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hydrus · 5 years ago

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Version 401

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I had an ok week, although I was a little short on work time. This is mostly a bugfix release that tweaks how the new subscriptions work and fixes some downloader update issues. There is also an important new way to make feature suggestions for hydrus.

mostly misc work this week

Now that subscriptions can run in small efficient pieces, I removed several old limiters that stopped the old system running too often. Subscriptions should boot with less delay when needed (e.g. after the client loads or when you ok the dialog after changes), and an old system that batched queries together is gone, so if a query is due, it should run generally as soon as it can.

I also re-added the import/export/duplicate buttons to the manage subscriptions dialog. It also supports importing (and converting to the new format) the old subscription format, so if you have an old .png sub, or you want to reimport the text that was backed up to your database folder last week, this is now possible. Exporting or duplicating a very large subscription may now need a few seconds to do some database work, but the dialog will warn you beforehand.

As users have made and shared more custom downloaders, I have had reports here and there about new default downloaders sometimes messing up the custom links, unintentionally resetting back to those defaults or other unusual link remapping. I have tightened up all this code. Please let me know if you have any more trouble.

And speaking of new defaults, I am rolling out new objects for nitter, derpibooru, and e621 again this week to improve object linking and URL matching. If you had a subscription complain last week about an e621 gallery URL not matching, this should now be fixed.

github issue tracker

As you doubtless know, I have difficulty keeping up with messages. It is great that people like hydrus and think of all sorts of ways to make it better, but as the program has become more popular, feature suggestions in particular has grown into a tsunami that I cannot give the time they deserve. My todo list has about 3,000 items in it. My list is private, so dealing with duplicate requests and keeping track of discussions in threads and chat conversations has been inefficient.

So, with the aid of a team of volunteer users, I am turning the Hydrus Github Issue Tracker back on. I turned it off about three years ago, as it never fit my workflow and I could not keep up with discussions, but I have been talking with some users, and I agree that for the people it does work for, it is excellent.

We are still figuring out the workflow, but the idea is the team of users will label and sort things, participate in discussions about features, and forward to me the most urgent and popular items. I will not be actively managing it, but I'll read the issues I am forwarded and likely close things out once I have them done. If you are comfortable with Github, please feel free to participate yourself. If you have already requested a feature to me, you can still repeat it on the tracker, which will help deduplication for other users and provide a clean space to discuss it with others if you would like. The program and the html help has all been updated with info about and links to the tracker. It is on the main repo, here:

https://github.com/hydrusnetwork/hydrus/issues

I am grateful for the volunteers who are taking on a job my mind just doesn't gel with.

You are still welcome to contact me on any subject however else we used to talk. This is simply a new way to report, particularly for feature suggestions. If you are uncomfortable with Github, no worries. Also, if you would like me to forward an item to the Tracker anonymously, please send me it and I will pass it along.

full list

subscriptions:

as subs can now load more flexibly, previously hardcoded waits are now eliminated:

- the subscriptions manager now only waits three seconds after initial session load to boot (previously 15)

- the subscriptions manager now wakes as soon as the subscriptions dialog is ok'd or cancelled

- a timing calculation that would delay the work of a sub up to five or fifteen minutes if more queries would come due for sync in that time window (in order previously to batch to reduce read/write) is now eliminated--subs will now start as soon as any query is due. if you were ever confused why a query that seemed due did not boot after dialog ok or other wake-up event, this _should_ no longer happen

re-added the import/export/duplicate buttons to manage subs. export and dupe may need to do db work for a couple of seconds and will have a yes/no confirmation on larger jobs

the import button on manage subs accepts and converts the old 'legacy' subscription object format, including a copy/paste of the objects backed up to disk in the v400 update

fixed an issue where creating a subscription query and then deleting it in the same manage subs dialog session would result in surplus data being written to the db (which the next dialog launch would note and clear out)

an unusual error with pre-run domain checking, exposed by the new subscription code and e621 subs, where the gallery url has also recently changed, is now fixed

issue tracker:

the Github issue tracker (https://github.com/hydrusnetwork/hydrus/issues) is turned on again! it is now run by a team of volunteer users. the idea is going to be to try to merge duplicate feature suggestions with the proper platform and put some discussion and cognition and prioritisation into idea development before it gets to my desk, so I can be more focused and productive and so 95% of feature suggestions do not simply get banished to the shadow realm of the back of my todo

this is mostly intended for wishlist and other suggestions, as the tsunami was just getting too much for me to handle, but we'll see how it goes for things like bug reports as well. I'll still take any sort of report through my normal channels, if you are uncomfortable with github, or if you wish for me to forward an item to the issue tracker anonymously

the website, help documents, and hydrus help menu links have been updated regarding the issue tracker

the rest:

improved how the database 'update default downloader objects' job works, ensuring that new defaults are better at simply take the place of existing objects and do not break/reset existing url class to parser links

tightened up how automatic url class to parser linking works, eliminating some surplus and potentially bad data related to api links. furthermore, whenever the links between url classes and parsers update, existing surplus data, which may creep in when api links change, is now cleaned from the data structure

rolling out updated e621 url class and parser to deal with their alternate gallery url format

rolling out an updated derpibooru parser that will link to the new api class correctly

thanks to a user's submission, rolling out updated versions of the new default nitter parsers that pull creator:username tags

before every subprocess launch, and when waiting for all subprocess communication (e.g. to ffmpeg), now tests regularly for program shutdown. if an unusual situation develops where a subscription is doing a file import job while the OS is shutting down, and that system shut down would hang or is hanging on a 'ffmpeg can't be launched now' dialog, the hydrus client should now notice this and bomb out, rather than going for that never-running ffmpeg. this may not fix all instances of this issue, and further feedback on the client not closing down cleanly with the OS is welcome.

when adding a new path to the 'migrate database' panel, any symbolic links will be converted to canonical equivalents

added some location checks and appropriate errors when the database is doing file storage rebalancing

fixed an issue uploading swfs, video, or audio to the server when it is launched from a frozen executable build

misc code cleanup

next week

Next week is cleanup. I want to untangle some of the convoluted shutdown code, push more on wx->Qt cleanup, and revisit the new text parsing so I can get closer to multiline note parsing for the downloader.

#release

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hotspreadpage · 7 years ago

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An SEO’s survival guide to Single Page Applications (SPAs)

SEOs beware: if you haven’t heard of Single Page Applications (SPA for short), or if you have been resistant to learning about these JavaScript methods for creating websites, the time for hiding your head in the sand is over.

