What’s new in the world of search marketing and the Internet in general?  Well, it’s Tuesday, which means, of course, that it’s news day!  Here are some of the more interesting stories from this previous week in online news:

• Yahoo’s CEO, Jerry Yang, and the rest of the board are trying some reverse psychology on Carl Icahn.  Will inviting him to the board get him to let up on his crusade to oust the current regime?  The Yahoo/MSN saga takes another unexpected turn.
• Rob Malda of geek favorite, Slashdot, goes on a tirade that I think just about everyone in SEO can agree with; i.e. Alexa is worthless, if not overrated.  Due to the vast disparity of tech knowledge between Internet users and the flawed methodology invoked by Alexa, its clout seems nearly incomprehensible.
• SearchEngineLand.com provides us with a pie chart of what we already suspected: Google is still dominating.  The Google, Yahoo, MSN breakdown is still around 60/20/10 and Google has broken 7 billion searches in a month.  Wow!

So, really, what’s new?  Not a whole lot.  Google is still king of the hill.  Yahoo and MSN haven’t really resolved anything.  Alexa?  Well, it’s probably going to continue to cause people with only enough knowledge of SEO to be dangerous to give it more credence than it deserves.  I’m not sure why people love Alexa’s simple-yet-useless ranking system, but, then again, I’m not sure what’s going on with this whole Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana thing.  Does she get two paychecks or what?  She’s just one girl, right?

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Its a cool, gray Friday afternoon in Southern California. South Bay, to be exact. Some of you may be gearing up for a quick 2-day getaway, while others look forward to spending a relaxing weekend at home. If the sun doesn’t make an overdue appearance by Saturday morning, howevwer, I’ll be forced to change my plans. For others who find themselves in my predicament, I’ve put together a list of my top 5 favorite websites for finding arts, cultural, and nightlife events in Los Angeles - things to do indoors when schizophrenic SoCal weather threatens to undermine your weekend plans.

1. Flavorpill

What started back in 2000 as a weekly email newsletter sent to subscribers and posted online in a simple format is now a full-fledged website covering arts, music, and cultural events in six major metropolitan cities, including Los Angeles. Having garnered press in the likes of the Economist and New York Times, Flavorpill is considered by many the authority resource on where to go and what to do in LA, NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, London, and Miami. You can even sign-up for Flavor alerts on your mobile - they make it that easy to stay in touch.

2. Fusicology

Taking cues from Flavorpill but narrowing its focus to music and nightlife only, Fusicology is an email newsletter and website covering club events in 17 cities and counting. Launched in Los Angeles by editor and founder Asya Shein, with a growing database of trend-setting subscribers, Fusicology is considered a PR staple for event promoters around the city.

3. LA Weekly

Despite semi-recent upsets at the free weekly newspaper (and website), the kind happening at print publications around the country, LA Weekly remains a reliable source of information on the latest and greatest in LA arts, music, dining, and culture. With “Editor Picks” and a daily “To Do List,” LA Weekly’s online calendar makes it easy for Angelenos to something worthwhile to do, even at the very last minute.

4. Thrillist

The newest kid on the handpicked-arts-and-cultural-items-newsletter/website scene, Thrillist is an off-the-cuff presentation of the editors ‘ picks in food, drinks, events, clothes, parties, random gear, and travel destinations in six major cities, including Los Angeles, as well as the “Nation,” in an edition that covers everything noteworthy and undervalued from around the country, and, in some cases, world. It may take a few minutes of digging, but more often than not Thrillist will help you uncover a bar, restaurant, bar, or event to help mitigate your boredom.

5. 89.9 KCRW

If you live in LA, you know KCRW. That or you’re living under a rock. The go-to resource for all thats new in music, art, and news, 89.9 is a public radio station, and website, with its finger on the pulse of a core yet increasingly diverse Los Angeles demographic - the informed, opinionated, and culture-wise consumer. A valuable resource for those who love music, museums, and theater, KCRW’s events calendar offers at-a-glance suggestions on artsy happenings in Los Angeles.

