For some reason I don’t quite understand, Google has basically shut off this site in its index. I can even tell the day it happened, last week between November 3rd and 4th. Via searches, we were getting something like 200-300 hits a day and just like that, it dropped to 30. Yesterday it was 12.
I’m not sure exactly why this happened or how to rectify it. One of my fears is that this site appears spammish to search engines or to first time visitors. It’s true that there is a certain pattern to the posts, but also true that when you post links to books a dozen times a day there are only so many ways to say it. I have automation to gather up the book links and to scour the TV guide information. In same cases it has to scrape the websites as they don’t publish to the TV guide sources. (This is also why there is so little CNN and Fox News programming on here – it’s very hard to get that information in an automated way.)
I try to write at least a unique blurb for the guests and their book each time, specifically to make this site seem less mechanical. It appears that isn’t enough for Google . At this point, that puts the site at a crossroads. If I’m getting penalized and will remain like this indefinitely, then I can’t really justify dumping 1-3 hours of my scant free time every day into making these posts and maintaining the site. On the other hand, whatever is happening with Google isn’t going to be made any better by failing to put new posts up. I’m just kind of stuck.
For a week or two, I’m going to reduce the comprehensivity of my posts. I’ll do a few each day but I’m backing off of my stated goal to publish every single author TV appearance I can find. I’ll evaluate where things end up from there. If anyone has any suggestions on how to figure out what happened and/or fix the situation, please leave a comment on this post. Thanks.
On November 9th, former UN Ambassador and mayor of Atlanta Andrew Young was interviewed on Tavis Smiley. He was a key part of the civil rights movement of the 1960′s and one of Martin Luther King’s most trusted advisors. His new book is a conversation between him and a young man about the civil rights movement, about what it was, what lessons were learned and what a young activist today should do to keep this movement alive.
Buy Walk in My Shoes: Conversations between a Civil Rights Legend and his Godson on the Journey Ahead by Andrew J. Young and Kabir Sehgal from Amazon for the Kindle.
On the landmark November 9th episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah sat down with Former President George W. Bush as well as his parents Barbara and Former President George H. W. Bush. Both Mrs. Bush and her son have current memoirs out covering their lives and time in politics and/or the public eye.
On November 8th on of Jimmy Kimmel LiveMan Show co-host, comedian and podcaster Adam Carolla was on talking about his new book. It is a comedic look at modern American culture, and the worries that have turned ordinary things into moments of fear and macho men into simps. AKA, he turns his comedic swing on a few softballs right in his wheelhouse and jacks them out of the park.
Buy In Fifty Years We’ll All Be Chicks: . . . And Other Complaints from an Angry Middle-Aged White Guy by Adam Carolla from Amazon for the Kindle.
On November 8th, the interview guest on The Colbert Report was author Reza Aslan. His newest book is one he edited, an anthology of Middle Eastern literary work from the last 100 years.
The November 8th episode of Charlie Rose included an interview with New York Times reporter and columnist Thomas L. Friedman. His recent books have been on such fun topics as globalization, climate change and our shaky economic future.
Buy Longitudes and Attitudes: Exploring the World After September 11 by Thomas L. Friedman from Amazon for the Kindle or from the Kobo store.
Buy Hot, Flat, and Crowded 2.0: Why We Need a Green Revolution–and How It Can Renew America by Thomas L. Friedman from Amazon for the Kindle or from the Kobo store.
On the November 8th episode of The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, Texas governor Rick Perry was the interview guest. His new book is a condemnation of the current political balance between the federal government and the states.
Buy Fed Up!: Our Fight to Save America from Washington by Rick Perry from Amazon for the Kindle.
On the November 8th episode of Whatever With Alexis & Jennifer, media expert Laura Kipnis was on the show to discuss bad celebrity behavior. Her new book is a tongue-in-cheek book with directions on how to create a big scandal around yourself.
On the November 8th episode of The Martha Stewart Show, makeup artist and entrepreneur Bobbi Brown appeared on the show to discuss beauty tips for teens. Her new book is on just that topic at book length.
On the November 7 episode of CBS News Sunday Morning, they ran a profile of legendary talk show host Dick Cavett. The central question of the piece was “Could the Dick Cavett show survive today?” Short answer: “No.” His new book is a collection of his essays on many aspects of modern life, often digging back into transcripts of his old talk shows to find some nuggets of wisdom to impart.
Buy Talk Show: Confrontations, Pointed Commentary, and Off-Screen Secrets by Dick Cavett from Amazon for the Kindle.
First post from this series! On the November 6th episode of Iconoclasts on the Sundance Channel, the program was about magician David Blaine with painter Chuck Close. David Blaine’s most recent book is a magic book that teaches you how to do some of his famous tricks and illusions.
On the November 6th episode of The Early Show, one of the guests was Kim Barnouin of the “Skinny Bitch” media empire. She prepared a meal the viewers had voted for with white bean and kale soup, eggplant parmesan and chocolate peanut butter cupcakes. Yum! Also embedded in this post is the extra video she did for the website that didn’t air, but is her talking about vegan cooking.
Her newest book is both a cookbook and a guide on how to stay skinny in today’s world despite all the pressures of modern American life that keep us from eating properly and exercising sufficiently.
Here is the round up all of the people who appeared on C-SPAN Book TV programming through the Halloween weekend of November 6th through November 8th 2010 who also have ebook editions of their books. This weekend’s programming includes programs taped at the 2010 Texas Book Festival.
Buy This Is Not Florida: How Al Franken Won the Minnesota Senate Recount by Jay Weiner from Amazon for the Kindle.
Buy At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance–A New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power by Danielle L. Mcguire from Amazon for the Kindle.
Buy Justice Brennan: Liberal Champion by Stephen Wermiel and Stern Seth Wermiel from Amazon for the Kindle.
On the November 5th episode of Need to Know, terrorism and foreign policy expert Christopher Boucek appeared on the program to talk about the current state of the United States efforts to be safe from terrorism. His newest book is one he co-authored, covering Yemen and it’s challenges with terrorism, religious extremism and political destabilization.
Buy Yemen on the Brink by Christopher Boucek and Marina Ottaway from Amazon for the Kindle.
On the November 5th episode of The Talk, athlete Marion Jones appeared to discuss her new memoir. Covering her troubled career with top performances in track and field to her lows of being found guilty of doping and going bankrupt, she tells her own story of sin and redemption.
On November 4th, Charlie Rose featured an interview with New York Magazine‘s John Heilemann. His newest book was co-written with Mark Halperin and is an examination of the way the 2008 US presidential campaign fundamentally altered the course of American politics.
On the November 4th episode of The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, humorist David Sedaris was the interview guest. His newest book is a collection of his fractured and funny animal fables. (I got to hear one of those during a reading on the previous book tour and it was quite weird and hilarious.)
On the November 4th episode of Countdown, author and comedian Lewis Black appeared to discuss Sarah Palin’s new commercial and discuss what he thinks America would be like with her as President. In his new book he takes his signature jaundiced look at Christmas and the commercial spasm that it has become.
On the November 4th episode of Countdown, author and journalist Matt Taibbi appeared to talk about the relationship between the Tea Party and the broader Republican Party. His new book is an examination of the financial meltdown of 2008 with a stronger point of view than most we link. He refers to the culprits as “grifters” and calls them out for their malfeasance even as he chronicles it.
Buy Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America by Matt Taibbi from Amazon for the Kindle.