Check out this tweet from Google Webmaster Trends Analyst John Mueller:

The web has moved from plain HTML – as an SEO you can embrace that. Learn from JS devs & share SEO knowledge with them. JS's not going away.

— John ☆.o(≧▽≦)o.☆ (@JohnMu) August 8, 2017

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

John Mueller is correct. It’s not going away.

A quick search on Google Trends for “Single Page Application” reveals the sharp rise in popularity and awareness of SPAs over time:

Some developers are positively enamored with using JavaScript frameworks and libraries to create websites, and SPA popularity has been steadily growing.

Take Angular (also known as AngularJS and Angular.js), for example.

Here’s a Google Trends search for the Angular JavaScript framework showing the past 5 years, and Trends even recognizes the application platform – you can see popularity has increased greatly over the last couple of years:

The React JavaScript library shows a similar up and to the right trend:

In my role as a professional SEO, I can’t say that Single Page Applications are the rule and not the exception when it comes to how businesses choose to develop websites these days, but I am running across more and more SPAs, and so are my colleagues.

Yes, it’s true that JavaScript was never intended for web page content delivery.

Yes, it’s true that SPAs to date have not been great for SEO.

Yes, it’s true that many developers who had fun quickly creating websites using SPAs had to later spend more time fixing SEO problems than the time they would have spent if they just coded the site to deliver content via HTML5 in the first place.

But, none of that matters, my SEO friends.

Like it or not, SPAs look like they’re here to stay.

It’s time to stop thinking bad thoughts about SPAs and trying to wish them into the cornfield.

Single-Page Applications: Resistance is futile

I admit it – for a while there I was hoping I could ignore Single Page Applications, and maybe eventually SPAs would end up in the trash heap of obsolete website trends such as the <blink> tag, and web page content that’s free of annoying and intrusive advertising interruptions.

Programming and coding languages live and die by developer adoption. For example, if, by some weird turn of events, developers across the world suddenly decided they hated PHP and fell in love with some super-cool new server-side scripting language, then PHP withers, maybe even dies.

It’s just that simple.

That’s why, for example, Google has been pushing Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) super hard – because they need major and widespread developer adoption for AMP to succeed and not wind up as the <blink> tags’ roommate.

Talk to developers who’ve created sites using Angular, React, or other JavaScript frameworks or libraries. See if they light up as they talk about the ease and speed of development and how debugging was not as hard as the rumors have it.

SPAs are popular with developers, and that popularity is not showing any sign of slowing down.

Dipping a toe into the SPA

Looking “under the hood” of SPAs, a distinguishing characteristic is that there’s a lot less back and forth between the server and the browser making requests to the server.

After the initial JavaScript framework download to the browser and first page view, there is no page reloading going on when navigating to a second, third, and fourth (etc.) page, hence the “single page” part of Single Page Application.

After that initial JavaScript framework download and first page view, subsequent pages viewed load very quickly, exactly because of the lack of back and forth requests between the server and browser that “traditional” web sites require.

And this means a very good user experience because no extra page load means no extra wait time. And, as we all know, everyone prefers fast-loading pages.

The main aspect to remember here is that with an SPA there is far less back and forth between the browser and the server.

But JavaScript was never intended for web page content delivery

Before JavaScript started being used commonly in website development, web pages were static and created using HTML.

Using JavaScript enabled website developers to add interactivity to their web pages such as pop-up dialog boxes when a user is filling out a form, expandable content when a user clicks on text or a button, or a drop-down menu when the user hovers their mouse over a navigation element.

These and other user interactive features JavaScript allows can be executed in the browser without requiring a call to the server.

And thus, for many years, website developers used HTML for content delivery, CSS for layout and styling, and JavaScript for adding user interactivity.

It’s a fair generalization that JavaScript has become vital to websites and to a developer’s resume; JavaScript is pretty much ubiquitous. JavaScript is not that difficult to learn compared to full-blown programming languages such as Java and C++. The “J” in AJAX and jQuery is – you guessed it – JavaScript.

I only bring this up because in retrospect, and hindsight is always 20/20, we SEOs all should have seen the rise of Single Page Applications looming on the horizon.

But viewed glass-half-full, the rise of SPAs presents an opportunity for technically-minded SEOs to gain experience and become even more valuable now and in the future.

If SPAs can cause SEO issues, then why do developers create SPA websites?

If you’ve never done any coding, then you might not realize what it’s like to be in a developer’s mindset.

Think about it this way: if you were going to have to sit down and write code to create a certain web page functionality and you could either write 10 lines of code to achieve that, or write 1,000 lines of code, which would you choose? You’d opt for the expedience of 10 lines of code, right?

Developers are not lazy; they simply prefer efficiency and elegance when it comes to writing code. I’ve seen developers frame code and hang it on their office wall. Ever heard the saying “code is poetry?”

If you’re trying to get somewhere the fastest way possible, you take the shortest route, correct?

Single Page Application frameworks and libraries, in crude summary, provide building blocks that allow developers to create a website quickly and efficiently.

Consider the fact that SPAs allow developers to efficiently create modern-looking websites that load pages quickly, which makes for a great user experience, and you can see why you might choose an SPA over coding a website from scratch in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, or hassling with the constraints of a Content Management System.

SPAs present a fast-loading user experience because they don’t need to reload most resources such as HTML, CSS, and scripts with each user interaction like a “traditional” website does. These files only require initial loading and then after that only new data is retrieved and downloaded from the server.

SPAs reduce response times primarily by moving the heavy-lifting of data processing from the server to the browser.

SEO may be a lesser consideration given the SPA developments upsides, an afterthought, or perhaps not a consideration at all during the website development process. Any SEO pro who has been in digital marketing for very long has seen the all-too-common situation where a company develops a website, only later to ask the question “how do we SEO this thing?”

Not everyone realizes that SEO should be baked-in at the beginning and not sprinkled-on at the end, or that their website development choices can have definite downstream negative impacts with respect to SEO.

JavaScript libraries vs. JavaScript frameworks

Untangling the technology behind SPAs eventually leads us to the topic of JavaScript libraries and frameworks.

Ask a developer “what’s the difference between a library and a framework” and you’ll get a lot of interesting answers.

One overriding distinction you hear repeatedly goes something like this:

The code you write calls a library, whereas a framework calls the code you write.

React and Angular are both SPAs, but React is technically a library, whereas Angular is technically a framework. However, you will hear often people refer to SPA technology generally as “JavaScript frameworks”.

Frameworks can be thought of as a structure, like a pre-fab home which comes with the framing, drywall, plumbing, and electrical wiring and all you have to do is add the appliances, windows and coverings, flooring, paint, etc.

