StrivingLife presents ...

According to some people, the keywords meta tag has more relevancy/use than the description meta tag. Unfortunately, this is dead wrong. As I've been able to prove (for myself, at least) this last month, the meta description is quite alive and well. Why people think it's not only dead, but surpassed by the meta keywords (!!!), I'll never understand.

(And, by the way, these were August '05, January '06 articles/posts.)

After looking for a good plug-in, I decided to work on something that was a) easier and b) easier. To that end, I present the following code. This code uses some hard-coded descriptions for the home page, archive/category pages, and the 404 page. For individual posts, it uses the post's "Optional Excerpt".

Note that the WordPress plugin Tags in the Head came the closest to what I was looking for, but was undesireable since it a) required installation of just one more plugin, and b) required another plugin to function. Also, it's focus is on keywords, which, again, I find to be near useless; they are merely more characters that must be read by bots, but which present no real gain.

<?php
if (is_single()){
 if (have_posts()) {
 echo "<meta name=\"description\" content=\"".htmlentities(get_the_excerpt())."\" />";
 }
} else if (is_home()) {
 echo "<meta name=\"description\" content=\"";
 bloginfo('description');
 echo "\" />";
} else if (is_archive()) {
 echo "<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Posts on StrivingLife.net for a specific category or time frame.\" />";
} else if (is_404()) {
 echo "<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The content you have requested is not available at this address.\" />";
} else {
 echo "<meta name=\"description\" content=\"".htmlentities(get_the_excerpt())."\" />";
}
?>

This should be put into the header.php file for your current theme(s), after the line:

<meta name="generator" content="WordPress <?php bloginfo('version'); ?>" />

Note that the home page description comes from the blog's description. Also note that an echo call does not proceed that line. Unfortunately, the bloginfo() function contains an echo statement. Durr. This description, as well as individual post descriptions, should be around 150 characters.

Comments welcome and appreciated.

Thanks to some great service yesterday, I've successfully logged into my Vault again, and am seeing actual data. I have a day and a half of data, but I'm already quite impressed with the user interface. I'm also extremely impressed by the feedback I've received from individuals involved in the project.

This is definitely something that I'm looking forward to seeing how it develops in the near future. They've definitely hit on something big.

Since I haven't provided it yet, here's the links:

1. http://www.attentiontrust.org/: You'll first need to download/install the Firefox extension.
2. I recommend downloading the one for Root Vaults.
3. If you've downloaded the Root Vaults extension (it's past time to see what the official name is) then create an account at http://www.root.net/.
4. Once you've restarted your browser, logged in, and accepted the Root cookie, you should only need to log in to view your data. Post a comment below and we can setup an exchange. I'm, appropriately, strivinglife.

Just for purchasing a discount card at a local video store (GameStop), I not only got a year of 10% off video games, I also picked up a free one-year subscription to Game Informer. Not too bad for $15. In this month's issue, Issue 157 (May 2006), there's a page of debate (yes and no) to the question of whether or not in-game advertising really hurts video games. In this post, I'll be looking at the two responses, as well as crafting my own response to this question.

Pro in-game advertising

According to the Pro argument, in-game advertising makes sense for two reasons; money and realism. Regarding money, advertising can help pay for the expenses that developing a game incurs. Not only does it help the bigger companies, but it especially can help the smaller ones.

In-game advertising also adds an amount of realism to games. If you're playing a racing game and you're passing billboards, why not have actual advertisements, instead of pure fluff? True, having advertisements that are fictional will allow you to put humour into the ads, like the recent Grand Theft Autos, but it's quite alright to put some of each. In short, if you're playing a game that's supposed to be realistic, why not use real(istic) ads?

The Con argument

The con argument presented in Game Informer is pretty simple; Batman doesn't eat McDonald's, but if in-game advertising continues as it is, one day he will be. Games, according to the debater, should be free of objects that take away from the escapism appeal of video games.

My opinion

Honestly, I'm going to side with the side that says that in-game advertising makes sense. If I'm playing a game where real-world objects make sense, why not put real-world advertising in place? Does Spider-man where Gap jeans? I don't know, but in the movie he was wearing some jeans, and as long as the product doesn't attempt to take the spotlight, there's no reason to not allow the label to be seen. Am I going to feel that I've lost out on the fantasy? Not really.

Of course, therein lies the real point; once the product becomes the focus, you've lost what you should really be paying attention to. If I'm playing Need for Speed: Most Wanted, I expect to see what kind of phone is being used. However, if I have to watch an advertisement before I get to the game-element, what the game is about, then you've lost me.

Likewise, if I'm playing Final Fantasy, or Suikoden, I don't expect to see a McDonald's. Earthbound? Maybe, since, after all, the game takes place (or really, took place) in the present. Advertising, just like in the real world, has to make sense where it's placed. Show me a new racing game where you can't drive real-world cars and I'll show you a game that's sub-standard. Show me one that does, and I'll be looking at a real-game.

In short, in-game advertising can make a whole lot of sense, if it's done right. Do it wrong, however, and you show the world that your marketing staff is sub-par.