I’ve loved books all my life. But why? I’ve been thinking about that and in my case it could be all down to an amazing experience when I was ten years old.

We lived in a big old house. It had originally been the mansion for the local gentry but a section of it had been demolished. Even so, it was still way too big and a large section had been sealed off – otherwise a team of servants would have been needed to keep it going, and that wasn’t going to happen.

Of course, to a boy, the sealed building was just a challenge. The locked doors were out of bounds, of course – any damage would have been obvious. All the ground floor windows were also securely fastened but one of the first floor windows was partially opened – just a crack.  It took some time but I eventually reached it by climbing on to the sill of the nearest ground floor window, climbing up a pipe, walking along a ledge and finally balancing on the first floor sill.  I pushed a screwdriver through the crack and lifted the catch – and I was in!

The first few hours were magic. I ran around exploring rooms that hadn’t been seen for hundreds of years (young boys tend to exaggerate). After that things got a bit disappointing.  Yes, I was in this amazing place but there was nothing to do. I wandered around looking for anything to interest me.

Then I spotted the door. It was set at an angle at the top of the staircase. It wasn’t hidden exactly, but it was much narrower than a normal door and was easy to overlook. It must be a secret passage!  The door wasn’t locked but it was jammed.  I pulled and pushed and eventually it creaked open. I walked in and stopped just inside – because there was a sudden drop of about three feet – and no stairs!  The “room” was about only about five foot wide. It was probably left over from some renovation but to me it was perfect.

And then I spotted the treasure – stacks and stacks of books. There were some hardbacks, but tons and tons of paperbacks. There were even some picture books! I jumped down and started to search through them. I sat on a pile and began to read the picture books. Before long the light began to fade through the dusty window panes and I heard my name being called outside.  I dropped everything and ran to get out.  I retraced my steps and dropped back to the ground. I was excited about my find but I know what would happen if I spilled the beans so I told my mother nothing.

For months I would disappear for hours. At first I read only picture books – but then I graduated to detective stores and the occasional cowboy tale. I discovered Tarzan of the jungle and John Carter of Mars and a host of other fictional characters.  I discovered the joy of reading.

I can still feel the warn sunlight streaming through the window, I can smell the dusty pages and crackle of pages that hadn’t been turned for years. And I wonder, if I hadn’t found that secret room would I be writing this now?

Social media is now an important part of the SEO tool kit. But how do your identify what’s really important? There are a myriad of blogs fighting for attention. Even if we eliminate those that have been set up by spammers and personal sites that are updated once a year we are still left with thousands (perhaps millions) of blogs that are interesting and informative.

But we can’t read everything.  We need signposts to the top quality sites and this is something that Google can’t do (at least not yet). We still need humans to make judgement calls about the quality and the importance of  the information sources.

Several people have taken a shot at doing just that. The latest is at  25-blogs-to-help-you-stay-current-with-social-media.  As the name suggests – this article lists 25 blog sites to help you stay current. It’s an excellent attempt at identifying key information sources that will help you keep up with the trends.

Would you agree with the sites that have been chosen? If you’re familiar with social media you’ll already have your own favourites and it would be amazing if you agreed exactly with the selection on this site. Nevertheless, there is little doubt that all the selections are worth looking at – and you might find some new favourites.

SEO and Testing

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is changing. It always did. It probably always will. But right now it’s definitely changing.

Knowledge

If you read a blog about SEO it’s probably wrong. If you read a book about SEO it’s almost certainly wrong. If you do a course on SEO you’re two years out of date before you even start.

Underlying Rules

The reason is simple. Knowledge changes in other disciplines but the underlying rules stay the same. Take the medical field, for example. Researches have made huge strides in building our understanding of how the body works. New data is combined with historical data from the last five decades to widen and deepen that knowledge.

Google’s Algorithms

Now consider Google. It wants its customers to have the best search experience so it’s constantly changing its algorithms. The knowledge we had about how Google worked last month may not be valid today. We’re trying to develop a body of knowledge about something that’s totally transitory in nature.

Meta-Tag Chaos

What does this mean in practice? Lets say Google decided tomorrow that pages that have search-engine-optimised meta-tags would be automatically demoted – on the grounds that they are artificially trying to influence Google rankings. There would be general panic when people realised that their hard-won positions were lost.

New Rules

It’s what happens after the panic that’s interesting. While some “experts” would flounder others would set about testing the new situation. They’d examine Google’s current top 10 and identify factors that might be contributing to those ratings. Then they’d build some test pages and see what factors actually gave the best results. Eventually they’d work out a new set of rules.

