning Joe, with two congressmen threatening to cut off federal aid to universities that do not 'crack down' on students' speech re Palestine & Israel. I'm not supporting what the particular students say; neither do I support such threats against speech.

michael_martinez,
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

I should think Donald Trump would have taught us all what happens when you allow dangerous and deceitful "speech" to go unchecked.

It's shameful that our so-called leading universities have student organizations that are ignorant of the facts of the last 20 years of history in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Why should Amerrican taxpayers fund hatred and propaganda that undermines the truth?

Hamas is not a peaceful organization. They only have one goal: the destruction of Israel. What the student organizations are doing is victim-blaming on a massive scale.

Worse, they fail to acknowledge the fact that Israel has attempted everything from withdrawal to full recognition of a Palestinian state to end the conflict (and they've removed settlements twice from occupied lands). Nothing appeases groups like Hamas.

And now we're going to protect student organizations that lie and support terrorist groups that behead babies?

Sorry - there's nothing in the U.S. constitution that says we should do that.

The Palestinian people had the freedom to choose their own way forward from 2005 to 2007. They chose to subject themselves to Hamas' brutal dictatorship. They VOTED to give Hamas power.

Every American old enough to remember that year should be shouting from the rooftops that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

We should not be defending harmful speech that threatens to destroy freedom and democracy.

------ ------
@jeffjarvis
Disturbing talk on Morning Joe, with two congressmen threatening to cut off federal aid to universities that do not 'crack down' on students' speech re Palestine & Israel. I'm not supporting what the particular students say; neither do I support such threats against speech.

michael_martinez,
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

@jeffjarvis Check the Supreme Court's history. Our government has already done that.

Remember, we're no longer allowed to yell "fire" in a crowded theater unless there is one.

And we have laws against seditious conspiracy, too. How many Americans have been sent to jail over January 6, including because of seditious conspiracy?

You're too influential and important to us to go spinning fairy tales about "free speech".

Free speech has its limits.

Dangerous speech has its consequences.

As a country have we already forgotten so much in so little time already?

michael_martinez, to random
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

There is, of course, a misinformation machine working quietly to disrupt social media across the world. But I also get the impression that many people here in the United States think the situation in Gaza is like the situation in the West Bank.

Their words reveal a general ignorance of the history of Palestine and Israel.

The settlements issue for which Israel has been criticized by many parties is only occurring in the West Bank.

Israel withdrew all settlements from the Sinai and Gaza years ago. They seized the Sinai from Egypt in the 1973 Yom Kippur War (after Egypt participated in a massive attack on Israel). For several years Israel constructed settlements in the Sinai, but after the Camp David Accords the Israeli settlements were dismantled and the Sinai was returned to Egypt.

A similar situation unfolded in Gaza. Israeli settlers seized land in Gaza and the Israeli Defense Forces maintained a presence there.

But in 2003 then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's son convinced his father that long term peace would only be achieved if Israel withdraw from Palestinian lands. Gaza was a first step.

The Israeli settlements were dismantled and all troops withdrawn by 2005. Gaza literally became self-governing under the aegis of the Palestinian Authority (which was dominated by the Fatah movement).

But then Gaza held elections in 2006, and Hamas swept the Gaza elections and they subsequently drove Fatah out of power. Fatah had become unpopular at the time because they were accused of corruption.

So Hamas came in and turned Gaza into an armed camp. They literally occupied Gaza (imposing their own dictatorial control over the Palestinians of Gaza). And after that time Hamas began building up its military power and occasionally attacked Israel (without provocation).

Meanwhile, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Ohlmert offered Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas complete recognition and independence for the West Bank in 2008. That included withdrawing all settlements and even building a tunnel between Gaza and the West Bank.

But Abbas didn't trust Ohlmert's offer, even though the Israeli PM told him "you won't get an offer like this again for 50 years".

So within the span of 3 years, the Palestinians of Gaza and the West Bank destroyed all hopes for a peaceful conclusion to their conflict with Israel.