A library can be thought of as a place that contains a set of ready to use pre-built tools and functionalities. You’d call a library in your code for a specific function.

You can see that starting a web development project using frameworks and/or libraries can streamline the process, as opposed to writing from scratch all the necessary code to create a website.

Common SEO problems of Single Page Applications

There’s a lot of talk about how well Google can handle JavaScript when it comes to crawling and indexation.

Crawling and indexing is critical to ranking.

Google discovers web pages using software called Googlebot during a very fast process often called “crawling” or “spidering”, during which it downloads an HTML file it finds, extracts the links and visits them simultaneously, and then sends the downloaded resources to the indexer.

But when it comes to a JavaScript-based single page application website, the process gets a bit more complicated.

It’s like the process noted above, but there’s a delay and extra step involved because part of the indexer must do some heavy lifting by parsing and executing the JavaScript, and the new links found then must be passed back to the crawler to look at and then sent back to the indexer; you can see that this is less efficient because of the JavaScript.

SEO is more than just having “great content” and earning high-quality links; it’s also about making your web pages easy to discover by search engines like Google and making it simple for them to know which pages are more important than other pages via internal linking.

A “traditional” HTML-based site is far easier to crawl and index, and by extension, rank. Google can get all the links easily and see what the importance of pages are via internal linking.

A JavaScript-based SPA website makes Google’s life more difficult, and some testing would seem to indicate that there may be downsides when relying on JavaScript for purposes of indexation.

Google is evidently willing to do the extra heavy lifting here, and to my mind that indicates that they’ll improve over time rather than announce to webmasters in the future that they have decided they don’t want to bother with the extra work required to crawl and index JavaScript-based sites.

Another potential SEO problem related to the extra work to discover links is that Google may have issues with evaluating the link equity of those pages.

It’s likely that in time, at least some of the SPA frameworks in popular use will evolve the rendering process to make it easier for Google to crawl and index, perhaps even making it on par with “traditional” HTML-based websites.

But in the meantime, we’re where we are and those who’ve tested how well Google can handle JavaScript-based sites have shown that Google’s ability is inconsistent, and we’re also still in a place where those who have developed SPAs frequently must use workarounds, for example using prerender.io along with Angular to serve fully-rendered pages to the crawler.

Another solution is isomorphic JavaScript, sometimes called “Universal JavaScript”, where a page can be generated on the server and sent to the browser, which can immediately render and display the page. This solves the SEO issues as Google doesn’t have to execute and render the JavaScript in the indexer.

Headless Chrome is another option recently proposed as an easy solution by a Google engineer, who also mentions another solution called Preact, which ships with server-side rendering.

It’s also a good idea to create a properly formatted XML Sitemap and submit that to Google Search Console.

Right now, there doesn’t appear to be any single solution or a paint-by-numbers approach to handing the problems you may encounter if you’re an SEO assisting a client with launching or redeveloping a website using an SPA.

It boils down to effectively communicating the correct end result that’s needed, and dealing with issues as they’re presented based on the library or framework being deployed.

Some important Single Page Application resources

Some super-sharp SEOs and developers have written helpful articles about Single Page Applications, and here are a few resources I have enjoyed that I think you will find helpful:

Tomasz Rudzki wrote an excellent post here; the title says it all: The Ultimate Guide to JavaScript SEO

Watch this video by Google ‎Senior Webmaster Trends Analyst John Mueller – he provides a terrific general overview of Single Page Applications and how Google treats them

Justin Briggs is quite conversant with both SEO and JavaScript and wrote 2 pieces you should check out: Auditing JavaScript for SEO, and Core Principles of SEO for JavaScript

Richard Baxter wrote this awhile back, but it’s still very much worth your time: The Basics of JavaScript Framework SEO in AngularJS

Will Critchlow shared this excellent post: Early Results from Split Testing JavaScript for SEO

Hold on to your hat when you click on Barry Adams’ JavaScript & SEO: The Definitive Resource List

If you’re a bit short on time, this is an excellent quick read: SEO Considerations for Single Page Applications

I definitely recommend reading this from Angular University: Angular Single Page Applications (SPA): What are the Benefits?

This Microsoft article is not geared to SEOs, but it’s a quick and helpful read: Choose Between Traditional Web Apps and Single Page Apps (SPAs)

This is also a relatively quick read covering a few different SPA types by Johann Wagner

Lastly, I strongly suggest you make time to read this, a very good overview: Single Page Applications: When & Why You Should Use Them

Final thoughts

Single Page Applications are evolving rapidly, as is the web technology landscape in general. It’s worth the effort for professional SEOs to be as conversant as possible with not only Single Page Applications, but also Accelerated Mobile Pages, Progressive Web Apps, Content Management Systems in general, and of course the tech behind how websites are coded from scratch.

My sense of the situation is that SPAs, and Google’s ability to handle JavaScript-based websites, will advance at a quickening pace because the stakeholders involved are aware that SPAs come with a definite SEO downside as it stands right now.

It’s entirely possible that in a year or so the most popular SPAs will ship with SEO solutions built in because awareness of the need for SEO friendly JavaScript-based websites is growing. But there’s no guarantee of that happening soon or at all, so my recommendation for today’s SEOs is to get excited about and embrace this technology trend.

An SEO’s survival guide to Single Page Applications (SPAs) syndicated from https://hotspread.wordpress.com

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yourlittlestarlight-blog · 7 years ago

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WordPress SEO

As many of you already know SEO or search engine optimization has become so important in recent years especially with the advances and improvements in how search engines rank sites in their searches. Web designers especially now have a greater responsibility in creating web pages that are coded to standards and are search engine friendly. Some still still dispute SEO but believe me it is definitely necessary to achieve website success in today's competitive internet world. Well, on this subject there is so much to talk about but here I'm just going to concentrate on WordPress SEO (most of which applies to basic web design as well).

Right let's start with the on site basic. WordPress is very good at itself at being SEO friendly right from word go without having to do much at all. However like most things there is always room for improvement.

Permalinks

As standard WordPress creates permalinks using "p = postid" which as you can see is not very search engine friendly (no one is going to search for page id's). You can have far more success with you permalinks just like your domain name if you use topic related post names and category names for you permalinks. To change the format of the permalinks just enter your WordPress control panel and go to Settings -> Permalinks and under custom structure enter /% category% /% postname% /. Now your permalinks contain keywords that users may search for increasing your chance of success.

Another thing you may want to think about doing to your permalinks to increase WordPress SEO, is install the SEO Slugs plugin, this automatically removes stop words from your slugs once you save a post, this will stop those really long URLs being created if you develop a long post title.

