SearchCap: The Day In Search, January 9, 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 Updates Sky Images & Features In Google Earth
  The Google LatLong Blog announced they have updated Sky in Google Earth with new content, features and API integrations. To see Google Sky, click “Switch to Sky” from the “view” drop-down menu in Google Earth, or click the Sky button on the Google Earth toolbar. Here is a list of…
• Paid Search For Big Sites, Big Brands: Webcast
  Our sister site, Search Marketing Now, is hosting its first webcast for 2008: “Paid Search for Big Sites, Big Brands,” tomorrow, Thursday, January 10 at 1 PM Eastern Standard Time, sponsored by iProspect. In this webcast, I’ll take a look at how large organizations with complex websites and important brands…
• Where SEO Belongs In The Web Site Development Cycle
  Many in-house SEOs are actually marketers with minimal technical background or insight into the web site development process. Often, these people either have an interest in SEO or were already managaging other marketing functions. Because they are new to SEO (and often times new to web site development) they…
• Microsoft Provides Local Search Content To Garmin Personal Navigation Devices
  LiveSide reports on a deal that provides access to Live Search Maps/Local content via MSN Direct to the Garmin nüvi 780 personal navigation device (PND). Users can get maps, news, weather, local events and other content. One can also plan trips on Windows Live Local and then “send to…
• Google Hiring Investigator / Threat Analyst For Safety & Security
  I was tipped off by a friend of a new job listing at Google for Investigator / Threat Analyst in Irvine, CA. The job calls for an individual to work with Google’s Director of Corporate Safety & Security. The responsibilities include “investigating deviations from company policies or acts against Google…
• Microsoft Launches adCenter Add-in Beta for Excel 2007
  The adCenter Blog announced the launch of the adCenter Add-in for Excel 2007. To download the 64MB zipped version of the add-in, click here. There will be a webinar explaining how to use the add-in on January 23, 2008, which you can register for in advance. Features as summarized by…
• Real Time US Presidential Primary Results In Google Maps
  Political and news junkies take note: Google mapped the results of yesterday’s New Hampshire U.S. presidential primary by candidate and county for both parties. There are also videos from YouTube of candidate victory or concession speeches. According to the Google LatLong blog, the results were presented last night in real…
• Google Changes Referral Policy For AdSense Referrals
  The Google AdSense Blog announced they have made changes to one of the Google referral products policies. The two changes made to this referrals pricing structure only impacts referrals to the AdSense product. Those changes include:…
• B2B Marketing: Blind Date To White Wedding
  No one enjoys blind dates. Whether introduced by friends, the Internet or your neighborhood matchmaker, it’s nerve-wracking to meet for the first time. Conversely, everyone loves weddings. The flowers, the tradition, the drunken dancing at the reception, you can find something you like. Everything that comes in between is…
• 5 Ways To Make 2008 Pay Off Big
  If you’re anything like me, chances are that by the time you’re reading this, you’ve probably already broken one of your new year’s resolutions. But hey, that’s okay. Those personal resolutions aren’t all they’re cracked-up to be. All they really create is guilt and anxiety over the fit of…

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• ReadBurner: Google Shared Items Memetracker, Mashable
• What’s the last gadget standing?, Yodel Blog
• Google Reader Subscribe Bookmarklet Not Working Fully, Search Engine Roundtable
• Minor Google Reader Mobile Update, Google Blogoscoped
• Blacklisted from Google Notebook, Google Operating System
• Converting Google Book PDFs to Actual Books, Google Blogoscoped

Business Issues

• Barry Diller says he’ll stay involved in IAC, Expedia, and Ticketmaster, The Canadian Press
• Medio adds executives, Seattle PI
• Google processes over 20 petabytes of data per day, Niall Kennedy
• Could P2P Networks Enable a Google Killer?, Read/Write Web
• OPEN from American Express(R) Expands Small Business Savings Program with Yahoo, Reuters
• Rumormonger: Yahoo to buy Powerset?, Valleywag
• Terry Semel Revving Up Windsor; Yahoos Buckley, Karish Joining Him, paidContent.org
• Yahoo! and Belo Television Web Sites To Offer Local Video Online, Reuters

Conferences

• Join Us in Houston for Small Business Marketing Unleashed, Search Engine Guide
• Vanessa Fox Presentation: SEM Hot Seat, SEMpdx Blog
• SEMpdx Hosts SearchFest 08 at Portland Zoo (Press Release), SEMpdx Blog

Local, Maps & Mobile

• 2007 Wrap Up: A Map-tastic Year!, Google Maps API Blog
• Google Maps Business Location Bulk Upload Now Working, Mike Blumenthal
• Let it Snow, Google LatLong
• Citysearch’s Content Missing From Google Maps, Search Engine Roundtable
• Google turns Irish town 3D, The Register
• Google Maps Making Inroads Against Leader, Mapquest, Hitwise Intelligence
• THE WEATHER CHANNEL INTERACTIVE INTRODUCES NEW MAP BASED ADVERTISING PRODUCTS, Weather.com
• Trulia Releases Free Publisher Platform, Screenwerk
• Yodle Opens New Office, Reach Sells AdWords, Screenwerk

