There are few names that are as synonymous with search as Danny Sullivan’s. Yesterday marked the ten year anniversary since Danny started writing about search engines. In a recent entry at Search Engine Watch Blog, he provides a brief history of how he came about this career choice and also chronicles some of the more prominent events that have transpired over the last ten years.
Social networking site MySpace.com has been getting a lot of parents, teachers and even religious leaders concerned over the amount of information young people are putting out there on themselves. There is the added concern over what kids are actually doing on MySpace as well as who they are doing it with.
Google’s has hired Israeli-born Ori Allon and along with it, acquired a text-search algorithm Ori developed called Orion. This search engine tool which is being developed in Sydney, Australia, will supposedly revolutionize the way people retrieve information from the net, making searches much less time-consuming by working with existing search engines and expanding on their function.
Netflix has filed a patent infringement lawsuit over Blockbuster’s Online service. The Netflix filing calls for an injunction to shut down its rival’s online rental service and punitive damages for the infringement. The patent mentioned in the suit covers the method in which customers choose DVD’s to rent, the number of DVD’s allowed at a time, and the amount of time given for their return – basically Netflix whole business model. Another David vs. Goliath battle in which this blogger is cheering for the underdog.
USA Today recently ran a story “Google’s Hidden Payroll” in which they report on how AdSense is making a big difference in people’s lives in developing countries such as India, the Philippines and Egypt. Individuals with web sites are running AdSense ads and in turn are earning what we may consider in the United States a nominal income but to them is quite substantial.
Whenever I run across another copyright infringement case based on PPC keyword buys at search engines, it always catches my attention as I am one that has also battled over competitors using our trademarks. ClickZ reports on one of the latest legal battles where Edina Realty, a subsidiary of HomeServices of America, has filed suit against TheMLSonline.com in U.S. District Court of Minnesota.
What in the world is wrong with forum spammers anyway? If you are a frequent visitor to any forum you have surely seen them. They join an existing forum simply to promote themselves, drop a link or two, post an article or fill a post with a bunch of gibberish. The irony of the whole thing is that their posts never stay up long. Hardly anyone sees them and even if they do, I cannot imagine they are well received.
Do certain search marketing firms have special partnerships with search engines like Google, Yahoo or MSN? You would think some do in the way they have pages on their sites announcing “special” search partnerships. Sure SEMs can have account reps in regards to PPC of PFI services that the search engines offer. They can even know powerful contacts such as Matt Cutts or Tim Mayer, both of whom are prominent reps of Google and Yahoo. But are there any SEM firms that have formed partnerships with the engines that would give them some kind of advantage or special status? Or are web pages that announce special partnerships between SEMs and engines simply a sales technique?
Kalena Jordan has a new article at Search Engine College entitled “Top 10 AdSense Tricks To Boost Your Commission.” These types of articles always catch my eye because I just love AdSense. AdSense has allowed us and many other publishers to turn unprofitable sites into very profitable sites.
I just came upon and interesting thread at High Rankings started by Leann Pass of IncreaseRanking regarding another “rotten apple” in our industry. This company combines blackmail with SEO – in other words, “let us SEO your site or we will resort to blackmail.” It sure is amusing how companies who obviously suck at what they do will resort to scare tactics to try to earn new business.
