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8 Googler Alternatives To Superstar Matt Cutts
If the search engine optimization world has a rock star, ironically the king
isn’t an actual SEO but rather mild mannered Matt Cutts of Google. His
title of software engineer belies his role as spam czar from Google. If Google’s
web search results are a castle constantly under siege, Matt Cutts is the one
high on the walls, swinging
his sword and
calling to his fellow Googlers to repel the attackers with hot oil of site
expulsions and link downgrades.
Of course, not all site owners and SEOers are trying to bring down the Google
castle. Many of them are hard working villagers that want the protection of the
castle but can’t figure why they aren’t allowed in past the gates. As
a benevolent lord of the castle, Matt seeks to help. In fact, even to the so
called enemies he’ll reach out, similar to the famous Christmas Truce of 1914, as
he’s written
.
As a result, everyone wants to talk to Matt. Here he is at the Google Dance, held at Google during
SES San Jose last
August:
As he went to get something to eat, a pack of fans — which I nicknamed
Cuttletts some time ago — followed him wherever he went.
Here he is at the
recent Pubcon:
The man quite simply gets swarmed wherever he goes. And that leads to the
point of this post, best illustrated with a compare-and-contrast photo:
Sitting over there on the left is Googler Vanessa Fox. She’s at the
opposite end of the same stage where Matt is being swarmed. If the stage were a ship,
all the passengers that ran over to talk with Matt would have been tilting it to
dangerously low on their side, while Vanessa’s side would be high in the air.
That’s a lost opportunity. Vanessa, product manager of
Google Webmaster Central,
knows tons that will help site owners and SEOs. So do many other Googlers who
make it out to conferences. That’s the reason for this post, to introduce people
to Googlers they should seek out in addition to or as an alterative to Matt.
This should especially help the nearly 1,000 people who will be at
SES Chicago
from Monday onward. Matt never makes the Chicago show, being all conferenced out
by the end of the year. But a contingent of fellow Googlers will be there.
Want to know more about Matt? See this nice
interview
of him last year at Google Blogoscoped, this
list of 20 trivia facts about him or read
Matt’s blog. Want to know more about
the other Googlers? Let’s
meet them!
Name: Amanda Camp
Position: Tech Lead,
Google Webmaster
Tools
Location: Googleplex
Kirkland (Seattle)
Hails
From: Tuscon, Arizona
SES Chicago 2006 Sessions:
Lunch With Google Webmaster Central,
Bulk Submit 2.0
Musical Talent: Plays the trumpet
Favorite Movie: Ghost
Favorite
Book: Matilda
Favorite Google Product Other Than Search:
Google Calculator,
uses for her taxes
Favorite http code: 308 (not yet defined)
Favorite
Drinkbait: Bailey’s & Coffee
If Google Were A Superhero, It Would Be: Inspector Gadget
Her Super Power: Flying
Name: Dan Crow
Position: Product Manager
Location: Googleplex New York
Hails
From: Oxford, England
SES Chicago 2006 Sessions:
Flash & Search Engines,
CSS, AJAX, Web 2.0 & Search Engines
Musical Talent: Absolutely none
Favorite Movie: Dr. Strangelove
Favorite
Book: Atonement by Ian McEwan
Favorite Google Product Other Than Search:
Google Docs (aka Writely)
Favorite http code: 406 Not Acceptable
Favorite Drink: Theakston’s Old Peculier
If Google Were A Superhero, It Would Be: Justice League of America
Unusual Trivia Fact: Has eaten crocodile, considers it too rubbery
Name: Trevor Foucher
Position: Engineer, webmaster tools
Location: Googleplex
Kirkland (Seattle)
Hails
From: Anaheim, California
SES Chicago 2006 Sessions:
Lunch With Google Webmaster Central
Musical Talent: Plays the banjo
Favorite Movie: Groundhog Day
Favorite
Book: Ender’s Game
Favorite Google Product Other Than Search:
Gmail
Favorite http code: 200 OK (who wouldn’t like OK?!)
Favorite Drink: Rum & Diet Coke
First Computer: ZX81
Unusual Trivia Fact: His wife is a stand up comedian who also plays the banjo
Name: Vanessa Fox
Position: Product Manager, Webmaster Central
Location: Googleplex
Kirkland (Seattle)
Hails
From: California
SES Chicago 2006 Sessions:
Drive Traffic To Your Site With Google,
Lunch With Google Webmaster Central,
Bot Obedience Course,
Images & Search Engines
Musical Talent:
Flute and very bad singing
Favorite Movie: Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Favorite
Book: Favorite book is very difficult. Maybe the Chronicles of Narnia. Which is more
than one book. But you can get them as a set. So it counts. Because I said so.
