Okay not necessarily the usual topic of my posts but it is something that will impact it, in my opinion.
I like John McCain - he gave for his country in a very direct manner. You have to respect that... but he echoes Bush way too much and the president is one person who scares me.
Obama I hope is the right call. He should stop the bleeding caused by Bush economics... in all walks of life I cannot understand how people would vote for a party that takes from most of their pockets. The Democrats spends most of the money on its people in the broad sense, Republicans tend to have a smaller number they call its people.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Friday, April 18, 2008
Sunday is 4/20, Ultimate 420 Lists
Got to love the effort put into the EveryThing 420 post by the guys at Best of the Web. No doubt stoners through the world will be reading this on Sunday.
Rob you are the man... I now know who to come to for rolling out massive content.
Rob you are the man... I now know who to come to for rolling out massive content.
Rebecca Lieb Leaves ClickZ
ClickZ has some big shoes to fill this week, with the announcement that Rebecca Lieb is leaving as Editor-in-Chief.
Having worked with her over the past couple of years, I know she will be missed.
No doubt we will see her in some other influential role in our industry and at the various conferences. Where ever she lands someone is gaining a great asset.
Having worked with her over the past couple of years, I know she will be missed.
No doubt we will see her in some other influential role in our industry and at the various conferences. Where ever she lands someone is gaining a great asset.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Rename SMX: The Danny, Rand and Matt Show
I have heard disturbing rumors that Danny Sullivan is trying to get Google to change the Google Dance from SES San Jose to an SMX event, guess an alternative one for SMX is not on the agenda and the conference battle is down to who has the best parties.
Danny recruited me to the SEW forums when they first started and the community was less of a battlefield. And through a series of attritions - or should I say SMX acquisitions - I became the editor. Elisabeth Osmeloski was the first and by far the best person to have the role.
Our industry used to be a friendly and open space where industry leaders gladly shared information with everyone. Now it seems these people are being limited to what conference they can speak at.
I would like to know Danny if you have told people they can only speak at one or the other of the events. Never seemed to be the case but have heard that this is now being told to speakers.
SEOMoz who I have always considered friends have become partners of sorts with SMX - I noted the whole family spoke at one recent event - father, mother, brother, Rand and other Mozzers. Guess the late night champagne drinking after the SES conference sessions are over.
And Matt Cutts... if you spent more time at SMX events you would be hard pressed getting anything done at Google. I definitely thought SES New York was going to have your cat speak at the search engine for pets sessions but maybe you were told it was not allowed.
Add the addition of Vanessa Fox to the SEL/SMX team and I guess you could call the California offices 'Little Google'.
Hopefully I am wrong about all this and the speakers that once were free to speak at any and all events will be back at other events soon.
As a newly started online marketing agency I know the need to attend the major conferences to get yourself out there and to build contacts with the various vendors - but have been told am 'persona non grata' at SMX... now what could I possibly have done to merit that decision?
Danny recruited me to the SEW forums when they first started and the community was less of a battlefield. And through a series of attritions - or should I say SMX acquisitions - I became the editor. Elisabeth Osmeloski was the first and by far the best person to have the role.
Our industry used to be a friendly and open space where industry leaders gladly shared information with everyone. Now it seems these people are being limited to what conference they can speak at.
I would like to know Danny if you have told people they can only speak at one or the other of the events. Never seemed to be the case but have heard that this is now being told to speakers.
SEOMoz who I have always considered friends have become partners of sorts with SMX - I noted the whole family spoke at one recent event - father, mother, brother, Rand and other Mozzers. Guess the late night champagne drinking after the SES conference sessions are over.
And Matt Cutts... if you spent more time at SMX events you would be hard pressed getting anything done at Google. I definitely thought SES New York was going to have your cat speak at the search engine for pets sessions but maybe you were told it was not allowed.
Add the addition of Vanessa Fox to the SEL/SMX team and I guess you could call the California offices 'Little Google'.
Hopefully I am wrong about all this and the speakers that once were free to speak at any and all events will be back at other events soon.
As a newly started online marketing agency I know the need to attend the major conferences to get yourself out there and to build contacts with the various vendors - but have been told am 'persona non grata' at SMX... now what could I possibly have done to merit that decision?
Monday, March 3, 2008
Yahoo Search Assist And Other Search Suggestions
I have been watching Yahoo's Search Assist and it seems to be getting smarter. So obviously it has some record of what I am searching for during a session (I hope they have not cookied me) and using that to improve their suggestions.
Funny I remember having this conversation with a friend maybe 5 or 6 years ago.
We were discussing how search could become more intuitive. The example my friend used was Albert Einstein. If you want a bio then a straight search would generally list a wikipedia entry or something similar. But what if you wanted his formulas or theories... a search assist to offer deeper suggestions would be appreciated. This is done to a degree by IGoogle and now by Yahoo Search Assist.
But what if you were looking for your local plumber Albert Einstein - now he would be buried amid the millions of pages of the famed scientist.So a more detailed search would be needed and ultimately he would be found. The use of these search histories would help, as would Google Bookmarks.
