Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Rub-a-dub
For its 10th anniversary, online-pr.com is getting a scrubbing. I am clicking through every link on the site to evaluate what to keep. So far, 200 to 300 links have disappeared and less than 50 new links have been added. Outdated information has been removed.
There is a question in my mind whether online-pr.com has a purpose as a collection of research and reference links with search engines like Google. So far, it appears to have daily utility but that will decline as search engines get even better in years to come. There will be a day when the site has no further merit and deserves to be retired. Whether that is before its 15th or 20th anniversary or earlier, I don't know.
One thing running the site has taught me is how dynamic the web is and the need for constant updating. Reference sites blink into and out of existence or move with great speed. Even though I have used a software-based link checker since the beginning, it is inadequate to tell how content on a site has changed. For that, the only expedient is looking. With 2000+ links that is not a task one undertakes regularly.
Right now, I'm comfortable that most of the links on the site are useful information resources for PR practitioners. There are probably another 100 or so that should disappear. I'll get to them soon, I hope, then it will be a matter of starting again. Running a web site is like painting a bridge. One is never finished. Those who think of web sites as brochures where one deposits information for years at a time use but a fraction of the web's capabilities.
There is a question in my mind whether online-pr.com has a purpose as a collection of research and reference links with search engines like Google. So far, it appears to have daily utility but that will decline as search engines get even better in years to come. There will be a day when the site has no further merit and deserves to be retired. Whether that is before its 15th or 20th anniversary or earlier, I don't know.
One thing running the site has taught me is how dynamic the web is and the need for constant updating. Reference sites blink into and out of existence or move with great speed. Even though I have used a software-based link checker since the beginning, it is inadequate to tell how content on a site has changed. For that, the only expedient is looking. With 2000+ links that is not a task one undertakes regularly.
Right now, I'm comfortable that most of the links on the site are useful information resources for PR practitioners. There are probably another 100 or so that should disappear. I'll get to them soon, I hope, then it will be a matter of starting again. Running a web site is like painting a bridge. One is never finished. Those who think of web sites as brochures where one deposits information for years at a time use but a fraction of the web's capabilities.
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