Article 5: To Link or Not to Link -- That is the Question

by Denny Lancaster
Copyright � 2005 by Denny Lancaster.  All rights reserved.

The question of whether to link or not; permission to do so in an age of chivalry; reciprocal linking in the minds of commercial or well-established web sites; a question of building community.  These are age-old thoughts in the mind of our AP community, are they not?

Pondering the perplexities of an ever-changing and dynamic web, such as the horror of a link which has been squatted upon by an evil empire or being, sharpens our wits (and link-checking, too).  But our AP community has found an answer, at least according to our individual wants and desires, by entering into the brave world of awards presentation.

Then a bright thought as to how all of the wonderful award winners each of us have recognized could show our brave new bloggers, the elderly, and those who are gatherers and hunters the worth of our toil and effort.

Yet unanswered but certainly something worthy of discussion?

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind of the surfer, than the slings and arrows of outrageous misinformation or would we takes up links together against this sea of turbulence and in the end NOT keep them from the fruits of our labor?

Can you hear William Shakespeare, ye noble men and women?

Content Creators

Almost everyone who searches Google to find information is being helped to recover from the wasteland of marketing hype, by forcing producers to make their sites useful again.  [1]  But have things really changed from twenty-five years ago when 19 middle aged men gathered to celebrate the first node installation on Arpanet?  [2]

Today anyone can publish anything on the Web.  We have no need for traditional print resources, and no web standards exist to ensure accuracy.  According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project released in 2004, online content creators are evenly divided among men and women, and are broken down into three groups: power creators whose average age is 25 and blog (among other activities), a middle group whose average age is 58 and are experienced Internet users, and the largest group whose average age is 40 and who search to compare prices and make other selective comparisons.  [3]

Blogging and CSS sigs are a more recent Internet phenomenon, fueled by their ease of creation.  In retrospect, this is no different from the era of GeoCities, which empowered everyday citizens to rise up against the perceived tyranny of commercialism, which if unchecked would leave all but those who were powerful and moneyed in control of the people's medium.  In each era (but in continuance), the value of linking one piece of information to another recognized the tremendous value of �the Web� and the interconnection that intelligently linked an endless chain of consciousness.  Following this truism, every corporate site would become a leader of relevant information in their respective fields of endeavor.  Each individual web site would compliment each component or link.  The relevance of ideas and thoughts separating fact from opinion would empower those who seek information for whatever purpose.

Content Seekers

Virtually all Internet users are aware of on-line shopping and will probably make a purchase when there is a feeling of security, either now or in the future.   According to the Pew Internet and American Life Survey, these users are seeking information for their favorite hobby, live in rural areas with low-speed Internet connections, and probably have not embraced the newest of the new, like blogs or a webcam.

Senior citizen surfing is not at present a significant force, nor are our disABLED, or so some may think.  But those emerging groups already know something a younger or middle-aged group may not know, and will be empowered when they start to act like teenagers (who act like they know what they are doing, even if they do not).

Grandpa reflected on the computer and the Internet, �I am not afraid of these damn things.�  He then went out and updated his blog, which he was able to manage himself.  He checked his RSS feed, recently sent a photo album, and checked with fellow bloggers about their thoughts on displaying several links from award presenters who thought his creation was neat.

And yes, he is still tempered with a sip of "jack", but threw the damn cigarettes out the door in 1996 and he was going to reach his 89th birthday, by golly, in a few months.

Footnotes

[1]  Wolfram, "How to Score Higher in Google Search Engine."  Back to the text
[2]  "The Creators," Wired Magazine, Issue 2.12, December 1994.  Back to the text
[3]  Content Creation Online, Pew Internet and American Life Project.  Back to the text

Back to the top

About The Author

Denny Lancaster was chairperson of the Heartland Golden Heart Award (now inactive); evaluator for three years with the Award of Excellence; mentor and evaluator for The Site Fights for six years.

He is the father of four children, a tax attorney, a certified webmaster through online courses and a MCI (master certified instructor) in ten disciplines.  He established the Talking Hands Award because of his love of "special children."  The Talking Hands Award has been in continuous operation since 1986.

Additional Internet activities include Validation Advisor for Award Sites!, of which he has been a member since 1999, and Director of Memberships for APEX.