Favorite Google Product Other Than Search:
Google SMS
Favorite http code: 203 – shifty content
Favorite Drink: Margaritas with good tequila
Unusual Trivia Fact: Have run a Buffy site and a couple of Buffy message boards for years. Go ahead,
ask me anything about Buffy. (or
hear her apply Buffy
life lessons to SEO).
Name: Adam Lasnik
Position: Search Evangelist
Location: Googleplex Mountain View, the MotherPlex
Hails
From: Thousand Oaks, California
SES Chicago 2006 Sessions:
Lunch With Google Webmaster Central,
Duplicate Content & Multiple Site Issues,
Search Engine Q&A On Links
Musical Talent: I’ve played piano since age 4. Dabbled in orchestra
conducting. Done arrangements for vocal groups and a jazz band. I
have perfect pitch which is both a blessing and a curse.
Favorite
Music: A cappella!
Favorite Book: Books? Like things with lots of paper…but not for
school? Such a sadly distant memory! Can I just claim a oldie-but-goodie
Favorite on Asimov’s stuff on the whole?
Favorite Google Product Other Than Search:
G-Implant. Oh, er, I’m only
supposed to choose something that’s PUBLIC, right? Um, then I’d have to say GMail, absolutely a Godsend for dealing with large amounts of mail…and
finding the actual important stuff fast!
Favorite http code: 302 Found. I mean, heck, it just gives me warm fuzzies. ’twas lost and now it’s found. Who can argue with
that?!
Favorite Drink: When I’m not at webmaster events: Mojitos and Caipirinhas. Also wine, especially red. Not beer though. This did not go over well during
my year in Germany.
First Computer: Apple II+
If Google Were A Superhero, It Would Be: Mighty Geek! Leaps tall server
racks in a single bound. Saves small children. Has a sensitive side that not
many see.
Unusual Trivia Facts:
- I spent the millennium in Munich and had the bad luck of getting a flight
out of Frankfurt at 8am January 1st, 2000. Frankfurt was not certified Y2K
compliant. Oops. - I was in an elevator with Tom Selleck, on a boat with George Lucas, at
breakfast with Jim Henson, and at lunch with the famed duo Hanna and Barbera. All in the same week! - I was doing beta testing for online stuff in 1987.
- I had three pet desert tortoises. They were more loving (and smart!) than you
might expect tortoises to be. - I once hacked my junior high’s "points" computer program to list teachers with
negative points, and nearly got suspended. - I started a singing telegram business in high school.
Maile Ohye
(not the raccoon, only in Jessica Simpson blonde wig on Halloweens)
Name: Maile Ohye
Position: Developer Support Engineer
Location: Googleplex Mountain View, the MotherPlex
Hails
From: Cupertino, California
SES Chicago 2006 Sessions:
Lunch With Google Webmaster Central
Musical Talent: Sings badly
Favorite Movie: She prefers TV, Oprah and NFL live
Favorite
Book: Only reads non-fiction books about death
Favorite Google Product Other Than Search:
Google Calendar
Favorite http code: 200 -Success is always nice
Favorite Drink: Mojito
Unusual Trivia Fact: Went to college on field hockey scholarship. Reads
books about death (non-fiction). Can make a more meaningful life by leaning
about death (reverse engineering)
— Picture May Come Later! —
Name: Evan Roseman
Position: Software Engineer
Location: Googleplex Mountain View, the MotherPlex
Hails
From: Birmingham, Alabama
SES Chicago 2006 Sessions:
Lunch With Google Webmaster Central,
Meet The Crawlers
Musical Talent: Plays Trombone
Favorite Movie: Airplane!
Favorite
Book: 1984
Favorite Google Product Other Than Search:
Gmail
Favorite http code: 410 gone
Favorite Drink: Jones Soda
If Google Were A Superhero, It Would Be: Batman
Name: Jonathan Simon
Position: Webmaster Trends Analyst (track what webmasters are worried
about on forums, blogs, etc. See more
here).
Location: Googleplex
Kirkland (Seattle)
Hails
From: Louisiana
SES Chicago 2006 Sessions:
No sessions, just hanging out. Catch him in the halls!
Musical Talent: Plays guitar — writes his own songs and sings!
Favorite Movie: Little Big Men
Favorite
Book: Jitterbug Perfume
Favorite Google Product Other Than Search:
Google Maps
Favorite http code: 200 OK
Favorite Drink: Greyhound or Patron, straight up
I should also say that beyond the Googlers above, you should seek out reps from
the other major search engines that will be at SES Chicago and other
conferences. Yahoo, Microsoft and Ask all have significant shares of the search
pie. Seek them out and learn how to do better beyond Google. In the future,
we’ll take a look at some of these reps, as well.
We're listening.
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