Optimise Your Titles

This is a really important SEO factor. Titles are key when it comes to searching keywords. If your title does not contain the right keywords or they are arranged poorly then this can have a dramatic effect on where you rank. Your keyword rich post name should always be at the start of your title. Search engines put more importance on early words so putting them later not only puts less importance on them but in search engine results they also may be hidden from view of the user.

Check your header.php file, and make sure that the code for is like this: wp_title ('') ;. This gives you full control over your title.

I would also recommend installing All in One SEO Plugin by Michael Torbert of Semper Fi Web Design. This gives you full control over all the important header meta information such as page titles. It will allow you to format your page titles whatever way you wish and will also allow you to customize page descriptions and add keywords for each post or page as well. For me I have found the following formats work well:

Post Title:% post_title% | % blog_title% Page Title:% page_title% | % blog_title% Category Title:% category_title% | % blog_title% And so on.

Create SEO Friendly Descriptions

In the categories section of your WordPress admin area use a decent and friendly keyword related description for you categories. This will not only entice people to click on a search result but can also be matched for your chosen keywords as well.

One important thing to remember when creating descriptions is not to allow for auto generation of descriptions. This is a poor technique and will not achieve the success you are looking for. Always manually add keyword related and post related description to all your posts, pages and categories for optimum success.

Image SEO

Many designers always overlook the importance of images to get some extra web traffic. It may not always be the traffic you want but any traffic is good traffic. By always making sure you add good alt tags and title tags to your images you are not only helping out yourself in terms of image search engine results, but it is also good practice to keep all your pages coded to web standards (another important topic) and help less able to make sense of your pages.

Navigational Breadcrumbs

You may want to consider adding a navigational breadcrumb to all your post pages. This is not really to help your search engine results but will really help your users understand where they are in your site and help search engine understand site structure. It may look like this:

HOME >> DESIGN >> SEO

All breadcrumbs should link back to the home page and indicate the category the post is in. There are numerous breadcrumb plugins out there for you to find to help with this.

Headings

You're probably using a WordPress theme that is already doing this well but if not the use of H1, H2, H3, and effectively. H1 should be used for blog name on home page, category name on categories page and post name on posts. H1 should be used once on a page, maybe twice and more again.

Clean Limited Code

Less code is good practice. Do not have code in pages that is not needed. This will not only help pages be rendered sooner but will also benefit yourself when editing the pages in the future. Remove javascript and css from pages and place in external files. Remove unnecessary php as the more calls to the server will slow down your page load times.

Load Times

I now know many of you reading this are now smiling as this is not always in our hands. There are however a certain few things we can do to help the process.

Like I said earlier remove unnecessary php and calls to the server which can slow down load times. If its not needed remove it.

Add a caching plugin to your site such as WP-Total-Cache or WP-Super-Cache. This will cache pages and return the user to visited pages quickly. Depending on which plugin you choose that may be in the form of a html created page, or some plugins will allow the use of a CDN (content delivery network) to quickly load images, external files etc.

Finally and probably the most important is choose your hosting provider wisely. The cheapest is never going to be the best or the quickest.

Links

Do not fill your pages with unnecessary or unrelated links. I know sometimes we like to help others out by giving them links but one link on one page is more than enough. Giving anyone an unrated or site wide link does not help them or you anything other than one quality related link.

Duplicate Content and NoIndex

With WordPress as standard there can be a lot of duplicated content in your site as well as search engines. Using The All In One Plugin I mentioned earlier there are options to reduce a lot of this duplicated search engine pages. If you create a post you are placing it into a date archive, a category, a tag all of which can be indexed but all of which are essentially the same. Using the plugin settings you can use the noindex option allowing you not to index all the content. I personally choose just to index the tags as this is usually the most post related.

Page Numbers

If you want the search engine bot to be able to find all of your category posts or archive posts then it is necessary to have a direct link to them from every page. To do this simply add a pagination plugin and make a few tweaks to some of your template pages (index.php, archive.php etc) and hey presto all your posts can be easily sourced by the bot. To download a plugin either type into Google WordPress pagination plugin or visit my site where you can find a plugin.

Remove Unnecessary links

Another simple little alteration you can make to make your pages more SEO friendly is to stop linking to your login, registration or RSS feeds on every page. There is no problem in a adding a link on your home page or a RSS feed link after each post asking users to sign up but it is not needed on all pages.

User Comments

Its funny that blogging is actually meant to be about interacting with user and other bloggers alike. However sometimes comments, especially a lot of comments, can actually rupture our posts in terms of SEO rankings. Comments destroy our carefully constructed keyword density posts. Obviously if you want success with your comments are necessary though a few small alterations can help. First if you have important or successful posts then why not after the initial period of release turn them into pages with the same URL. This will remove posted comments but why does this matter as you've already got your users discussing by posting it as a post. Another tip is to add a function to close comments after a short period of time. This allows our regular and loyal readers to add a comment but reduces the amount of comments which can destroy the carefully constructed keyword density. A simple function to close comments can also be found by searching on Google or visiting my site.

To give search engines a hand and allow them to easily find older posts is to add a related posts feature. Again there are many plugins out there to add this feature so give it a go.

Comments

I hear you say how can comments affect my status. Well probably more than you think. If you invite people to comment and get people discussing ideas on your site then people will feel engaged and fulfilled when using your site. If people feel involved and welcome them they are much more likely to link to you therefore improving your page rank.

Off Site SEO

Now we get to the real heart of SEO. You can do all the onsite SEO and improve your rank but still you may not be where you want. The reason for this is despite the search engines love you they may also love other sites more as they are seen as more important due to how many people are linking towards them.

Twitter and Facebook

Nowadays these two social media giants control so much of the web. They are probably two of the most used sites out there so why not use them to your advantage. You can source so many new visitors by getting people to link to you on twitter or Facebook and people are usually more likely to comment on twitter than on blogs.

Follow Other Blogs

If people follow your blog then why not follow others. It's so important to be part of the blogging community. If you comment on other people blogs and link to them in your posts it shows that you care and then they may just do the same for you.

Final Thought

Backlinks are important and we all know that so work hard and build them. The more you get, the easier it will be to get more. The more users you get, the easier it is to get more. But remember above all keep up the quality of your sites content and get people talking about you.

Ata Rehman

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yourabsentgod-blog · 7 years ago

Text

WordPress SEO

Permalinks

Optimise Your Titles

Check your header.php file, and make sure that the code for is like this: wp_title ('') ;. This gives you full control over your title.

