This article of The State of The Gate 2024 was published at 8:33 in the evening Eastern Daylight Time today, Sunday, August 18, 2024 — which is exactly 18 years to the minute when The Gate unofficially launched with this article pertaining to liquids and gels — and what is allowed to be carried aboard an airplane and what is not allowed on Friday, August 18, 2006.
The Gate With Brian Cohen is now old enough to vote, serve in the military, and even drink alcoholic beverages in some jurisdictions. Where have the years gone?!?
Thank You For 18 Years: The State of The Gate 2024
This year is somewhat different, as The Gate With Brian Cohen is at a crossroads. Shortly after the last State of The Gate article in 2023, many weblogs and other entities in the media have been hit hard by the changes in algorithms over the past year by Google, which ultimately determines how content is searched and found.
To explain what I mean, you might remember that content used to occasionally be reposted here with permission from the original source. Some of the articles were quite popular. As an example, the most popular of that series of articles at The Gate With Brian Cohen was The Most Famous Mythical Creature of Every State in the United States — Illustrated, which was published back on Friday, March 29, 2019. The person who contacted me and first introduced me to that series of articles some years ago was Gisele Navarro, who is currently the chief executive officer of a company called NeoMam Studios in the United Kingdom. Although some of the articles did have errors — as pointed out by readers of The Gate With Brian Cohen over the years — I liked the content enough to repost them here…
…so imagine my surprise when I accidentally stumbled upon an article from Friday, May 24, 2024 by the British Broadcasting Corporation pertaining to how Google just updated its algorithm. The Internet will never be the same. Google implemented a series of major updates to the algorithm that runs its search engine in September of 2023 — and it caused havoc and chaos across the entire media landscape, which includes BoardingArea and The Gate With Brian Cohen.
“It decimated us,” Gisele Navarro was quoted as saying in the aforementioned article. “Suddenly the search terms that used to bring up HouseFresh were sending people to big lifestyle magazines that clearly don’t even test the products. The articles are full of information that I know is wrong.”
That was not the end for any of us in the media. “The second Google algorithm update came in March, and it was even more punishing. HouseFresh’s thousands of daily visitors dwindled to just hundreds. ‘We just got absolutely crushed,’ Navarro says. Over the last few weeks, HouseFresh had to lay off most of its team. If nothing changes, she says, the website is doomed.”
Even worse is that when you search for content using Google, the search engine will provide its own answers and results that are generated by artificial intelligence. The technology is called AI Overviews, which will produce enough information to dissuade people who are searching for content to click on the sources of that content.
Of course, an argument from Google claims that its AI Overviews in search results will be beneficial to web sites and will actually increase traffic. “AI Overviews get more clicks than if the page had appeared as a traditional web listing for that query,” Liz Reid — who is the current vice president, head of search at Google — wrote in this article that was published on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. “As we expand this experience, we’ll continue to focus on sending valuable traffic to publishers and creators.”
Unfortunately, none of the data to back up and verify that claim has been shared from Google; and many owners of web sites and industry experts worry that the opposite effect is just as likely — especially as Google controls 89.2 percent of the worldwide search business and a share of up to 94.9 percent when searches are conducted on mobile devices. However, Google is supposedly trying to dissuade the abuse of search engine optimization, which can be unfairly applied by certain entities to direct an inordinately significant amount of traffic to their Internet web sites.
In a lawsuit that the Department of Justice of the United States filed against Google, Amit Priyavadan Mehta — who is a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia — ruled that the ubiquitous search engine of Google had been illegally exploiting its dominance to squash competition and stifle innovation. This landmark decision could potentially substantially disrupt the Internet and humble one of the best known companies in the world today.
The Justice Department issued the following statements from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, regarding the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia’s decision in United States v. Google:
“This victory against Google is an historic win for the American people,” said Attorney General Garland. “No company — no matter how large or influential — is above the law. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce our antitrust laws.”
“This landmark decision holds Google accountable. It paves the path for innovation for generations to come and protects access to information for all Americans,” said Assistant Attorney General Kanter. “This victory is a reflection on the tireless efforts of the dedicated public servants at the Antitrust Division and our state law enforcement partners whose work made today’s decision possible.”
What the result of this ruling ultimately means for weblogs and other entities of the media are still not clear at the time this article was written.
Google is far from the only multinational technology company that blatantly engages in corporate greed. Several years ago, Adobe Systems completely abandoned the business model of customers purchasing versions of their software, which includes Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere. The only way customers have access to any of the software now is to purchase a subscription, which never ends. This practice has forced some graphic artists with small businesses to abandon their endeavors. A choice should be offered as to whether software should be purchased outright or via subscription — but the subscription model has proven to be too profitable for Adobe to reconsider.
Another technology update is PostScript Type 1 typefaces. Adobe — which developed the PostScript language — official ended support of PostScript Type 1 typefaces back in January of 2021 in favor of OpenType format typefaces. As a person who is passionate about typefaces and has a library of thousands of them, I am forced to purchase every typeface I want to use with an OpenType version to replace the PostScript Type 1 version…
…and no, I do not particularly care for many of the free typefaces that are offered by Google — which is ironic, since I use three of them here at The Gate With Brian Cohen. If I had access to the typefaces I want to use — along with full kerning and letter spacing technology, among other professional typographic capabilities — I would use them here and put my design talent, education, and experience to full use here at The Gate With Brian Cohen.
Additional Frustrations
I cannot stand search engine optimization. The process consistently causes me to write differently than I would prefer; and it consumes more of my time than I would like. I would rather just write about what interests me and what is on my mind. I loathe the very thought of trying to please the algorithms at Google…
…but even more frustrating is the proliferation of what is known as click bait. Sensationalism has run rampant throughout the media; and BoardingArea is no exception by any means. Many articles lend credibility to content that otherwise does not deserve mention.