Link Building

• SEO Directory Link Building Isn’t Dead, Search Marketing Sage
• Want an Editorially Approved Link Become a Google Partner, Wolf Howl
• Google Gives Free PR8 Links to Paid Partners, and Doesn’t Follow Their Own Guidelines, Wolf Howl
• What’s Your Link Building Marketing Mix?, Search Engine Watch

Paid Search & Contextual

• Do You Have Any Control Over Your PPC Management?, BruceClay.com
• The Worst Summary of AdWords You Will Ever Read, PPC Discussions
• Four Tricks to Gain An Unfair Advantage on AdWords | Search Marketing Standard Blog, Search Marketing Standard
• AdWords Editor Communication Error Resolved, Search Engine Roundtable
• AdWords system maintenance on January 12th, Inside AdWords
• Gawker Media’s Experiment in Ad Network Abstinence, ClickZ

Searching

• Deconstructing Real Google Searches: Why Powerset Matters – ReadWriteWeb, Read/Write Web
• Frequently Asked Questions About hakia, Hakia Blog
• FuzzFind : Calibrating Social and Algorithmic Search, Search Engine Journal
• Point and Search: Cameraphone Search from Microsoft Or What MSFT Calls Mobile Navigator, ResourceShelf
• Searching Message Boards and Forums, Two Specialty Databases Can Help, ResourceShelf

SEM Industry

• General Search Market Trends, From Spam to Highbrow, SEO Book
• Problems with Web Survey Design , SEOmoz
• SEO.com Opens New SEO Forum, SEO.com

SEO & SEM

• Yet another Googler joins The Group, JLH Design
• Best practices for soliciting direct buy advertisers to your website or blog, Jennifer Slegg
• How Google Will Change SEO in 2008, BlogStorm
• SEOs must Coordinate with Designers too, Stone Temple
• Stop Words Are Dead! Did I Miss Another Memo?, SEO Fast Start
• The Google Webmaster Central Blog: A Retrospective, Vanessa Fox

Social Media

• Top Stumbler MIA, SEOWife
• Introducing Lee Mighdoll, Vice President of Engineering and Operations, Twitter Blog
• CBS Web guru Quincy Smith talks Digg partnership, News.com
• BluePulse: Mobile Social Networking, ResourceShelf
• French Press Falls For Major Facebook Prank, TechCrunch
• Politweets: Twittering Politics, Read/Write Web
• Social Media Made Easy with 10 Simple Steps, 10e20
• Social.IM, A Whole New Kind of Creepy, BruceClay.com

Video, Music & Image Search

• Obama Girl a draw at Google-YouTube press party, News.com
• Yahoo Releases Browser Based MP3 Player, TechCrunch
• How To Do Youtube Video View Optimization Part 1 , David Dalka

Other Items

• Official Google Base Blog: New API Features, Google Base Blog
• Google Reveals New MapReduce Stats, Google Operating System
• Lycos Announces Ron Paul Continues to Lead Popularity Vote with Web Users, as Most-Searched Presidential Hopeful Following Iowa Caucuses and New Hampshire Primary, EarthTimes
• New Downloadable Book Tests Yahoo-Adobe Ad System, Search Engine Journal
• Selected Newly Awarded Patent and Recently Published Search-Related Patent Applications, ResourceShelf
• What is FeedRaider and Why Does it Rank Above Me?, Search Engine Roundtable

Last 20 Hot Items From Sphinn, Our Social News Sharing Site:

• SEOmoz | It’s Gonna Blow! The Critical Mass of Web 2.0
• 10 Steps to a Sound Internet Marketing Strategy
• Jim Boykin insults Andy Beal, Aaron Wall, Schoemaker, Stuntdubl, himself and others!
• 7 Best of 2007 Lists You Can’t Live Without
• How To Think Like A Social Media Marketer
• Looking up domains with Network Solutions? Prepare to get shafted.
• SEMpdx Hot Seat w/Vanessa Fox
• Top Bloggers Confess: Size Matters!
• I’m the TitleStarter, Twisted TitleStarter
• Google Webmaster Central Blog : Best Search Engine Corporate Blog of 2007
• ShoeMoney : Best Contextual Advertising Blog of 2007
• Promoting and Earning Money with Affiliate Programs
• Dumbass of the Week: Gene Marks
• Sphinn Stories By Domain
• Diagrams That Can Help You Define the Proper Anchor Text of Internal Links
• 5 Ways To Enhance Your Social Media Portfolio in 2008
• The Digg Auto Bury Algorithm Has Changed
• How to hire an SEO Rockstar
• Ten Questions – Interview With Darren Rowse of ProBlogger
• Blog Post Ideas – Check your Referrals
• The Uncanny Broadcasting Brain Caught my Brainwaves!!
• New Tactics to Help Hit the Sphinn Home Page
• Ten Common Objections to Social Media Adoption and How You Can Respond
• Dear Akismet: You Suck, And We’re Getting a Divorce
• Sphinn drowns in self-congratulation