Why Web Standards ARE Important - To You and Your Web Visitors

'Back in the day', web designers didn't concern themselves with meeting any kind of standards. There were many reasons for this attitude, chiefly, that it was a 'new frontier' and there weren't many precedents set.

There were fewer browsers, fewer consumer hardware choices and let's face it-fewer users.

Today, the landscape is completely different. The visually impaired are using computer monitors, screen sizes and resolutions vary greatly, internet connections run the gamit from slow-moving dial up access to highest speed T-1 lines. And the internet has become unbelievably popular with everyone, regardless of their connection, hardware or eyesight.

To make web sites that are accessible to as much of the public as possible is a daunting task for those web gurus who aren't well-versed in the W3 Standards in use today. W3 is a resource for webmasters and programmers who want the most for their viewing public. Web sites designed using the standards generate more traffic, loyal web visitors and increase your bottom line.

Making a website W3-compliant by designing in XHTML and CSS and programming in a language like PHP ensures that most all viewers will see the site exactly the same way (no matter what browser they're using). It makes the product (your web site) available to the largest audience. Andthey won't have to install any annoying plug-ins to use your site!

W3 validation also helps with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) because clean code means easier search-engine spidering.

Why One (incoming) Link is Better Than Ten

I can just hear you now:

"That can't be right! If one is good, isn't ten better?"

The answer simply put is: probably not, and here's why.

When it comes to gaining incoming links, having more links isn't necessarily better than having a few good links. In fact, having too many irrelevant links could possibly harm your website's visibility within the search engines.

Search engines are relying more and more on the opinions of others when assigning a rank to your web site. They garner that 'opinion' by looking at how much traffic your site gets and who is linking to you. What they are looking for is a link from a trusted source to your site.

Trusted sources want to preserve their reputation with their established audience so they won't give a link to just anyone. These trusted sources are much more difficult to get a link from, and are much more valuable as well. It is for this reason one link from a trusted source can be better than multiple of links from other websites.

Getting ten links from your best friends will help you in some sense, but no where near as much as the one link from a source, unless one of your friends has a very reputable website amongst the search engines.

Actually, having too many irrelevant links could harm your website's visibility in the search engines. What I mean by this is getting a link from a website that is totally unrelated to yours. If you sell sausages, the only point in linking to a medical site is to promote your 'friend' or someone who paid you for that link. These days the search engines see through this tactic. They will give that link no weight in boosting your rankings and may penalize your site if you have too many of them.

Focus on QUALITY not QUANTITY! It takes more work, but gaining a few good, relevant links to your site is worth the effort needed to get them.

Avoiding Identify Theft

This is a great piece of FREE advice from an attorney who was a victim of the ever-growing crime. Print this out and keep it handy in the event you'll ever need it.

Thanks to the CC Chamber of Commerce for making this available!

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New Virus

There is a dangerous virus being passed electronically, orally and by hand. This virus is called Worm-Overload-Recreational-Killer (WORK).

If you receive WORK from any of your colleagues, your boss or anyone else via any means DO NOT TOUCH IT. This virus will wipe out your private life completely.

If you should come into contact with WORK put your jacket on and take two good friends to the nearest pub. Purchase the antidote known as Work-Isolator-Neutralizer-Extractor (WINE).

Take the antidote repeatedly until WORK has been completely eliminated from your system.

You should forward this warning to 5 friends. If you do not have 5 friends, you have already been infected and WORK is controlling your life.

The slippery slope of Searcher privacy

SES NY: Searching for Anonymity
by Jason L. Miller

Editor's Note: What do you think about a Search Privacy Bill of Rights? Which is more important to you-anonymity or personalization? Is all of this just paranoia or is this a real and present threat? Discuss at WebProWorld.

Until the four major US search engines were subpoenaed by the government, searcher anonymity and privacy was a yawn of concern for most, even if there were a few Paul Reveres out there. After complying with the order, though MSN and others promised no personally identifiable information was given, the slippery slope got a whole lot slicker.
Among the indignant protests that came noisily tumbling to the front of our minds was a recollection of the Fourth Amendment. But EPIC.org ‘s Sherwin Siy, speaking to a surprisingly small group at SES NY, says the Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens from unlawful search and seizure, doesn't apply in civil matters.

The panel assembled for the Search and Privacy track at SES also included MSN's Ramez Naam, SearchEngineWatch.com's Danny Sullivan, and Columbia Law School professor Tim Wu.

Wu, who co-authored the book "Who Controls the Internet?: Illusions of a Borderless World," framed it as a civil liberties issue that went beyond the US government.

"This just the beginning," said Wu, giving a harrowing prediction of abuse by governments around the world. "There are many governments that are interested in this," he said.

Perhaps even more eye opening, the panel agreed that the better a company is at aggregating data, and not destroying it, the more attractive that data will be to government entities.
The issue of privacy isn't so much about what the US Dept. of Justice received, which was a basic list of queries and time frames. The issue surrounded what could be obtained in the future. Wu was quick to mention that European law was much stricter about user privacy than US law.

As WebProNews has covered in the past, the index kept by search engines like Google may have a tremendous amount of personally identifiable information that at the very least has a registered IP address. But some query logs will also hold an email address if a personalized service is used.

Siy pointed out that a subpoena to an Internet service provider would reveal to the government (or others) who was using a specific IP address. But also at issue here is the impact the ease of information retrieval has on the culture.

Public records, for example, at one time were difficult to find. Siy said they "went from the basement to the Web and are easily discovered. Until the information was available online, it wasn't worth it to anyone to find it."

But public records and publicly viewable information are a small hiccup compared the personal information Web users trade on a daily basis to acquire the services they desire.

"It's a value exchange," said Naam, referencing the benefits of personalization services offered by high-profile companies like Google, AOL, Yahoo, and MSN. Users agree to trade a little (or a lot) of privacy to make their online experience richer.

The key question, then, is whether the benefits of personalized service outweigh a certain level of privacy. The personal information granted to Google is stored on Google's server. How long will the search engine be able to resist government subpoenas at home and abroad?

If a Web user is willing to forgo personalized features, they can use anonymizing software to help maintain their privacy.

Toward the end of the session, Sullivan expressed the need for some sort of Search Privacy Bill of Rights, and/or some kind of privacy notification posted on websites if only to avoid subpoena.

About the Author:
Jason is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.

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