No More Graffiti!

Have I lost my mind???

Surely the owner of a site that sells graffiti prints (www.graffitipix.com), and writes a blog on graffiti (you're reading it) can't be advocating the end of graffiti, right?

Right. I have not lost my mind - yet! You see, among other pastimes, I surf a lot of graffiti sites. I also manage my own, which included creating ads with Google Adwords. When I create my ads, they are based on keywords, as in what searches do I want my ads to show up for? The most obvious one, of course, is "graffiti".

And so, the ads for graffitipix.com (hopefully) show up on sites searched using "graffiti". Other keywords include "spray paint", "graffiti writing", "writing on walls"... you get the idea. Well guess what - those are the very same terms you might want if you were in the business of removing graffiti!

I mean, if I'm a city planner, property manager, builder, etc., and I wanted to have graffiti removed, these are some of the keywords I would search on: "removing graffiti", "removing spray paint"... you get the idea.

The ironic part is that the companies that perform these services and sell these products ("graffiti removal solvent") buy the same Adwords keywords. And so, their ads show up right alongside mine! "Beautiful Graffiti" right next to "Remove Graffiti"!

Next time you browse graffiti sites, pay attention to the ads. You might see mine. And right next to it, you might see one on how to undue all that beautiful art.

Perhaps most ironic of all, one can imagine, is that someone legitimately looking to rid their outside wall of graffiti may find "Graffiti Removal Experts" - and if they look close enough, an ad promoting graffiti!

(That picture up top is either a very sad picture of art gone away, or a pristine wall just begging to be tagged!)

Happy Passover and Happy Easter, one and all!

Molly

Collaborative online graffiti fun!

I came across a neat little time-waster... ok not so little, I just spent over a half-hour before I even knew it. A very interesting idea: collaborative online graffiti.

Here's the premise- you enter a "room" that basically looks like a subway station platform. You get a spray can and a pick-box for spray type and color, and a few different brush types. Using your mouse, you tag away. Here's the neat part: you are not alone!

Each room has some number of fellow taggers. You see what they are doing, and they see what you are doing. As might be expected, there are the annoying "ruin everyone elses stuff" riff-raff, but you can click on their names and they are subsequently ignored! Now you see only your stuff and whomever you aren't ignoring!

Needless to say, there's lots of garbage, childishness, vulgarity, etc. But there's also some wonderful stuff!

All in all, a neat little diversion and a very clever idea for a few minutes of rec!

Even the name of the site, Graffiti Playdo, is suggestive of what you will find. But don't just listen to me, check it out!

Molly

A graffiti glossary...!

If you're reading this, you no doubt know that "bomb", "tag", "paint", and "spray" are different ways to describe creating graffiti. We probably understand that a "tagger" is "tagging up" when he/she does their "tag".

But unless you're an active tagger - or reading this blog! - most of us wouldn't know the terms "Icy Grape" or "Jungle Green" (old, discontinued Krylon spray-paint colors that are prized by taggers when the odd can turns up.).

Well, thanks to Zimbio and 149st.com, we can all learn the vernacular. I came across a graffiti glossary, and just had to pass it on...

Molly