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We are really facing the home stretch now till the release of the new Batman movie, Batman: The Dark Knight, which releases on July 18^th. Let me tell you, the anticipation is mounting. What’s interesting is how it got to be such an anticipated movie. Surely there is the standard myriad of advertising devices being employed - billboards, pizza boxes, TV commercials, bus stop posters and the like - but their online advertising ventures are what I think to be the most interesting. The marketing team behind the new Batman movie decided to adopt a strategy where they created a URL, www.whysoserious.com , and let it play a part in a perpetual “Gotham” world that is going on. They don’t advertise behind-the-scene photos or bios about the actors, but instead, act as if the movie was happening in the real world using the characters such as Harvey Dent (Two-Face) and the Joker to propel the world of Gotham and heighten the excitement for the new movie.

In the beginning there was just an obscure website. You could go to whysoserious.com and find little snippets about Harvey Dent’s campaign for election or the Joker’s terrifying streak of violence, but there was little else to do but look for clues. The first truly big event to hit the scene was the Comicon (annual San Diego comic convention) Joker charade. The website advertised that the Joker was looking for new recruits for his gang and that people who dressed up like him should show up there and wait for “instructions.” At Comicon the antcis really heated up. In one of the first crowds of people dressed up as Joker someone was actually kidnapped and tossed into a van, having their picture taken and a whole mock-death scene put up and posted on the whysoserious.com website , along with a threatening message about needing to really be “up to par” to be able to be a part of the Joker’s crew. For everyone else dressed up like Joker at Comicon there started a giant convention wide interactive scavenger hunt. People were sent all over the convention to relevant attractions and it all culminated with the participant being told to go outside and “look up at the sky.” From here, there was a giant sign flown thru the sky to call a certain number, which if you did, you got more extra cool movie info and general dork-out brownie points. It’s truly genius to think of how well this was executed and sculpted into a great marketing event for the participants and a great marketing attraction for people just keeping up to date via the website. The site was consistently updated during and after the event, making it an exciting little world to keep up with. It left people hanging by the edge of their seat, always wondering what new thing might be happening, or what new movie information might be available to them.

Things didn’t halt after Comicon either. The next big event that the site encouraged was to take a picture of you and/or your friends in their best Joker get up. People were allured with more sneak peaks and information about the movie and the general desire to perhaps get a chance to be displayed to the Batman fan club via the website’s postings. People started taking pictures of themselves all over and various pictures were displayed and sent out in mock newsletters and online articles showing the far reaching spread of the Joker’s villainy. Once again the marketing team used the anticipation of the movie to make people want to learn more and play a role in the constantly growing online advertising movement. People were and are being allured by the unknown. The idea that if they do something the site is suggesting, they might get to play a part in the release of the movie that is unique and special, and above all else, publically displayed on a website for any and everyone to see.

It really is pretty brilliant marketing if you ask me. The advertising team is creating a world that not only is advertising successfully, but it’s making people seek it out. It is literally bringing people to the site because they are offering something people want. They are giving people the opportunity to feel included and feel like they have a chance to get something no one else can. They are dangling a treat above our heads and letting us want to keep up to date to know what could be next. Sounds to me like they have some really great things an advertising campaign needs; people and looming product anticipation!

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Ahhh, the information age! Everything you’ve ever wanted to know is just a wireless cafe away, and no stone was left unturned! If you’re subtle with an iPhone, you can absolutely dominate Trivial Pursuit or impress family and friends watching Jeopardy (please note: you made need a 3G for this–results may vary). What could possibly go wrong?

I wouldn’t dare infer that I was the progenitor of the idea, but for years I have grumbled about the detrimental effects the internet has had (and will have) on people, culture, and society-at-large. Perhaps I’m just a cynic–or maybe I took Brave New World a bit seriously–but sometimes it just feels like we’re rushing (read: being propelled?) towards some catastrophic end. As our access to information has skyrocketed in the past decade, our retention of knowledge has plummeted. At least that’s what I’ve observed in my tiny sliver of the pie chart that is life.

