(I’m really mad, so if you can’t handle a few swear words, don’t read this.)
Google and their Sidewiki can go to hell.
If you don’t know what Sidewiki is, don’t worry. I didn’t either until recently. It’s a new “feature” that Google came out with that allows users to make comments about other websites. It’s a toolbar that you have to install on your browser so you can see the comments displayed next to the web site. Not only that, but you can share spread those comments through Blogger, Facebook, Twitter and Google profiles.
But I have a question…
What right does Google have to allow and encourage comments on MY web site?
Do they pay for my hosting? NO!
Do they pay for my domain name? NO!
Did they work hard to produce the content on my site? NO!
Have they spent hours and hours every week for years maintaining my site? NO!
So get the fuck off my site!! At the very least, give me the ability to turn your shitty sidewiki off.
Way to open even more doors for spammers and assholes Google! Good job!! You think people need a valid reason to be jerks? Think again. STOP MESSING WITH THINGS YOU SHOULDN’T MESS WITH!
I have enough things to occupy my day without adding “monitor sidewiki comments” to my already huge daily to-do list.
I’ll refrain from writing anything further at the moment since I’m a little irritable, but I implore you to read this in case you’re unsure of why I’m so upset about this.
If you think I’m overreacting, wait until you receive one of the comments mentioned in this post on your own website.
What about you? What do you think about Sidewiki?
Update: Apparently I’m not the only one who is fuming mad about SideWiki. Here are two more good reads. The first one is great if you don’t mind a bit of strong language.
The Sidewiki Abomination (I couldn’t have said it better myself!)
The Google Sidewiki Controversy (Sylvie Fortin – very smart lady and much more eloquent than I am.)
What pro-Sidewiki people have to remember is that there are insane amounts of scum-sucking wastes of flesh in this world who don’t give two shits about anyone but themselves and they will do what it takes to make you look bad. They don’t need a valid reason. Sidewiki just gives them an easy way to hurt other people who don’t deserve it. That sounds pretty evil to me.
16 comments ↓
It really is scary. I hope they dump this feature.
Allowing others to communicate in such a way is fine as long as the website owner can opt-out.
Also, they really need to NOT list the comments in the SERPs. That’s just wrong.
.-= Chris from AB Web Design, LLC´s last blog ..Why Paid Online Press Releases Aren’t Worth The Paper Their Not Printed On =-.
Yes, I just love how they rank the comments so high, and the comments have adverts for the toolbar. Hmmm….
I hope that the website owners can moderate these comments, but it doesn’t look like it. I didn’t know that google had this feature in their tool bar. I don’t even like to install these kinds of toolbars because they slow down the browser. Greg Ellison
.-= Greg Ellison´s last blog ..One Day I Would Like To Go Back For A Masters =-.
Twitter Comment
RT @cassiegermsheid: Potty-mouthed, angry rant that concerns anyone with a website. [link to post]
– Posted using Chat Catcher
While I agree with you, not everyone has the Google Toolbar installed, so a lot of people will never know anything about it.
.-= LGR´s last blog ..The Future of Blogging =-.
@LGR – very true, and thank goodness for that! Some people are recommending that you install the toolbar and monitor the comments made on your site. If anyone does post something harmful that makes it through Google’s filters, you can report it and hope that it eventually gets taken down. But who has time to do that for every single page of their web site?
I didn’t even know about Google Toolbar until you blogged about it.
Although, I’m curious as to what people said about my blog…
Cassie, aren’t you interested in “honest”opinions about your blog from competitors? I agree that this could turn into a battle between competitors, all through an addon through Google’s Toolbar.
.-= Brad Ney´s last blog ..BradBlogging’s 2nd Anniversary Makeover With A New Design and Mindset =-.
Twitter Comment
So, apparently… “Sidewiki Can Suck It” — [link to post]
– Posted using Chat Catcher
Hey Brad,
I’m also extremely curious but I know that if I install it, I’ll be succumbing to Sidewiki (and I’m a stubborn old hag so that bothers me) and I’ll also spend a lot more time during my already busy day keeping tabs on all the comments. I have many sites with many pages and I just can’t spare any more time for something I really have no control over anyway. At the very least, I wish Google would allow the option to sign up for comment notifications so we can quickly repair any damage that may be done by malicious comments….or attempt to anyway.
Likewise, I also didn’t know about Sidewiki. I have enough crap in my web browser’s tool bar area.
