The panning for gold prospect that is Search Engine Optimization is a befuddling concept that admittedly this writer is still trying to wrap his non-technical brain around. For those of us shoved in the creative type column, it can be totally intimidating. Initially, it appeared that popping up at the top of search engines was some sort of luck of the draw or [Read more…]
Live blogging media of choice for timely news
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Yesterday the Google Android phone, named Google Nexus One, was unveiled to a drooling public. In the days of yore, a press conference would be the only way to get the skinny on new products and services, or, at a trade show. But in the age of the intertubes, anyone can get up-to-date information by tuning into any number of online outlets. Many of us who were following the event chose to check out live blogging sites. Live blogging is the process of taking notes, photos, audio recordings, video etc., at an event and quickly posting it up to your blog as the event unfolds. Many companies hire blog content writers or reporters to do this for them so they can focus on the event. Some examples of live blogging are the Matt Cutts live blog and the one I followed on TechCrunch. Live blogging can be a great way to widen your audience when unveiling a new product or service or when your company is having an event. If you want to get really fancy, consider doing a live video-stream so that you can point a camera at your event and broadcast it across the world instantly. Live video-streaming can be costly, because you have to have massive server space and there are technical issues when streaming live data. In fact, I was viewing a live stream (I won’t mention the name here) of the Nexus One event and it went down due pressure put on the server. But live blogging costs nothing but time and having someone who can type fast and report on the event in an interesting way. Live blogging is a great solution for any size company looking to shine the spotlight on new wares or services. Have you ever used live blogging to report on your company events?
Matt Cutts gets a cut.
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You gotta love a guy who follows up on a bet by posting a video of himself (below) getting a new hairdo by his fellow office mates on YouTube. It’s even more impressive when you are Google’s SEO guru. Here’s the bet; Matt Cutts wagered with his team that they couldn’t keep up with an undisclosed turnaround time for a full quarter. Needless to say, Matt lost the bet.
The coiffure began as a chrome logo delicately chiseled into the back of Mr. Cutts’ head, but soon gave way to a full-fledged Telly Savalas … viola! It was an entertaining way to celebrate a milestone in a company; one million video views on the official Google webmaster video channel. Again, nice work. Now maybe Matt would consider a future bet with the eyebrows included? Just a thought.
It’s official. Google does not use keywords meta tag in web ranking.
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Do you ever wonder how much weight meta tags carry? According to Matt Cutts, not much when it comes to ranking. The reason for this is probably due to spammers who have tried to game the system by packing meta tags into their code. Google, being the number one search engine, is always going to be one step ahead by trying to change their technology so it’s is difficult to game the system. In a recent blog post, Mr. Cutts says that Google uses over 200 hundred factors when it comes to ranking. But he isn’t about to tell us what those 200 things are. In the meantime, he does tell us one factor they do not put much weight in. Rather than hear it from me, click on the video below. Or, if you like reading, visit Google’s official webmaster blog
Google’s YouTube encourages better video content for news freaks.
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The good old days of feasting your eyes on a kid making a fool of himself dressed as a Jedi are fading fast and Google knows it. Google”™s YouTube recently unleashed Reporters Center , an offering that”™s aimed at both professional journalists and any amateur who wields a digital video camera. There”™s no doubt that slicker content is gaining momentum on the web. As I”™ve mentioned in an earlier post , sites like Hulu are attracting large audiences with videos made by the pros. This play by Google is interesting because it is trying to up the quality by inviting the pros in, while at the same time giving their current base of amateur reporters the skills and techniques that will raise the bar. Matt Cutts who is well known as Google”™s SEO guru has been evangelizing about better content in recent months and it looks like Reporters Center is the type of thing that Cutts has been talking about. It”™s a win-win situation as content will get better and better. But you have to worry if content gets so good that it drowns out videos like the numa numa kid.