Yes, there are Israeli troops in the West Bank, and settlers, and all that. But those issues can be resolved once the Palestinians and the Israelis reach an agreement.

Israel has made multiple overtures to the Palestinians. But the radical Palestinian groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad keep the conflict going because their goals don't include leaving Israel alone. They want to destroy Israel and they're never going to stop trying to do that.

So what's happening in Gaza isn't about some Israeli occupation. It's about a Palestinian occupation of Palestinian land.

Israel was forced to blockade Gaza because Hamas kept launching attacks against Israel. When humanitarian aid was sent unchecked into Gaza (including materials for building modern infrastructure), Hamas used that aid to construct tunnels and underground bases for the purpose of attacking Israel.

There is literally no hope for negotiation or peace between Israel and Hamas because Hamas has no interest in negotiation and peace with Israel, except to buy time to plan and prepare for their next attack on Israel.

It's a shame millions of people don't bother to learn history (or learn from it), but instead allow themselves to be swayed by online propaganda that has no basis in fact.

michael_martinez, to fantasy
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

I've written a new review at the SF-Fandom Forums.

"Michael's Thoughts on 'Shining Just For You'"

This show is part of the Novoland franchise.

https://forums.sf-fandom.com/thread-37056.html

georgetakei, to random

The Israeli government has cut off food, water, and fuel to 2 million people inside Gaza as part of its campaign to stamp out Hamas terrorism. Collective punishment is not only contrary to international law, it is inhumane and illogical. It is what my community once endured in World War II, all because of the actions of others who happened to share our ethnicity. Have we learned nothing? How will this possibly help deescalate the violence rather than radicalize many more? It is madness.

michael_martinez,
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

It won't deescalate the violence.

In 2005 Israeli PM Ariel Sharon withdrew all Israeli forces and settlements from Gaza.

The Gazans responded by bringing Hamas back and giving them political power. Hamas subsequently drove out their Fatah rivals (with violence).

How was Israel responsible for that?

In 2008 Ehud Ohlmert offered to recognize a fully independent Palestinian state with complete Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and the construction of a tunnel to connect Gaza with the West Bank.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejected the offer (and only admitted to doing so in 2015).

Israel has TRIED to make peace with the Palestinians.

The Palestinians chose to keep the conflict going.

Acknowledge those facts, George, or stand down.

------ ------
@georgetakei

The Israeli government has cut off food, water, and fuel to 2 million people inside Gaza as part of its campaign to stamp out Hamas terrorism. Collective punishment is not only contrary to international law, it is inhumane and illogical. It is what my community once endured in World War II, all because of the actions of others who happened to share our ethnicity. Have we learned nothing? How will this possibly help deescalate the violence rather than radicalize many more? It is madness.

michael_martinez, to random
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

I've posted a new review on the SF-Fandom forums.

"Michael's Thoughts on 'A Female Student Arrives at the Imperial College'"

https://forums.sf-fandom.com/thread-37049.html

optimisey, to SEO
@optimisey@seocommunity.social avatar

How would you diagnose this website's

Chart shows impressions from Search Console data.

For best part of a year, Google did not like this site.

A year later it's recovering.

What did I change?

Absolutely. Nothing.

Literally, not one thing.

Was the content less "helpful" before? But is "helpful" now? When it's the same content...?

michael_martinez,
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

@optimisey It could just be that other sites shot themselves in the foot.

It could also be that query patterns changed. SEO cannot force people to use certain queries.

And it could be that the site was accidentally punished by algorithmic bugs that have since been fixed.

There are a lot of reasons for why this happens - none of them having anything to do with SEO.

michael_martinez,
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

@simoncox @heysannidhi @Fizzle_Up @optimisey @geekonaut

For our affiliate portfolio, we may make some changes that we were thinking of making anyway, or we may continue to add new content without changing the basic strategy.

A few years ago some of our advertising-supported sites were suddenly outranked by a network of MFAs that took our articles and rewrote them. We decided to focus on other projects rather than fight that battle, as the other sites were using automation.

