The Old Curator Newsletter 5

with Rob James Week 5 - 2023

February 04, 2023

Hello friends,

I hope this email finds you well. As always, I've been scouring the internet and wanted to share some of the things that caught my eye, made me laugh, made me think, and even made me a little nostalgic this week.

Article of the Week

OLDER AND WISER?

20 years ago I had 2000 domains 96 million pages on line and was earning 5 figures a day...then a team of islamic hackers destroyed my network. After a successful career away from IM I have been watching latest developments regarding Al and believe if we use the tools sensible we can generate a lot of money ethically.Let me explain.

Back in 2003 I was living and working in Shanghai and on a flight back from Hong Kong, following a conference I bought a small book called "How to make money online"

Basically, the book advised one to build small websites related to groups of keywords.I started doing it made $50 a month, eventually then up to $300 and then realised this is a numbers game.

I came home bought some software called traffic equaliser which auto-built websites, and eventually, I was earning $1000 a day in 2004. Very few others were doing this online.

In January 2005, I got up one morning, and we made $5 out of a whole network of 2000 domains and 93 million webpages had been hacked by an Islamic group based in Bremerhaven, Germany who replace every page with an Islamic flag and militant chanting.

We tried for six months to recover domains, and then realised that once domains are de indexed in Google Yahoo and MSN, irrespective of what they say, They are never reindexed and ranked resulting in organic search traffic ceasing.

I ended up having to return to my normal job of working at sea. I did that for 10 years. One thing early learned back in 2004 that appears not to have changed there is a lot of people online claiming to be an expert on how to make money of selling it, I refer to it as Gurudoo in fact, I once had a domain of that name which has long gone.

One of these so-called gurus is actually a senior British politician called Grant Shapps, who at the time was operating as Michael Green, claiming to be an Internet expert selling courses online for $299.

Another issue was: Many people said you really need to build a mailing list, but the sites were not specific and were very generic a list did start building, but what exactly do you send to a generic list. Writing content is very time-consuming, and I didn't have a skill set.

Roll forward to 2023, several things happen which has caused me to reevaluate the whole situation and the viability of this type of enterprise.

One of them is everybody's panicking about AI. My logic is AI is something we should learn to use quickly and figure out how it may be used to provide value online.

The current reality appears to be that people are simply running out of time, probably because they spend so much time wandering around the Internet, and they're not focused.

There appears to be a need for a form of filtering of information, and perhaps a requirement for suggestions.

How to achieve this is something I am exploring furiously, utilising free and low-cost tools.

An example

Technologies changed so much. It's 9 o'clock in the morning here in UK, it's bitterly cold I'm out walking my Jack Russell along the beach, my iPhone with an app called Drafts. For example, I'm recording this. When I get home I'll tidy it up grammar check it, and I've posted on my blog and using free to send it to Substack, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Consistency seems to be the issue. It's not difficult with AI to generate a readable email article every day and then see where it leads, so that's currently what's happening.

I'll keep everybody informed it's going to be plenty of eye-openers for many people to listen to in my mid-60s I'm not stupid people think you are stupid if you're over 60, and I know a lot about the Internet, I want more than most people to think outside the box and see where it leads.

What Caught My Eye:

A blog post is a very long and complex search query to find fascinating people and make them route interesting stuff to your inbox

I was born in July 1989, which means I am of the last generation who will remember the time before the internet. The cables and data centers and hyperlinks grew up around me; they grew with me. 

Award-winning immunologist reveals how staring at candles for 10 minutes can snuff out stress

How staring at candles for 10 minutes can snuff out stress: An award-winning immunologist's easy-to-follow tips which could lengthen your life Whether you're driving the children to after-school clubs, trying to become a partner at a major law firm or both, it's hard to find people who don't conside

What Made Me Laugh:

What Made Me Think:

1.2-Million-Year-Old Obsidian Axe Factory Found In Ethiopia

Forged in magma and capable of producing the sharpest blades on Earth, obsidian is without a doubt one of the most badass materials ever imagined (there's a reason George RR Martin made it the weapon of choice to kill White Walkers).

We Couldn’t Build the Pyramids Now If We Tried A Lament for Modern Civilization

Have you ever stopped to think about the sheer magnitude of the pyramids of Egypt? These ancient wonders were constructed thousands of years ago, yet they still stand tall and proud as a testament to human ingenuity. But let's be real, if we tried to build something like that now, we'd be lucky if it lasted a year.

What We Should Be Thinking About:

I’m a copywriter. I’m pretty sure artificial intelligence is going to take my job

“Write an article on ‘What is payment gateway?’” I recently typed into a ChatGPT window. ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence-powered writing generator, quickly obliged. The result was impressive.

The Challenge of Longevity

As we age, it’s important to continue to challenge our minds and learn new things to keep them sharp and fresh. Here are a few ways to do that:

What Music I Miss:

What I'm Being Asked About:

Childhood petit mal seizures ?

Nope we had never heard of them until recently when our grandson started having them.

That's all for now folks! Have a great rest of the week and stay curious.

Best,

Rob James