SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 30, 2008

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.

From Search Engine Land:

• Google Solicits User Input On Product Priorities
  Barry spotted this via Twitter: Google has, somewhat quietly, launched a Product Ideas Blog. A related effort is the company’s solicitation of ideas and their prioritization from users in a voting area. The first focus is on mobile.
• Microsoft Updates Virtual Earth Data & Images
  The Virtual Earth Blog announced that they have updated the data and images for some locations. The update includes data refreshes to Greece, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania and Mexico. In addition Microsoft did global vector data updates, added multi-lingual tile sets for all zoom levels in French, Italian, German, Spanish, added Japan localized tile sets and reprocessed all the oblique (Bird’s Eye) photography with new road labels.
• Take The 2008 Search Quiz
  Our very own Matt McGee has posted the 2008 Search Quiz for the search community to take. The quiz basically tests your knowledge of events in the search industry, including news, events and community related topics. You can take the quiz over here, but once you click on the link, it should start. There are 21 multiple-choice questions, and if you get one wrong, you lose. The test is being timed, and the person who answers all the questions correctly in the shortest amount of time, wins. You can win a $50 Amazon.com or iTunes (U.S.), or $50 via Paypal.
• Tough Love For Microsoft Search
  Back in June, I spoke at Microsoft as part of a regular series for those involved with its webmaster tools group and anyone generally interested in search. My talk was called “Tough Love For Microsoft Search,” and I covered various reasons why I felt the company has generally failed to make headway in the space. The core premise is that Microsoft as a company isn’t succeeding at search because it views search as a task it has to do, rather than one it really wants to do. The article below is an adaptation of that presentation. There’s even a movie.
• How Monitoring Twitter Can Help Build Links
  Here’s a scenario: Jane gets on Twitter and tweets about wanting a coupon for a company that I’ll call ABCWidgets, because yes, I am that dorky. The staff of ABCWidgets, being all forward-thinking, are monitoring Twitter to see what’s being said about them. They see this tweet, respond to Jane with a 10% off coupon, Jane buys what she wants, then blogs about this fantastic thing that’s happened to her. There’s a really nice legitimate link, brought about by simple good service and the desire to tell others about it.
• Danny Sullivan’s Preview Of The SMX West 2009 Search Marketing Conference
  In about six weeks, our SMX West search marketing conference returns to Silicon Valley, in Santa Clara, California from Feb. 10-12, 2009. The show features four tracks of sessions spread across three days and covers all aspects of search marketing. Below is a personal preview that I wanted to share with our readers about what to expect — plus for those who like to listen, a podcast preview that I taped is now available from download here. Search Engine Land produces a number of subject-focused, two-day search marketing events, such as our …

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Phishing with Google Calendar, Graham Cluley’s blog

Business Issues

• More Search numbers – Live Search Club quietly kicking a@#, LiveSide
• Report: Information Overload Costs U.S. $900B, InternetNews
• Baidu Appoints New PR Director, China Internet News

Local, Maps & Mobile

• AT&T’s YellowPages Paid $3.85 Million In Cash For YP.com, TechCrunch
• Our 100th post — What about MY phone?, Official Google Mobile Blog
• The Making of the Virtual Earth 3D Santa Tracker, Virtual Earth, An Evangelist’s Blog
• Translate Google Maps Reviews, Google Operating System

Link Building

• How To Research Links From Domain, Search Engine Journal
• Link Building Research Tip, Stone Temple
• Have Your Links Lost Juice in 2008?, Link Building Best Practices
• How Do You Ask for Links?, Search Engine Roundtable
• The Paid Links Debate Rages On, Search Engine Watch

Paid Search & Contextual

• Google AdWords Smart Positioning (BETA), Search Engine Roundtable
• Rewind: Google TV Ads in 2008, Google Traditional Media Blog
• What Are Your Major Challenges When Inheriting a PPC Account?, PPC Hero
• What You Need to Know to Set Up Monthly Invoicing With Google AdWords, PPC Hero

Searching

• Google’s Product Search Catches Up with Rivals, Search Engine Journal
• I’m a Google Convert But I Still Want to See Competition in Search, Search Engine Guide

SEM Industry

• Best of Search Conferences 2008: Day 1, BruceClay.com
• An idea for Sphinn: Something new, Andrew R H Girdwood

SEO & SEM

• 10 Irrational Human Behaviors & How to Leverage Them to Improve Web Marketing, SEOmoz
• Are there Honest Copywriters Out There?, Search Engine Roundtable
• How Social Media Community Building Helps SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Online Marketing Blog
• My Mobile Site Is Duplicate Content. Oh No!, Search Engine Roundtable
• Yes, Keyword Ranking Reports are Still Valuable, SEO Book

Social Media

• Facebook’s War Against Lactivists, Real Tech News
• It’s Not How Many Followers You Have That Counts, It’s How Many Times You Get Retweeted, TechCrunch
• Not Coming Soon: Facebook Indefinitely Scraps Plans for Platform Payment System, Inside Facebook
• Roundup: Four New Tools for Twitter Users, ResourceShelf
• Second Authority-Based Twitter Search Engine Launches: Twithority, TechCrunch
• Using Twitter as Your Focus Group, Ad Age
• A Modest Blogging Proposal, BusinessWeek
• Book About Twitter, Twitter Blog
• How ReTweets Spread: The Epidemiology of Viral Messaging on Twitter, Dan Zarrella
• Who Else Wants to Make Money from Social Media?, Wolf Howl

Video, Music & Image Search

• Google to launch Picasa Mac at Macworld 2009?, Googling Google
• Google Simplifies the Format for Video Results, Google Operating System
• Google’s Strict Image Search Less Strict Than Moderate Option, Search Engine Roundtable

Other Items

• How Google Is Influencing Server Design, gigaom.com

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