Post Title:% post_title% | % blog_title% Page Title:% page_title% | % blog_title% Category Title:% category_title% | % blog_title% And so on.

Create SEO Friendly Descriptions

Image SEO

Navigational Breadcrumbs

HOME >> DESIGN >> SEO

All breadcrumbs should link back to the home page and indicate the category the post is in. There are numerous breadcrumb plugins out there for you to find to help with this.

Headings

Clean Limited Code

Load Times

I now know many of you reading this are now smiling as this is not always in our hands. There are however a certain few things we can do to help the process.

Like I said earlier remove unnecessary php and calls to the server which can slow down load times. If its not needed remove it.

Finally and probably the most important is choose your hosting provider wisely. The cheapest is never going to be the best or the quickest.

Links

Duplicate Content and NoIndex

Page Numbers

Remove Unnecessary links

User Comments

To give search engines a hand and allow them to easily find older posts is to add a related posts feature. Again there are many plugins out there to add this feature so give it a go.

Comments

Off Site SEO

Twitter and Facebook

Follow Other Blogs

Final Thought

Ata Rehman

0 notes

x-sapphire-flames-x-blog · 7 years ago

Text

WordPress SEO

Permalinks

Optimise Your Titles

Check your header.php file, and make sure that the code for is like this: wp_title ('') ;. This gives you full control over your title.

Post Title:% post_title% | % blog_title% Page Title:% page_title% | % blog_title% Category Title:% category_title% | % blog_title% And so on.

Create SEO Friendly Descriptions

Image SEO

Navigational Breadcrumbs

HOME >> DESIGN >> SEO

All breadcrumbs should link back to the home page and indicate the category the post is in. There are numerous breadcrumb plugins out there for you to find to help with this.

Headings

Clean Limited Code

Load Times

I now know many of you reading this are now smiling as this is not always in our hands. There are however a certain few things we can do to help the process.

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Final Thought

Ata Rehman

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storybyaggie-blog · 7 years ago

Text

With Christmas period fast approaching I decided to put together a gift guide and maybe give you some suggestion on what is worth spending on that little extra in my eyes.

I checked out quite a few gift guides in the past and they all seemed very similar to one another. They all have specific price brackets that show different gifts in each of the brackets. Being me, I decided to take an alternative approach and maybe show you a wider variety of options.

Let me know if you like this format as I have a similar thing in mind specifically for him… All the gift suggestions are only my ideas and I am more than happy to take your feedback on board and change one or two categories !

If you are interested in any of the products featured here, just clink on the bottom of the image and the link to the item should come automatically.

So without further delay, let’s begin…

Candles

Candles in general would be my number one gift especially for less personal occassions. A nice candle is such a homely gift and can add a little bit of luxury. I like more price candles as they have quite unusual scents and last a very long time.

All of the candles shown here are priced up to £50 and I would recommend each and every single one. Choosing a favourite one would be a difficult one but if I was forced to make that decision it would have to be Jo Malone’s Blackberry & Bay.

http://www.spacenk.com/uk/en_GB/fragrance/home-fragrance/candle/unicorn%3A-frosted-forest-christmas-candle-UK300050687.html?cm_mmc=Google+UK-_-F3D+-+UK%7CEN%7CDSN%7CN%7CGoogle+Shopping+-+Brands-_-Diptyque-_-%7Bproductgroup%7D&gclid=CjwKCAiA6K_QBRA8EiwASvtjZRUsA0cvD9dynQYg_La2lgZd2bvzNme239tmTxRp3SkAlU-zjzgIIBoCD8sQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

http://www.thewhitecompany.com/Winter-Signature-Candle/p/WNDCS?swatch=No+Colour

http://www.spacenk.com/uk/en_GB/fragrance/home-fragrance/candle/baies-scented-candle-190g-UK101791295.html?cm_mmc=Google+UK-_-F3D+-+UK%7CEN%7CDSN%7CN%7CGoogle+Shopping+-+Brands-_-Diptyque-_-%7Bproductgroup%7D&gclid=CjwKCAiA6K_QBRA8EiwASvtjZVUaOxynwtHz9iCifO5vaOs1uWWVvvLUwOXuygKusaUyyDHfa3mryBoC0ioQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://www.johnlewis.com/jo-malone-london-blackberry-bay-home-candle-200g/p231745699?sku=231745699&s_kwcid=2dx92700027800953951&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gclid=CjwKCAiA6K_QBRA8EiwASvtjZcsuec9AjfPHnbvO5lTZaR-ye1oQNpT2UlY0J2Qgr6RkNe2JEE3w8RoCCUsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Fragrance

Fragrance is my second most favourite gift to give and probably number one if I am on the receiving end. There is so many good fragrances on the market that will suit most tastes and personal preferences.

I like niche and unusual scents, maybe on a more spicy yet floral side. My current number one would be without the shadow of the doubt Diptique L’Ombre dans l’Eau. It reminds me of my childhood yearsand the smell of blackcurrant leaves is to die for !

http://www.spacenk.com/uk/en_GB/fragrance/personal-fragrance/fragrance/tam-dao-eau-de-toilette-US300023199.html?cm_mmc=Google+UK-_-F3D+-+UK%7CEN%7CDSN%7CN%7CGoogle+Shopping+-+Brands-_-Diptyque-_-%7Bproductgroup%7D&gclid=CjwKCAiA6K_QBRA8EiwASvtjZTfQ3sVhrz5uqO7wW9OYISWXw3aqp90vTPifFKaSmsZYsWDdwviMtRoCcyAQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

http://www.selfridges.com/GB/en/cat/jo-malone-london-myrrh-tonka-cologne-50ml_701-10020-PRODL5LL01/?cm_mmc=PLA-_-Google-_-BEAUTY-_-JOMALONELONDON&$$&_$ja=tsid:35948%7Ccid:198793174%7Cagid:10882060894%7Ctid:pla-103719971134%7Ccrid:40375168414%7Cnw:g%7Crnd:7890459866729241640%7Cdvc:c%7Cadp:1o1%7Cmt:%7Cloc:1006576&gclid=CjwKCAiA6K_QBRA8EiwASvtjZWVFXkJgYgfD6aR_AsxtzHMwo_NAWKbnYFnrDjTgmeab_AiHbWxI6BoCxoUQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

http://www.spacenk.com/uk/en_GB/fragrance/personal-fragrance/fragrance/magnolia-nobile-eau-de-parfum-MUK200005049.html

http://www.spacenk.com/uk/en_GB/fragrance/personal-fragrance/fragrance/lombre-dans-leau-eau-de-toilette-US300023193.html?cm_mmc=Google+UK-_-F3D+-+UK%7CEN%7CDSN%7CN%7CGoogle+Shopping+-+Brands-_-Diptyque-_-%7Bproductgroup%7D&gclid=CjwKCAiA6K_QBRA8EiwASvtjZZYvXFTXGKYgb2pWyPlfUPHQqyN4c4Vq96RITl66dE6NZ0ahwf2bmxoCD2gQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Beauty accessories

Every women needs a good make up brush set, nice hair brush, wash bag or a compact mirror. Options are endless and some of the practical gift are the best ones.

