6 ms·

And Scribd.com, exact same model, scrape content regardless of copyrights, straps adsense on it, makes money.

slig 17y ago
You forgot related search queries, which is basically bogus search queries that produces even more visits and bogus search queries.
- patio11 17y ago
  Scribd ceased doing related search queries some time ago. Their CEO described it, to Techcrunch, as "reducing the aggressiveness of our SEO, which reduces total traffic in the near term but increases the relevancy of Scribd links in search engine results." Scuttlebutt among SEOs whose opinion I respect suggests that it is highly probable they got a backchannel from Google telling them that either they could drastically reduce the footprint of their pages in the SERPs or that Google's search quality team would assist them in doing so. Anyhow, their traffic went down by about 50% in a month, if you trust Compete et al. Search for [Scribd "aggressive SEO"] if you want the whole tale.
  - axod 17y ago
    Directly measured @ quantcast: http://www.quantcast.com/scribd.com http://www.quantcast.com/scribd.com The big falloff end of June I assume.
bonsaitree 17y ago
Agreed. I think Merlin Mann has the best take yet on Scribd: http://tinyurl.com/yzl3mod http://tinyurl.com/yzl3mod
- blasdel 17y ago
  And pg capriciously blacklisted his domain from news.yc in response
  - deleted 17y ago
    [deleted]
  - ericb 17y ago
    You are free to question PG's motives and cry censorship, but to me, that blog post was malicious, tasteless, angry drivel that I really wouldn't want to see on here, whether it was about a YC company or not.
    - tptacek 17y ago
      That's why we have the "flag" button. It doesn't blacklist sites that are mean to YC companies.
    - bonsaitree 17y ago
      Even a casual search of ScribD content will reveal the motives for Mr. Mann's post. He has every right to be angry. The malice has been well-earned by ScribD's repeated actions with other creator's content for nearly its entire history. While it's true there's no accounting for taste, I suggest you consult the dictionary on the definition of 'drivel'. At the end of the day, PG can do, essentially, whatever he likes with the content, routing (or lack there of), and posting permissions on Hacker News. It's HIS site. It's a shame that ScribD doesn't seem to play by an equivalent set of ownership principles. Namely, hosting and making money off other creator's content without so much as asking their permission; let alone proffering any ad-revenue sharing.
      - ericb 17y ago
        >I suggest you consult the dictionary on the definition of 'drivel'. I meant drivel. The linked post starts with: > So, I went with, “fuckyourwhoremotherinheronegoodear.” Drivel is "childish talk" (mom insults, anyone?) http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/drivel http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/drivel As to your other points, I think they are good. For me, intelligent debate does not talk about fucking anyone's whore mother in their ear. If that is what I was looking for, I'd read YouTube comments. edit: admittedly, tptacek does have a point re: the flag button vs. blacklist.

slig 17y ago

You forgot related search queries, which is basically bogus search queries that produces even more visits and bogus search queries.

patio11 17y ago
Scribd ceased doing related search queries some time ago. Their CEO described it, to Techcrunch, as "reducing the aggressiveness of our SEO, which reduces total traffic in the near term but increases the relevancy of Scribd links in search engine results." Scuttlebutt among SEOs whose opinion I respect suggests that it is highly probable they got a backchannel from Google telling them that either they could drastically reduce the footprint of their pages in the SERPs or that Google's search quality team would assist them in doing so. Anyhow, their traffic went down by about 50% in a month, if you trust Compete et al. Search for [Scribd "aggressive SEO"] if you want the whole tale.
- axod 17y ago
  Directly measured @ quantcast: http://www.quantcast.com/scribd.com http://www.quantcast.com/scribd.com The big falloff end of June I assume.

bonsaitree 17y ago

Agreed. I think Merlin Mann has the best take yet on Scribd: http://tinyurl.com/yzl3mod http://tinyurl.com/yzl3mod

blasdel 17y ago
And pg capriciously blacklisted his domain from news.yc in response
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]
- ericb 17y ago
  You are free to question PG's motives and cry censorship, but to me, that blog post was malicious, tasteless, angry drivel that I really wouldn't want to see on here, whether it was about a YC company or not.
  - tptacek 17y ago
    That's why we have the "flag" button. It doesn't blacklist sites that are mean to YC companies.
  - bonsaitree 17y ago
    Even a casual search of ScribD content will reveal the motives for Mr. Mann's post. He has every right to be angry. The malice has been well-earned by ScribD's repeated actions with other creator's content for nearly its entire history. While it's true there's no accounting for taste, I suggest you consult the dictionary on the definition of 'drivel'. At the end of the day, PG can do, essentially, whatever he likes with the content, routing (or lack there of), and posting permissions on Hacker News. It's HIS site. It's a shame that ScribD doesn't seem to play by an equivalent set of ownership principles. Namely, hosting and making money off other creator's content without so much as asking their permission; let alone proffering any ad-revenue sharing.
    - ericb 17y ago
      >I suggest you consult the dictionary on the definition of 'drivel'. I meant drivel. The linked post starts with: > So, I went with, “fuckyourwhoremotherinheronegoodear.” Drivel is "childish talk" (mom insults, anyone?) http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/drivel http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/drivel As to your other points, I think they are good. For me, intelligent debate does not talk about fucking anyone's whore mother in their ear. If that is what I was looking for, I'd read YouTube comments. edit: admittedly, tptacek does have a point re: the flag button vs. blacklist.