One recent example is of someone who decided to visit a buffet in Las Vegas where one can consume all of the lobster he or she wants for $80.00. This arrogant person flouted the rules of the establishment, poured copious amounts of ghee on a pile of lobsters, and selfishly stuffed a enormous wad of lobster into his mouth with a crazed look on his face — all for clicks and views. The video of this escapade ended with him purportedly throwing out an abundant amount of uneaten lobster because he was not treated well at the establishment…
…and at least two weblogs at BoardingArea found this story to be worth publishing — again, for clicks and views. This is a vicious circle, because giving attention to idiots only encourages them to up the ante and further push the bar for more clicks and views. The result is a wasteland of sex, greed, unnecessary waste, and other things which have little to nothing to do with travel; and are only designed to entertain readers with titillation. Discouragement of such antics is a reason why cameras for live television do not focus on people who decide to disrobe and streak naked while running across a baseball field.
A number of other entities — yes, I know, I have used that word a number of times in this article — poke fun at the content of so-called “travel bloggers”, which can be humorous…
…but all they really do is give attention to them and even link to their articles, which drives traffic to their Internet web sites — and that is exactly what they want. Negative publicity is better than no publicity, according to a mantra that is decades old.
I also have not updated the list of the top 100 articles in terms of readership since Friday, August 1, 2014 — which is when The Gate returned to BoardingArea — in 2024 because the service which I have used for years has now decided to charge for what they offer. That is not necessarily a bad thing — everyone has a right to earn money — but I have decided that the service was not worth the expense for my purposes at this time…
…and I have not used Google Analytics as long as I have used the other service; so the results will be different.
If you have not received an official newsletter from The Gate With Brian Cohen, that is because I have not published one in a few months. I have gone through a lot in my life during recent years; and I plan to return to publishing a newsletter once again — possibly with a different format.
The Present — and The Future
Reminders as to what remains with The Gate With Brian Cohen — with additional details in the article from 2022 — are:
- Original sources for articles. Accessing original sources to as many articles as possible for the most accurate information possible continues to be important, with fewer regurgitated news stories.
- Keeping “click bait” in check. “Click bait” serves no real purpose other than for the “clicks” — and to annoy readers — so headlines that are misleading are kept in check. That is different from catchy headlines, which are designed to increase interest in reading articles and satisfy the reader with information. I refuse to start headlines to articles of The Gate With Brian Cohen with such asinine terms as amirite, bold, crazy, crikey, cringe, grim, gulp, hah, huge, oops, ouch, sad, savage, shame, shameful, silly, snazzy, tasty, ugh, uh oh, unicorn, whoa, woot, wow, Yahtzee!, yeehaw, yikes, yow, yowza, yuck, and other ridiculously useless words, as they are simply irritating. I personally refuse to read articles with those types of headlines.
- Comments section remains open with virtually no moderation. This needs no explanation; and it will continue unchanged for the foreseeable future. Please feel free to post your thoughts on any article at any time.
- Social media. Please visit and follow the official YouTube channel of The Gate With Brian Cohen — as well as both the official Twitter account and the official Facebook account.
Future projects for The Gate With Brian Cohen that are not yet a reality — but that I am still contemplating — include:
- Audio program. An official audio program for The Gate With Brian Cohen, which will supplement the articles and ideally include interviews.
- More videos. This is to eventually be implemented, with me as your host.
- Addition of merchandise to the Marketplace. This is for the sale of items that feature my photography, as one of many possible examples.
In addition to the sale of items that feature my photography outside of The Gate With Brian Cohen, I am contemplating authoring books. Some would cover basic topics on travel about which many people still do not know; and others would be coffee table books of my photography over the years.
Now that mirrorless technology has seemed to catch up with the technology for digital single lens reflex cameras — as evidenced by Canon not releasing a successor to its EOS 90D model since it was introduced five years ago on Wednesday, August 28, 2019 — I am thinking about purchasing a mirrorless camera to concentrate more on my photography. I currently have the Canon EOS 70D model; but this trusty camera is now almost eleven years old; and it will need to be replaced.
Final Boarding Call
The Gate With Brian Cohen is not doomed at this time for a number of reasons — but the changes are forcing me to contemplate its future, which is certainly not a bad thing. I apologize for the long kvetchfest that you just read or skimmed over; but although the road ahead will not be easy, I am up for the challenge and will continue to enjoy sharing my travels with you. I still plan on traveling worldwide — perhaps even more than I have ever traveled. By the end of this year alone, I will have been to at least 14 countries.
Once again, I am asking a simple favor: I want to increase readership and interest in The Gate With Brian Cohen in order to allow me to travel even more and bring you articles of trip reports, reviews, and experiences from around the world. Although subscribing to the free newsletter is one way you can help, I also want to grow readership organically based on the quality of the content of the articles I write. What topics would you like to see me cover in future articles? About what topics should I avoid writing? Where would you like to see me travel next? In addition to the channel on YouTube, should I dabble more in multimedia, such as audio and video reports in addition to written articles? What interests you the most that you rarely or never see at other weblogs? What keeps you coming back as a reader of The Gate With Brian Cohen?
Despite the aforementioned “potholes in the road”, I am hopeful that the first 18 years of The Gate is only the beginning for bigger and better things to come…
…but in the meantime — as I say every year — thank you so much once again for your support. Mere words cannot ever convey my expression of gratitude, as I am grateful to you — more than you will ever know — for without you, there would be no The Gate With Brian Cohen.
May the remainder of the year 2024 only get better for you from here on in.
The photograph featured at the top of this article is the reconstructed North Entrance of Knossos on the island of Crete in Greece. All photographs ©2018, ©2019, and ©2024 by Brian Cohen.
