Pam Webb

Whatsa matta with myah Zemanta?

If you’ve been blogging for a bit you are no doubt aware of Zemanta, the wonderful widget which suggests photos and articles based on your text.  It’s a quick way to instantly add some bling to your blog and doubly nice since the credit tag is part of the package.

You stop and mutter, “What the–? because the photo has NOTHING to do with your text.

Case in point–I hoped to insert some raging Gothic images for my Gothic romance post and laughably Zemanta offered me:

• the AP press insignia (I guess because I mentioned AP literature texts)
• Luise Pop (no clue)
• Jungle girl (huh?)
• various renditions of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Height (understandable  since I mentioned these)
• We alone (excuse me?)
• Old car 2, sold Lake Utah (don’t think so)
• Salt and Pepper Prawns (what?)
• Eden with Ruby Slippers (no thanks
• David Hockney’s  “The Road Across the Worlds” (whatever)
• “Robert O. Harris” (wrong Harris)
• “Another One Rides the Bus” a Queen parody (ha ha–way off)
•  Laoghane Harbour (Gothic romance in the      tropics?)

Have you been there? Scrolling from the plausible into the oblique?

So I ask: Whatsa matta with myah Zemanta?

Is my text too vague?
Are my topics too oblique?
Do I not inspire the photo picking Zemanta elves to brilliance and relevancy?

Now, don’t get me wrong. I appreciate Zemanta. It’s handy, and it’s dandy. It’s just a bit perplexing.

Troubleshooting my concerns I did some researching for answers.

1. typing in specific searches sometimes dials in more relevant photos, but  truthfully not much
2. going to help sites doesn’t always clarify–as in this answer for the question:      How do you come up with recommendations?

We analyze your post through our proprietary natural language processing and semantic algorithms, and statistically compare its contextual framework to our preindexed database of content.

In plain speak I think they are telling me that they try to match up photos to my text depending on my content and depending on their photos.

3. I did  learn images come from Wikipedia Commons and Flickr among other stock photo providers.
4.  Overall, I usually find one or two photos that are pertinent. The rest? I just figure the Zemanta elves were messing with me.  As for the articles? No problemo; they match up–mostly.

Anyone else think the Zemanta elves are laughing at them?

image: flickr.com
Zemanta offices. Hello? Anybody home?

Related articles

• Zemanta now available on WordPress.com (zemanta.com)
• Zemanta: Your Personal Blogging Assistant For Socially Discovering Related Content (makeuseof.com)
• Just Another Gothic Girl (cricketmuse.wordpress.com)