SearchCap: The Day In Search, November 1, 2007

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

From Search Engine Land:

• 
  Rumors of Impending Facebook Music
  Facebook already has taken on LinkedIn, as the past-college crowd has started using it for professional networking, and starting next week, Facebook may take on MySpace’s hold on the music scene. Rumors abound that Facebook Music will be announced at ad:tech in NY next week. Word is that Facebook is…
• 
  Understanding Search Usability
  The term “search usability” is widely misunderstood throughout a variety of industries: Web design/development, search engine marketing (SEM), online advertising, information sciences, human-computer interface (HCI), and usability industries. Even the term “usability” is misunderstood by search professionals. Every time I hear an SEO professional claim that his or her…
• 
  10 Useless SEO Worries
  I often feel sorry for small businesses. I do. Too often they don’t have the funds, time or resources to investigate things as thoroughly as they should. Unlike larger businesses with deep pockets, small business can’t hire first-rate, high-end SEOs to do all the right things for them. All…
• 
  Google Sends Speakers To FTC Town Hall Meeting On Behavioral Advertising
  Google is attending and sending high-profile representatives to speak at the US FTC’s “town hall” meeting, which starts today, on “behavioral advertising.” The broad phenomenon of behavioral targeting will be under scrutiny as privacy and consumer advocates presumably point out the risks of the practice. On the rewards side will…
• 
  Ask.com Teams With Dell To Create Custom Servers That Save Energy
  Ask.com has bespoke answer for cutting server power usage from ComputerWorld reports Ask.com has contracted Dell four months ago to build out customized servers around the software applications they have built. This helps Ask.com “cut server power usage by 30%” of a typical server, said Mark Stockford, the senior vice…
• 
  FeedBurner Integrates Google AdSense Into Monetize Console
  FeedBurner, a recent acquisition of Google, has announced that you can now simply add Google AdSense ads directly on your Web site via the “Monetize” tab. This may simplify the process for some folks who are not tech savvy enough to put the AdSense code on their site themselves. You…
• 
  SEOs Should Understand Network Infrastructure
  As an in-house SEO, you need to interact with senior engineers, project managers, and analysts who know your infrastructure and its limitations inside and out. Adding an understanding of your network infrastructure to your SEO knowledge base gives you the right lingo and frame of reference for conversations with…
• 
  Social Networking Through Search: Hakia Helps You Meet Others
  Hakia, a natural language search engine, has just added a new spin to search: social networking. Their new Meet Others feature lets you connect with others who are searching for the same things you are. Since Hakia processes queries differently than old school search engines such as Google, you aren’t…

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• How our spam filter works, Official Gmail Blog
• IMAP access now available for all users, Official Gmail Blog

Business Issues

• F.T.C. Chief Vows Tighter Control of Online Ads, New York Times
• Google’s Surge, Tele Atlas’s Value, Areva’s Scarcity: Timshel , Bloomberg
• Is Google a tax avoider or a tax evader?, Pandia
• Is IAC’s $100M Marketing Campaign Driving Traffic to Ask.com?, MarketingVOX
• More top Microsoft executives sell shares, SeattlePi

Conferences

• Richard Rosenblatt to give Keynote address at PubCon, PubCon Blog
• SMX Stockholm, having a blast!, Joost de Valk
• Where to Catch Andy Beal Losing Speaking His Mind, Marketing Pilgrim

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Earthquake mapping, Google LatLong
• Map of the Dead: A Screen Overlay’ed Shoot ‘Em Up!, Google Maps API Blog
• More languages in 3D Warehouse, Google LatLong
• Sprint in talks with Google on mobile apps: source, Reuters

Link Building

• Google Back Link Update? Google Blog Search Link Command Slow?, Search Engine Roundtable
• How Site Architecture Influences Link Building, Search Engine Watch

Paid Search & Contextual

• adCenter Feature Review: campaign management updates, adCenter Blog
• Google AdSense Publisher Not Receiving Secured Express Delivery Payment, Search Engine Roundtable

Searching

• Turkey Recipes and Formula One: November Smart Answers, Ask.com Blog

SEM Industry

• Happy Halloween from Bruce Clay!, BruceClay.com
• Helping heroes, Yodel Anecdotal
• Trick-or-Treat, Inside AdSense
• By the pricking of our thumbs…, Official Google Blog
• Google Halloween Gallery, Google Blogoscoped
• Happy Halloween to our spooktacular webmasters!, Official Google Webmaster Central Blog

SEO & SEM

• Creating Intent in Digital Media, Jonathan Mendez’s Blog
• John Dvorak loves Google but Hates the Side Effects, John Andrews
• Nobody Want’s Your Stinking Content… So Give Them a Community!, Search Engine Guide
• Plan for the Holidays Nice and Early By Analyzing Search Trends, SEOmoz
• Protecting Your Space in the Google Results, Search Engine Guide
• Better geographic choices for webmasters, Official Google Webmaster Central Blog
• Challenge Your Search Team to Excellence, AIM Clear Blog
• How Do You Rank In Hebrew?, InsideGoogle
• Live Search Webmaster Portal Beta Coming Soon?, Search Engine Roundtable
• Research: Long Tail of Google’s Search Results Dominated by Doorway Pages, SEO Book
• [Video] Keyword Research 101: Basic Keyword Strategy & Tips, SEO Book

Social Media

• A Step by Step Plan on How to Market Your Site on Facebook, Search Engine Guide
• Facebook Declares War on the Blogosphere, Jon Swift
• Forget PageRank, Here’s StumbleRank, Search Engine Journal
• Open Social: screencast and screenshots, blog.pmarca.com
• Yahoo Flirts With Social Networking, mashable.com

Video, Music & Image Search

• Big Fat 404 Error At Hulu, TechCrunch
• Google Photo Picker, Google Operating System

Other Items

• Still Intimidated by Online Marketing?, Search Engine Guide
• Everex gPC TC2502 Computer With Linux, New York Times
• Google Tech Talk: Plurilingualism on the internet, Two Piece Set
• izea.com: the future of payperpost is here, Simple Kind Of Life
• Selling Commodity Services: Controlling Cost vs Adding Value, SEO Book
• The UN, Google and Cisco Unveil Online Resource in the Fight to Decrease Global Poverty, Google

Hot Items From Sphinn, Our Social News Sharing Site:

• zaibatsu vs. msaleem: The Race to 1000 front page Diggs is ON
• StumbleRank: The Top Stumblers Revealed
• Cool Tool: Check the PageRank of your Internal Pages
• Ten Ways to Avoid a Google Reputation Nightmare
• 10 Useless SEO Worries
• Fast-Track Yourself To StumbleGod – by [muhammad.saleem]
• “Editor’s Picks” on Sphinn? You Decide!
• Top 10 Worst Websites You’ll Wish You Hadn’t Seen
• 10 Reasons Why I Hate Shout Outs on Digg
• 300 Ways To Make It To The Home Page On Digg
• How to Dominate Sphinn in 4 Easy Steps!
• Using Social Media to Build Brands
• Get Your PageRank Victim Badge