Christopher Noll from PC World recently wrote a great article on plugins that help improve your browser...
The push to build the browser into a search assistant seems to be an area that is getting a lot of attention right now.... something to keep an eye on.
Funny I remember having this conversation with a friend maybe 5 or 6 years ago.
We were discussing how search could become more intuitive. The example my friend used was Albert Einstein. If you want a bio then a straight search would generally list a wikipedia entry or something similar. But what if you wanted his formulas or theories... a search assist to offer deeper suggestions would be appreciated. This is done to a degree by IGoogle and now by Yahoo Search Assist.
But what if you were looking for your local plumber Albert Einstein - now he would be buried amid the millions of pages of the famed scientist.So a more detailed search would be needed and ultimately he would be found. The use of these search histories would help, as would Google Bookmarks.
Christopher Noll from PC World recently wrote a great article on plugins that help improve your browser...
The push to build the browser into a search assistant seems to be an area that is getting a lot of attention right now.... something to keep an eye on.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Hottest Geeks? What About Hottest SEMs!
Okay there is a competition for the hottest geeks, with some stellar entries... IJustine is my favorite.... cute and a great sense of the absurd - would make a great exwife.
And what do we have in the search space???
And what do we have in the search space???
Monday, January 28, 2008
Who Really Could Buy Yahoo And Succeed
The New York Post wrote an article about companies interested in buying Yahoo! now that it is below $24 a share. But I think the writer, while well versed in who could be interested does not know the space well enough to see who really will or could buy it and succeed.
AOL - well that is just a joke. They are having a hard enough time keeping their own efforts afloat and buying Yahoo would just add to their problems.
Yahoo needs someone to take charge and realize that the company is not in competition with Google for search share. What has been the main strength of the company has been its communities - Yahoo Groups and all variations of that, as well as their solid content areas. Monetize those through banner/sponsorship and other media and grab search as an adjunct to that. The searches would become more specific and conversions would go back to the days when Yahoo led the field.
The Post's list was: AOL, AT&T, CBS, Comcast, Microsoft, Viacom and News Corp.
At&T - come on they have a hard enough time getting their services working properly... I hate the dropped ads commercials because instead of dropping they turn a lot of my conversations in to "hear every third word" gibberish.
CBS - well they have the money but they would bring the traditional media model to Yahoo and create what Seth Godin calls "A Meatball Sundae." Their online efforts are okay but reflect an old media style that if applied to Yahoo would just hasten its demise.
Comcast, Viacom - jumping to the web to offset dropping offline numbers - as investor I would say pass.
Okay the two real contenders are left: News Corp - another Aussie's multinational oligarchy - hey Rupert you buy Yahoo and people will start to see you as a James Bond bad guy - but if you do I can be bought for advise!!!
And finally Microsoft - this is the real company that could do something with all that Yahoo has and could be. Of all the potential buyers Microsoft actually knows the space the best and could combine their own success models in Finance and other content verticals to further improve visitor numbers and confidence. With Yahoo's search numbers combined to their own, Bill will be closer to the Google share of the market and then possibly be able to compete with Larry and Sergey for the space and help us all.
The only other dark horse would have to be a company from Asia.... Baidu and Alibaba come to mind.
So Jerry if you want to mention this article and its ideas in your quarterly earnings report feel free. Good Luck tomorrow.
AOL - well that is just a joke. They are having a hard enough time keeping their own efforts afloat and buying Yahoo would just add to their problems.
Yahoo needs someone to take charge and realize that the company is not in competition with Google for search share. What has been the main strength of the company has been its communities - Yahoo Groups and all variations of that, as well as their solid content areas. Monetize those through banner/sponsorship and other media and grab search as an adjunct to that. The searches would become more specific and conversions would go back to the days when Yahoo led the field.
The Post's list was: AOL, AT&T, CBS, Comcast, Microsoft, Viacom and News Corp.
At&T - come on they have a hard enough time getting their services working properly... I hate the dropped ads commercials because instead of dropping they turn a lot of my conversations in to "hear every third word" gibberish.
CBS - well they have the money but they would bring the traditional media model to Yahoo and create what Seth Godin calls "A Meatball Sundae." Their online efforts are okay but reflect an old media style that if applied to Yahoo would just hasten its demise.
Comcast, Viacom - jumping to the web to offset dropping offline numbers - as investor I would say pass.
Okay the two real contenders are left: News Corp - another Aussie's multinational oligarchy - hey Rupert you buy Yahoo and people will start to see you as a James Bond bad guy - but if you do I can be bought for advise!!!
And finally Microsoft - this is the real company that could do something with all that Yahoo has and could be. Of all the potential buyers Microsoft actually knows the space the best and could combine their own success models in Finance and other content verticals to further improve visitor numbers and confidence. With Yahoo's search numbers combined to their own, Bill will be closer to the Google share of the market and then possibly be able to compete with Larry and Sergey for the space and help us all.
The only other dark horse would have to be a company from Asia.... Baidu and Alibaba come to mind.
So Jerry if you want to mention this article and its ideas in your quarterly earnings report feel free. Good Luck tomorrow.
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