Writing For The Web

You need to read the EXCELLENT article at the bottom of page to understand my comments

Dear .....

The article as an essay is excellent but it does not work for the internet or at least being found by search engines. I also do appreciate it is full of keywords but it lacks focus because it has too many "broad" keywords ... let me try to explain

Writing for the web is quite different ... of course the content has to read well and appeal to the reader and yours does but FIRST the content has to be found and there is nothing in the article that helps the finding process

For example ... What is the single indisputable subject of the page ... is it "wisdom for the over sixties" as for the likes of me or is it "wisdom and intelligence for students" or just "wisdom or intelligence" or "knowledge and wisdom and intelligence" or is it about Edison? It is hard to tell especially for a search engine. Consider this ....

WISDOM and INTELLIGENCE ...

Let's assume the target was "wisdom AND intelligence" not wisdom OR intelligence OR knowledge then the page emphasis must be on this single phrase, wisdom AND intelligence, as the keyword. Keyword is used to mean anything from 1 to multiple word. This means this EXACT phrase, wisdom AND intelligence, must be used multiple times as well as in headings, sub headings and the like. Another way to put it .... the page must be about wisdom AND intelligence nothing else. Just take a glance at this single paragraph about wisdom AND intelligence you're reading now and you can immediately see the subject is wisdom AND intelligence. Do you agree?

That's how search engines see a web page using a very greatly simplified analogy. Please take a look at the example I provided at

http://www.the-perfect-opportunity.com/example.htm 

This must be the general approach ... note over-repetition of keyword, note use in heading of the keyword which in this case is "water softeners". The state of search engine technology is such that they can only work on keyword basis although they are striving hard with modicum of success to understand meaning or semantics and synonymns

Also remember ultimately the idea of the website is to make money by selling something, advertising appropriate content or whatever which also emphasises the need for razor sharp focus

On this basis every web page has to be highly targetted to a specific keyword/phrase ... you can forget targetting single words because they are just too broad and have extremely high competition. Moreover the people who type singe phrases in a search box are very very far away from knowing what they really want. The ideal target keywords should be 2 to 4 words long.

I hope this help and does not destroy your faith in the web too much

Best regards
 

Tony Roocroft
 

Article Submitted

Hi Tony,

Please find within this email my first article. Is this the sort of thing you want? Its full of keywords...
 

Which direction do you go if you want to improve your lifestyle, your income and your happiness? Do you become more knowledgeable, more intellectual or do you increase your wisdom?

All have value, but are they of equal value?

Let’s study Edison as an example, the great scientist and genius. It was apparently claimed he had 2,000 failures before he invented the light bulb. Which one of us would persist with 2,000 attempts to get the job done?

Where would Edison have found such strength and determination from? What would have provided him with such positive energy to consistently try and try again? I would suggest that our current lifestyle encourages knowledge but gives us little understanding on how to apply it.

Our modern society encourages us to think shallow and look for a quick fix to any problem; but this method fosters neither knowledge, nor intelligence nor wisdom.

Let’s study each word and contemplate how it should rest within our thoughts.

What is knowledge? The dictionary defines it as, “information and skills acquired through experience and education.”

What is intelligence? The dictionary defines it as, “the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills.”

What is wisdom? The dictionary defines ‘wise’ as, “having or showing experience, knowledge and good judgement.”

Most people have these qualities but there is a suggestion that their split, of which dominates their process of deliberation, is wrong.

Knowledge is an accumulation of facts, intelligence is a process of reason and wisdom is a method of application.

A QUOTE OF WISDOM: "There is only one thing more painful than learning from experience and that is not learning from experience." (Archibald McLeish, Poet)

Many of us senior adults would claim, although maybe tongue in cheek, that some students who have just attained a degree have very little ‘common sense’. Although this wouldn’t apply to every student I’m sure most readers would vouch for the truth in this statement.

So it would be prudent to point out at this stage that to have knowledge without the necessary skills in reason or application would result in that specific knowledge having little value. Knowledge is power… but only when refined with intelligence and wisdom.

The theory of knowledge is an essential ingredient, but without the compassion of refinement it is weakened in strength to virtually zero. The purpose of using Edison as an example was because his genius was aided by his reason and application.

Confucius was quoted as saying, “Fall down seven times and stand up eight.” This particular quote has a huge relevance in our day to day life - An important principle to remember (knowledge), a useful consideration (reason) and a must to use in the process of success (wisdom).