The Old Rules

Things have changed. Not as dramatically as the example about but if you are an SEO expert working on last month’s knowledge you’re already out of date. Many of the old “rules” don’t apply any more.

Testing & SEO

All you can do is keep on testing. If something doesn’t work any more don’t just assume it’s just a mistake – carry out a test. True SEO experts are those that will repeatedly apply the scientific method – and get results.

Takeoff

The pilot pulled back on the stick and- with a faint judder – the wheels broke contact with the earth. We were airborne. I looked at the two Air Corps officers who were checking each other’s equipment. It was just routine to them – they’d probably jumped hundreds of times before. I checked my breathing. No, I hadn’t started to panic yet – that surely was a good sign. The noise of the engine increase and we started to climb steeply. The instructor was sitting beside me – a broad grin on his face. He’d already told me the good news. The Air Corps boys wanted to practice some manoeuvres so we’d be jumping from 20,000 feet. I wasn’t sure if that was a really such a good thing.

Who’s worried?

I glanced through the tiny window – the buildings had disappeared and all I could see was a patchwork of green fields. The pilot had been worried about the weather but as we climbed though the low clouds and the sun broke through I realized I was actually going to do it – I was going to jump from this plane.

The ticking clock

I knew this day would come for the last two months. Before that it was just a vague possibility but once I’d lifted the telephone and agreed a date the clock had been ticking. And yet I wasn’t worried. Perhaps it was just too far away. As I drove to the airfield this morning it still didn’t bother me – and that bothered me. Why didn’t I feel that horrible sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach? I had felt it often enough before – and in far less dangerous situations.

Panic

The plane continued to rise and I glanced at the faces of the others in the cabin. The instructor was looking impatiently at the altimeter on his wrist. The Air Corps guys were obviously looking forward to the jump. One of them looked over and said something. I couldn’t make it out because of the engine noise but I nodded as if I understood and he gave me a big smile and a thumbs up sign. They weren’t worried. But what happened if I panicked now? It would be extremely embarrassing if I lost control at the last minute.

Making the link

The instructor tapped me on the shoulder and I struggled into position so that he could strap himself to me. There were several metallic clicks and then he pulled hard and the webbing bit into my shoulders. He pulled again and again until I was almost unable to move. Now we were securely linked together. Nothing could separate us or so I hoped – because he had the only parachute! And yet I still wasn’t worried.

The jump

There was a harsh clang as the door was pulled open. The temperature in the cabin immediately dropped and the cabin was filled with light. The instructor nudged me to move towards the door. I did as he indicated – and suddenly everything was happening in slow motion. The first Air Corps guy disappeared silently through the door. I moved forward. The second Air Corps guy shouted something – “Geronimo” probably – and jumped. I moved forward again. Now I was hanging outside the plane. Nothing below me for 20,000 feet. And I still felt nothing.

Falling

And then I was falling – but not like any fall I’d ever experienced before. The wind howled around and through me. It buffeted my body and flattened my face. It was a total immersion experience. Seconds turned to minutes. Then I felt a hand grasp mine. I looked up in astonishment to see the second Air Corps guy holding out his hands to me. I took a while to register that he wanted to grab hold. I stretched out and we held on for an instant and then he drifted away again.

Peace at last

And then there was a sudden jerk and everything stopped. In the silence the tiny green fields swayed gently below my feet. The peace – the serenity – lasted for minutes. I could see the cattle in the fields and the airfield slowly drifted into view.

Danger

There was a muttered curse behind me and the instructor started to pull energetically on the guide cords. “Not good” I said to myself dispassionately as we drifted past the landing point. Then I noticed we were headed directly over the spinning propellers of a plane. The instructor was working frantically to correct our decent. We shot past the plane but now we were aiming for a large ditch. The instructor pulled something hard and the runway rushed up to meet us. I lifted my legs and there was bang as the instructor hit the concrete. I fell on top of him and we went down in a bundle. “Are you all right?” he asked from somewhere underneath me. “Yeah – I’m fine”, I said – forgetting in the confusion to ask how he was.

The experience of a lifetime

As I walked away from the experience of a lifetime I wondered what the hell was going on. I had seen other people preparing to go up and they had been literally shaking. They had bravely gone though with the jump and had been rewarded with an adrenaline rush that lasted for days. I had a great experience – one I would love to repeat - but it was almost like watching it on film. I hadn’t felt threatened at any stage – even when things looked like getting out of control.

And yet I can feel that missing fear just by picking up the phone and making a cold call any day.