Reading My Way Around the World

Wednesday 12 June 2019

Getting the ducks in a row

Outside a farm shop in Fife, these wee chaps were almost in line

Firstly thank you all for your lovely comments on the photo Scavenger Hunt last week - I really enjoy that challenge and the lovely community that has built up around it.

And secondly, what on earth is going on with this weather!   I had to go to Belfast early this morning and as yesterday was sunny I thought 'no need for a scarf or warm coat' - I nearly froze.  It's like February - or as I heard someone on the radio saying "the month of Donegal" :)

Now, a question for you ... 

If you're looking for information on the internet, where do you search first?  Do you go directly to a website, or to Facebook, or do you just type in a name in Google or some other search engine?   I'd be very interested to know.

When we were in Germany last month someone said that when they searched for us on the internet, it was a different type of music coming up than what we played in our concert ... I never thought to ask where they'd searched.

So when we returned home I started looking around - something that should have been done months,  even years, ago, and sure enough depending on where you search, different information comes up, some of it years out of date.  I've had a website for nearly 20 years and what was really ahead of time back then is so outdated now and technology has jumped on ahead of us, confusing the issue (and me).

So since we came back we've been trying to get everything to line up ... not an easy job and seriously doing my head in.  And it'll take another couple of weeks of concentrating on it.

So do let me know what you do - what's your preferred way of hunting down information.

Canada Geese on Hallig Hooge - they know how to line up, almost

9 comments:

  1. On my computer I just check Google. On my Kindle Fire, I think it is Bing, which is Microsoft's search engine. I'm not on FB, so if I want to find a person, I may look at one of those person search engines, after getting started on Google. But I don't do that very often. And your ducks looks so different from any other ducks I have seen.

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    1. Hahaha you made me laugh Inger :) They were little bronze figures out in the yard of that farm shop
      Thanks for that info - I hadn't heard of Bing before.

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  2. When searching - Google and facebook.

    Google for something factual, and if not successful immediately, change the wording - it is to do with the 'meta-tags' assigned to the webpage (for example - if it is for a garden centre - words like plant can take you to heavy earth works and machinery.) so when starting a new page you have to put every single last word you can imagine that would cover your music - so folk, guitar, duo, traditional, Irish etc - Look up SEO for Musicians (search engine optimization - I think) it gives you ideas what to list and where to list them
    Facebook - is an amazing font of all things findable! you can look for the individual person or via a group page, specific genre or via the band name - all things that can easily be linked to your own page so folk can find you
    hope that helps!

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    1. Thanks Kate - yes, that's more or less how I search too .. but I've been curious to know where other people search - it seems Google is becoming the master search spot.
      I know about metatags, we use them a lot in videos, but SEOs have always eluded my understanding - thanks for making it clearer.
      The main problem is that stuff never goes away on the internet, so you'll still find links to me from My Space for example which is long gone and other platforms that were only around for a few years. Google have changed their searchablility and now bring up knowledge panels if you have enough visibility so we're working through where they're finding the information that they show and making sure it all lines up.

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  3. Hi Fil - I use Wikipedia or Google ... never Facebook. I recommend you read Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe by Roger McNamee - it's only just come out and I ordered it into the library here. Horrifying read! The internet in general ... I hardly do FB - but realise one needs to ... especially bloghops (I do WEP and #WAWTB) ... and Blogspot is Google ... years ago I was warned - but it seems like FB is the worst ... no accountability there at all - nor responsive the rest of us in the world - who need a degree of care. It's an interesting time and life ...

    If you look in .com ... it'll be different to co.uk or the Irish one or the Canadian one ... as too no doubt .de - having one's website absolutely outfront in all countries is really the only way for everything to be as you expect it - but that costs to maintain etc ...

    That book is so so worth reading! Cheers Hilary xo

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    1. Forgot the ducks are just lovely ... and yes this weather!!

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  4. This day & age can be so confusing. I only use Google & definitely haven't got FB. Way too much controversy, heartache & other horror stories & there is enough of that on the News these days. I like using the computer as an extra luxury to my life, but hope I'll never get to depend on it solely as some people are doing. I love digital photography especially, so finding what something look likes on the internet is great.
    I'm not much help, but Google is my go to & does at times bring up some funny info on what you are searching for & that can be a giggle in itself. Have a great weekend, hope the weather is kinder, take care & huggles.

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  5. I tend to google a general search, unless I need an answer about something, like a company...then I Facebook first. I suppose it all has to do with the variance is search engines?

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  6. Love the ducks Fil - and clearly they're able to withstand any inclement weather conditions better than I am here in oh-so-rainy Chicago. :-) I'm definitely a Google girl when starting research, but it never takes me long to fall down some rabbit hole along the way. I'm not much of a FB user and never think to use it for searches.

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