Having a portfolio of sites makes it easier to pivot to something else. And some of our sites are now doing about as well or better than after the competitors showed up - but they're all gone now.

rustybrick, to random
@rustybrick@c.im avatar

On Google's 25th birthday, this is how the baristas are preparing the cappuccinos https://www.seroundtable.com/photos/google-25th-birthday-cappuccino-36112.html

michael_martinez,
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

@simoncox @rustybrick By the time Google was available to everyone, virtually all of the "link schemes" they now forbid were in widespread use for legitimate purposes. That was how the Web worked - and Page+Brin didn't realize that.

georgetakei, to random

If the GOP shuts down the government, that means 1.3 million servicemembers will go without pay. This after a Republican senator, Tommy Tuberville, has single-handedly put a hold on all top-level military promotions and appointments because he disagrees with the Pentagon’s policy of reimbursing travel expenses for members who must seek abortions out of state. Remind me again why the GOP thinks it’s pro-military.

michael_martinez,
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

It's worse than that. At least half a million military families won't be able to buy groceries, pay rent, or cover vital expenses. Any military family knows what a struggle it is for the enlisted troops to make ends meet when they are paid on time.

Good luck doing that without a paycheck at the beginning of the month.

------ Quote Tooting ------

@georgetakei

If the GOP shuts down the government, that means 1.3 million servicemembers will go without pay. This after a Republican senator, Tommy Tuberville, has single-handedly put a hold on all top-level military promotions and appointments because he disagrees with the Pentagon’s policy of reimbursing travel expenses for members who must seek abortions out of state. Remind me again why the GOP thinks it’s pro-military.

michael_martinez, to SEO
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

Please reshare to help me get visibility.

I'm working with a company that has been receiving SERPwoo reports for tracking branded queries. They've been told that SERPwoo is shutting down operations next month. The company would like to find an alternative platform that provides reports similar to SERPwoo's multi-colored sentiment tracking. The screen capture below gives you an idea of what that looks like. These reports are perfect for brand and reputation SERP tracking.

Please do not suggest Looker Studio. Not happening.

Thanks in advance.

michael_martinez,
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

@simoncox Thanks. I'll add it to the short list.

michael_martinez, to random
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

All the crap content that Web marketers have stopped sharing on Twitter has now migrated to LinkedIn.

michael_martinez,
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

Agreed.

michael_martinez, to Tolkien
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

Newly published article on the Middle-earth Blog: "What Was the Significance of Height in Tolkien’s Stories?"

https://middle-earth.xenite.org/what-was-the-significance-of-height-in-tolkiens-stories/

michael_martinez, to Tolkien
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

New article on the Middle-earth Blog: "Did Faded Elvish Spirits Make Their Ways to Valinor?"

https://middle-earth.xenite.org/did-faded-elvish-spirits-make-their-ways-to-valinor/

feditips, (edited ) to wordpress
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

If you have a WordPress-powered blog, you can turn it into a Fediverse server and people will be able to follow the blog from Mastodon etc.

More info on how to do this here:

➡️ https://fedi.tips/wordpress-turning-your-blog-into-a-fediverse-server/

This works through the AcitvityPub for WordPress plug-in, which has just been updated to version 1.0.0:

➡️ https://wordpress.org/plugins/activitypub/

The plug-in is by @pfefferle in association with , one of the major players behind WordPress itself.

michael_martinez,
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

@73ms @feditips @pfefferle There are ways to promote Mastodon/fediverse accounts on any WordPress blog (even free WordPress.Com accounts) via widgets in sidebars and footers.

I'm experimenting with ActivityPub + Friends plugins on several blogs but because the Featured Images don't display properly for me when I view them from this account, I'm not sure I want to promote those blogs directly.

I'm still manually sharing content when it's published to ensure I can see my Featured Images. But I'm probably just being prissy at this point.

The Friends plugin is still a little iffy but it's recently been enhanced and I need to scale up my experimentation to learn more about what to expect.

michael_martinez,
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

@pfefferle

This is a recent post and the screen capture below is what I see. I don't use a Mastodon client. I only access it from the C.im Website, if that matters.