I would love to get a quality brush set and although I do not need any more, I would be more happy to test some new ones… My number one choice would be this set from Zoeva (just in case mu husband is reading this !).

http://www.feelunique.com/p/Real-Techniques-Core-Collection-Kit

https://www.beautybay.com/makeupbrushes/zoeva/rosegoldenvol3luxurybrushset/?utm_source=Affiliate&utm_medium=LinkShare&utm_campaign=fZYk0n0yYYI&utm_content=10&utm_term=UKNetwork&ranMID=41104&ranEAID=fZYk0n0yYYI&ranSiteID=fZYk0n0yYYI-FADaeCp2AaNMDz7cm22FcA

https://www.lookfantastic.com/aveda-large-wood-paddle-brush/10541409.html?affil=thggpsad&switchcurrency=GBP&shippingcountry=GB&thg_ppc_campaign=71700000026979850&gclid=CjwKCAiA6K_QBRA8EiwASvtjZVwxAzn7qB1Rt39_hFWXW89tpxqWkroYnGayEPMjELj-apY6y0hKchoCI9AQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CKH_wq_IwdcCFWiA7QodPBoJQQ

http://www.linksoflondon.com/gb-en/silver-plate-round-mirror/1095-0214.html?gclid=CjwKCAiA6K_QBRA8EiwASvtjZXzsztBFtUf47PvYYWCWyU1taOWwj3K-1vEtre5J0Q9KXlOv38mhuRoCLVUQAvD_BwE

SLGs (Small Leather Goods)

Card holder or card case is an ideal little gift and I strongly believe that most ladies would love one. It can be as luxurious as you want it to be with options available both on high street and in designer boutiques.

I would love to find this one by Dior under my tree although I know I am pushing my luck with this price tag attached but it is worth trying !

http://www.selfridges.com/GB/en/cat/kate-spade-new-york-hyde-lane-night-sky-leather-cardholder_133-3003424-PWRU6096/?previewAttribute=Rich+navy+multi

http://www.selfridges.com/GB/en/cat/whistles-metallic-leather-card-holder_501-10019-025075/?previewAttribute=Gold

https://www.mytheresa.com/en-gb/saint-laurent-portatessere-monogramme-in-pelle-888338.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAi7XQBRDnARIsANeLIev3GW-7rqz8Ei0H5Z1mDiZytU22-CvkZ9HlnnxPLYErSGn74XhaHwsaAjZ9EALw_wcB

https://www.aspinaloflondon.com/products/slim-credit-card-case-in-berry-lizard

Jewellery

Nice piece of jewellery is a statement and something that will stay with a person for a very long time. It can be anything from a pair of earings to a luxurious bracelet. The choices are endless and so is the budget.

I like my jewellery very simple and understated. I do not wear much gold but I have been eyeing this necklaces for quite some time now and I really, really like it !

http://www.linksoflondon.com/gb-en/effervescence-large-white-pearl-stud-earrings/5040-2358.html?cgid=women-earrings-pearl-earrings#start=2

https://www.net-a-porter.com/gb/en/product/999840/kenneth_jay_lane/silver-plated-cubic-zirconia-bracelet

https://www.net-a-porter.com/gb/en/product/999776/Monica_Vinader/linear-bead-sterling-silver-and-woven-bracelet

https://www.net-a-porter.com/gb/en/product/999771/Monica_Vinader/riva-circle-rose-gold-vermeil-diamond-earrings

Cashmere

There is nothing more special to give than cashmere regardless whether it is a scarf, hat, jumper or even pyjamas. The feel and the quality of the fabric is very cosy and it is an ultimate luxury gift in my opinion.

Nobody does cashmere better than Acne Studios. The scarf show here would have stay on my wish list for now but it is a dream…

https://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-cashmere-bed-socks-one-size/p3303772?sku=236906860&s_kwcid=2dx92700028136477623&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gclid=Cj0KCQiAi7XQBRDnARIsANeLIesl0s55YthBY1igYfhEIkiTlsZca8fOj2f2LPOilVqogAYSUsTmjD4aAmxuEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://www.purecollection.com/clothing/womens-accessories/textured_cashmere_hat_natural_natural_white.htm?productid=60565&utm_source=google&utm_medium=base&discountCode=BASEUK&sourceCode=BASEUK&gclid=Cj0KCQiAi7XQBRDnARIsANeLIesxeNmev6g_WanurT-v4NV51dv0hhvUxlGNmcvrxIya3_ZXGrG1qLUaAngoEALw_wcB

https://www.theoutnet.com/en-gb/shop/product/heavy-knit_cod20832158204467820.html#dept=INTL_Cashmere_CLOTHING

http://www.selfridges.com/GB/en/cat/cash-ca-pom-pom-cashmere-scarf_133-85856029-CAW17A19/?previewAttribute=Grey+smoke%2Fhorizon+pw

Books

For somebody who likes to read, good book or two will always be a good idea. Knowing their favourite author or hobby may come handy but in general travel books as well as cook books would be good choice.

If you follow my blog for a while, you may know that discovering undiscovered is something I am obsessed with so this travel book would be the one on my wish list !

https://www.waterstones.com/book/lonely-planets-best-in-travel-2018/lonely-planet/9781786579690

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-couple-next-door/shari-lapena/9780552173148

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-vanity-fair-diaries-1983-1992/tina-brown/9781474608398

https://www.waterstones.com/book/5-ingredients-quick-and-easy-food/jamie-oliver/9780718187729

�� That is it for the gift guide for her…

I have already started working on the gift guide for him so if you have any suggestions, please let me know !

As usual thank you very much for stopping by…

Love,

Aggie xx

<![CDATA[//><!]]> Christmas gift ideas for her With Christmas period fast approaching I decided to put together a gift guide and maybe give you some suggestion on what is worth spending on that little extra in my eyes.