I agree it’s good to know what others think of your website, but it’s best if you’re the one doing the testing, ya know.
.-= John Hoff – WP Blog Host´s last blog ..2 Killer WordPress Security Plugins You Probably Don’t Know About =-.
I like it, but I don’t think a lot of people will use it until they get the UI right. Why does it have to be attached to google toolbar, why can’t it just be this: http://www.texs.info/universalcommenting.jpg
Easy there, hon. Nobody is forcing you to use sidewiki. It’s just one more place to monitor your brand. If you are just not into “Web 2.0″, I can get why someone hates having to monitor and slowly lose control of their brand. But I learned about you via Twitter, and assumed you should know better.
In a year, we’ll all feel stupid for acting as if this tool actually writes on your website and everyone can see it. My stumbleupon toolbar generally does the exact same thing.
Hi Memphis Blue,
Thanks for stopping by.
While I agree that nobody is forcing me to use Sidewiki, I have to reiterate the fact that nobody is allowing me the option to moderate comments that appear right next to my web pages that I work very hard to create and maintain. I definitely appreciate how social media has allowed everyone to connect even more than they could a few years ago. I certainly don’t appreciate the open invitation that Sidewiki provides for people to spam another person’s website by posting damaging comments that either attack me, take away my traffic, or take away the money I work very hard to earn from my sites.
I would hope that everyone would understand that Sidewiki is not a part of the site itself, but I’m sure many people won’t. Even if they do, that doesn’t stop them from reading potentially dangerous comments and forming opinions based on lies. It also doesn’t stop them from clicking on a link that is displayed right beside my own pages. If I owned a restaurant, I wouldn’t go to another restaurant down the street and set up a little booth where I could hand out free samples and encourage people on their way in to come eat at mine instead.
Stumbleupon is similar, but the comments don’t display right next to the content. You have to go to a different URL to view and enter comments.
At the very least, Google needs to update this feature PRONTO with some helpful features for website owners. Right now, the only people benefiting from this stupid tool are spammers. In a year, I would hope that Sidewiki is long forgotten or else changed so that innocent people don’t get hurt. (One of those innocent people was mentioned in the article Paul Myers wrote which I linked to in this post.)
The food I feed to my children is paid for by the money I earn from my websites so I get a little upset when tools like this come along and threaten me and my business.
I know this post is old, but I have to comment because this shit should be illegal and these geek pelted with stones in Times Square like it’s The Lottery.
Google has been lobbying like mad so don’t expect this to be their last installment. They have been trying to get a law passed which would allow them to steal and sell your artwork unless you registered it not only with the government but with private copyright firms. Sigh. I guess Nerds + Money = Danger.
Anyway, rather than rant off statistics, I think I’ll keep it brief and offer up my genitals on a plate to Google and it’s frail pirate captains. Too bas they didn’t send the anthrax to them.
Thanks for posting this. I ditto it all.
p.s. there are some scripts you can install on your server and add one line of code which will block these miscreants from commenting on your website. I think its’ called sidewiki-defeat.
btw, if you ever want to collab and start a website devoting to petitioning to make things like this illegal… I’m down
The positives of the Sidewiki is it allows people to forewarn others about BAD sites that might, for example, scam you out of money, and there is no way for the webowner to make it simply “go away”. Yeah, there are real assholes out there that abuse everything, but you gotta realize that we realize this, and a stupid comment here and there is gonna happen to the best of us. Don’t forget, too, that people CAN say GOOD things as well!
I happen to sell on eBay, and so far, I’ve had 100% feedback. However, I realize that all it takes is one jackass to screw that up on me, and the chances of it happening seem certain, so I’ve accepted that it’s going to happen, but overall, the rest of my feedback will more than compensate, so all is well.
I was thrilled when I discovered sidewiki because there had been numerous times I wanted to have a voice about something, whether good or bad, but sometimes there wasn’t a bulletin board, or I didn’t want to have to create yet another account to have a say, or wanted to be able to share a less-than-desirable-to-the-webmaster-opinion and didn’t want him/her to have the ability to delete it.
Since the comments and interface do not reside on your actual website at all, it really amounts to people standing in front of a shop (on the public grounds) and sharing their opinion to whomever is going to the storefront. You can’t stop it, it’s the right to free speech, and it’s technically not “on” your webpage.
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