Well, I’m glad to say I finally found sweet vindication in an article published in this month’s issue of The Atlantic written by socio-tech-business extraordinaire Nicholas Carr. Bluntly titled, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” the article outlines many of the dystopian proclamations I myself have championed over the years, but also provides a superb historical context for these issues. Ever wonder how people reacted to the introduction of the typewriter, the printing press, or even the written word itself? How about the mechanical clock? Carr cites intriguing contrarian opinions on them all.

It may be too late for any of us to seriously contemplate the ills we endure using Microsoft Word or wristwatches; after all, we were raised under their influence. Now that our younger friends and siblings are coming of age with an ingrained relationship to Google, Myspace, YouTube, and beyond, we are in a unique position as the last generation capable of comparing a pre-Google society to a post-Google one. Do we still have the attention span for that?

It usually takes a violent revolution for new regimes to take power, but a shift in ideology or societal norms is far less conspicuous. In 2004, Google co-founder Sergey Brin told a Newsweek interviewer “Certainly if you had all the world’s information directly attached to your brain, or an artificial brain that was smarter than your brain, you’d be better off.” Just last year, co-founder Larry Page was quoted saying that Google is “really trying to build artificial intelligence and to do it on a large scale.” Personally, I find it alarming that this infinitely influential duo embraces such controversial views so openly.

Mr. Carr acutely articulates the fallacy in that line of thinking, stating: “It suggests a belief that intelligence is the output of a mechanical process, a series of discrete steps that can be isolated, measured, and optimized…there’s little place for the fuzziness of contemplation. Ambiguity is not an opening for insight but a bug to be fixed. The human brain is just an outdated computer that needs a faster processor and a bigger hard drive.” Personally, I find it alarming that this infinitely insightful article will fly under the radar of the majority of internet users.

This probably all seems a bit heavy handed. You might ask yourself, “Does an angel die every time i click the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button?” while others may decry this little blog as a bunch of doom and gloom. (In reality, most of you probably didn’t make it past my Jeopardy link in the first paragraph, further illustrating my point) The easy response is: “If you think Google is making you stupid, stop using it.” Well, sure. I could jump off the Google train, and spend years coughing up the dust it sprays in my face as it goes barreling off in the name of Progress… But I always have such a difficult time with those green wedges!

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A man recently auctioned off his life on eBay. The man lives in Australia. His life — which included his house, his job, all his stuff, and his friends — sold for $383,723. He did it because he had gone through a bad breakup with his wife and wanted a “fresh start.” He is not the first person to have done this. Sell something conceptual online, that is. But he is refreshingly unintellectual about it. It wasn’t an art piece, he was just a bummed out guy who sold all his stuff. “I thought it might have gone a bit higher at the end,” he noted. “But it’s a sale.”

Why aren’t more people able to turn their misery into a profit so gracefully? One dissenting response to the article reads: “Dude doesn’t want his life, so why would you?” Well, someone bought it, and for near $400 grand — that’s not bad for a guy in the throes of despair who might well have ended up at the bottom of a lake. It’s all about recognizing an advantage and taking it.

What he did was clever, even if he lost a little money. There are countless opportunities for such inventiveness online. People have shown themselves willing to buy almost anything. The internet has opened up a whole realm for selling abstractions. There was the classic case of an alleged “time machine” — one that suspiciously resembled a dressed-up toaster — that auctioned off for a lot of money. The winning bidder, one Golden Palace Online Casino, had also bid on other favorites like the notorious Virgin Mary grilled cheese sandwich, the ghost in the bottle, and lunch with Rupert Murdock. Another man sold his “blackness,” another his “personal hate.” Dating websites are devoted to selling the idea of love or companionship — register once and you could find the one.

There are two overarching trends: one absolute — represented by web clicks, sales, impressions, and leads — and one more vague, of novelties, gimmicks, and ideas. It’s become fairly straightforward to track and assess online sales and advertising, sometimes less clear to understand what’s being sold. Perhaps as the mechanism of marketing grows more concrete, the products themselves will become more and more ethereal.