#best books to buy this christmas #best brush set #best brush set to buy for her #best candles to buy for her #best christmas gift ideas for her #best gift ideas for her #best sags to buy #budget gift ideas for her #chanel card holder #christmas gift ideas for her #dior card holder #diptique best candles #diptique christmas candle 2017 #jo malone best candles #story by aggie #story by aggie lifestyle #what to buy for her for christmas #zoeva brush set

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orahachi · 8 years ago

Text

Khulthum's Muse

Just last week, I was locked in a serious argument with a military major. How I met this man and how we got into that debate is a story for another day. Summarily, he was saying that the Nigerian youths of today are just a little less than useless, he said and I quote, “completely brainwashed by vanity and pop culture, you all want to become musicians and footballers, you are all sheeps with no direction and trend is your shepherd". He claimed that he’s was a generation that fought for independence, a generation with purpose empowered only by the sheer power of values and morals. He said we are shortsighted, selfish and with our eyes veiled by screens, we have become fully entrenched in the practice of sodomy. All along, watching the passion with which this soldier spoke, I was scared of countering his accusations. I personally, see no problem with vanity, as long as it is contained and what is wrong with wanting to be a footballer, I asked myself. I also wanted to let him know that the screens he so readily condemned has turned the world into a global village. I wanted to let him know that his generation planted and propagated the seeds of corruption in Nigeria. I wanted to tell him all this, but maybe because he is a soldier and we were in the barracks, or maybe it was the fact that I knew deep down that some of his points had merit, I decided to latch onto the most controversial of all the things he said. I found my usually bold and very opinionated self, humbly raising up my hands and waiting to be given the permission to speak. When allowed, I quickly asked of what his thoughts were on racism, he condemned it to it’s core. I then asked of why a person’s sexual preference should have anything to do with his ability to be effective in nation building, I asked if he didn’t think that it might be with the same passion that he spoke against sodomy that the slave masters of yesterday spoke against black slaves. I said just as one has no power to decide the color of his skin, homosexuals claim to be born with their sexual preferences, what right do we have to judge? I asked heatedly. I finished by adding the fact that it might be the same way that we charge our fathers of yesterday for being racists and backward, that the generation unborn would charge us for being homophobic and backward. Having said this and seeing how quiet the major had become, I sat back down and gave myself a mental pat on the back. It seemed I celebrated too early,as he started by quoting a surah in the Qur’an, sprouting verse after verse of some chapters in the bible, backing all these up by some traditional sayings. At this point, the extent of he’s knowledge shocked me, he was obviously a learned man and I began to cower. What really got to me, was when he looked straight at me and asked if my moral compass was broken. He said today I accepted homosexuals because they claim to be born that way, tomorrow I would accept rapists and pedophiles when they claim the same. He said that the world our generation is building is one without order, morals or limits. After hearing this, though I was ashamed, I raised my head high because I figured rape and homosexuality are on two opposite spectrums. I let him drone on about all the things wrong with the Nigerian youth. Until yesterday I didn’t really think much about my debate with the major. My sister is part of the organizers on an NGO project called Django Girls; what they do basically is go around the country teaching interested young ladies, programming. So between Friday and Saturday last week, they were in Lokoja, my home town, the Kogi state capital. Having no interest whatsoever in programming, I dissed my sister when she asked me to attend the two day workshop and signed my cousin up instead. After they were through, my sister came home saying they were going to have a get together, the organizers and tutors. I really couldn’t care less about their get together, but immediately she mentioned the existence of an “item 7” I decided to tag along. Entering their hotel room, i was surprised by how many of them were present. I sincerely did not expect that that much people would accept to do something like this, as there was no pay, neither for the organizers nor tutors. I sat down patiently waiting for what I came for, when they began to speak. The first man I met speaking was talking about how ‘coding’ could be used to change the future of Nigeria. Seeing as I didn’t know what coding was, I would have put on my ear buds and continued to wait, but the fervor with which the young man spoke stopped me. He went on about how someone used coding to hack into a highly secured and passworded apple system in just twenty minutes. They threw words artificial intelligence, html, pedreos and others I have forgotten, like one was automatically supposed to know the meaning. Whilst I was trying to remind myself of the topic in the data processing I did in secondary school, under which I heard html, someone threw python at me, and then I began to think of a way I could ask if they were talking about the animal python without looking like a fool. Needless to say, I began to feel like Alice in wonderland, trying to make sense of my surrounding but not really succeeding. Now and then, they decide to speak in English, and the attention I paid at such times shocked me. I was so absorbed when one of them began to talk about the program he worked on for the NIGERIAN AIRFORCE, and that the program was supposed to help a drone-missile hit its target not only faster but also however far. They talked about dreams of building machines that satellites won’t be able to detect. They condemned the urgings of the Nigerian society today, asking them to take up skills like tailoring and shoe making. They laughed at professional careers like law, saying it puts them in a box. To cut the long story short, they spoke in a language I have never before heard even though my sister was one of them. They made me look down on Chloe O’Brian. It was then I realized exactly how wrong Major Ahmad was, exactly how wrong I was. Sodomy wasn’t the issue. I let my generation be called vain, brainwashed, sheepish, purposeless and an assortment of other names because that is what I believed we are. I didn’t want to argue it, because I wasn’t sure I could defend it, I latched on a controversial topic in order to take light from the matter on ground, which was the ‘uselessness’ of my generation. I behaved every bit as shortsighted and purposeless as the Major accused my generation of being. I had never met Adewumi, who worked in the simulation of an aircraft defense system using simuly to try to improve on the distance and speed of the missile; I had never met Frank, who loves biscuit and pedoras, planning n developing his own OS whilst leaving linux and windows in the wind. I didn’t know a Joshua who studies Law and History (both degrees at the same time) and taught himself java script but is now obsessed with coding, existed. I didn’t know the sister i have lived with for almost 18 years of my life is obsessed with Space and satellite communication and dreamt of working in the cockpit of a spacecraft, although she was one of the organizers, claims she can’t program to save her life. I didn’t know Mopah, Yinka, Mary, Benjamin, Usheninte and others whose names I didn’t quite catch, who were ready to travel from Minna, Calabar, Abuja, Kaduna, Lagos and a lot of other places to Lokoja to do the work they love without pay. These young men and women showed me how hungry, how starved my generation is, and not for money or vanity as the Major seemed to think; they are starved of support, hungry to prove themselves. They are world standard and could prove it too. They have dreams, big dreams and also showed raw kindness and dedication. A kin desire for nation building. I begin to wish I could see the Major and start that debate all over again. So I could tell him all I have learnt and