If you have knowledge and don’t apply it you’re almost cheating yourself out of the time it took you to acquire that knowledge.

How often to you see on a school curriculum the subjects of ‘intelligence’ and ‘wisdom’? Or alternatively as a sub-heading within any other taught subject, such headings as ‘the ability to reason’ or ‘the philosophy of application’? Proof I would suggest that our society doesn’t value these two attributes.

So it would appear as a norm throughout the world that knowledge is deemed as an educational item and intelligence and wisdom be something that has to be self taught.

For the basis of this consideration let’s assume we split the three subjects as thus, 50% knowledge, 25% intelligence and 25% wisdom. If this was the case it is clear we haven’t devoted enough time in the education of the latter two.

There is no suggestion that this is actually the truth as every individual is different, but nonetheless we must consider that both intelligence and wisdom has a greater impact on our life than we would first think.

I should like you to consider this scenario:

“When you journey a long way, do you DRIVE the car? Drive implies effort, hard work and eventual exhaustion. You need to REST behind the steering wheel and operate the controls, watching the journey unfold before your eyes. This is restful and calming; almost to the point of enjoyment. You are focusing on your potential and not your limitations.”

Is that an educational statement from knowledge, an intellectual comment or an observation from a wise man?

Words of wisdom you may say rather than a fact from some form of knowledge base or a category from some form of central intelligence agency.

If you have an ‘idiot’ and require them to perform a certain task, but you constantly get foiled by their lack of enthusiasm; how would you achieve the objective? Many would first consider ‘motivation’; but tests and trials have been done and the only result you get is a motivated idiot. Serious contemplation and various further testing brought a ‘light-bulb moment’ whereupon before motivation you need education.

The reason for such a bizarre example is to illustrate that within most every occasion we need the ability to ‘reason’ and ‘apply’ the knowledge we have using a different perspective.

Proof I would hope that with every small illustration that could be given we activate a greater realisation of the values of intelligence and wisdom.

As with the quote from Confucius we must be aware that in giving credence to both intelligence and wisdom we illuminate the possibilities of our knowledge. Take for example this further illustration on a similar subject to that of the persistence of Edison…

Most people would be aware of the Great Barrier Reef, stretching some 1,800 miles from New Guinea to Australia. Tour guides regularly take visitors to view the reef. On one tour, the guide was asked an interesting question. "I notice that the lagoon side of the reef looks pale and lifeless, while the ocean side is vibrant and colourful," a traveller observed. "Why is this?" he continued.

The guide gave an interesting answer: "The coral around the lagoon side is in still water, with no challenge for its survival. It dies early. The coral on the ocean side is constantly being tested by wind, waves, storms and surges of power. It has to fight for survival every day of its life. As it is challenged and tested it changes and adapts. It grows healthy. It grows strong. And it reproduces."

Then he added this telling note: "That's the way it is with every living organism."

Without an understanding that we must encounter problems and troubles in our life to enable our growth of strength and endurance, otherwise we could be defeated at the first hurdle, as we perhaps know a few that are. Although a subtle observation it nonetheless shows an increasing value of both intelligence and wisdom.

QUOTE: “The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.”
(Chinese Proverb).

Endurance is a process applied following a period of reason and strategy. Intelligence suggests that we reason; wisdom allows us to know when to apply it. If we encounter a problem do we give in or do we prepare a strategy for survival? Here is an illustration to contemplate over… but do so bearing this in mind… When do we apply our knowledge? Without reason and action nothing happens!

Two young frogs fell into a bucket of milk. Both tried to jump to freedom, but the sides of the bucket were steep and no foundation was to be had on the surface of the liquid.

Seeing little chance of escape, the first frog soon despaired and stopped jumping. After a short while he sunk to the bottom of the bucket and drowned.

The second frog also saw no likelihood of success, but he never stopped trying. Even though each jump seemed to reach the same inadequate height, he kept on struggling. Eventually, his persistent efforts churned some milk into butter. From the now hardened surface of the milk, he managed to leap out of the bucket.

The purpose of an article of this nature is to allow our minds to consider where we put our priorities. Do we continue to give our knowledge no support?

Each and every individual requires a different measure between the three categories, it is here where our effectiveness can be increased.

I’ll leave you with a quote that demonstrates the emptiness of knowledge without the support of intelligence and wisdom.

QUOTE: “Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.”
(Japanese Proverb).