While in many ways, the internet is the ultimate extension of the theory of free trade — where you buy what you need for the cheapest price from the most specialized maker — it also pushes the idea of free, democratic services with broad ends. Myspace, Youtube, Flickr — these provide outlets to socialize, be entertained, gather information, be expressive, whatever — for no cost. In the case of the Australian man, he used eBay, a site traditionally devoted to commerce, as a forum for personal catharsis. He didn’t see a therapist, he didn’t go crazy and burn his house down — he made an astute and economical choice.

Like several Bosnian criminals who dressed up as policemen and robbed a post office of $1.1 million Euros while the building’s security guards were watching the Euro 2008 finals. Without condoning thievery, you have to tip your hat to them — it was a creative solution.

(photo courtesy of Newsweek)

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In a recent article by Arik Hesseldahl he writes that jobs in the technology industry are increasing in numbers and the salary just keeps getting better, so high school and college students should think about majoring in either computer science or engineering to be ready to get a job with computers.  When I first read this article my initial reaction was that: a) I don’t need another person telling me my English literature degree is worthless, and b) that it would have been very poignant fifteen years ago when we were pretty sure this whole internet thing might take off.  However, one very staggering statistic presented is that there is a, “20% drop in the number of students completing degrees in computer-related fields, and the number of students enrolling in these programs is the lowest it’s been in 10 years…” (Computing Research Assn.)   Now this isn’t fifteen years ago and we all know the importance and job opportunities that technology presents, so why as Americans are we so unwilling to see the reproductions in the lack of interest in tech jobs from our youth?

The problem starts in our schools.  With cutbacks taking place across the board in education many schools are left without any sort of technology at all, and anyone who has skill in either science or math can make a lot more money doing something other than teaching.  Bringing computers and internet connections into schools is important, but it is completely worthless without the proper education behind it.  The solution then comes from making teaching jobs more competitive in the market.  As it stands right now, if someone majors in either English or history they have very few job opportunities after college, so teaching becomes a reasonable solution; however if you major in a science or mathematics you can make significantly more money elsewhere even if you aren’t very good at what you do.  So as it stands right now schools are much more likely to get better history or English teachers than science or mathematics teachers, so children are going to be naturally inclined to like the humanities more.  By bringing more money into a teacher’s salary we are going to see better skilled math and science teachers, and then a larger job pool and more properly trained employees in the technology field.

If we don’t act, and act fast, America will soon be surpassed as the most powerful country in the world simply because we didn’t want to pay the taxes to give our children the tools to compete in the modern world.  Other countries like India see the progression of the world and are staying on top of it while we quickly fall behind.  Many companies bring in foreign employees not only because they are more readily available but because they are simply better; they are better trained and have a stronger work ethic than the majority of people here.  If our priorities aren’t changed, we will soon be known as the once great nation of America.  But if it’s any consolation, at least the poetry written about our past importance and excellence will be very well done.

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Conspiracy theories are generally pretty silly. When people talk about a “conspiracy,” they are usually referring to the very common occurrence of someone taking power over someone else — by force, allure, deception, whatever. This doesn’t stop theorists from inevitably seizing the first possible chance to compare anything they want to “the Nazis.” Naturally, when a company like Google gets Big, it’s a great excuse for everyone to get all X-Files about it.

One dramatic video claims that Google — with the lion’s share of the search engine market — is collecting individual data with which it could easily create detailed profiles of its users. “These men pursue a great vision,” it explains, “the Google Master Plan. Any kind of information will be accessible to anybody, controlled by Google itself with the credo: don’t be evil.”

The video, the thesis of two German students, goes on to address Google’s well-known policy of scanning G-mail accounts for advertising purposes. “Google is methodically collecting personal data in many more ways, using cookies and account information — merely to offer relevant text ads?” In addition, “a former CIA agent” alleges that Google is cooperating undercover with the US government; they are also purportedly involved in decoding the human genome – clearly, sinister stuff.

The CIA — this is pretty much the staple of any conspiracy story. In fact, one wonders what conspiracy theorists even talked about before they had the elusive organization to fall back on.