let him know that within that in the midst of that large mesh of brainwashed and vain wannabe musicians and footballers, are real talents just waiting for the right time to shine. plus amongst all the ‘sheep’ following trends, are my Nigerian brothers and sisters, setting trends. And with our eyes glued to screens we make, we dictate, we tailor a world so different from what they’d known, a world that fits us. I sincerely believe that if given a place to stand, there are Nigerian youths who could lift the world. along, watching the passion with which this soldier spoke, I was scared of countering his accusations. I personally, see no problem with vanity, as long as it is contained and what is wrong with wanting to be a footballer, I asked myself. I also wanted to let him know that the screens he so readily condemned has turned the world into a global village. I wanted to let him know that his generation planted and propagated the seeds of corruption in Nigeria. I wanted to tell him all this, but maybe because he is a soldier and we were in the barracks, or maybe it was the fact that I knew deep down that some of his points had merit, I decided to latch onto the most controversial of all the things he said. I found my usually bold and very opinionated self, humbly raising up my hands and waiting to be given the permission to speak. When allowed, I quickly asked of what his thoughts were on racism, he condemned it to it’s core. I then asked of why a person’s sexual preference should have anything to do with his ability to be effective in nation building, I asked if he didn’t think that it might be with the same passion that he spoke against sodomy that the slave masters of yesterday spoke against black slaves. I said just as one has no power to decide the color of his skin, homosexuals claim to be born with their sexual preferences, what right do we have to judge? I asked heatedly. I finished by adding the fact that it might be the same way that we charge our fathers of yesterday for being racists and backward, that the generation unborn would charge us for being homophobic and backward. Having said this and seeing how quiet the major had become, I sat back down and gave myself a mental pat on the back. It seemed I celebrated too early,as he started by quoting a surah in the Qur’an, sprouting verse after verse of some chapters in the bible, backing all these up by some traditional sayings. At this point, the extent of he’s knowledge shocked me, he was obviously a learned man and I began to cower. What really got to me, was when he looked straight at me and asked if my moral compass was broken. He said today I accepted homosexuals because they claim to be born that way, tomorrow I would accept rapists and pedophiles when they claim the same. He said that the world our generation is building is one without order, morals or limits. After hearing this, though I was ashamed, I raised my head high because I figured rape and homosexuality are on two opposite spectrums. I let him drone on about all the things wrong with the Nigerian youth. Until yesterday I didn’t really think much about my debate with the major. My sister is part of the organizers on an NGO project called Django Girls; what they do basically is go around the country teaching interested young ladies, programming. So between Friday and Saturday last week, they were in Lokoja, my home town, the Kogi state capital. Having no interest whatsoever in programming, I dissed my sister when she asked me to attend the two day workshop and signed my cousin up instead. After they were through, my sister came home saying they were going to have a get together, the organizers and tutors. I really couldn’t care less about their get together, but immediately she mentioned the existence of an “item 7” I decided to tag along. Entering their hotel room, i was surprised by how many of them were present. I sincerely did not expect that that much people would accept to do something like this, as there was no pay, neither for the organizers nor tutors. I sat down patiently waiting for what I came for, when they began to speak. The first man I met speaking was talking about how ‘coding’ could be used to change the future of Nigeria. Seeing as I didn’t know what coding was, I would have put on my ear buds and continued to wait, but the fervor with which the young man spoke stopped me. He went on about how someone used coding to hack into a highly secured and passworded apple system in just twenty minutes. They threw words artificial intelligence, html, pedreos and others I have forgotten, like one was automatically supposed to know the meaning. Whilst I was trying to remind myself of the topic in the data processing I did in secondary school, under which I heard html, someone threw python at me, and then I began to think of a way I could ask if they were talking about the animal python without looking like a fool. Needless to say, I began to feel like Alice in wonderland, trying to make sense of my surrounding but not really succeeding. Now and then, they decide to speak in English, and the attention I paid at such times shocked me. I was so absorbed when one of them began to talk about the program he worked on for the NIGERIAN AIRFORCE, and that the program was supposed to help a drone-missile hit its target not only faster but also however far. They talked about dreams of building machines that satellites won’t be able to detect. They condemned the urgings of the Nigerian society today, asking them to take up skills like tailoring and shoe making. They laughed at professional careers like law, saying it puts them in a box. To cut the long story short, they spoke in a language I have never before heard even though my sister was one of them. They made me look down on Chloe O’Brian. It was then I realized exactly how wrong Major Ahmad was, exactly how wrong I was. Sodomy wasn’t the issue. I let my generation be called vain, brainwashed, sheepish, purposeless and an assortment of other names because that is what I believed we are. I didn’t want to argue it, because I wasn’t sure I could defend it, I latched on a controversial topic in order to take light from the matter on ground, which was the ‘uselessness’ of my generation. I behaved every bit as shortsighted and purposeless as the Major accused my generation of being. I had never met Adewumi, who worked in the simulation of an aircraft defense system using simuly to try to improve on the distance and speed of the missile; I had never met Frank, who loves biscuit and pedoras, planning n developing his own OS whilst leaving linux and windows in the wind. I didn’t know a Joshua who studies Law and History (both degrees at the same time) and taught himself java script but is now obsessed with coding, existed. I didn’t know the sister i have lived with for almost 18 years of my life is obsessed with Space and satellite communication and dreamt of working in the cockpit of a spacecraft, although she was one of the organizers, claims she can’t program to save her life. I didn’t know Mopah, Yinka, Mary, Benjamin, Usheninte and others whose names I didn’t quite catch, who were ready to travel from Minna, Calabar, Abuja, Kaduna, Lagos and a lot of other places to Lokoja to do the work they love without pay. These young men and women showed me how hungry, how starved my generation is, and not for money or vanity as the Major seemed to think; they are starved of support, hungry to prove themselves. They are world standard and could prove it too. They have dreams, big dreams and also showed raw kindness and dedication. A kin desire for nation building. I begin to wish I could see the Major and start that debate all over again. So I could tell him all I have learnt and let him know that within that in the midst of that large mesh of brainwashed and vain wannabe musicians and footballers, are real talents just waiting for the right time to shine. plus amongst all the ‘sheep’ following trends, are my Nigerian brothers and sisters, setting trends. And with our eyes glued to screens we make, we dictate, we tailor a world so different from what they’d known, a world that fits us. I sincerely believe that if given a place to stand, there are Nigerian youths who could lift the world. Author: Khulsum

#written story #creative writing #true story #short story #django #django girls #django girls kogi #tales #true tales #nonfiction #fresh #new #unconventional #naija #nigeria

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