Which Sidewiki Video Do You Like?
Yesterday I went hunting around Youtube to see what everyone is doing on Sidewiki. Well, of course Google has the number one video on the subject – here’s their video:
But are they really telling you the whole story here? I thought they might be missing some things, so here is my version:
You can get more information by clicking this link here on the sidewiki blocker.
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Sidewiki, Get Off My Lawn!
While the term is very new and not everyone has installed the latest Google toolbar, Sidewiki is here and has taken root on every site. Like a sprout of crabgrass on your yard, it is there on the front of your website – whether you realize it or not. If you are thinking just because you can’t see it that it is of no importance or danger to you, think again.
This new application created to launch from a Google toolbar is not to be confused with a social bookmark. No, this beast actually reveals it’s head directly on your site creating a large comments column down the left side of your browser and taking up nearly a third of your virtual real estate and stealing your web. Anyone and his brother with a Gmail account can post comments using the sidewiki, which will stay on your site unless Google or the original poster decides to edit them out. Google has been gracious enough to allow web masters to post the top comment to appear in the sidewiki, but other than that it’s a wild west land grab for anyone to make their mark.
While this sounds all fun and innocent, there are nefarious characters about the web (this former scam victim is well aware of this) who will no doubt find ways to abuse this new technology to no end. As a website owner, you have no control over which comments are left and who leaves them. In addition, other media can be left behind such as web video. Links directing YOUR VISITORS can whisk them away to another domain whose intentions for the end user may not be so kind. If you have a dispute with a neighbor let’s say, there is no stopping them from airing out the laundry on your business for the world to see. While you could just post a whole lot of text on your own sidewiki in an effort to bury the bad stuff under the rug, this will not prevent comments from happening to show in the search engine results.
On Your Site
Sidewiki uses something resembling an iframe where the window is available on your site and on every page. Webmasters with hundreds or even thousands of pages will find it near impossible to check what is being said on and about their sites as they would need to explore every page of the site.
A newly discovered loophole could provide some relief, but if you are managing tens of sites this could become a burden of additional maintenance to put out the fires.
You may be thinking, “So what, people can leave lousy comments about you on facebook or other forums already so what is the big deal?” The big deal is that instead of these things appearing on an external site which you don’t control, these kinds of happenings will display directly on your web pages associating them more firmly with you and your business. One of the primary reasons for purchase of your own hosting and domain is so you control exactly what is seen on the page.
Let’s talk about advertising. There is speculation that the direction of the sidewiki will lead to Google adding their ads into the Pandoras box sitting on your site. If you are someone who relies on making money by running adsense on your site and G has ads appearing in the side, you could be at great risk of seeing your ad revenue drop. Already spotted are suggestions on the sidewiki for others to get the toolbar. While the toolbar is free, this is already advertising by Google that can draw your readers away from your site.
Current Bandaids
Some Grassroots efforts are currently in discussion, but the best solution to date is the addition of a sidewiki blocker to your sites. It is a bit of code that will dump comments left into a sandbox where they will not appear to other visitors coming to your site. It can not avoid comments from indexing in the SERPS or actually delete the comments, but it can keep visitors on your site more focused on what you are offering as opposed to what others may be spamming on the side.
Petition
If you would like to voice your opinions on the matter, a petition has been started at Kill Sidewiki Before it Kills You .
Yes, sounds dramatic but honestly none of us know just how far this thing can go. If there were perhaps a way for webmasters to bow out of the sidewiki participation it could be enough to rest our already weary heads.
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The following article is borrowed courtesy Steven Wagenheim.
URGENT – Sidewiki Can KILL Your Business
The war has started and it’s going to be an ugly one. I can see the lawsuits a mile away. I am writing this, knowing full well that it may not even get published at any article directories for fear of repercussions from Google, to warn you that your site, your business, is at SERIOUS risk. I am talking about the new Sidewiki toolbar which has already been responsible for vicious attacks on several sites.
If you’re not familiar with Sidewiki, it is essentially a simple application. The web surfer downloads the Sidewiki toolbar. After they do, any site they visit, the toolbar will appear on the left hand side of the site itself in the same window. On this toolbar, visitors to your site can post their comments. Then, anybody who goes to visit your site can see those comments posted.
On the surface, this would seem innocuous enough. But in the wrong hands, this could become a deadly tool, as I have already witnessed. There is nothing from stopping a competitor from viewing your site and leaving a comment such as, “This person is a scam artist. Do not buy anything from them.” Then, any visitor who has the toolbar installed will see that comment. This can potentially destroy a person’s business if a mass attack is coordinated.
The problem I have with this whole application is that it is essentially giving Google the right to display adds and opinions DIRECTLY on your site WITHOUT your approval. It’s one thing if somebody goes to a forum or discussion group and makes a comment about your site. It’s another one for somebody to come to YOUR site and see such comments.
This should NOT be tolerated. I am thereby asking every Internet marketer and home business owner to write to Google and tell them that you are against Sidewiki. Contact some of the major online companies, such as Amazon and explain to them what kind of damage this toolbar can do to THEIR business. With enough muscle behind us, we can put a stop to Sidewiki.
Please do not take this lightly. This is as serious as it gets. It is no different from somebody coming to your restaurant and spraying graffiti all over your walls telling people not to eat there.
In my signature, you will find a link where you can contact Google about Sidewiki.
To YOUR Success,
Steven Wagenheim
Don’t want to see your business destroyed? Go to http://www.google.com/support/toolbar/bin/request.py?contact_type=feedback and tell Google what you think of Sidewiki and that you want it taken down.
I have to agree whole heartedly. Sidewiki is a pandoras box that Google has just opened.
Please visit this PETITION TO KILL SIDEWIKI as well.
This blog has installed a Sidewiki Blocker.
To learn more, please join in on the discussion at The Warrior Forum.
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