I don’t imagine you’re entitled to much privacy over the internet. I’ve never read the fine print of any software agreement I’ve clicked on; I’m pretty sure that’s why they make them so long and impenetrable. I take for granted that anything I do on a public information exchange network is accessible to anybody who wants to bother. It’s safe to assume you’re not safe. Do I share information I shouldn’t? Yes, all the time. Do I believe most people care? No. You should definitely be as protective as possible of your financial assets and personal privacy, but within reason. The one thing online privacy has going for it is the overwhelming quantity of information. A company like Google is inundated with a flow of data that would be so tedious to organize, it would be simpler and cheaper just to take over the world by force.

Much focus in the video is put on the ways in which Google could take control. Hardly any is spent on the question of why they would want to.

If Google had a “personal dossier” on every user in the world, what would they do with it? Steal our money? Tell the government about our habits? Come surprise us at dinner? Map out our individual genomes and turn us into human slaves at their beck and call? Anyone who ever watched Pinky and Brain knows how that turns out. If Google has an agenda, it’s probably super banal. It’s about gain, and gain — if it’s not world domination — is usually about money. Right now, they’re making money in a traditional, legal way — by selling an abstract idea.

There’s some egomania in the notion that “someone is watching” and actually cares about what you do, where you live, what you eat, who you associate with, or what your genes look like. But if people want a deity, I’m sure Google is just as good as any other. I heard someone say once, in reference to the Kennedy assassination, that what people really refused to believe was that one little guy like Oswald could kill someone like the President. Whether he did, or every sinister plot that’s been implied is true, I think the point is telling — people don’t like the easy, disappointing answer.

If we can weave Google into a Nazi fairytale, all the more exciting. Intelligent debate? No, give us Indiana Jones. How boring if they didn’t try to take over at this point.

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The popular social networking site “MySpace” has announced that a new facelift will be in progress for the site. The site’s co-founder and president Tom Anderson promises that the new changes to the site will aid in the efforts to destroy the image that the site is strictly for teens and young adults. It is clear that the remodeling and dramatic changes to the site will intentionally draw more users and members over an extended period of time. Additionally, the new capabilities will assist members better engage and interact with one another.

One noteworthy change being made to the site will be alterations to the tab section. Currently, search abilities are greatly improving, such as results pertaining to other users, music and videos. The most significant tab, however, will now automatically be highlighted and focused to the user. Additionally, searches on other users will now include the function to sort members by gender, age, location and invitations to become friends. Moreover, MySpace will also be revamping its ever popular profile editor to make specific alterations and edits more simplistic for the user.

“We felt like we reached a point where MySpace in its original incarnation had peaked in a way,” Anderson argued. “We were wondering how we can expand our market and appeal to new people. We looked at some of the reasons why someone might not use MySpace.”

Personally speaking, I find it interesting to note that MySpace also plans to limit the number of advertisements evident on the site. This advertising tactic is utilized to allow the higher priced advertisements and placements to stand out. In order to compete with its social networking rival, Facebook has also begun the initial stages of improvements and alterations to their site.

Moreover, I believe that with the ever increasing competition amongst online networking sites, MySpace, as well as Facebook, will continue to implement dramatic changes and improvements to their sites with the intention of remaining the “top dog” in the online social networking industry. It remains a mystery to me, however, whether or not these changes will equate long-term successes for the social networking sites. Undoubtedly, the improvements will certainly help in immediate monetary return. However, with respect to the future place of the Internet industry, trends continue to be difficult to predict.

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Over 16,000 people gathered in San Diego on June 1, 2008 for the 11th annual Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon. Racers came from all over the world to participate in the event along with their supporters, lining the race route. Friends, family members, cheer squads, local bands, church groups, members of the military and complete strangers shouted words of encouragement and inspiration while racers started their 26.2 mile race. Amazing. So many people, so many different motivations, with one common goal: crossing the finish line.