I also don't use the Gutenberg editor in WordPress. I use the Classic Editor (in case that matters).

And this post was published on a multisite network (using subdomains).

The "Not Available" is where the Featured Image should be.

https://c.im/@michael@middle-earth.xenite.org/111063510798864523

michael_martinez,
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

@pfefferle @jeremy Yes

michael_martinez, to random
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

I watched "Once Upon A Time" (a movie starring Crystal Liu and Yang Yang) a few days ago. Although I could figure out the story the movie really didn't make any sense to me.

And then I read online that it was a remake of the Yang Mi/Mark Chao series "Eternal Love". So now I'm watching that and it's fantastic. Heart-wrenching, but fantastic.

I'll eventually write a review at the SF-Fandom forums.

michael_martinez, to random
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

20 years ago this month my personal computer was flooded with up to 3,000 virus-infected emails per hour. My partner Dixie helped me find the fix for it and get it installed on my computer. But I was forced to change my email address because there was no way I could notify 1,000s of people their PCs had become infected (no need, really, as they would have seen the same annoying dialog box I did).

A few days later at work one of our accountants called me into his office. He had the Sobig.F dialog on his screen. I immediately pulled the ethernet cable out of the back of his machine, hoping I could prevent it from infecting the rest of the office network.

I walked down the hallway to report the incident to my boss's boss, thinking we would have to take preventive measures. Before I could explain what was going on, her assistant came out of HER office and said, "Michael, there's a funny box on my screen --"

At which point I leaped past the person behind me, ran to my desk, and grabbed my phone. I yelled into the PA system, "Everyone with a PC log off and shut down! Everyone with a PC log off and shut down!"

The manager of the production line called me in a panic. "Does that include me?" he asked.

"No," I said. "You're okay." At the time, our production machines were air-gapped and couldn't receive emails.

It took a couple of hours to get all the office PCs updated to guard against the virus. Only 5 machines were infected.

Meanwhile, the other 4 plants all went offline, as did our parent company and all their other subsidiaries. Mine was the only location that was able to continue working normally that day.

And that was only because so many people at the time had gotten my personal email address (mostly from being on mailing lists I was subscribed to).

I remember calling the parent company's cyberteam to report the incident. "Yeah, I know," the guy said on the other line. "I'm watching it spread across the network as we talk."

"Isn't there anything you can do to stop this?" I asked. I figured he could notify all the plants to disconnect from the network.

"No," he replied. "I'm powerless. We just have to let it play out and repair the damage later."

michael_martinez, to fantasy
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

New review on the SF-Fandom forums: "Michhael's Thoughts on 'Who Rules the World'"

https://forums.sf-fandom.com/thread-37010.html

michael_martinez, to SEO
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

Cue the weeping and gnashing of teeth in the community. has killed their FAQ markup spam.

"To provide a cleaner and more consistent search experience, we're changing how some rich results types are shown in Google's search results. In particular, we're reducing the visibility of FAQ rich results, and limiting How-To rich results to desktop devices. This change should finish rolling out globally within the next week."

https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2023/08/howto-faq-changes?hl=en

michael_martinez, to SEO
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

Tim Capper shares important information about a link building scam targeting businesses.

"Image Link Building Scammers Using DMCA Copyright Infringement"

https://onlineownership.com/image-link-building-scammers-using-dmca-copyright-infringement/

phillycodehound, to random
@phillycodehound@masto.ai avatar

I get why people like the algo but that's not a reason to stay on "X" or whatever baby man wants to call it.

I have a rich experience here on Mastodon and on other instances in the Fediverse because I took about 2 hrs... seriously and concentrated on finding people/accounts I wanted to follow.

After that, when a person/account was interacted with by an account I followed that I was intrigued by I followed that account. And so on.....

Before I knew it I had a vibrant community on Mastodon.

michael_martinez,
@michael_martinez@c.im avatar

@phillycodehound @simoncox I feel like I'm participating in a Sunk Cost Fallacy experiment by remaining active on Twitter. I can still reach people there whom I don't reach elsewhere. At what point will that stop happening?

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