On Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 2:40 PM, Ray Saintonge<sainto...@telus.net> wrote: > Aryeh Gregor wrote: >> On Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 2:56 PM, Cox, Serita<serita....@bridgespan.org> >> wrote: >> >>> Google's new search engine, Caffeine, is supposedly kicking Wikipedia >>> entries further down results page. Thoughts? Comments? >>> >> So what? Wikipedia's goal isn't to get high search rankings. It's to >> be a useful resource within its domain. > > That principle is too easily forgotten.
It's an over-simplification. A resource that no one can find isn't a useful resource. Things like usability and simple awareness can have a major impact on the fulfillment of the mission even if they don't directly impact the content. There are many indirect effects as well— Less search engine hits means less readers means less editing means less content and probably less neutral content. It also means less funding, and while the site wouldn't need as much funding with less traffic there would still be less money for things like software development where cost is not a function of traffic. So— "So what?" is the wrong position. Good search positioning is not mutually exclusive with useful content. 'Content' is the first priority, but getting that content into peoples hands can't be far behind if we're to do something worthwhile. Cheers, Greg _______________________________________________ foundation-l mailing list foundation-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