As the race progressed, fatigue took its toll on the racers. Miles 1-6 were smooth sailing, fast paced and feeling good. With medical, water, and Accelerade stations placed about every 1.5 miles the racers had the extra “edge” to press on. Miles 6-12, the pace started to slow and it seemed like a hill would come up about every other mile to break motivation and focus, and remind racers of their physical limitations. Muscles start to tense, cramps become impossible to ignore, and the belt that you wore to hold water and other essentials begins chafing your skin. People start “falling out” (as the military personnel might call it), but just when the racers think they can’t go any further, they see gigantic PowerBar Gel signs. They are saved! PowerBar Gel “replenishes and restores nutrients to help maintain peak performance.” The racers are now ready to take on the remainder of the race.

The emotional highs and lows during the race vary: from confident to insecure, when you just start slowing down and realize this race was a whole lot longer than you thought. From insecure to scared, when you realize your body’s tensing up, your joints are starting to throb, and you feel like you didn’t train nearly enough to make it to the finish line. From scared to hopeful, when you start looking around at everyone racing next to you and see people of all shapes and sizes, people young and old, people who are all struggling to take another step but still keep going. Hopeful, when you see all the people on the side lines cheering you on, calling out your name even if they don’t know you (it’s on the race bib) telling you that “you can do it,” “keep going” or “thank you.” The official charity of this race is the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training and some of the racers running with Team In Training had dedications on their jerseys for people they raised their donations for. Whomever the dedication was for, it was an inspirational and touching sight to see. Hope can take you all the way to the finish line, and when you cross the finish line, the feelings of relief, joy, pain, and exhaustion are more immense than words can describe.

The community support drawn by the race was immeasurable, and due to the amount of people involved, it also provided a huge captive audience for all the contributors sponsoring the race. The Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon served as a host to numerous companies pushing their merchandise. Well over 16,000 people were exposed to these companies and their products. The website that everyone had to visit in order to sign up for the race is packed with sponsors and their gear. This race was an amazing advertising opportunity for vendors with products closely related to fitness. If I learned anything from this experience I would have to say it’s this: 1) Always run with New Balance shoes, 2) PowerBar Gel does help maintain peak performance, and 3) Drink Accelerade to give you that extra edge while racing.

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This Year’s Seattle Search Marketing Expo (SMX Advanced) conference was great, aside from the uncomfortable red chairs it went off without a hitch.

⁃ Monday night started with a Microsoft sponsored party that had great catering, a DJ and great hors d’oeuvres. It took place close to the conference at the Olympic Sculpture Park.

They were offering to take pictures of people for fancy luggage tags (branded by Microsoft of course) which was funny to watch as people were drinking from an open bar and taking silly photos.

Many of the well known SEO companies were present and it was a nice start to the conference, I found some people I had met at SXSW and SMX Long Beach and the networking had begun.

It did rain the entire time, but that’s alright as we were inside the whole time anyway. Looking for cabs could get you wet and annoyed, but at least there were lots of ‘Vancouverish’ trees everywhere and it was a beautiful location on at the Bell Harbor Convention Center.

The three major search Engines, Google, Yahoo and MSN Live finally announced some clarifications on how they treat the Common REP (Robots Exclusion Protocol) Directives.

See YAHOO!’s blog about REP Directives.

Google’s Webmaster Central Blog re: REP Directives.

MSN’s blog about REP Directives can be read here.

There were some different answers regarding how the SE’s treat things such as the ‘nofollow’ attribute in links.

The MSN crew at first didn’t seem clear on what their own standards were, however at the end they did clarify that they don’t do anything different for nofollow links at this time. I’m still confused by their confusion. Good old Microsoft!

Google: - Were very clear that they don’t use noindex, nofollow for discovery (finding new content to index or at least store somewhere)

Yahoo: - Confirmed they do use nofollow links for Discovery.

I think the way to go here is to follow the industry leader, Google and do what they say and suggest.

For example, Yahoo! was really pushing the use of Yahoo Site Explorer to provide rewrites for URLs that are not SEO-Friendly - This will drive tons of traffic to Yahoo Site Explorer but I think its a pain in the ass to be honest. Plus the Yahoo folks didn’t even know how to use the microphone or speak in a way you could hear them, at EITHER panel I saw different Yahoo! folks at.

Google’s reps put on their ‘Google